Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds

0:00 Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds are the solo instances scattered across the open world of Aion 2: small dungeons that a player first meets while leveling and finishes in the early endgame, and that matter for a character's power. Hardcore Gamer's preview calls Sealed Dungeons the entry-level dungeons found in the open world. Each is cleared once per character; Sealed Dungeons chiefly give the Daevanion crystals that fill a character's Daevanion Boards, and Strongholds give the materials for belt and amulet upgrades. NC's first content map of August 2025 lists the two among the solo modes as "Seal Dungeon" and "Garrison", the word the Fextralife translation of the Korean patch notes still uses for Strongholds. The rest of the dungeon system is on Dungeons.

Quick facts

Sealed Dungeons

0:53 Many players call them hidden dungeons. Each appears as a question mark on the map, and in July 2026 Society Of Gaming, who plays on the Korean and Taiwanese servers, counted more than 60 on his faction's map. Players visit some while leveling and all of them after reaching the level cap, which is 45 on the global version and 50 in Korea and Taiwan since Chapter 1.

6:33 His leveling guide of May 2026 advises going to every question mark as soon as it appears on the map. Sealed Dungeons are solo instances that hold bosses, groups of monsters to clear or small puzzles, and they pay rewards including Daevanion crystals (see Leveling).

3:22 Every Sealed Dungeon is entered alone, and any class can clear them. They differ in design but follow a pattern: fight through some monsters, reach the main room, defeat the boss and sometimes solve a small puzzle to open the next door. They are harder while a character is still leveling, and each is done once per character and never again.

2:03 Progress is tracked under Sealed Dungeons in the exploration tab of the map, which shows around 70. Not every question mark is a Sealed Dungeon, since some of them mark Strongholds.

14:47 The global client works the same way from the start. In the Launch Scale Test TheLazyPeon passed a field boss on the map, followed a question mark and found a Sealed Dungeon with a recommended level of 10, which he recognized as a solo dungeon and cleared for gear.

7:12 The global build makes them more important. Society Of Gaming, playing the test after more than 1,000 hours in Korea and Taiwan, found that the Monolith no longer gives Wisdom Stones for skills; they now come from Sealed Dungeons, of which he counts more than 60, so clearing them "now it's mandatory" (Skills, Stigmas and Macros).

Rewards: Daevanion crystals

2:41 The main reward is the Daevanion crystal. A Sealed Dungeon also gives enhancement stones, titles, statues for the Pantheon, a sealed wing feather used in substance morphing, and some Kina. On the global version NC's first weekly patch, on Oct 6, 2026 (PDT), put a limit of 20 a week per server on the Substance Morph formula that turns Sealed Wings into Enhance Stones. Since Mar 25, 2026 the Kina from Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds in Korea and Taiwan has been Kina (Bound), kept apart from the regular Kina that is earned by trading, hunting and opening Odyle Energy Cubes and can be spent in the Market (NC, Mar 11, 2026; NC, Mar 25, 2026; Kina and Quna).

6:00 The crystals are spent on the Daevanion boards. The four early boards take the crystals from Sealed Dungeons, while the boards of the full endgame use different crystals. Their nodes give attack and defense bonuses, combat speed and cooldown reduction, and raise the levels of individual skills; in the video Society Of Gaming runs out of crystals before he can reach a damage-boost node, which is why he treats the dungeons as essential.

Strongholds

2:05 Strongholds share the question-mark marker. In September 2026 Society Of Gaming counted 15 on each faction's map on the Korean and Taiwanese servers, so 30 in all. Players can run those on their own map before and after reaching level 45, and from 45 they cross to the enemy faction's map for the rest.

3:36 Like Sealed Dungeons they are solo and open to any class, but each follows its own quest line. In the one he shows, a Ranger clears groups of monsters, activates security modules around the site, flies between levels, since flight is allowed inside Strongholds, and finally defeats a boss before opening a treasure chest. He calls them mini dungeons that do not last long.

7:21 The chest holds manastones and Kina, but on the Korean and Taiwanese servers the real prize is a belt enhancement scroll. Belts cannot be raised with ordinary enhancement stones alone, and a belt at +10 can be morphed into the next grade, from green to blue, blue to unique and finally a Heroic belt, so the scrolls from Strongholds are the only route to a top belt (see Enhancement and Soul Imprint and Gear Progression).

7:53 In his leveling guide of May 2026 Society Of Gaming names enhancement materials for amulets and bracelets as the reason to do Strongholds, and tells players to clear them on their own map along the way rather than waiting for level 45.

6:50 Anders, surveying the global launch in September 2026, calls both kinds of instance crucial: they are the main source of Daevanion crystals and of the materials to enhance amulets and belts. With the enemy side included he counts over 100 for the global launch, and because progress is tracked per character, alternative characters must clear them again. The global Daeva Pass adds a small incentive on top: its missions include clearing a Sealed Dungeon and clearing a Stronghold, towards a weekly cap of 50,000 Pass EXP per character (NC).

The enemy faction's map

8:23 Elyos and Asmodians play on separate maps (see Elysea and Asmodae). Once a player has finished the Sealed Dungeons on their own map, the rest lie on the enemy faction's map, reached through rifts, which Society Of Gaming says open every three hours.

5:51 Anders's global leveling guide makes the other side part of the route: completing the Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds on the opposing faction's map is mandatory, a player has only an hour there per rift, and characters arrive in PvE mode by default.

In NC's PvP showcase of Sep 11, 2026 the hosts describe rifts as portals to the other faction's half of Atreia that open about every three hours, three or four at a time (PvP Gameplay Live Showcase, Aion 2 Official; Spacetime Rift). Anders warns that a player can cross in PvE mode, but that approaching the enemy faction's guard NPCs draws their attention and flags the player for PvP, so hostile players can attack.

Chapter 1 and catch-up tools

NC's Chapter 1 update, "Lands of Sand and Snow", opened Eltnen for the Elyos and Morheim for the Asmodians on Jul 1, 2026 in Korea and Taiwan, with 20 new Sealed Dungeons and six new Strongholds across the two regions, plus Monoliths (NC, Jun 17, 2026; NC, Jul 6, 2026; Chapter 1: Lands of Sand and Snow). The global version, open in Advanced Access since Sep 30, 2026 and to everyone since Oct 5, starts with the level cap at 45, the Korean cap before Chapter 1, and as of Oct 12, 2026 NC has not said when Eltnen and Morheim or their instances reach it.

Because clearing every instance on both maps takes time, NC added shortcuts for new and returning players in Korea and Taiwan. Daeva Express, announced in June 2026, instantly completes Strongholds, Sealed Dungeons and Empyrean Trace progression, and the optional "Exciting First Step" token sold in the shop from July 2026 provides equipment and completes all three at once (NC, Jun 17, 2026; NC, Jul 6, 2026; Business Model).

On the global servers since launch

A week into the free launch of Oct 5, 2026, nothing NC has published changes how the instances work: its patch notes of Oct 6 and its maintenance notice of Oct 8 (PDT) touch neither their rewards nor their number, and the one-clear rule per character stands. The global Daeva Pass keeps paying Pass EXP for clearing a Sealed Dungeon and for clearing a Stronghold until the season ends on Dec 15, 2026.

The server transfers that open on Oct 14, 2026 do not undo that work. NC's transfer notice of Oct 9 lists quests, exploration records, titles, achievements and Daevanion among the things that move with a character, so the instances a character has cleared and the crystals it has spent stay cleared and spent on the new server; the remaining Spacetime Rift time, which decides how long a character can spend on the enemy map, moves as well. A transfer cannot be requested from inside a dungeon or a Spacetime Rift: the character has to be standing in a village (Servers).

Frequently asked questions

Where are Sealed Dungeons in Aion 2? Aion 2's Sealed Dungeons are the question marks on the open-world map. Some question marks are Strongholds instead; the exploration tab tracks both.

Can you repeat a Sealed Dungeon or Stronghold? No. In Aion 2 each is cleared once per character, so an alternative character must do them again.

What do Sealed Dungeons give? Aion 2's Sealed Dungeons give mainly Daevanion crystals for the Daevanion boards, plus enhancement stones, titles, Pantheon statues, sealed wing feathers and Kina (Bound). On the global build Society Of Gaming found that they also became the source of Wisdom Stones, which the Monolith no longer gives.

Why run Strongholds? In Aion 2, Strongholds are run for the belt enhancement scrolls needed to take a belt to +10 and morph it into a higher grade, as well as amulet materials, manastones and Kina.

Do you have to go to the enemy faction's map? To finish them all, yes. From level 45 Aion 2 players cross through rifts to clear the Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds on the other faction's map.

How many are there? In Aion 2's Korean and Taiwanese version, more than 60 Sealed Dungeons and about 15 Strongholds on each faction's map, with 20 Sealed Dungeons and six Strongholds added by Chapter 1. Anders counts over 100 across both maps for the global launch.

Can you do Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds in a group? No. Both are solo instances in Aion 2, entered alone from the open world, and creators say any class can clear them.

What level do you need for Sealed Dungeons? They start early: in the Launch Scale Test of September 2026 TheLazyPeon found one with a recommended level of 10. Those on the enemy faction's map open at level 45, when a character can cross through a Spacetime Rift for an hour at a time.

Do alts have to clear Sealed Dungeons again? Yes. Progress is tracked per character in Aion 2, so every alternative character clears its own Sealed Dungeons and Strongholds for its own Daevanion crystals and belt materials.

Do cleared Sealed Dungeons carry over in a server transfer? Yes. NC's notice of Oct 9, 2026 lists quests, exploration records, titles, achievements and Daevanion among what moves with a transferred Aion 2 character; transfers open on Oct 14, 2026.

Sources

• Aion 2 Showcases Core Combat Content and Signature Dungeon Gameplay, NC, Aug 12, 2025
• Aion 2 Introduces Major Class Overhaul and Unveils 'Chaotic Abyss', NC, Mar 25, 2026
• Aion 2 Hosts SUMMER FESTA and Reveals Membership Changes, NC, Jun 17, 2026
• Aion 2 Rolls Out 'Chapter 1. Lands of Sand and Snow' Update, NC, Jul 6, 2026
• Aion 2 Preview: The Future of MMORPGs, Hardcore Gamer, Jun 16, 2026
• Patch Notes, Aion 2 Wiki (Fextralife), fan translations of the Korean notes, updated Jan 8, 2026
• Aion 2 Ultimate Beginner Leveling Guide - Escape the Grind & Level Up Quick (Global Release 2026), Society Of Gaming, May 11, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 Sealed Dungeons - Best Early Endgame Power Boost Guide 2026, Society Of Gaming, Jul 31, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 Strongholds Guide - Mandatory Early Endgame Dungeons for Belt +10 (Global Launch), Society Of Gaming, Sep 3, 2026 (video)
• [Aion 2] PvP Gameplay Live Showcase, Aion 2 Official, Sep 11, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 Global PVE - Every Dungeon, Raid, and Daily at Launch, Anders, Sep 15, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 Day 1 Playtest Review - I Was NOT Ready For This…, Society Of Gaming, Sep 18, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 Global Leveling Guide: What to Do, What to Skip, What to Save, Anders, Sep 25, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 First Impressions "Is It Worth Playing?", TheLazyPeon, Sep 28, 2026 (video)
• 9/30 (Wed) New Product Info (Daeva Pass), NC, Sep 30, 2026
• "Patch Notes | Oct. 6 (PDT) / Oct. 7 (CEST)", NC on Steam, Oct 7, 2026
• "Temporary Maintenance | Oct 8 PDT / Oct 9 CEST", NC on Steam, Oct 8, 2026
• "Server Transfer Products Info" and "Server Transfer Q&A", NC on Steam, Oct 9, 2026