What are pets in Aion 2 and why collect them?
Pets in Aion 2 are almost every monster you meet in the world. When you defeat one, it sometimes drops a soul, and souls unlock and level up the pet of that species. There are about 200 of them (wikily lists 206, MetaBot 207).
Pets give you three things:
- Permanent stats. Every pet has an Owned Effect, a bonus just for owning it. It works even when the pet is not equipped (mein-mmo, MetaBot, Drybear). Two hundred small bonuses add up to a lot.
- A mount. The pet you equip is your mount (MetaBot, GamesFuze).
- Fuel for Genus Insight. Once a pet hits max level, its extra souls turn into crystals for the second system, Genus Insight (Grobs, Drybear, FRESHY).
Pets and Genus Insight are shared by all characters on the same server (Grobs, Drybear, mein-mmo). Whatever your alt collects also counts for your main. We touched on this in things the game doesn't tell you.
On global, a pet maxes at level 3. Korea and Taiwan go up to 5 (Grobs, Drybear, mein-mmo). If a video shows level 5 or different stat numbers, it was recorded in Korea. More differences in Aion 2 Global vs Korea.
How do you get your first pet and the rest?
Your first pet comes from an early story quest around level 10–11 (for Elyos it is All Geared Up). You pick one of three Fera pets: Fossa, Armadon or Tog (MetaBot, GamesFuze). They ride the same, so take the one you like. The quest also unlocks the pet menu.
Souls and pet levels (Pet Insight)
The game calls a pet's level Pet Insight. Here is how many souls you need:
| Step | Souls | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| unlock (level 1) | 5 | the pet and its first Owned Effect |
| level 2 | +25 | a stronger Owned Effect |
| level 3 (max on global) | +75 | the full Owned Effect and Transform |
That is 105 souls per pet (Game8, wikily, Destructoid). Each new pet also gives 500 Genus Insight EXP for its genus, and levels 2 and 3 give 250 each (wikily, Game8).
Where do souls come from?
- Monsters in the world. In the pet menu, select a pet and open the Source tab. The game shows which monsters drop its soul and where (GamesFuze, Power Up Gaming, Destructoid).
- The Black Cloud Merchant. It has a pet tab with pets and souls, and the stock rotates (FRESHY, Destructoid, Playnews).
- Hidden Cubes in the open world. They can drop soul bundles (FRESHY, Power Up Gaming). More about cubes in things the game doesn't tell you.
- Chests and rewards: pet and soul chests, events, the Daeva Pass (Destructoid, Power Up Gaming).
A duplicate pet item is not wasted; it turns into a soul (MetaBot).
Which pets give the best stats?
This is the part most "best pet" lists skip: every pet of the same genus gives the same Owned Effect (Game8, wikily, MetaBot). There is no single best pet. What matters is the genus and how many pets you own.
Pets come in five genera. This is the Owned Effect of one pet at level 3:
| Genus | Pets | Owned Effect at level 3 | Crystal color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cogni | 41 | HP +30, Critical Hit +2, Might +1 | blue |
| Fera | 65 | Mount Ground Move Speed +3, Accuracy Bonus +2, Dexterity +1 | red |
| Natura | 48 | Stamina +9, Critical Hit Resist +2, Precision +1 | green |
| Varian | 46 | Mount Sprint Stamina Cost Reduction 0.3%, Evasion Bonus +2, Constitution +1 | yellow |
| Special | a few | none | light blue |
Effects: Game8, wikily and MetaBot (they agree). Pet counts: wikily and MetaBot. Colors: Grobs and mein-mmo.
What this means for you:
- Cogni (Might raises attack) and Fera (Accuracy) help combat the most. Natura and Varian are mostly defensive (Game8).
- For scale: 41 Cogni pets at level 3 add up to +1,230 HP, +82 Critical Hit and +41 Might.
- Farm the easy pets, the ones from cheap, low-level monsters on your route. Game8 says it plainly: don't chase a specific pet for stats.
- Unlock many different pets first, level them later. A new pet costs 5 souls and gives both an Owned Effect and 500 Genus Insight EXP. Level 3 costs 75 souls (Game8, GamesFuze).
What is Genus Insight?
Genus Insight is the second tab of the pet menu. Each of the five genera has its own board there, with a level from 1 to 10 and 9 slots for random stats. Levels 1–9 each open one slot (wikily, MetaBot). Stats from the board are permanent, just like Owned Effects.
How do you level it?
You get Genus Insight EXP in two ways:
- from pets: every new pet and each of its levels (see above),
- from Analysis, the button on the board. Every analysis rerolls all unlocked slots and gives 100 EXP for each slot it rerolls (wikily, Drybear).
One analysis costs 4 Soul Crystals of that genus and 1,000 Kinah (wikily, MetaBot). Special pets give no EXP, so the Special board only levels through analysis (wikily, Drybear).
The board level sets which stat grades can roll. The top grade (Heroic) only appears from level 9, and it is most likely at level 10:
| Level | Common | Rare | Epic | Unique | Heroic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90% | 10% | – | – | – |
| 7 | 35% | 34% | 30% | 1% | – |
| 9 | 25% | 25% | 39% | 10% | 1% |
| 10 | 20% | 30% | 30% | 15% | 5% |
Data: wikily and MetaBot (they agree).
Analysis, locks and presets
- The padlock locks a slot. A locked stat stays the same on the next analysis, but every lock makes analysis more expensive (Game8, Grobs, Drybear, mein-mmo, wikily). A locked slot also gives no EXP (wikily, BurstsMMO).
- Lock nothing before level 10. Every source we read says the same: push the board to 10 and ignore what rolls. Only then hunt for good stats and lock them (Grobs, Drybear, mein-mmo, BurstsMMO).
- Presets. The board has 3 presets. The level is shared, but each preset keeps its own rolled stats, so you can have one setup for PvE and one for PvP (Drybear, FRESHY).
- A perfect board is close to impossible. Grobs suggests a "good enough" setup on all five boards first, then rolling a better one later in a second preset.
Which stats should you aim for?
Sources agree on the direction: offense before defense. Game8 ranks them Double Chance, Attack Bonus, Boss Attack, Critical Hit, Accuracy Bonus, Defense Bonus. FRESHY and BurstsMMO look for Smite and damage boosts in the best slots, and rate Accuracy and Evasion highly for PvP.
Two notes:
- Stats named after a genus (for example damage against Cogni) only work on monsters of that genus (Game8, FRESHY).
- Global got a rebuilt Genus Insight panel (less offense, more defense), so take Korean "best stats" guides with a grain of salt (Global vs Korea).
Where do you get Soul Crystals?
Each genus has its own crystal color, plus a plain Soul Crystal (rainbow) that works on any board (Grobs, Drybear, wikily).
| Source | What it gives | Who says so |
|---|---|---|
| souls of a level 3 pet | crystals of its genus | Grobs, Drybear, FRESHY, mein-mmo |
| Duty Missions | crystals, Special included | Grobs, Drybear, mein-mmo |
| Hidden Cubes | crystals and soul bundles | Grobs, Drybear, MetaBot |
| pet collection (5, 10, 20… pets) | 100 Soul Crystals at almost every milestone | wikily, MetaBot |
| Shugo Festival shop | crystals every month | Playnews (BurstsMMO in Korea too) |
Save rainbow crystals for the Special board. You can farm Cogni, Fera, Natura and Varian crystals from monsters, but not Special ones, because those pets don't exist in the world (Grobs, Drybear, mein-mmo, FRESHY).
The Duty Missions limit is shared per server, so an alt does not give you a second pool (details in the daily and weekly checklist). Alts are still useful for farming souls, because the collection is shared.
Pet Transform: how does it work?
Transform turns your character into your equipped pet for 5 minutes (300 seconds). Requirements:
- The pet is at level 3 (105 souls).
- The pet is equipped.
- You use one Empathy Candy per transformation.
Sources: Game8, Destructoid, Playnews, Power Up Gaming.
Where to get Empathy Candy:
- pet collection: 10 at 50, 100, 150 and 200 pets owned (wikily, MetaBot, Game8),
- Shugo Festival shop: 20 Centuryroot Tokens each; the festival opens at level 13 (Game8, Destructoid, Playnews).
Special pets (such as the Black Dragon) cannot transform (MetaBot, Game8, Destructoid). Sources describe Transform as a change of look and movement. None of them lists combat stats, so don't treat it as a buff.
Pets vs mounts: what's the difference?
In Aion 2 they are one system. A mount is simply the pet you have equipped (MetaBot, GamesFuze).
- All mounts are equally fast. In the client every mount has the same speeds, so there is no "fastest mount" (MetaBot, Power Up Gaming). Pick by looks.
- Your collection makes you faster, not your mount. Fera pets raise ground riding speed, Varian lowers the sprint cost while riding, and Natura adds Stamina (Game8, MetaBot, FRESHY).
- Pets from the paid shop and special rewards belong to the Special genus (for example the Black Dragon or Swift Lugi from the Daeva Pass shop). They have no Owned Effect and no Transform (MetaBot, Drybear). NCSOFT calls paid-shop looks purely cosmetic, so a bought pet gives no edge (is Aion 2 pay to win).
- Wings are a separate collection with their own owned bonuses (MetaBot).
Common mistakes
- Locking stats before Genus Insight level 10. You pay more for every analysis and level up more slowly.
- Spending rainbow crystals on Cogni, Fera, Natura or Varian. You can farm those. You can't farm Special.
- Farming one "best" pet. Every pet of a genus gives the same bonus, and each new pet adds another Owned Effect and more EXP.
- Running past monsters. Every kill on your route is a chance for a soul, and the collection helps all your characters.
FAQ
Does a pet have to be equipped to give stats? No. The Owned Effect works for every pet you own.
Do pets carry over to alts? Yes, on the same server. The collection and Genus Insight are shared.
Does my pet pick up loot? Only with a Pet: Auto-Loot Voucher (30 Days) (gaming.tools, Drybear). Without it you loot by hand.
How many souls does a maxed pet take? 105: 5 to unlock, 25 for level 2, 75 for level 3.
Where is the full pet list? We left it out on purpose, because it changes with patches. The game shows every pet's sources in its Source tab, and databases (such as wikily or gaming.tools) keep full lists.
