Ludra, Aion 2's 10-player Sanctuary raid, opens on global servers after maintenance on 4 November, in normal mode at item level 2,800 and hard mode at 3,000. Both modes are available from day one, and the first 20 hard-mode parties in each region earn an exclusive title.
That leaves just over a week to close the gear gap, and NC is helping with a daily Odyle Energy mail from 28 October. Checked against NC's 23 Oct "Ludra Awakens" post, the 20/21 Oct patch notes, NC's 5 Oct Sanctuary notice and NC's Korean guidebook.
Why Ludra is "returning"
Ludra was in the game during Early Access, then NC pulled it before the 5 October full launch. In its 5 Oct notice, NC said Ludra had been beaten with far less progress than it expected, so it removed the raid to rebuild the fight for global players.
- Same raid, new fight: NC says the raid's core identity stays, but global gets new and adjusted mechanics and attack patterns found only in this version.
- Early Access loot comes back: Ludra gear earned in Early Access was removed with the raid. NC says it will be returned on Ludra's return, along with any materials spent upgrading it.
- Fresh Hall of Fame: the Hall of Fame was reset for launch, so the race for first clears starts from zero.
The practical upshot: Early Access boss guides and videos describe a fight NC has changed. We don't cover boss mechanics here for that reason. Treat anything dated before 4 November as a rough sketch at best.
When Ludra opens in your time zone
NC gives the start as "after maintenance" on 4 November and hadn't posted the maintenance notice when we checked. The last two weekly maintenances started at 11:30pm Pacific on Tuesday (8:30am CEST Wednesday) and were scheduled for four and five and a half hours.
| Event | Pacific / Central Europe | AEDT |
|---|---|---|
| Ludra opens | After maintenance, 4 Nov | Not announced (late evening, 4 Nov, if the usual slot holds) |
| Login check-in starts | 6am PST / 3pm CET, 4 Nov | 1am, 5 Nov |
| Check-in ends | 11:59pm PST, 17 Nov | 6:59pm, 18 Nov |
| Hard-mode race ends | Before maintenance, 24 Nov PST | Not announced (about 6:30pm, 25 Nov, if the usual slot holds) |
Normal vs hard: which mode to aim for
NC's post only sets the entry gates (its Korean guidebook lists 2,700 for KR/TW, so global's bar is higher). With no per-mode loot list, the day-one difference is the item level you need and whether you're chasing titles.
Normal versus Hard
- Top 20 titles: the first hard-mode party per region gets "Conqueror of Ludra" (10 players), parties 2–5 get "Champion of Ludra" (40 players) and parties 6–20 get "Challenger of Ludra" (150 players). These three titles have a purple effect.
- Everyone else: any normal or hard clear inside the event window earns "Ludra Hunter". Titles arrive by 2 December, 11:59pm PST.
What Ludra drops
NC's global post doesn't publish a loot table for the reworked raid. NC's Korean guidebook, written for the KR/TW version, lists the main rewards as Ludra's weapons, Ludra's bracelet, the Abyss bracelet and crafting materials, with the Kina from Ludra's cube paid as bound Kina.
- Reward count: the KR guidebook gives one final-boss kill count, and you can't enter once it's used. The datamine site aion2maps listed it as weekly during Early Access.
- Odyle Energy: loot comes from a reward cube opened with Odyle Energy. NC's global Membership text confirms subscribers get extra Odyle selections in Sanctuary cubes.
Ludra prep checklist
Most players sitting under 2,800 have the same problem: not enough runs. These steps put the 20/21 Oct patch and the Ludra events to work.
- Claim the Odyle mail every day. From the 28 Oct maintenance until the maintenance on 10 Nov PST (11 Nov CET), each character gets Odyle Energy x2 by mail daily. Mail expires after seven days, so log in at least weekly on every character.
- Farm Expedition Hard at 2,600. Krao Cave and Draupnir Hard need item level 2,600 and drop more Kina than normal, Ariel Fragments and Philosopher's Stone: Revelation, which you can pick as the guaranteed reward.
- Start the Ariel Daevanion board. Morph 100 Ariel Fragments into one Daevanion Crystal: Ariel, up to 30 times per character. Spare fragments turn into five Enhance Stones each.
- Collect Wrathful materials. Hard mode drops all of the Unique crafting materials (Wrathful Mind, Will and Ego), so Krao and Draupnir Hard cover your crafting needs too.
- Stock Resurrection Spiritstones. The "Rise to the Challenge" shop sells them for Kina until the 15 December (PST) maintenance, in two steps of 30 per server each week. These stones expire on 16 December, so spend them. NC's Korean guide caps Sanctuary revives at two per character in boss rooms, though global rules may differ.
- Log in from 4 Nov for the check-in. Seven rewards over 14 days, including 1.5 million bound Kina in total, 30,000 Abyss Points and a Lush Leaf Tiara helm.
- Leave the Twitch stream running. Ludra Twitch Drops run on the same 4 to 17 November (PST) window, and the first hour of watch time pays 15 bound Resurrection Spiritstones.
Krao Cave and Draupnir Hard clears also count toward NC's Daeva Bootcamp. Global milestones from 500,000 to 7 million dungeon clears mail every player Instant Clear Tickets, Training Arcana and Resurrection Stones.
Short on item level?
If you're still levelling, our Aion 2 power levelling has our operator play your character to 45 by hand (piloted) so the gear climb can start. Empyrean Traces levels your Monolith, and Kinah covers upgrade costs. Everything earned along the way stays yours.
- Gearing on Abyss Points: our Abyss Points guide ranks what to buy first.
- Funding upgrades: the Kinah guide covers the best earners at 45.
Ludra FAQ
Can Elyos and Asmodians raid Ludra together?
NC's Korean guidebook says Expeditions, Transcendence and Sanctuary allow mixed-faction parties, with shared party and dungeon chat. NC hasn't restated it for the reworked global raid.