AION 2 Templar Leveling Build 1–45: Skills, Stigmas, Daevanion

The Templar is AION 2's main tank: Longsword, Shield and the highest threat in the game. Alone in the open world it levels slowly, because its damage is modest, but it is very hard to kill, and that makes for a calm climb. This Templar leveling build takes a Shield Tank from level 1 to the Season 1 cap of 45 on the Global servers, with the skill order most guides agree on, the four stigmas top PvE players pick, and a Daevanion order that ranks up your main attacks first.

Who this build is for

This build suits a player who wants the whole story without many deaths and plans to tank Expeditions at the cap. A Templar survives pulls that would end a fragile Sorcerer and reaches 45 already used to holding a boss.

What it gives up is speed. Tier lists rate the Templar the best tank but put its PvE damage in the lower half, and the usual fast solo picks are Ranger, Gladiator, Spiritmaster and Assassin. For the quickest run to 45, play one of those; for a safe one that ends as a group's favourite tank, play this.

Skills and Stigmas

Press and rank up your skills in this order. It is the most widely used leveling priority; one other guide moves Vicious Strike and Warding Strike ahead of Judgment, so treat the middle as flexible.

Skip Flash Rampage early; it adds little to a solo loop. Poach (level 1, 15-second cooldown) earns a bar slot: with its specialization it resets on a kill, which speeds up packs of weak mobs. For passives, raise Enhance Health, then Insulting Roar, then Fury, which becomes the best once you have gear and must be switched on by hand.

Stigmas

Stigmas open at level 22 with the Ascension quest "The One Who Hears the Voice" (one guide says 23). Global gives four slots, at 22, 27, 32 and 37:

1. Taunt: the most-picked Templar stigma among top players; level it first.
2. Empyrean Lord's Punishment: the second most common pick.
3. Battlefield Banner: 90-second cooldown, turns Defense into Attack for 10 seconds.
4. Doom Shield: the dash that closes your opener.

Leveling gives only about 30 Stigma Shard points by 45, so put nearly all of them into Taunt. Stigmas can be swapped only out of combat.

As an aside, one guide suggests Doom Shield, Noble Armor, Executing Blade and Empyrean Lord's Punishment for pure mob grinding. Guides disagree on whether Executing Blade exists on Global at all, so check your Stigma tab first; for leveling, the set above is the safer default.

Daevanion

The boards open at level 12. You earn about 4 points per level, plus 2 Daevanion Crystals per Sealed Dungeon first clear and 1 per regional quest, roughly one full board by 45, so order matters.

Blue nodes (3 points) rank up an active skill; take the ones for Judgment, Pummel, Annihilate, Warding Strike and Punishment as they come into reach, plus the orange corner tiles on your path.

Stats and gear

Guides disagree on Templar stats: one ranks Accuracy, Combat Speed, Attack, then Block; another puts damage boosts first and Combat Speed last; a pure tank guide puts Defense on top and Attack at the bottom. For leveling: Accuracy until you stop missing, then Combat Speed and Attack, then Defense and Block. Precision feeds Accuracy, Might feeds Attack, and Dexterity feeds Block.

Take whichever Longsword and Shield has the higher Item Level and enchant the weapon first; one guide suggests stopping at about +5 until 45. Krao Cave's Exploration mode asks for Item Level 200.

How to play it

Open hard, then cycle the short cooldowns. Skip any step you have not unlocked yet.

1. Pop Battlefield Banner so the opener lands inside its 10-second window.
2. Taunt, then charge Punishment to level 3 and release it.
3. Close in with Doom Shield, or Shield Rush until it is slotted.
4. Cycle Judgment, Warding Strike, Shield Smite and Pummel, with Annihilate when it is up.
5. Use Vicious Strike when MP runs low, and Poach on weak mobs in a pack.
6. Switch Fury on once you have the gear for it.

If the action camera feels busy, AION 1 Mode in the settings gives you classic tab-targeting instead of the default AION 2 Mode.

Where to level

Episode quests give about 97–99 percent of all EXP to 45, so stay on the gold main quests and leave only when the Ascension Gauge stops the story at 22 and 32. Follow the Elyos leveling route 1–20 through Poeta and Verteron or the Asmodian leveling route 1–20 through Ishalgen and Altgard. From level 20 the Krao Cave Expedition guide is where a Templar shines, since a tank is always welcome. Between 30 and 39, clear the Sealed Dungeons on your route; the story covers only about 70 percent of the EXP there.

Running it with AionBot

Open Leveling, set From to your level and To to your next milestone, and keep Accept and turn in quests, Teleport via Kibelisks, Move to the next region by level and Sell junk when the cube is full on. The bot does not change your gear, so equip upgrades yourself: you want the Longsword and Shield, not a two-hander. In Combat, pick Templar under Class; a Templar can run HP potion below low, around 35–45 percent, and Rest below MP around 30 percent thanks to Vicious Strike. Order the Rotation like the priority above, tick Battlefield Banner and the other Stigma skills in it, and keep Keep buffs up on. Watch XP / hour to see when you have drifted off the story.

At 45, remember that the Market's hidden Trust level drops on bot-like behaviour. Automation breaks NCSOFT's rules for AION 2, the game runs its own anti-cheat (NCGuard), and NC banned tens of thousands of accounts in the October 2026 ban waves, so never bot on an account you cannot afford to lose.

FAQ

Is the Templar good for leveling solo in AION 2?

It is safe rather than fast. A Templar is very hard to kill but slower than a Ranger, Gladiator, Spiritmaster or Assassin, and since the story gives almost all the EXP, the gap is smaller than it sounds.

Which stigma should I level first?

Taunt, the most-picked Templar stigma and the one most guides level first. Leveling gives only about 30 Stigma Shard points, so spreading them over four stigmas leaves all of them weak.

Should I use the solo farming stigmas instead?

Only for long grinding sessions, and only if Executing Blade appears in your Stigma tab, since guides disagree on whether Global has it. For quests and Expeditions, the PvE set is better.