Aion 2: how the economy works — Kina, Quna, Marketplace and $15 subscription

Aion 2 opens its early access on September 30, 2026 and its global service on October 5. Seven weeks out from the deadline, the question that comes up most on French-speaking forums is neither about classes nor about system requirements: it's about the bill. And the answer is more nuanced than what's read almost everywhere.

The game is indeed free-to-play: its Steam page (application 3393110) states it in black and white, and NCsoft keeps repeating that no purchase is necessary to download the client and play. However, the optional monthly subscription at $15 — announced at €15 on the European side by JeuxOnLine — doesn't just add convenience: it opens access to the Marketplace and to the exchange between the two currencies. In other words, it doesn't condition access to the game, it conditions access to the economy.

This guide sorts things out: what each currency pays for, exactly what the subscription unlocks, what remains doable for free, and by what routes Korean players have been filling their purse since November 2025 — routes largely transposable to the Western launch.

Kinah and Quna: two currencies, two logics

Aion 2 runs on two currencies with deliberately similar names — and that's the first trap for an English speaker.

A note on terminology, since two spellings are circulating: the global version writes Kina, without a final "h," and that's the spelling JeuxOnLine uses ("the Kina," "the Quna," feminine in French). The "kinah" that veterans remember comes from the first Aion and doesn't apply here. Since no French client of Aion 2 has been released — official screenshots still show an English interface — these are the labels that stand for now.

What exactly the $15 subscription unlocks

NCsoft detailed its business model in an official "Team Update" note published on July 8, 2026 on Aion 2's announcements forum. The monthly membership, single-tier and without multiple levels unlike in Korea, grants four things:

• Access to the Marketplace, the game's auction house. Prices there are set by players, not by the studio, and all transactions are settled in Kina.
• Access to the Exchange, which allows converting Quna to Kina and vice versa, player to player.
• A subscriber-only shop, account-wide, where certain essential items are purchased with Kina — a point often overlooked in summaries.
• "Additional gameplay benefits" that NCsoft still hasn't detailed as of August 9, 2026.

The consequence, pointed out bluntly in MMORPG.com's analysis, is harsh to state but useful to understand: without a membership, the only Kina you'll see come your way is what naturally drops from progression. You can stockpile materials, duplicate gear, gathering resources — you just can't sell them. This isn't a marginal slowdown, it's the removal of any economic leverage.

Good news announced during the first global livestream on August 8: all Founder's Packs now include 30 days of subscription, and this addition is retroactive for those who had already purchased their pack. Day-one buyers will therefore start early access with the Marketplace open.

What you can do without paying a cent

The list is longer than people say. Without a subscription, you can download the game, create your characters, follow the campaign, chain through dungeons, level up your professions, fly, and take part in PvP and the Abyss. The free track of the Daeva Pass, the in-house battle pass, is open to everyone; only the premium track is paid for in Quna, and each pass is purchased per character, never for the whole account.

NCsoft states that the shop focuses on cosmetics — outfits, wings, pets, weapon skins — with no effect on stats, and that its consumables (resurrection, recovery) can also be obtained by playing. That's the official stance; MMORPG.com doubts that the free acquisition rate will be enough in the late game. This will need to be verified firsthand after October 5.

Two auction houses, and a schedule worth knowing

Contrary to what one might imagine, Aion 2 won't have a single Marketplace but two tiers of trading, specified by NCsoft in a second notice on July 17:

• a server market, limited to players on your own server;
• a cross-server market, which will cover all servers within the same region.

In both cases, transactions are made in Kina. The cross-server market, however, will not open immediately: NCsoft will wait until servers have reached "a comparable stage" of progression. Expect considerable price gaps between servers in the first few weeks, followed by a sharp convergence on the day markets are merged — a timeline worth keeping an eye on if you're stockpiling rare materials.

Another safeguard announced back in July: during early access, the markets of Founder servers and those of launch servers will remain separate for a period of time, precisely to prevent a five-day head start from crushing the economy of newcomers arriving on October 5. In short: prices observed between September 30 and October 4 say nothing about what to expect at general launch.

The Kina/Quna Exchange: playing a lot to pay less

The mechanism is reminiscent of Guild Wars 2's gems, another NCsoft Group franchise: those with time sell their in-game currency to those with money, and vice versa. No automated system is involved—prices are set by supply and demand.

On the Korean side, where the system has been running since November 2025, the process happens in two steps. The Market (거래소) and the Quna Exchange (큐나 교환소) are two separate interfaces: to obtain Quna, you must first convert your Kina into "boxes"—three denominations according to Inven's community guides—then list them for sale on the exchange at whatever price you want. There's no guarantee the global version will replicate this exact setup, but it's the reference model, and it explains how a dedicated player can access the premium currency without ever pulling out a credit card.

The downside is that the conversion also works the other way around. Since the best PvE gear is crafted and resold on the Marketplace, anyone who buys Quna can turn it into Kina, and therefore into pieces of gear. That's the central criticism leveled at the model: NCsoft isn't selling power in the cash shop, but it's letting players sell it to each other. It's up to you to decide whether the nuance sits well with you.

Kina sinks: where your wallet really goes

Understanding Aion 2's economy mainly means understanding what drains it. The main sink is gear enchantment, which goes up to +15: costs rise exponentially past +10, and every failed attempt burns both the materials and the Kina invested. Then come crafting, magic stone engraving and soul engraving — Korean guides all agree on one point: you're structurally running a deficit, even when playing a lot.

On top of that come the Marketplace's own fees: a listing fee, followed by a commission taken on the transaction, in the range of 10% according to MMORPG.com. Never calculate a margin without deducting them.

How Korea earns its Kina

The revenue sources catalogued by the Korean specialized press (Gametoc) give a fairly precise picture of what awaits you. The French names cited here are working translations: the French client doesn't exist yet, and the final labels may differ.

• Expedition and Transcendence (원정 / 초월). The two most profitable dungeon categories: once the dungeon is cleared, you open cubes with Ode energy, and those cubes spit out large sums of Kina. The most stable source, but capped by the number of rewards and the day's energy reserve.
• Reselling unique gear dropped in dungeons. Items you can't wear, or that you have duplicates of, are often worth more on the Marketplace than in your bag — a duplicate can also be used to replace a soul engraving option on a piece already equipped.
• Outdoor hunting, once your dungeon entries are used up. Be careful: Korea caps the Kina that can be recovered each day from field monsters, with a daily reset at 5 a.m. High monster-density zones pay off noticeably better, and a common trick is to run through the first Transcendence tier while skipping the boss in order to farm only regular monsters.
• Abyss supply orders. You deliver items in exchange for enchantment stones and Abyss points. But a high-rarity item that's requested often earns more when resold on the Marketplace than when delivered — especially for urgent orders, which are demanding but very well rewarded.
• Alt characters. Each has its own entries, and therefore its own cubes, with Kina flowing back to the main character through the warehouse. With the four character slots confirmed for the global launch, the margin is real — but a Korean update now requires a minimum combat contribution to open a cube, which rules out passive piloting.

Should you get the subscription?

Three scenarios. If you're coming to try Aion 2 out of curiosity, playing solo, with no intention of pushing your gear, the subscription won't get you anything: play for free and decide afterward. If you plan to chain dungeons, craft, enchant beyond +10, and take part in competitive PvP, not having membership condemns you to playing with one hand tied behind your back, since you'll be able to neither sell what you produce nor buy what you're missing. Finally, if you picked up a Founder's Pack, you get thirty days free: treat them as a full-scale trial period during early access, and see whether the Marketplace really changes your progression curve before renewing.

One last habit to adopt, starting September 30: keep track of what you're stockpiling without being able to sell it. A month of subscription taken at the right time, when your stock is full and the cross-server market has just opened, is worth more than twelve months taken reflexively from day one. NCsoft, moreover, still hasn't specified, as of August 9, 2026, what happens to sales already listed when a membership expires: that's the point to watch for between now and launch.