How damage works: stat buckets, Smite and the formula

NC hasn't published Aion 2's damage formula. This is the community's working model, tested by the streamer kanonxo and the Korean channel Aion Research Lab, and confirmed apart from where multi-hit sits. The per-stat numbers come from Korea's endgame, where characters carry far more stats than anyone will at global launch.

The short version

• Offensive stats, best to worst per point: Smite, front/back damage boost, weapon damage boost, critical damage boost, then damage boost.
• Flat attack, best to worst: Attack, Max Attack, Attack Bonus, then PvE and boss attack.
• Combat speed is always worth stacking. Ping takes a big bite out of it.
• Hit your accuracy and crit targets first. A miss or a lost crit costs more than most upgrades add.

Why stats sit in buckets

Stats inside a stage add together, then the stages multiply each other. That's why two "+1%" stats can be worth very different amounts.

Damage boost, PvE, boss and species damage boost all share one bucket, and endgame characters already carry well over 100% of it, so one more point barely moves the total. Smite and front/back damage boost each sit alone in their own.

attack = ((pure attack × weapon damage boost × multi-hit × power shard) + attack bonus)
         × attack increase
         + PvE, boss, species and positional attack

damage = (attack × skill coefficient − (defense − penetration) × 0.1)
         × (damage boost + PvE + boss + species damage boost)
         × critical damage × Smite × perfect × front/back damage boost

Pure attack isn't a stat you'll find in game. It's the attack from your weapon, guard and accessories, attack stat lines, mana stones and closet — the part weapon damage boost multiplies. The Attack figure on your character sheet leaves weapon damage boost out.

Diminishing returns

Smite gives each hit a chance to deal double. With no Smite, 100 hits deal 100 damage; at 1% Smite, 101. Once you already Smite half the time, 100 hits deal 150 and the next point adds 0.67%.

Every multiplier behaves this way, which is why a balanced build beats one maxed stat.

What each stat is worth

Measured on an ideal Korean endgame build, with support buffs:

Global characters start with less of everything, so early on the gaps are wider — especially front/back damage boost, which starts at zero. For the same numbers run per class, see stat weights.

Accuracy and crit targets

Accuracy cancels a target's block point for point. The chance to be parried tops out at 80%, which takes a 1,200-point gap, so every 100 accuracy you're short costs roughly 6–7% more parries. Critical hit against critical resist follows the same curve and the same 80% cap.

Approximate totals for Korean raids. PvE accuracy and block penetration count toward them, so your character sheet will read lower:

Skill passives add critical chance on top. If a skill already crits 80% of the time, a crit-chance perk on it is wasted.

Defense, tolerance and endurance

• Defense removes 10% of its value as flat damage in PvE, and 1% in PvP. Penetration only lowers that defense first, so it's a weak stat.
• Damage tolerance cancels its matching damage boost. Bosses have no front/back, weapon, crit or multi-hit boosts, so those tolerances do nothing in PvE.
• Endurance is a chance to take half damage. Bosses have no endurance penetration, so the value on your sheet is your real chance.

Combat speed and ping

More hits means more of everything else. Combat speed also depends on your connection and frame rate: in testing, a 150–200 ms ping difference cost a large share of damage, and hit Templar, Brawler and Assassin about equally. Spiritmaster may be the exception, since its spirits keep attacking.

Calculator

It leaves out defense, multi-hit, perfect and skill coefficients, and assumes 25% boss critical-damage resistance and 75% positional uptime.

Sources

• kanonxo, Aion 2 PvE and progression guide, chapter on how stats work (updated Aug 23, 2026)
• Aion Research Lab (YouTube), who worked out much of the formula with kanonxo