At a glance
| Trait | Gladiator |
|---|---|
| Role | Melee bruiser: sustained damage, off-tank |
| Excels at | Clearing packs, sticking to one target, small-scale PvP |
| Struggles with | Kiting, chained crowd control, falling behind on gear |
| Difficulty | Simple rotation, heavy gear investment |
How Gladiator wins fights
Gladiator closes the gap and stays there. Wide cleaves make it one of the fastest classes through trash, lifesteal and mana-on-crit keep it swinging, and it can take pressure off the tank in a group. In PvP it's best in small fights.
- One skill carries the class. Overhead Slam can be well over half your total damage, so its skill level matters more than almost any stat on your sheet.
- Gear changes the class. Most of your power comes from progression systems, not your hotbar.
Stats to prioritise
On gear, lean on Might for attack and Precision for accuracy and critical hits. Behind those:
| Stat | Why |
|---|---|
| Double ChanceKorea calls this Smite | A chance to deal double damage. Strongest offensive stat in the game |
| Front/back damage boost | Its own multiplier, and you're melee, so it's free value |
| Weapon damage boost | Scales the attack on your weapon, guard, accessories and stat lines |
| Combat speed | More swings per second, though ping eats a lot of it |
| Critical damage boost | Worth a bit less to you, because Murderous Burst already raises it |
| Damage boost | Filler. Shares a crowded bucket with PvE, boss and species boosts |
Crit chance is dead last, and this is the one that surprises people. Overhead Slam always crits, so a point is worth +0.20% to you against +0.61% for an Assassin. Under a third. The stat weights guide has the rest of the numbers.
For flat attack, Attack beats Max Attack, which beats Attack Bonus. Hit the accuracy and crit targets for your content before chasing any of it. The damage guide lists them.
Skills
Active skills reach level 10 with Wisdom Stones. Every level beyond that comes from ring stat lines, Arcana cards and the Daevanion boards. Levels also unlock Specialty perks: three options and one slot at level 8, a fourth option and second slot at 12, a fifth option at 16, and the third slot at 20.
| Skill | What it does | Why |
|---|---|---|
 Overhead SlamPvE and PvP | Deals 174-174 damage to a target afflicted with Knockdown within 4m and increases Enmity. Has a 7% chance to trigger when attacking a target with Incapacitated Immunity. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage | Your spam skill: a guaranteed crit that chains into itself. |
 Ruinous BlowPvE and PvP | Rushes to a target within 7.5m to deal 2387-2387 damage to up to 4 enemies nearby and grants Prepare for Battle for 20s. Prepare for Battle: Increases PvE Damage Boost by 20%, PvP Damage Boost by 10%, Critical Hit by 100, and Status Effect Chance by 15% 25 Stagger Gauge Damage | Ignores block and evasion, and speeds up your skills. |
 Rending BlowPvE and PvP | Deals 70-70 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and increases Enmity. 2 Stagger Gauge Damage | Restores 50 MP when it crits. Your whole sustain runs on it. |
 Leaping SlamPvE and PvP | Leaps to a target within 20m and deals 70-70 damage. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage | AoE hit that doubles as your way into a fight. |
 Crushing WavePvE | Deals 206-206 damage to up to 4 enemies within 5m of the caster. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage | Second AoE for packs. |
 Mocking BladePvP | Deals 207-207 damage to a target within 4m and inflicts Knockdown for 3s. Changes skill motion when attacking targets with Incapacitated Immunity. 15 Stagger Gauge Damage | Opens fights. |
 Rush StrikePvP | Moves to a target within 10m and deals 330-330 damage with a 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s after using [Dodge] or while flying. 100% chance to inflict Knockdown on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage | Extra pressure in PvP. |
 Ankle SlicePvP | Selects a target within 4m and deals 294-294 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m with a 50% chance to inflict Root for 3s on Block. 100% chance to inflict Root on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage | Extra control in PvP. |
A common PvP opener is Mocking Blade, then Leaping Slam, then Rage Burst.
Once your main actives reach 20, move to your key passives. Top Korean players push their most important ones into the 25–30 range.
Stigmas
Stigmas are long-cooldown skills. The Korean client allows six equipped; global may allow fewer at launch. They level with Stigma Shards up to 20, and every perk you've unlocked stays active. Each stigma you take to 20 also earns a Superior Stigma Shard, which pushes your best stigmas toward 25.
| Skill | What it does | Why |
|---|---|---|
 Rage BurstPvE and PvP | Deals 1327-1327 damage to a target within 4m. Inflicts Wounded for 10s on hit, reducing the enemy's Attack by 10%, and increases the caster's PvE Damage Boost by 10% and PvP Damage Boost by 5% for 10s. Triggers [Overhead Slam] on the target for 10s on hit. Wounded does not stack with the Shrink effect from the Templar skill [Taunt] . 20 Stagger Gauge Damage | Big hit that applies Wounded and triggers Overhead Slam. |
 Lifestealing BladePvE and PvP | Deals 1522-1522 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and absorbs 10% HP. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage | Large self-heal plus a party buff. |
 Zikel's BlessingPvE and PvP | Increases the caster's Attack by 20% and Accuracy by 100 for 10s. | Self-buff that adds 100 accuracy. |
 Forced RestraintPvP | Deals 1059-1059 damage to a target within 4m with a 75% chance to inflict Seal for 5s. 100% chance to inflict Seal on NPC targets. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage | Your silence, for shutting a caster down. |
Stigma Shards come from combining Unstable Stigma Shards, which drop across PvE content, or from spending Abyss Points.
Gear and enhancement
- Enhance Unique gear to +15 and Heroic gear to +20, then add five Amp levels. Start with your weapon and guard.
- Mana stones add random extra stats, and Theostones add a small proc to your weapon. Theostones are under one percent of your damage.
- Soul binding raises the value of your stat lines. Synch Stones reroll one line; a Soul Codex: Reset book shuffles all of them.
- Most rolls are random. Transfer a good roll onto better gear instead of starting over.
The gearing guide covers which lines to chase on every slot and what survives a transfer.
Pets, wings and Arcana
- Pet Genus (Insight). Level each board to 9 before locking anything, then roll the Special Board's slot 4 for Double Chance. See the Pet Genus guide for the other boards' slot 4 stats.
- Wings. About three in four Korean Gladiators wear Eroded Wings for the front-attack bonuses. Talisra Wings are the main alternative for cooldown reduction. Every pair you own adds stats, so collect pairs you'd never equip. Enhancing them to +10 is off at global launch.
- Arcana. Global launches with five card types and two sets, Primal Vigor and Magic Armor. Early on each card's Pantheon stat beats its set bonus: favour Time (combat speed), Destruction (attack increase) and Wisdom (Double Chance). Later the Protected Soul set is the endgame pick.
Daevanion boards
Each tile grants stats or skill levels, and respeccing costs almost nothing.
- Skill-level tiles first, so Overhead Slam and your other key skills reach 12, 16 and 20.
- Then orange tiles, which carry the biggest stats: combat speed, attack bonus, cooldown reduction and boss damage.
- Blue tiles give active skills or percentage stats; green tiles give passives.
- Skip Multi-hit Resist and Critical Damage Tolerance for PvE. Bosses don't use those stats.
Progression order
- Overhead Slam to level 20, using rings, Arcana and Daevanion tiles.
- Ruinous Blade and Rending Blow to 20.
- Enhance your weapon and guard.
- Genus Special Board to 9, then its slot 4 to Double Chance.
- Rage Burst, Life Stealing Blade and Zikel's Blessing to 20.
- Damage tiles on the Daevanion boards, defensive tiles later.
- Wings, Arcana sets, and mana stones on gear you'll keep.
PvE and PvP presets
Build the two separately.
- PvE: Overhead Slam, Ruinous Blade and Rending Blow at the core, both AoE skills, damage-first stigmas. Stack Double Chance, front/back damage boost and combat speed.
- PvP: keep the core three, add Mocking Blade, Rush Strike and Ankle Slice, and slot Force Restraint. Accuracy matters more, because your targets block and evade.
Sources
- kanonxo, Aion 2 PvE and progression guide (updated Aug 23, 2026) — skill levels, stigmas, wings and stat values
- A community Gladiator class guide video, for the skill and stigma picks
- Vortex Gaming, Gladiator PvE/PvP skill and stigma build
Put this to work
Enter your class and stats to see which upgrade adds the most damage, where it comes from, and which wings to wear.
The steps that raise Combat Power while leveling and after the cap, plus your daily and weekly routine.
The stat priority for every class, where each stat comes from, and the wings to wear. No numbers to type in.
Enter your attack, crit, Double Chance and boosts to see which upgrade the community formula ranks first.