Wings Over Atreia: A quick guide to Aion 4.0 dungeons

Last time, when sharing my initial impressions of Aion Dark Betrayal, I mentioned how the expansion was so big that there was no way one Wings Over Atreia could cover it all. Well, that's putting it mildly; there's no way two or ten can, either! in fact, I am still finding gems tucked away both in game and in the patch notes, so we'll definitely have plenty to discuss for a while. This week, we're going to try to make a dent in that pile of topics by grabbing one and just running with it. Up this week: 4.0 dungeons.

Now, this guide is not going to delve deeply into tips, tricks, or strategies for Aion's newest dungeons. Instead, it's concerned with the who, the where, and the why, offering a synopsis of each new instance and a look at the lore behind it. Heck, with 12 new dungeons, that's about all we could fit in -- and only half of them at that! Check out six of these new dungeons now, and stay tuned for the second half of our guide next time.

Steel Rose

One of only two instances available for the under max level crowd, Steel Rose is open to all Daevas level 61 and over. Captained by Rumankiki, who left the Steal beard pirates to form her own gang, the pirate ship Steel Rose is offering mercenary support in Pandarunerk's Delve from the Steel Rake (yes, that same ship you boarded as a level 40 Daeva). Alas, there is suspicious activity on board that must be investigated.

Like Steel Rake, Steel Rose has solo and group instances, with a max group size being three. The Cargo and Quarters can both be run solo as well as in a group; however, both group versions share the same cool-down time as their respective solo versions. Steel Rose Deck is for groups only. There are no prerequisites to get inside; entrance is gained via Yukarunerk (Cargo), Kikorinrinerk (Quarters), and Tocharunerk (Deck) in Danaria. The cool-down timer for all versions is 70 hours.

Kamar Battlefield

The only other instance for Daevas below level 65 is Kamar Battlefield, which is like a Dredgion for the high-level crowd, although it is fought amidst the ruined wastes of the city Kamar instead of in a Dredgion in the sky. How was the city destroyed? By a Dredgion dispatched by Beritra to take the city by surprise as the Asmodians, Elyos, and Reians fought and vied for power amongst themselves.

In Kamar Battlefield, two 12-man alliances of matching levels fight against each other as well as mobs in a timed 30-minute battle. This instance is only available Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT, and entrance is via the button that pops up on the bottom right of the players screen. KB has a 48-hour cool-down.

The remaining dungeons are all for levels 65 (or even 65+, reminding players that 65 won't be the level cap forever). They are all single group instances unless otherwise noted.

Danuar Mysticarium

A secret place inside Sillus Fortress, Danuar Mysticarium was once an ancient Danuar library filled with knowledge about Ide, Idium, and Idgel, but it now houses Beritra's intelligence unit. Besides the actual library, the Mysticarium also sports an Idgel storage and a test subject prison, where kidnapped Atreian and Balaurean creatures are subjected to heinous biological experiments involving the injection of Idgel. The Daevas' task is to snatch important data from Research Center Chairman Nautius himself, but they must do so before he destroys it and flees.

Danuar Mysticarium is one of the fortress instances and as such is only available to the race that holds Sillus Fortress in Katalam. The conquering legion also gets a special instance of Danuar Mysticarium; however, the two versions share the same 70-hour cool-down.

One thing to note in both this and other the other fortress instance is that points are acquired by collecting gatherables as well as hunting monsters. The boss can then be fought at different difficulty levels, with more points granted for ascending difficulty levels. Oh, and did I mention the fight is timed? Also, if you don't see the boss when you come to him, it could be because you haven't cleared the instance yet.

Danuar Reliquary

Danuar Reliquary, hidden in Idian Depths, is where the Danuar witch Modor sequestered herself in her grief after the loss of her only son. There, she focused on trying to return her child to life, and the halls are filled with the ghostly spirits called in by her attempts. Any trespassers are said to face the witch's spite.

While there are no quest prerequisites, Danuar Reliquary can be accessed only if Daevas of the appropriate level have a Danuar Reliquary Waykey. Waykeys are created from designs acquired from the Special Morph Distributor NPC that appears when your race occupies the Icethorn Frontier Post and materials dropped by mobs in all three new zones.

The instance is located at the top center of the Idian Depths map and is open from 10:00 a.m. EDT to the same time the next day on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The cool-down is a hefty 118 hours (unless, of course, you purchase cool-down timer scrolls from the Black Cloud Marketplace).

Danaur Sanctuary

And just in case you didn't realize how steeped in Danuar culture these dungeons are, here's the Danuar Sanctuary. All the important folks in Danuar society were buried in this place, often with their worldly riches. But other treasure is also hidden within this labyrinth -- a manual containing many secrets of using Idgel. Of course, Beritra has forces after this knowledge, and Daevas must beat them -- as well as the Chir Grave Robbers -- to it.

To get into Danaur Sanctuary, travel to the Ide Mine Alpha in the Idian Depths. Like Danuar Reliquary, this dungeon is open from 10:00 a.m. EDT to the same time the next day, but this time Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. and Sunday. And again, the cool-down is 118 hours.

Idgel Research Center

The second fortress instance is Idgel Research Center, reached via Pradeth Fortress by whichever faction holds it. A secret laboratory once controlled by Tiamat but now by Beritra, the facility is stocked full of everything necessary to research the energy source of the ancient Danuar weapons -- Ide. As expected, Beritra is experimenting on many creatures and Reians in his quest to tame this power source, and Daevas need to get in and free the test subjects.

Just like the other fortress instance, Idgel Research Center has a separate instance for the conquering legion which shares the same 70-hour cool-down timer as the faction-wide one. The other shared characteristics include obtaining points for gathering as well as hunting, different difficulty levels for the boss, and no boss spawn until the entire zone is cleared.

Soaring through the Aionosphere, MJ Guthrie touches down biweekly to bring you Wings Over Atreia. Featuring tips, guides, and general snippets of life in Aion, the column is better than Tutty-on-a-stick, ackackackackackack! Have a suggestion to share? No need to bribe a Shugo -- just send mail to mj@massively.com.