AION 2 Pets Guide: Pet Souls, Genus Insight & Transform
How AION 2 pets work on Global: Pet Souls and Insight levels, Owned Effects by genus, Genus Insight analysis and Soul Crystal costs, and the order we level them in.
AION 2 pets are your mounts and a quiet source of account-wide stats. You unlock a pet with 5 Pet Souls, raise it to Pet Insight 3 with 105 souls in total on Global servers, and every pet you own feeds its Genus Insight board. This AION 2 pets guide covers how souls and levels work, what each genus gives, how Genus Insight analysis spends your Soul Crystals and the order we level things in.
How pets work in AION 2
Your first pet comes from the main story quest around level 10, and the Pets window opens from then on. It has two tabs: Pets, where you collect and level individual pets, and Genus Insight, where you spend Soul Crystals on stat slots.
The equipped pet is your ground mount. Every other pet you own still counts, because each one adds a small Owned Effect to your character permanently. Collection and Genus Insight are shared by all characters on the same server, so the souls you farm on an alt help your main too.
Monster pets belong to one of four genera. Each genus has its own Owned Effect line and its own Genus Insight board. A fifth group, Special, holds pets from the shop, events and achievements. Special pets look good and work as mounts, but they give no Owned Effect and no Genus EXP.
Pet Souls and Pet Insight levels
Monsters that can become pets drop their own Pet Souls. The pet menu shows a source list for each pet, which is the quickest way to find where a missing one lives. The cost per level climbs fast:
AION 2 Pet Insight levels on Global (checked Nov 2, 2026)
| Step | Souls needed | Running total | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collect (Insight 1) | 5 | 5 | The pet, its mount and the first Owned Effect tier. 500 Genus EXP. |
| Pet Insight 2 | 25 | 30 | Second Owned Effect tier. 250 Genus EXP. |
| Pet Insight 3 | 75 | 105 | Full Owned Effect and Pet Transformation. 250 Genus EXP. |
| After Insight 3 | Any extra | - | Extra souls turn into Soul Crystals of that genus. |
Two numbers matter here. Collecting a pet is cheap and gives 500 Genus EXP, more than Insight 2 and 3 together. Insight 3 costs 75 souls for 250 EXP and the last stat tier. So when time is short, collect wide first and push pets to Insight 3 later.
What each pet genus gives
Every pet in a genus gives the same Owned Effect, so one more Cogni pet always adds the same stats. These are the values at Pet Insight 3, plus what a full genus adds when every monster pet in it is at Insight 3:
AION 2 pet Owned Effects by genus (Pet Insight 3)
| Genus | Per pet at Insight 3 | Full genus at Insight 3 | Who benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cogni (41 pets) | HP +30, Critical Hit +2, Might +1 | HP +1,230, Critical Hit +82, Might +41 | Every damage dealer. Our first pick. |
| Natura (48 pets) | Stamina, Critical Hit Resist +2, Precision +1 | Critical Hit Resist +96, Precision +48, plus Stamina | Precision helps everyone; Crit Resist matters in PvP. |
| Fera (65 pets) | Mount Ground Speed +3, Accuracy +2, Dexterity +1 | Ground Speed +195, Accuracy +130, Dexterity +65 | Biggest genus, so the most Genus EXP from collecting. |
| Varian (46 pets) | Mount Sprint Stamina Cost -0.3%, Evasion +2, Constitution +1 | Sprint Cost -13.8%, Evasion +92, Constitution +46 | Tanks and PvP players. |
| Special | None | None | Looks and mounts only. |
For most characters we farm in this order: Cogni, Natura, Fera, Varian. Cogni's Might and Critical Hit raise damage on every class. Natura's Precision helps accuracy and crits. Fera comes third even though its combat stats are lighter, because 65 pets make it the fastest board to level through collecting alone. Varian is last for damage dealers and higher for tanks.
Natura's Stamina value is listed differently from one data source to the next, so we leave the exact figure out until we can read it in game.
How to get pets fast
- Kill the monsters directly. Most souls come from ordinary kills. Pick camps where several different pet monsters spawn close together, so one loop works on many pets at once.
- Check the Black Cloud Merchant. The rotating stock sells pets for Kinah and changes over time. It is a cheap way to grab pets whose monsters are rare or out of the way.
- Open every chest and claim the milestones. Quests, the Daeva Pass, events and collection rewards hand out pet chests and souls. A duplicate pet from a chest becomes souls.
- Plan around enemy-faction pets. Some pets only spawn in the other faction's territory, so you collect them on Spacetime Rift visits into enemy land or buy them from the merchant.
- Finish pets that are close. A pet sitting at 25 or 30 souls is a good push target for Insight 3. One sitting at 5 souls can wait.
A pet auto-loot voucher exists and saves a lot of clicking during long sessions, but it is optional. The farming route is the same with or without it.
Genus Insight explained
Owning one pet of a genus opens its Genus Insight board. There are five boards (Cogni, Fera, Natura, Varian and Special). Each board has its own level from 1 to 10 and up to 9 stat slots, and all nine are open by level 9. Each board also has 3 presets that store different rolled stats while sharing the board level.
Board EXP comes from two places. Pets give 500 for collecting and 250 each for Insight 2 and 3, so one pet at Insight 3 is worth 1,000 EXP. Analysis gives 100 EXP for every slot it rolls. The thresholds are steep:
Genus Insight level thresholds (total EXP)
| Level | Total EXP | Level | Total EXP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 500 | 7 | 40,000 |
| 3 | 2,000 | 8 | 80,000 |
| 4 | 5,000 | 9 | 150,000 |
| 5 | 10,000 | 10 | 250,000 |
| 6 | 20,000 | - | - |
Analysis rerolls every slot you have not locked. The base price is 4 Soul Crystals and 1,000 Kinah per slot rolled. Locking a slot keeps its stat but makes each analysis far more expensive: one lock costs 12 crystals and 3,000 Kinah per analysis, four locks cost 80 crystals and 20,000 Kinah. Locked slots also give no EXP.
Higher board levels roll better grades. These odds come from client data:
Genus Insight analysis grade odds by board level
| Board level | Common | Rare | Epic | Unique | Heroic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90% | 10% | - | - | - |
| 7 | 35% | 34% | 30% | 1% | - |
| 9 | 25% | 25% | 39% | 10% | 1% |
| 10 | 20% | 30% | 30% | 15% | 5% |
This is why we do not lock early. A slot you lock at level 5 is almost certainly a low grade, and you pay the lock price on every analysis until you replace it. Roll freely to level 10, then lock the lines you want and fish for the rest.
Soul Crystals and Kinah: what maxing costs
Pets cannot carry a board to level 10 by themselves. Fera, the biggest genus, gives at most 65,000 EXP from 65 pets at Insight 3. The other 185,000 has to come from analysis. Our math across all five boards, with every monster pet already at Insight 3:
- Fera: 1,850 slot rolls. Cogni: 2,090. Natura: 2,020. Varian: 2,040. Special: 2,500, since Special pets give no EXP.
- Total: about 10,500 slot rolls, which is roughly 42,000 Soul Crystals and 10.5 million Kinah with no locks.
- Without pets the bill rises to about 50,000 crystals and 12.5 million Kinah, which is why collecting comes first.
Crystals come from souls past Insight 3, pet collection milestones, Hidden Cubes, Duty Missions and the daily Odylium Repository, which shares its entries with Daeva Bio-Research Base. The Shugo Festival shop is worth checking each rotation too. Spend Kinah with this in mind: 10 million for the full set is a real chunk of a farming week, and our Kinah farming guide covers where it comes from.
Pet Transformation and the Unbound by Genus title
At Pet Insight 3 you can transform into your equipped pet for 5 minutes. Each transformation uses one Empathy Candy, which you get from collection milestones every 50 pets or buy for 20 Centuryroot Tokens at the Shugo Festival shop. You keep your skills while transformed but cannot mount. Players report no stat gain, so treat it as a cosmetic and fun extra. Special pets cannot be used for it.
The long-term goal is the Unbound by Genus title, which needs all five boards at level 10. Equipped, it gives PvE Damage Boost +4.5%, Attack Bonus +34 and Critical Hit +68, and just owning it adds PvE Damage Boost +1%. In one player's test, swapping it in for a blue title added about 1,000 Combat Power. Expect it to take weeks of crystals for most players.
Our pet plan, step by step
- Collect every cheap pet near your usual farming routes first. Each one is 500 Genus EXP for 5 souls.
- Push Cogni pets to Insight 3, then Natura. These two give the most combat stats per soul.
- Analyze each board with no locks whenever you have spare crystals. Every slot rolled is 100 EXP.
- Keep 1 to 2 million Kinah aside for analysis so gear upgrades are never blocked by it.
- From board level 9, start locking the best Epic and Unique lines and fish for Heroic ones at level 10.
- Finish Fera and Varian, then grind Special by analysis for Unbound by Genus.
If your Combat Power is the real target, pets are one of several levers. Our Combat Power guide shows how pet stats compare with gear, Daevanion and other sources.
AION 2 pet and progression services
Pet Leveling
- Level 1 to 3
- Genus Insight Add-on
- Multiple Pets
Genus Insight Leveling
- Insight 1 to 10
- All 4 Genus
- Stat Slots Unlocked
Combat Power Boost
- Up to 180K CP
- Story & Traces Add-ons
- Piloted by PROs
Shugo Festival
- 100 to 1,000 Tokens
- Event Rewards Kept
- Piloted by PROs
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get pets in AION 2?
Your first pet comes from the main story quest around level 10. After that, monsters drop their own Pet Souls, and 5 souls unlock that pet. Pets also come from the Black Cloud Merchant, chests, events, the Daeva Pass and collection milestones.
How many Pet Souls do you need to max a pet in AION 2?
105 on Global servers: 5 to collect the pet, 25 more for Pet Insight 2 and 75 more for Pet Insight 3. Souls you get after Insight 3 turn into Soul Crystals for that genus.
What is the best pet genus in AION 2?
For most damage dealers Cogni comes first because it gives Might, Critical Hit and HP. Natura is next for Precision. Fera has the most pets, so it levels its Genus Insight board fastest. Varian gives Constitution and Evasion and suits tanks and PvP players. Special pets give no stats.
Are AION 2 pets shared between characters?
Yes. Pets, their Insight levels and Genus Insight boards are shared by every character on the same server, so souls farmed on an alt also help your main.
Should I lock slots in Genus Insight?
Not while the board is low level. Locks raise the cost of every analysis and locked slots give no EXP. Low levels mostly roll Common and Rare lines, so roll without locks until level 9 or 10, then lock the lines you want to keep.
What does the Unbound by Genus title give?
It needs all five Genus Insight boards at level 10. Equipped, it gives PvE Damage Boost +4.5%, Attack Bonus +34 and Critical Hit +68. Owning it adds PvE Damage Boost +1% even when another title is equipped.
Related AION 2 guides
Pets sit next to several other progression systems. Our Combat Power guide puts them in context, the Kinah farming guide covers the Kinah that analysis eats, and the daily and weekly checklist helps you fit Odylium Repository and the Shugo Festival into your routine. For help with the farming itself, see our Pet Leveling and Genus Insight Leveling services.