AION 2 crafting materials you can't gather: Wrathful Mind, Balaur's Essence and every drop and vendor supply
Updated 2026-10-09 · checked against Global launch (client 2.0.5.0)
Most of what crafting asks for you can gather or make. The rest has to drop or be bought, and a few of those materials decide how fast you can craft at all. The hardest are the four behind the Dragon Lord gear at the top of every profession: Wrathful Mind, Wrathful Will, Wrathful Ego and Balaur’s Essence. Refining Stones have their own guide.
The short version:
- Wrathful materials are the real bottleneck. No field monster drops them, no recipe or Substance Morph makes them, and a Conquest run averages well under a tenth of one.
- Buy them in the Season Shop before 16 December. It sells 10 of each per account for Oath Coins — as many Wrathful Minds as about 170 Conquest runs.
- Farm Balaur’s Essence from named elites. Fourteen level 45 named elites in Verteron and Altgard drop it on 61% of kills; a Dragon Lord set needs 244 to 460.
- Bound copies count. A Wrathful Mind (Bound) from the shop works in every recipe the unbound one does.
What a Dragon Lord set takes
Balaur’s Essence is never used directly: every Balaur horn, scale and leather the Dragon Lord recipes ask for (Fine Thick Balaur Horn, Enhanced Hard Balaur Scale, Tanned Durable Balaur Leather and the rest) is two Essence and a vendor-bought tool or hardener. The table counts it through them. Elyos and Asmodian lines cost the same.
| Line | Pieces |  Mind |  Will |  Ego |  Essence |  Ultimate stone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Dragon Lord (Elyos) / Star Dragon Lord (Asmodian) | One weapon | 10 | — | — | 44 | 4 |
| Seven armour pieces | 31 | — | — | 134 | 15 | |
| Earrings, necklace, ring | 15 | — | — | 66 | 7 | |
| All of it | 56 | — | — | 244 | 26 | |
| White Dragon Lord (Elyos) / Dark Dragon Lord (Asmodian) | One weapon | 3 | 15 | — | 58 | 5 |
| Seven armour pieces | 14 | 48 | — | 178 | 16 | |
| Earrings, necklace, ring | 6 | 23 | — | 90 | 8 | |
| All of it | 23 | 86 | — | 326 | 29 | |
| Wise Dragon Lord (Elyos) / Ebony Dragon Lord (Asmodian) | One weapon | 3 | 3 | 20 | 82 | 6 |
| Seven armour pieces | 14 | 14 | 65 | 252 | 23 | |
| Earrings, necklace, ring | 6 | 6 | 31 | 126 | 9 | |
| All of it | 23 | 23 | 116 | 460 | 38 |
Each line leans on one Wrathful material: Mind for True / Star, Will for White / Dark, Ego for Wise / Ebony. A True Dragon Lord weapon alone is 10 Wrathful Mind; the Wise line’s full set is 116 Wrathful Ego.
Wrathful Mind, Will and Ego
The Season Shop
The Season Shop sells all three for Oath Coins, the currency of Season Missions and season rankings, until 16 December 2026:
| Item | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Wrathful Mind (Bound) | 6,250 Oath Coins | 10 per account for the season |
| Wrathful Will (Bound) | 7,500 Oath Coins | 10 per account for the season |
| Wrathful Ego (Bound) | 8,750 Oath Coins | 10 per account for the season |
The limit is per account for the whole season, so it is thirty materials in all — but thirty that would otherwise take hundreds of dungeon runs. Spend Oath Coins here before anything else on the shop’s list.
Dungeon runs
Each Expedition’s Conquest cubes favour one Wrathful material, so pick the dungeon by the line you are crafting: Krao Cave and Draupnir for Mind, Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island for Will, Fire Temple and the Ferocious Horn Den for Ego. Expected count for a full run, every cube opened:
| Dungeon | Mode | Cubes | Wrathful Mind | Wrathful Will | Wrathful Ego | Balaur's Essence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draupnir | Conquest | 3 | 0.060 | — | — | 0.50 |
| Ferocious Horn Den | Conquest | 3 | 0.010 | 0.010 | 0.040 | 0.50 |
| Fire Temple | Conquest | 3 | 0.010 | 0.010 | 0.040 | 0.50 |
| Krao Cave | Conquest | 3 | 0.060 | — | — | 0.50 |
| Urugugu Canyon | Conquest | 3 | 0.010 | 0.050 | — | 0.50 |
| Vakron Sky Island | Conquest | 3 | 0.010 | 0.050 | — | 0.50 |
| Abyssal Forge: Ludra | Normal | 1 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 1.0 |
- A Conquest run in the right dungeon averages 0.04 to 0.06 of its Wrathful material — one every 17 to 25 runs.
- Abyssal Forge: Ludra pays 0.1 of each on the final boss, once a week.
- Exploration runs and the Transcendence dungeons hold none.
Balaur’s Essence
Every Conquest run averages half an Essence and the Ludra final boss one, but the steady source is in the open world:
| Monster | Kind | Level | Where | Balaur's Essence per kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Tentacle Lawa | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Centurion Demiros | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Dark Shadow Vishwada | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Desecrator Newbold | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Divine Ansas | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Drakan Battalion Weapon Guruta | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Executioner Barthien | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Forest Warrior Aullamu | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Phantasm Kasia | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Researcher Setram | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Sentinel K'nash | Named elite | 45 | Verteron | 0.61 |
| Sharp Shylak | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Specter Archon Axios | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Visionary Karuka | Named elite | 45 | Altgard | 0.61 |
| Executor Kaira | Field boss | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 0.43 |
| Watcher Kaira | Field boss | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 0.43 |
The fourteen named elites (level 45) are spread across Verteron and Altgard, seven on each side, and each drops Balaur’s Essence on about 61% of kills. Watcher Kaira and Executor Kaira in Chaotic Lower Reshanta add 0.43 a kill — and Watcher Kaira is also one of the best Refining Stone sources in the game. Each monster’s page shows where it stands on the map.
Every other material that drops
Materials used in recipes that no node and no recipe makes, with the place where they drop most often. Each material’s page has the full list of monsters.
| Material | Recipes | Best place to farm it | Also from |
|---|---|---|---|
 Fresh Fruit | 10 | Chaotic Middle Reshanta · 4 monsters · up to 49% a kill | Found in |
 Fresh Raw Meat | 10 | Eltnen · 49 monsters · up to 9.7% a kill | Found in |
 Soft Balaur Meat | 6 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta · 25 monsters · up to 9.7% a kill | — |
 Spiritstone | 4 | Verteron · 235 monsters · up to 75% a kill | Found in |
 Sweet Balaur Berry | 4 | No drop listed | — |
 Lesser Abyssal Manastone | 2 | No drop listed | — |
 Lesser Abyssal Soulstone | 2 | No drop listed | — |
 Lesser Manastone | 2 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta · 72 monsters · up to 2% a kill | — |
 Lesser Soulstone | 2 | Chaotic Middle Reshanta · 50 monsters · up to 5% a kill | — |
 Raw Leather | 2 | Verteron · 77 monsters · up to 62% a kill | Found in |
Sweet Balaur Berry has no confirmed drop yet; the only bundle that holds it splits evenly with Soft Balaur Meat. If you have found where it drops, tell us.
Bought from a vendor
These are bound supplies sold by the crafting merchants — cheap, but a craft stops without them, so buy a stack before a long session.
| Supply | Recipes | Sold by |
|---|---|---|
 Professional Ink (Bound) | 14 | Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Sugar (Bound) | 12 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Professional Glass Bottle (Bound) | 10 | Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Salt (Bound) | 8 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Abrasive (Bound) | 6 | Handicraft Merchant (Verteron), Handicraft Merchant (Altgard) |
 Exceptional Ink (Bound) | 6 | Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Raw Triora Noodles (Bound) | 6 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Ulmus Oil (Bound) | 6 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Abex Butter (Bound) | 4 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Cheese (Bound) | 4 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Curry Powder (Bound) | 4 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Glass Bottle (Bound) | 4 | Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Soy Sauce (Bound) | 4 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Altgard Pepper (Bound) | 3 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
| Verteron Pepper (Bound) | 3 | Cooking Merchant (Verteron), Cooking Merchant (Altgard) |
 Benediction Scroll (Bound) | 2 | General Goods Merchant (Verteron), General Goods Merchant (Altgard) |
 Catalyst (Bound) | 2 | Handicraft Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Handicraft Merchant (Altgard), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Courage Scroll (Bound) | 2 | General Goods Merchant (Verteron), General Goods Merchant (Altgard) |
 Healing Potion (Bound) | 2 | General Goods Merchant (Verteron), General Goods Merchant (Altgard) |
 Intermediate Dragon Leather Softener (Bound) | 2 | Armorsmith Merchant (Verteron), Armorsmith Merchant (Altgard) |
 Intermediate Dragon Scale Hardener (Bound) | 2 | Handicraft Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Handicraft Merchant (Altgard), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Lazuli Hammer (Bound) | 2 | Blacksmith Merchant (Verteron), Blacksmith Merchant (Altgard) |
 Lesser Dragon Leather Softener (Bound) | 2 | Armorsmith Merchant (Verteron), Armorsmith Merchant (Altgard) |
 Lesser Dragon Scale Hardener (Bound) | 2 | Handicraft Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Handicraft Merchant (Altgard), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Life Potion (Bound) | 2 | General Goods Merchant (Verteron), General Goods Merchant (Poeta), General Goods Merchant (Altgard), General Goods Merchant (Ishalgen) |
 Moonstone Hammer (Bound) | 2 | Blacksmith Merchant (Verteron), Blacksmith Merchant (Altgard) |
 Orichalcum Solvent (Bound) | 2 | Blacksmith Merchant (Verteron), Armorsmith Merchant (Verteron), Blacksmith Merchant (Altgard), Armorsmith Merchant (Altgard) |
 Sandpaper (Bound) | 2 | Handicraft Merchant (Verteron), Handicraft Merchant (Altgard) |
 Speed Scroll (Bound) | 2 | General Goods Merchant (Verteron), General Goods Merchant (Altgard) |
 Superior Dragon Leather Softener (Bound) | 2 | Armorsmith Merchant (Verteron), Armorsmith Merchant (Altgard) |
 Superior Dragon Scale Hardener (Bound) | 2 | Handicraft Merchant (Verteron), Alchemy Merchant (Verteron), Handicraft Merchant (Altgard), Alchemy Merchant (Altgard) |
 Zircon Hammer (Bound) | 2 | Blacksmith Merchant (Verteron), Blacksmith Merchant (Altgard) |
Common mistakes
- Spending Oath Coins on anything else first. Ten of each Wrathful material is worth months of Conquest runs, and the offer ends with the season.
- Running the wrong dungeon. Krao Cave pays Wrathful Mind six times as often as Fire Temple does; Fire Temple is where Ego comes from.
- Starting a Dragon Lord piece without the Essence. It goes in through the Balaur horn, scale and leather — a True Dragon Lord weapon is 44 Balaur’s Essence before the Wrathful Mind.
- Ignoring the named elites. They are the one Balaur’s Essence source you can farm on demand.
Our read
Dragon Lord crafting is paced by Wrathful materials, and the Season Shop is where most players will get them. Buy all thirty, run the Conquest dungeon that matches your line, and farm the Verteron and Altgard named elites for Essence between runs. Pick one line and finish it before starting another: the three lines each spend mostly their own Wrathful material.