AION 2 Refining Stones: where to farm all four tiers
Updated 2026-10-09 · checked against Global launch (client 2.0.5.0)
Every piece of crafted gear in AION 2 takes Refining Stones, and the tier of stone follows the tier of gear: plain Refining Stones for the first Orichalcum and Truth pieces, Expert’s and Artisan’s for the next two, and Artisan’s Ultimate for the Dragon Lord gear at the top. None of them can be gathered or crafted, so every one you use has to drop or be bought.
The short version:
- Field bosses in Reshanta are the best source of the first three tiers — about two to three of each per kill, where a whole Conquest run averages two plain stones and a fifth of an Expert’s.
- Watcher Kaira in Chaotic Lower Reshanta respawns every three hours, which makes it the one boss you can farm on your own schedule.
- No field monster drops the Artisan’s Ultimate tier. The Season Shop sells ten until 16 December, the Arena chest is its steadiest weekly source, then achievements, then luck in Conquest cubes and the raid.
- Bound copies count. A Refining Stone (Bound) from a chest or an achievement works in every recipe the unbound stone does.
What each tier goes into
| Stone | Grade | Items it goes into | Per craft | From achievements (bound) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Refining Stone | Common | 23 | 2–5 | 54 |
 Expert's Refining Stone | Rare | 23 | 2–5 | 49 |
 Artisan's Refining Stone | Epic | 27 | 2–15 | 45 |
 Artisan's Ultimate Refining Stone | Unique | 152 | 1–6 | 20 |
Plain, Expert’s and Artisan’s stones go into the three crafted gear lines (Orichalcum, Asvata, Yggdrasil and Truth weapons, Orichalcum armour, and the gem accessories), two to five per craft; the Artisan’s also makes the four Professional crafting tools at 8 to 15 a craft. The Ultimate tier goes into every Dragon Lord piece, one to six per craft. Each stone’s page lists every recipe that uses it.
Field bosses: the best source
Expected count per kill, from each boss’s loot table. Plain, Expert’s and Artisan’s stones drop together, so one kill covers all three.
| Field boss | Level | Where | Refining | Expert's | Artisan's | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enraged Guardian Lord Nahma | 80 | Chaotic Middle Reshanta | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | — |
| Guardian Lord Nahma | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | — |
| Argo, the Spirit King | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — |
| Executor Argo | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — |
| Executor Kaira | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — |
| Executor Tamasa | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — |
| Watcher Kaira | 65 | Chaotic Lower Reshanta | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1.6 | — |
| Executioner Dramos | 80 | Chaotic Middle Reshanta | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | — |
| Ravager Marakha | 80 | Chaotic Middle Reshanta | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | — |
| Turncoat Ducal | 80 | Chaotic Middle Reshanta | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | — |
| Eternal Gartua | 51 | Verteron | 0.47 | 0.12 | 0.058 | — |
| High Commander Lagta | 48 | Altgard, Verteron | 0.47 | 0.12 | 0.058 | — |
| Immortal Gartua | 51 | Altgard | 0.47 | 0.12 | 0.058 | — |
| Silent Dartan | 48 | Altgard, Verteron | 0.47 | 0.12 | 0.058 | — |
| Soul Ruler Kashapa | 48 | Altgard, Verteron | 0.47 | 0.12 | 0.058 | — |
- Watcher Kaira (level 65, Chaotic Lower Reshanta) respawns every three hours, every day: about 2.5 Refining, 2.5 Expert’s and 1.6 Artisan’s Refining Stones a kill.
- Guardian Lord Nahma and its level 80 Enraged form in Chaotic Middle Reshanta come up on Sundays and Fridays, about three of each tier a kill; the Executor trio and their level 80 counterparts on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The countdowns for all of them are in the timers beside every AION 2 page (below the article on a phone).
- Reshanta time is rationed: 7 hours a week in Lower Reshanta and 7 in Middle, refilled on the weekly reset. Spend it around boss spawns.
- The level 48 to 51 field bosses in Verteron and Altgard drop far fewer — about half a Refining Stone a kill and a tenth of an Expert’s — but they are open to everyone before Reshanta.
Ordinary monsters barely count: a field kill drops a Refining Stone 0.65% of the time, an Expert’s 0.16% and an Artisan’s 0.04%. Grinding trash mobs for Refining Stones is the slowest way there is.
Dungeon runs
Expected stones for a full run, every cube opened. Most of each run’s stones come from the final-boss cube; the two mid-boss cubes add about two-thirds as much again.
| Dungeon | Mode | Odyle Energy per cube | Cubes | Refining | Expert's | Artisan's | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draupnir | Exploration | 40 | 3 | 1.8 | 0.18 | 0.018 | — |
| Draupnir | Conquest | 40 | 3 | 2.1 | 0.21 | 0.021 | 0.017 |
| Ferocious Horn Den | Exploration | 40 | 3 | 2.4 | 0.24 | 0.024 | — |
| Ferocious Horn Den | Conquest | 40 | 3 | 2.7 | 0.27 | 0.027 | 0.022 |
| Fire Temple | Exploration | 30 | 3 | 0.91 | 0.091 | — | — |
| Fire Temple | Conquest | 40 | 3 | 2.7 | 0.27 | 0.027 | 0.022 |
| Krao Cave | Exploration | 20 | 3 | 0.50 | — | — | — |
| Krao Cave | Conquest | 40 | 3 | 2.1 | 0.21 | 0.021 | 0.017 |
| Urugugu Canyon | Exploration | 20 | 3 | 0.45 | 0.045 | — | — |
| Urugugu Canyon | Conquest | 40 | 3 | 2.3 | 0.23 | 0.023 | 0.019 |
| Vakron Sky Island | Exploration | 40 | 3 | 2.2 | 0.22 | 0.022 | — |
| Vakron Sky Island | Conquest | 40 | 3 | 2.3 | 0.23 | 0.023 | 0.019 |
| Abyssal Forge: Ludra | Normal | 40 | 1 | 4.3 | 0.43 | 0.043 | 0.036 |
A Conquest run is worth about two plain Refining Stones and a fifth of an Expert’s, which makes dungeons a by-product rather than a farm — you are there for the gear and the Enhance Stones. They do roll the Ultimate tier on Conquest, at about one stone in fifty runs, and the Abyssal Forge: Ludra final cube pays nearly twice a Conquest run’s worth across all four tiers.
Artisan’s Ultimate Refining Stone
The top tier is the hard one: it drops from no field monster, and every Dragon Lord craft needs one to six.
The Arena chest
The Refining Stone Chest (Bound) costs 1 Arena Token in the Arena Exchange Shop, 10 a week per character. Each chest holds ten stones of one tier:
| Inside one chest | Chance | Average from 10 chests |
|---|---|---|
| 10× Refining Stone (Bound) | 65% | 65 |
| 10× Expert's Refining Stone (Bound) | 25% | 25 |
| 10× Artisan's Refining Stone (Bound) | 8% | 8.0 |
| 10× Artisan's Ultimate Refining Stone (Bound) | 2% | 2.0 |
Ten chests a week average two Artisan’s Ultimate Refining Stones, eight Artisan’s and twenty-five Expert’s — the most reliable weekly Ultimate source in the game, and one that needs nothing but Arena Tokens. Buy all ten every week.
The Season Shop
The Season Shop sells all four tiers for Oath Coins (from Season Missions and season rankings) until 16 December 2026, a fixed number per account for the season:
| Item | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Refining Stone (Bound) | 40 Oath Coins | 50 per account for the season |
| Expert's Refining Stone (Bound) | 400 Oath Coins | 30 per account for the season |
| Artisan's Refining Stone (Bound) | 4,000 Oath Coins | 20 per account for the season |
| Artisan's Ultimate Refining Stone (Bound) | 4,800 Oath Coins | 10 per account for the season |
Ten Ultimates is five weeks of Arena chests at once. The same shop sells the Wrathful materials Dragon Lord gear needs — see the crafting materials guide before deciding what to spend Oath Coins on.
Achievements
The gathering collector achievements — Ore, Gem, Log and Herb Collector I, Searching for Cooking Ingredients I and Skybound Treasure I — pay bound Refining Stones along the way, ending with two Ultimates each, and the four crafting Specialist I achievements (Blacksmithing, Armorsmithing, Handicrafting, Alchemy) pay two more each. Across all of them that is 54 Refining, 49 Expert’s, 45 Artisan’s and 20 Artisan’s Ultimate, once. The Achievements page lists every step.
Everything else
Conquest cubes (about one in fifty runs), the Ludra raid, and the Shugo Festival minigames (Defend Shugo Merchants, Goldrin’s Treasure, Hidden Lugi, Jump Jump, Mysterious Track, Not This Tile?, Odyle Flight Frenzy, Up! Up! Up! and Wraith Evasion) all roll it at small odds.
Common mistakes
- Grinding ordinary monsters. At 0.65% for the lowest tier, one Watcher Kaira kill is worth hundreds of field kills.
- Letting Arena chests lapse. The ten-a-week limit does not carry over, and it is the only steady weekly Ultimate source.
- Spending Reshanta hours away from bosses. The weekly access time is the real limit on the best source; arrive for the spawns.
- Ignoring bound stones. Bound and event copies stand in for the unbound stone in recipes, so the chest and achievement stones are as good as drops for your own crafting.
Our read
Treat Refining Stones as a boss-timer resource. Kill Watcher Kaira whenever you are in Lower Reshanta, plan the twice-a-week Nahma and Executor spawns into your Reshanta hours, and buy the ten Arena chests every week. The first three tiers then take care of themselves; the Ultimate tier is the one that paces Dragon Lord crafting, and no amount of grinding changes that.