Pet Transform in Aion 2 is one of those systems that looks straightforward until you realize you need 105 Pet Souls just to unlock it on a single pet. The mechanic lets you physically become your equipped pet for 5 minutes, which is genuinely useful for PvP camouflage in Abyss zones and just fun to use everywhere else. Here's exactly how to get there without wasting souls on the wrong pets.
How does Pet Transform work in Aion 2?
Pet Transform is a separate feature from simply mounting your pet. Mounting is available from the moment you unlock a pet, but transforming into one requires hitting Insight Level 3 on a regular (non-Special) pet and then consuming an Empathy Candy (Bound) to trigger the change. Each transformation lasts exactly 300 seconds (5 minutes), after which your character reverts to normal. There is a short cooldown between each use, so you cannot chain transforms back to back without a brief wait.
The key distinction worth knowing upfront: Special Pets cannot be used for transformation. This includes high-profile pets like the Black Dragon. Only regular pets in the standard genus families are eligible, so plan your soul farming accordingly.
Aion 2 Pet Transform Guide: How to Unlock & Best Pets for Transformation
How to unlock Pet Transform
Every pet in the game belongs to one of five genus families, and each genus has its own pool of souls that drop from corresponding bosses. Souls from one genus cannot be applied to a pet from a different genus, so you need to commit to a specific pet family before you start farming.
To reach Insight Level 3 and unlock the Transform function, you need a cumulative total of 105 Pet Souls for a single pet. The progression breaks down like this:
| Milestone | Souls Required | What You Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Unlock Pet (Level 1) | 5 souls | Mount function |
| Insight Level 2 | +25 souls (30 total) | Mount Glide, improved owned effects |
| Insight Level 3 | +75 souls (105 total) | Transform unlocked, max owned effects |
To find exactly where a pet's souls drop, open the Pets menu, select the specific pet, and check its Source tab. This shows the spawn locations for every monster that drops that pet's souls, which saves a lot of aimless wandering.
Aion 2 Pet Transform Guide: How to Unlock & Best Pets for Transformation
How to get Empathy Candy
Empathy Candy is consumed every time you trigger a Pet Transform, so maintaining a steady supply matters. There are two main sources.
Pet Collection milestones
Every time your total owned Pet count hits a major milestone (50, 100, 150, and 200 pets), you receive 10 Empathy Candies. This makes expanding your pet collection doubly worthwhile: you gain permanent passive stat bonuses from genus insight while also banking candy for transforms.
Shugo Festival Shop
The Shugo Festival Shop sells Empathy Candy for 20 Centuryroot Tokens per candy. Centuryroot Tokens come from participating in Shugo Festival minigames and spending Shugo Festival Reward Keys to claim rewards. The Shugo Festival unlocks at Level 13, making this one of the more accessible repeatable sources early in progression.
What are the best pets for transformation?
Since all regular pets within a genus share the same base stats at equivalent Insight levels, the choice of which pet to transform into comes down to movement speed preference and ease of soul acquisition. For movement speed, the Fera family is the top pick. Fera pets are faster than other genus types, which makes them the practical default for anyone who values traversal efficiency.
Aion 2 Pet Transform Guide: How to Unlock & Best Pets for Transformation
Within the Fera genus, here are 10 pets ranked by how straightforwardly you can farm their souls:
| Pet | Primary Soul Sources |
|---|---|
| Papis | Field souls, Black Cloud Merchants, chests |
| Fossa | Level 10 Episode quest, souls, chests, shops |
| Armadon | Level 10 Episode quest, souls, chests, shops |
| Tog | Starter-accessible field sources |
| Sparkie | Verteron field kills, chests, shops |
| Skyray | Verteron, Altgard areas, chests, shops |
| Kailin | Ellun River, Altgard areas, chests, shops |
| Slink | Trainen Highland and Pond, chests, shops |
| Ursus | Field souls, chests, Black Cloud Merchant |
| Karnif | Field souls, chests, shops |
Papis, Fossa, and Armadon are the easiest starting points because their souls come from multiple overlapping sources. Fossa and Armadon both tie into the Level 10 Episode quest, meaning you'll accumulate souls naturally just by playing through the story.
Is Pet Transform useful in PvP?
Beyond the cosmetic appeal, Pet Transform has a practical application in Abyss zones and open-world PvP areas. Transforming into a small or visually inconspicuous pet form makes your character harder to spot at a glance among other players and environmental creatures. This isn't true stealth, enemy players can still target and attack you if they actively look, but it reduces how quickly you draw attention while moving through contested or congested areas.
For players running through tough Abyss corridors or trying to reposition without immediately flagging a fight, the 5-minute window is enough to cover meaningful ground. Pair it with good routing and it becomes a legitimate movement tool rather than just a cosmetic.
If you're still getting your class fundamentals sorted before worrying about PvP positioning, check out the Aion 2 Templar tanking guide or the Gladiator PvE build for skill and rotation priorities first.
How to execute your first Pet Transform
- Pick a regular Fera pet (Papis or Fossa are the easiest starting points).
- Farm or collect 105 Pet Souls for that specific pet using field kills, chests, daily rewards, and the Black Cloud Merchant.
- Open the Pets menu and apply souls to push the pet to Insight Level 3.
- Equip the fully upgraded pet.
- Use an Empathy Candy (Bound) from your inventory to trigger the transform.
- Enjoy 300 seconds of running around as your pet.
For more on setting up your character's systems efficiently, the Aion 2 hotbar setup guide covers how to bind consumables like Empathy Candy to your hotbar so you can trigger transforms without digging through menus mid-session. For everything else, the full Aion 2 guide collection covers classes, builds, gear progression, and more.
