Aether Rivals 2 is a fairly reasonably priced game at $29.99 compared to its contemporaries. This price is even better when you realize that all future characters will be free. But to compensate for this, Rivals of Aether 2 has some monetization. Aether Studios offers a number of cosmetic items that players can collect in-game via free and premium currencies. The free currency is called Aether Coins and can be earned for free, and we’ve compiled all the ways you can get it!

This may seem like an obvious answer, but you will earn coins by simply playing the game, which will earn you Ether coins. You’ll get coins in all modes, but there doesn’t seem to be a set amount for each. For example, in Versus mode, I played a 1v1 match with Fleet and Clarien and won 41 Aether coins. I then increased the CPU level from 3 to 5, had a stock left and got 59 Ether Coins. However, the next time, at level 5, I had two stocks left and only had 46 Aether.

From our testing, we can’t really identify any rhyme or reason to how these coins are distributed because we got different results on the same settings. Although the amount of Aether Coins you get isn’t as consistent as other methods, you will consistently get them just by playing the game.

Another way to get Aether Coins in Rivals of Aether 2 is to use the character upgrade system. Every time you level up with a given character, you will get a bonus. These can range from icons to cosmetics and even the game’s premium currency, Aether Bucks (albeit in small quantities). However, the most common reward is Aether Coins.

The rewards track for each character follows the same format, and a user named -Keano- on the Aether Rivals subreddit broke the rewards track as it is unfortunately not displayed in-game outside of your next unlock. Here are the levels in which you will unlock Ether coins:

Each level up Aether Coins reward will give you 500 Aether Coins, so even though this method takes a lot more time than playing the game normally, you will get a higher amount of coins each time. Also, at level 50 you will get an exclusive character skin (which is not available in the store), which is not coins, but it is a nice bonus.

Although Aether Bucks are the premium in-game currency of Rivals of Aether 2 that are mainly collected by paying real money, you can purchase bundles of Aether Coins with them. In the same place where you can buy Aether Bucks, you can also buy Aether Coins in three bundles, which are as follows:

The smallest batch of Aether Bucks you can purchase in the store is 1,000 Aether Bucks, or $9.99. So you’ll essentially be able to spend $9.99 for 100,000 Ether coins, which is a significant amount of currency to use in the store. Although Aether Coins are given out for free, you might be better off saving your money for some Premium level cosmetics in the store.

The Rivals of Aether 2 in-game store offers a number of packs. These include bundles like the Halloween Launch Bundle, which includes, among other things, Halloween skins, other cosmetics and Aether Bucks. This pack also contains 25,000 Ether coins. In fact, all packs currently available contain Aether Coins.

However, there is another layer to this. If you purchase the Starter Pack for $19.99, you get 100,000 Aether Coins and 2,000 Aether Bucks (which you can use for an additional 200,000 Aether Coins if you want), as well as 10 profile icons.

However, the main reason to get the starter pack is the +20% Coins Earned Pass, which will give you 20% more Ether Coins for just playing the game. And it’s not a timed token of Call of Duty style; This is a permanent buff for the rest of the game’s lifespan, so it’s worth purchasing if you plan on acquiring many cosmetics in Rivals of Aether 2.