Update 2.6 for Aion to go live on August 3

NCSoft's confirmed that update 2.6 for Aion will go live on August 3.

The full list of features include:

• The “Crucible Challenge,” a solo version of the Empyrean Crucible instance
• A new auto-party matching system for select key instances in the game
• Difficulty level adjustments to Dark Poeta, Empyrean Crucible and Beshmundir Temple
• A new pet, the Runaway Poppy, which has a chance to provide its master with Platinum Medals
• New conditioning stones to make your gear even better than today
• Improvements to boss looting in Fire Temple and Steel Rake

There'll also be "a carnival of events to let you scratch that itch for bygone days" happening in-game for the rest of the summer. There's details of that over on the game's website here.