Following our recent Dev Talk introducing some of the many different features coming in the Paths to Glory update, it’s time to take a look at the core feature of Albion’s next update: the Albion Journal. Game Director Robin Henkys sat down to reveal what you can find within its pages when the update launches on July 22.
What is the Albion Journal?
The Albion Journal is an achievement system designed to challenge players to explore Albion’s many gameplay areas.
For new players, this acts as a guide with incentives to explore the various activities available in the game
Veterans, meanwhile, are encouraged to complete the most difficult achievements for truly exclusive rewards
How does it work?
New players will gain access to the Journal once they've completed the tutorial
Existing characters will have the Journal unlocked when the update arrives
It can be opened directly from the HUD, to view open and completed missions
A mission tracker in the HUD shows your current progress in selected missions
The missions in the journal are sorted into categories, and each category is further split into subcategories
Progressing through the Journal
Initial missions in each subcategory are a simple introduction to an area of gameplay
As you progress through a subcategory, missions become increasingly difficult
Missions can be completed out of order, even if they have not yet been unlocked – so don't worry about doing something you don't have a mission for, it will still count
Individual Mission Rewards
Each mission grants a reward which can be claimed directly from the Journal UI
These rewards include Silver, Tomes of Insight, Dungeon Maps, and more
Tomes of Learning – a new, non-tradable item – are also available as a reward
These grant Learning Points when used
More difficult missions offer more valuable rewards
Category Rewards
Completing a certain percentage of missions within each main category unlocks unique rewards
Each category has a themed Avatar, Avatar Ring, Wardrobe Item with a Vanity Spell, and Mount Skin
Completing all missions in a category will grant you a super-rare, elite version of the wardrobe item
Main Categories
The Journal will launch with five categories:
PvE:
This category challenges you to participate in Albion’s various PvE activities
The Avatar and Avatar Ring show off your prowess in dungeon exploration
The unique wardrobe item is a six-sided die that you can actually roll
The elite version is a twenty-sided die with a critical-hit celebratory roll animation
The mount skin is a themed Direbear
Gathering:
Includes gathering and fishing missions
The Avatar and Avatar Ring showcase your key role in Albion’s industry
The wardrobe item is a powered chopping axe with a tree-chopping vanity spell
The elite version features awesome visual effects
The mount skin is a mechanical boar with an integrated barbecue
Economy:
Focuses on the marketplace, crafting, refining and other economic activities
The Avatar and Avatar Ring show off your wealth
The wardrobe skin is a very fancy coat that lets you throw some of your actual Silver on the ground
The elite version throws even more money away – you can easily afford it
This mount skin is Albion’s very first Mammoth skin, which lets you get carried around by Black Market guards
Exploration:
Takes you far and wide through the lands of Albion
The Avatar and Avatar Ring have a bardic theme
The wardrobe item is a Lute to entertain you and your friends
The elite version lets you perform an additional song
The mount skin is a very, very cute Swiftclaw skin
PvP:
This category pushes you to fight with other players
The Avatar and Avatar Ring strike fear into the heart of your enemies
The wardrobe item is a fearsome helmet which summons a deathly herald
The elite version gives you an even more threatening aura
This is complemented by a frightening new Direwolf skin
We'll be adding more categories to the journal in the future, but for now, we wish you the best of luck filling your journals when Paths to Glory releases on July 22!
The Anniversary Paladin is now Available!
It’s Albion’s seventh anniversary, and if you’re wondering what to wear for the occasion, you can get the special Anniversary Paladin Vanity Bundle for the duration of this year’s celebrations. Until July 30 at 10 UTC, get yourself and your noble Armored Horse the finest royal blue garments for only $19.95! (Price may vary by platform and region.)
The Anniversary Paladin Vanity Bundle contains the following items:
This is a limited-time offer, so don't miss out on this chance to celebrate Albion's Anniversary in style!
The Final Invasion Day of the Season is Coming!
The highly anticipated Paths to Glory update is just around the corner, but there’s a Guild Season to take care of first! This weekend is the final Invasion Day, which is crucial for guilds looking to maximize their Season Points and secure their final positions. With the introduction of a new batch of Crystal Weapons on the horizon, guilds will be fighting tooth and nail to climb the rankings and earn valuable artifacts.
This pivotal weekend will be streamed live on AlbionTV, so you can watch it unfold yourself. Be sure to tune in this weekend to watch coverage from all three servers:
Albion Asia: 14:00 UTC on June 13 with hosts Robinhoodrs, Shozen, and Bogul
Albion Europe: 18:00 UTC on June 13 with Lewpac, Shozen, and Bogul
Albion Americas: 01:00 UTC on June 14 with Robinhoodrs, Shozen, and Tazzik
Join us to find out which guilds will rise to the top before we set out on the Paths to Glory!
The Living Legacy is Back
And just like that, Albion Online is turning seven! What a year it has been, huh? And to kick off the celebrations, the Living Legacy event returns from 23 UTC on July 11 for Albion Asia, and 10 UTC on July 12 for Albion Europe and Americas! Consider this your official invitation to the party, but wear something you can get dirty with – because you'll be hunting down statues old and new while gorging yourself on Fame-filled Anniversary Cake. It might get a bit messy.
Oh, and before we forget, there’s a brand-new anniversary video too:
Living Monuments
The monuments to the heroes of Albion's past are coming back to life, and they have brought with them some of last year's season winners: Paura from Albion Americas Season 19, and Fr Bailand and Winter from the first two seasons of Albion Asia!
Defeat these monumental foes as they roam through any Tier 5 or higher zone for a chance to obtain tradable rewards only available during the Living Legacy event:
Seventh Anniversary Stallion: Riding Horse Skin
Purple Anniversary Banner: Furniture Item
Anniversary Cake: Gives you a 15% non-PvP Fame buff for 30 minutes, stackable with other foods
Chromacannon: Vanity Weapon Skin which shoots celebratory fireworks
The statues appear in three categories, increasing in difficulty but also in potential rewards:
Construct: These carry common anniversary loot and cannot be tracked on any map; they can be defeated by solo adventurers or small groups
Colossus: These stronger statues are visible on the local map while in the same zone, and carry greater riches than Constructs
Titan: These very powerful statues are visible on the world map up to three zones away, and are best challenged in a group
Anniversary Gifts
But that’s not all. Albion’s cities are adorned with festive decorations, and if you log in at any point during the event you’ll receive free, non-tradable commemorative gifts from us! Just check your in-game mail and you’ll find the Seventh Anniversary Avatar and Avatar Ring waiting for you.
The event times for each server are:
Start
Asia: July 11 at 23 UTC
Europe and Americas: July 12 at 10 UTC
End
Asia: July 29 at 23 UTC
Europe and Americas: July 30 at 10 UTC
Join in the celebrations and leave your mark on Albion's legacy – by smashing it to pieces!
Paths to Glory Lie Ahead
On July 22, the Paths to Glory open up. Albion’s next major update brings the Albion Journal, a brand-new chronicle of your progress which grants a host of unique rewards. Guild Islands have been reworked, with beautiful new visuals and the possibility of multiple island ownership. Improvements are coming to the Roads of Avalon, and Dynamic Spawn Rates adjust the amount of content in the Roads and open world based on activity levels. Along with new Crystal Weapons, a new Rare Quarry to track down, and much more, Paths to Glory offers a host of improvements for a wide range of play styles.
The Albion Journal
Paths to Glory introduces a brand-new achievement system: the Albion Journal. This presents each player with missions at every stage of the game - from beginner-level tasks to truly gargantuan feats for the most experienced player - divided into five main categories: PvE, PvP, Economy, Exploration, and Gathering. Valuable rewards are available as you progress, from individual mission rewards like Silver and Tomes of Insight, to unique, category-themed vanity items to show off your progress to friend and foe alike.
Roads to Glory
This update also brings Dynamic Spawn Rates to the open world and Roads of Avalon, adjusting the amount of treasure, resources, and mobs on each server throughout the day based on their activity levels. The Roads of Avalon have also had their zones and content rebalanced, to make them more competitive and exciting. Tracking is now possible in the Roads, and a new Rare Quarry can be hunted down too: the fearsome Shadowmask.
Choose your Path
Guilds can now own multiple islands - one for each Royal City and Caerleon - and these have gorgeous new visuals reflecting the biome of their host city. New Crystal Weapons are coming too, which players can earn through their Guild Season successes. In combat, weapons can be overcharged twice for an extended boost, but at an increased risk of breakage, while weapons now have all their spells available from Tier 4 upwards. A Party Ready Check function allows better coordination in group activities, and the Destiny Board has improved scaling and zooming.
With all this and more, Paths to Glory promises an improved experience in Albion whichever road you take. You can learn more about these features in this Dev Talk, and on the official update page:
Foundations Patch 5 - Version 25.050.1 - July 1, 2024
ZvZ Performance
This patch includes various tweaks and fixes to address some ZvZ performance issues before the end of the current Guild Season.
Fixes
Fixed issue where short hostile dismount cooldown was sometimes incorrectly applied in solo Mists, instead of long hostile dismount cooldown
Fixed issue where Conqueror's Challenge guild membership counter in the Guild Season UI could include time not spent in a guild
Fixed issue where reconnecting with spells on cooldown would cause their cooldown timers not to display
Fixed issue where, when trying to exit Knightfall Abbey while channeling a spell, clicking ‘Yes’ on the notification popup would not work
[MACOS] Fixed issue where the game would freeze after switching between windows or toggling fullscreen
Get the Embalmed Tiger with a single referral
A new Referral Season has begun, and from now until July 31 just one referral will unlock a brand-new mount skin for you – The Embalmed Tiger!
This skin transforms your Swiftclaw into a fearsome mummified cougar that’s just clawed its way out of the tomb and is ready to pounce on your enemies. After a thousand-year slumber, this kitty is hungry! Fortunately, this mount skin can be used by any of your characters on whichever server you claim it on, so you can be sure to feed it properly… [video autoplay="yes" loop="yes" muted="yes" playsinline="yes"] https://assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/video_/media/665ed75e4ee27_720.mp4 And as always, there are also big rewards for your third and fifth referrals: a T7 Pile of Tomes worth 100,000 Fame for your third referral, and a T8 Pile of Tomes worth 200,000 Fame for your fifth. And for your first ever referral, you’ll get a T8 Pile of Tomes in addition to the Embalmed Tiger.
How to Earn Seasonal Referral Rewards
Send your referral link, which you can find here, to a friend. (You must be logged into your account on the website to view this page.)
Your friend registers an account and starts playing Albion Online (preferably along with you!).
The first time your friend purchases at least 30 days of Premium, they will trigger a reward for you.
On top of that, for your very first referral ever, you'll receive a T8 Recruiter's Pile of Tomes, worth a massive 200,000 Fame.
This Referral Season ends on July 31 at 23: 59:59 UTC, so invite your friends today and start earning your rewards – Roar!
The Undead Challenge Returns
The dead are rising once more! Throughout the month of July, take the Undead Challenge to earn terrific (and terrifying) rewards. Earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests filled with valuable loot, and defeat death itself with your very own Spectral Direboar mount.
Live Your Best Afterlife
SPECTRAL DIREBOAR: This month's Challenge brings back the popular Spectral Direboar, a ghostly mount with a unique spell, Glimpse of the Other Side, which renders you temporarily invisible. Use it to evade your enemies... or to launch a sneak attack!
AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Undead Challenge Avatar Ring, featuring a spooky skull-themed design that will strike fear into the hearts of your foes. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character, or can be traded to the Vanity Merchant for one Vanity Token.
SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month long, reach weekly goals to unlock Undead Challenge chests. In addition to valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes and Silver, you'll also have a chance to unlock spooky furniture items like the Candelabra, Lantern, and Memorial of the Fallen, as well as rare and valuable Undead Vanity Skins.
As always, you can earn Challenge Points by gathering, fishing, farming, and killing monsters. Points count simultaneously toward a daily bonus, a weekly unlockable chest, and the monthly mount / avatar ring reward. So log in, head out into the open world, gather points, and claim these rewards while you can!
As Season 23 reaches its climax, it’s time to announce Albion’s next major update, coming in July: Paths to Glory. At the heart of this update is the Albion Journal, which presents players with challenges and offers valuable new rewards. But this update also contains a host of other features, including some specific requests from the community. In this Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys shows us around some of the features and improvements that you’ll be able to enjoy when Paths to Glory releases next month.
Guild Island Improvements
Guilds can now own multiple islands
Up to one island for each Royal City, plus Caerleon
Guild Islands now visually reflect the biome and atmosphere of their parent city
Weapon Changes
Players can double-overcharge their weapons in combat
This prolongs the overcharge duration
However, it also increases the risk of the weapon breaking afterwards
Players can now use all spells on weapons of Tier 4 and above
This will increase gameplay variety for lower tiers
Roads of Avalon Changes
The most common request we heard was for changes to the Roads of Avalon. Many players said they couldn’t find the content they were looking for in the Roads, but our data showed activity there to be higher than ever.
For this update, we decided to focus on the core experience we had in mind when designing the Roads: an extension of the open world, creating interesting connections between places and offering opportunities for small groups. In the meantime, we’ll continue to think about other ways to provide the kind of small-scale PvP content that players are looking for.
Here’s what’s changing in the Roads:
Zones
Mob tiers standardized in each different Roads area
Adjusted connections from the open world:
Blue and Yellow Zones usually lead to Tier 4 Roads
Red and Black Zones usually lead to Tier 6 Roads
Tier 8 Roads are now exclusive to Deep Roads and Raid Clusters
Number of Raid Clusters is being increased
This means Hideouts connect to Raid Clusters more frequently
They also have a few connections to non-Hideout regions, to increase competition
Content and Rewards
The Roads contain fewer areas dedicated to gathering
Resource respawn rates are increasing, to keep the total resource output the same
More PvE areas have been added
These offer less Fame than before, to balance their leveling potential with other content
To compensate, they offer more loot instead
Tracking has been added to the Roads
This includes a new target that can be hunted here and in the open world: the Shadowmask
Activity-Based Spawn Rates
Activity-Based Spawn Rates is a significant new feature coming to the Roads and the open world.
Each server’s activity levels will be measured ongoingly
Spawn and upgrade rates for treasures, mobs, and resources will adjust based on this metric
During Prime Time, it should be easier to find content
During low-activity periods, it will be more challenging and competitive to find massive rewards
This adjustment will not be too strong, so periods of low activity will still offer more resources per player, but resources will be better distributed across time periods.
New Crystal Weapons
Paths to Glory will introduce the third batch of Crystal Weapons.
Twin Slayers (Daggers): creates a ring of spinning blades that return to the caster, cutting through all enemies in their path
Dreadstorm Monarch (Mace): creates a growing storm around you, slowing enemies and shredding their resistances
Exalted Staff (Holy Staff): can remove areas like Sacred Ground
Other Improvements
The Party Ready Check function lets party leaders see when their group members are ready for action
Corrupted Dungeon Maps allow you to easily open entrances to these dungeons
Three new activity events for Roads of Avalon, Tracking, and the Mists
Improved filtering in the Rankings UI
Rescaled Destiny Board with improved zoom functionality for desktop users
All this is coming to Albion next month when Paths to Glory launches - and that’s not to mention the heart of the update: the Albion Journal. Join us for another Dev Talk soon, where we’ll take a look at this new feature and the unique rewards it brings to the game!
Two New Twin-Vanity Bundles Available Now!
If you're looking to freshen up your vanity collection, but can't decide what to get next, we've got two new twin-vanity bundles for you! These themed bundles give you two vanity sets in one convenient and cost-effective package, with a bunch of Premium and Gold on top. The new sets are:
So whether you want to show off your virtuous side or get in touch with nature, we’ve got you covered. And once purchased, the vanity sets will be available to all characters on your account across all servers. Grab one today!
