The dust has settled on another Guild Season, and it’s time to announce the winners: Congratulations to Sex and Flex, who won Albion West Season 21, and PLAC, who took Albion East Season 3! Read on for a rundown of each server’s season.
Albion West: Sex and Flex Claim Their Second Crown
Season 21 started where Season 20 finished: with the war between the POE and FFlow coalitions, which spanned a whole year. Sex and Flex, the leading guild of FFlow, claimed they'd be going for Rank 1. They were not the only ones, with The Lonely Men of the HOGs alliance also looking to push towards Rank 1. Through the first half of the Season it was a close race between the two, with Sex and Flex always holding onto the top spot, but remaining close in terms of point difference, with the advantage of the inner-ring territories keeping Sex and Flex ahead in point generation.
As the season progressed into the final 30 days and with double points active, the race really heated up, and not just for Rank 1: the battle for third place was also underway between IFures and SUN. IFures maintained third place consistently, but dark horses SUN slowly but surely chased them, and in the final month of the season leapfrogged over IFures and steamed ahead in points, nearly approaching second place at one point. But that wasn't to be, and SUN secured third place.
With the countdown to the end, stress was rising on both sides, and territory launches took place daily with deaths in the hundreds per timer. But nothing mattered more than the final territory point payout, and December 15th will go down in Albion's history. Around 190,000 points were available with the first major fight at 15:00, where each side secured a territory with 10,000 points apiece, bringing the gap to a shockingly close 8,000 points. Then 18:00 struck, and after a massive battle in Thunderrock Draw, the FFlow colliation were able to pacify that tower plus Darkbough Snag, giving them a massive 26,000 point payout. With this outcome, The Lonely Men had no choice but to buy towers from other guilds, and were able to secure several dozen. But they came at a price, or shall we say penalty...
With The Lonely Men holding so many territories, they were hit with the energy drain penalty, but leadership didn't know they had to keep Silver and Siphoned Energy in their guild bank to pay it. With all their funds spent, they lost ownership of the territories and didn't receive the points from the payout, costing them 38,000 Season Points and serving as the final nail in the coffin for their push for Rank 1. Nonetheless, it was an epic season, likely the most competitive ever seen in Albion with everyone giving their all. So a shoutout to Sex and Flex, The Lonely Men, SUN and IFures for an epic race, and everyone else who joined in the chaos as well.
Albion East: PLAC Claim Their First Crown
At the start of Season 3, SIAM declared they'd take Rank 1 - and right out of the gate, they secured objectives and took a lead. But they also declared war on a new guild that was closing in on their homeland, and so the war between SIAM and send began...
Throughout the season, the war spread. More and more guilds joined in on both sides across the Outlands, leading to massive ZvZs across multiple timers for territory control, Castle points, and Hideout defense. With this additional pressure on SIAM, the cracks started to show halfway through the season, with a once 250,000 point lead over second-place PLAC shrinking as the end approached. Entering the final 30 days, double points were activated, and with SIAM struggling to hold onto Rank 1 and PLAC gaining momentum with the help of the 'send' coalition. But it wasn't to be, with PLAC growing in strength and securing objectives across multiple timers. Soon they were able to pass SIAM and gain the Rank 1 spot... but that wasn't all.
Vermin, a member of the F3 alliance led by PLAC, were sitting in seventh place in the season rankings. But they had other plans, and with a lot of grinding and territory trading from PLAC and others, Vermin were able to leapfrog all the way up into second place, knocking SIAM down another rank into third.
And that was the end for SIAM's first-place aspirations. After an epic push at the start of the season, the pressure was too much and they had to stop their push for the win. So congratulations to PLAC for Rank 1, their alliance member Vermin for second place, and SIAM for third!
Top ten guilds - Albion West Season 21:
Sex and Flex (904,391 points)
The Lonely Men (834,227 points)
SUN (716,337 points)
IFures (593,379 points)
Smurfing Monkeys (490,789 points)
Fax (368,759 points)
EQMS EQMS (366,015 points)
I Guess What I (356,187 points)
Contingent (352,213 points)
JAMAICA (300,181 points)
Top ten guilds - Albion East Season 3:
PLAC (929,466 points)
Vermin (790,025 points)
S I A M (708,178 points)
KORAWA (541,511 points)
One Gin (443,010 points)
Agila (383,182 points)
HOUNDS (369,123 points)
FarmingLife In Albion (353,840 points)
KHAOS (349,512 points)
I The Flying Dutchman I (315,256 points)
2023: Albion's Year in Review
2023 is almost over - and what a year it’s been! With the launch of a second server, record player numbers enjoying the game, and some hugely ambitious new features added, this year saw Albion take huge leaps forward like never before. So join us as we take a look back at some of the major events of the past twelve months…
Albion East
The year started with a momentous announcement: Albion Online was to open a brand-new, second server called Albion East. Located in Singapore, this promised to make Albion more accessible for a host of new and experienced players, who could enjoy better connection speeds, optimized event times, and of course the experience of a fresh start in an untouched version of the world.
February 20 saw the Closed Beta open for Albion East, with players competing in a special, condensed Guild Season to earn unique rewards. Then, in March, the new server officially opened its doors…
A Global Phenomenon
Following a special, five-day early access period for Founder Pack owners, Albion East threw its doors open to the world on March 20. Its popularity surpassed all expectations and saw Albion smash its previous player record with 277,000 active users across both servers on launch day. And soon after, on April 2, the 300,000 mark was broken, as Albion teemed with life like never before.
With players flooding into the new server, Albion East was soon built up from an untouched land into a fully-flourishing world, with its own thriving economy, and guilds and alliances vying for control of the Outlands.
And hot on the heels of all this came the return of the Rites of Spring event. Only this time, there was a new, dangerous face in town to meet our adventurers.
Knightfall in Albion
May brought with it the release of a major patch: Knightfall. This unveiled further secrets and treasures within the Mists, including the magical new dungeon Knightfall Abbey, a decayed realm with beautiful, stained-glass windows which told stories of Albion’s past.
Knightfall also introduced Eralia Wayfarer, a trader in Brecilien, and brought some brand-new items including Mystic Owl mounts. But while all this was going on, the team were hard at work on Albion’s next big update…
Wild Blood
Away from the solitude of Knightfall Abbey, Wild Blood saw Albion unleash its primal side, introducing some massive new features like Shapeshifter Weapons, Tracking, new potions, and powerful Awakened Weapons.
This update developed every side of Albion’s gameplay, from economics to combat, with some ambitious new mechanics added to the game. Players roamed the open world in pursuit of fantastical beasts, crafted their essences into powerful new items, and developed personalized weapons with unique traits forged through combat. After everything that 2023 had brought, Albion Online showed no signs of slowing down.
Looking Ahead to 2024
And indeed, 2024 will get off to a flying start, with the recently announced Crystal Raiders update arriving January 8. This promises to revamp Guild Seasons, with exciting new territory mechanics and valuable rewards for individuals and guilds alike.
This also marks the beginning of a new development cycle for Albion Online, with updates arriving more frequently, in sync with each Guild Season, and each focusing on a specific area of the game.
As we move into the new year, then, there’s a lot to look forward to on the way. For now, though, we want to thank you, the community, for being with us in 2023 and making this such a successful year. See you in 2024!
The Alchemist Vanity Bundle is Here!
The Alchemist Vanity Bundle has arrived! This brand-new premiere bundle is available to buy now, and includes a full costume set along with the Alchemist’s Packboar Mount Skin for your Direboar base mount.
With rare, mystical ingredients and extracts appearing on Albion’s marketplaces, some have devoted themselves to exploring the possibilities of these new discoveries. Sequestered away in peculiar lairs, they bring together long-forgotten knowledge with a taste for scientific invention, creating potent potions to let fly upon their enemies.
Laden with their paraphernalia, and wearing bizarre, illuminated goggles and timepieces, they head out into Albion’s open world to test their wares in combat. Accompanied by a trusty Alchemist’s Packboar to carry their equipment and sniff out danger and opportunity, they enter the battle - ready to unleash this strange fusion of the ancient and the modern to devastating effect.
The Alchemist bundle includes the following vanity skins, which work on male and female characters alike:
Alchemist’s Glasses
Alchemist’s Armor
Alchemist’s Boots
Alchemist’s Backpack
Alchemist’s Packboar
As with past bundles, you can use all costume and mount skins with all characters on your account, on both servers, and they are never lost or destroyed. All items will be unlocked in the in-game "Appearance" menu after purchase.
Pick up this premiere bundle and embrace this strange science!
A Curious Character Prepares to Emerge
In the shadiest corners of Albion’s towns and cities, eccentric figures cloister themselves away, surrounded by esoteric books and curious apparatus. Soon, though, they’ll be ready to surface, and bring the strange fruits of their work into battle.
A new vanity set launches next week! Stay tuned to see what’s brewing…
Guide: Refining
Refining in Albion Online is the process between gathering and crafting. It consists of converting raw materials into a refined resource that can be used for crafting equipment, selling in the market, or distributed to dedicated crafters to help sustain your guild. Check out the Crafting and Marketplace guides for more information on how crafting and the marketplace work in Albion Online!
Refining and Albion’s Economy
In order to craft equipment, you need to obtain refined resources. Prices continuously fluctuate in Albion Online due to its player driven economy; some players take advantage of this by finding the lowest prices for raw materials, refining them, then reselling them at a profit. Refined materials are in constant demand due to the Black Market buying equipment, players studying items, and PvP combat where equipment may break.
Raw materials can always be gathered in the open world. Gathering these materials in the correct ratios to refine higher-level resources poses a challenge and may not always be possible. Therefore, most refiners use the Marketplace to source raw materials in bulk.
The Refining Process
Players can convert raw materials into refined products at a refining station. Refining a resource above Tier 2 will require a refined resource of the tier below, as well as an increasing amount of raw materials for each tier. The following table shows the quantities of raw resources required to produce a single piece of refined material:
Stone blocks are an exception to this rule as they cannot be enchanted. Instead, when using enchanted rocks, the amount of refined materials needed and the amount of stone blocks created increases. Using Uncommon rocks requires twice the input of refined blocks, while providing double the output; Rare rocks four times the input and output; and Exceptional rocks eight times the input and output.
If you use Focus while refining, you will get back a fairly substantial quantity of resources during the refining process. Check out the Focus Points guide for more in-depth information on refining efficiencies!
Transmutation
If there is ever a low supply of unrefined materials, you can buy low-tier resources (minimum Tier 4) and transmute them one tier or enchantment level higher. This can be done in the second tab at the appropriate Crafting Station. Resource transmutation thus places an upper limit on resource costs at the Marketplace, and allows players access to higher-level resources even when they are scarce. The cost of transmutation increases with tier and enchantment level, and is also affected by Global Discount and Station Taxes.
Where to Refine
Once raw materials have been obtained through gathering, transmutation, looting, or the Marketplace, players can take them to the dedicated building for the material they want to refine. It’s very important to note that, depending on the crafting location, you may get a different resource return. This is because of Local Production Bonuses, and is particularly significant for refining. Below is a table showing the buildings and cities with the highest return rate for each resource:
[table] [tr] [td] Resource [/td] [td] Crafting Station [/td] [td] City with highest return rate [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] Planks [/td] [td] Lumbermill [/td] [td] Fort Sterling [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] Cloth [/td] [td] Weaver [/td] [td] Lymhurst [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] Stone Blocks [/td] [td] Stonemason [/td] [td] Bridgewatch [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] Leather [/td] [td] Tanner [/td] [td] Martlock [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] Metal Bars [/td] [td] Smelter [/td] [td] Thetford [/td] [/tr] [/table] These buildings can be found within cities, Hideouts, and on guild or personal islands. Cities will always yield the best return rates, but may require players to pay higher taxes for using player Crafting Stations. Make sure to check the tax rate before refining larger quantities.
Crystal Raiders Arrives January 8
2024 starts with a bang for Albion Online, with Crystal Raiders on the horizon. Albion’s latest content update launches January 8, re-envisioning Guild Seasons with new systems and new rewards. Territory Raiding introduces exciting dynamics to guild warfare, and Crystal Weapons are powerful, prestigious prizes for the strongest guilds. Hideouts have been rebalanced, and become harder to destroy the longer they stand, while Conqueror’s Challenge rewards are updated to encourage participation in a range of activities. And new Tracking targets represent valuable goals for open-world PvE. With all this and more, Crystal Raiders will make Albion more exciting, unpredictable, and vibrant than ever for individuals and groups alike.
Constant Conflict
Territory Raiding adds a new dimension to Guild Seasons, with the possibility to steal Raw Siphoned Energy from a rival guild’s territory outside of planned invasions bringing constant activity to Guild Seasons and giving smaller guilds new opportunities to strike. Meanwhile, guilds receive Season Points and Siphoned Energy each day based on their territories’ stored Energy. And Hideouts’ effects are more closely linked to territory ownership, while long-standing Hideouts are more difficult to remove - rewarding those who defend their Hideouts and territories vigilantly.
Rich Rewards
New rewards bring greater incentives to individuals and groups throughout a season. Crystal Weapons are crafted from Artifacts earned from Conqueror’s Challenge chests, with the first three arriving with this update: the Infinity Blade, Rift Glaive, and Astral Staff, each with its own powerful spell. A Daily Might Bonus grants Might to players based on the amount of Energy their guild siphons each day, encouraging consistent activity by individual guild members. And the Conqueror’s Challenge awards a greater variety of chests based on both individual Might levels and a guild’s Season Ranking, offering hugely valuable rewards to those who participate in a range of Guild Season activities.
A Wealth of Improvements
New, elite-level Tracking targets are being introduced which drop Silver and loot, broadening high-level group PvE options. A new Region Quality Overlay on the world map gives a convenient overview of the relative values of regions. Balance changes to weapons and spell reworks keep combat fresh and unpredictable. And UI and graphical improvements make Albion’s gameplay experience smoother than ever before.
Crystal Raiders marks the beginning of a new era in Albion, with more frequent and focused content updates keeping the game fresh for all types of players. For more on these changes, check out the official Crystal Raiders update page:
The holiday period is upon us, and you can enjoy it in style with the Festive Reindeer when you refer just one friend this Referral Season!
This decorated deer brings the yuletide spirit to your Stag base mount, resplendent with holly, candles, and other apt adornments. And once unlocked, it can be used by any of your characters on that server, so you can partake in the festive spirit at any time!
As always, there are 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 Festive Reindeer!
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 lasts until 23:59 UTC on December 31, so invite your friends today and enjoy these rewards!
The Yuletide Challenge Returns
Winter has returned to Albion, and the Yuletide Challenge is back! For the entire month of December, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests, and earn rewards like an avatar ring, classic furniture items, and the beloved Snow Husky mount.
Yuletide Greetings
SNOW HUSKY: You’ve got another chance to claim the charming Snow Husky, a handsome canine companion that will carry you through Albion’s harshest terrain. Along with its strong base move speed, its Hunting Instinct spell gives a short but powerful speed burst.
AVATAR RING: Along with the Snow Husky, adventurers who reach this month’s total point goal will unlock the Yuletide Challenge Ring, which gives your avatar a cheery holiday look any time of year. And remember: unclaimed Adventurer’s Challenge Rings can always be traded in for Adventurer’s Tokens at the Vanity Merchant!
SEASONAL SPECIALS: Unlock Yuletide Challenge chests to get a mix of holiday-themed prizes, along with goodies like Silver, Tomes of Insight, treasures and resources. Each chest has a chance to give classic Yuletide decorations like Presents and Decorated Trees as well as the Yuletide Candle, Wreath, Lantern, and Candy Boot!
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 and avatar ring reward. So log in, head out into the open world, gather points, and claim these rewards while they last!
Nominate Albion Online for the "Labor of Love" Award!
The Steam Awards are back! This year, a new "Labor of Love" category honors games that have been out for a while, but continue to receive strong development and community support.
Whether you're new to the game or have been playing for years, we'd be honored to have your support! Nominations are open from now until November 28.
Albion Online truly is a "labor of love" for us, and we look forward to supporting and growing the game for years to come. Thanks to you, our Albion community, for your support and for making the game what it is today!
Watch the Final Invasion Day of the Season
This Saturday is the final Invasion Day of the season - points will be doubled, and we’ll be showing the action live on AlbionTV!
At 13:50 UTC on Saturday 18 November you can join hosts Robinhoodrs, Shozen, and Bogul for coverage of the final round of the day’s invasions on Albion East. Then, at 17:50 UTC, Shozen, Lewpac, and Bogul will bring you coverage of the first round of territory resets on Albion West. Finally, at 00:50 UTC on Sunday 19 November, Robinhoodrs, Shozen and Tazzik will present the second round of territory resets on Albion West. Tune in to make sure you don’t miss any of the action!
For current season schedules for Albion West and Albion East, see this forum post.
