Out in the vast world of Albion, great dangers await. But some fearsome adventurers seek these out, prowling the lands in pursuit of precious prizes.
A new vanity set launches next week, and you too can join the hunt. Stay tuned for more…
Albion Online
An Intrepid Figure Closes In
Out in the vast world of Albion, great dangers await. But some fearsome adventurers seek these out, prowling the lands in pursuit of precious prizes.
A new vanity set launches next week, and you too can join the hunt. Stay tuned for more…
Dev Talk: Shapeshifter Close-Up
A New Staff Line
Shapeshifter Weapons introduce a whole new style of gameplay:
- There are seven different staffs
- Each lets you transform into a different creature, known as Shapes
- Each Shape has its own abilities and stats, from damage dealer to tank
When in human form:
- Shapeshifter Weapons can inflict damage, disrupt enemies, or support allies
- They can also transform enemies into weak, helpless creatures
- Using human-form abilities builds up Shift Charges, which provide energy to Shape-form abilities
Shapes and Abilities
These are the different Shapes into which you can transform:
- Shadow Panther: turns invisible when no enemies are nearby
- Sylvian: increases allies’ health, provides healing, and can create a shield for your allies
- Spirit Bear: an aggressive tank that disrupts enemies
- Werewolf: Heals itself and gains a speed boost from attacking enemies
- Hellfire Imp: Has very high damage but low defense; can revive in human form after death
- Runestone Golem: a huge tank which is immune to all forced movement
- Dawnbird: deals very high damage from a safe distance
These Shapes offer a wide variety of playstyles:
- They completely override your human armor stats, allowing you to change roles mid-combat
- For example, a Prowling Staff with Plate Armor makes you a tank in human form and an assassin in Shape form
- Previously active buffs continue in Shape form
- For example, you can use a Hunter Jacket then transform into a Werewolf to utilize the auto-attack buff
- Toggle and Channel abilities do not carry over
Awareness of when to transform is crucial to using these weapons. This creates an active and enjoyable playstyle that is quick to pick up but offers a great deal of depth.
How to Get Them
Shapeshifter Weapons:
- Are crafted at the Hunter’s Lodge
- Require rare ingredients dropped by the corresponding creature in the open world
- These can be found using Tracking Kits
Thus, Shapeshifter Weapons should remain quite rare and valuable, and bolster the appeal of Tracking.
Begin your hunt for a Shapeshifter Weapon when Wild Blood launches on October 16! Which will you pick?
Dev Talk: Tracking and Potions
Finding Tracks
The tracks of rare creatures can be found in the Outlands and in Red Zones of the Royal Continent. To interact with these, players need a Tracking Toolkit. These are craftable at the Toolmaker and can be used by:
- Clicking on a track
- Using from inventory
- This reveals nearby tracks on the map
- Higher tier Tracking Toolkits reveal tracks in a wider area
There are seven types of creature you can Track, each of which exists in two sizes:
- A smaller one, for up to three players
- A larger one, for four-to-eight players
If your party is too big or small the track, you won’t be able to follow it.
The first tracks that players can find are those of Panthers, Sylvians, and Spirit Bears. Rarer creatures require higher-level tracking skills and higher-tier Tracking Kits.
On the Prowl
After a track is successfully read, the hunt begins:
- Players are guided to an area
- Once you reach that area, you will have to search for further tracks or the target itself
- Party members can collaborate to read tracks more quickly
- Each completed step rewards Tracking Fame to all party members, which boosts your Tracking skill
- The chances of encountering the target at each step increases with:
- The number of steps already completed
- Your Tracking skill
When you encounter your target, a fight ensues. But the creature may flee if:
- Its health falls too low
- The fight lasts too long
- Too many players attack
A target that flees will have to be tracked to its new location, but any damage it has taken remains.
Spoils of the Hunt
A defeated creature can drop various new items which are used for the following:
- Rare Animal Remains: enchanting Potions
- Rare Ingredients: crafting new Potions and Shapeshifter Weapons
- Artifacts: crafting Artifact Shapeshifter Weapons
These are the new Potions:
- Calming Potion: from Shadowpanther Claws, provides a PvE disengage
- Cleansing Potion: from Sylvian Roots, cleanses damage over time, crowd control, and debuffs
- Acid Potion: from Spirit Bear Paws, decreases resistances
- Berserk Potion: from Werewolf Fangs, boosts damage but decreases your defense
- Hellfire Potion: from Imp Horns, deals damage-over-time
- Gathering Potion: from Runestone Golem Teeth, increases gathering speed
- Tornado Potion: from Dawnbird Feathers, knocks enemies back
Rare Animal Remains can be reduced to Arcane Extract, to enchant Potions:
- Potions now have three levels of enchantment
- The amount of Remains required for each enchantment level increases significantly
When Wild Blood launches, there will be an increased amount of tracks and creatures to allow players to hone their skills. But to keep the new items rare, the additional creatures will drop Silver and loot instead. After a time, these additional creatures will be removed, and those which remain will drop only the new items.
We can’t wait to see players take part in this new economic activity, and start using these new items. You’ll also be able to use them to craft Shapeshifter Weapons, of course, which will be the subject of our next Dev Talk. See you then!
Refer a Friend and Claim the Snow Leopard
A new Referral Season has arrived, and there’s another chance to get the Snow Leopard when you refer just one friend!
The Snow Leopard is an elegant, hibernal skin for your Swiftclaw base mount, with snowy gray fur and piercing blue eyes. Once unlocked, it can be used by any of your characters on that particular server (either Albion East or West).
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 Snow Leopard!
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 October 31, so invite your friends and enjoy these rewards!
The Harvest Challenge is Back!
Fall has come to the world of Albion... the shadows are growing longer... and the Harvest Challenge is back! For the entire month of October, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get spooky loot, and claim your very own Spectral Bat.
Reap What You Sow
SPECTRAL BAT: This month's Challenge offers another chance to claim the amazing Spectral Bat. In addition to its spooky appearance, this winged menace comes with a powerful Flicker spell that allows you to jump to a target location in the blink of an eye. (Note: like all mounts, the Spectral Bat cannot fly over obstacles or gaps.)
AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Harvest Challenge Avatar Ring, featuring a pair of eerie, grinning skeletons. 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 point totals to unlock Harvest Challenge Chests. Along with valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes, Silver, resources, and other loot, you'll also have a chance to unlock six seasonal furniture items: the Scary Pumpkin Lantern, Friendly Pumpkin Lantern, Halloween Lantern, Halloween Cauldron, Halloween Scarecrow, and Halloween Pyre.
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!
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Dev Talk: Awakened Weapons
Awakening Weapons
Weapons can be awakened:
- At the Artifact Foundry
- If they are .4 enchanted
- At the cost of Siphoned Energy, Avalonian Energy, and Silver
- The exact cost depends on the item’s tier
Once awakened, the weapon is attuned to the player:
- Attunement Points are then earned when you earn PvE Fame
- Weapons of Tier 6 or higher can only earn Attunement Points in full-loot PvP zones
Traits and Strain
When your weapon has enough Attunement Points, Traits can be added at the Artifact Foundry:
- You can choose one of three randomly selected traits to add
- You can reroll this, though that will increase Strain on the item (more below)
- Initial values added will be low, but can be increased later at the cost of further Attunement Points
- This adds a random amount of power to a particular Trait
- Upgrading Traits increases the item’s Legendary Rating
- As this increases, more Traits can be added
Each action taken on a weapon increases its Strain. As Strain increases, so does the cost of making further modifications. Therefore, players must consider which Traits to keep and the amount to upgrade them, as the cost in Silver and Attunement Points escalates rapidly.
Benefits and Legacy
Players can customize their .4 weapons this way to add strength and versatility to their builds, or create a remarkably powerful weapon if they invest enough time and Silver.
But they can also leave a lasting impact on Albion:
- As a weapon’s Legendary Rating increases, its chances of being destroyed on death are reduced
- Therefore, it stands a greater chance of remaining in the game, with a record of its creators and owners
- Players can then choose to add to its history themselves, or trade it - maybe even back to the original owner
- Awakened Weapons cannot be traded on the Marketplace, so this must be done personally
- Traded items (but not looted items) must be re-attuned to the new owner for their traits to work
While these weapons cannot be crafted, Focus Points can be used to reduce the attunement costs of adding and upgrading traits.
Awakened Weapons are a significant addition to Albion’s sandbox world, giving players new possibilities both in combat, and in leaving their mark on the game. Stay tuned for more Dev Talks on the Wild Blood update coming soon!
The Next Guild Season Starts Saturday
Albion’s next Guild Season begins this weekend! At 00:00 UTC on September 23, Albion East Season 3 kicks off. And then, at 11:00 UTC, Albion West Season 21 will begin. It looks sure to be an action-packed season, with big rewards on offer like the new Epic and Legendary Guild Season Winner Direwolf Skins for multiple season winners! Check this forum post for the full season schedule and list of rewards.
Crystal League Changes
As previously announced, this season sees some big changes to the Crystal League:
- The Crystal League will no longer grant Season Points
- The Lethal Crystal League has been removed entirely, and all 20v20 Crystal League matches are now non-lethal
- At the end of the season, there will no longer be a Crystal League Championship
As always, you can watch the season kick off this weekend on AlbionTV. At 13:30 UTC on September 23 we’ll be broadcasting Invasion Day on Albion East. Then at 17:30 UTC we’ll bring coverage from Albion West ahead of the first round of territory resets there. Finally, at 00:30 UTC on September 24, those in the North and South American time zones can tune in for the second round of territory resets on Albion West. All open-world fights are broadcast live with a 15-minute delay.
Check this forum post for a full season schedule, and join us to see the season kickoff!
Dev Talk: Islands and Farming Rework
Personal Island Biomes
Wild Blood reworks the appearances of all personal islands, with each now belonging to a particular biome.
The goals of this are:
- Give players a visually upgraded island experience
- Make islands feel secluded while still thematically linked to cities
Each island’s visuals will be appropriate to its host city:
- Martlock: Rolling hills, meadows, cliffs, and waterfalls
- Lymhurst: Thick, lush forest with a stream running through
- Bridgewatch: Oasis-like, with warm, shallow waters and palm trees
- Fort Sterling: peaceful, snow-capped mountains
- Thetford: sunken ruins, overgrown trees, and emerald waters
- Caerleon: rough, rocky, bandit-controlled territory
Farming Bonuses
Along with updated island visuals, new farming bonuses for crops and animals are being introduced:
- A particular crop will grow best on each island
- A particular animal will yield more when butchered on each island
- Each animal will have a favorite food, which makes it grow faster
These different bonuses will encourage trade and allow the planning of a sophisticated growing, transportation, and processing schedule.
With these changes on the way, you are now able to move an existing island once until the update launches on October 16. For details on this and which bonuses apply where, see this forum post.
Furthermore, when Wild Blood releases, players will be able to own multiple personal islands: up to one for each city, allowing players to build a trans-continental farming empire!
Stay tuned for more Dev Talks on the other Wild Blood features coming very soon.
The Final Crystal League Championship: Wrapup
It is with some sadness that we say farewell to the Crystal League Championship, which took place for the last time at the weekend. But it’s also time to celebrate the achievements of Moral Pro and Last Season, who took the final titles on East and West respectively!
On Saturday 16 September, the top 8 teams on Albion East squared off, and after a tough route to the Grand Finale, Moral Pro beat 1073 Days 2-0 to claim the crown. Then, on Sunday 17, Last Season put in a dominant display on Albion West, storming to their ultimate victory with a 2-0 defeat of Mitos, who had made it to the final for the fourth season running.
Congratulations to the top four teams on each server, who took home the following prizes:
- First Place: the extremely rare Saber Tiger Rex Swiftclaw skin and 10,000 Gold
- Second Place: the Recruiter’s White Tiger Swiftclaw skinand 5,000 Gold
- Third Place: the Recruiter’s Giant Frog mount and 5,000 Gold
- Fourth Place: the Occult Cougar Swiftclaw skin and 5,000 Gold
And with that, the Crystal League Championship comes to an end for the final time. But Albion’s next Guild Season is just around the corner, starting September 23, and we hope to see our top 5v5 players continuing to test their mettle in the Crystal Arena and Crystal League. So see you then!
Wild Blood is Coming October 16
Wild Blood is drawing close: October 16 sees the release of Albion’s latest content update, unleashing its primal side. Shapeshifter Weapons allow players to embody fearsome creatures in combat, while Tracking lets you hunt them across the open world. New, powerful potions can be crafted from their remains, and Awakened Items with unique attributes can be developed through combat. With improvements to player islands and farming, visually reworked Randomized Dungeons, and more, Wild Blood brings new layers to Albion’s sandbox world.
Take on New Forms
Wild Blood brings some of Albion’s most primal magic to the fore, which can be harnessed with the all-new Shapeshifter Weapons. This Staff weapon line lets players metamorphosize into fantastical creatures mid-combat, expanding the limits of Albion’s ‘you are what you wear’ system. Meanwhile, these beasts can be pursued across the open world in the Tracking system, and can drop new artifacts and ingredients to successful hunters, imbued with their magical essence.
Awaken Your Power
The rare, alchemical ingredients dropped by each of these rare beasts can be used to craft brand-new potions with their own formidable effects, introducing further new combat possibilities, while rare Arcane Extracts can enchant potions to levels not seen before. And Awakened Items are coming, which can be imbued with more powerful attributes through their use in combat, becoming records of their own illustrious past. And while these risk being lost in combat, their unique traits live on, persisting through Albion’s history as it is written.
Lands Enriched
Players can now own multiple Personal Islands, which are each linked to a specific city and have stunning new visuals to reflect the distinctive atmosphere of each biome. Each of these now has its own farming bonuses for crops, herbs, and animals, bringing further economic depth to Albion and encouraging trade across the far-flung corners of the Royal Continent. Meanwhile, Randomized Dungeons have expressive new visuals, reworked layouts, and new enemies. And numerous further improvements are coming too, like the Death Recap, which allows players to review and learn from their defeats in combat, becoming ever more fearsome warriors.
Wild Blood expands the possibilities of life in Albion in new ways, opening up exciting avenues to all types of players. For more details on all this, check the official update page:
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