Rejoice, spring has returned to Albion! As life flourishes across the lands, today marks the beginning of a special, two-week in-game event: the Rites of Spring.
With decorations in the cities, treasures and rewards springing up all over the open world, and a unique, brand-new item available, Albion will be teeming with life for the next fortnight. To mark the occasion we made a special event trailer, which you can watch below. More information follows…
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Treasures Galore
The Rites of Spring sees Albion filled with treasure for players to hunt down. All types of chests usually found in the open world will spawn at a much increased rate for the next two weeks. Alongside these, a new Spring Treasure Chest will appear, which has the chance of containing special, themed items.
On top of that, giant Colored Eggs are once again sprouting from the ground, which can be broken open for Surprise Eggs and chocolate. And both the chests and, on rare occasions, the Colored Eggs may themselves contain a particularly special type of egg if you’re very lucky…
That’s No Ordinary Rabbit
Rumors have been circulating throughout Albion of a strange, never-before-seen entity with unique powers bounding across the lands. And after much investigation it can be confirmed that there is indeed a brand-new creature out there: the Spring Cottontail!
This is a rare, speedy, Tier 8 mount with a special Hop ability, and is sure to be widely coveted. It requires no Destiny Board unlocks to use, so allcharacters can find, raise, and ride one from today. And all stages of its growth are fully tradable, meaning they can be bought and sold at Marketplaces. They’re out there now, so hop to it!
The Eggsecutioner Returns
Spring is a busy time for Albion’s tireless vanity merchants, and they’ll once again be selling their wares in return for gold and Surprise Eggs. Among their products you can find:
With all this going on, Albion will be bustling with life as players hunt down treasures, trade seasonal goods in the cities, and take their new Spring Cottontails out for a ride. Check out the Rites of Spring Patchnotes here, and go join in the fun!
Springtime Surprises are Coming Soon!
April 12 marks the beginning of the Rites of Spring in Albion, with decorations in the cities and themed items for you to hunt down.
And in addition, rumor has it that a brand-new, special reward will be appearing throughout the open world. Details are still unclear, with conflicting reports coming in as to the nature of this mysterious new entity. Some speak of a strange creature, never before seen in Albion, with unique powers - but these are as yet only rumors. The only certainty is that there’s going to be a frenzy across the lands as rival parties fight over the abundant treasures to be found throughout the open world.
The Rites of Spring begins after maintenance on Tuesday, April 12, and runs until maintenance on Tuesday, April 26. Make sure not to miss out on the excitement!
Farmers of Albion! As the lands get warmer and the days get longer, it’s time to sow your seeds. But with so much work to be done, you’ll need a trusty companion to work the fields. Luckily, today brings a new Referral Season, and from now until June 1 you can get your very own Farmer’s Ox mount skin for your Transport Ox base mount when you refer a friend!
This brand-new mount skin brings to life a well-known image from Albion’s past - the sturdy ox with a lantern hanging from its horns, crates heaving with wares, and a carrot dangling in front, leading it around as you go about your day’s work. Once you’ve unlocked this skin, it can be used by all characters on your account - so any of them can enjoy the company of this dependable beast.
You can also earn huge amounts of Fame for your third and fifth referrals: three referrals scores you a T7 Pile of Tomes worth 100,000 Fame, and five referrals gets you a T8 Pile of Tomes granting a colossal 200,000 Fame. And as always, your first-ever referral grants an additional T8 Pile of Tomes along with the mount skin.
The current referral season lasts until maintenance on June 1, so you've got until then to refer your friends and claim these rewards!
How to Earn Seasonal Referral Rewards
The Hunter Challenge Returns
Let the hunt begin! For all of April, take the Hunter Challenge: earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your very own Black Panther mount.
Hunt Down Fantastic Items
BLACK PANTHER: This month's Challenge sees the return of the mighty Black Panther, a sleek feline mount with a fearsome appearance. It boasts a powerful speed boost spell that can propel its rider across large distances – helping both hunters and hunted alike.
AVATAR RING: Reach your goals to unlock the Hunter Challenge avatar ring to give your favorite avatar a hunting-themed border. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character, or can be traded for one Adventurer's Token at the Vanity Merchant.
SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month, reach weekly goals to unlock Hunter Challenge chests. In addition to valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes, Silver bags, and rare resources, this month's chests contain various hunting-themed statues and furniture items.
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. So log in, head out into the open world, gather points, and claim your rewards!
New Bundles Available
Looking for a deal? Then check out the brand-new Vanity Value Bundles and expanded Starter Bundle selection in the in-game store! These bundles offer vanity items in combination with either Gold or Gold and Premium at huge discounts, and are available in-game to all players.
Vanity Value Bundles are Here
Vanity Value Bundles are the perfect option for those looking to upgrade their appearance and score some extra Gold on the side. Each bundle consists of a popular mount skin or vanity set along with varying amounts of Gold, and offers big discounts versus buying separately.
The current bundles include:
New Starter Bundles Added
Due to popular demand, a total of seven new Starter Bundles have been added to the in-game store, each offering a vanity set/skin, Gold, and Premium at a huge combined discount:
To purchase a Vanity Value or Starter Bundle, just log in on any platform and click the corresponding tab in the in-game store. Any bundle with a skin not yet unlocked on your account will be available. (Note: Vanity Value Bundles are available on all platforms; Starter Bundles are currently unavailable for purchase on iOS.)
Log in today and get great deals on vanity!
Watch Invasion Day Live on AlbionTV
Territories will be reset this weekend - and we'll be covering it live on the AlbionTV Twitch channel starting Saturday at 17:30 UTC. Join our hosts Lewpac, Bogul, and Shozen as they cover the Invasion Day madness live! All fights are broadcast live with a 15-minute time delay.
Starting at 18:00 UTC, guilds will have new opportunities to claim territories and launch attacks. Those in the North and South American time zones can also tune in for the second round of territory resets on Sunday at 00:30UTC with hosts Bogul, Shozen, and Robinhoodrs, with territories becoming claimable at 01:00 UTC.
Between the two reset broadcasts, we'll also be broadcasting Level 4-6 Crystal League fights with no delay at 20:00, 21:00, and 21:30 UTC.
For the complete Guild Season schedule, check out this forum post.
Here's a video from the last Invasion Day, which kicked off Season 15:
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Become a Learned Fighter with the Master of Fists Vanity Bundle
A new vanity bundle is here - the powerful Master of Fists! Available now from the ingame store, this premium bundle includes a full costume set along with a matching Master of Fists Horse skin for your Riding Horse base mount.
This bundle is perfect for showing off your martial arts expertise. With bronze plates and jewelry shining in the spring light, you will step out onto the plains of Albion with the studied grace and power of a dedicated fighter. Along with a trusted white riding horse, the bundle also includes a daunting demon mask, striking fear into anyone who dares engage you in combat.
The mask and robes also include optional guild versions to show off your guild's colors in style – and with the stylings of a close-combat expert, this is the perfect set to use in combination with the War Gloves weapon line. So for anyone who’s been studying these weapons and mastering their powers since they launched in November, now you have the perfect vanity set in which to demonstrate your abilities!
The Master of Fists Bundle includes the following vanity skins, which work on male and female characters alike:
[video autoplay="yes" loop="yes" muted="yes" playsinline="yes"]http://assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/ceaabe289c56c6630e33276c4d1462a03893d673.mp4[/video] As with past bundles, you can use all costume and mount skins with all characters on your account, and they are never lost or destroyed. All items will be unlocked in the ingame "Appearance" menu after purchase.
With Season 15 kicking off, grab this premiere bundle and show off your fighting skills!
Dev Talk: 2022 Roadmap
While 2021 was Albion Online's biggest year yet, there's tons more in store for 2022. In our first Dev Talk of the year, Game Director Robin Henkys takes a look back at the past year, before looking forward to some major changes, improvements, and updates coming to the world of Albion in 2022.
[previewyoutube="YNLrtIlM-dE;full"] No time to watch the video, or prefer a written summary? Then read on…
2021: A Huge Year for Albion
2021 was a year of major reworks to some of Albion's biggest existing features. Some of these overhauls include:
At the same time, entirely new content was introduced to the game, including:
2021 also saw the long-awaited official mobile launch, with extensive work done throughout the year to improve, expand, and optimize the mobile experience. In short, we made Albion Online better and more accessible to players around the world.
Coming in 2022
In 2022, the goal is to find a good mix of new content, updating existing systems, and improving accessibility for new players.
Reworked Weapon Lines
Work has already begun on a complete overhaul of existing weapon lines. First up is a full rework of all Magic Staffs in the game, including:
Open World Objectives
The next major open-world feature to be improved is Castles and Castle Outposts:
Roads of Avalon
New content will be added and rewards for playing in the Roads increased. They'll also be adjusted to better suit small-group play.
Furthermore, an entirely new type of Road called the Mists is coming:
Making High-Level Gameplay More Accessible
Recurring Gameplay Events
Additional Improvements and Features
We'll talk about these features in more detail soon – until then, thanks for watching!
Season 15 Starts Saturday
Albion’s fifteenth Guild Season starts this weekend, bringing changes to Might and Favor and the Crystal League. Read on for details…
Season 15 Changes
With the start of Season 15, Might and Favor gained from various activities will be increased, to further reward those who participate in riskier activities, like gathering in the Outlands and Roads of Avalon or winning in Corrupted Dungeons. On top of this, Might Level thresholds have been adjusted to make it easier to progress by completing a wide variety of activities across the game.
Meanwhile, the Crystal League has been updated and will offer greatly improved rewards. A new 5v5 map, an updated version of the former Steppe Territory GvG map, should mean more tense and competitive matches with greater comeback potential. And in addition, Silver and Fame rewards in both 5v5 and 20v20 matches have been significantly increased at nearly all levels.
For full details of the Might and Favor changes, Crystal League rewards, and a full season schedule, seethis forum post.
Season Rewards
Conqueror’s Challenge rewards from gaining Might in Season 15 are as follows:
For a full breakdown of guild and personal season rewards, see this forum post.
Watch the Season Kickoff Live
The action starts on Saturday, March 5 and will be broadcast live on AlbionTV from 17:30 UTC, with hosts Shozen, Lewpac and Bogul bringing full coverage of Invasion Day.
At 18:00 UTC all territories will be reset for guilds to claim them and launch attacks. Those in the North and South American time zones can also tune in for the second round of territory resets on Sunday, March 6 at 00:30 UTC, when hosts Shozen, Robinhoodrs and Bogul will cover the next round of invasions from 01:00 UTC. All open-world fights are broadcast live with a 15-minute delay.
Watch AlbionTV’s coverage of the final Season 14 Invasion Day here: [previewyoutube="JxqAfEw1FQE;full"]
The Season 15 Patch is Here
The Season 15 patch is here! This brings improvements to the Crystal League, Might and Favor changes, upgrading Randomized Dungeons, automatic Silver pickups, and much more. Read on for details...
Controller Support Beta
This patch marks the beginning of controller support testing, which will be optimized over the coming months. Players will be able to use Xbox controllers, Playstation Dualshock, and other PC-compatible controllers with the game. Additionally, Steam players will be able to use the Steam Deck. For controller support and to give feedback, please use this subforum.
Guild Season Changes
Upgrading Randomized Dungeons
Following the introduction of randomly upgrading Static Dungeons with the Lands Awakened update, this patch brings a similar upgrading system to Randomized Dungeons. This applies to both solo and group Randomized Dungeons in all zones and tiers, and dungeons with upgraded rewards/mobs will be marked visually around the dungeon entrance.
Quality-of-Life Improvements
This patch introduces several important quality-of-life improvements, including:
Combat Balance Changes
This patch brings some significant combat balance changes to broaden options and ensure competitive play ahead of Season 15. Here are just some of the changes:
