The Lands Awakened update on November 24 brings exciting developments to combat in Albion Online. In this Dev Talk, Combat Designer Michael Schwahn and Game Director Robin Henkys introduce two major new features: the War Gloves weapon line and Elite Levels.
[previewyoutube="d0XBGtu-BlI;full"] Read on for a written summary...
War Gloves
War Gloves have a great deal of build versatility, giving players a variety of outplay possibilities and interesting decisions to make. They have one more Q slot ability than other weapons, allowing build flexibility for different situations.
Here’s a look at just some of their abilities:
New weapon lines for Hunter and Mage are also being worked on for future updates, so stay tuned.
Elite Levels
Lands Awakened brings significantly increased Fame rewards across the game, which players can use to progress with their weapon specializations. As a further Fame objective for veteran players, the Destiny Board has also been expanded with Elite Levels:
Remember, Lands Awakened launches on November 24, and soon after that we’ll have a final Dev Talk where we show some big UI improvements to Loadouts, farming, and party invites.
Thanks for watching!
Dev Talk: Power Cores and HQ Hideouts
Lands Awakened arrives November 24, bringing major open-world features, Guild Season changes, and more. In our newest Dev Talk, Robin Henkys discusses Hideout Power Cores and Headquarters Hideouts, two related features that will shake up guild warfare and open-world PvP.
[previewyoutube="i1oWeiLp3hM;full"] Prefer a written summary? Read on...
Hideout Power Cores
Additionally, entering owned Hideouts set as "Home" grants temporary Fame buff (based on Hideout power level) in the Outlands
Further Details
Headquarters Hideouts
Establishing HQ Hideouts
Maintenance
Conclusion
Earning and maintaining HQ Hideouts is no easy task, but being protected from attack allows guilds to make their own choices and forge their own destiny in Albion. (Note: HQs will be added to the Roads of Avalon in a later update; until then, Power Cores cannot be taken through the Roads.)
Subscribe for upcoming videos on War Gloves, Elite Levels, and more!
The Crystal League Championship Starts Saturday
The wait is almost over: the Crystal League Championship is this weekend! Starting Saturday at 17:00 UTC, tune in to AlbionTV to watch all the action live. Winners will receive huge Gold rewards and rare mounts, with the first-place team walking away with the ultra-rare Saber Tiger Rex Swiftclaw Skin.
Join hosts Shozen, Lewpac, and Tazzik as they bring you live coverage and commentary on these high-action fights. Here's the weekend's schedule:
Check out detailed brackets below (click to expand):
(Note: the above end times are approximate, depending on how long matches run.)
For team breakdowns, full rules, and the final schedule, keep an eye on this forum post.
Announcing the Albion Online Creators Program
Today we’re excited to announce the launch of the Albion Online Creators Program! With this we want to bring together all the talented video creators and streamers of our community, helping your work reach a wider audience and growing Albion Online as a content creator game.
Along with helping you to grow your channel, we’re looking at offering a whole range of benefits to those who are accepted. These may include having your streams and videos featured on our official channels, free giveaways for your viewers, direct support from the Albion Online team, a new vanity skin that will be released with the Lands Awakened update, and more.
Starting today you can apply to join the program and be a part of this exciting journey with us. Full details on how to sign up can be found in this Forum post, so get involved!
Season 14 Brings Big Changes
The Lands Awakened update goes live on November 24, bringing revamped open-world visuals and gameplay, the new War Gloves weapon line, Elite Levels for weapon mastery, numerous quality-of-life improvements, and more. Alongside these changes, the update also ushers in a new era of guild warfare, with a completely new Guild Season structure that offers countless ways for resourceful players of all types to make seasonal progress and earn rewards, even those not affiliated with a guild. Traditional guild activities such as territory control and ZvZs will still provide a path to success, but individual players – and their guilds in turn – will also benefit from playing other smaller-scale activities.
Introducing the Conqueror's Challenge
To make Guild Seasons more about player activity and less about territory control and passive income, this season introduces the Conquerors' Challenge. This dynamic, season-long system for tracking progress opens Albion's higher-level activities to guild members and non-guild-affiliated players alike, and introduces two new reward systems, Might and Favor (details below).
The Conqueror's Challenge offers players the freedom to earn Season Rewards in countless different ways, with a wide range of activities contributing to progress. Ultimately, any player willing to put in the work during a season will have a chance to unlock some of the most valuable and powerful rewards in the game.
Might, Favor, and Might Levels
As part of the revamped Guild Seasons, this season brings two new concepts to the game: Might and Favor, which measure the success of individuals and guilds during the season and unlock fantastic rewards.
Alongside personal Might, guild-affiliated players’ activities will contribute towards their Guild Might Level, which rewards guilds with Season Points, and their members with further Might and Might Boosts.
Additionally, a new Season Overview UI will show a guild’s current rank, how its Season Points were earned, and which members contributed the most Might.
Headquarters Hideouts, Power Cores and Energy Crystals
To further encourage exciting power struggles in the Outlands and keep things competitive for smaller guilds, Headquarters Hideouts have been introduced. Earning enough Season Points in the preceding season allows a guild to designate one of its Outlands Hideouts as an HQ, making it invulnerable. This status must be maintained, however, through capturing new Power Cores as they appear across the landscape. Alongside Energy Crystals, which can be used to boost Territories, this will bring a whole new dynamic and competitive edge to Guild Seasons. For more information on these new features, see this Dev Talk.
Additional Season 14 Changes
Dev Talk: Guild Season Changes
The Lands Awakened update arrives November 24, bringing massive open-world changes, a new weapon line, an updated soundtrack, and more. In today's Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys discusses the huge changes coming to Guild Seasons with this update.
[previewyoutube="sg-6Ho_Wuyk;full"] No time to watch the video? Read on for a summary...
Primary Goals
Conqueror's Challenge
Might
Might is earned by participating in activities with a risk of PvP:
Favor
Guild Might Levels
As players earn Might and Favor for themselves, they contribute to another new feature, Guild Might Levels:
Guild Might Levels in turn benefit guild members:
Energy Vortices
Territory Energy Levels
Captured Crystals boost the Territory's energy, which:
Over time, Territory energy diminishes, so guilds must remain active to get maximum Territory benefits. Crystal League Matches played from Territory towers continue to supplement energy as well.
Territory Rebalancing
To encourage active Outlands play, Territories now generate far fewer Season Points if they are low on energy, but have a much higher maximum potential if they stay at maximum level. Season success is thus less dependent on passive income, instead requiring guilds to remain active around their Territories. Of course, players participating in this are also rewarded with significant Might and Favor themselves.
In Summary
The Conqueror’s Challenge, Might Levels and Energy Vortices allow players to push their guild towards victory with smaller-scale activities, while earning rewards for themselves and enjoying new open-world PvP objectives.
Stay tuned for the next Dev Talks, where we'll discuss Headquarters Hideouts, Power Cores, War Gloves and more!
Lands Awakened Arrives November 24
On November 24, the Lands Awakened update goes live. This update brings a new era of open-world gameplay to Albion with reworked dungeons, mobs and treasure sites, new open-world PvP objectives for groups of all sizes, massively improved visuals and layouts for all five biomes, the new War Gloves weapon line, fully reworked Guild Seasons, numerous quality-of-life improvements, and much more.
Check out the teaser trailer here: [previewyoutube="yD0hqXXqrKM;full"]
Albion Awakens
From reworked static dungeons with limited-time events and multi-zone exits, to mobs that increase in power and value over time, Lands Awakened brings a completely overhauled open-world experience. All five biomes have massively improved visuals and layouts, dynamically spawning treasure sites offer intrepid players a chance at lucrative rewards, and an expanded soundtrack brings new emotional depth to the world. On the combat side, War Gloves, Albion's first completely new weapon line since launch, offer brawler-style combat options, while Elite Levels offer advanced mastery options and the overall speed of Fame progress has been boosted significantly.
Guild Warfare Re-Envisioned
Power Cores and Energy Crystals encourage strategic capture-the-flag gameplay with huge rewards, while Headquarters Hideouts offer protected bases for dedicated guilds. Guild Seasons have been completely reworked, with the Conqueror's Challenge giving individual guild members the ability to contribute to seasonal progress while earning their own rewards. And the new Might and Favor systems give guilds of all sizes, as well as their individual members, countless new ways to earn Season Points and unlock rewards.
Quality-of-Life Improvements
Player-created Loadouts can now be purchased directly from the Marketplace, while Farming optimizations let players tend crops and animals with fewer clicks. Rerolling items is newly streamlined, crafting and refining fees are clearer, and new party commands offer faster and easier party management. Alongside these changes, a host of additional improvements, fixes, balance changes, and optimizations make the world of Albion better than ever.
For more of what's coming, check out the official update page:
Allhallows is in full swing, and the Grim Challenge is back! For the entire month of November, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your very own Pest Lizard.
Pestilential Prizes For Intrepid Adventurers
PEST LIZARD: This month's Challenge offers another chance to claim the popular Pest Lizard. This sleek, slithery mount comes with a Toxic Cloud ability that causes enemies who touch it to become temporarily disoriented.
AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Grim Challenge avatar ring, featuring a spooky skull-topped iron frame. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character, or can be traded to the Vanity Merchant for one Adventurer's Token.
SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month long, reach weekly point totals to unlock Grim Challenge Chests. Along with valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes, Silver, resources, and other loot, you'll also have a chance to unlock four furniture items: the Empty Coffin, Grim Gravestone, Grim Lantern, and Weeping Woman Statue.
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!
Dev Talk: Expanded Soundtrack and Combat Audio
With the Lands Awakened update coming in November, players can look forward to a revamped soundtrack as they explore Albion. Senior Audio Designer Marie Havemann gives a glimpse behind the scenes of its production in our latest Dev Talk, introducing new music for combat, cities, Hideouts and more.
It’s already been five years since the original soundtrack for Albion Online was composed, and since then a good deal of new features have been introduced. To enhance the sonic richness and emotional impact of playing Albion, new music has been recorded with Prague's FILMharmonic Orchestra. This was composed over the last year by Marie along with Albion’s original composer Jonne Valtonen, and includes new music for:
Combat
City Themes
In line with the stronger sense of regional identity within Albion that the Lands Awakened update brings, each city will have its own theme that reflects the character of the different factions:
The starter towns of Albion also have a new theme to convey their liveliness and the sense of adventure at the beginning of a journey.
Hideout Themes
For the first time, Hideouts have their own musical identity, befitting their status as a player’s home within the black zones.
Additional Soundtrack Changes
This new soundtrack will really enhance the emotional experience of fighting, trading and venturing within the world of Albion Online. Stay tuned for more Dev Talks coming soon, where we’ll look at upcoming changes to Guild Seasons, HQ Hideouts, and more. See you then!
Allhallows Descends upon Albion
The nights are drawing in, there’s a chill in the air… yes, Allhallows has returned to Albion! From 10:00 UTC on October 27 through to 10:00 UTC on November 10 you can run the Hallowed Ground dungeon by entering one of the special portals that appear randomly in T4-T8 zones across the open world. Once inside you’ll find creepy corridors filled with pumpkins, gruesome mobs, and the strange, terrifying final boss known simply as Bob.
Both group and solo versions of the dungeons will appear, and each offer rare seasonal loot like the Jack o' Donkey and Horse Macabre mount skins. And as always, Halloween decorations will adorn each of Albion’s cities to mark this eerie time.
So don your dungeon-delving kit, venture out into the dark night and rid Albion of these malevolent spirits!
