Albion Online News

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 Sabertooth 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:

• Saturday, June 4: 17:00 - 20:45 UTC
• Sunday, June 5: 17:00 - 21:45 UTC

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.

[video]http://assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/a2ed388a6aa7c3001502b638ec089cf1cde7936d.mp4[/video]

Spring has given way to summer in Albion, and a sprightly creature can be seen bounding across all of Albion’s biomes. A new referral season is upon us, and from now until August 1 you can claim the Summer Fawn mount skin when you refer a friend!

This skin transforms your Stag base mount into a magical, graceful beast in touch with its natural surroundings. With a dashing harness and saddle, the Summer Fawn will carry you faithfully as it leaps across hill and dale. And as always, once you’ve unlocked this skin it can be used by all characters on your account.

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 August 1, so refer a friend now and claim your rewards!
[h3]How to Earn Seasonal Referral Rewards[/h3]

• 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.

Who says chivalry is dead? For the entire month of June, take the Knight Challenge to collect fantastic rewards. Earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim the powerful and imposing Gallant Horse mount.
[h3]Knight Moves[/h3]
GALLANT HORSE: This month's Challenge brings back the powerful Gallant Horse, a noble mount with a combination speed boost / immunity spell that leaves foes in the dust. Ride fearlessly into the wilds of Albion on the back of this mighty steed!

AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Knight Challenge Avatar Ring, a bold, plate-armor-themed ring that will give your avatar an aura of nobility. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar ring for one character – or you can trade it at the Vanity Merchant for one Adventurer's Token.

SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month long, reach weekly goals to unlock Knight Challenge chests. These chests contain valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes and Silver bags, plus knight-themed furniture like the Stone Throne, Round Table, Knight Statue, and Regal Carpet.

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!

Albion's sixteenth Guild Season kicks off June 11, with big changes to Castles and Castle Outposts, a new Crystal League mode, Might Level adjustments, and more.
[h3]A New Era of Castle Fights[/h3]
Season 16 updates Castles and Castle Outposts, with improved layouts to encourage fighting on multiple fronts, and reworked visuals to make them more varied and visually appealing. Instead of generating passive points, Castle and Outpost chests now grant Might to those who claim them, and appear dynamically on a new timer. And a dedicated Might Level in the Conqueror’s Challenge still allows big Season Point payouts.


[h3]5v5s for All Levels[/h3]
Season 16 brings two new 5v5 modes for players of all levels. The new Crystal Arena offers a ranked version of the classic Arena, with matches played in the Crystal League map with knockdown mechanics. And the new Non-Lethal Crystal League provides access to the full 9-level experience, but without the full-loot kills of the regular League. Both modes have unique rewards as well, including Gladiator Wardrobe Skins. And of course, the classic 5v5 and 20v20 full-loot modes are still available for players looking for hardcore endgame content.


[h3]Might Level Adjustments[/h3]
To keep seasons balanced, progress has been boosted in several Might Levels where guild progress was somewhat behind the curve. Corrupted Dungeons, Crystal Spiders, and Outland Treasures now offer faster level progress, giving guilds more overall Season Points and more ways to stay competitive.


[h3]Unique Season Rewards[/h3]
Players who gain enough Might will receive unique Avatar Sets, as well as the coveted Behemoth and valuable Fame Buffs. Might is earned through a huge range of activities in the Conqueror's Challenge, and there are additional bracket rewards for guilds who reach at least Iron Rank. And as always, the season's number-one guild will become a permanent part of the world of Albion with their very own statue in Conquerors' Hall.





For the full list of season rewards, check out this forum post.
[h3]Watch the Season Kickoff Live[/h3]
The season kickoff on Saturday, June 11 will be broadcast live on AlbionTV starting 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. Those in the North and South American time zones can tune in for the second round of territory resets on Sunday at 00:30 UTC, when hosts Shozen, Robinhoodrs and Tazzik cover the next round of invasions. All open-world fights are broadcast live with a 15-minute delay.

Check out AlbionTV's latest Invasion Day coverage:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
For the complete Season 16 Schedule, see this forum post.

Accessibility to high-level content is one of the cornerstones of the upcoming Into the Fray update, both in terms of the open-world experience and Albion’s 5v5 play. In this Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys takes an in-depth look at some of the ways this will be addressed - with new Portal Towns, a Journey Back ability, new Arena and Crystal League modes, and more.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Read on for a summary of the video, and watch our previous Dev Talk on Magic Staffs here.
[h3]Portal Towns[/h3]

• Replace the existing Outlands portal regions
• Each Royal City has a corresponding Portal Town in the Outlands
• Each Portal Town shares a Bank and Marketplace with its corresponding Royal City, allowing Outlands-based players a more convenient access point for these
• Each Portal Town features a number of exits into the Outlands
• Invisibility Shrines are now more prominent, and their Invisibility effect lasts longer

[h3]Journey Back Ability[/h3]

• Designed to encourage players to venture deeper into the open world
• Journey Back is an ability on all mounts except for battle mounts
• Transports the player to their last-visited City or Hideout, after a medium-length channel
• Using this ability costs a Silver fee, determined by the distance traveled and the value of goods and equipment carried
• Cannot be used in the following cases:
  • After trading with another player
  • After taking items from a Bank or player-placed chest
  • When returning from a trade mission
  • When positioned within a large group of players
  • When subject to the Disarray or Outlaw penalties

[h3]Other Convenience Improvements[/h3]

• New on-death tutorials and survival tips
• Lost Equipment Loadout saves the last equipment you wore before death into a loadout, for quick regearing
• Training Dummies for combat practice added to Player Islands (from Level 1) and Guild Islands (from Level 3)
• UI improvements like tooltips for region exits, a Muted Players UI, searching and filtering in crafting UIs, and an improved Party UI

[h3]Crystal Arena[/h3]

• A new competitive, non-full-loot, 5v5 Arena mode
• Players can sign up solo or as a group, and will be auto-matched with an opposing team of a similar skill level
• Winning matches earns Rank Points, which determines a player’s Arena Rank
• Rewards for winning a match scale up as a player’s rank increases, and players also earn rewards when they reach a new level (once per season for each level)
• Rewards include a new gladiator-themed wardrobe set, exclusively given for Arena participation

[h3]Non-Lethal Crystal League[/h3]

• Will run parallel to the existing, full-loot Crystal League
• Provides an additional pathway to the Crystal League Championship
• Offers rewards, though less than the full-loot League

[h3]Other Changes[/h3]

• Rewards for both Crystal League modes now include the new Crystal Gladiator wardrobe set
  • This is exclusive to the Crystal Leagues and is non-tradable
• Adjustments made to the Crystal League map
• New Double Healer Penalty debuff in the Crystal League
• New Custom Matches UI allows you to challenge another party with a specific map and set of rules
• General Arena rewards have been improved

With these accessibility improvements to high-level action in the Outlands, Crystal League and Crystal Arena, we can’t wait to see both new and experienced players try them out when Into the Fray launches on June 8. Stay tuned for our next Dev Talk, where we’ll discuss Victory Emotes, Dynamic Events and all the changes and improvements coming to Castles. See you then!