Albion Online News

Call to Arms Patch 4, AKA the Call to Arms Balance Patch, is here! First and foremost, this patch brings big changes and improvements to all types of Hellgates, including massively increased rewards, improved matchmaking, an automatic cooldown reset when invaded, and streamlined knockdown mechanics.

Additionally, Patch 4 brings a huge array of Combat Balance Changes across numerous weapon and armor lines, along with updates and improvements to Faction Warfare, the 20v20 Crystal League, the Black Zone Fame Buff, and more.
[h3]Hellgates: Better Rewards and Matchmaking[/h3]
We've made numerous improvements to the overall experience in all sizes and types of Hellgates based on testing and community feedback. Here are some of the biggest changes:

• Significantly increased rewards across all Hellgate modes
• Chests now always spawn once a Hellgate is complete, whether or not PvP occurred
• Cooldowns and Health now reset after an invasion
• Removed matchmaking delay in chained Hellgates

[h3]Combat Balance Changes[/h3]
Michael Schwahn, Albion's Combat Designer, sums up the balance changes in this patch:

"This patch aims to bring a wider variety of healing staffs into the meta while reducing the dominance of certain items in specific content, like Dagger Pairs in 2v2 Hellgates and Quarterstaffs in Corrupted Dungeons. Sustain damage provided by the axe line is also reduced, to bring them more in line with other melee weapons. This patch also offers reworks of abilities that have been out of the spotlight recently."

Here's a partial list of what's new:

• Axes: Updated numerous skills to increase importance of positioning and timing
• Cursed Staffs: Buffed various skills to improve performance in PvP
• Nature Staffs: Added a burst-heal W-slot ability
• Armors: Updated Life Steal Aura and Self-Ignition

[h3]Other Changes[/h3]

• Improved load times between zones on all platforms
• Faction Warfare: Respawns now happen in batches to help rally forces; Bandit Assault is more frequent and unpredictable
• 20v20 Crystal League: Increased artifact rewards in final chests
• Black Zone Fame Buff persists when moving between zones
• Mobile Version: Further optimizations and UI improvements
• … and much more

Finally, for this patch, we're also trying something new: offering detailed explanations of combat balance changes under each weapon and armor type, to show the reasons and goals behind them. As always, you can check out the full list of changes, including these detailed balance change descriptions, in the official patchnotes.

The Disciples of Morgana have re-emerged from the shadows... and for the entire month of May, you can take the Morgana Challenge to collect fantastic rewards. Earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your very own Morgana Raven mount.
[h3]Embrace the Darkness[/h3]
MORGANA RAVEN: This month's Challenge brings back the popular Morgana Raven, a fearsome, fast-moving flying mount with an area-of-effect Fear spell. (Note: the Morgana Raven requires the same terrain pathing as all other mounts, and cannot fly over gaps or obstacles).

AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Morgana Challenge Avatar Ring, a menacing, fiery frame that will give your avatar an aura of dread. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar ring for one character.

SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month long, reach weekly goals to unlock Morgana Challenge chests. These chests contain valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes and Silver bags, along with unique Morgana-themed 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!
 
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It's official: Albion Online will be launching this summer on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store! We'll have more news in the coming weeks, including the official launch date, but for now you can pre-register here to be notified once the official mobile versions are available. You’ll also get a special reward for cross-platform play on mobile launch.

Additionally, German users are in luck: to test the mobile version before the wider global release, we've already launched it in Germany! (Please note: this version is still under development, with more optimizations and usability improvements to come.)

Over the past year, we've been hard at work polishing, optimizing, and streamlining the mobile version for both iOS and Android, and we'll continue adding and improving features in the leadup to the official launch. Recent improvements and optimizations to the mobile version include:

• Introduction of fully customizable mobile-specific controls and HUD
• Two unique control schemes for mobile users
• Optimized UI for mobile users with customizable settings
• ...and much more

[h3]Get the New Chimera Skin for Cross-Platform Play[/h3]
We're very excited to announce a special reward for cross-platform play: the brand new Chimera Mount Skin! Once the official mobile version launches, any player who logs in to both the desktop and mobile version will receive this unique skin, which transforms any tier of Riding Horse base mount into a fierce mythological beast. As with past skins, unlocking the Chimera allows it to be used by all characters on your account, so sign up now to be notified once the official launch is live!
[h3]PRE-REGISTER NOW[/h3]

Dress to raise the dead with the new Keeper of Souls Vanity Bundle! This premiere bundle is available in the ingame store, and includes a full costume set, a costume weapon, and a macabre, bone-chilling mount skin for your Giant Stag or Moose.

The bundle includes the Phylactery of Souls, a costume weapon in the form of a large lantern-topped staff that gives off an otherworldly blue-green light, plus necromancy-themed costume skins for your character's head, cape, armor, and shoe slots. And the full set is rounded out with a mount skin that transforms your Giant Stag into an eerie, undead mount sporting ragged robes and a deer skull topped with dark, jagged antlers. As with all Stag mount skins, it can be used on both the Giant Stag and Moose base mounts.

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The Keeper of Souls Bundle includes the following vanity skins:

• Keeper of Souls Cowl
• Keeper of Souls Armor
• Keeper of Souls Boots
• Keeper of Souls Cape
• Phylactery of Souls costume weapon
• Keeper of Souls mount skin for your Stag or Moose base mount

(As with past bundles, you can use all costume, weapon, 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.)

Get this premiere bundle today and let the souls of the dead surge through you!

The Call to Arms update in March brought a complete rework of Hellgates in Albion Online. Since then, we've been monitoring both player feedback and our own data, with the goal of making sure this system remains engaging, challenging, and fair for players of all levels. Today's patch brings numerous improvements and adjustments to Hellgate gameplay, including:

• Better 10v10 matchmaking
• Greatly improved matchmaking when chaining all Hellgate types
• Updated IP requirements and softcap, and mob behavior, for lethal 10v10 Hellgates
• Additional Tomes of Insight in chests after defeating an enemy team

To read more about these changes and the intent behind them, please see this forum post.


[h3]Also in Patch 3[/h3]

• Faction Warfare Changes: better reward progression, updated boss behavior, and improved notifications for Faction-related activities
• New chat commands for guild and party management
• Mobile improvements including increased maximum font size for chat
• Numerous bug fixes for both desktop and mobile

For a complete list of changes and fixes, check out the official patchnotes.