Albion Online News

The Rise of Avalon update went live on August 12, 2020, bringing the Roads of Avalon, Corrupted Dungeons, and much more to the world of Albion. In this Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys gives an update about the current state of the game as well as a preview of what's coming next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QqL7GoYDVI
No time to watch, or prefer a written summary? Read on...
[h3]2020 in Albion[/h3]
2020 brought two major updates and massive growth in player numbers. The last update was developed with almost our entire team working from home, and since then we’ve been busy dealing with the challenges of distributed production, increased player numbers, and staying on top of patches and future content.

Today we want to give you an update on what's coming next. Two exciting developments are coming soon:


[h3]Midseason Update: Brimstone & Mist[/h3]
The first of these is the Brimstone & Mist Midseason Update, which expands on the Rise of Avalon update launched this past summer:

• New Mobs and Traps in Corrupted Dungeons, including Hellhounds, new Heretics and demons, deadly spike and lava traps, and an all-new final boss, the Demonic Harbinger
• Rebalanced existing mobs and increased Demonic Shard health in Slayer difficulty
• Added numerous fishing areas to Roads of Avalon
• Added an exclusive rare fish that can only be caught in the Roads of Avalon, plus a new line of food and corresponding rare fish recipe
• Changes to Disarray (zerg debuff):
  • Disarray will now depend on the relative difference in Disarray levels between you and your target
  • This will boost the importance of damage dealers and healers while ensuring each role stays impactful no matter the size of the battle
  • Disarray will still protect smaller groups from being overwhelmed
• Changes to the Smart Cluster Queue:
  • Now keeps existing parties together when possible
  • Party leaders can now assign party as well as player priorities
  • Improved the way the system deals with allied players, ensuring players don't displace allies
• ...and much more

Brimstone and Mist goes live on October 21 - read more about it here.
[h3]Android Updating + Google Play Open Beta[/h3]

• Improved Android updating:
  • In-app updating will dramatically reduce the size of the .apk download
  • Downloads changed content only, which should result in much faster patching
  • Introduced with Brimstone and Mist, but will mostly affect future patches, since this update contains significant structural changes that need to be downloaded
• Google Play Store Beta:
  • Happening in early November
  • Install and update Albion Online via the Google Play Store, making it easy and convenient to keep the game updated

[h3]Looking to the Future[/h3]
Of course, the Midseason Update and the mobile version aren’t all we’ve been working on. With Rise of Avalon we concluded much of the work we set out to do in the Queen Update: we added interconnectivity to the world, added a space for mid-level guilds to play and live in, and we added an all-new solo activity with its own competitive metagame.

At this time, work has already begun on our next update, in which we finally want to fulfill our vision for a new and massively improved Faction Warfare system. On top of that, we've got some exciting changes for Hellgates planned as well. We'll be releasing more Dev Talks on these subjects after the release of Brimstone and Mist on October 21.

That's all for today - thanks for watching!

On October 21, Rise of Avalon Patch 7, AKA the Brimstone & Mist Midseason Update, goes live. This patch brings far-reaching gameplay improvements, including new enemies and traps in Corrupted Dungeons, increased fishing opportunities and new fish in the Roads of Avalon, Disarray and Smart Cluster Queue improvements, combat balance changes, new recipes, crafting and butchery improvements, and much more.
[h3]New Corrupted Foes Emerge[/h3]
A wide range of new enemies and traps will be added to Corrupted Dungeons. Face off against a fearsome new boss, the Demonic Harbinger, a sword-wielding demonic general. Fight new lesser demons, corrupted Heretics, and Hellhounds, and watch out for new spike and lava traps. The behavior of numerous existing mobs, including the Demonic Warlock and Demon Lord, will also be updated, and attackable Mephit hazards will have improved effects and readability.


[h3]Roads of Avalon: Anglers Rejoice![/h3]
Fishing will be fully integrated into the Roads of Avalon, with fishable waters found in every Roads of Avalon zone. In addition, three new fish species exclusive to the Roads are being introduced: the Whitefog Snapper, Clearhaze Snapper, and Puremist Snapper. These fish can be eaten on their own or turned into Chopped Fish as normal, or cooked into recipes via the new line of Roasts (see "Additional Changes" below).


[h3]Combat Balancing and Zerg Mechanic Changes[/h3]
In addition to the changes above, this patch will bring new combat balance changes that mainly affect group PvP. Combat Designer Michael Schwahn describes them as follows: "This balance patch mainly focuses on Crystal League and ZvZ fights, and especially on improving various abilities and items which have been underperforming recently. Other changes include adding the Harpoon ability to all spears via the W-slot and giving the Spirithunter a new E-ability."

Changes to the Smart Cluster Queue will give players more control over how they set up their armies for large fights, as sorting in the queue is now done on a per-party level to keep existing parties together. And Disarray (AKA the "zerg debuff") has been updated to ensure the ZvZ meta plays out in a similar way across a wide range of fight sizes, while still providing smaller groups with the same protection from large armies.


[h3]Additional Changes[/h3]

• A new line of roasts will be craftable at the cook, using raw chicken, goose, pork, and the three new fish species
• Faction Capes and Royal Armors will retain the quality of the Cape and Armor used to create them
• Three additional levels of Hardcore Expeditions will be added
• Minimap will be reworked for improved readability in numerous city and island locations
• Focus will be usable when butchering to get more meat
• Numerous further optimizations to the mobile version
• ...and much more

A new referral season is here! From now until December 1, refer your friends and claim your very own Panda mount skin. This skin transforms your Direbear base mount into a fuzzy, ferocious Giant Panda – and once you've unlocked it, it can be used by all characters on your account forever.

On top of that, you can 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 December 1, so you've got until then to refer your friends 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 whopping 200,000 Fame.

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. This time around, in addition to the mount and avatar ring, you can also claim up to six new Halloween-themed furniture items that have a chance to appear in weekly chests.
[h3]A Time to Sow, a Time to Reap[/h3]
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 Blink 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 brand-new eerie 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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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 Shozenwon 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 00:30 UTC with hosts Bogul, Shozenwon, and Robinhoodrs, with territories becoming claimable at 01:00 UTC.

Between the two reset broadcasts, we'll also be broadcasting Level 5-7 Crystal League fights with no delay at 20:30, 21:00, and 21:30 UTC.

For the complete Guild Season schedule, check out this forum post.