Albion Online News

Guild Season 8 saw major changes to guild warfare in Albion Online, as well as a massive change to the land of Albion itself in the form of a whole new Outlands continent. The interplay of these new regions and systems presented both challenges and opportunities for guilds of all sizes and opened up the playing field for a new champion to take the crown. Congratulations to Sex with Ex for emerging victorious among a highly competitive field of challengers and claiming their first-ever season victory!



Season 8 started on February 1, directly after the release of the Queen update. Veteran guild Conflict took an early lead on Invasion Day, with last season's second-place winners Black Order, HustlinHitmans, three-time champions Blue Army, and last season's third-place winners RAQ rounding out the top five. But already within the first week, newcomers Sex with Ex had risen through the ranks to first place, where they would remain by fending off numerous challenges throughout the remainder of the season.

With the new Crystal League in play, Final Order managed to break into the top five over the following weeks until being supplanted by Agresor. After the first Territory Reset (on Leap Day 2020), the top 3 stood at Sex with Ex, Black Order, and Conflict.

On March 6, the AO Daily Show aired an interview with Arista, GM of Sex with Ex, in which he shared their hardworking approach to staying on top in an open-world-based season - click here to watch.

By mid-March, Agresor had broken into the top three, on their eventual way to edging out Black Order for second place overall. The final ranking was cemented after the Territory Reset on March 28, despite a last-minute push by Agresor to take first place by winning the final Level 8 and 9 Crystal League matches with hand-picked 5-man teams. Ultimately, the final Crystal League showdowns, while thrilling (and lucrative for the participants), weren't enough to upend the final rankings.

Congrats again to Sex with Ex and all the top-ten teams:

• 1st place: Sex with Ex (514,195 points)
• 2nd place: Agresor (316,337 points)
• 3rd place: Black Order (239,612 points)
• 4th place: Final Order (233,480 points)
• 5th place: Hammer and Sickle (206,958 points)
• 6th place: Conflict (202,008 points)
• 7th place: Last Warn (190,959 points)
• 8th place: Blue Army (190,358 points)
• 9th place: RAQ (113,549 points)
• 10th place: Crimson Imperium Reborn (112,291 points)

[h3]Season 8: A Whole New Type of Guild Warfare[/h3]
Season 8 started on February 1, following the unique Avalonian Invasion Standalone Season that filled the gap between Season 7 and the introduction of the new Outlands that arrived with the Queen update. This season introduced two major new guild warfare mechanics:

• Open-World Territory Battles to determine territory control, replacing the former 5v5 "GvG" system, and
• The Crystal League, which offered high-level 5v5 fights to elite and beginner teams alike, and allowed winning teams to both earn Season Points directly and to upgrade territories for more points and resources.

In addition to the new Outlands, the Queen update brought several major new features that opened up new gameplay options for guilds, including Hideouts that gave guilds a home in the open world and Elite Dungeons that offered large-group gameplay with equally lucrative rewards.


[h3]Season 9 is Coming[/h3]
Guild Season 9 starts on May 16, and builds on the foundation of open-world territory battles introduced with Season 8. The season will bring numerous improvements and changes, including:

• Point and Energy Storage in higher-level territories
• Season Points from Veteran and World Bosses
• More Crystal League matches, and the ability to buy Lv.1-3 Tokens directly
• Increased Energy Drain for large alliances

For the complete Season 9 schedule and details of what's new, click here.

On Tuesday, May 5, Queen Patch 11, also known as the Season 9 Patch, will go live. This patch includes numerous updates, changes, quality-of-life improvements, and bug fixes that affect nearly every aspect of gameplay. Here are some of the major changes it will bring:
[h3]A Whole New Mobile Experience[/h3]
Patch 11 brings the first version of an all new way to play Albion on mobile devices. These new mobile features apply to both iOS and Android, and include the following:

• A virtual joystick for movement that snaps to the initial press position
• Auto-targeting of attacks and spells
• Context-based interactions with the world
• Updated HUD layout
• Default in-game zoom level increased
• ...and much more

For more details about these changes, including work-in-progress screenshots, please see this forum post.
[h3]Outlands Banks[/h3]
The shady underworld organization behind the Black Market has branched out, and now offers personal bank space at numerous Outlands locations. 



Any given Outlands Bank location can be unlocked with a one-time Silver payment and used forever, and any number of locations can be unlocked. But watch out: while these banks may offer protection for your gear, they're situated in full-loot PvP zones.
[h3]Guild Season Changes[/h3]
Patch 11 brings wide-reaching changes to guild warfare in Albion. First and foremost is the new Season Point and Energy Storage system, where higher-level territories hold onto a portion of all generated Season Points and Siphoned Energy until the end of the current season phase. The amount of Season Points and Energy the territory holds onto increases with its proximity to the center of the Outlands, encouraging clashes between large guilds and alliances while offering smaller guilds increased rewards for conquering and holding a territory.
[h3][/h3]
Other Guild Season changes include:

• Season Points from Veteran and World Bosses
• Crystal League Tokens now purchasable up to Lv.3
• Updated Crystal League schedule and reward pools
• Adjustments to Energy, Fame and Silver penalties for larger alliances

[h3]UI and Map Improvements[/h3]
Patch 11 will introduce a wide range of quality-of-life improvements to make navigating the world of Albion much easier. UI improvements include an updated mail system, improved building interface, clearer carry capacity display, and new icons for numerous weapon skills. The world map visuals have been improved and reworked, and zones can now be viewed by prime time.
[h3][/h3][h3]Additional Improvements[/h3]

• Increased Fame and Silver from high-level enemies
• Terrain adjustments to improve player visibility
• Updated mount and farming sounds
• Faster potion crafting
• ...and much more

Alongside these updates, we've also been hard at work on several major upcoming features, including Corrupted Dungeons and Roads of Avalon. If you missed our Game Director's latest Dev Talk on these topics, you can check it out here.

One year ago today, Albion Online went free-to-play, introducing the world of Albion to a broad range of new players all over the world. The Albion community has grown tremendously since then, and continues to grow month by month. Whether you're a hardcore veteran or a brand-new arrival to the shores of Albion, we're grateful to have you with us during such an exciting time for the game, and we look forward to everything that's coming up this year.

We also want to take this opportunity to give a special shout-out to our early supporters. Without your support of our development efforts, the world of Albion as we know it today would not have been possible. We also know that many members of our community have been affected by the current pandemic. For those able to donate, our Charity Promo Pack is still available ingame until April 30 - huge thanks to everyone who has already picked one up.

Here's to the Albion community, and to many more years together ingame!

- Your Albion Online Team

A change has come over the land of Albion: the chill of winter has begun to recede, decorations have sprouted up in cities and towns, and mysterious egg-shaped chests have appeared throughout the world. It can only mean one thing: the Rites of Spring have begun! During this two-week event, you can celebrate the return of spring by hunting down special eggs, unlocking unique items, and joining in other community events.
[h3]The Egg Hunt is On[/h3]
Throughout the wilds of Albion, giant, colorful eggs have sprouted from the ground. Break them open to get Surprise Eggs, a new item that can be used as currency at the Vanity Merchant, or thrown to hatch a surprise of their own!

For the duration of the event, Surprise Eggs can be traded with the Vanity Merchants in Albion's cities for a variety of spring-themed items, including:

• Wearable "Bunny Stalker" Armor, Hats, and Backpacks
• Golden Egg Chests (Furniture Item)
• Chocolate Bars that give a boost to Energy Regeneration

You can also trade your eggs for the mighty Eggsecutioner, a two-handed weapon skin that uses Heretic magic to fire three different types of magical eggs! This weapon skin will remain unlockable for Gold via the Appearance menu, but for the two-week duration of this event, you can also get it by collecting eggs.



And for those with Fool's Golden Eggs left over from past events, you're in luck: while the event is running, the Vanity Merchant will also accept them as currency!

And finally, you can join in a community-wide egg hunt in our new forum contest. Track down all the egg baskets to win some fantastic prizes! For more details, click here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already touched millions of people worldwide, with countless more expected to be affected in the coming months. To assist in the fight against this crisis, we've created a new, limited-time Charity Pack with all proceeds going to the World Health Organization.

This pack is available via the ingame store, and includes:

• The Staff of Hermes, a vanity offhand skin
• A matching Staff of Hermes Avatar Ring

The Staff of Hermes is an ancient symbol of medicine and healing, and was chosen in honor of those on the frontlines of the current pandemic. 100% of the money raised from sales of this pack will go to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. This fund directs donations to ensuring patient care, buying and shipping essential supplies, accelerating efforts to develop vaccines, tests and treatments, and much more.

To read more about this fund and the specific ways it's helping those affected by the current pandemic, and to learn about other ways you can help, click here.



This fundraiser will run until April 30, so pick one up and support a great cause!

Note: Purchasing this pack once will unlock the Staff of Hermes forever for all characters on your account, and provide a free unlock option for the avatar ring for each character. Vanity offhand skins can be displayed in city, island, and Hideout zones.