Albion Online News

With the Queen update, territory control shifted to open-world battles while the Crystal League filled the void left by GvGs. Season 9 improves the overall Crystal League experience with new timeslots, easier access for starting players, and a streamlined rewards progression. And to continue growing the Crystal League, we're excited to announce the Off-Season Crystal Tournament, taking place between Seasons 9 and 10.

The grand prize? None other than the incredibly rare and valuable Sabertooth Rex Swiftclaw skin!

We're announcing the tournament now because participation will be based on activity during Season 9. Here are the confirmed details so far:

• The tournament will take place between Seasons 9 and 10, sometime after August 10 (exact date and time TBA)
• The tournament will be open to teams that win a Level 9 Crystal League match during Season 9
• While the exact structure is still a work in progress, and will be based on the number of teams participating, the following rules will apply to the finals:
  • Battles will be full loot and players will have to bring their own gear
  • Same IP cap as Level 9 (1700)
  • Matches will run on 30-minute timers
  • Each round won delivers Level 3 off-season rewards

[h3]Prizes[/h3]
The following prizes apply for the first through third place winners.

• First Place: Each player on the winning team will receive the extremely rare Sabertooth Rex Swiftclaw skin unlock item and 10,000 Gold.
• Second Place: Each player will receive the White Tiger skin unlock item along with 5,000 Gold.
• Third Place: Each player will receive 5,000 Gold.

(Note: we may add in additional rewards later depending on how many eligible teams are participating in the tournament.)

Up for a challenge? Then gear up, climb the ranks, and leave your mark on the Crystal League!

Albion streamer FlaccidBaron is no stranger to creative gameplay, often trying out new builds and playstyles in his videos. (You can read our Streamer Spotlight on him here). Recently, he launched a new project: to make a billion silver in Albion Online using a wide variety of tactics, and to document the process for his viewers.

What gave you the idea for this series?

A lot of other similar games have story-driven content. I feel like Albion videos are mostly PvP montages, so I wanted to bring more of a story-based series to the game – the story of how I built my way up to being a very rich Albionian.

What has the community reaction been like?

Very positive. I get private messages ingame and on Discord all the time asking "when is the next episode". So I know I’m doing something right.

Has this series given you experience with new features you hadn't tried yet? I know Faction Transport Missions were fairly new to you.

Yes many. There are so many diverse ways to make money in the game. When people ask "what's the best way to make money?" I can’t really answer that. I can give them suggestions on what to try, but in the end there are so many good methods it's hard to pick just one.



Any unconventional money-making ideas you've discovered along the way?

My audience is always pitching new ideas to me. Some are a bit weird but surprisingly work. One method I never thought would work was buying runes in bulk and enchanting gear, then selling it for a huge profit. I guess some people pay for the convenience of not having to enchant items themselves.

What are your current favorite builds?

The thing I love most about Albion is the variety of builds and the ease of switching between them. So this answer changes almost every week. Currently, however, I'm really in love with the Bloodletter. It has so much damage potential while also being able to make a quick getaway if you need to.

Any ideas for future streaming series along the lines of this one?

As soon as I finish this series and finally become a billionaire, I feel like the obvious next step is to see how quickly I can get back to zero. Full T8.3 solo ganking maybe?

Check out FlaccidBaron's "Road to a Billion" series below, and be sure to subscribe to his channels!

• Youtube
• Twitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E5XvghEopE&feature=emb_logo
https://youtu.be/SoZETn6OoWA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LocEsERIEwg&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63qUdS43uTE&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUtme0sie00&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyftxGF2hwE&feature=emb_logo
Stay tuned for more spotlights in the coming weeks.

Queen Patch 12, AKA the Season 9 Balance Patch, is now live, bringing a host of balance changes and improvements. Here's some of what's new:
[h3]Balance Changes[/h3]
Patch 12 brings numerous updates to keep Albion's combat meta fresh. These changes are intended to make Crystal League matches more balanced, while also bringing several underused weapons and abilities to the fore.

Changes include:

• Reworked Holy, Fire, and Arcane Staff spells; added new Arcane Q-ability
• Updated various heavy melee lines like Hammers and Maces
• Reworked Spear abilities
• Updated cleanse and block spells on various armors
• Updated move speeds and stats of battle mounts

[h3]Mobile Improvements and Fixes[/h3]
This patch also brings further optimizations for mobile players, including:

• Joystick control improvements
• Optimized scaling for mobile screens
• On-press tooltips for buffs and debuffs
• Option to ignore low-tier resources while gathering

Additional updates with this patch include further Mail UI improvements, fixes to broken and bugged terrain, and more.

As always, you can read the complete list of changes and fixes in the official patchnotes.

Albion's ninth Guild Season starts on Saturday, May 16. As with past seasons, guilds that reach a high enough rank can claim fantastic rewards including an avatar, avatar ring, Fame Boost, furniture items, and an incredible new mount: the fearsome Ancient Ent!



The Ancient Ent will be a heal and support mount with area-based healing spells for allies and attacks that make use of the raw forces of nature. This mount will be awarded to guilds who reach Silver Rank or higher during Season 9, with increasingly higher stats (and increasingly epic appearances) with each successive tier.

The winning guild will receive a statue among the past Guild Season winners in Conquerors' Hall, which since the Queen update can be accessed via all major cities. Qualifying guilds will also receive a Fame Bonus and furniture items, as listed in the tables below:




[h3]Season 9 Schedule and Changes[/h3]
This new season brings major changes and updates to guild warfare in Albion, including Territory Point/Energy Storage, Season Points from Elite Enemies, and optimizations to the Crystal League. Season 9 follows a similar schedule to past seasons, with an Invasion Day kickoff and two midseason resets:

• May 16: Invasion Day, start of season
• June 13: Invasion Day #2, all territories reset
• July 11: Invasion Day #3, all territories reset, scores doubled
• August 10: Season ends

In addition to these key dates, the season also includes point/energy payouts based on the new Point and Energy Storage Feature.

For the full schedule and a detailed list of what's new, check out this forum post.

The Queen Update, released January 20, 2020, was by far the most successful Albion Online content update since launch, confirmed by consistent population growth since January and a record-high of over 500,000 monthly users for the month of April. Nearly six months in the making, Queen was nothing less than a complete revisioning of Albion's high-level endgame, although the new features and systems it introduced affected players of all levels and playstyles.

On a more bittersweet note, player numbers have also been affected by the lockdown and quarantine measures worldwide. We know many in the Albion Online community have been touched by the current pandemic, and are facing numerous present and future challenges. Games in general have seen a tremendous surge in popularity over the past months, and Albion Online is no exception – and as unfortunate as the reason behind it may be, we're grateful for those in our community who have stepped up to support each other, help out new players, raise funds for charity, and make the Albion community even stronger during these uncertain times.

For us, as the developers of the game, increased player numbers mean increased responsibility to all our players to ensure the game's performance remains optimal, and that gameplay remains fun, accessible, and fresh. To make sure we keep up with the increased resource demands of a growing population, we're designating dedicated performance developers to make sure the game runs as smoothly as possible, and implementing game design changes, balancing, and improvements with a larger player base in mind (such as the recent increase in Solo Randomized Dungeon spawns with Patch 11).



Another positive effect of this uptrend (which started even before the Queen launch) is that it allows us to further expand our development team. Those looking to join the Sandbox Interactive team, or who know others who might be interested, can check out a list of available positions on our jobs page.

Thanks for your loyalty to, and support of, Albion Online over the past year. We're happy to welcome new players to the world of Albion, and very excited to bring some major new features to the ever-growing world of Albion.