Albion Online News

Winter has returned to Albion, and the Yuletide Challenge is back! For the entire month of December, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests, and earn rewards like an avatar ring, classic furniture items, and the beloved Snow Husky mount.
[h3]Yuletide Greetings[/h3]
SNOW HUSKY: You've got another chance to claim the charming Snow Husky, a handsome canine companion that will carry you through Albion's harshest terrain. Along with its strong base move speed, its Hunting Instinct spell gives a short but powerful speed burst.

AVATAR RING: Along with the Snow Husky, adventurers who reach this month's total point goal will unlock the Yuletide Challenge Ring, which gives your avatar a cheery holiday look any time of year. And remember: unclaimed Adventurer's Challenge Rings can always be traded in for Adventurer's Tokens at the Vanity Merchant!

SEASONAL SPECIALS: Unlock Yuletide Challenge chests to get a mix of holiday-themed prizes, along with goodies like Silver, Tomes of Insight, treasures and resources. Each chest has a chance to give classic Yuletide decorations like Presents and Decorated Trees as well as the Yuletide Candle, Wreath, Lantern, and Candy Boot!

[video]http://assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/730a9a6a607393bc2948d9877df49f7ab8e1ad52.mp4[/video]

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!

The Season 17 Crystal League Championship takes place December 10-11, with Albion's top Crystal League players facing off for tremendous prizes including the ultra-rare Sabertooth Rex Swiftclaw Skin. The tournament will feature 5 teams from the Lethal Crystal League and 3 teams from the Non-Lethal, based on the following criteria:

• Number of Level 9 wins
• Number of Level 8 wins
• Number of Level 7 wins
• etc.

(Note: each player can only qualify for the tournament once through either the lethal or non-lethal format)



As with the previous tournament, matches will be hard-capped to limit the overall regear costs to teams, and the tournament will be full-loot.

Additional rules:

• Qualifying teams will be notified when the sign-up period begins
• Teams must consist of five qualified players, at least four of whom must have qualified with the same team this season
• A player cannot qualify with multiple teams
• Each team can allocate one substitute in addition to the five players on the team
• For full rules, signup info, and the final schedule, see this forum post
• For full tournament rules, see the Official CLC Rulebook 

[h3]Watch the Action Live on AlbionTV[/h3]
As always, you can watch the action all weekend long on AlbionTV, the official Albion Online Twitch Channel. Join hosts Shozen, Lewpac, and Tazzik as they bring you live coverage and commentary on these high-octane fights. The reigning champions will be crowned and receive their prizes at a ceremony after the final match on Sunday.

Get ready for Albion's next high-stakes tournament, and keep an eye on our forum for updates!

Watch last season’s Grand Finals here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Beyond the Veil update is now live! This huge update introduces a whole new realm - the Mists - dedicated to solo and duo play, along with the city of Brecilien, all-new Fey Armor, Pristine enchantment levels, reworked Roads of Avalon, and more.

To mark this occasion, we’ve created a brand-new trailer:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Enter the Mists[/h3]
The Mists offer an array of PvP and PvE possibilities to solo and duo players, with lethal and non-lethal areas and some never-before-seen creatures. Some of these creatures drop valuable artifact pieces, which can be used to craft nine all-new Fey Armor items with unique spells. And intrepid players will be able to discover an ancient city floating in the Mists - Brecilien - offering access to the Mists and Roads, plus new Player Islands, for those who are able to get there.


[h3]Roads and Resources[/h3]
The Roads of Avalon have been reworked, offering more gameplay opportunities for smaller and independent guilds. Headquarters can now be declared in the Roads, and larger guilds will have to work harder to dominate regions. In the Outlands, meanwhile, rare and extremely valuable Pristine resources will spawn, encouraging groups to gear-up and fight for these riches, while bringing a new element to the crafting economy.


[h3]Additional Improvements[/h3]
Some major quality-of-life improvements have also been introduced for Albion’s guild players, with a reworked Guild Crest Creator and Guild Description UI, as well as the ability to directly equip and purchase Guild Loadouts. The Character Selection Screen has a new look, and the Character Inspect UI now shows vanity items. And mobile players will find their experience enhanced by improved spell targeting and casting, along with other UI and usability improvements.



For the complete list of changes, check out the patchnotes, and for more info, see the official update page:

LEARN MORE

The massive Beyond the Veil update goes live on November 21 - and to celebrate, we're expanding our Twitch Drops to more Albion streamers than ever!

Here are the details:

• For 2 weeks, from November 21 to December 5, Twitch Drops can be offered by any Albion Online streamer, regardless of whether they are part of the Albion Creators Program or not.
• To earn Twitch Drops, visit the Albion Online directory of active streamers on Twitch and click on any stream with the "Drops Activated" tag.
• If you're an Albion streamer (or are hoping to start!), be sure your Albion and Twitch accounts are linked, and you'll be able to offer drops to all your viewers.
• The currently-running drop campaign overlaps this new campaign by two days, allowing you to make progress toward two campaigns at once from November 21-23.

Check out this forum post to learn more about Twitch Drops, and to link your Albion and Twitch accounts, click here:

LINK ACCOUNTS

With the Beyond the Veil update just around the corner, it’s time for our fourth and final Dev Talk introducing some of the features coming on November 21. Here, Combat Designer Michael Schwahn and Game Designer Cornelius Nitschkoff take a look at the all-new Fey Armor and Pristine Enchantment.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Fey Armor[/h3]
Within the Mists, dangerous, fantastical creatures can be found, which drop rare artifacts when killed:

• These can be used to craft new armor:
  • The scales of the Fey Dragon can be woven into Cloth Armor
  • The feathers of the Griffin can be stitched into Leather Armor
  • The carapace of the Veilweaver can be forged into Plate Armor
• These artifacts are exclusively found in the Mists, and cannot be created at the Artifact Foundry

These armors:

• Have the same base stats and Item Power as level 3 Artifact Armors
• Can be found next to them on the Destiny Board
• Have their own Combat and Crafting Specializations

[h3]New Abilities[/h3]
Each Fey Armor piece comes with its own unique ability, for example:

• The spider-themed Duskweaver (Plate Armor):
  • Helmet ability Spider Thread
    • Shoots a thread, if it hits an enemy they are slowed
    • Can be recast to pull you close to the enemy
• Mistwalker (Leather Armor):
  • Jacket ability Mist Cloud
    • Makes you immune to damage and healing except for when attacking or using an ability
    • Allows ‘hit and run’ gameplay
    • Allies within the cloud are invisible, but can take damage

• Feyscale (Cloth Armor):
  • Robe ability Wild Magic
    • Rotates through three different spell options:
      • Ring of Fire: sets fire to the ground around you, causing enemies to flee
      • Storm Shield: Increases resistances and stuns enemies who attack you
      • Frozen Fragments: Summons five fragments which shoot at the enemy when you deal damage
    • Recasting the ability casts the highlighted spell

[h3]Pristine Enchantment[/h3]
Resources can now exist in a new Pristine enchantment level:

• An open world objective, encouraging large group fights
• Correspond to a .4 enchantment level
• Extremely rare, and found exclusively in the Outlands
• Appear as T4-8 big resource nodes
• Hide, Fiber, Wood, and Ore can be Pristine, but not Stone
• Protected for a long period after spawning by a magic shield
• Appear on the minimap and zone map, as well as on the world map when close enough

Pristine Resources:

• Can be acquired via transmutation
• Cannot be gained via Laborers
• Can be crafted into Pristine Items

Pristine Items:

• Grant 100 additional Item Power
• Cannot be gained by enchantment at the Artifact Foundry

Fey Armor and Pristine enchantment will bring exciting new dimensions to combat and crafting in Albion. We’re looking forward to seeing what new interactions and playstyles develop around Fey Armor, and witnessing tense open-world fights over Pristine Resources. Thanks for watching, and check out the Beyond the Veil update when it launches on November 21!