Albion Online News

Dev Talk: Guild Season Changes

The Lands Awakened update arrives November 24, bringing massive open-world changes, a new weapon line, an updated soundtrack, and more. In today's Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys discusses the huge changes coming to Guild Seasons with this update.

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No time to watch the video? Read on for a summary...
[h3]Primary Goals[/h3]

Allow players to earn Season Points for their guild via small-scale activities
Grant personal as well as guild rewards for making progress
Shift the focus of Guild Seasons from passive territory control to player activity

[h3]Conqueror's Challenge[/h3]

The Conqueror's Challenge replaces the existing Guild Season reward system
Runs for the duration of a Guild Season
Available to all Premium players, whether in a guild or not
Uses a new type of points called “Might”
Earning Might unlocks powerful and unique rewards, including new Seasonal Avatars for multiple levels, Battle Mounts, and Fame Boosts

[h3]Might[/h3]
Might is earned by participating in activities with a risk of PvP:

Killing mobs / gathering in the Outlands or Roads of Avalon
Opening Treasure chests
Killing Siphoning Mages / Crystal Spiders
Playing Hellgates / Crystal League
Winning Corrupted Dungeon matches
Capturing Territory Energy Crystals (see below)

[h3]Favor[/h3]

When a player earns Might, in most cases they will also earn Favor
Favor is a currency which can be used to purchase Siphoned Energy and additional reward chests
Favor thus offers a direct economic benefit to earning Might

[h3]Guild Might Levels[/h3]
As players earn Might and Favor for themselves, they contribute to another new feature, Guild Might Levels:

Guilds earn Season Points for each Might Level they complete
All members contribute to these together
Each activity has its own Might progress, allowing players numerous ways to contribute while earning Might and Favor for themselves

Guild Might Levels in turn benefit guild members:

With each new bracket unlocked, members are rewarded with a significant amount of personal Might
Members also get a bonus to Might generated for the rest of the season
A new Season Overview allows players to see their guild’s current ranking, where its Season points came from, and which players contributed the most Might

[h3]Energy Vortices[/h3]

Like Open World Treasures, these spawn unpredictably in the Outlands
Marked on the world and local map for everyone within a few regions
After a time dependent on its strength, the storm dissipates, dropping a Territory Energy Crystal
Crystals can be picked up and carried on foot to an owned territory
Crystals transported successfully can be "captured" at the Tower

[h3]Territory Energy Levels[/h3]
Captured Crystals boost the Territory's energy, which:

Increases its Tower level
Improves the rate at which Siphoned Energy and Season Points are generated
Boosts guard strength
Boosts enchanted resource spawn rate / gathering yield in the zone

Over time, Territory energy diminishes, so guilds must remain active to get maximum Territory benefits. Crystal League Matches played from Territory towers continue to supplement energy as well.

[h3]Territory Rebalancing[/h3]
To encourage active Outlands play, Territories now generate far fewer Season Points if they are low on energy, but have a much higher maximum potential if they stay at maximum level. Season success is thus less dependent on passive income, instead requiring guilds to remain active around their Territories. Of course, players participating in this are also rewarded with significant Might and Favor themselves.
[h3]In Summary[/h3]
The Conqueror’s Challenge, Might Levels and Energy Vortices allow players to push their guild towards victory with smaller-scale activities, while earning rewards for themselves and enjoying new open-world PvP objectives.

Stay tuned for the next Dev Talks, where we'll discuss Headquarters Hideouts, Power Cores, War Gloves and more!

Albion Online major upgrade 'Lands Awakened' arrives November 24

Sandbox Interactive has announced that the Lands Awakened upgrade for Albion Online is set for release on November 24. It sounds like it's going to be pretty big too.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/11/albion-online-major-upgrade-lands-awakened-arrives-november-24

Lands Awakened Arrives November 24

On November 24, the Lands Awakened update goes live. This update brings a new era of open-world gameplay to Albion with reworked dungeons, mobs and treasure sites, new open-world PvP objectives for groups of all sizes, massively improved visuals and layouts for all five biomes, the new War Gloves weapon line, fully reworked Guild Seasons, numerous quality-of-life improvements, and much more.

Check out the teaser trailer here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Albion Awakens[/h3]
From reworked static dungeons with limited-time events and multi-zone exits, to mobs that increase in power and value over time, Lands Awakened brings a completely overhauled open-world experience. All five biomes have massively improved visuals and layouts, dynamically spawning treasure sites offer intrepid players a chance at lucrative rewards, and an expanded soundtrack brings new emotional depth to the world. On the combat side, War Gloves, Albion's first completely new weapon line since launch, offer brawler-style combat options, while Elite Levels offer advanced mastery options and the overall speed of Fame progress has been boosted significantly.

[h3]Guild Warfare Re-Envisioned[/h3]
Power Cores and Energy Crystals encourage strategic capture-the-flag gameplay with huge rewards, while Headquarters Hideouts offer protected bases for dedicated guilds. Guild Seasons have been completely reworked, with the Conqueror's Challenge giving individual guild members the ability to contribute to seasonal progress while earning their own rewards. And the new Might and Favor systems give guilds of all sizes, as well as their individual members, countless new ways to earn Season Points and unlock rewards.

[h3]Quality-of-Life Improvements[/h3]
Player-created Loadouts can now be purchased directly from the Marketplace, while Farming optimizations let players tend crops and animals with fewer clicks. Rerolling items is newly streamlined, crafting and refining fees are clearer, and new party commands offer faster and easier party management. Alongside these changes, a host of additional improvements, fixes, balance changes, and optimizations make the world of Albion better than ever.

For more of what's coming, check out the official update page:

[h3]LEARN MORE[/h3]

The Grim Challenge is Back

Allhallows is in full swing, and the Grim Challenge is back! For the entire month of November, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your very own Pest Lizard.
[h3]Pestilential Prizes For Intrepid Adventurers[/h3]

PEST LIZARD: This month's Challenge offers another chance to claim the popular Pest Lizard. This sleek, slithery mount comes with a Toxic Cloud ability that causes enemies who touch it to become temporarily disoriented.

AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Grim Challenge avatar ring, featuring a spooky skull-topped iron frame. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character, or can be traded to the Vanity Merchant for one Adventurer's Token.

SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month long, reach weekly point totals to unlock Grim Challenge Chests. Along with valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes, Silver, resources, and other loot, you'll also have a chance to unlock four furniture items: the Empty Coffin, Grim Gravestone, Grim Lantern, and Weeping Woman Statue.

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!

Dev Talk: Expanded Soundtrack and Combat Audio

With the Lands Awakened update coming in November, players can look forward to a revamped soundtrack as they explore Albion. Senior Audio Designer Marie Havemann gives a glimpse behind the scenes of its production in our latest Dev Talk, introducing new music for combat, cities, Hideouts and more.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Prefer a written summary? Then read on...

It’s already been five years since the original soundtrack for Albion Online was composed, and since then a good deal of new features have been introduced. To enhance the sonic richness and emotional impact of playing Albion, new music has been recorded with Prague's FILMharmonic Orchestra. This was composed over the last year by Marie along with Albion’s original composer Jonne Valtonen, and includes new music for:

Combat and Bosses
Cities and Starter Towns
Hideouts
Tutorial
Destiny Board

[h3]Combat[/h3]

A percussive soundtrack seamlessly adapts to changes in threat level
Features in both PvP and PvE and is adapted to different combat scenarios:
- Hellgates and dungeons include varied music "layers" based on the scenario
- Three different boss themes, depending on mob type and threat level
- These convey a sense of danger and urgency, while emphasizing the player’s own agency and a sense of fun

[h3]City Themes[/h3]
In line with the stronger sense of regional identity within Albion that the Lands Awakened update brings, each city will have its own theme that reflects the character of the different factions:

Lymhurst retains its existing city theme, with its proud and playful character
The down-to-earth, easy-going inhabitants of Martlock have an upbeat theme, reminiscent of a beery celebration after a combat victory
The music of Bridgewatch reflects its dignity and elegance as well as the energy of a bustling trading city
The magic and mystery of the swamps come through in Thetford’s theme, which emphasizes its people’s wisdom, knowledge and connection to nature
Deep in the cold, hostile mountains, the people of Fort Sterling are sober, hardy warriors, whose pride in their strength is conveyed through its theme
Caerleon, the city of outlaws, musically expresses its identity as a devious, dangerous place, yet also with a sense of adventure

The starter towns of Albion also have a new theme to convey their liveliness and the sense of adventure at the beginning of a journey.
[h3]Hideout Themes[/h3]
For the first time, Hideouts have their own musical identity, befitting their status as a player’s home within the black zones.

Simple, memorable melodies reinforce the “do-it-yourself” feeling of Hideouts
The theme develops as a Hideout grows, reflecting its progression:
- Starts low-key and calm, with a sense of precarious beginnings
- Upgraded Hideouts gain a more orchestral theme reminiscent of a busy tavern

[h3]Additional Soundtrack Changes[/h3]

New tutorial music which highlights the excitement of first arriving in Albion
A new Destiny Board theme, reinforcing the mystical, fateful feeling of looking over one’s own journey

This new soundtrack will really enhance the emotional experience of fighting, trading and venturing within the world of Albion Online. Stay tuned for more Dev Talks coming soon, where we’ll look at upcoming changes to Guild Seasons, HQ Hideouts, and more. See you then!