Albion Online News

The Avalonians in the Outlands thus far were just the beginning. Now new foes have appeared, and a voice from Albion's ancient past brings a dire warning...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J4Xyk_FPt4

With today's territory reset, the number and variety of Avalonians in the Outlands has increased: in addition to the Acolyte and Archer, players will now face the Avalonian Attack Drone, Avalonian Spearman, and Avalonian Winged Guard.

In addition, guilds hoping to claim territories during today's reset will not face the standard wraiths, but instead Avalonians who have seized the territories for themselves. These new foes will require guilds to stay on their toes and use everything at their disposal to emerge triumphant.

As a reminder, this unique Standalone Event Season lasts until January 20. For a complete list of the changes coming with today's Reset Day, please see the official patchnotes.



Phase Two of the Avalonian Invasion has just begun... and there's much more to come before the season ends.

Starting December 1, our special referral offer is back: for just one referral, you can get your very own mount skin! The Armored Bonehorse skin gives any Armored Horse base mount a fearsome undead look - and once you've unlocked it, it can be used by all characters on your account forever!

On top of that, as with the last season you can earn huge amounts of Fame for your third and fifth referrals: three referrals scores you a T7 Pile of Tomes, worth a whopping 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 Armored Bonehorse skin!

The current referral season lasts until maintenance on February 1, so you've got until then to refer your friends and claim your rewards.

• 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.

Winter has descended on the land of Albion, Avalonians are stalking the Outlands – and the next Adventurer's Challenge is here! For all of December, the Yuletide Challenge lets you earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your own Snow Husky. And for this month only, weekly chests include Avalonian Energy, which lets you craft powerful new items at the Energy Manipulator.



SNOW HUSKY: This month, you'll have 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 will give your avatar a cheery holiday look any time of year. And remember: unclaimed Adventurer's Challenge Rings can also be traded in for Adventurer's Tokens (details below).

SEASONAL SPECIALS: Unlock Yuletide Challenge chests to get a mix of holiday-themed prizes, along with the regular goodies like Silver bags, Fame Tomes, and resources. Each chest has a chance to give the Yule Outfit costume set, Decorated Trees, and Present Box furniture items, along with...
 
AVALONIAN ENERGY: This month only, Yuletide Challenge chests will contain Avalonian Energy, the powerful and mysterious new resource that is the source of the Avalonian faction's power. Use it to upgrade your food and tools, and even create a new mount, at the Energy Manipulator!


As a reminder, you can now trade any unused Adventurer's Challenge Avatar Rings, whether or now you already own the ring, for Adventurer Tokens at the Vanity Merchant. These tokens can then be redeemed at the same merchant for the new Adventurer Avatar or Adventurer Avatar Ring, with more options coming soon.

The Avalonian Invasion is in full swing, guilds are battling it out in a unique standalone season... and Percival Patch 11 is here! Today's patch brings several important updates to combat in Albion, in particular:

• The zerg debuff values have been updated to more effectively reward smaller armies
• Zerg debuffs no longer apply during GvGs, regardless of how many allied players are in the territory
• Healing Sickness duration has been increased 
• Siege Ballista damage has been increased
• Numerous other melee, ranged, and magic skills have been updated 

Michael Schwahn, Combat Designer for Albion Online, describes the intent behind these changes: "We wanted to shake up the healer meta a bit, and to push the siege ballista as a viable counter to other battle mounts. We also felt it was time to reduce the utility of Parry Strike, in order to open up more of a variety with bruiser builds." These changes will play out over the remainder of the standalone season, which runs until January 20.


In a first for the world of Albion, Uncle Frost now appears as a boss in certain rare dungeons! Group and solo Keeper Randomized Dungeons in all zones have a chance to end in a special Yuletide Dungeon, where you'll face off against this mysterious foe. Beat him to unlock Christmas-themed loot, including a chance at holiday-themed mount skins.

Also with today's patch, a new Adventurer Avatar is available at the Vanity Merchant. This new item joins the Adventurer Avatar Ring in a growing list of vanity items – trade in unclaimed Adventurer's Challenge Avatar Rings for Adventurer Tokens to unlock these new items!

For a complete list of changes, please see the official changelog.

I'm neither king nor commander, but I've seen my share of battles. I've faced everything from Hellgate demons to a pack of angry marmots, and traveled far and wide across the wilds of Albion. I thought I'd seen everything the Outlands could throw at me... but it looks like the untamed north still has a few surprises.

My crew were on our way back from a dungeon run, loaded up with a haul of loot that was sure to fetch a nice handful (or ten) of silver, when we stumbled upon something strange: a big hole in the ground, so deep we couldn't see the bottom of it and lit up with a strange glow. I knew the color: crystal energy, bright and blue as the sky! We approached carefully, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so we decided to get our haul back to town and return with a bigger crew.

The next day, we put on our best fighting gear and headed back through the portal, ready for anything. As we approached the site, we felt a strange rumbling: probably Keeper brutes guarding their territory, we thought, or perhaps Heretics mining the crystals for themselves - nothing we couldn't take care of.

Then we saw it.

Like something out of a dream it was: a human figure, massive, dressed all in white. Its feet floated above the ground, and its face was hidden behind an expressionless mask of gold. It was controlling a device beyond description: a great machine of spheres within spheres, which rotated of their own accord to draw the precious energy from the earth below.

We drew our weapons and set upon the being – and it unleashed attacks the likes of which we'd never seen. It wielded no weapon, but cast mighty beams of energy at us through its hands. We fought with all we had, and though several of our group fell, we finally managed to deliver the killing blow.

It died like no being I've ever seen, floating upward and disappearing into a blinding white light. Where it had stood, a strange glowing energy remained – not blue, but pure white. We took the strange substance and rode back to Caerleon to lick our wounds, repair our weapons, and see what we could make of the stuff.


We brought the glowing canister to the old alchemist, who immediately set out to learn more about it. He might be a crazy old loon, but he's thorough. He held the canister up and gave it a shake, and then, muttering something under his breath, wandered off to speak to the Energy Manipulator.

All night, strange flashes of light emanated from his hut, accompanied by alarming sounds ranging from explosions to beastly roars. When morning came, he emerged at last, and declared his experiments a success. What strange wonders had he created, we asked, from this otherworldly material?

First, he said, try a bite of these, and handed out various foods. I hadn't yet had breakfast, so I took a bowl of stew, and my mate grabbed his favorite, a beef sandwich. With each bite, we felt a strange power surge within us, and soon enough we were riding through the wilds, slaying Morgana, Undead, and Heretics alike.

When the effects wore off, we returned to the old alchemist, who was ready to show off his next achievement. Take these, he said, and see what they can do. He handed us tools, which glowed with the same unearthly light. We set out again, me heading for a patch of Skyflower, my mate laying into a herd of wild beasts and harvesting their pelts. We returned to town heavy with the spoils of our labor, and after visiting the Marketplace to hawk our haul, we went back to the old Alchemist.



Come, he said, smiling impishly, I have one more thing to show you. He led us to the Energy Manipulator, where we saw a veteran adventurer named Motown of the guild Dark-Force, holding a Swamp Dragon by its leather leash. Are you ready? she asked. We nodded, and the Energy Manipulator tipped a massive jar of the stuff into the beast's mouth.

It roared – not in pain, but as if with a great surge of power. And then, right before our eyes, it began to transform. It reared up, its eyes glowing, and great crystal spikes emerged from its body. The creature that stood before us was like nothing I'd ever set eyes on.

Behold, she said, a new lifeform, never before seen in Albion. As Motown rode off on his new creation, the Energy Manipulator regarded us and said: care to make one of your own?

***

Stay tuned for more Outlands Reports in the coming weeks.