Albion Online News

With Wild Blood having expanded Albion’s gameplay significantly, it’s already time to look forward to what the future will bring for the game. In this new Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys shares some of our thoughts and impressions about the update, and what that means for Albion going forward.

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[h3]The Wild Blood Update[/h3]
Wild Blood took longer than most updates to produce, for a number of reasons:

• The launch of Albion East, and the various challenges this presented
• Multiple groundbreaking features
  • Shapeshifter Weapons work differently to any previous weapon line
  • Awakened Weapons added new stats to the combat system
  • Tracking brought new quest and spawning systems to the open world
• Working on many features in parallel means they slow each other down somewhat

[h3]New Update Cycle[/h3]
With this in mind, we’re looking at ways to get updates out more quickly and reliably:

• Updates will be tied to the Guild Season schedule, coming roughly every three months
• Updates will be smaller, and targeted at a specific area of the game
• Other changes being worked on can be released as and when they are ready

Updates will therefore vary in size depending on how many features are completed in each cycle, and the next update will never be far off. This way we can focus on the key features of each, ensuring they are delivered to the highest possible standard.


[h3]The Next Update[/h3]
Our first update on the new schedule will release in January:

• It will focus on Guild Seasons
• It will feature a new line of rewards, which expands every season
  • These can be earned by helping your guild climb the season rankings
• The way territories produce Season Points will be reworked
• A new territory raiding mechanic will drive conflict between guilds
• Individual players will be rewarded with a daily Might bonus for successful territory control and raiding

Additionally, there will be various tweaks and rebalancing, including revisiting Hideouts and Headquarter Hideouts, to increase competition for Power Cores.

We’ll have more information for you as we approach January’s release date, so stay tuned for more!

Tracking is a new open world activity that sends you and your group out into the open world to pursue rare creatures.
[h3]Tracking 101[/h3]
To begin Tracking, you’ll first need to unlock the Trainee Tracker node on the Destiny Board, which you can do by getting a small amount of PvE fame. This will allow you to use T3 tracking toolkits. These can either be crafted at a Toolmaker, or purchased directly from the Marketplace.

There are a total of seven types of creatures that you can encounter, each coming in a small version for 1-3 players, and a larger version for 4-8 players. Hunting in a party bigger than these designated sizes is not possible.
[h3]Starting the Hunt[/h3]
To initiate the hunt, you will first need to enter a red or black zone. You can then use the Tracking Toolkit either by clicking on it in your inventory, or with a hotkey (default: U).



This will reveal any readable tracks in your vicinity. A T3 tool can reveal Panthers, Sylvians, and Spirit Bears, with each tier after that adding one more type of creature. Higher tier Toolkits also increase the radius in which you can discover new tracks. Go to one of the tracks you have revealed and interact with it to start the hunt.

Now you will be directed to a specific area to search for further clues. This can be within the same map, but could also lead you to a neighboring zone. Search the marked area, and you will either discover tracks or the creature itself.
[h3]Finding and Interacting with Tracks[/h3]
When you find your target’s tracks, you will need to interact with them in order to progress the hunt. The tracks will be surrounded by a small circle and may have some mobs around them protecting it. You’ll first need to clear these mobs before you can interact with the track.


[h3]Engaging the Target[/h3]
If you find the target itself you will need to fight it in order to progress. You may not be able to kill it on your first encounter, as the creature may flee after receiving a certain amount of damage, after a time limit has been reached, or if too many players are nearby.

But don’t worry, any damage you’ve dealt to it will carry over to the next encounter. If you end up killing the target it will drop various items, ranging from rare ingredients that can be used to craft potions, to powerful artifacts which are necessary to craft the new Shapeshifter Weapons.


[h3]Rewards[/h3]
Any step of the hunt after its initiation will award Tracking Fame to you and your party members if you have a Tracking Toolkit in your inventory. Tracking Fame progresses the Seasoned Tracker node on the Destiny Board and its related specializations. This allows you to use better Tracking Toolkits and hunt more efficiently.

Each creature can drop new items which can be used for crafting and enchanting:

• Animal remains: Enchanting Potions
• Rare Ingredients: New Potions and Shapeshifter Weapons
• Artifacts: Artifact Shapeshifter Weapons

Note: for the first few months after the Wild Blood launch, more tracks will spawn for small groups. These additional tracks will drop Black Market loot instead of rare ingredients and artifacts.


[h3]Different Tiers of Tracking Toolkits and Specialization[/h3]
Unlocking and using better Tracking Toolkits has many advantages. Not only does it allow you to track higher rarity creatures, it also rewards more Fame, speeds up interactions with tracks, and increases the search radius in which you can find new tracks.

Here’s an overview of the types of creatures that can be found and interacted with, as well as the Fame bonus you receive, depending on the tier of your toolkit.

In addition to better Toolkits, you can also increase your specialization in tracking each type of creature. This will further boost your Tracking Efficiency as well as increasing your chances of encountering your target at each stage rather than another track.


[h3]Tracking in a Party[/h3]
The size of your party matters. Not only does each creature come in two different difficulty levels offering different rewards, there’s also a benefit to hunting a rare creature that you may not be able to track down yourself yet.

• Small creatures for 1-3 players are easier to kill but offer lower rewards when killed. The Tracking Fame given is the same no matter whether you’re solo or in a group, but rewards will be shared between all party members.
• Large creatures for 4-8 players are much harder to kill and offer a higher chance of rare ingredient and artifact drops.

Additionally, the more party members interact with a track, the faster the interaction will channel. During this process, the interaction speed bonuses of each member are added together.

When starting a new hunt, you want the member with the highest specialization to interact with the track, as it will use their specialization levels for the entire hunt. Even if you don’t interact with a track, as long as you’re carrying a Tracking Toolkit you will earn Tracking Fame and progress your Destiny Board.

The battlefield is a wasteland. All around, the earth is parched and littered with hundreds of trashed, useless weapons. Rats pick at what they can before scuttling away into the shadows. For a second, it seems like all life has ceased. Then the smoke clears, the earth shakes, and across the carnage steps the meanest, scariest pony you’ve ever seen in your life.

It’s the Heretic Warsteed, and you can claim this nightmarish nag this month with just a single referral. With armor fashioned from thick slabs of scavenged wood, coarse leather strewn across its back, and a candle stuck to its head, this will be the last sight your enemies want to see coming towards them - and for many, it will be the last. The Heretic Warsteed can be used on your Armored Horse base mount and, once unlocked, can be used by any characters on that particular server (either Albion East or West).

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[h3]How to Earn Seasonal Referral Rewards[/h3]

• 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 massive 200,000 Fame.

This Referral Season lasts until 23:59 UTC on November 30, so invite your friends and enjoy these rewards!

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, and can be used to disrupt enemy players in numerous situations.


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!

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Wild Blood went live on October 16, and players have been busy Tracking terrifying beasts, crafting Shapeshifter Staffs, and awakening their weapons to previously unseen levels. So we’ve delved into the data, and come out with this new infographic to give a snapshot of what’s been going on in Albion since the update released! (Click to expand)



We’re thrilled to see so many of you out there trying out these features, bringing new dimensions to the world of Albion, and we can’t wait to see how things develop further! Meanwhile, the Allhallows event is on now, so grab your gear and dive into those dungeons for some spooky rewards…