Albion Online News

Fall has come to the world of Albion... the shadows are growing longer... and the Harvest Challenge is back! For the entire month of October, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get spooky loot, and claim your very own Spectral Bat.

[h3]Reap What You Sow[/h3]

SPECTRAL BAT: This month's Challenge offers another chance to claim the amazing Spectral Bat. In addition to its spooky appearance, this winged menace comes with a powerful Flicker spell that allows you to jump to a target location in the blink of an eye. (Note: like all mounts, the Spectral Bat cannot fly over obstacles or gaps.)


AVATAR RING: Adventurers who rack up enough total Challenge Points will also earn the Harvest Challenge Avatar Ring, featuring a pair of eerie, grinning skeletons. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character, or can be traded to the Vanity Merchant for one Vanity Token.



SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month long, reach weekly point totals to unlock Harvest Challenge Chests. Along with valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes, Silver, resources, and other loot, you'll also have a chance to unlock six seasonal furniture items: the Scary Pumpkin Lantern, Friendly Pumpkin Lantern, Halloween Lantern, Halloween Cauldron, Halloween Scarecrow, and Halloween Pyre.

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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Following our recent introduction to the Island and Farming Rework coming with the Wild Blood update, Game Director Robin Henkys takes a closer look at a massive addition to Albion’s sandbox world: Awakened Weapons.

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[h3]Awakening Weapons[/h3]
Weapons can be awakened:

• At the Artifact Foundry
• If they are .4 enchanted
• At the cost of Siphoned Energy, Avalonian Energy, and Silver
  • The exact cost depends on the item’s tier

Once awakened, the weapon is attuned to the player:

• Attunement Points are then earned when you earn PvE Fame
• Weapons of Tier 6 or higher can only earn Attunement Points in full-loot PvP zones

[h3]Traits and Strain[/h3]
When your weapon has enough Attunement Points, Traits can be added at the Artifact Foundry:

• You can choose one of three randomly selected traits to add
• You can reroll this, though that will increase Strain on the item (more below)
• Initial values added will be low, but can be increased later at the cost of further Attunement Points
  • This adds a random amount of power to a particular Trait
• Upgrading Traits increases the item’s Legendary Rating
  • As this increases, more Traits can be added

Each action taken on a weapon increases its Strain. As Strain increases, so does the cost of making further modifications. Therefore, players must consider which Traits to keep and the amount to upgrade them, as the cost in Silver and Attunement Points escalates rapidly.
[h3]Benefits and Legacy[/h3]
Players can customize their .4 weapons this way to add strength and versatility to their builds, or create a remarkably powerful weapon if they invest enough time and Silver.



But they can also leave a lasting impact on Albion:

• As a weapon’s Legendary Rating increases, its chances of being destroyed on death are reduced
• Therefore, it stands a greater chance of remaining in the game, with a record of its creators and owners
• Players can then choose to add to its history themselves, or trade it - maybe even back to the original owner
  • Awakened Weapons cannot be traded on the Marketplace, so this must be done personally
  • Traded items (but not looted items) must be re-attuned to the new owner for their traits to work

While these weapons cannot be crafted, Focus Points can be used to reduce the attunement costs of adding and upgrading traits.



Awakened Weapons are a significant addition to Albion’s sandbox world, giving players new possibilities both in combat, and in leaving their mark on the game. Stay tuned for more Dev Talks on the Wild Blood update coming soon!

Albion’s next Guild Season begins this weekend! At 00:00 UTC on September 23, Albion East Season 3 kicks off. And then, at 11:00 UTC, Albion West Season 21 will begin. It looks sure to be an action-packed season, with big rewards on offer like the new Epic and Legendary Guild Season Winner Direwolf Skins for multiple season winners! Check this forum post for the full season schedule and list of rewards.



[h3]Crystal League Changes[/h3]

As previously announced, this season sees some big changes to the Crystal League:

• The Crystal League will no longer grant Season Points
• The Lethal Crystal League has been removed entirely, and all 20v20 Crystal League matches are now non-lethal
• At the end of the season, there will no longer be a Crystal League Championship

As always, you can watch the season kick off this weekend on AlbionTV. At 13:30 UTC on September 23 we’ll be broadcasting Invasion Day on Albion East. Then at 17:30 UTC we’ll bring coverage from Albion West ahead of the first round of territory resets there. Finally, at 00:30 UTC on September 24, those in the North and South American time zones can tune in for the second round of territory resets on Albion West. All open-world fights are broadcast live with a 15-minute delay.

Check this forum post for a full season schedule, and join us to see the season kickoff!

With the Wild Blood update arriving October 16, it’s time to take an in-depth look some of its major features. In this Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys and Environment Artist Johannes Geier talk us through the improvements to personal islands and farming that are on the way.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Personal Island Biomes[/h3]
Wild Blood reworks the appearances of all personal islands, with each now belonging to a particular biome.

The goals of this are:

• Give players a visually upgraded island experience
• Make islands feel secluded while still thematically linked to cities

Each island’s visuals will be appropriate to its host city:

• Martlock: Rolling hills, meadows, cliffs, and waterfalls
• Lymhurst: Thick, lush forest with a stream running through
• Bridgewatch: Oasis-like, with warm, shallow waters and palm trees
• Fort Sterling: peaceful, snow-capped mountains
• Thetford: sunken ruins, overgrown trees, and emerald waters
• Caerleon: rough, rocky, bandit-controlled territory

[h3]Farming Bonuses[/h3]
Along with updated island visuals, new farming bonuses for crops and animals are being introduced:

• A particular crop will grow best on each island
• A particular animal will yield more when butchered on each island
• Each animal will have a favorite food, which makes it grow faster

These different bonuses will encourage trade and allow the planning of a sophisticated growing, transportation, and processing schedule.

With these changes on the way, you are now able to move an existing island once until the update launches on October 16. For details on this and which bonuses apply where, see this forum post.



Furthermore, when Wild Blood releases, players will be able to own multiple personal islands: up to one for each city, allowing players to build a trans-continental farming empire!

Stay tuned for more Dev Talks on the other Wild Blood features coming very soon.

It is with some sadness that we say farewell to the Crystal League Championship, which took place for the last time at the weekend. But it’s also time to celebrate the achievements of Moral Pro and Last Season, who took the final titles on East and West respectively!

On Saturday 16 September, the top 8 teams on Albion East squared off, and after a tough route to the Grand Finale, Moral Pro beat 1073 Days 2-0 to claim the crown. Then, on Sunday 17, Last Season put in a dominant display on Albion West, storming to their ultimate victory with a 2-0 defeat of Mitos, who had made it to the final for the fourth season running.



Congratulations to the top four teams on each server, who took home the following prizes:

• First Place: the extremely rare Saber Tiger Rex Swiftclaw skin and 10,000 Gold
• Second Place: the Recruiter’s White Tiger Swiftclaw skinand 5,000 Gold
• Third Place: the Recruiter’s Giant Frog mount and 5,000 Gold
• Fourth Place: the Occult Cougar Swiftclaw skin and 5,000 Gold

And with that, the Crystal League Championship comes to an end for the final time. But Albion’s next Guild Season is just around the corner, starting September 23, and we hope to see our top 5v5 players continuing to test their mettle in the Crystal Arena and Crystal League. So see you then!