Albion Online

[Regolyth]

Albion Online

No character classes. No limitations. You can create every possible combination – you want your character to be a robed caster, carrying a sword and shield? You can in Albion Online. And the best bit? It actually makes sense! Varying gear combinations and load-outs are of course nothing new in MMOs, but in most games, certain combinations just do not make sense. Not so in Albion Online! Here, it’s necessary for you to try out different combinations of armor and weapons.

In Albion Online, your abilities are crafted onto the items you wear. Only certain abilities may be crafted onto certain items. So what you wear not only defines how you look, but also who you are. There are thousands of combinations possible.

No levels mean no tedious grinding and time-wasting. There is also no eternal item spiral, where “everyone” gets access to the best items – until new ones are introduced. Every resource comes in 6 qualities, called tiers. These resources are used to craft all items. The higher tiered resources are more rare. With more rare resources, you can craft more valuable and powerful items. Rare items are really rare. Spawn rates are limited and only a few people will wear the highest tiers. However the effectiveness of items is not exponential as in other games. It is linear!

Someone wearing a rare armor set is of course a powerful and mighty warrior. But he is not that powerful that low-tier players cannot harm him at all! So a few low-tier players still are a threat for a high-tier warrior.

The game is free to play. We (the company) are not selling items to the players. Items and resources can only be found, crafted or bought from other players. You can acquire every item (realistically) and every premium service without ever paying a real dollar. The game also features player housing, crafted items, etc.

The game sounds like it could be a decent little title. I like the art style and the fact that you can play on mobile and desktop platforms, all together. That's a nice touch. I don't really care for gear determining class though. That sounds a bit weird, but I suppose it could work. At least they got rid of levels and XP.

[Morreion]

I really like this current trend of unique niche games!

[Morreion]

Players, meet Albion Online. Albion, players. (Massively)

Berlin-based Sandbox Games announced that it's working on a medieval sandbox MMO called Albion Online -- and it wants you to get to know the game a bit better. Albion Online is an isometric, stylized game that boasts a fully player-driven economy, a day/night system, PvP corpse looting, territory control, and make-your-own classes. The kicker? The studio says that this will be "the first true cross-platform" MMO of its type.

Sandbox says that all items and buildings in the game will be player-created, with even the land up for sale or rent. The team stresses that it won't be pay-to-win nor will players be facing impossible zergs.

Some Assembly Required Extra: The scoop on Albion Online (Massively)

With its focus on guild territory control, open PvP, full looting, and player economy, what sets Albion Online apart from the current titles that already provide those features? What do you think will draw players to your game?

Overall I would say that Albion Online is, in general, a fresh take on this kind of MMO with lots of small innovations, but I would probably underline the three following points. First, in terms of "guild territory control," we are using a unique mechanism (more about that further down this interview). But in general, if you open our world map, it often feels like "Risk" (the board-game), despite the fact that you are one of the little plastic figurines on the board.

Secondly, in Albion Online the gear you are wearing determines your character. Even if you craft a single sword, you can create 20 different versions of it (all with different spells). To complete your box of LEGO, you can combine every item with each other; there are no limitations in finally creating the mage knight of your dreams.

Finally, another unique point of Albion Online is the pace of the game. You can become competitive pretty easily due to the fact that you do not have to grind for weeks until you are level 100. We want it to be decisive how you build your character and which actions your character is taking. This is supported by a linear progression compared to an exponential one you know from other games.

Massively Exclusive: Albion Online dev blog explains diversity with spells and crafted items

In short, Albion players will craft spells that can be put on crafted gear, which in turn gives them access to that spell whenever they equip that item. This system offers an endless possibility of combinations as players equip various items, each with their own set of spells added on.

More on Albion Online's unique equipment customization system (Massively)

Armor-wise, cloth pieces will have natural enhancements for mana regeneration, stealth, energy shields, or cleanse; plate piece enhancements, on the other hand, are about protection, instant self-heals, and survival mechanics. Weapons also have their own inherent characteristics: Broadswords have defensive characteristics, axes have offensive damage, and one-handed hammers have healing.

Albion Online unveils Player-vs-Player and Guild-vs-Guild details (Massively)

While guilds can capture as many territories as they like, they'll also be required to defend these territories from opposing guilds who would take their lands. In order to keep Guild-vs-Guild combat fair and balanced, each land-holding guild will be required to choose "a number of times during the day at which their territory will be 'open' to attack." At these times, both the attacking and defending guilds will field a team of five players who will act as champions in the battle, thereby ensuring that no one guild can ensure victory by overwhelming numbers. Those who wish to reap the benefits of holding land without getting their own hands too bloody can instead put a bounty on their enemies' heads and let mercenaries (presumably other players) do the work for them.

Hands-on with Albion Online's alpha (Massively)

The game's combat is fairly simple since you have only so many moves, but it was interesting enough to get me to keep crafting to see what else I could learn to make. You can also switch armor mid-fight, so that might add some depth as people cycle through different weapons and armor, though currently switching gear puts your active abilities from that item on a cooldown. In other words, you can't activate the heal on your helmet, switch to another healing helmet, and then heal again, spamming this cycle infinitely. It makes sense. However, at least in PvE, the limited abilities and simple combat were just entertaining enough, and I can see how soloing elites could get old pretty quickly.

Now, Albion is a PvP game, and that's going to turn some people off, but hear me out. First, the game's got a lot of safe zones. In fact, there are only two PvP areas in the alpha. You've got access to three tiers of loot from what I've seen in the safe zones, though obviously the higher stuff is rarer. It's very simple to make starter gear, and if you join a guild, the members can just give it to you -- that's what you're there for! Yes, you drop items on death, but that that is sort of the goal of the game: go out, gather materials, make gear, and use it, whether it's for killing or crafting. However, keep in mind that the game is more group-oriented. If you die to mobs, your body can be looted, even in safe areas, and having a friend who can get your stuff is invaluable. Even then, the "bank early, bank often" motto for these kinds of games still applies.

Albion Online dishes out details on the game's mechanics (Massively)

The core of Albion Online is that characters don't have specific levels or stats raised via levels; instead, everything comes down to what you can craft, which is increased as you gain more fame. According to the answers, unarmored characters will all have about 1000 life points. Items constantly degrade and can be looted by other players in combat, which means that there's always a drive to get more items, but finding more valuable materials will require a trek to more dangerous parts of the world.

[Regolyth]

Nice round-up of info. I'm liking this game the more I read about it. It seems like a nice little something to play on the side.

[Rakul]

They need a Hibernia online! hahaha

[Morreion]

Albion Online Alpha (Keen & Graev)

Think of Ultima Online + a little bit of action RPG and you’ll start to form the foundation of Albion Online. Played from an isometric perspective, Albion Online offers a completely sandbox experience on any device...

I played for about 3 hours last night and barely made progress. I spent at least an hour exploring the world, learning the skill system, figuring out what I wanted to do, and trying to find resources. Albion Online offers a deceptively simple approach to the MMO sandbox formula. Much of the game is accessible for someone looking to dip their toe in the water, build a house, kill bandits, and have fun. There’s a layer of complexity and huge increase to the scope of the game when you start to think about progressing to T7 equipment and laying siege to other guild’s cities.

How far the cash shop factors into the game I do not know. I went into this thinking I would find a poorly made cross-platform game meant to be a cash grab. I was absolutely not expecting to find something charming and actually worth investing a huge amount of time. I streamed a lot of what I played last night. Skip around and you’ll see me killing mobs, gathering resources, yelling at someone for stealing my skinning, and crafting some loot.

Albion Online trading levels for the Destiny Board (Massively)

Via the Destiny Board, players themselves could decide how to focus the development of their character. Depending on which of the three paths players choose (Crafting, PvE, and PvP), there will be various unlockable bonuses to acquire, which will help players design and support their own play style. Missions on the Destiny Board will range from gathering a certain number of materials, taking or dealing damage, getting a certain number of kills, a certain level of fame, and other goals.

The Destiny Board is divided into three major areas. The first consists of a number of missions and quests which will reward you with various vanity items as well as some small bonus stats. These missions are divided into 3 branches: PvP, PvE and Casual. In the center of the Destiny Board can be found all of the items in the game. Here you can unlock both the skills to equip and wear these items as well as the ability to craft them. In the lower part you'll find everything relating to the buildings in Albion Online. Here you can unlock new and more powerful buildings to craft.

When objectives are completed, a reward in the form of an item or building recipe, or a permanent bonus to a character's hit points, carry weight, armor rating, or damage when using a certain weapon is granted. This will ensure players rise swiftly up the ranks in a way which complements their individual play style. The Destiny Board is a way of providing direction to players while avoiding classification and restriction. Creating a mage with ranged weapons, or a tank with healing spells, any combination is possible in a classless system!

Albion Online trailer shows the dire consequences of wardrobe selection (Massively)

"Players will quickly need to learn that they cannot judge a player's capabilities solely by what they're wearing now," said Yasmine, the Sanbox Interactive Community Manager. "Because equipment dictates what a player is capable of, assuming someone wearing simple farming gear is not a powerful player can be, as the video shows, quite a costly mistake!"

Albion introduces player-driven cities (Massively)

"These new cities will be strewn throughout the world, including deep inside PvP territory; these cities will be places where all players, regardless of their guild affiliations, can build houses and storage for themselves, utilize crafting stations and trade at an auction house, access their vaults, and otherwise prepare themselves for venturing back out into danger", said Robin Henkys, Lead Game Designer at Sandbox Interactive.

Any player city can be captured and "claimed" by any guild; unlike a territory, it can still be accessed by non-guild members. This means that a city will have its own player population, who will own housing, use the economic buildings and trade through the Auction House. Owning a city will bring a guild a number of benefits, such as tax revenue from the market place and property taxes -- this makes owning a city potentially very lucrative for a guild!

Albion Online's mounts are for riding, not fighting (Massively)

"The player is unable to fight, gather or interact with any buildings while on horseback. Mounts will provide a number of buffs to the character, which are effective immediately when they mount, and deactivate when they dismount," the team posted.

While mounts won't be trampling over enemy's corpses, they will come in armored versions that can shrug off more damage if a player is attacked. Mounts are not only represented by horses, but oxen as well, with the latter being more suited to transporting goods over long distances.

Albion Online puts an interesting twist on fast travel (Massively)

The sandbox MMO has implemented fast travel based on user feedback, but the feature has some interesting limitations. For one, fast travel can only happen over water. It is also limited to safe cities and hubs, and costs a fair bit of money. As a bit of an RP element, fast travel is done like ship travel, so the cost will go up according to the weight you're carrying. This makes sure that players won't use fast travel at all times, and may take into consideration whether travel by foot or horseback might be the better choice in particular situations.

[dotty]

I ran across this title while searching for a tablet rpg. With all the sandbox play I immediately thought of my nimue buddies. What are the thoughts on this game? I've never played a corpse looting game for more than a few hours. I can only hope a great community forms inside the game.

Real life has been super busy the past few years, and the tablet has taken over almost all gaming for me. I miss the role play and fear most of it is gone these days.

[Morreion]

Hey Dotty, hullo there!

Haven't tried this title yet, I find it slightly bewildering that games sometimes do not 'release' as they are available to play alpha/beta, often for a fee. I understand the need for indie companies to raise money though. From what I've seen, RP is pretty much dead except perhaps in RP guilds (done in /guild chat) and the occasional tavern RP here and there.

I'm still hanging in there looking for a decent game. Shroud of the Avatar? Star Citizen? The Repopulation? Who knows. My expectations have been lowered over the years.

If anyone is checking out Albion Online at the moment, let's hear what you think!

[Loendal]

I don't have time for a review of what I'm seeing (Have to get ready for work) but this game is coming along very very nicely and I'm liking what I see. The constant PvP makes me a bit nervous, but otherwise it looks fantastic. They released several videos within the past few days with highlights of different aspects.

albiononline.com/en/videos

[Morreion]

Albion Online: The Sandbox You Should Be Playing (Keen & Graev)

Big Open World

The world is really quite big. It’s broken up into starting cities. The one you start at seems to be random, but you can travel between them by paying for a ship to sail you. They are located in the bottom of the green safe areas as seen above. The green areas are completely safe areas where you can’t be ganked. The yellow zones are areas where players can flag themselves as hostile and attack anyone. However, if you die you do not lose your just — just durability on it. The red zones are FFA gank and be ganked, lose ALL your stuff, etc.
The world is crucial to the game’s economy and PvP. Players can select lots and build on them. Lots are available in cities and all over. The resources scale in tiers; Green areas you’ll have lower level resources and they level up as you move out.

The world feels large and separate because everything is localized. Your bank in Kingsmarket won’t be accessible in Queensmarket. If you collect 500 wood logs, spend the time refining them, and then sail away… you better be willing to go back and get those resources. This makes local economies important, local crafters important, etc. Players on one side of the map feel like they truly are a world apart — if you read this blog often you know that’s something I absolutely love.

...Simply put, there are a freak-ton of skills in Albion Online. Want to use heavy armor? Wear it and you’ll earn points by simply having it on and hunting. Want to make Bows and specialize into the best bow maker out there? Then make bows. It’s all really that simple.

...You guys know me and my love of claiming a place and calling it my own. In Albion Online you can purchase (lease/rent) a plot of land out in the shared open-world, or you can purchase a private island (if you purchase while a premium member (stays if you unsubscribe)), where you can place your own buildings or farm, etc.

Owning property in a major city is a nice touch. There are stalls where you can purchase existing a lumber mill or a blacksmith or any number of well-desired properties. You can set a usage fee or tax so that anyone using your station will need to pay a fee that goes right to you. That’s pretty cool. Granted, when people jack that tax up to 999% it’s a bit of a douche move.

...Right now you can technically earn a premium membership in-game, but that would take like 80,000+ silver for 30 days. That’s…. steep. If you want to jump into the closed beta you can purchase one of the founders packs and get in right away. The rewards are AMAZING at the Legendary level. You’ll get an Ox and a Horse. The Ox alone — which I have yet to purchase in-game — will be able to carry lots of resources for you. I’m hoping to get one soon.