Albion Online Guides to Have Many Territories in GvG

Having many territories is a huge benefit. It also needs to have some downsides. Let us divide these challenges into internal and external challenges.

 

territories-in-GvG

 

Internal challenges of controlling huge swaths of land

  • Upkeep cost of territories
  • Other things. In general, the internal downsides has to do with organization. A super well organized guild will mitigate these downsides

External challenges of controlling huge swaths of land

  • Due to the guild’s size, more guilds might be interested in the land. They will therefore have to fight more GvG’s (and/or contest more sieges when those are implemented)
  • Due to the above, they will also have to have more GvG teams, since one GvG team can’t defend a new territory 10 maps away from the first territory they defended (this is one of the counters to a big guild)

The thing I am talking about is the (2). If (1) was the only downside, then in theory, one GvG team can defend a whole lot of land if they spread their timers out properly.
When the lockout and fake attacks are in the game, the guilds controlling a ton of land have to have several functioning GvG teams. This in itself makes it easier to take their land and increases the possibility that the guild controlling a lot of land will implode under its own weight.

Don’t get me wrong. I think sending fake attacks (and attacks in general) should be much more expensive.
And I also think that a GvG team should be able to fight more GvG’s in the same area. Right now they can only “jump” 1 time. If they could jump 2 or 3 times during one lockout, it would make it possible for one GvG team to defend a bit more territory, and it’d make the lockout/fake attacks less punishing.

But removing the possibility of fake attacking altogether, or to remove the GvG lockout, would move the game is a bad direction. We need a system in place that promotes smaller guilds by making it harder to control huge swaths of land.

The First Phase of the Morgana Faction Rework

Today, Sandbox Interactive unveiled the upcoming Morgana Faction rework, which is currently in development for their sandbox MMORPG Albion Online. The faction overhaul will be split up into several phases, with the first part being revealed.

Morgana-faction-rework

A rework of Morgana’s faction has begun, although the team said that it has a ways to go in getting the balance of this high-end faction just right. The long and the short of it is that while monsters in the overworld have been nerfed somewhat, mobs like Morgana’s forces are going to hit a lot harder in dungeons.

Strongly focusing on high-tier players and group-play content, the Morgana faction will be made significantly more varied and engaging with an abundance of new spells. Sandbox Interactive emphasizes that players will be forced to think more carefully about party composition and strategy to face these new challenges successfully.

The developer describes several of the upcoming spells, most notable for the new Disciple specializations: the Summoner, the Infester and the Conjurer. In addition to the group content in dungeons becoming more challenging, players will also encounter the overhauled Disciple mobs in the vast open world of Albion.

The first part of the overhaul will be to create more diversity and variety in the faction that will provide more engaging interactions and bring new spells into the game.

The developer describes several of the upcoming spells, most notable for the new Disciple specializations: the Summoner, the Infester and the Conjurer. In addition to the group content in dungeons becoming more challenging, players will also encounter the overhauled Disciple mobs in the vast open world of Albion.

You can get more specific information by visiting the Albion Online site.

Newest Guild Spotlight Gentlemen: Closed Beta Presents New Challenges

Although the provider of the albion online are currently dealing with a number of rivalries at the moment, history shows the lastest guild spotlight Gentlemen have no problem holding their own against those that oppose them. Throughout the five months that Closed Beta has been underway, they have sustained battles with a variety of noteworthy rivals.

albion-online-guild-spotlight-gentlemen

We used to have a lot of fights with KDS and Hammer and Sickle a few weeks ago and it was really a great experience fighting those guys.

As Closed Beta continues to present Gentlemen new challenges, Tajger reflects on the goals and accomplishments of the guild thus far, and what the future will hold for them as a unit. The guild leader feels that the organization has achieved even more than originally intended.

Not only have Gentlemen been successful in defending their base from numerous attacks throughout Closed Beta, they are also expanding their bounds and continue to maintain acquired land.

Enjoy the video about Gentlemen vs Hammer and Sickle 20 v 20 below:

Sandbox Announced a major Overhaul to Consumables and Potions System

On the eve of the upcoming closed beta for Albion Online, developers Sandbox Interactive have announced a major overhaul to the consumables and potions system that will bring
more variety to food making and alchemy.

sandbox-announced-a-major-overhaul-to-consumables-and-potions-system

The team at Sandbox Interactive has no doubt retained its bee costumes, as it has been quite busy prepping for the imminent launch of the closed beta for Albion Online. The
most recent developer blog post on the official Albion Online website provides details on an overhaul to the consumables and potions systems. These systems play an important
role in the life of your character, with foods providing longer duration buffs, while potions are all about the instant gratification of heal-over-time effects, energy boosts,
and increases to defense to name a few.

One of the most exciting includes for alchemists in the update is the all-new herb garden where players can grow their own herbs for use in creating one of seven different
potion types. These potions are incredibly helpful as is typically the case with consumables in MMOs, and produce a variety of effects including:

  • A short heal over time effect
  • A short energy over time effect
  • A flask to revive an incapacitated ally
  • A strong increase of your defense values
  • A slowing field created at your feet
  • A potion that increases the regeneration of spell use
  • A potion that instantly removes negative effects

For the virtual chefs out there, buff-granting foods can also be produced that offer some longer lasting benefits:

  • Soup. Increases Health Regeneration outside of combat
  • Salad. Increases crafting speed and quality
  • Pie. Increases maximum load and gathering speed
  • Omelette. Reduces cooldown periods and casting times
  • Stew. Gives a bonus to combat damage
  • Sandwiches. Increase your maximum health

 

Consumable foods and potions will no doubt play a major role in Albion Online’s highly player-driven economy. And while this is fairly common in older MMOs, more recently we’ve
seen many development studios look to consumables as prime candidates for real cash marketplace sales, much to the chagrin of hardcore crafting types.

Suggestions to Travel Fast and Remove Tedium

I’ve played Full Loot Hardcore PvP games for a really long time and I really really love the genre. I’ve played Albion since a very early alpha when it was terrible but showed promise. The game has come an extremely long way from the tedium and restrictive game I remember and I really love what I’m seeing here.

suggestions-to-travel-fast

Please keep in mind, these suggestions are to remove some of the tedium from the game and help attract a larger casual player base.

Enough about that, now Let’s turn to the point.

Recall
Description: A common skill usable even when you’re naked. This spell gives the player an opportunity to teleport from the wilderness back to safety, however it takes a very long time to cast and makes a lot of noise. If the player takes any damage during the Recall, it cancels the channeling. Recall should be able to be heard from an extremely long distance away, potentially across the entire zone (just more faintly when its further). It should also take somewhere from 2-5 minutes to cast, depending on balance. The entire point of this system is to remove some of the tedium of the game and help attract a larger casual player base.
Destinations: Players should be able to choose to recall to the nearest NPC City and nearest Clan City. You could likely even use the same GUI window for when a player dies.
Cooldown Duration: This is up to debate. It definitely should be at a minimum of 1 hour to prevent abuse. The cooldown could also be scaled with the character’s base weight on their last cast. Meaning, if normally we have a 1 hour cooldown, recalling with 200% weight would result in a 2 hour cooldown before the next cast is available. Also, obviously, this cooldown should persist through server maintenance and the character relogging.
Cast Duration: The more a player is encumbered, the longer the casting time should be. To clear things up, the spell CANNOT be cast while mounted, and it should be based off your character’s UNMODIFIED WEIGHT. This means that Food, Bags, etc all do not change the cast time.

  •   0-100% Weight = 100% Cast Duration
  •  >100% Weight = %weight Cast Duration (i.e. 150% Weight = 150% Cast Duration)

Restrictions: Recall cannot be used from within dungeons. This prevents players from entering dungeons and escaping from within to avoid PvP while fighting out with their loot. We also don’t want players to be able to recall from within the safety of their guild/ally territory squares. If they want to recall, they need to go into hostile territory, at least 100m or so, then start recalling. Recalling from the safe zones should not be restricted. This also applies to Castles, we wouldn’t want people being able to teleport right on top of a castle chest where people cannot get to him without breaking down walls. This could simply be fixed with a restriction radius placed on each type of area you don’t want players to be able to recall or mark runes.
Benefits: This enables more casual players to get into Albion and enjoy the game without added tedium of running back to town. If players are in a group and someone has to log out, recalling back would be very beneficial instead of having to solo your way back at a later time.
Sound Effect: The sound effect of “Recalling” should be distinctly different from “Marking” a Rune Stone. This is so players don’t confuse it with marking a rune stone.

Rune Stones
Description: Rune Stones are super rare and expensive items that are used to mark locations in the world for fast travel. After a Rune Stone is marked, it can be etched into a Rune Book from a Clan City or NPC City. They should cost millions of silver each. Their materials should be farmed through PvE loot of end game content.
Obtaining Materials: The materials to craft a Rune Stone are dropped from some of the highest tier monsters in the game, preferably end game bosses. Players will still need to take these materials and then craft them into usable rune stones (maybe through a Rune Etching system or something on the skill tree, again this should be super expensive). Only the richest players in the game will be able to afford leveling up rune etching.
Rune Marking: Players take a crafted Rune Stone out into the world and “mark” it at any location in any tile they choose. Double clicking on the Rune Stone will start the Marking process, which is a channeled spell just like everything else here. It should take from 2-5 minutes to mark and again it should make a lot of noise. Once a rune is Marked, the player must haul it back to a Clan City or a NPC City to Etch it.
Sound Effect: The sound effect of “Marking” a Rune Stone should be distinctively different from the sound effect of someone performing a “Recall”. Players who mark a stone should realize that this is an extremely risky task, as enemies who hear someone marking a stone can “blow the zerg horn” and try to kill the player or group of players marking runes before they transport them back to town. Rune Stones should be lootable (maybe not destroyable) for this purpose. This could create new PvP dynamics for players protecting zones from having others mark runes in them, etc.

Rune Books
Description: Rune Books store permanent teleport locations throughout the world, enabling players to fast travel to them for a large price, which MUST be based on their weight just like the city to city fast travel system. Rune Books store 15 or 20 “etched” Rune Stones. The Rune Book is a GUI Window, not an item able to be looted or destroyed.
Rune Etching: After a player “marks” a Rune Stone, it’s able to be etched only in the safety of a Clan City or NPC City (maybe at a vendor or a bench or something?). The player chooses a slot in their Rune Book to etch their Marked Rune Stone into, and preferably the character can type a name into it as well to give it a description. The rune is then consumed and they can now fast travel from anywhere in the world to that location for a very hefty price. This price should scale based on their inventory weight to prevent players from fast traveling with entire stockpiles of clan resources.
Rune Removal: Players should have the option to DESTROY a rune in their Rune Book, so they can always keep their book updated with their favorite hunting locations.
Teleporting: After a player has etched a marked Rune Stone into their Rune Book, they can now teleport from anywhere to that location. The teleport spell will work much like the Recall spell, being 2-5 minutes channeled, making a TON of noise and having the same restrictions applied so it can’t be exploitative. Teleporting using Rune Stones should be an EXTREME gold or silver sink, making your company more money.

The Best PvP Gear for Some Circumstances

I have bought the founder’s pack and I’m reaching the point where the wipe is becoming too much. I don’t want to gather so much or kill so many mobs that I can use T8 Gear/Tools and then have to lose it all.

Albion-Online-beat-PvP-gear-to-equip
So I figure I’ll just figure out the best PvP gear, slowly make my way to T5 or maybe T6 if I really feel like it, and just spend my days PvPing.
So with that in mind what would be the best PvP gear to equip for the following circumstances:

  • 1v1 Duel’s
  • 5v5’s in Hellgates/GvG
  • Red Zone surprise attacks to insta-kill someone as fast as possible and take their shit, and not give them any opportunity to run away

Just to clarify I meant what gear combinations would be best in each of the given circumstances, meaning that if Claws are best for 1v1 duels, I understand that they might not be best for 5v5’s, and that there is a different build that is best for 5v5’s.

For 5v5 the most important thing isn’t individual builds, it’s their comp and how they synergise with each other.

For Red Zone ganking, if you’re going after one or two people then claws is also pretty decent because of the suppress mechanic. Warbow is also decent, as you have good damage above T6 and can kite really well. But again, unless you want to solo (in which case I recommend warbow) then you should check with your group for which role is usually most needed.

How to Rank All Non-Support Weapons

For today’s topic, I’d like to put the emphasis on how to ranking all non-support weapons. Here we go:

how-to-rank-all-non-support-weapons

Swords:

  • Broadsword: 3/10
  • Only saving grace is the double interrupt. But Damage is awful even for a tank weapon, and with no other CC, you will rarely be able to get close to those you need to interrupt.
  • Claymore: 4/10
    Both E’s give a moderate amount of damage, but still suffer from the lack of mobility.
  • Glaive: 6/10
    Same damage as rest of Sword line, but Fling is both and interrupt, peel, and offensive pull. Started off weak, but due to a damage and distance buff on E, it is much better.

Axes:

  • Battleaxe: 2/10
    Offers up no utility or damage. Among the worst weapons in the game. Part of the problem is the weapon itself, the other part is the horribleness that is offhands.
  • Greataxe: 7/10
    Offers best AoE melee damage, second best AoE damage next to Glacial, but it is harder to avoid the Whirlwind.
  • Scythe: 7/10
    Where Greataxe has AoE, Scythe has single target. Part of its problem is that the healing reduction seems to be bugged.

Maces:

  • Mace: 5/10
    Great single target CC but is outshined by the Heavy Mace who gives up a damage for a better CC.
  • Heavy Mace: 7/10
    Tied for second for best tank and control weapon. The AoE Silence can turn fights.
  • Flail: 2/10
    This is one of those items that is basically another item but worse. It provides the same thing that Mace does, single target CC, but worse.

Hammers:

  • Hammer: 5/10
    Radius of E is a bit too small, and is handicapped by offhands, but overall it is a great control weapon.
  • Polehammer: 6/10
    Basically the same as Hammer but with a bit more reach.
  • Great Hammer:7/10
    Used to be really bad, but now it very good. Basically turns area around him into slush.

Crossbows:

  • Crossbow: 4/10
    Outshined in every way by Heavy and Repeating Crossbow.
  • Heavy Crossbow: 5/10
    Outshined by Repeating.
  • Repeating Crossbow: 9/10
    A powerhouse weapon, instant AoE that deals damage comparable to most single target abilities, is ranged, has self peels, and an insane Q.

Bows:

  • Bows: 4/10
    Decent single target damage, but brings nothing to the table.
  • Warbow: 5/10
    Used to be great, but now the E is easily dodge-able and only AoE if all enemies collectively decide to stand ontop of each other. Great Choice in Qs, and a good W.
  • Longbow: 6/10
    Can be devestating in certain comps, but overall it will be akin to a non-moving blizzard once blizzard is no longer bugged.

Spears:

  • Spear: 7/10
    It is good, even with the bad offhands. It is basically a Ranged Weapon with great AoE, decent CC, and good burst.
  • Pike: 6/10
    A one trick pony that has a huge CD on its one trick.
  • Halberd: 9/10
    Insane and instant burst, great AoE, great CC.

Daggers:

  • Dagger: 1/10
    Worst Weapon in the Game. Zero redeeming qualities.
  • Dagger Pair: 3/10
    Good burst that is impossible to actually use. With no other utility to speak of.
  • Claw: 5/10
    Similar to Pike, it is a one trick pony with a long CD, but unlike Pike, Claws are easily countered by almost every weapon/armor.

Quarterstaff:

  • Quarterstaff: 4/10
    Great weapon but, the Iron-Clad does everything it does but better.
  • Iron-Clad: 10/10
    Best tanking/CC item in the game, hands down, zero competition. Good Q, great choices in W, and an insane and annoying E.
  • Double-Bladed: 7/10
    All the awesomeness that is Quarterstaves, but it more tuned to open world and solo fun.

Fire Staff:

  • Fire Staff: 4/10
    Great single target damage and utility but suffers from a long cast time that are easily avoided given its range.
  • Great Fire Staff: 5/10
    Huge AoE, a bit more utility, but suffers from avoidability due to cast time and telegraph.
  • Infernal: 6/10
    Awesome open world damage, less useful the smaller the group gets.

Frost Staff:

  • Frost Staff: 5/10
    Go Glacial or Go home. Short Range, limited zoning potential and CC.
  • Great Frost Staff: 6/10
    Good Zoning, Good CC, Good AoE.
  • Glacial: 10/10
    Best AoE in the Game, due to a bug, if the bug is fixed it would be more of a 8/10 weapon.

Curse Staff:

  • Curse Staff: 8/10
    Best single target in the game. Iceblock, Invisibility, or Cleanse needs to be burned or you die.
  • Great Curse Staff: 6/10
    Decent AoE and Utility, outshined on all accounts by Demonic.
  • Demonic Staff: 8:10
    Awesome AoE, Awesome Single Target, Awesome Utility

how-to-rank-all-non-support-weapons

Conclusion:

There are clearly standout items, the problem with these standout items is that they totally eclipse all other times. It would be one thing if they were 10-15% better than the average item, but they are 50-100% better. This creates two problems, firstly, the run of the mill item is now relative garbage, the second problem is the below average item might as well not be in the game.

Right now the (Bugged) Glacial, Iron-Clad, Halberd, Repeating Crossbow are all too good. With all of this overpoweredness coming from their E’s.

Curse Staves on the other hand are powerful mostly because of their Armor Piercer and Curse Beam Ws.

The Dagger Branch is all just bad; Bad Q, Bad W, Bad Es.

Sword Branch is similarly bad, but for different reasons, where Daggers have problems with the way abilities function, Swords just have problem with Damage Numbers.

Battleaxe, Frost Staff, Fire Staff, Quarterstaff, Bow, Crossbow, and Mace all suffer from their only real utility being mimicked and outmatched by weapons further down their line or in another tree altogether.

Many One-Handed Weapons suffer from weaknesses from offhands, though the shield change might address some of these problems.

Overall, any melee weapon without a sprint, charge, or movement based damage ability is bad. Part of this problem is the fact that for every auto-attack and ability cast, the melee have to stop and then resume the chase after losing ground from stopping. Melee either need to not root themselves for abilities, or autoattacks, or have a movement speed passive on the base weapons similar to the health and health regen they already have.

Design Direction for New Hunter Weapons

Today I’m going to try and focus these weapons around combos/skill-shots as I feel those are the direction PVP needs to go.

albion-online-weapons

Here is the design direction for each specific weapon!

Double Pistols – Single Target sustained DPS, tank destroyer
Shotgun – AoE sustained DPS, very in your face back line destroyer, high risk high reward
Sniper – Single Target Burst, long range, weak up close

design-direction-for-new-hunter-weapons
-SHARED ABILITIES-

PASSIVE 1 – Haste: 20% Chance to increase move speed by 15% on attack. (Same as torch)
PASSIVE 2 – Aggression: Auto attacks deal 10% more damage. (Same as daggers)

Q1- Incendiary shot: Load and fire an explosive bullet in the targeted direction, damaging and igniting the first enemy hit, dealing magic damage overtime. 7s CD

Q2- Frost shot: Load and fire a cryogenic bullet in the targeted direction, damaging and slowing the first enemy hit. 5s CD

Q3- Charged shot: Load and fire an electrically charged bullet in the targeted direction, damaging and silencing the first enemy hit for 2s. 7s CD
W1- Smoke grenade: Lob a smoke grenade at the targeted area, enemies inside the smoke cannot see outside and vice versa. 4 second duration. 20 second CD. This ability interacts with each of the Q’s.
–Q1: The smoke ignites and explodes, dealing damage and igniting all enemies within.
–Q2: The smoke condenses and slows all enemies who stay within the field by 60%.
–Q3: The electric charge leaks into the smoke, damaging and silencing everyone inside.

W2- Quickdraw: Dash forward while shooting a bullet in a target direction, if the bullet hits, the cooldown of Quickdraw is reduced to one second and the cooldowns of all other abilities are reduced by 1 second. 7s CD.

1.Double Pistols

Attack Damage: 75 (This is arbitrary, but imagine Bows at 100 as a baseline)
Attack Speed: 1.5 (Once again, bows baseline at 1)
DPS: 112.5 (Bows baseline 100)
Range: 9 (Bows being 11)

Armour Piercing Rounds: For the next 8s, increase your attack speed by 50% and your autos deal and additional 7.5% of your targets max health as magic damage. 30s CD.

2.Shotgun

Attack Damage: 180 (This is arbitrary, but imagine Bows at 100 as a baseline)
Attack Speed: 0.8 (Once again, bows baseline at 1)
DPS: 144 (Bows baseline 100)
Range: 5 (Bows being 11)

Blunderbuss: A large explosion erupts from your shotgun, damaging and pushing back all enemies in a cone in front of you, the damage and knock back is greater the closer they are to you. 30s CD.

3.Sniper

Attack Damage: 220 (This is arbitrary, but imagine Bows at 100 as a baseline)
Attack Speed: 0.5 (Once again, bows baseline at 1)
DPS: 110 (Bows baseline 100)
Range: 13 (Bows being 11)

Hunker Down: Become rooted, and for 6 seconds your range is increased to 16 your attack speed by 100% and your auto attacks deal additional damage based on the distance of the target (up to 200%). 30s CD.