Name: NomadPoncho
Channel: NomadPoncho on Twitch
General Streaming Schedule: Weekdays 19:00-23/24:00 UTC
Main Focus: Solo / Small-Group PvP

How did you get into streaming? How long have you been an Albion streamer?

Over a year now, honestly I can’t remember exactly when I started. I had wanted to get into streaming for a while, and when I started I was more of a variety streamer, playing whatever game caught my eye.

I had been playing Albion for a while however, and had got to a point where I felt I could share some fun content with viewers. With there not being many solo streamers, and none broadcasting dagger antics at the time, I thought it was time to show people that a solo assassin-type playstyle was not only possible, but also a lot of fun, and incredibly versatile.

How is streaming Albion different from streaming other games?

Streaming Albion is hard. It’s a full-loot MMO so there are always people watching who would prefer the easy path to content. I think that’s one of the main reasons we don’t have much streaming content that isn’t instanced. Given the advantage that knowledge and numbers bring, streaming simply puts you at too much of a disadvantage, leading many to stream other games instead, whilst allowing the Youtube scene to grow more prominently.

I’m still here slugging it out, though. I enjoy the game, and the full-loot nature simply brings so much more intensity to the PvP compared to other MMOs. I think that’s one of the reasons it can be so enjoyable to watch these situations unfold live.

Your recent streams have focused on small-group PvP in Hellgates and Black Zones. What is your general approach to streaming? Do you plan out activities in advance, or head out into the world and see what happens?

My main aim is always to PvP. I solo a lot, and run smaller groups where possible. For me it feels a lot more skill-based, and decisions made in every second of the fight count much more than in larger-scale combat. Also, as someone who loves daggers so much, there just isn’t really an option for their use in large fights. I love running dagger pair in a group, and picking out a target to assassinate - it always feels amazing when I come out of stealth to do huge damage on a key role, such as the enemy team's healer.  

Mostly I just head out and let Albion do its thing. I don’t really play it safe. I feel the only way to get better is to take fights I don’t think I’ll win, and try to anyway, leading me to the point I'm at today: throwing myself into outnumbered fights, and often taking victory.

Do you have a favorite stream, or a favorite moment you can share from one of your streams?

Okay so this is definitely one of my fondest memories from Albion. I’ll set the scene:

Four guys were stream sniping me pretty relentlessly, showing up in every zone me and my guild mate were moving through as we looked for smaller fights. They cornered and killed him in a Dungeon zone. I, however, managed to slink away, lose them, and slip into the dungeon. I snuck around inside stealing whatever chests I could, and after around ten minutes I figured it would be safe to leave. That is where this highlight starts:



Any ideas of new content for future streams?

I want to start with some GvGs, and hope to help with the game's solo content by being an experienced player in this regard. Right now I’m mainly doing this through the Round Table, and anywhere else I can. Lack of solo content has, I feel, been a side effect of many of the recent patch changes, but it’s great to see SBI recognize this and take the time to discuss it. As hard as it often is, many players enjoy the challenge of solo and small-scale play.

Do you have any advice or tips for other players who are considering being Albion streamers?

Be prepared to die a lot, haha. Have patience and learn the lessons to find what content you can and cannot stream. There are many ways I have found to keep yourself relatively safe whilst streaming, most of which I am planning on compiling into a Youtube video in the near future.

Anything else to add?

I’ve streamed this game for a while, and played it for a whole lot longer. If you are a new Albion streamer, or thinking of starting to stream the game, feel free to drop me a message through my stream discord. I’m always happy to help anyone with getting set up.

Also a message to would-be stream snipers: be kind to us Albion broadcasters ;) Twitch is a really good draw for new players into any game these days, and allowing them to get on with their content without interruption is a sure-fire way to get new players into the game. I myself have got many players into it and helped them with starting up, as have many of the others. Just keep that in mind before your next excursion into the day of someone who has taken the time to share the game with potential, new, and existing players alike.

Can you share some of your favorite clips with us?

Early morning murder with a side of coffee; playing with the new 1H Dagger:



Being a true assassin ^-^



Some would call this getting away with bloody murder:



Can’t touch this:



Enjoy the clips? Be sure to follow NomadPoncho on Twitch, and stay tuned for more upcoming Streamer Spotlights.

• Abilities no longer displace party members in cities
• Devious Trap (Heretic Cape) is no longer activated by mount F-slot spells

• Fixed an issue where the client would sometimes crash when sorting the inventory with an item in the Salvage window
• Fixed an issue where an incorrect message was sent when a building was claimed by another player
• [iOS] Corrected a RAM reporting issue that was preventing iPad Pros from accessing the game

Albion's fifth season of guild-versus-guild warfare kicks off this Saturday. This season, winning teams can claim exclusive rewards, including the epic, boar-drawn Tower Chariot mount.

While its exact stats, abilities, and appearance are still a work in progress, the Tower Chariot will offer its rider unique skills that will be usable in various battle settings. This mount will be awarded to guilds who reach Silver rank or higher during Season 5, with further rewards available to guilds who reach Iron rank or higher. We'll have more details on additional season rewards (as well as the exact requirements for receiving them) over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!




We'll be covering Saturday's Invasion Day action live on the AlbionTV Twitch channel. Tune in Saturday at 17:00 UTC with hosts Lewpac and Shozen as they introduce the start of the season. At 18:00 UTC, the season officially begins, and guilds can claim territories and launch attacks. For the complete season schedule, check out this forum post.

Remember, you can also tune in every Thursday at 18:00 UTC for highlights from the previous week.

Here's the full stream schedule for Season 5:

A new referral season starts today! From now until March 1, refer your friends and get three exclusive rewards: the brand-new Recruiter's Avatar Ring, the Recruiter's Trumpet, and the Recruiter's Husky Sled.

The new referral season lasts until March 1. There are three ways to collect referrals and earn your very own sled dog:

• The easiest way is by sending Trial Keys to your friends. Each key redeemed on an account without a key on it will count toward your referral season progress.
• Additionally, any Starter Pack that you buy and that gets redeemed on an account without a key will also count toward your progress.
• And last but not least: if a friend registers through your referral link, then buys and redeems a Starter Pack on their account, you’ll also progress.

To get an overview of your current progress this season, and to see the FAQ for the referral system, click here. Note that you must be signed in to the Albion Online website to view your current progress.

Yuletide has come and gone and winter has settled into the land of Albion... and a new Adventurer's Challenge is here! For all of January, take the Frost Challenge to collect exclusive rewards. Earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your own unique Frost Ram.




NEW MOUNT: This month's Challenge introduces the Frost Ram, a loyal mount that hails from far-off frozen peaks. With an impressive leap spell, relatively fast move speed, and ability to carry a respectable amount of weight, it's the perfect companion for gathering missions.

NEW AVATAR BORDER: This month, reach your goals to win the Frost Challenge 2018 avatar border, a thematic decoration that will deck your avatar out with an exclusive wintry theme. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character.
 
SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month, unlock Frost Challenge chests to get valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes and Silver bags, along with a classic costume set and all-new ice sculptures that will bring the chill of winter all year long.
 

Starting with this month's challenge, the following changes to point calculation applies:

• The Challenge Points required for the Daily Bonus will be reduced from 1500 to 1200.
• The point multiplier for farming will be reduced from 1.7 to 1.3.

Effectively, this means that farming contributes the same percent to the daily bonus as before, while fishing and PvE now contribute more robustly to both the daily bonus and overall points.



Log in now and start gathering, fishing, farming, and killing monsters to earn Challenge Points and unlock your rewards!

With 2018 drawing to a close, it's time to look back on the major happenings of the past year. From big content updates to new platforms to an auspicious anniversary, the world of Albion has been through a lot in the past 12 months.



2018 brought three major content updates to the world of Albion: Lancelot in the spring, Merlyn in the summer, and Nimue in the fall. Each update brought new and exciting things to Albion Online to enhance the game:

• Lancelot brought fishing, new guild features, new Hellgates and Expeditions, and Luxury Goods.
• With Merlyn came Faction Warfare, resource updates, refining and crafting bonuses, and new costumes and trophies.
• And most recently, Nimue introduced Crystal Realm Battles, the Party Finder, character markers and party roles, and numerous other quality-of-life improvements.

Looking forward to 2019, Oberon (the sixth major post-release content update) will bring new dimensions to the game, including random dungeons and a completely overhauled new-player experience.



On May 16, 2018, Albion Online launched on Steam, bringing thousands of new players into the greater Albion community. The influx of new players brought new dimensions to the Albion ecosystem, providing new economic (and combat!) opportunities for seasoned players. The Steam launch also provided a good opportunity to update Albion's official guides and to create new ones for incoming players, such as Lewpac's comprehensive video tutorials on starting out in Albion and earning silver (see video section below).



On July 17, Albion turned one year old. In this article, we looked back on some of the major events of the game's first year, from the highs and lows of launch week to the introduction of the Arena and GvG seasons, and looked forward to the second year of Albion. With a steady stream of content updates and a goal of remaining transparent about future plans, the team has also released a steady stream of Dev Talks (all viewable on the Albion Online YouTube channel) and Roadmap posts on the forum.



The past year saw a huge amount of content from Albion's guilds, varying from friendly group PvE to small-scale interguild skirmishes to all-out backstabbing and warfare. Where guilds are concerned, there's never a shortage of intrigue, and 2018 brought the full range of drama. Money Guild, undisputed champions of Seasons 1 and 2, finally fell to Team Casualty in Season 3 despite the latter losing numerous home territories and a large portion of their gear (read all about it here).

In November, the Nimue update brought Crystal Realm Battles, an expansion of guild warfare that allowed new teams to try their hand at 5v5 GvG fights. Season 4 also saw the introduction of new seasonal rewards, including exclusive mounts and a permanent place in the new Conquerors' Hall, now open for visitors near the Caerleon Realmgate.

Season 5 begins on January 5, 2019 - click here for the complete schedule.



2018 has been an incredible year for Albion video content, with exciting, engaging, and often hilarious video content coming from the community week after week. While it would be impossible to include all the year's video highlights here, we've chosen just a small selection of our favorite pieces to include here.

First off, Gugusteh presents a classy take on black-zone combat with a "Claymore Ballet", complete with classical soundtrack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-WwCBaHfOI
In anticipation of the new fishing system that arrived with Lancelot in Spring 2018, The Kuschelchen (with help from several other AO mods) created this comedic teaser about the true meaning of "fishing" in Albion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFUbkQGqm3I
Along with his excellent new player guide (featured above), Lewpac created numerous other guides throughout the year. Here, he gives some solid methods of earning silver, and like many of his video guides, it's helpful for both new and experienced players:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPRBBqXPdg
And last but not least, Nausk (recently featured here) continued his popular Black Zone Tales series, bringing high-level PvP combat to the masses. Here's an episode from last summer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1epCr14av3U
We want to thank you, our fellow Adventurers, for making Albion what it is today. Your passion for the game makes what we do possible, and we want to wish you all the best for 2019. We hope you're as excited as we are for the next year of Albion Online, and we hope to see you soon ingame.

Happy New Year!

- Your Albion Online Team

Albion's fourth GvG season has come to a close, with Blue Army as the decisive winners, having bypassed the traditional path to victory by focusing primarily on open-world content. With recent changes to energy and mage raiding, castles and raiding suddenly became a higher percentage of season points, and BA was able to use their open-world strengths to their advantage.

More broadly, BA's secret to success seemed to be prioritizing content over victory, with their main goal being to ensure a battle takes place and winning being only secondary. Particularly in ZvZs, BA was often willing to wait and fall back until the right opportunity presented itself. Ultimately, their readiness to lose an engagement in order to create enjoyable experiences for their members allowed them to sustain morale and momentum throughout the season and claim victory.

Here's Blue Army in action in some epic ZvZ combat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq99GlDGxJc




All guilds that achieved at least Iron Rank have received their season 4 rewards, with Bronze or higher-ranking guilds receiving the coveted Battle Rhino mount. These ferocious beasts increase in ferocity with each tier, culminating in the ultimate Albion fighting mount: the Crystal Battle Rhino.

Also, starting today, Conquerors' Hall is open for business! Located next to the Caerleon Realmgate, this cavernous new building pays tribute to Albion's greatest guilds with statues of all past season winners. Stop by today to see the new Blue Army statue, pay your respects to the guild warfare champions of bygone days... and maybe even see where your guild's own statue will someday stand.

Christmas trees and presents fill the cities, the candles are lit, and the Yuletide Challenge is in full swing!



As 2018 winds down, we at Sandbox Interactive want to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support. The world of Albion is shaped and defined by its players, and each and every one of you makes it possible.

To celebrate Albion and its inhabitants, we've brought back Uncle Frost to hand out his namesake hat and plenty of fireworks. To claim your presents, just log into the game between December 24 at 9:00 UTC and January 31 at 9:00 UTC. All characters with active Premium status will automatically receive their rewards via in-game mail.

Wishing you all the best for a joyful holiday season, and stay tuned for a year-end wrapup covering all the major happenings of 2018!

- Your Albion Online Team

The Steam Winter Sale is underway and Albion Online is taking part. Whether you've waited until now to join the world of Albion, or are looking to upgrade with an Epic or Legendary pack, we've got you covered: the base game and all DLC packs are now 34% off.

Dive in now and explore the vast world of Albion!