In our last Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys introduced Randomized Dungeons, discussed the types of gameplay they offer, and laid out what you can expect from them. In this followup video, he answers your questions regarding the feature and provides a bit more background about the design decisions behind it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iChryMY07s
No time to watch the video? Read on for a written summary. (Note: due to edits, some of the answers below may be more detailed than the answers given in the video.)

What are the PvP rules inside of Randomized Dungeons?

The dungeon inherits the PvP rules from the zone from which it was entered – so if you’re playing in a safe zone, you’ll have safe zone rules, red zone rules in a red zone, and so on.

How many entrances will a dungeon have?

The type of dungeons spawning with Oberon will only have a single entrance, as we want to provide a focused PvE experience.. That said, you can meet another group if they follow you into the dungeon or vice versa.

Are these dungeons large enough for bigger fights?

These dungeons are designed for a fun PvE experience and don't really have spaces for PvP. They can host PvP on a reasonable scale (about 5v5), but there should not be many large fights happening.

Are you able to teleport out of the dungeon?

Yes – we want Randomized Dungeons to feel like any other open-world dungeon experience, and for players to be able to play through them without backing out, so teleporting is available.

How long to complete a Randomized Dungeon?

It depends on the dungeon – on average, it will probably take 15 to 40 minutes depending on the depth. The idea is to be able to play a dungeon relatively quickly, then go back to the surface and find another.

Tier of loot?

With Oberon we’ve changed the Black Market loot rules so mobs drop loot up to two tiers above their own. This applies in Randomized Dungeons as well, based on the tier of the dungeon itself.

Do the dungeons become more difficult as you get deeper?

The average mobs in a dungeon don't become more difficult (based on playtests, this was an overall frustrating experience), but the density of "highlights" (i.e. high-value objectives) becomes higher the deeper you go.

What buffs to shrines provide?

For Randomized Dungeons we chose to focus on booster shrines for Fame and Silver. These are intended to challenge players to maximize their impact by killing as many mobs as possible while the effects last. We may be open to providing combat or other buffs in the future.

Do Randomized Dungeons close?

Yes, if there are no players in them anymore. By entering a Randomized Dungeon, you start its lifetime despawn timer. A dungeon will close when there are no more players inside AND the despawn timer has run out.

How do Randomized Dungeon Maps work?

Dungeon Maps have been added to the loot tables for the open world and are dropped by nearly all mobs. They are relatively rare, so a group of five players in the open world will find, on average, one map per hour. Maps can of course be bought, sold, and traded, giving the option of collecting maps and chaining them together with appropriate gear.

Can you find a higher-tier dungeon without a map?

Maps don't give you a higher-tier dungeon, just the possibility for an enchanted dungeon. So with a T6 map, for example, you can only find a T6 dungeon in a T6 zone.

We do have plans to add a limited number of higher-tier dungeons, but these will likely be designed as PvP hotspots and announced as such.

What are the advantages of Randomized Dungeons over Hardcore Expeditions?

Randomized Dungeons have the advantage of always being available. In addition, they will have the full benefit of their zone's challenge multipliers for Fame, Silver, and loot. Particularly in terms of loot, Randomized Dungeons will be significantly more lucrative than Hardcore Expeditions, and very close to the current fixed dungeons.

Can other groups join a map dungeon I’ve opened?

A map essentially causes a dungeon to spawn for you, if used near an appropriate-tiered zone. As you close in on this location, the dungeon spawns. This means you’re almost guaranteed to be the first to the dungeon, but potentially not the last.



To PvP, or not to PvP?

We had a lot of questions about PvP, both from those concerned it would interfere with their PvE experience, and from those interested in new PvP options.

In their current form, Randomized Dungeons are not intended to host large amounts of PvP fights, but are instead there to provide what we call “baseline” PvE, meaning something you can do anytime you log into Albion Online. They should be relatively safe, but should always carry the risk of a random encounter as well.

The Bigger Picture

How do Randomized Dungeons fit into our long-term plans for Albion Online? We currently envision them as part of the first of three layers of activities in the game:

• Layer 1, "baseline activities”, consists of open-world activities that are always available and thus unlikely to produce conflicts (Randomized Dungeons, most gathering and fishing activities). With Oberon, we hope to strengthen this layer and make Albion's open world feel more alive.
• Layer 2, “opportunities”, consists of activities that are limited in availability and thus spark conflict between players (rare and limited content like treasure chests, world bosses, castles, etc.) We intend to focus our attention on significantly improving this layer next.
• Layer 3, “strategic activities”, is defined by activities whose usefulness depends on guild and alliance needs (GvGs, city fights, siege camps, etc.) How much activity this layer generates is heavily dependent on circumstances, so we can’t rely on it to provide content for players, but of course it's very important for high-level gameplay.

That's all for now - we look forward to hearing about your experiences with Randomized Dungeons once Oberon goes live on March 20!

Name: LAKoolJ
Follow his stream at: https://www.twitch.tv/lakoolj
General Streaming Schedule: Monday 8am / Thursday 4pm / Friday 4pm / Saturday 3pm / Sunday 8am (all times PST)
Main Focuses: Large-scale group fights (ZvZ).  I also do open world PvP/ ganking/ gathering and I love to Fame farm. And yes I'm a Hardcore Expedition sinner ;)

How did you get into streaming?

I always wanted to stream but I never had the time due to being a full-time touring musician. But after I moved California I got the time to set up a good PC and watch tons of videos, and got help from a buddy of mine with artwork. I remember being on tour watching streams and wishing I could do that, and I finally got my chance and I'm not looking back!

 How long have you been an Albion streamer?

Since July 17, 2017, the day Albion Online came out. Albion Online was my first stream ever.

How is streaming Albion different from streaming other games?

This game has an outstanding Twitch community. Just go and bounce around the streamers, we all want to help people learn the game or see things they haven't seen before.



No matter what I'm doing, I always take time to make sure players get the help and advice they need. And my community doesn't mind at all, in fact most of them help out by answering questions and pointing players in the right direction. Which, if you think about it, is crazy for a hardcore full-loot PvP game with the stakes being this high. Most games that are this punishing have a very toxic community.

Streamers tend to play as ranged fighters, tanks, and other damage-dealing roles, but you play as a healer. How does this affect your streams? Does it ever lead to interesting situations?

It definitely shows a whole new side of the game. In big ZvZ fights, it's fun for my viewers as I normally never die, so they get to see the whole fight and how it plays out. I used to sit in the back like the healer should, but in the last few months I've been going closer to the tanks to give the viewers a closer look at what the frontline is doing.

The only bad thing is when the fight is over and there are a few players left to kill... I can’t kill them! So I’m just chasing them and pinging where they are for someone to come take 'em out. But all in all I love healing in Albion Online. I've always played a healer in games and I think this game has the perfect combination of target-style healing and action combat style.



What is your general approach to streaming? Do you plan out activities in advance, or head out into the world and see what happens?

Most days I start with a few HCEs to just get warmed up, or go out and solo Fame farm and look for fights. Then we have war camps, which often create nice ZvZ fights. From there I just kinda go with the flow of the game. Could be roaming looking for fights, dungeon diving, defending our mages, or any type of territory attack. The best thing about Albion Online is that even if you do the same thing multiple times, that one thing will be different every time you do it.

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

Every reset day is always so much fun. King Mojo's birthday was a really great stream - we went around on a Command Mammoth inviting groups to come kill us and saying they could have it for free.

Once I was doing a giveaway and players kept donating things to give away, which went on for around 9 hours at what was supposed to be the end of my stream. Every time I thought I was done someone else would trade me some tasty loot and we'd keep going!

To be honest, every stream is my favorite stream. I get to log into my favorite game with the best guild (Blue Army, my family). I also play with TONS of players from other guilds. I get to turn my stream on and hang out with an amazing community!



Any ideas of new content for future streams?

I've been working on the idea of having a hunt-style stream a few times a week where I go out solo or with two players and try to have other players kill me, and whoever succeeds gets a nice reward like a mount of their choice. I think it would create a lot of funny moments.

Do you have any advice or tips for those considering Albion, either to stream or just to play?

Hands down this is the best sandbox MMORPG you will ever play! I've had hundreds of players come into my stream saying they're not sure or don't play games like this, and they are still playing the game and enjoying it. Come by the stream or any streamer and ask for a trial code, we got you!

Anything else to add?

Just a big shout out to my Twitch community and all my mods, you guys are truly amazing and help me be a better person every day, in game and out. One last thing... ARMOORRRR PIEEEEERCEEE! <3

Can you share some of your favorite clips with us?

Guide to all Holy Staffs in Albion Online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eerPx6CCCp4
Hellgates - Holy Healer + Judy combo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IUd2eQfjvM
Thanks for the Mammoths:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6OxndjjEjk
Enjoy the clips? Be sure to follow LAKoolJ on Twitch and Youtube, and stay tuned for more Streamer Spotlights coming soon.

Randomized Dungeons will be introduced to Albion Online with the Oberon update on March 20. In the first of two videos on the subject, Game Director Robin Henkys discusses the key components of this feature. This first video gives an overview of what the Randomized Dungeon system is and how it works, the next will focus on answering player questions and going further into the design decisions behind the feature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXBxEH7F6M
No time to watch the video? Read on for a written summary.

Entrances to randomized dungeons will spawn via the so-called “Hidden Entrance” system. Hidden entrances appear all over the open world, from safe zones to the deepest Outlands. In general, the more dangerous the area you’re in, the more dangerous and rewarding the dungeons will be. The entrances themselves can be used by anyone who finds them, but as they will not appear on world or cluster maps, this feature rewards those who go out and explore.

In addition to scouting for dungeons, you can also use a dungeon map to guide you to a dungeon entrance. Maps only work if used in proximity to an area which contains dungeons of the same tier of the map, but if used correctly they reliably lead the way to a dungeon, making them a comfortable alternative to scouting the world manually.

The final way to find a random dungeon entrance is to look for them in the existing fixed dungeon locations in the open world. Within these dungeons themselves, you will find an increased amount of valuable randomized dungeon entrances, allowing players who enjoy these fixed spots to benefit from the new content as well.

What you’ll find inside a randomized dungeon will depend on the entrance itself. The entrance will signify the faction you’ll find beneath the dungeon, although some entrances are portals which will lead you to a random faction, and may also lead to non-underground type dungeons.

The layout of the dungeon is built from a large variety of modular tiles which are dynamically assembled when the dungeon is generated. This means no two dungeons will play the same. To create this content, we’ve completely reworked all the known faction mobs to work within the context of these randomized dungeons, and we’ve added many new mobs and bosses for you to discover as well.

In addition, there are two new features which will be making their appearance in the randomized dungeons for the first time:

• Proper treasure chests, which can only be opened once the guarding mobs have been defeated. and which you don’t have to smash to open, and
• Shrines, which can be used to receive a temporary bonus (e.g. a fame gain bonus) which encourages players to make the best of the next few minutes of mob slaying.

The dungeons the system generates are mostly linear, with a few side pockets with short backtracks. This means they offer the fast-paced action you’ve come to expect from expeditions, but in an open-world context. To keep things interesting, the system alternates so-called "normal" and "highlight" sections, where highlights are things like bosses, chests, shrines, and special rooms.

We’ve also classified these highlights into different grades of rarity: the rarer a highlight, the more rewarding and special (and challenging) it will be. The reward range of these highlights is huge – if you get lucky, you may find a legendary chest with hundreds of thousands, or even millions, worth of loot.

Finally, the mobs and rewards inside randomized dungeons do not respawn, so clearing a particular dungeon is a truly unique experience, and the dungeon entrance itself will despawn some time after the last player leaves.
These dungeons are balanced with groups of 4-6 appropriately equipped players in mind, but you can play lower-tier dungeons in smaller groups, or bring more players to difficult dungeons. Of course, you’ll have to share rewards as usual.

The dungeons in the Oberon update will be T4-8, roughly corresponding to their open-world counterparts. However, there are also “enchanted” dungeons available through maps. These have an increased difficulty level, fame, and loot rewards, making them competitive with open-world power grinding and hardcore expeditions.

We’re really excited about randomized dungeons for several reasons:

• First, they make new open-world group PvE content accessible to all players. The amount of entrances we’re planning to spawn should ensure everyone who looks for a dungeon should be able to find one. This gets more players into the open world and offers a serious alternative to regular and hardcore expeditions.
• In addition, we can use the same system to introduce rare and exciting content that will make exploration significantly more rewarding. Imagine an ore mine guarded by mobs that you clear with your guildmates to get to the valuable resources, or a rare raid dungeon location that one of your scouts discovers in the open world.
• Finally, a lot of you will be as excited as us about this: we’ve already begun developing Solo PvE Dungeons using the randomized dungeon system introduced in this video.

That's all for today - stay tuned for our next video, where we'll take a closer look at the mechanics of this feature and answer player questions.

Oberon is coming! The sixth major post-release content update for Albion Online brings Randomized Dungeons, new creatures, chests and shrines, a completely reworked tutorial, numerous quality-of-life improvements, and much more. 

With Oberon, Hidden Entrances will spawn randomly throughout the open world. These will not appear on maps, and must be discovered through exploration. Within these entrances are Randomized Dungeons: one-of-a-kind, procedurally generated lairs that offer a new gameplay experience each time, with the potential to contain rare bosses and valuable loot. Players can also use Dungeon Maps, a new item dropped by mobs, to show the locations of nearby dungeons.



Oberon brings a host of ferocious new foes, from ethereal wisps and devious Acolytes to the fiendish Keeper Witch. Roaming mobs throughout the open world now drop runes, souls, and relics, bringing new economic and crafting possibilities. Chests have been reworked with updated visuals, and are now sealed with a magical shield that can only be broken by killing nearby mobs. And new shrines can be found in Randomized Dungeons, offering brief but powerful whole-party buffs.



An all-new tutorial gives new players clearer guidance on the game's systems and combat. This will bring them more quickly into higher-level play, benefitting new and veteran players alike. The early-tier grind to unlock weapons, armor, and gathering gear has been reduced, encouraging players to experiment with new builds and playstyles. Oberon also brings long-requested improvements to crafting and transmutation times, plus reduced harvest times for creature resources. Additionally, players can now mute up to 150 others, limits have been placed on excessive whispers to reduce in-game spam, and the toolbars and ingame shop are clearer and easier to navigate.



For a detailed list of everything coming with Oberon, visit the update page.

Spring is coming, and the Keepers of Albion are beginning to awaken. For all of March, take the Keeper Challenge to collect limited-time rewards. Earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get valuable loot, and claim your very own Grizzly Bear mount.


NEW MOUNT: This month's Challenge introduces the Grizzly Bear, a huge, intimidating mount with an arsenal of powerful spells. In addition to a toggle spell similar to Intimidating Aura, it also gains a speed boost when attacked, giving its rider an edge when enemies are in pursuit.


NEW AVATAR BORDER: Reach your goals to unlock the Keeper Challenge avatar border, which features the stone and leather craftsmanship of Albion's true guardians. This non-tradable item permanently unlocks this avatar border for one character.


SEASONAL SPECIALS: All month, reach weekly goals to unlock Keeper Challenge chests. Get valuable rewards like Adventurer's Tomes and Silver bags, along with brand-new Keeper-themed furniture items.


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 reward. So log in, head out into the open world, gather points, and claim these exclusive rewards while they last!

GvG Territories will be reset this weekend - and we'll be covering it live on the AlbionTV Twitch channel starting Saturday at 17:00 UTC. Join our hosts Lewpac and Shozen as they bring you up to date on the start of the season and cover the Invasion Day madness live!

Starting at 18:00 UTC, guilds will have new opportunities to claim territories and launch attacks. For the complete GvG Season schedule, check out this forum post.

You can also tune in Thursdays at 18:00 UTC for highlights from the previous week. Click here to watch recent highlight videos from the current season.

Here's the full season's streaming schedule:

How did you get started as an animator?

My road to being a character animator started in 2004 when I was a digital artist. I would spend hours each day (and night) at my 2D drawing table, creating sheet-by-sheet animations. Thinking back on those times gives me a good feeling – I really cherished that period, and approaching animation from that place is fundamentally important to me.

Soon enough, it became clear to me that I wanted to become an animator because I had an intrinsic interest in observing and studying my environment - which, in my opinion, is the basic prerequisite for animating. After drawing thousands of individual pictures and making a very short film, which was created as a team, the journey continued to the computer. I thought it would make things easier, but instead it got even more complex. All the possibilities, technical capabilities, and programs... I was overwhelmed by Graph Editor (the most important 3D animation software) and wondered if I would ever master it, and whether choosing this path was the right decision. But over the course of my studies I continued to specialize in animation, especially character and creature animation. Soon enough, I got my first job working on a feature film, followed by commercials and various game productions in England and Germany, which was then followed by more feature film projects.



What was it like to work on Albion Online during its early development?

The question makes me laugh now, because I remember being asked to create a few simple animations for a small project called "Albion" – a project that was just supposed to last only a few weeks. That small project became a massive, complex game, and the few weeks stretched out into many years. For me this is an unusually long time to participate in a production, because I value change. The variety of Albion Online, and the great team working on it, is what has kept me around for so long.

The project had already been going on for a year or two when I came to it, and was being created in a small two-room apartment set up as a studio space. This was the perfect environment for me at that time, having just spent more than six months working on a film project, and I really liked the freedom and openness of the project. We were about seven people, but we grew steadily and soon moved into a new space. It's fascinating to see how the whole thing has developed and what has become of it. First there was only the male player character, later the female, then the wolf, then the bear, and on and on. The game grew and grew, and the characters became more varied and complex.

What is unique about animating characters and creatures for Albion Online?

I've found that the animation for a character or creature is only as believable and expressive as its character design and 3D model. Fortunately, we have Marcus Koch, our very talented art director, on our team. He always succeeds in capturing the fundamental feel and identity of a character in its design. Of course, the rest of the Art Department makes major contributions as well, but I work most closely with Marcus when it comes to refining the animations in detail. It's these small details, the ones that really round out the characters, that I love to animate.



Do you have a favorite character, creature, or spell animation from Albion Online?

There are so many characters that have sprung up over the years that it's hard to name just a few. Some of my all-time favorites are the Giant, the Undead soldier's walk and combat idle, and the Marketplace and Captain NPCs.

What is your general approach to animation, and what specific steps do you take to make animations feel more natural and lifelike?

First I try to understand the character or creature, particularly its role in the game and the reasons behind its outward appearance. Thanks to our longtime collaboration, Marcus and I understand each others' viewpoints (relatively) quickly, and from there we try out wild, exaggerated animations to make the character express itself and take form. Along with the Game Design team, we work out the exact technical details such as timing and animation lengths, either right away or in iterations. Once I have all the important information together, it's all about arranging it all and letting it settle in, so I like to take a quiet moment to relax and become more involved in the role of the character. This often affects the way I see the world, and sometimes even affects the ways I act and move.



Certainly, the study of animation principles (on computers, on paper, and above all in real life) is a basic requirement, along with understanding the tech and observing the world with a discerning eye. These things are certainly important, but for me it has more to do with being "in the moment" to create a state of flow in which the movements emerge on their own.

Once that state is achieved, it works unconsciously and I can focus on what is essential: to truly feel the character, and to express that feel through technology.

It's also important to animate in all three dimensions, to use the full spectrum of each joint in all directions, to rotate one axis less, another more. As a result, the possibilities of the rigs will be used to their fullest and the animations will not be stiff or rigid, but natural and lively. The animations become even more believable in the small details, which are not immediately visible, but show up in the overall motion. I try to keep an overall creative approach and to make sure the animation always works as a whole.

Stay tuned for more articles on the individual developers behind Albion Online in the coming weeks.

Nimue Patch 7, AKA the Nimue Balance Patch, is here. While the patch includes a broad range of updates and fixes to weapons and armor, the most noteworthy changes are those to overall Hitpoints, Energy, and Movement Speed:

• The Hitpoint pool has been increased by 20% across the board to increase the time needed to kill an enemy. Along with other adjustments, this should prevent one-shot builds.
• To complement the higher Hitpoint pool, the overall Energy pool has also been raised by 20%.
• Movement speed has also been increased, which will make combat more fluid. It will also allow faster travel across zones, improving the overall game feel.

We've made a couple of ability reworks to further increase the variety in builds: swords can temporarily become purge immune, Fire Staffs have a zoning tool on the Q slot, and the Guardian Helmet now can remove DoTs, for example.

In general, we are looking forward to a new and exciting meta and are excited to see what builds you will come up with. The complete patch notes can be found below, as well as on our Updates page.




Starting with this patch, Albion Online will now include Easy Anti-Cheat. This program is used by numerous well-known online games, and will offer an extra layer of protection against the most egregious forms of cheating. For more information about Easy Anti-Cheat, please see this forum post.

• Performance improvements for aura spells to make spell detection more accurate and improve combat performance
• Improved visual feedback for all sword skills - impacts now include a brief white glow for improved visibility
• Improved audio effects for various combat abilities
• [Android/iOS] Optimized audio load settings to improve audio stability for mobile devices

General Balance Changes

• Base Max Hitpoints: 1000 → 1200 (bonus HP from melee weapons remains unchanged)
  • This increases the general Hitpoint pool by 20%
• Base Max Energy: 100 → 120
  • This increases the general Energy pool by 20%
• Base Movement Speed: 4.8 m/s → 5.5 m/s
• In-Combat Duration: 30s → 20s
• Cap for Auto Attack Max Damage Increase: 200% → 300%

Arcane Staffs

• Frazzle (all Arcane Staffs)
  • Damage Taken Increased: 40% → 30%
• Time Freeze (Great Arcane Staff)
  • The freeze can no longer be cleansed
  • Duration: 3.5s → 3s

Axes

• Rending Strike (all Axes)
  • Energy Cost: 3 → 2
  • Healing Reduction per stack: 7% → 5%
  • Hit Delay: 0.4s → 0.2s
  • Standtime: 0.4s → 0.3s
• Rending Swing (all Axes)
  • Hit Delay: 0.2s → 0.3s
  • Energy Cost: 2 → 3
  • Healing Reduction per stack: 7% → 5%
• Deadly Chop (all Axes)
  • Damage: 174.04 → 152.00
• Adrenaline Boost (all Axes)
  • Movement Speed Increase: 40% → 50%
  • Damage Increase: 20% → 25%
• Removed the ability Battle Frenzy (all Axes)
• Added the new ability: Battle Rush
  • Charge toward a target (ally or enemy). Enemy Healing Received is reduced 20% for 4s in a 5m radius. Ally Healing Received is increased by 20% for 4s in a 5m radius.

Bows

• Enchanted Quiver (Bow)
  • Auto Attack Damage Increase per stack: 25% → 35%
• Explosive Arrows (Bow)
  • Capped the number of potential triggered effects at 25: each Rain of Arrows hit can now activate up to 5 Explosive Arrows, each of which can hit up to 5 targets
• Magic Arrow (Warbow)
  • Projectile Speed: 15.33 m/s → 16.08 m/s

Cursed Staffs

• Cursed Sickle (all Cursed Staffs)
  • The ability is reworked to a skillshot with a boomerang-like trajectory.
  • Cooldown: 3.5s → 5s
  • Hit Delay: 0.5s → 0.2s
  • Standtime: 0.3s → 0.4s
  • Range: 21m → 16m

Daggers

• Sunder Armor (all Daggers)
  • Hit Delay: 0.2s → 0.1s
  • Standtime: 0.4s → 0.2s
• Slit Throat (Dagger Pair)
  • Damage: 430.74 → 443.05
• Lunging Stabs (Bloodletter)
  • Damage for targets below 40%: 306.63 → 330.00

Fire Staffs

• Replaced the spell Fire Bomb (Q-Slot)
• Added new spell Burning Field (Q-Slot)
  • Sets the ground in a 3m radius for 4s on Fire. Dealing magic damage on ignition and additional damage for enemies inside the area. This is a ranged spell, which you can cast on the ground.
  • Cooldown: 0s → 4s

Hammers

• Power Geyser (all Hammers)
  • Hit Delay: 0.6s → 0.5s
• Grasp of the Undead (Tomb Hammer)
  • Reworked the ability: A giant Undead Hand comes out of the ground, hitting enemies in a 2.5m radius. Dealing 110 physical damage and stunning for 2.9s.
  • Cooldown: 15s → 14s
  • Hit Delay: 0.4s → 0.5s

Holy Staffs

• Desperate Prayer (Holy Staff)
  • Max Heal Value: 177.69 → 200.00
  • Cooldown: 20s → 15s
• Salvation (Fallen Staff)
  • Radius: 6m → 5.5m
• Celestial Sphere (Redemption Staff)
  • Max Number of Jumps: 14 → 10
  • Heal per Jump: 51.5 → 80.00

Nature Staffs

• Rejuvenation (all Nature Staffs)
  • Heal per tick: 7.75 → 7.9
• Revitalize (all Nature Staffs)
  • Instant Heal: 57.59 → 75.00
  • Removed the Heal Over Time effect, instead it now instantly restores 15 energy of the target
  • Cooldown: 7s → 10s
  • Energy Cost: 9 → 10
• Circle of Life (Nature Staff)
  • Zero Charge Heal: 56.62 → 91.00
  • One Charge Heal: 90.60 → 114.00
  • Two Charge Heal: 135.89 → 148.00
  • Three Charge Heal: 192.52 → 193.00
• Ruthless Nature (Blight Staff)
  • Cooldown: 30s → 25s
  • Heal per Tick: 29.50 → 33.00
  • Energy Cost: 18 → 15

Quarterstaffs

• Separator (Quarterstaff)
  • Cooldown: 20s → 15s
  • Energy Cost: 17 → 13
• Hurricane (Iron-Clad Staff)
  • No longer knocks mobs away
  • It interrupts Mob spell casts instead
  • Damage per tick: 23.20 → 32.00
  • Cooldown 100 IP: 23.8s → 36s
  • Cooldown 1700 IP: 19s → 20s
• Overpower (Double Bladed Staff)
  • The ability was renamed to Crescent Slash
  • Reworked the animation, it is now a jump with a fixed duration
  • Cast Range: 11m → 15m
  • Standtime: 0s → 0.3s
  • Damage: 69.64 → 80.00
  • Radius: 5m → 6m

Spears

• Inner Focus (all Spears)
  • Movement Speed Increase per stack: 6% → 8%
  • Buff Duration: 5s → 6s
• Reckless Charge (one handed Spear)
  • Range: 11m → 13m

Swords

• Heroic Strike (all Sword)
  • Heroic Charge now also gives a 10% Attack Speed Bonus per stack
  • Standtime: 0.4s → 0.3s
• Heroic Cleave (all Swords)
  • Reworked the ability:
    • Deals physical damage to all enemies in a 6m radius around you.
    • Creates one Heroic Charge if you hit at least one enemy.
    • Creates two Heroic Charges if you hit three enemies or more.
    • Each Heroic Charge increases your move and attack speed by 10% for 6s. (stacks up to 3 times)
    • Hit delay: 0.4s → 0.3s
    • Standtime: 0.3s → 0.2s
    • Radius 4m → 6m
    • Energy cost: 3 → 3.5
• Iron Will (all Swords)
  • While the buff is active the caster becomes now immune to purges
  • Activating this ability no longer gives an extra Heroic Charge stack
  • Resistance Increase: 25% → 35%
  • Duration: 5s → 4s
• Mighty Blow (Broadsword)
  • The ability now jumps towards the target.
  • Range: 3m → 10m
  • Hitdelay: 0.4s → 0.3s
  • Standtime: 1s → 0.8s
  • Damage: 267.84 → 276.00
  • Resistance Increase: 0.36 → 0.24
  • Energy Cost: 14 → 11
• Spinning Blades (Dual Swords)
  • Max Hitpoint Damage: 5% → 8%
• Soulless Stream (Galatine Pair)
  • Max Hitpoint Reduction: 10% → 6%

Armors

• Purging Shield (Mage Robe)
  • Cooldown: 60s → 45s
  • Duration: 6s → 5s
  • Energy Cost: 12 → 10
• Life Steal Aura (Hellion Jacket)
  • Now also increases Healing Received by 10%
  • Duration: 10s → 8s
• Windwall (Knight Armor)
  • Cooldown: 40s → 30s
• Force Shield (Judicator Armor)
  • Resistance Increase Factor: 0.35 → 0.32

Helmets

• Ice Block (Cleric Cowl)
  • Cooldown: 60s → 40s
• Inner Corruption (Cultist Cowl)
  • Cooldown: 50s → 30s
• Meditation (Assassin Hood)
  • Channel Duration: 2s → 3s
  • Max Cooldown Reduction: 10s → 15s
• Growing Rage (Royal Hood)
  • Damage Increase per stack: 10% → 8%
• Stoneskin (now available on all Plate Helmets)
  • Removed the damage and healing penalty. It is now a straight resistance increase
  • Resistance Increase: 60% → 50%
• Emergency Heal (Now only available on Guardian Helmets)
  • Reworked the ability:
  • Instantly heals 10% of your max health and removes any damage over time effects.
  • Cooldown: 60s → 40s
  • Instant Heal: 5% → 10%
• Electric Discharge (Judicator Helmet)
  • Cooldown: 60s → 45s
  • You can now keep moving during the activation of this skill

Shoes

• Vengeful Sprint (Hellion Boots)
  • Damage Increase per stack: 5% → 4%
• Defensive Sprint
  • Removed from Graveguard Boots
  • Added new ability Battle Frenzy instead:
    • Increases your movement speed by 80% and makes you immune to any movement-impairing effects for 5s. Does not make you immune to forced movement effects like knockbacks.

Passives

• Efficiency (Cloth Armors)
  • Energy Cost Reduction: 8% → 12%
• Efficiency (Cloth Helmets & Shoes)
  • Energy Cost Reduction: 3.5% → 6%

Offhands

• Normal Shields:
  • Crowd Control Resistance Factor: 0.36 → 0.60
• Mistcaller:
  • Cooldown Reduction: 15% → 14% (on 1700 IP)
• Leering Cane:
  • Cooldown Reduction: 0% → 6% (on 1700 IP)
• Eye of Secrets:
  • Max Energy Factor: 0.4 → 0.5
• Muisak:
  • Now increases Damage and Healing significantly, but also increases energy costs.
  • Bonus Damage: 20% (on 1700 IP)
  • Bonus Healing: 20% (on 1700 IP)
  • Energy Cost Increase: 25% (on 1700 IP)
• Taproot
  • Max Health Factor: 0.5 → 0.42

Capes

• Heretic Cape
  • Root Duration: 4s → 6s
• Keeper Cape
  • Health Threshold for activation: 60% → 70%
  • Cooldown: 100s → 80s (on 1300 IP)
• Lymhurst Cape
  • Cooldown: 120s → 130s (on 1300 IP)
• Martlock Cape
  • Cooldown: 140s → 160s (on 1300 IP)
  • Bonus Defense: 66.66% → 50%
• Thetford Cape
  • Damage (80.44 → 92.00)
• Undead Cape
  • Health Threshold for activation: 20% → 25%

Mounts

• Ox:
  • Base Speed: 35% → 40%
• Pest Lizard:
  • Base Speed: 120% → 110%
• Morgana Nightmare / Spectral Bonehorse:
  • Gallop Bonus: 125% → 123%
• Direwolf Mounts (includes special mounts with the same stats)
  • Gallop Bonus: 140% → 130%
• Spectral Bat / Husky:
  • Gallop Bonus: 140% → 132%
• Moabird Mounts:
  • Gallop Bonus: 135% → 127%
• Cougar Mounts:
  • Gallop Bonus: 130% → 125%
• Rageclaw:
  • Gallop Bonus: 145% → 132%
• Husky Sled:
  • Gallop Bonus: 125% → 123%

• Spell and buff fixes:
  • The Hellgate buff can no longer be purged
  • Fixed an issue where Empowering Beam buff stacks would drop briefly - they should now be more stable for the duration of the spell
  • Battle Frenzy is no longer resistant to silencing
  • Fixed an issue where Tackle and Reckless Charge could be resisted by the target after the initial hit
  • Fixed an issue where the displacement effect of Reckless Charge was incorrectly resisted
  • Mortal Agony now reveals stealthed characters as intended
  • Field of Death now reveals invisible characters under Mark of Sacrifice as intended
  • Battle Frenzy no longer offers immunity to Wind Wall
  • Royal Banner now increases normal attack speed and reduces cooldowns as intended
• Improved tooltips for various abilities, clarifying spell behavior and/or adding missing information
• Corrected jump and roll animations for male characters - offhand weapons now stay attached to hand
• Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Silver costs in the crafting UI was not displayed correctly
• Regional production bonus UI now displays only valid items
• Additional minor graphical, UI, animation, texture, terrain, audio, and localization fixes

A new referral season starts today! From now until April 10, refer your friends and get three exclusive rewards: the Domesticated Hog, the Recruiter's Grey Wolf Cape, and the Recruiter's Grey Wolf.


The new referral season lasts until April 10. There are three ways to collect referrals and earn your very own Grey Wolf:

• 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.

Name: Gugusteh
Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/gugusteh
General Streaming Schedule: Mostly weekends, plus weekday evenings (EU time)
Main Focuses: Solo roaming, live ZvZs

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

I started streaming only a few months ago (I think around October). I first started streaming some city GvGs, some really short streams. I later started to watch videos a lot on the side while roaming. I wanted to watch Albion videos on the side, but not many people were streaming during the hours I usually play. Since people enjoyed the videos I did about my solo roaming, I decided to show it live and be the one doing the show that other people could watch while they roamed.

How is streaming Albion different from streaming other games?

Albion is a hard game to stream since there is a lot of downtime between PvP action or interesting moments. You also take some additional risks when playing alone, and you need to hide a lot of information when streaming ZvZs since it’s really easy to locate a streamer.

The experience is, however, really positive in general: the community is really enjoyable when you get to know it, having a PvP encounter is even more thrilling on stream since you don't want to make mistakes and get a free ticket back to the city.

In Albion almost everything is unexpected and you can go from a calm ambiance to a really exciting moment just in a second.

What is your general approach to streaming? Do you plan out activities in advance, or head out into the world and see what happens?

I usually turn on the stream when I feel like it, that's the reason why there is no precise schedule. When I come back from work I log in to Albion and based on what I want to do, I'll either turn the stream on or not. Since I can do anything, my gameplay can vary a lot.

Sometimes, however, I plan some precise streams, but I don't force myself to do only one activity: Albion is a sandbox and I want to profit fully.



In addition to streaming on Twitch, you've created lots of Youtube videos with pretty high production values and editing. Do you plan your Youtube videos in advance, or create them based on spontaneous footage?

My videos are usually about an event that happened recently but I usually don’t “rush” them. For some cases I do the editing just after it happens in-game (for example, ZvZs) but if I don’t like the outcome, I rework it another day.

In general I have 2 kinds of videos:

• The ones that I try to upload within a week
• The “special projects” requiring more footage and editing that I upload later.

In general I try to show people how the game can be enjoyed, and all the special moments that are worth a deeper look.

Do you have any favorite moments from your streams?

I think my favorite moment on stream is the roleplay session before every reset day. It’s a really particular moment since I have to deal with the comms and the stream at the same time, but I try my best to make it appreciable. Every Invasion Day we mass early on our guild island and do a “ceremony” with the whole guild. It’s a really fun time.

Aside from that, I've had some really good moments on stream discussing various things in chat. For example, regarding certain Albion mechanics, the opinions are not always the same and discussing that is always interesting.
https://youtu.be/jKzfcgSXXIU
Any ideas for new content for future streams?

I plan to redo one kind of stream that I’ve already done: an “AMA stream” where I try to explain the game to new players / people discovering it while leveling up a new character from zero.

Also I’ve had multiple ideas for events and I really want to do some of them on stream, but I need to think further about that.

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

Always have multiple sets when you go into PvP zones: you will die, just make sure that you don’t have to spend those five extra minutes at the auction house.

The community in Albion is really strong but it might be hard at the beginning, just don't get disillusioned by the first troll and you will enjoy your time.

Anything else to add?

If you're just starting the game or want to know a bit more about it, feel free to contact me anywhere: Discord, Twitch, YouTube, forum, Twitter... I’m always glad to help people to get into the game.

Can you share some of your favorite clips with us?

Some funny arena matches with friends:
https://youtu.be/MlH7tQuZ4SY
Baby Mammoth drop:
https://youtu.be/ThutpKLHSpM
PvP compilation (all done on-stream):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbmhWFjiCrk
Enjoy the clips? Be sure to follow Gugusteh on Twitch and YouTube and stay tuned for more upcoming Streamer Spotlights.