Online game "Albion Online"

This game has been in development for a long time, came out relatively recently (in 2017) and almost immediately became considered one of the most unusual and hardcore, old-school MMORPG on the market. Many compare it to the ancient Ultima Online. But at the same time it enjoys great popularity even among the young audience. Tell us in our review how it happened - well, and about the key features of the project, of course, too.

The first thing that catches the eye of many people when they get acquainted with Albion Online is almost complete absence of plot and any kind of deep world history. We only know that Albion is some fantasy fairyland, reminiscent of England from the King Arthur mythos. Many people did not know it existed because of the abundant fog that hid Albion, but when it receded, crowds of colonists streamed in.

In fact, we play as one of them. We are led more or less by the hand only in the opening prologue-tutorial, in which the shipwrecked player is introduced to the basic mechanics and is brought up to speed. And then, when we get to the first big city, the player is actually left alone with himself and with the big open world "sandbox", which the players themselves have a huge impact on.

Many casual gamers used to the fact that even in MMOs there are more or less coherent stories that lead by the hand and help to gain the first 20-30 levels before the tests in PvP and endgame, of course, at first it is shocking. On the other hand, in Albion Online there is a huge wonderful new world with 5 different beautiful biomes and many areas with up to 16 territories (and there are over 800) - it's "just a holiday or something" for the interested explorer who wakes up Christopher Columbus's instinct.

There are, however, more local adventures in Albion that help you earn fame, experience, and other rewards even outside of the free and dangerous exploration of the open and dangerous "sandbox. First, there are characters crying out for help - these are fairly standard quests for such games in the style of find, kill, and fetch.

Second, there is a system of expeditions, in which you can participate alone or in a group with other gamers. Here are just found in these quite clear and complete (just short) scenario, when, for example, we are asked to find out who raises the dead in the local cemetery. The authors themselves have repeatedly stressed that expeditions are great for those who are not ready to face the dangers of the open world or who do not have a lot of free time. In addition, it is in expeditions you can earn valuable marks, necessary for the production of powerful royal armor.

In addition, as in any such MMO, Albion Online has many dungeons of different levels of difficulty in which players make raids to defeat the bosses and get cool rewards. Some are designed for solo passage (they are easier), others for a small group of players, and some of the most dangerous - for the experienced and well-coordinated team of 10 users. Exploring the world of the game, you can also come across world bosses and invasion bosses (these are special events), random monster camps and faction bases, which are great for single players and small groups.

However, the main emphasis the authors of the game do not make on PvE-content, designed to fight with computer enemies, and on the war between the players themselves (that is, on PvP) - this is just one of the most common types of leisure in Albion Online.

PvP here is pretty tough (in places, one might even say dishonest) and it is not subject to many of the restrictions adopted in other games. There is, of course, the traditional Arena with its ranking and fairly fair battles. In addition, the authors have come up with a unique system of desecrated dungeons - you can just mop them up, and you can activate the invasion system, after which another player is free to come into the dungeon. After defeating him, his equipment and trophies will go to you. Again, if you wish, you have the option to kick another user out of your dungeon. Many believe that this is just a fair system, which is great for training skills in PvP.

But there are a lot of "red" zones, where you can almost freely attack other players, finish them off and take absolutely all their things (and not 30%, as in the "yellow" zones). Moreover, there are special "black" regions with absolutely free PvP (this mode is activated there by default), and other players you can not even see on the map - the perfect locations for ambushes. There, of course, is the most dangerous, but the rewards here you get the rarest.

There's even a faction in the world of Albion Online whose members can also attack each other (only if they're not members of the same guild) - it's mafia faction Corleone. In total there are 6 factions that are hostile to each other, and you are free to join any of them. After that, playing for the same faction (e.g. robbing caravans or, on the contrary, fulfilling contracts on transportation of the "hearts of the city", the main resource for each faction), you start earning its loyalty and raising your rank to be rewarded with unique goods and services.

Most importantly, factions compete for influence on the map, which gives different bonuses, raises their ranking, and allows them to control regions of different value. And players of these factions engage in inter-faction battles - you have to capture outposts in each territory and kill their champions, while preventing rivals from other factions from doing so. Also, periodically the control of all outposts goes to the bandits - in this case, players of all factions seek to be the first to defeat them and get especially good rewards. And in the process they conflict with each other as well.

There are also large-scale guild wars, in which associations of players are also fighting for territories and for individual cities. These battles involve teams of 5 or even 20 people. Among other perks, owning an entire city brings the guild an economic benefit - for example, in the form of taxes on transactions between players at local auctions. In addition, participation in the guild gives you the opportunity to use its bases and farms, which is very advantageous for crafting and farming.

Yes, in Albion Online you can not only fight, but also do much more peaceful things. And even need to - for example, all players have to constantly extract resources and create (craft) various items. After all, almost everything here is made by the users themselves (including various useful buildings), and almost everything can be used as a resource.

That is why the game has a fairly unique in today's living economy - the users buy and sell everything themselves (non-player traders are virtually absent), and prices are determined by the dynamics of supply and demand. Therefore, for example, simple stones can cost more than more complex materials, because you need stones to build almost any structure.

In addition to crafting and gathering resources, there are options for cooking, alchemy, farming, raising livestock, and fishing. And then sell the goods and use them yourself. The most profitable way to do this is on the already mentioned guild bases and territories, on land leased from other players or even on your own island, where you can fully and to your liking equip your home.

If other players want to use the services and buildings on your island, they will have to pay for it. However, they may also try to attack your paradise. And the equipment you produce will not be able to use until you have mastered the necessary skills. So you will have to fight all the same to a greater or lesser extent. It's nice to fight in Albion Online - combat system is simple, but understandable and effective. And most of all it resembles what we saw in the Diablo series.

Usually in MMORPG the style of combat and selection of combat skills depends on the chosen class, but in Albion Online there is a classless system. Only at the very beginning you need to decide on the desired and rather conventional archetype - mage, warrior or hunter. This determines some starting points, but no one will forbid your mage to change his mind and turn into a warrior or something in between.

It all depends on what equipment you wear - it determines the available combat skills. For example, you can throw fireballs with a staff of fire, and a huge axe - to strike the ground and throw all the enemies around. Armor has its own unique properties, and the royal armor opens up new spells. In addition, defeating the bosses, you can collect fragments of artifacts, and then create from them very valuable items of different levels. This can be both weapons and armor sets. And all this equipment again gives unique spells and abilities.

Similar was implemented in Path of Exile. By the same game sends a huge "Achievement Board", which collected all the possible branches of development as in combat skills, and in peaceful crafts. The more and more actively you do and use something, the faster you advance in the corresponding branch - this allows you to plan your development strategy in advance and gives you enough freedom and flexibility in pumping.

Access to some new equipment must also be gained through progress on the achievement board. Naturally, in Albion Online you can create, repair, improve and enchant equipment - many of these activities are again counted on the "achievement board".

Of course, as in any conditional-free MMO, here you can partially ease your life and when pumping, and gathering resources or crafting equipment, if you buy for real money some items and features - for example, a premium subscription. But in general, success here is more likely depends not on the amount of money, but on the amount of free time needed to collect resources and craft anything and everything.

Yes, Albion Online game is specific and not easy to master - there is no plot, you need a lot of time to perform monotonous actions like crafting and resource extraction, a lot of tough and not always fair battles between players. Yes, and simple cartoon graphics also may seem "too outdated" (although the dynamics of the picture is quite pleasant). But in fact it is a big and important game for the whole genre, marking in some ways a return to the roots, to the same Ultima Online. And if you appreciate freedom in MMORPGs, a vibrant economy, the ability to create everything yourself and from almost anything, and to participate in large-scale battles for territory, then you should definitely try Albion Online. And besides, where else will you be allowed to buy your own island, and then build your own house in the village, run your own farm and still get money for it from other players?

Zarium. April 2023