With the Queen Update, the largest patch for the MMORPG Albion Online from Germany has been released. It is obviously well received, as the developers are pleased with the increasing player numbers. They also provided a small preview of further adjustments.
What kind of update is this? The Queen Update was released on January 20 and is considered by the developers to be the largest patch released since launch. It brought several innovations, including:
- A complete overhaul of the Outlands, the endgame continent
- Introduction of hideouts for guilds
- An overhaul of territory battles
- New 5v5 PvP modes with their own league
- A new hostile faction in the random dungeons, which were already introduced with the Oberon Update
- A new wardrobe system and new equipment
The Queen Update thus brought new or revised content for almost all player types. This drew many back to Albion Online, causing player numbers to soar.
How many players does Albion Online have? Game Director Eltharyon stated in the forum that player numbers have increased by 40% due to the Queen Update.
Thus, Albion Online reached more than 350,000 active players in a month for the first time since the Free2Play release in April 2019.
The upward trend is also visible on Steam, where on average 3,208 players were online in the last 30 days, peaking at 5,823. Although this MMORPG does not reach the numbers from the Free2Play release in April and May, the numbers have been trending upwards in recent weeks.
What’s next for Albion Online? Another adjustment is scheduled for February 26. This will limit the maximum number of players in an alliance to 300.
This will make the number identical to the maximum of a guild. This aims to ensure that large guilds remain independent, while many small ones can unite in an alliance to the size of a guild.
Although Albion Online is now Free2Play, the costs for the optional subscription will increase on February 17:
Queen Update brings Outlands with the Battle for the Center
What changed in the Outlands? The original design of the map focused on keeping as much distance as possible between the lower and higher Outlands. However, this prevented many guilds from entering the most challenging area, Mercia.
With the Queen Update, the map has been revamped. Now, the most valuable areas are located in the center of the map and are thus attackable from all sides.
Additionally, the new Outlands map now has only one territory per zone instead of two as before.
What are the guild hideouts? Guilds can enjoy the new feature of hideouts with the Queen Update. These are expandable bases that you can establish as a guild anywhere in the Outlands.
These accommodations include a guild bank, crafting stations, and building spots. Furthermore, you can expand them to include a marketplace, an artifact forge, and a guild hall. Particularly attractive is the option to set a respawn point.
New Territory Battles and 5v5 Crystal League
What changed in the territories? The territories in Albion Online are now conquered through battles in the “Open World”. This allows all members to contribute to territory control, and territories can also be claimed by multiple guilds.
What changes for the zerg fights? With the update to the territories, there is a new zerg debuff. This is intended to prevent guilds from winning battles solely through sheer numbers of players. Additionally, an intelligent matchmaking system is meant to prevent a zerg from blocking an entire area.
New 5v5 PvP with its own league: The new crystal level combat system in Albion Online is designed to enable exciting 5v5 matches. You acquire eligibility to participate in the battles through the so-called crystal level tokens.
With this, you can participate in battles that take place at various times. If you win, the group receives a reward and the token is upgraded to the next level. A loss, on the other hand, destroys the token used.
The battles of the crystal level are organized through the crystal league. This offers silver, fame, and season points as rewards. The higher the achieved level, the more rewards await you. You can compete in the league either with your guild or with your own team.
Hostile factions, wardrobes, and more
What else did the Queen Update bring? The major patch introduced the Avalonians. They are elite enemies, the strongest in the game, and you can find them in the randomized elite dungeons.
Additionally, new equipment was introduced, which you can craft using shards from the Avalonians. The artifact armors range from T4 to T8, the highest level, and they come in cloth, leather, and plate.
Alongside these major changes to Albion Online, the Queen Update naturally offered further adjustments, including bug fixes and minor improvements to the mouse pointer and keybindings.
