The following list contains the main features and changes that we consider crucial for the release of the game.
Note that features and improvements that we intend to work on post-release are not listed. Also not listed are numerous smaller tweaks, changes and bug fixes.
As always, note that things are subject to change as they are in development.
PvE
PvE is a core part of almost any MMORPG. In Albion, in its current form, it is not enjoyable and meaningful enough. We will make the following changes and improvements.
Improved PvE progression
Currently, while there are mobs at various difficulty levels, there is no sense of progression when advancing in PvE - you could be grinding the same content or the same faction over and over.
By optimizing the faction placement on the world map, we will encourage players to progress through the PvE content based on the status of their character and gear. We will discourage players from skipping ahead too much (i.e. by doing a high end dungeon with 10 tier 3 players) by giving bonuses to mobs if they get zerged down.
We will allow players to unlock special damage to/protection from mobs via the destiny board, which will allow us to have a steeper mob difficulty curve than right now, without making PvE too item dependent at the high end.
Better loot
PvE loot is a critical component of most MMORPGs.
In Albion, there are limits to the loot system due to the fully player driven economy. Still, we can and will make loot more relevant.
We will add more unique drops to the game, such as special mounts
We will allow players to use artifact fragments to enchant their existing gear as an alternative to merging them into artifacts, thus making fragments a valuable drop for all players.
Dungeon hubs
On the royal continents, unless you are part of a well-organized guild, it’s often hard to find a group to play with.
Yet, we also do not want to introduce a dungeon finder queue that teleports you into the dungeons once a group is found, as in our view, that kills the social interaction which is so important for MMORPGs.
Instead, we will create dungeon hubs. Multiple entrances, spread around multiple regions, will lead into the 1st level of the same large dungeon. Inside of that dungeon, there is a little protected NPC camp where players can store some gear, trade and meet other players to run the actual gateway dungeons (level 2) with.
PvE Exploration
We want to bring back something players have missed from previous tests: exploration PVE. We will sprinkle the world with many smaller mob camps with a significantly lower respawn rate than our current mob camps but with rare minibosses with high silver drop rewards. These locations will support a roaming PVE style with a lower reliability, but with higher reward spikes than the average dungeon.
PvP
Arena
We will create an arena system that will allow players to practice and compete with each other in a competitive setting, without full loot
Players will be able to create custom practice matches
Players will also be able to play in ranked leagues, broken down into seasons
There will be a matchmaking system that will also allow solo players to find a group to play with
Gear used for the Arena will be sourced from the open world, and we will have item power caps in place to make sure that, based on your division, a wide range of players can compete on equal footing
Game modes to be offered will likely be deathmatch and the classical GvG fight with obelisk capturing
Royal GvG
GvG will be back in the royal continents.
In that context, we are looking into re-introducing soft gear caps for certain zones and/or certain GvG fights
Watchtowers will give you a share of the economic activity in the zone that they control
If a resource is mined in that zone, you have a % chance to get a copy of that resource deposited into the watch tower
You will get credited a percentage of all the silver that is farmed in the zone via PvE
Economy
Gathering Rebalance
We will rebalance the frequency and spawn rates of resources and add variable refining ratios to make gathering more enjoyable and prevent the frustration of having to run around for extended periods of time before finding a mineable resource
Persistent Mounts
When you dismount, your mount will stay in the world unless you move too far away from it. You will retain your load bonuses while in range of the mount.
Transmutation changes
Transmutator building will be removed, instead, transmutation will be moved to the refining buildings.
To increase the tier of a resource, instead of silver, you will need N resources of the previous tier, but no additional silver.
Increasing the enchantment level of a resource will continue to cost silver, as it is needed as an uncapped high end silver sink.
Progression
Learning points changes
Learning points are currently too powerful, making progression not feel rewarding enough.
We will significantly reduce the impact of learning points, such that unlocking something with learnings points is not the de-facto standard, but rather something special.
We will remove the ability to use learnings points prior to having reached a certain fame threshold.
To prevent learning point pile-up, work with varying percentage thresholds for learning point use, starting with a high percentage at lower end nodes, and moving to a lower percentage at higher end nodes.
We will rebalance fame values accordingly.
Rework item ability unlocks
When progressing through an item line, such as sword, the weapons get a new ability on each tier. This is tied to the item itself. We want to tie this to the destiny board instead, meaning that you will be able to use higher end abilities on lower tier weapons provided that you have progressed far enough.
Example (with random names): say you’d currently get “killing blow” on swords of T6 and higher. Going forward, once you hit the swords T6 unlock, you could choose the “killing blow” ability on any sword of at least T4 instead. This encourages player to unlock the high end nodes for their items of choice even if they do not want to / cannot afford to equip the highest tier gear at all times. Thus, it makes progression more valuable.
More granular mastery levels
The issue with current mastery levels is that, at the high end, they are miles apart from each other, and you need to play for a very long time before you have any visible progress. We want players to see some progress within a game session.
Therefore, we will make mastery levels more granular, by essentially having 100 instead of 10, with each mastery level taking much shorter than right now, of course.
You will get a small bonus for each mastery level you have
Unlocks are assigned to specific thresholds (for example, if you want to use T5 swords, you’d need swords at mastery 15). How we display mastery levels and unlocks will be reworked to be much clearer than it is right now.
World
New Outlands
The current outlands do not work well. They are too spaced out, with a lack of clear hot-spots as we had them in Beta 1. On top of that, due to the time zone system, the best guilds in the game are too far away from each other, while at the same time, normal guilds often have powerhouses as their neighbours, which does not end well.
The new outlands will be much more structured, combining the best of Beta 1 and Final Beta with the following goals in mind
Clearly defined regions for each skill level, thus encouraging the best guilds to settle close to each other, while giving lower end guilds the option to settle in less aggressive regions far away from the top guys
Clear PvP and open world hot spots that multiple guilds will compete over
A world framework that can be expanded and adjusted based on player numbers
We will be publishing a detailed dev-blog about the new outland design soon
Immersive World
With the introduction of biomes, we completed a big step on our path to create a unique and believable game world.
However, we are by no means done, and the following steps will be taken next
Unique player cities
Replacing the “grid” layout of the world map with a more realistic topology
Improved world map, inspired by the map shown in our trailer here
Other
Prevent city entrance camping by introducing guard towers
Improved starter zones and new player experience
Game performance improvements
New and Improved User Interface
In-Game Music and Improved Sounds
Bug fixes
Exploit & cheat prevention
+ Lots of smaller tweaks and changes too numerous to list