With only a few days left until the Closed Beta starts, we want to give new players a few pointers on how to survive in the world of Albion.

November 21, 2015 at 12:21 AM by Christian

The vast world of Albion Online offers nearly limitless opportunities for newly-arrived heroes. You will write your own story and make a name for yourself. With all the new things to discover once you arrive on the shores of Albion, the Destiny Board, the different zones, the classless system...we want to provide you with a helpful guide, so you know where to start.

The Ins and Outs: A Beginner’s Guide to Albion Online

Somewhere deep in the confines of Albion’s eastern continent, in a place desolate of peace and ridden by political warfare, the tale of a new beginning was bound to reality. It was time for history to be written of a new hero.

Welcome, Adventurer. You’ve come to the right place, and the right game. Albion Online is a medieval Sandbox-MMORPG, designed entirely with the objective of providing a well-rounded and challenging experience. From the simplistic, yet impactful animation design, to the minimalistic approach towards its aesthetically pleasing art-style, the game demands attention.

With that being said, I am here today to provide you with a few pointers on your initial course of action when taking your first steps into the world of Albion. Let us begin with the first thing you should take note of when logging into the game, naturally: The Destiny Board.

The Destiny Board: Your Central Hub for Progression

When first entering the game you may notice that there is no quest giver or NPC to direct you on your journey. Don’t be alarmed as this is intentional. In Albion Online, you script your own legacy and determine your own path. However, the Destiny Board is available as a support-system to help you better define who you wish to become as a player. The first thing you will want to do is open the Destiny Board by hitting your “N” hotkey.







Yes, at first glance the destiny board will appear to be very complex, but don’t feel discouraged as it will only take a few moments to fully grasp that it is a lot more coherent than it appears. This will be your unspoken guide for character progression in Albion, and it is accessible anywhere, anytime. You will begin progressing your destiny board from the moment you log in. After closing your destiny board, take a look at the bottom-middle of your screen. There you will find your initial destiny board tasks to complete and begin your journey.

Now that you understand the basic style of progression and have begun your journey in Albion, let us discuss the first tasks you will embark upon.

Beginning Your Journey

Upon arrival at the shores of Albion’s coast, you will end up in one of three locations: Westerly Cross, Middle Cross or Easterly Cross. If you plan on beginning your journey with a companion, then traveling between each starter city is a rather simple process. This can be done by speaking to the Travel Planner located on the ship docks of each starter city. You can then travel between each starter city… for a small fee of course (thought you were getting away for free eh?).

Before you do anything, open your mails located at the top of the screen. Apart from vanity items your Founder’s Pack gives you, you will also find a horse and an ox that make travelling through the world of Albion easier. But beware: once you enter the Red Zones, people can take the Founder’s items, including your mounts, away from you after killing you.

As mentioned previously, the first task you will want to undertake is located at the bottom-middle of your screen on your destiny board checklist. Proceed by gathering those initial rocks and logs, and slay those innocent bunnies to your hearts content! Don’t forget to loot all the rabbit-hide while you’re at it. Grabbing some extra of each resource will come in handy, as every resource you gather will prove to be useful in one way or another.

After you complete your initial task of gathering resources, it’s time to create your first items: gathering tools and weapons. Head on over to the first NPC you will encounter in the game, in the middle of the map, which will provide the workbench necessary to create your initial gear and tools. Onto your first creations!

Boundless Crafting

Now that you have your resources in inventory, you’re ready to make your first tools and weapons. Gathering tools are an immeasurably important component of Albion Online’s crafting system, as they allow you to gather higher tier resources, thus resulting in crafting stronger weapons and armor in the process.

Resources come in eight different tiers. Each tier becomes increasingly challenging to find in the open world, as resource scarcity is a very tangible factor in world of Albion. Only the best of the best will be able to maintain the highest tier of gear, so keep in mind that the world is indeed a competitive one. You will need the appropriate tier level of tools to gather a resource of the same tier. With that being said, make sure to always have gathering tools on-hand if you plan on gathering and creating your own gear. Knowing that you plan to be the best of the best, go on and create your tier 1 tools. This will be your first step in achieving the ultimate goal of unlocking tier 8. With your tools in-hand, gather some more stone, wood and hide (or use those handy-extra ones you gathered earlier) and create your first weapons and armor in Albion.

The Classless System: You Are What You Wear

Upon crafting your sword, shield and leather armor, let’s take another glance at the destiny board. Although you currently wield sword and shield in-hand, it is important to notice that once you’ve acquired enough fame (read: experience) to progress into tier 2 weapons and armor, your gearing options become limitless. This ties into the fact that Albion Online’s approach to character progression does not confine you to a particular role, but instead, allows you to create the character and play-style of your preference.

To put it simply, you are what you wear. One day you can play as a cloth-bearing fire mage, pyro-blasting your enemies into flames. While another day, you can be a full-fledged tank in plate armor, protecting your allies from hordes of Undead in the trenches of Albion’s dungeons. All of this can be accomplished on a single character.

In-line with the simplistic nature of Albion’s design, is the simplicity of the classless system. When you first equip a piece of armor or weapon, you’ll notice that on the right side of your screen that new skills will be present. If you equip a different type of armor or weapon, you’ll then find that the skills have changed. Again, you are what you wear. Wearing different armor-types will result in different skills and an entirely new and refreshing playstyle with each change. This opens the door for endless theory-crafting; your only limiting-factor is how imaginative you allow yourself to be, thus creating a play-style that defines you as a player.

Now that we are at a point in which you have grasped an understanding of the destiny board, progression and the classless system of Albion Online; it’s time to grab your exclusive Tier 3 Founder’s gear as well as Ox or Horse, if they are included in your choice of Founder’s Pack, from your mailbox, and venture into the open world.

Watch Your Step

As a new player it will be important to understand that new challenges will present themselves along the way. There is a learning curve to survival in Albion Online, as it is one of the defining features of the game. Let’s cover a few tips to ensure that you will be having a memorable and joyous experience.

To begin, it is imperative to understand the zone system in Albion Online. There are four zone-types, each presenting new challenges and daring opportunity. You can recognize each zone type by opening your world map and pressing your “M” hotkey. They are color-coordinated based on each type of zone and the encompassing risks involved.

Zone Variation: Risk vs. Reward

In Albion, we have four different zones:

Green zones

The first of the four is the green zone. This is where you are at right now, and it is the only completely safe zone-type in Albion. Expect to find resources varying from tier 1 through tier 4 in these zones.

You should feel safe bringing your founders gear and mounts out into these zones, as there is very little danger present besides the first mobs you will be killing out in the open world. If you end up dying in a green-zone, do not be alarmed as you will only be knocked-down momentarily and incur a durability loss, rather than actually dying and losing your gear.

The green zones are an excellent place to get your feet-wet in your first PvE (player versus environment) adventures in Albion, so take the time to learn the intricacies of combat and resource gathering in these zones. If you die every now and then in the green zones, no worries! Your viewers will laugh with you in the process.

Yellow Zones

Next, we have the yellow zones. Expect to find resources varying from tier 3 through tier 5 in these zones, with a small amount of tier 6 as well. This will be the first zone that you will potentially encounter PvP (player versus player) in Albion Online. However, sharing similar functionality to the green zones, if you die in a yellow zone you are only knocked-down momentarily and acquire a durability loss rather than dropping your items. With that being said, you should feel relatively safe with bringing your Founder’s gear out into yellow zones as well.

The main difference here is that you should keep your ears open in case of any conniving player killers lurking to try and kill you. This is possible by flagging up for PvP. You can flag yourself as hostile by clicking the “shield” icon next to your hitpoints bar. Only flag yourself if you are actually looking for PvP. Staying unflagged provides you with a friendly-buff which will help you defend yourself from those who may be after you.

Whether you are the pacifist or the player killer, it is important to keep on your toes and be wary of the slight danger that yellow zones have to offer.

Red Zones

Third is the red zones. Expect a variance of resources ranging from tier 4 through tier 6 in these zones. This is where your adrenaline will really begin to pick up and the idea of risk versus reward begins to truly rear its head in the game.

If you die in a red zone, there is no turning back and all items on your person will be dropped as spoils for the victor. If you plan on making an early entry into the red zones then I would advise you to bank your Founder’s items, including your horse and ox, as you wouldn’t want to lose these too early on in the game! There are no friendly player-buffs here, and everyone is on even-footing in regards to PvP.

When you are actively engaging in red zones, be completely aware of the risks and rewards you are delving into. If you kill a player, all the loot is yours, and vice versa if a player kills you.

Something important to keep in mind is that Albion Online does support you in your solo endeavors. When there are more than 10 enemies near you in a red zone, you will see them as a red blob on your mini map. This is a sure-fire alert of danger, and will give you the opportunity to escape from an unfavorable fight, unless of course… you’re feeling like a hero!

Black Zones

Finally, we have the black zones. Expect to find resources ranging from tier 5 to tier 8 in these zones. This is the end-all be-all of the zone types, and by far, the most dangerous (and most rewarding) of them all. Similar to red zones, if you die in a black zone you will drop all of the items in your inventory, including your equipped gear. There are no friendly-buffs, no mini-map indicators of danger, or anything to help you in these zones besides your own wit and merit. When you’ve reached the point of engaging in black zones, you are ready for the highest level of open world competition that Albion has to offer.

Keep in mind that different tiers of mobs will also be present all throughout the world of Albion! In similar fashion to resource tiers, mobs also function similarly in Albion. They come in eight tiers, with increased difficulty and scarcity based on tier. You will find the easiest mobs to defeat in green zones, with the most challenging mobs in black zones.

With an understanding of the various zone-types, and the risk versus rewards present in each respective zone you’ve acquired a strong understanding of when and how to approach each zone, along with the risks you’re willing to take. Even though you’ve come a long way, we still need to cover the elephant topic in the room. The topic that will test your dedication, integrity and overall experience in Albion Online; joining a guild.

Guilds & Territory Warfare

Although solo play is possible in Albion Online, we highly recommended that you join a guild suited to your goals and aspirations in the game. Joining a guild will enhance your enjoyment of Albion Online by a long-stretch. Most of the action in Albion occurs between rival guilds looking to entirely decimate their opposition. You may wonder, how can guilds rival each other outside of open world PvP? Well that brings us into our next topic of Guild versus Guild battles.

Guild vs. Guild

Guild vs. Guild (GvG’s) in Albion Online are where the cream of the crop battle it out in 5 vs. 5 disputes over territory control. It is a very intricate system; however, to detail it simply: guilds can claim ownership over territories and amass large quantities of land throughout the world of Albion. On acquired territories, guilds are capable of building a large variety of buildings to refine materials, craft gear, farm and gain access to additional storage. A rival guild can then challenge the occupying guild to steal the land and claim it as their own, including the infrastructures built within.

If you have played a MOBA in recent time, then you’ll already be very familiar towards the nature of GvG’s in Albion and will have no problem performing well! This is a highlight of PvP in Albion with some serious adrenaline rush. It is an excellent endeavor to provide stream content for your viewers.

For all of our solo and small-scale players out there, don’t worry! You can still own your own piece of land in Albion Online without having the fear of it being lost to a stronger guild. This is through our Player Island system.

Player Islands: Land for All

In Albion Online, Player Islands are designed as segue into land ownership, for those less capable of maintaining contested territories! You can buy a player island in any of the major cities of Albion for a very cheap price. You can also upgrade your player island into 6 different tiers: each tier offering more land space than the previous tier. Ultimately, more land space means more building plots.



To top it all off, your Player Island is entirely private and is only accessible by you, and those that you allow to come visit you. Also, they cannot be contested for ownership. Your island will always belong to you.

Take Flight!

If you’ve come this far in the guide, then you are more than ready to roam the world Albion Online in a relaxed environment. There is a substantial amount of knowledge to garner in-game, albeit, don’t feel discouraged! As your chapter unfolds in the open world, everything will make sense along the way. Follow your destiny board, determine your playstyle, be wary of your location, and most importantly, join a guild! Remember, Albion is a game designed with simplicity in mind, alongside the necessary intricacies to provide you with an experience you won’t forget!