We take a look back on some of the major events of the past year.

December 28, 2018 at 3:08 PM by PrintsKaspian

With 2018 drawing to a close, it's time to look back on the major happenings of the past year. From big content updates to new platforms to an auspicious anniversary, the world of Albion has been through a lot in the past 12 months.

Game Updates: From Lancelot to Nimue

2018 brought three major content updates to the world of Albion: Lancelot in the spring, Merlyn in the summer, and Nimue in the fall. Each update brought new and exciting things to Albion Online to enhance the game:

Lancelot brought fishing, new guild features, new Hellgates and Expeditions, and Luxury Goods.

brought fishing, new guild features, new Hellgates and Expeditions, and Luxury Goods. With Merlyn came Faction Warfare, resource updates, refining and crafting bonuses, and new costumes and trophies.

came Faction Warfare, resource updates, refining and crafting bonuses, and new costumes and trophies. And most recently, Nimue introduced Crystal Realm Battles, the Party Finder, character markers and party roles, and numerous other quality-of-life improvements.

Looking forward to 2019, Oberon (the sixth major post-release content update) will bring new dimensions to the game, including random dungeons and a completely overhauled new-player experience.

Albion Online Joins Steam

On May 16, 2018, Albion Online launched on Steam, bringing thousands of new players into the greater Albion community. The influx of new players brought new dimensions to the Albion ecosystem, providing new economic (and combat!) opportunities for seasoned players. The Steam launch also provided a good opportunity to update Albion's official guides and to create new ones for incoming players, such as Lewpac's comprehensive video tutorials on starting out in Albion and earning silver (see video section below).

Albion Turns One

On July 17, Albion turned one year old. In this article, we looked back on some of the major events of the game's first year, from the highs and lows of launch week to the introduction of the Arena and GvG seasons, and looked forward to the second year of Albion. With a steady stream of content updates and a goal of remaining transparent about future plans, the team has also released a steady stream of Dev Talks (all viewable on the Albion Online YouTube channel) and Roadmap posts on the forum.

Albion's Guilds: Friendship, Betrayal, and War

The past year saw a huge amount of content from Albion's guilds, varying from friendly group PvE to small-scale interguild skirmishes to all-out backstabbing and warfare. Where guilds are concerned, there's never a shortage of intrigue, and 2018 brought the full range of drama. Money Guild, undisputed champions of Seasons 1 and 2, finally fell to Team Casualty in Season 3 despite the latter losing numerous home territories and a large portion of their gear (read all about it here).

In November, the Nimue update brought Crystal Realm Battles, an expansion of guild warfare that allowed new teams to try their hand at 5v5 GvG fights. Season 4 also saw the introduction of new seasonal rewards, including exclusive mounts and a permanent place in the new Conquerors' Hall, now open for visitors near the Caerleon Realmgate.

Season 5 begins on January 5, 2019 - click here for the complete schedule.

2018 Video Highlights

2018 has been an incredible year for Albion video content, with exciting, engaging, and often hilarious video content coming from the community week after week. While it would be impossible to include all the year's video highlights here, we've chosen just a small selection of our favorite pieces to include here.

First off, Gugusteh presents a classy take on black-zone combat with a "Claymore Ballet", complete with classical soundtrack:

In anticipation of the new fishing system that arrived with Lancelot in Spring 2018, The Kuschelchen (with help from several other AO mods) created this comedic teaser about the true meaning of "fishing" in Albion:

Along with his excellent new player guide (featured above), Lewpac created numerous other guides throughout the year. Here, he gives some solid methods of earning silver, and like many of his video guides, it's helpful for both new and experienced players:

And last but not least, Nausk (recently featured here) continued his popular Black Zone Tales series, bringing high-level PvP combat to the masses. Here's an episode from last summer:

Onward to 2019

We want to thank you, our fellow Adventurers, for making Albion what it is today. Your passion for the game makes what we do possible, and we want to wish you all the best for 2019. We hope you're as excited as we are for the next year of Albion Online, and we hope to see you soon ingame.

Happy New Year!

- Your Albion Online Team