Albion Online Queen Update impressions 2020

Hey guys. How are you doing today? Have you been searching for a cool sandbox MMORPG? Then I have a great suggestion for you. But before that, take a good, long look at that Santa dude wearing a thong. I bet you can’t unsee that, huh? Welcome to Albion Online, a game where you can be a Santa lookalike and roam around the land sporting a thong, strutting your stuff as you mow down mobs under the baffled stares of other players. Any game that allows you to do that gets a thumbs up from me.

Disclaimer: We are NOT thong supporters. Thongs can be hazardous to your health and any human male that wears one may have been recently subjected to brain damage. If you know a grown man who wears a thong, report him immediately to the local authorities. Remember kids, winners don’t do thongs.

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I’m sorry, that was inappropriate. You see, there’s more to Albion Online than the characters' underwear, and it has a ton of great things going for it. Thankfully, you don’t see many guys running around like I did with thong Santa, as you get some clothing right from the start. Then it’s up to you to work your way up and get the best armor for your character.

You’ve been watching some early level gameplay from Albion Online, so if you don’t know the game yet, let me tell you straight away – this is a superb sandbox MMORPG, featuring a player-driven economy and ultra-clever classless system. It’s like Diablo meets Ultima Online and Farmville, but with more thong.

Alright, I promise it was the last joke about that. Anyway, I’m here today to tell you about the new Queen update in a video kindly sponsored by Sandbox Interactive, makers of this sandbox MMO – now that’s probably the most fitting name for any studio ever. Hit this link if you want to play Albion Online right away, for the amazing price of absolutely nothing.

The Queen update is a massive thing and the community is quite excited about the new additions and improvements that it brings to the table. Brace yourselves, change is coming.

First of all, let’s look into the main topics of this update: a new Outlands map, hideouts, new territory control system, expanded Crystal Realm 5v5 battles, the new Avalonians faction, Zerg Debuffs and Smart Cluster Queue, and Elite Randomized Dungeons. Thong Santa approves.

I’ll begin by focusing on the new Outlands map. If you’re a veteran Albion Online player, you probably know that the old design was meant to keep stronger guilds in the higher part of the map, while weaker guilds would settle for the lower part. This didn’t work out as planned though, with some strong guilds staying in the lower end of the map, while other guilds on the top part were nearly untouchable and kind of stale. The new design goes for a circular approach and places the best resources near the middle of the map, potentially offering more options for conflict and content. Everyone is hoping that this will turn the scene into a much more active playground, as the dominating guilds may be attacked from all sides.

It’s good to see that our action Santa finally got some decent armor to protect himself while he goes around kicking butt. Moving on.

Next, hideouts. Wouldn’t it be cool to build your guild base in a new place and open up tons of fresh opportunities? Besides, they say that change is good for the soul, the world is your oyster, and silly stuff like that. Now you can do that with your guild, building and upgrading your base anywhere in the Outlands. It all begins with a craftable kit that you must carry to your new home, and then you have to stick around to make sure that no overly excited enemy guild decides to attack it while under construction. When it’s done, you can enter this instanced underground lair Batman-style, where you can build a marketplace, farm spaces, artifact forge, a guild hall, and more. It’s housing on the go, but can also serve as an outpost to keep an eye out for other guilds, adding another strategic layer and further positioning Albion Online as a sandbox game. Hideouts are cool, really.

You can say bye-bye to the 5v5 guild battles, since the Queen update will drastically change how you fight for territory. Now everyone matters, even the most unskilled member of your guild – yes, you, right there in the back, you can stop pretending. The new system lets you lay a claim on an enemy tower and the next day a huge fight will ensue for control of the territory. Besides, you can have multiple territory battles going on at the same time, which is both cool and potentially anarchic. So, it won’t just be the best handful of guys from your guild that participate in the action, everyone will be able to pitch in.

But if you miss the 5v5 action, you can always try the expanded Crystal Realm battles. You don’t even have to be in the same guild, but this is a meaningful way for you to upgrade guild territories, and you get to keep your opponent’s gear. You and the other players need a crystal realm token matching the battle that you choose, and battle times are scheduled. It’s a high risk/high reward mode where only the best will get the cool rewards.

Zerg debuffs and smart cluster queues are two new features that complement the open-world territory battles and balance things nicely. The motto “the more the merrier” goes out of the window, as the update puts a cap on the number of players that you can bring to the fight, eventually putting the abusing guilds at a loss. The smart cluster queue prevents guilds from locking a zone by placing hundreds of players there, analyzing the guilds and dynamically adjusting the number of players that are contributing the most to their guild. The lower players will be removed from the area, but they can engage in secondary battles if they so wish. It’s an intricate system that is trying to balance the large-scale battles in a way that no guild begins at a loss.

Phew, quite a lot of things going for this update, so I’ll just mention one more for the road: Elite Randomized Dungeons. This is a much request feature, because late game clearly shifts its focus from PvE to PvP. Elite Dungeons bring some much welcome PvE content to the game, with teams of up to 20 players cooperating to get some sweet loot from the new Avalonian faction. Three new armor sets can be crafted by those who manage to defeat the Avalonians, the toughest opponent yet in Albion Online.

This is just a brief rundown of what the Queen update brings to Albion Online. With all the self-proclaimed sandbox MMORPGs coming and going without warning, this remains one of the highlights of the genre. Furthermore, the recent free-to-play shift gave it a player base boost that guarantees you’ll see plenty of friends, as well as enemies, roaming the expansive world. Give it a go if you like complex, clever, freeform games where you can do whatever you want to – even wear inappropriate garments. The download link is here, and I’ll see you in Albion.

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