A Beginner's Guide to Albion Online 4

4. Territories, Player cities And Castles

# An introduction to Guild Vs Guild Mechanics

Guild Warfare
There are two ways by which to initiate Guild Warfare. One, via entering the world map (Hotkey: M) and selecting a territory next to one of yours, or by going to a territory monolith and then selecting "attack".

Territory stats 

There are two stats for territorial warfare: Defender Bonus and Defender Points 

Defender Bonus: A stat change applied to the defenders of the territory, it goes up to +40% and down to -40%. This is modified by a guild's level of aggression over territory. Whenever you launch an attack from one territory your defender bonus will be lowered, meaning that a very aggressive guild which instigates many attacks on territories will have a much lower defender bonus than a relatively passive guild. Defender Points: A regenerating stat modified by Conquer battles lost (see below for an explanation of Conquering). A soon as a territory is claimed, the number of defender points attributed to that territory begins to increase gradually up to a maximum of 3. If the guild loses a Conquer attempt on the territory, the Defender Point total will drop by 1. Once the Defender Point total drops to 0, the guild must surrender the territory and hand it over to the triumphant enemy guild. If the guild manages to defend its territory from a Conquer attempt for long enough, the Defender Point they lost will regenerate. This gives a guild under attack three chances to defend their territory claim before it is usurped. Defender points facts:

- They are a representation of the ownership of your territory

- They regenerate by 1 point every 48 hours

- They are capped at 3 points

- If you lose a incoming 'conquer' attack, you lose a defender point

Attack methods

There are two modes of attack, with differing potential rewards: Raid and Conquer 

Raid: Lowers target territory's Defender Bonus by 20, and raids 15,000 Silver from the enemy guild's guild vault - ideal for softening up a enemy before trying to conquer the territory. 

Conquer: Lowers target territory's Defender Points by one point and lowers the target territory's Defender Bonus by 10, if defender points reaches zero then ownership of that territory is transferred to you.

# Territories & Territorial Warfare

Territories 

Territories are areas of land owned by guilds. They provide a safe area inside an otherwise dangerous PvP-enabled area where guilds can build up their own buildings and shelters. Territories are fought over in Territorial Warfare, 

Territorial Warfare

A player city with an incoming raid or conquer attempt active. 

Territorial warfare facts: 

- Territories have a maximum defender bonus of 40%, providing buffs for players during an attack. Attacking from a territory will cause the bonus to decrease quickly; being attacked will cause it to decrease slowly; and it will slowly regenerate over time.

- Territory fights are set to 5v5 players from either guild.

- During a territory fights only 10 participants are a part of the fight.

- During a battle, both teams begin with 100 points. Fights are ended at 31 minutes or if either team reaches 0 points.

# Player Cities & Player City Warfare

Player Cities

The region map of a player city. 

A player city is a new type of territory which follows its own ruleset. Just like normal territories, they are owned and run by guilds. However, they are not a protected area only the owning guild can enter, but rather a free area for anyone to enter, rent plots for housing, and use buildings. 

Player City facts

- Player cities feature 164 estates. Players who own one of these estates pay tax to the owning guild through the upkeep price of that estate.

- Player cities are mostly located around PvP-enabled regions, however they do not feature open world PVP, and serve as a safe bubble for people wanting to live in safety out in the wild.

- Player City fights are 20v20

- Compared to other safe areas, player cities allow higher tier buildings (up to tier 6)

- Estates in cities vary in size from very large, able to accommodate a couple of houses, to very small, accommodating just one.

Player City Warfare

A player city with an incoming raid or conquer attempt. 

Player city warfare facts: 

- Player cities have a maximum defender bonus of 0%, instead of the 40% that normal territories have

- Player cities are, like territories, inaccessible during guild fights to anyone not a part of either the attacker or defender team

- Both teams have 400 points instead of the standard 100 points, and fights are able to last up to 45 minutes

# Castles

 Castles are clearly visible on the world map.

Before getting into a castle, you need to destroy one of its gates using 'Destruction Hammers'  

Castles have been overhauled since the last test. They now serve the purpose of allowing guilds with no territory in a region to siege territories from the castle. 

Castle facts:

- Castles exist in some of the full PvP-enabled regions

- Castles are protected by NPC guards. These guards are loyal to the owners of the castle and will help the current owners protect it.

- Castle fights are completely open - there's no limit on how many players can attack or defend them... So prepare for the worst.

- Castles have a monolith just like a territory would, and to claim it an attacking guild must first defeat the Castle Lord

- Castle attacks has 4 phases in total (detailed below)

- When a castle is attacked, warning messages are sent out to the owner of the castle as well to all of the players in that region.

- It should take 30-60 minutes to successfully capture a castle.

- If you lose the castle any scheduled fights from the castle are cancelled, so make sure you capture the castle in good time for a territory fight or you might have to defend it.

Castle attacks

Phase 1 

Player attacks the castle gate (As seen on the picture above). A message is sent out to the owners informing them they are under attack 

Phase 2 

The gate is now destroyed and the players enter the castle to kill off the standard NPC guards. 

Phase 3 

After the standard guards are all dead, the elite guards will spawn in 15 minutes. 

Phase 4 

Now that the elite guards are dead, the castle lord will spawn after 15 minutes. This is the final step in the castle capture process. The guild of the player who strikes the final blow on the castle lord will gain the ownership of the castle. 

Important notes:

- Castle attacks are difficult. The guards at first will be quite easy but after that the elite guards and the castle lord will be a challenge. Make sure to bring enough people (Recommended 10-15) and to equip yourself accordingly (Tier 4+ recommended)

- You will need destruction hammers to get through the castle.

- Some castles have several entrances. The owners of the castle are able to use the doors. Keep an eye out for intruders.

- Lengthy fights could cause some items to break, so it's wise to pack some extra gear just in case.

End

A Beginner's Guide to Albion Online 3

# Building, Housing & Furniture Guide

- Buildings

The building menu can easily be accessed by pressing the hotkey "B"

Buildings are split into three categories, Economy, Military and Player House

Economy:
Under the Economy tab you will find all economy related buildings. This includes the refinement buildings, the repair & salvage station, the toolmaker and the transmutator.

Military:
Under the Military tab you will find all the buildings focused on crafting war gear. This includes the warrior's forge, hunter's lodge and the m[b]age's tower[/b]

Player House:
Under the Player House tab you will find all the housing related buildings. This includes the p[b]layer houses[/b] and the guild halls

 Holding down the info button shows the construction cost of the building

 If you are able to build the building on this location it will be shown as green. If not it will turn red, with a warning message informing you that the ground is unsuitable for construction

During building construction you need to provide all the required resources and the required silver.


Once all the resources have been put into the building, the construction is finished and the building will appear.

- Housing

 In front of all houses there is a sign post. If you click on this, you will access the house management menu

The house management menu

Residency System
The residency system is also a new feature to the housing system. When you open up the house management menu you will see in the house infobox a button called either "Make Home" or "Leave Home" this allows you to set your home location, which will be a respawn point for you when you die,

Residency is also limited, meaning there can only be a certain amount of people who are residents in each house. However, you can increase the residency slots by placing wardrobes in the house.

Guild halls are an excellent choice for guilds who plan to live together, as they offer a lot more resident slots (as well as furniture slots), allowing larger guilds to live out of a guild hall.

-Furniture

Furniture can put into two different categories, i[b]ndoor furniture[/b] and outdoor furniture. 

 Houses are built empty, and it's up to you to furnish them with the furniture you want.

 The furniture item's menu, which appears if you click on it

 Furniture placement mode

Furniture interaction menu. Furniture buffs last a long time, but can take a long time to refresh 

Furniture - Purpose

Chest - Storage

Battlevault - Storage for GvG fights

Wardrobe - Increases residency slots in a house

Mob trophies1, Bed and Table - Buff furniture

Flag/Banner - Displays your guild symbol (Vanity)

1. Mob trophies can be anything from a special drop from a boss to a boar's head. 

Each house has a limit on the amount of furniture placed in it. You are also unable to place a furniture item whose tier is higher that that of the house, so a tier 4 house can only support up to tier 4 furniture.

# Finding a guild

When you are not in a guild, this is how the guild menu will appear (Hotkey 'G') 

 The filters allow you to only show guilds that fit your need

The guilds are able to add their own guild description, which will come in handy for players choosing between guilds

# Destiny Board & Mastery Levels


- Destiny Board

The destiny board can be divided into three categories, Combat, Crafting and Gathering.

Combat:
Combat skills are progressed by killing foes. You unlock equipment of a higher tier by gaining kills with that same equipment of the tier below.

Crafting:
Crafting skills are progressed by crafting

Gathering:
Gathering skills are progressed by gathering. Unlocking these skills will allow you to use better gathering tools, thus enabling you to gather higher tier resources.

- Mastery Levels

Working on unlocking the Novice Craftsman skill



Mastery levels are a new addition to Albion Online. They allow you to specialize in a specific skill and in turn hone that skill. For example, gaining a significant amount of kills with a tier 4 sword will grant you bonuses when using a tier 4 sword.

Combat equipment unlocks
Mastery Level ——— Unlocks
Mastery level 1 ——— Equipment item unlock
Mastery level 2 ——— +5% main stat* with that item
Mastery level 3 ——— +5% main stat* with that item
Mastery level 4 ——— +5% main stat* with that item
Mastery level 5 ——— +5% main stat* with that item

*Main stat depends on the type of equipment; an armor piece will give more health and a weapon will give a boost to damage 

Harvesting equipment unlocks

Mastery Level ——— Unlocks

Mastery level 1 ——— Equipment item unlock

Mastery level 2 ——— +2.5% Gathering yield

Mastery level 3 ——— +2.5% Gathering yield

Mastery level 4 ——— +2.5% Gathering yield

Mastery level 5 ——— +2.5% Gathering yield

Crafting equipment unlocks 

Mastery Level ——— Unlocks

Mastery level 1 ——— Item recipe unlock

Mastery level 2 ——— Higher chance to craft a higher quality version of the item

Mastery level 3 ——— Higher chance to craft a higher quality version of the item

Mastery level 4 ——— Higher chance to craft a higher quality version of the item

Mastery level 5 ——— Higher chance to craft a higher quality version of the item

It's important to note that some skills do not have mastery levels, such as the resource refinement skills and those to do with overall fame progression. 

# Mounts

Mounts currently come in three different kinds: Normal Horse, Armored Horse and Oxen 

Mounts are expensive, but a good investment. Horses can greatly reduce your travel time in the world of Albion, and oxen can be a great way to move around large quantities of items. 

Stables

The only way to get a mount is in a stable. Stables are only found in cities (both player and non-player cities) and cannot be built by players. 

Mount health

Mounts have their own health, however it's important to note that a mount's health and its durability are two separate measures.

When the mount's health reaches zero, you will be instantly forced into dismount mode, though the mount will not receive durability loss, and you will be able to spawn your mount again afterwards. 

The durability for mounts functions the same as with any other item in the game - once it reaches zero, the item gets destroyed or in this case, the mount dies. 

# Death & Resurrection

Resurrection:

To resurrect a dying player, first select the resurrect spell and then click on the dying body. 

The ability to resurrect players is a new feature for Albion Online. The Staff of Restoration now offers the option to select a Resurrection spell which allows the player to resurrect dying players. Players who are dying will be lying on the ground with their gear still visible on their body (as seen in image) 

A dying player will stay on the ground for up to 10 minutes as long as he or she does not trigger a respawn by selecting a location on the respawn screen. Dying players are still lootable, and any removal of their equipment will be visually represented on the character. 

Loot: 

When you die in Albion Online all your items drop on the ground. In PvP areas any player is able to loot items immediately, while in safe areas there is a 10 minute grace period during which only you are able to pick them up. Thus, if you do die in a safe area, you are able to quickly run back and pick up your stuff again (perhaps most reliably by selecting the respawn location "This Area")

# The Mail System

To be continued...

A Beginner's Guide to Albion Online 2

3. General game play guides

# Gathering

Gathering & Refining resources

Gathering comes in two forms, one being materials and the other animal hides. Materials are resources found out in the world (Wood, Stone, Ore, Fibre and Gems), and hides are harvested from dead animals using a Skinning Knife.

All types of gathered resources (except for tier 1 Wood & Stone) require tools to harvest. These tools can all be crafted at the toolmaker.

Material type - Requires tool
Wood - Wood Axe
Stone - Stone Hammer
Ore - Pickaxe
Animal Hides - Skinning Knife
Fiber - Sickle
Gems - Gem Hammer

Hide gathering

Material gathering

Refining

All materials above tier one need to be refined for crafting. The process of refining has its own class of building.

Raw material - Refines at
Wood - Carpenter
Stone - Stone Mason
Ore - Smelter
Hides - Tanner
Fiber - Weaver
Gems - Stone Mason

# World & Region Maps - Finding your way in Albion Online

World Map 

Region map / Safe areas 

Region map / PvP-enabled areas 

# Dungeons - A good source of Silver & Fame

Most regions in Albion Online have a dungeon. The dungeons follow the rule-set of the region to which they are connected. This means that if you enter a dungeon in a non-PvP area the dungeon will also not allow PvP, however if you enter a dungeon in a PvP-enabled area the dungeon will also allow for PvP. 

Dungeons in Albion Online are unrestricted and non instanced, and as such you may run into other people while inside. 

Mob ranks

Mobs come in three different ranks: Standard, Veteran and Elite 

# Item Tiers, Durability & Quality

Item tiers

Currently there are 8 tiers of items. The higher the tier, the stronger the item. Items have a linear progression of around 20-30% per tier.

Durability 

All equipment items in Albion Online have durability. When the durability reaches 0 the item breaks, and turns into trash. 

Item Quality

Item quality is another new addition to Albion Online. Every item crafted has now a small chance to appear as a higher quality. The higher your crafting mastery is with a particular item, the higher chance you have at crafting a higher-quality item. 

# Real estates

Estates function similar to territories, however they are smaller and are owned by players instead of guilds. Estates offer solo players the chance to own a plot of land where they can build whatever buildings they choose. It could prove a safer place to build a home, considering players then do not have the risk of losing the estate through guild fights, and the only way they could lose it is lack of upkeep payments. 

Estates can be located in safe areas and in player cities. Player cities are safe and are commonly found in the vicinity of PvP-enabled regions, allowing solo players to have their safe home in the more dangerous wilderness of Albion. 

Estates can be sold to other players, which means they can be a lucrative investment. 

Finding an estate

 Beige-colored squares on the minimap are real estates

An unowned real estate has a question mark on the estate management signpost

Managing a Real Estate

The estate management menu appears when you click on the estate signpost 

Customization:

Currently you can customize the border to your territory by replacing the the marked stakes in the ground with either a stone wall or a wooden fence. 

Access Rights:

The access rights system has three presets and the option to customize the access rights. The presets are: 

Preset - Rule set

Closed - Only you are allowed to build buildings in the estate

Private - Only you and your guild is allowed to build buildings in the estate

Public - Everyone is allowed to build buildings on the estate

Sell a real estate plot 

Estates for sale will have a "For Sale" sign attached to them 

Under the real estate menu you are able to put up your estate for sale, and other players are able to buy it 

If you buy an real estate plot, you are able to claim ownership of all buildings & furniture placed on the plot