Albion Online's latest update, Realm Divided, brings a major revamp to the Faction Warfare. If you're new to the game, it's the large-scale PvP battle among different factions. As a player, you can pledge an alliance to one of the Royal Cities and fight for them across the continent. In return, you'll gain reputation and reward multipliers you can use to increase your power further.
If you're a returning player, the Realm Divided features a few changes you'll want to know before jumping into the fight. This guide will teach you all you need to know about the new Faction Warfare in Albion Online.
Joining a faction is as simple as choosing which City you want to support and heading to the faction NPC. However, to join the fight, you will need to meet the minimum Item Power level requirement. After meeting the requirements, you can raise your flag for the City and engage in PvP battles against players from rival factions.
Note that aligning with a faction is not a permanent choice, and you can swap to others anytime. However, the process will result in you losing your current rank and will require you to climb the ladder again. While flagged, players from other factions can attack you anytime outside safe zones.
There are three main combat zones in Albion Online: Blue, Yellow, and Red. The Blue zone is generally safe, but while you have the faction flag up, players from other factions can engage in combat with you. A death will result in 5% durability loss of your equipment, and you'll respawn in the nearest outpost.
The Yellow zone is the beginner's PvP area where you'll find most of the players. To make the fights fair, this zone features an Item Power cap. Other than that, the zone is similar to Blue. Other players can only knock you down, and you only use durability, not the item itself.
Red zone, on the other hand, is a pure combat area. There's no Item Power cap, and losing a fight there means death and loss of equipment and inventory. Before heading into the Faction Warfare across the zone, make sure you empty your inventory and have gear that you don't mind losing.
To see the different provinces in Albion Online, use the filter at the top of the screen near the Regional Map and choose Faction Warfare. The map will show which faction controls a particular territory. Zooming in will provide more details about each region. The red lines on the map indicate conflict zones, showing where the fighting is taking place.
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Once you decide where you want to fight, you can ride your mount to the area or fast-travel using silver. The attack takes place in two phases, after which the cycle repeats for another province. Here's what you need to know about the different phases:
The supply phase is a vital part of Faction Warfare in Albion Online. Both sides need to collect as many supplies as possible to win the round. If the defending factions gather more supplies, they'll push back the attackers and start the same phase in their province. However, if the attackers win the supply phase, they'll get a chance to capture the fortress and gain control of the province.
During the phase, both factions will try to gain control of the outposts that spawn supplies. Naturally, there will be a lot of PvP. If you don't want to contribute this way, there are also PvE options. Within the province, there will be various faction camps with bots you can capture and collect supplies.
Note that you don't need to take part in the supply phase if you don't want to. Look for when the phase ends and jump into the next phase to fight for your faction. However, you'll be losing out on the loot and faction points, and may have a hard time completing the daily reputation reward.
As an attacker, securing the most supplies will trigger the siege phase against the fortress in Albion Online. During this time, players need to breach the entrance and capture the central point. To do so, you'll need siege hammers to break the wall and make your way to the center of the fortress. There, the attackers need to fend off defenders from the capture point long enough to seize control.
The defenders, on the other hand, need to prevent attackers from entering. You can repair the doors during battle, but once breached, the doors will remain open for the duration. At this point, all defenders must protect the fortress's central point to prevent defeat.
Buffs are another aspect of the siege phase that can grant a massive advantage to either side. Both the attackers and defenders can contest for buffs by capturing caches that spawn around the fortress. However, it's where things get tricky.
Getting the buffs is crucial for attackers to take an easy win, but they can't send everyone out as the entire phase is on a timer. At the same time, the defenders cannot sit back as more buffs on the opponents mean an early defeat. However, sending out too many troops means fewer defenders on the fortress.
You don't need to take part in the activity if you don't want to, but Faction Warfare is one of the best ways to earn better rewards in Albion Online. Fighting for your City will grant you reputation, which increases the rewards, including the faction points you gain.
However, not engaging with the system will result in you losing reputation and slowly going down until you're back at the rank of a small-time mercenary.
You'll also lose rank for changing factions, and may even need to start again. While you are fighting for a faction, you'll gain points for taking part in various activities. Higher faction rank results in a better reward multiplier, and it also affects the points.
While the combat is the primary way to earn faction points, PvE activities like fishing and collecting resources will also reward you with a small amount. Note that you need your flag up to earn faction points, meaning others can attack you. You can trade the points to the same faction NPC to purchase various items, including mounts, cosmetics, resource chests, faction crests, and hearts.