With Crystal Raiders on the horizon, it’s time to take a closer look at some of the update’s main features. Here, we delve into the changes coming to territories, with Raiding, Control Costs, and more.
Territory Raiding
Crystal Raiders introduces Raw Energy to Albion’s territories. This is generated by Siphoning Mages and refined into Siphoned Energy over time, but it also brings an opportunity to other guilds, as it can be stolen in Territory Raids:
- Each day at prime time, a territory’s Energy Storage becomes attackable[/*]
- A territory can be raided during prime time if all Siphoning Mages and the Sentry Mage are defeated[/*]
- After a successful Raid, 50% of the Stored Energy is stolen in the form of four Raw Energy Cores, which can be transported back to another guild’s territory[/*]
- However, if they don’t reach a new territory within 30 minutes, these Raw Energy Cores will revert back to their original territory[/*]
With higher frequency than other territory warfare mechanics, Territory Raiding opens new avenues for Albion’s guilds and encourages action throughout the day:
- Since each Raid has to happen in a territory’s prime time, there is a good chance of a defending force amassing, leading to a battle[/*]
- However, since these are happening every day, across all prime times, they are more likely to have smaller defending forces than territory invasions[/*]
- This brings greater opportunities for impromptu, guerilla-style warfare in the Outlands[/*]
Further Territory Changes
Changes have been made to territory prime times, to ensure territory-owning guilds are not under pressure to defend their territories around the clock:
- Territory prime times have been reduced to one hour[/*]
- Siphoning Mages can now only be attacked during prime time[/*]
- Territory Attacks can now only be scheduled during prime time[/*]
Territories now also have Control Costs associated with them:
- Territories closer to Portal Towns have higher Control Costs[/*]
- Once a Control Cost of 15 has been exceeded by a guild or alliance, the Siphoned Energy Drain applies, and when a Control Cost of 25 is exceeded all individual members face Fame and Silver penalties[/*]
- In this way, large guilds who seek to dominate the outer ring of the Outlands will be punished, and encouraged to compete further in[/*]
- This in turn gives newer and smaller guilds a better chance at finding a foothold in the outer ring[/*]
Further changes also address the relative value of territories:
- The Siphoned Energy and Season Point output of territories has a more pronounced weighting towards the inner circle of the Outlands[/*]
- Territory attack costs increase with a region’s quality and tower level[/*]
- Territories begin a season with a certain amount of Stored Energy depending on their region quality level[/*]
And the way Stored Energy is paid out has been changed:
- After each prime time, a percentage of Stored Energy is paid out as Season Points and Siphoned Energy, depending on region and tower level[/*]
- Conquering or giving up a territory no longer reduces Stored Energy[/*]
- There is a new, fourth and final Invasion Day at the end of each season, where all Stored Energy is paid out directly as Season Points[/*]
- Prior Invasion Days no longer pay out Stored Energy[/*]
All this will encourage guilds to compete over valuable territories deep in the Outlands, whether through outright control or unexpected Territory Raids, and bring ongoing conflict to Albion’s Guild Seasons. We’re excited to see how this plays out with the start of the next season on January 13, along with the other big changes coming with the update. For a full season schedule, click here, and stay tuned for another Feature Focus coming soon!
