[img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//32445805/8808deb994af79fa655a1e7d65c89a6d71ba6f71.jpg[/img] 2020 was Albion's biggest year yet, with numerous patches and updates, a host of major new features, and an ever-growing player population. In the final Dev Talk of the year, Game Director Robin Henkys looks back at the past year in the world of Albion before looking ahead to what's coming in 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxosGPJl3f4&feature=emb_logo To take the year-end survey mentioned in the video, [url=https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/AlbionOnlineRoadmap2021Survey][b]click here[/b][/url]. No time to watch the video, or prefer a written summary? Then read on... [h3]2020: Albion's Biggest Year Yet[/h3] The past year brought some major changes, improvements, and new features to the world of Albion: [list] [*]Complete Outlands overhaul[/*] [*]Introduction of Hideouts[/*] [*]Open-World Territory Battles[/*] [*]Avalonians and Elite dungeons[/*] [*]Crystal League[/*] [*]Avalonian Weapons and Armor[/*] [*]Roads of Avalon[/*] [*]Wardrobe Skins[/*] [*]Corrupted Dungeons[/*] [*]Outlands Banks[/*] [*]Updated UIs[/*] [*]2 new languages[/*] [*]Combat Balance Improvements[/*] [*]Mobile improvements: New mobile HUD and control scheme, auto-updating, beta of the Google Play Store version[/*] [*]20v20 Crystal League battles and other Season 11 adjustments[/*][/list] [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/83b4d8b415a591fd50b7f8a7d9ca11d3420efcfd.jpeg[/img] In total we released 29 updates and patches with the majority happening out of our homes. Albion now consistently has over 500,000 active players every month, and player numbers are still growing. [h3]Looking Forward to 2021[/h3] Major changes coming in the next year include: [list] [*]A complete [b]Faction Warfare[/b] rework to bring open-world warfare to every player[/*] [*]Improving [b]Hellgates [/b]to make fair, smaller-scale PvP widely accessible and rewarding[/*] [*][b]Loadouts[/b], which allow you to save, share and quick-equip item sets on your character[/*][/list] [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/d559527583eda16bafbefe4c38b43c0157279951.jpeg[/img] Improvements to the [b]open world[/b] and [b]world design[/b] of Albion: [list] [*]Reworking the fundamental building blocks of the world[/*] [*]Improving visual quality while reducing dead ends and nonsensical layouts[/*] [*]Improving open-world locations like large static dungeons, making them high-value hotspots[/*] [*]Making treasures appear less predictably to trigger smaller-scale fights as intended[/*] [*]Improving the world map with more information about ongoing activities[/*][/list] [b]Quality-of-Life [/b]Improvements: [list] [*]Loadouts for quick-equipping items[/*] [*]Additional functionality to quick-buy Loadouts from Marketplaces[/*] [*]Adding better information about actual costs to crafting UIs[/*] [*]Tackling long-standing convenience issues like a “Use All” functionality for Tomes and Silver bags[/*][/list] [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/63388b2d0406fe8ce20b6ac4460051ce4a35ad50.jpeg[/img] [b]Combat [/b]improvements: [list] [*]Giving each type of mount, even non-rare mounts, their own spells and abilities[/*] [*]Further expansion of equipment choices available to players[/*][/list] [b]Mobile [/b]version: [list] [*]2021 will be the year Albion Online officially releases for phones and tablets[/*] [*]Will launch on both iOS and the Google Play Store[/*][/list] [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/d0bf470efa02870fbe4a827e37c173c3636bdf66.jpeg[/img] Additional goals: [list] [*]Long-needed Castle improvements[/*] [*]Siege equipment and defensive structures[/*] [*]Roaming mob improvements[/*] [*]Additional content and exploration goals for the Roads of Avalon[/*][/list] Game systems: [list] [*]Expansion of options and visual improvements for Destiny Board[/*] [*]Trade contracts allowing players to offer Silver for item delivery[/*] [*]Revisiting the role of laborers and offering additional features and variety on player islands[/*] [*]Legendary item crafting to leave a permanent mark in the world of Albion[/*] [*]New mounts and equipment (gathering mounts, potential new resource tier)[/*][/list] Goals for PvE, guild leaders, and data enthusiasts: [list] [*]More lore and quests[/*] [*]Special collectible rewards for completing quests[/*] [*]Increased capabilities for guild management[/*] [*]Improved Web API[/*][/list] [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/817348698287c66736db119ef15733a27550e389.jpeg[/img] For guilds in general, we want to expand on Hideouts with additional open-world buildings guilds could use to protect territories, collect resources or provide combat support in the open world. And for beginning players, we want to introduce a mentoring program called the Albion Academy. [h3]We Need You![/h3] As usual at the end of the year, we’re looking for your opinions about Albion Online. What are we doing well? What do we need to improve? And what features would you like to see? You can tell us in our [b]end-of-year survey[/b] which we’ll be sending to active players who have opted-in to receive the newsletter in the coming weeks, or fill out our Roadmap Survey [url=https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/AlbionOnlineRoadmap2021Survey][b]here[/b][/url]. Your feedback will help us decide which features to prioritize as we continue our journey to make Albion Online the best Sandbox MMORPG in the world. Thank you for your continued support, and we'll see you in 2021!