Albion Online stokes the fires of discontent with Realm Divided Part II

One of the best parts of MMORPGs is that they bring everyone together. You form parties, take on bosses, and make lifelong friends along the way. But screw all that, because Albion Online has launched Realm Divided Part II, bringing two huge Faction Warfare events for some large-scale PvP.

Before we get into the two new modes, let’s just recap Faction Warfare. Six cities are going at it, and you can enlist in one to join the brawl. You need Expert Adventurer on the destiny board first, then waltz into a faction city and sign up. This does prevent access to certain cities, notably the other faction ones, and you can get jumped almost anywhere on the Royal Continent by other faction members whilst flagged.

So, with that in mind, new modes.

New modes in Realm Divided Part II

First is Faction Battle Standards, which is like Capture the Flag, but with more steps. When a flag appears, it is inaccessible for a little bit, but displayed on a map. Giving time for the vultures to start circling. Then the lock opens, and someone needs to grab it and start taking it to a friendly Outpost.

But that is not the full story. Along the way, you can engage in Faction Warfare and capture Outposts. Doing so increases the Standards rarity, which results in more rewards. Get mobbed and lose it to your opponent, however, and they take it, rarity intact. It is an excellent high-risk, high-reward concept.

Our second mode is new, in a sense. Bandit Assault has been reworked.  For starters, you can pledge to Caerleon and take part under their banner. Pick them, or another faction, and prepare for two phases of warfare. We start with Phase One, as well we should.

This lasts 40 minutes across all lethal Provinces. Caerleon claims all Outposts, and then it is time for every Faction to compete in Warfare activities to collect Bandit Assault Supplies. After this hoarding battle, Phase Two kicks off and lasts 20 minutes. The battle takes place in two Provinces, with the Bandit Assault Supplies generated therein being greatly increased.

Fortresses will play a big role here, although you can’t capture them. You can, however, rip the doors and wall apart to gain access to the chest inside. Or, if you are part of the Faction that owns said Fortress, you want to protect the masonry until said chest opens. At the end of the 20 minutes, the war ends, and the Faction with the most Bandit Assault Supplies wins. 

This genuinely makes me want to download Albion Online again. Luckily, it is available on the App Store and Google Play, fancy that.