Until last week, it had been over a year since I last logged into Albion Online. My absence was gradual due to starting a new job, having less free time, and experiencing some disagreements with my guild. There wasn't anything specific I disliked about the MMO; I just found fewer reasons to play until I eventually stopped altogether. However, with the Paths to Glory update, there's always a new goal to pursue in Albion Online, which is great for guiding new players while keeping veterans engaged.

Major Addition: Albion Journal

The biggest addition in the Paths to Glory update is the Albion Journal, which essentially functions as a multi-layered achievement system. The journal is divided into five different categories, catering to various playstyles: PvE, Gathering, Economy, Exploration, and PvP.

Personal Progress

Each of these categories contains over 100 missions that offer small rewards such as tomes of insight, silver, focus potions, learning points, and furniture items. However, the best rewards are obtained by completing a certain percentage of each category. At 20%, you receive a special Avatar; at 40%, an Avatar Ring; at 60%, a wardrobe skin; at 80%, new mount skins; and at 100%, elite wardrobe skins with vanity spells.

Progress for these categories started from zero with the update, meaning veteran players did not automatically complete most of the missions. However, missions directly linked to achievements, like "Catch your first fish," were granted automatically.

Gameplay Experience

The Albion Journal led me to explore the game in ways I would normally avoid, either because I wasn't interested or found the activities economically inefficient. I usually avoid non-lethal PvP because I don't think the time spent is worth the silver earned, but with missions specifically tied to non-lethal Arenas and Hunter Corrupted Dungeons, I found myself participating more frequently.

Additionally, pursuing these missions drastically changed my experience in Albion Online. While working on some Corrupted Dungeon missions, an old friend invited me to a non-lethal faction war. Normally, I would have politely declined, but I needed a lot of faction kills to complete my PvP achievements, so I accepted and had a great time. I was even invited to a red zone (lethal) party afterward, which led to some thrilling open-world fights.

Socialization and Guilds

The Albion Journal also led me to join a new guild focused on small-scale fights in the Roads of Avalon and the Black Zone. Both areas are crucial for completing the Open World PvP mission series and are usually very challenging without strong friends.

While my focus has been on PvP missions (I really want the helmet skin), I incidentally completed many exploration, economy, and PvE missions along the way. Even if you concentrate on one type of content, you will slowly complete many other achievements. Some missions are as simple as visiting every city or buying an item from the market, but reaching 100% will require a lot of dedication or deep pockets, especially for the Economy and Gathering trees.

Bustling Roads

Aside from the Albion Journal, the Paths to Glory update brought other major changes. To improve mob density during peak hours, Albion Online introduced dynamic spawn rates. Servers now adjust the spawn rates of treasures, mobs, and resources according to activity levels, ensuring that periods of low activity still offer meaningful content.

The Roads of Avalon were completely rebalanced to reward group content. The value of larger and group chests was increased, while smaller chests cannot become rare or legendary. This encourages players to leave these chests to improve in size and quality if left untouched. Additionally, tracking is now available in the roads, making it easier to find high-level trails.

Quality of Life Improvements

The update also brought several quality of life improvements to Albion Online. Firstly, Corrupted Dungeon Scrolls, which point to the location of dungeons on the map, saving time. Three new Crystal Weapons were added: Twin Slayers (daggers), Dreadstorm Monarch (mace), and Exalted Staff (holy), which can be obtained with Guild Season Rewards and increase the power of all weapons in a specific tree (Warrior, Hunter, and Mage).

There were also UI improvements, such as the ability to zoom out on the Destiny Board, as well as enhancements to the Siege UI, Trade UI, and Player Ranking UI.

Conclusion

As you can see, I've been having a great time in Albion Online since the Paths to Glory update. Share your thoughts on the new update and your experiences so far in the comments below!

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