LinuxGameNetwork
Following the conclusion of the Avalonion Invasion, Sandbox Interactive have released a huge patch to Albion Online with the Queen Update. The game's largest PvP zone, The Outlands, has been completely reworked to be more accommodating to guilds of varying sizes. There's a natural progression of tiers towards the centre of the map which lets guilds easily find areas more appropriate to their power.
Being a PvP-focused MMO, territories are now claimed via open-world guild versus guild battles. To ensure that the largest guilds don't simply conquer everything, a new "zerg debuff" was introduced. It reduces the marginal power of raids the larger they grow, which will hopefully allow smaller guilds to stay competitive. Player Hideouts also offer more options to guilds, by staking claim to areas and providing a central location for all guild activity in the region.
To bring a bit more structure to high-level PvP, the Crystal League was introduced. It provides a 5v5 full-loot PvP experience for players. Victory in the Crystal League rewards players with guild points and increased resources in their area of The Outlands.
On the PvE side of things, the new high-level random dungeons filled with Avalonians offer a big challenge for up to 20 players. The Avalonians are the first new faction introduced in Albion Online and are described as an "ancient order from Albion's past [that] has returned to reclaim their land, using a mysterious energy drawn from deep in the earth."
Check out the official release notice for the full list of changes.
