In the latest instalment of Albion Online’s series of Dev Talks, Game Director Robin Henkys introduced “Tracking,” a new open-world activity designed to spice up gameplay and encourage increased player interaction.
A New Challenge in the Open World
At its core, Albion Online is driven by its open-world dynamics. The new Tracking activity seeks to enhance this by challenging players to scour the open world in pursuit of a target. This addition aims not merely to increase direct PvP combat, but more importantly, to stimulate player presence in the open world. It is anticipated that this would create opportunities for chance encounters among different-sized groups.
The Mechanics of Tracking
To participate in Tracking, players need to craft a Tracking Kit that enables them to interact with tracks in the open world. Reading a track provides a hint to a location where players can find further tracks, possibly within the same region or a neighboring one. Notably, players will need to explore a broad area rather than a specific point.
Players will find additional tracks, encounter the final target, or face other random encounters during their search. Each tracking step, however, is bound by a time limit.
As players progress in their tracking, the likelihood of catching the target increases. Catching the target usually results in a fight, but larger groups may frighten off the target, prolonging the chase. Only the hunters know the target’s location, preventing larger groups from waiting around to contest them.
Tracking Rewards
Initially, players can track and fight rare creatures that match the new Shapeshifter weapon forms. These creatures may drop new Artifact Items, which can be crafted into Shapeshifter Artifact Weapons. They may also drop new Alchemical Ingredients that can be used to create a set of rare potions as part of the potion enchanting overhaul.
A broader variety of trackable creatures will be introduced in subsequent updates, opening up even more possibilities for the Albion Online community.
Stay tuned for the next Dev Talk, where the team plans to discuss a new concept involving ingredients from Tracking: Legendary Items.