Three Things That Could be Enhanced in Albion Online

I would first like to say that I really like the idea of this game and have been having a lot of fun with it. :) I would like to acknowledge the developers for their hard work. This article is only my first impressions of things that could be enhanced in the game and I hope can be used to strengthen gameplay. In addition, this thread may include suggestions that have been previously mentioned and it makes the assumption that the learning point system will remain in place.

 

Graphics & Interface

- Camera rotation needs to be added to this game unless there is major graphical constraint making it impossible. It is sometimes hard or impossible to see or interact with resources, players, npcs, monsters, etc. without this feature since foreground objects can cover the screen. This is extremely noticeable in dense forests.

- An option should be added to unlock, move, resize or hide interface widgets (chat box, shortcut buttons, etc.) When not in use, these objects take up screen space unnecessarily.

- The destiny board progress bars need to be stacked so that multiple bars can be displayed with minor impact to visibility. I suggest that these bars only consist of thin color coded bars. If more information is needed, hovering the mouse over them can display it.

- Hovering over an item or resource in yhe inventory or craft screen should at least display the name. Weapons and armor should also display a short summary of statistics and in the future a statistics comparison with items currently equipped.

- A barber should be added to allow characters the ability to change their hair style and color in game. Additional hair styles and colors can be added in the future.

- A dyer should be added to allow characters to dye their armor. These colors should fit in the game world (i.e. not neon green).

- Some sort of visual needs to be added to the destiny board for masteries. Although the destiny board is already large, I do not see an issue with adding more sub branches for masteries. However, if this is not done I suggest adding gray circles around each tier, for the amount of masteries in that tier, that light up when each mastery level is learned.

- An in game guide should be added to this game. This should at least include basic mechanics of the game.

- While not required, an editable journal would be nice. This would allow the player to take notes and make logs of important events, players, guild information or market transactions.

 

Gameplay

- The two handed melee weapon trees need to be seperated from the one handed melee weapon trees. These should be treated differently.

- Two handed melee weapons should be available at game start.

- Learning points should be required for everything on the destiny board including the starting tree. To accomadate for this, more learning points should be provided at game start.

- The learning points should be split into combat LP and crafting LP to allow solo players a chance to use high end gear without relying on the marketplace or a guild. This will still slow progress and limit the player to a few combat branches and a few crafting branches.

- Learning points should be shared across an account. This will discourage players from making a million inactive alts at day 1. Currently, the sooner a player makes an alt, the more learning points that alt will have.

- Learning points should have a max cap to limit the gap between new and old players as well as subscribers and free players (who still paid for the game).

- A basic tutorial should be added for new players.

 

World & Lore

- Quests in the starting zone should include more story and lore. So far, I have only seen crafting, fetch or kill quests. If this is universal, this applies to all quests in the world.

- NPCs should be added to the starting zone to provide conversation on world story and lore. If this is universal, this applies to all areas in the world.

- Signposts should be added to the starting area to give information on the area and tie in lore. Examples include city names, wanted posters, warnings, directions, etc. If this is universal, this applies to all areas in the world.

- A minor observation is that the starting area seems rather symetrical. This makes the buildings feel static and placed. I suggest re-arranging the layout and adding more clutter to the area. If this is universal, this applies to all areas in the world.