About Albion Online |
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| Release Date Jul 17, 2017 |
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Developer Sandbox Interactive |
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Publisher Sandbox Interactive |
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Country of Origin Germany |
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Gathering – along with crafting – is a vital mechanic in Albion Online, and the entirety of the game’s economy depends on it. In contrast with your cookie-cutter MMOs, in Albion you can truly focus your entire progression & gameplay around being a full-time gatherer, or rely on it for some extra income.
Whatever, the case, this guide will serve as a reference to all your gathering needs, including all resources you can collect, fame values & gear stats, as well as offer progression tips that are necessary for your character’s growth.
Last but not least, we will obviously place a heavy focus on the money-making capabilities of various gathering activities, so that you can have a better picture of the possibilities, and how you will carve your own path!
Your location on the map will have the biggest impact on your options as a gatherer, but that’s not to say there are “good & bad” choices. It comes down to your personal preferences, and how much risk you want to take.
There are 5 different biomes in Albion, and each main city will have its own biome surrounding it (as well as its Outlands portals).
Caerleon is the only exception, being in the middle of the Royal Continents, and surrounded by all 5 biomes (but not offering any portals to the Outlands).
The table below will help you make an educated choice on which city you want to make your first base of operations:
| City | Biome | Main Resource | Secondary Resource | Tertiary Resource | Refining Bonus (58%) | Crafting Bonus (33%) | Closest Starting Zone |
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| Bridgewatch | Steppe | Hide | Fiber | Ore | Rock | Crossbow, Dagger, Cursed Staff, Plate Armor, Cloth Shoes | Steppe Cross |
| Caerleon | All | – | – | – | – | Gathering Gear, Tool, Food, Potion | – |
| Fort Sterling | Mountain | Ore | Stone | Fiber | Wood | Hammer, Spear, Holy Staff, Plate Helmet, Cloth Armor | Mountain Cross |
| Lymhurst | Forest | Wood | Hide | Stone | Fiber | Sword, Bow, Arcane Staff, Leather Helmet, Leather Shoes | Forest Cross |
| Martlock | Highland | Stone | Ore | Wood | Hide | Axe, Quarterstaff, Frost Staff, Plate Shoes, Off-Hand | Highland Cross |
| Thetford | Swamp | Fiber | Wood | Hide | Ore | Mace, Nature Staff, Fire Staff, Leather Armor, Cloth Helmet | Swamp Cross |
It’s paramount that you take into consideration the “Refining Bonus” of each city (as well as the Crafting Bonus if you want to combine both activities), since not refining your resources with a bonus, means you are going to lose on a big amount of profit.
Of course, refining bonuses will be far away from their respective biomes, which results in a dynamic player economy, and makes travel a vital mechanic of the game.
All zone types & tiers are balanced almost the same way for each biome, so no matter your earlier choice, you will have access to all 4 zone types, and all 8 zone tiers.
Both choices will affect every single gathering session, since you need to be prepared accordingly depending on the zone type (is there a chance that you can lose all your stuff?), as well as the tier of resources you aim to collect (do you have the necessary equipment & skill?).
The zone types / colors available are:
Blue – These are the safest zones, and are available from Tiers 1-4. You can only get attacked by other players if you are Faction Flagged.
Yellow – The second safest zone type, and only available in Tier 5. You can get attacked by other players if you are Faction Flagged, or if they are PvP flagged (and they lose Reputation).
Red – Full-loot is enabled on death, available from Tiers 6-7. You can get attacked by other players if you are Faction Flagged, or if they are PvP flagged (and they lose Reputation).
Black – Full-loot is enabled on death, available from Tiers 5-8. Faction Flagging is not possible, and any player can freely attack you, without facing any Reputation loss.Please note that dying for any reason, will cause all your equipment to lose 5% Durability. Dying in a Blue / Yellow zone will let you respawn in the closest Faction Outpost owned by your Faction, while dying in a Red / Black zone will make your body lootable unless you have the time to regenerate & respawn on the spot.
The zone tiers available are:
Tier 1-3 zones can be safely considered “tutorial areas”, therefore there’s only a handful of them, and you won’t spend much time there. Tier 4 up to Tier 8 zones have their own pros & cons, and are always viable in the world’s economy.
Don’t forget another very important gathering factor for each zone, which is the number of rare resources you can find in them! You can check this number on the top right of each zone’s map, so always target the higher rarity areas if possible.
The loadout you use when gathering, is of vital importance, especially when out in the full-loot zones!
Every single item you wear, and its tier, will dictate how efficiently you can gather specific resources, and how safe you can stay while doing so.
It’s not the easiest concept to grasp if you are a new player, but I’m sure by reading this whole section you will have a clear understanding of all the available options, and what’s the best way you should take on your own Albion journey!
Don’t forget the great “Loadouts” screen you can use by clicking on your avatar, as it can save a ton of time when you start getting the hang of your choices.
Your weapon choice is extremely important in your gathering loadout, since it will dictate how efficiently you can kill resource mobs and / or how easily you can escape from ganks.
Obviously you can’t have both, and we are only going to focus on escape weapons here, since killing is much more of a personal preference (reading this sentence back definitely feels weird?).
Since there are hundreds of weapons in Albion, I’m only going to focus on a few options I have personally used successfully to escape even 10-man ganks, and I definitely urge you to dive more into all the choices offered, and what matches your playstyle!
Destiny Board Node: Hunter > Dagger
You will see a lot of gatherers using the Bloodletter, and it’s for a good reason!
Its special ability (E) offers a nice dash that goes through enemies, and can also serve as a finisher. Hitting an enemy will also give you a short cooldown reduction boost, making your options in several scenarios even greater.
Add that on top of two great mobility skills from the Dagger family (Deadly Swipe & Dash), and you can “spin” to safety pretty quick, so you can pop an invisibility potion, or use your movement speed buffs so you can successfully remount.
The most popular choice for an off-hand is the Mistcaller, since it offers you additional cooldown reduction for your escape skills.
Destiny Board Node: Hunter > Quarterstaff
The Double Bladed Staff is a very versatile weapon, and definitely more fun to use than the Bloodletter!
Its special ability (E) offers a huge dash that will also heavily slow any enemies it impacts with, making it an option that can be used both to escape or delay your ganker.
With another great leap and utility on the Quarterstaff family Q skill (Cartwheel), and an extra speed buff on your W skill (Stun Run), you can cover a lot of ground fast, while leaving many paths to freedom open.
Destiny Board Node: Warrior > Sword
A more advanced option than the Bloodletter or the Double Bladed Staff, are the Dual Swords.
With an insane synergy speed buff on the main Sword family (any Q, and W – Iron Will), and a huge leap on its special ability (E), it’s hard to die in a gank if you know what you are doing.
It is worth noting that due to the synergy requirements, the Dual Swords are much more powerful in up to 1v3 situations, while the more people you got on your tail, the harder it will be to apply your stacks and escape successfully.
I suggest you only carry the 3 tools that are appropriate for your biome each time:
This way you can save some money on death, since even in a safe zone there are durability costs.
Other than that, I do suggest you always take the highest tier you can carry for each tool, since the gathering speed difference is quite dramatic (especially when using a tier 4 tool for a tier 5 node for example).
I do also believe it’s worth the risk to take tier 7 tools in a tier 6 black zone for instance, but that’s a choice you’ll have to make for yourself.
Wearing gathering gear (helmet, armor, shoes) of a specific gathering type, will give you a nice passive bonus to the amount of that resource you can collect with each interaction, while carrying the appropriate backpack will let you carry more of that resource.
It makes sense to use appropriate gathering gear for your Biome, so for example:
I always suggest you use the highest tier you are able to wear (as long as you can risk it), since the higher the tier, the greater the gathering buff you receive!
The most important thing you need to remember, is always wear Miner’s Workboots no matter what you are gathering. Their special escape skill “Flee” is simply too overpowered to ignore, so bypass it at your own risk!
Your mount choice as a gatherer, is probably the most important you have to make for every gathering session, since it will directly affect how much you can carry, and how quickly!
If you are gathering in a safe zone, you obviously want to carry as much as possible, whereas in full-loot zones you always need to consider how much you are willing to risk, and always prioritize speed & health over carrying capacity:
Both mounts are almost identical, but usually you’ll find the Elite Winter Bear in bigger supply (therefore way cheaper), since it’s Fort Sterling’s faction mount. That means you won’t be able to use the mount’s second skill if you are not faction flagged for Fort Sterling, but it’s only useful in Faction Wars, so that’s ok!
It’s pretty much the biggest carrying capacity you can have while gathering (so imo worth going for a higher quality). It also has a ton of HP, which makes it a perfect defense against gankers (but an extremely expensive one too).
On the negative side it’s quite slow, but your 1st skill can also save your a** in case you get ganked, as it can stun opponents and give you a speed buff, the more times you are attacked. What’s more, all the extra weight you get is only while mounted, or in your mount’s radius, so getting dismounted means you won’t be able to move.
All in all an amazing mount for gatherers, I definitely suggest saving up for one and using it for your Yellow Zone gathering activities, until you feel comfortable taking this bad boy out to the Outlands!
The Grizzly Bear is also an alternative worth mentioning, gained by the Adventurer’s Challenge.
The direboars offer the greatest balance between carrying capacity & speed, and unless you’re out for a 2-hour session, it’s usually the best choice to make.
What’s also super important, is that you get all the extra weight in the form of a buff, so it stays with you even if you are dismounted! Along with its speed, it’s a great choice for Red / Black zones, as long as you can afford the risk of course.
The Spectral Direboar variant offers a 5-second invisibility skill that you can use while mounted (and a bit less weight), which can help you even more to stay safe.
The Elite Wild Boar is Lymhurst’s faction mount, and even though it can carry a bit more, it’s usually way more expensive, making it a poor choice. It does have a cool Dash skill though, which imo is better at keeping you alive than Spectral’s invisibility.
Salamanders are weird creatures. I think I’d describe them as the best option for lazy gatherers!
They can carry as much as a Stag, and are a bit beefier. So what’s the advantage? Well, they don’t gallop any faster, so you are using their max speed at all times (and they’re quite fast).
This effectively means that you can’t get slowed down by player or mob attacks, making your escapes that much easier.
What makes the difference between life and death is usually pathing in ganking situations, so a Salamander, and especially the Pest Lizard (Adventurer’s Challenge variant), will make your life easier, with way less effort.
What can I say, it’s certainly an appealing mount for some quick gathering trips, but definitely not the best value / money for the risk you are taking.
The stag is certainly a gatherer’s most trusted friend. It’s quick, cheap, and can carry double than a horse, in a buff-form as well, so you don’t have to worry about getting dismounted.
It’s certainly the best choice I recommend you to take on your first Outlands trips, while you get more familiar with the danger in these full-loot zones.
The Moose is straight up better, but also quite more expensive. It will let you carry more, run faster, and usually sit between the Stag & Direboar in terms of value for money.
Ah the oxen… It’s like the Bear’s mini cousin. Can carry a lot (lost on dismount), can take some damage, and is quite slow!
You will definitely use them a lot as a new player, as it’s a cheap and convenient way to gather around the starting zones.
Some pros even swear by them, and carry them all the way to the Black Zones, but imo you are taking way too much risk by doing that.
A high tier ox is definitely a good option for safe zones though, until you can afford a Bear.
The cheapest transport you can get your hands on, with a mini-weight buff, and respectable speed.
The only time I recommend you use one, is when you are scared to risk your gear as a new player in the red / black zones, and it’s an awesome cheap way to help you learn your way around, and prepare you for some ganking situations.
I’d suggest you use it until you die a couple of times, and feel more confident to upgrade to a Stag, for much greater speed and carrying weight.
The armored variant is definitely not worth the extra cash, so just go straight for a Stag!
The last thing you need to take care of in your loadout, is your buffs, the potion, and food slot respectively!
Invisibility potions are not cheap, but carrying at least one in the full-loot zones, can make the difference between life and death – if you know how to use it properly.
If you are in a safe zone, there’s no need to carry anything, so maybe you could grab some Gigantify Potions that could get you out of some annoying mobs or players, or just carry some Healing Potions for the same reason.
You should always use pies while gathering, since they offer an enormous Gathering Yield buff, as well as extra carrying capacity (which you should be aware of, so that you don’t run out of pies, and get slower).
The T5 Pork Pie is the most popular one, so will also usually be the best value / money, but it’s also worth taking a look at the special Upland Coldeye / Mountain Blindeye & Frospeak Deadeye Pies, since they also offer a CC resistance buff that can prove very useful in full-loot zones.
Gathering Progression & Money Making coming soon!
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Babalon, Mother of Abominations
16-hours / day in front of the screen entrepreneur, of which 6+ are spent on gaming. MMOs, CCGs, RPGs and many more, Steam-addict & achievement-w***e. Currently wasting life on BDO & Gacha Games.
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