Albion Online, the fantasy MMORPG developed by Sandbox Interactive, introduced its expansive Wild Blood update on October 16. At the heart of this update is the introduction of an exciting new weapon line: Shapeshifter Weapons, which enable players to transform into mythical creatures with their unique spells and abilities during battles, marking a significant addition to Albion's weaponry. Adding a fresh dimension to Albion's “you are what you wear” principle, the new system provides players with the ability to assume multiple roles simultaneously. In this article, we take a closer look at what these new weapons bring to the table.
How They Work
The fundamental source of the Shapeshifter Weapons’ power lies in their capacity to manipulate reality. There are currently seven different Shapeshifter Weapons available, each with its own unique abilities and strengths, such as dealing damage, disrupting enemies, or healing allies.
By using these abilities in human form, Shift Charges will be accumulated, which are the key to unlocking the full potential of the weapons: the ability to transform into a Shape form. Every Shapeshifter Staff is associated with a particular Shape, which represents a formidable, magical entity with its distinct attributes. These can span from a fragile yet potent damage dealer to an unyielding tank. Shift Charges also serve as the energy source for a Shape's exclusive abilities.
The Seven Shapes
- Shadow Panther: A stealthy assassin that turns invisible when no enemies are in proximity. This allows it to perform ambushes and execute stealthy getaways.
- Sylvian: A colossal, tree-like shape, offering extra health and healing support during group skirmishes. It can bestow a robust shield upon your allies, providing immunity against forced movement effects, and has the capability to spread its roots to slow opponents.
- Spirit Bear: An aggressive tank that is highly skilled at disrupting enemies. When it’s low on health, it enters an enraged state, accelerating its spellcasting and increasing its damage and CC duration.
- Werewolf: A bruiser with high sustain. When engaging enemies, it can collect their blood from the ground, increasing its health and speed, making it extremely hard to disengage from.
- Hellfire Imp: A glass cannon that boasts high damage but is lacking in defense. It also has the unique ability to resurrect in human form after death, albeit with reduced health and an extended cooldown for transformation.
- Runestone Golem: An unyielding and impenetrable force, immnue to all forced movement. As you accumulate more shift charges, it expands in size and gains more health. Moreover, it can also construct a stone wall, trapping foes in front of you, allowing you to pummel them with its colossal fists.
- Dawnbird: A ranged DPS that can inflict substantial damage from a safe distance. Its most formidable skill is “Judgment”, an immensely powerful energy beam that strikes down from the heavens, delivering overwhelming damage to all foes within its impact radius. This makes the Dawnbird an especially formidable presence in large-scale fights.
Combat Strategies
Shifting into Shape form overrides your human armor stats, enabling a complete transformation of your role mid-combat. For instance, wearing Plate Armor along with a Prowling Staff can transition you from a tank in human form to a formidable assassin in Shape form. Furthermore, the buffs you acquire persist even after transformation. So, if you equip a Hunter Jacket and transform into a Werewolf, you can retain your auto-attack buff, thereby making your Shape form stronger. The fluid transition between these forms creates a remarkably dynamic playstyle, offering invaluable versatility. Therefore, Shapeshifter Weapons are poised to be a highly potent addition to combat in Albion.
Albion Online is now available on Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and Mac OSX, with support for cross-platform play.
