Cities
Albion's Cities and Starter Towns
Cities and Starter Towns are safe, blue zones considered the social and financial hubs of Albion Online. There are 5 Royal Cities and a capital, Caerleon, making a total of 6 cities and 5 Starter Towns.
The Cities appear as level 1 zones while the Starter Towns appears as level 2 blue zones. Each Starter Town is two zones apart from a Royal City, meaning that a player will have to travel through one zone and two-zone entrances to reach a Royal City from a Starter Town or Starter Town from a Royal City. There is no fast travel between Starter Towns and Royal Cities, but there is fast travel among the Starter Towns and among the Cities. The five Royal Cities are based in the Royal Continent and they surround the capital, Caerleon. Each of the Royal Cities corresponds to a biome and they are:
| Biome | Royal City | Corresponding Starter Town |
|---|---|---|
| Swamp | Thetford | Swamp Cross |
| Mountain | Fort Sterling | Mountain Cross |
| Forest | Lymhurst | Forest Cross |
| Steppe | Bridgewatch | Steppe Cross |
| Highland | Martlock | Highland Cross |
Unlike the Starter Towns, Cities can be claimed by guilds through GvG battles. Another difference between cities and starter towns is that by having the world map (M) opened a player can click on a Starter Town to check its local map, but that cannot be done with Cities
The Royal Cities
Even though there are certain differences, there are plenty of similarities among the Royal Cities:
- Each Royal City represents a Faction with different rewards and outpost bosses
- Each Royal City has:
- a local Bank where players can deposit their goods
- a local Marketplace where players can exchange goods
- a local Island Merchant
- In each Royal cities there are the following NPCs:
- Faction Enlistment NPC
- Repair Station
- Expedition Master
- Arena Master Joan
- Energy Manipulator
- Vanity Merchant
- Travel Planner
- Artifact Foundry
- 80 x Building Plots
- There's a Realmgate in each of the Royal Cities except Caerleon.
- Each of the Royal Cities has its own crafting and refining bonuses
Player-driven cities are bigger in size than the starter towns, and not without reason: players can buy a building plot and construct their own buildings. The mechanics to buy a building plot are explained in Oberon patch 4. There are 80 plots in each Royal City and people are always competing to get their hands on one. The main benefit of owning a plot and building in a city is the usage fee, which is how much other players have to pay to use the building. You can set an attractive price to be a business contender, but make sure it is worth the investment in the building! Alternatively, you can also just limit the building to your friends or guild with the access rights option.
Caerleon
Caerleon is the capital of the Royal Continent and retains some of the characteristics of the Royal Cities and some unique ones.
- Caerleon doesn't represent a Faction City and doesn't participate in the Faction Warfare
- Caerleon has:
- a local Bank where players can deposit their goods
- a local Market where players can exchange goods
- a local Island Merchant
- a unique Black Market
- In Caerleon there are the following NPCs:
- Faction Enlistment NPC
- Repair Station
- Expedition Master
- Arena Master Joan
- Energy Manipulator
- Vanity Merchant
- Travel Planner
- Artifact Foundry
- 118 x Building Plots
- Caerleon's old Realmgate which is positioned in a different cluster, and is now inactive.
- Conquerors' Hall
- Caerleon Underground Entrance or Underway
- Caerleon crafting bonuses are foods, tools and potions.
The Capital is surrounded by red zones, making the way to Caerleon very dangerous, but also very rewarding. The fastest way to cross the Royal Continent is through this amazing city, and with its proximity to all biomes, it is the strongest economic hub of Albion.
Although Caerleon works as a normal player-driven city, having building plots, special NPCs and Merchants, it is certainly not the same as the other cities.