Join writer Will Borger in the final installment of our Zero to Hero series, as he reflects on challenges faced, lessons learned, and the importance of community. (In case you missed them, catch up on parts one and two.)
Zero to Hero is over, but I’m thinking of all tomorrow’s parties…
By Will Borger
Endings are hard. When I began my time with Albion Online back in April, I wasn’t thinking of how it would end, how it would feel, or what I would say when all was said and done. And as I type this final column, I’m still not sure. That’s weird for me; I don’t usually start a piece of writing until I know how I’m going to write it. I know the last line. I know what the title will be. The middle is where I get to play, but I know where the journey ends. I don’t here, but as I type this I’m beginning to see the path. And you can drive a long way with just your headlights to guide you down a dark road.
Coming into my final week, I didn’t know what the team had planned for me. I figured we’d do what we normally do: queue up, stomp some randoms, lose a couple of close games, laugh about it, and generally have a good time. I didn’t expect to play by myself. Well, Bogul came too, but I definitely didn’t expect to be on a team of randoms, and have my play judged in real time. We didn’t win — aside from Bogul, my team didn’t know what they were doing — but I played well, racking up the most damage not only on my team, but in the game. That felt good. And it was a far cry from where I’d started with the Bow, Cursed Staff, or anything else. I’d found my thing, and I was pretty good at it. I would have preferred a win, but I’ll take a personal best. It’s enough.
I haven’t played Albion Online since that day. Not because I don’t want to, but because the season was over and I was buried under a pile of work. I’ll be back soon. But I’ve thought about it a lot since. What follows isn’t a review of my time with Albion, but a reflection on it.
When I think of my time in Albion, I mostly remember the community. Not just Shozen, Tazzik, Lewpac, Bogul, and the others I was lucky enough to play with, but the Twitch chat, the guys we played with. Maybe they were trolling us or hyping us up, but they were there and the experience would have been worse without them.
And that sums Albion up, when you think about it. All the gear I bought, all the stuff I learned, everyone I played against, all the advice, it all came from that community. It’s hard to build that in the gaming space these days. There’s just so much, and everything is competing with what came before. When you’re releasing a new game, you’re not just competing against another game, but you’re competing against people’s investment in that game and all of the content that’s been built up over the years. When we think about the MMO space, we think about World of Warcraft, the most popular MMO of all time, and Final Fantasy XIV, a beloved sequel to a beloved MMO in one of the most recognizable and important franchises in the history of the industry. Albion isn’t that old — it was released in 2017. But it’s carved out a space for itself. That’s damn impressive, and that speaks to Albion’s community as a whole and Sandbox Interactive’s support of it.
I think Albion’s Arena is one of the most brilliant modes of its kind that I’ve ever played. I love that it’s not just about killing the other team, but strategically capturing points at the right time. I think the decision to tie your abilities to gear and reward you for using that gear is inspired. I fell in love instantly with the way Albion works, and I’ve had more fun in the Arena and during the big 20v20s we had than in most other games, full stop. I hope that SBI will nurture and expand these modes so that they can continue to thrive. I can’t wait to get back to the Arena. Sometimes you gotta nuke people with a giant pigeon.
I genuinely enjoyed showing up for work when I was playing Albion Online. As someone whose job is primarily to play and write about video games, trust me, that isn’t always the case. But here? I was having fun. That means something. I’ve always said that the highest compliment I can give a game is when I want to continue playing it after I’m done with it. I want to keep playing Albion Online. I can’t think of higher praise.
Remember how I started off by saying endings are hard? In this case, it’s because this isn’t really an ending. Zero to Hero is over, sure, but I’m not done yet. You’ll see me around the Arena or playing 20v20s. Nothing really ends. It just changes. The road keeps going, and you follow the headlights as long as you can. So it’s not “goodbye.” It’s “see you later.” The show ends, the curtain comes down, the house empties out, but the band plays on. And if you hear the music, you gotta dance. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I’ll see you down the road.
A big thank you to Will for inviting us along on his journey, and to all of you who’ve followed him. But as this Zero to Hero series comes to a close, new stories are being written all over Albion. So join us on our regular adventures over on twitch.tv/albiononline!