Albion Online: The Perfect Side Game

I first started playing Albion Online a few years ago as an alternative to a time when CCP Games was pushing out some pretty bad updates and there was a lot of people that sought refuge in Albion considering it was essentially a less complex medieval swords and magic style EVE Online, sharing a lot of the same mechanics and player driven market.

I've recently been playing again as a way to help relax after doing small gang/fleet PVP in EVE or while I am out ratting or mining. I really enjoy the gathering and crafting in Albion and it's quite soothing and relaxing to me. There was also a new faction warfare update recently too, so I do a bit of that now and then as well.

I got myself a $30 Steam wallet card the other day and I ended up spending $5 to get 7 days of premium in Albion, which means I unlock a player island which I can also work on and relax and do some crop farming on top of the other bonuses to gathering and crafting (via focus) I get now. I mainly just wanted to get the personal island without having to spend money on a full month of premium or having to pay an absurd amount of silver (it's about 34,000,000 silver right now for 1 month premium on the Americas server).

All in all I've been having a blast playing Albion as a side game and it's nice to multitask it when I am ratting or mining in EVE Online.