Albion Online’s Dragonfire Patch 1 Cuts Ancient Lands Portal Waits

The follow-up also changes large-group enemy health, adjusts Dragon Sanctuary mechanics, and fixes several controller and interface problems.

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Albion Online characters stand in a fiery landscape associated with the Dragonfire update.

Albion Online’s Dragonfire Patch 1 focuses on the time players spend waiting to enter the Ancient Lands. Small portals will unlock twice as quickly, entry windows are longer across all portal sizes, and portals will remain visible on the World Map regardless of distance.

Dragonfire opened the new region on Aug. 31, and the follow-up now addresses several points raised during its first days. Sandbox Interactive has published the Dragonfire Patch 1 changelog on Steam, with further adjustments also planned as the developer reviews combat data and player feedback.

Large portals receive the biggest progression change outside of their longer lifetime. Regular enemy health is reduced by 50% in those encounters, although Drakes are unaffected. Island quests also move away from a fixed Fame target and instead require players to defeat half of the mobs on an island.

Dragon Sanctuary changes focus on encounter behavior and weekly scheduling. Maeve’s boulders will no longer dash during Primal Dragon Flame, Azaryon’s Inferno will punish players more heavily when they ignore its cover mechanic, and Lingering Dragon Spirit will last approximately two hours less. The changelog also includes a Maces balance adjustment, Destiny Board and chat improvements, plus fixes for Ancient Lands progression, Dragon Sanctuary enemies, UI behavior, and controller input.

Albion Online Dragonfire Patch 1 Notes

This patch brings important adjustments and fixes to features introduced with the Dragonfire update.

Ancient Lands Changes

We’ve been closely following feedback around Ancient Lands portal availability and the amount of time players currently spend waiting at portal entrances. These changes are intended to make portals easier to find, reduce unnecessary waiting, and give groups more opportunities to explore the Ancient Lands while the feature is still new.

In the longer term, the Ancient Lands are intended to be opportunity-driven content that appears more spontaneously during regular gameplay, rather than something that is always readily available. Portal availability and timings may therefore be adjusted again in future updates as we move closer to that intended balance.

Several adjustments have been made to Ancient Lands portals to reduce waiting times and improve entry windows. In addition, changes have been made to mob health in large group variants to speed up progression through larger encounters, and to island quest completion requirements in all forms.

Small Portals
- Lock Time: 30 minutes → 15 minutes
- Time available to enter after unlocking: 3 minutes → 8 minutes
Medium Portals
- Time available to enter after unlocking: 3 minutes → 5 minutes
Large Portals
- Portal lifetime: 45 minutes → 60 minutes
- Time available to enter after unlocking: 3 minutes → 5 minutes
- Regular enemy Health reduced by 50%
  - Drakes are unaffected
Portals are now always visible on the World Map, regardless of distance
Ancient Lands island quests now require defeating 50% of the mobs on an island instead of earning a set amount of Fame
- Marmots do not count toward this requirement

Dragon Sanctuary Changes

These are some initial adjustments based on the Dragon Sanctuary attempts we’ve seen so far. We’ll need some time to review combat data, player progression, and feedback, and we’ll likely make further adjustments in future patches.

With high-end PvE content like the Dragon Sanctuary, it takes time to distinguish between mechanics that are still unfamiliar to players and those that may genuinely be overtuned, particularly at Tier 8.1 and above. These encounters are intended to be highly challenging, but should feel fair once their mechanics are understood. Please continue to give your feedback, as we’re closely following your attempts and progress!

Maeve’s Boulders no longer dash during her Primal Dragon Flame ability
- This behavior occurred only rarely and should no longer occur
Maeve’s Rock Spike stacks now clear correctly when the effect ends
- This was a visual issue only and did not affect gameplay
Azaryon’s Inferno, which requires players to hide behind rocks, now deals significantly more damage toward the end of the attack
- This does not increase the attack’s intended difficulty, but more strongly punishes ignoring the mechanic entirely
Reduced the duration of Lingering Dragon Spirit by approximately 2 hours
- This is designed to make it easier for players to follow a consistent weekly raid schedule

Other Changes

Combined specialization node UIs on the Destiny Board can now be closed by clicking anywhere on the Destiny Board
Reduced the UI scale of Destiny Board specialization nodes when hovered to prevent overlap with other nodes
- Item icons have been enlarged at the same time to improve readability
Improved profanity filtering in chat and in player-generated names, including better detection of common variations of blocked terms

Combat Balance Changes

Maces

Blessed Aurora (Oathkeepers)
- Heal on auto-attack: 66 → 50

Fixes

Ancient Lands Fixes

Fixed an issue where Blessings could be removed upon knockdown or death
Fixed an issue where certain mobs dropped significantly more Silver than intended upon death
- Chest loot is unaffected
Fixed issue where defeating Mammoth Hunters did not count toward the corresponding Albion Journal mission
Fixed issue where players defeated by a damage-over-time effect could become invulnerable instead of entering the Bleedout state

UI Fixes

Fixed issue where sent whispers could appear as if they had been received from oneself
Fixed issue where specialization bonus values were cut off in Destiny Board flyouts
Fixed issue where the ‘Collapse Tracker’ button would be positioned incorrectly when the Combined HUD Tracker was placed on the left side of the screen
Fixed issue where Dragon Armor would display the mastery level of the corresponding Avalonian Armor instead of its own
Fixed issue where the Item Details UI would remain open after clicking the ‘Take’ button

Other Fixes

Fixed issue where cleared enemies in the Dragon Sanctuary could respawn after three hours
Fixed issue where Spirit Weavers’ summons would remain active after the Spirit Weaver was defeated
Fixed issue where Dragon Attacks could remain active beyond their three-hour duration if no players were nearby when they were due to despawn
[CONTROLLER] Fixed issue where Destiny Board search results could not be scrolled through fully with the right analog stick
[CONTROLLER] Fixed issue where the price slider for Buy and Sell Orders was not set correctly
[CONTROLLER] Fixed issue where ‘Cancel Order’ and ‘Apply Market Average’ had overlapping Y-button inputs when editing active Buy Orders
Various additional controller, graphical, animation, terrain, audio, UI, and localization fixes

Which Dragonfire Patch 1 change will make the biggest difference for your Albion Online routine? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

Albion Online is a free-to-play sandbox MMORPG set in a medieval fantasy world inspired by Arthurian legends. The game uses a classless system where a player's equipped gear determines their abilities and playstyle. Items span eight tiers and are entirely player-crafted, forming a fully player-driven economy. The open world features zones with varying levels of PvP risk, from safe areas to full-loot zones where defeated players lose their equipment. Players can join guilds of up to 300 members to fight over territories and castles in large-scale battles. The game also offers PvE combat and various gathering and crafting activities.