Albion Online Premium and focus: what they give and if it's worth it

What Premium is

Premium is a status on your character that lasts a set number of days and gives bonuses on almost everything: fame, silver, gathering, crafting, farming and the market. You buy it with Gold, the game's premium currency, which you buy with real money or trade for silver on the Gold market. When you buy Premium, there is no purchase fee, unlike buying Gold directly.

Premium applies to each character (not the whole account), cannot be paused and keeps running even when you are logged out. The game can be played entirely for free. Premium speeds up progress and the economy, but it is not required, with one exception: you need it to buy an island.

What Premium gives

According to the game itself, while Premium is active you get:

• +50% loot and +50% silver from mobs.
• +50% fame.
• +50% gathering yield.
• +30 Learning Points per day.
• +10,000 focus points per day.
• +100% crop yield and +100% farm animal growth rate.
• 50% less tax on Market sales.
• +50% rewards from Arena wins.
• The ability to buy an island.

This is the game's own shop text, which adds "and more". The values may change with patches.

Focus

Focus is spent when crafting or refining. According to the game, crafting with focus increases the resource return rate (you get more ingredients back) and increases the chance of a higher-quality item. Each recipe has its own focus cost, which we show as Focus cost in the Crafting recipes.

With Premium active, focus recovers over time, even when you are offline, and you receive 10,000 points per day. The maximum you can accumulate can change, so check the focus description in the game.

Who it helps most

• Crafters and refiners: focus is the main reason. In the city with the right bonus, focus can take resource return from about 37% to about 54%, which changes profit a lot. See the guide Albion Online crafting and refining: how it works and how to profit.
• Gatherers: 50% more yield per node and more fame.
• Island owners and farmers: double the crops (6 to 12 per seed instead of 3 to 6), animals that grow in half the time, more fame, and the daily Focus to water plants and nurture animals.
• Traders: half the Market sales tax.
• Fighters: more fame and more loot, which speeds up leveling.
• Casual players: the gain is smaller, and Premium may not pay off.

The island and Premium

You need at least 7 days of Premium to buy the personal island. Once bought, the island stays yours, and you can manage and upgrade it even if Premium ends, but without Premium you lose the harvest and growth bonuses and the daily Focus.

The guide Albion Online personal island: what it's for and how to start explains the rest.

The first purchase

The game advertises a bonus on the first Premium purchase: 500 Learning Points and 30,000 focus points, on top of the normal benefits. That is the game's own text and promotions change, so check what the shop offers when you go to buy.

The tutorial gives 3 free days of Premium, which is a good way to try it before spending Gold.

Is it worth it? How to decide

Do the math with your own play:

1. Market tax: if you sell a lot, saving half the sales tax can offset part of the cost.
2. Crafting: work out a recipe's profit with and without focus, in the Crafting recipes, by changing the resource return field.
3. Gathering and fame: the gain is a 50% increase, so it counts more for those who play many hours.
4. Price: Premium is bought with Gold, and the price of Gold changes. Compare it with your income per hour.

If you play a few hours a week and just want to explore, you can skip Premium. If you will craft, farm or play a lot, it tends to pay off.

Tips

• Don't spend focus on low-profit recipes: use it where resource return pays off most.
• Buy Premium when you can make good use of it, not when you have no time to play.
• If you are going to buy the island, start there, because Premium is required.
• Keep a silver reserve for gear, and don't spend everything on Gold.

What to check in the game

Premium changes with patches and promotions, so check:

• The price in Gold and the days each option gives.
• The bonuses for each playstyle.
• The maximum focus you can accumulate and the daily recovery.