ZvZ in Albion Online: roles, organization and rules for newcomers

What a ZvZ is

A ZvZ is a battle between large groups, usually guilds, with 20 or more players on each side. ZvZs are fought in high-risk zones, so you can lose your gear. This is where guilds fight over territories, castles and hideouts.

There are no classes in Albion: your role in a ZvZ depends only on the gear you bring. Changing role means changing gear.

How a zerg is organized

A zerg is divided into parties of up to 20 players. The composition depends on the meta, the objective and the shotcaller's preference. As a reference, a typical mix is about 4 to 5 tanks, 3 to 4 supports, 4 healers, 2 to 4 melee damage dealers and 3 to 7 ranged damage dealers.

The shotcaller (or caller) leads the battle: they say where to go, when to engage or disengage, which abilities to use and when to mount or dismount. They are usually in party 1, and some zergs have several callers coordinating over voice.

The roles

• Tank: the front line. Absorbs damage, stuns and makes space. Every party needs at least one durable tank.
• Healer: keeps the front line alive. There are direct healers (such as Holy), nature healers and shield healers.
• Support: crowd control, cleanses, shields and interrupts. Stays behind the front line, close enough to help, but without getting caught in every engage.
• Damage: ranged or melee. Protects the flanks, jumps on engages and helps keep allies alive.

Each role depends on gear: check the ZvZ Meta Builds to see what wins the most right now.

Engage and disengage

The most common style is: one side does an engage, spends its abilities and disengages (falls back). The other side counter-engages while the first one retreats, and then both sides hold still until their abilities recover.

The less common style is the brawl, where both sides trade blows non-stop. It usually ends with heavy losses on both sides.

The E ability belongs to the shotcaller

The most important rule: keep your main ability (the E) for the shotcaller. Don't use it on your own initiative.

Generally:

• Ranged damage, melee damage, offensive healers, some supports and nearly all tanks use it on the engage.
• Supports, defensive healers and some tanks use it on the disengage.

If you are in an engage and see no clumped target, keep the ability: wasting it badly costs a fight.

Positioning

Healers must be close to the real danger, which isn't always the safest group. A healer's work splits into three moments:

• Before the enemy engage: move close to the likely point of impact, without stacking with other healers, and identify where the damage comes from.
• During the impact: heal the group that is actually taking damage, and keep casting unless you must move to survive.
• After the impact: support the pressure if the enemy spent abilities, and heal those walking back through danger.

Supports should follow the shotcaller from a distance and not spend abilities on small damage.

Rules for newcomers

• Always listen to the shotcaller, but use common sense: if the order is to retreat into 30 dismounted enemies, don't.
• Don't waste abilities and don't engage a single isolated target, which is usually ineffective.
• If a crowd-control effect pulls you, don't walk toward your allies: get out of range or use a resistance.
• Learn your abilities and positioning in small fights before joining a zerg.
• Join a guild with voice: it is very hard to play a ZvZ without hearing the caller.

What to bring

Bring food, potions and a backup set, and budget for repairs. Since ZvZ happens in risky zones, bring only what you can lose, and many guilds supply gear to members. To learn, tier 4 already gives the main abilities and costs little.

Compare each piece's cost on the Market and on each build's page.

Common mistakes

• Spending the main ability without an order.
• Staying far from the fight (a healer who is alive but far away isn't healing).
• Engaging alone on an isolated target.
• Running toward allies when you are being pulled.
• Bringing expensive gear to your first ZvZ.
• Following the caller's order without looking at what is in front of you.

What to check

The ZvZ meta changes with patches, so the weapons and builds that work change too. Check:

• The weapons and armor that win the most now, in the ZvZ Meta Builds.
• The composition your guild uses.
• Your caller's calls and terminology.