All Patch Notes
PATCH NOTESDragonfire Patch 3

Dragonfire Patch 3 Full Patch Notes: All Buffs & Nerfs

A complete look at the Dragonfire Patch 3 changes: more frequent Ancient Lands portals, lower Yellow Zone rewards, easier dragons, mobile combat improvements, and every weapon and armor balance change.

By HabonisDragonfire Patch 3
Dragonfire Patch 3 Albion Online balance update thumbnail
Yellow Zone Small Portal rewards−30%Fame and loot
Average Yellow Zone portal spawn15.5 minDown from 45 minutes
Open World Dragon Might+150%Might rewards
Large Portal mobs−20%Health and damage
01 · PORTAL ACCESS

Ancient Lands Portal Changes

Small Portals in Yellow Zones are now much easier to find. Choose a zone type to compare the new rules. The 30% Fame and loot reduction applies only to Yellow Zone Small Portals, not Red or Black Zone portals. In lethal zones, the spawn chance increases from 25% to 33% and entry time from 8 to 10 minutes, while spawn intervals and rewards remain unchanged.

Small Portals · Yellow Zones

ChangeBeforeAfter
Average spawn time45 minutes15.5 minutes
Spawn chance per region25%33%
Portal unlock time15 minutes5 minutes
Time to enter8 minutes10 minutes
Fame and loot30% reward reduction100%70%
Large Portals
+50%

Large Portals are 50% more likely to appear, particularly during prime time.

Medium Portals

No changes

Medium Portals retain their existing spawn and entry rules.

02 · CHESTS & ENEMIES

Ancient Lands Rewards and Mob Changes

Chest rewards have been redistributed toward the central Fire Drake chest, while Ancient Lands mobs are easier to clear.

Drake chest reward redistribution

About 10% of the value from each of the four regular Drake chests has moved to the central Fire Drake chest.

−10%Chest 1
−10%Chest 2
−10%Chest 3
−10%Chest 4
Fire DrakeReceives the redistributed value

The central chest also has a substantially higher chance to drop the new artifacts. This is a redistribution of chest value, not a claim that total rewards fell by 40%.

Mob health and damage

Small Portals−10%

Health & damage

Medium Portals−10%

Health & damage

Large Portals−20%

Health & damage

Small and Medium islands now also require their Drake to be defeated to complete the quest.

Specific enemy ability changes

ChangeBeforeAfter
Battle Scarred Berserker · Pulse ShockNow also correctly hits everyone in the affected area behind the target400 damage300 damage
Renowned Huntress · Cross Fissure1,350 damage1,000 damage
03 · BOSS FIGHTS

Dragon Sanctuary: Maeve Nerfs

Maeve's later phase becomes more manageable, especially after she falls below 40% health.

ChangeBeforeAfter
Extra boulders below 40% HP32
Maximum boulders65
Primal Dragon Flame normal damageTrue damage is unchanged1,2501,150
Storm Spire interval45 seconds55 seconds
04 · OPEN WORLD

Open World Dragon Changes

Dragons no longer reset to full health

A dragon now recovers to the last 20% health threshold reached, instead of returning to 100% health after every reset.

Example: reset at 72%Returns to 80% HP

Other players forcing a reset should no longer erase all the progress you've already made on a dragon.

Much more Might from dragons

+150%

Might rewards from Open World Dragons have increased by 150%, making dragon encounters more rewarding for Might progression.

05 · CONTROLS

Mobile Combat Improvements

Mobile players get finer control over target selection, plus an option to prevent accidental self casting.

New targeting filters

Settings→Controls→Auto Targeting

The new options let you target enemies, party members, allies, everyone, or use automatic targeting. These filters are disabled by default.

Double Tap to Self Cast

This option is enabled by default. Disabling it prevents accidental double tap self casts and removes the delay needed to detect them.

06 · QUALITY OF LIFE

Other Changes and Fixes

These smaller changes can matter, but don't need full pages of explanation. Expand a category for details.

Ancient Lands and combat fixes
  • Tier 4 Boar dash behavior and its visual indication have been improved.
  • Ancient Lands players can correctly trade with party members.
  • Renowned Huntress and Mammoth Hunter attacks now better match their visual indicators.
Mobile combat fixes
  • Battle Bracers' Falcon Smash is fixed on mobile.
  • Spells being cast in the wrong direction have been corrected.
  • Auto attack target selection and occasional Invalid Target messages have been addressed.
Interface and controller fixes
  • The Bank Overview can be closed using Escape even when its search contains text.
  • Additional mobile, Xbox and controller interface improvements have been made.
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07 · META & COMBAT

Every Weapon and Armor Buff & Nerf

All 20 balance entries from the final Dragonfire Patch 3 numbers, covering weapons, armor, mounts and Hellgates. The large percentages indicate the change to that specific stat, not an overall meta ranking. Use the filters to check only buffs, nerfs, or a weapon category.

Showing 20 of 20 balance changes. Percentages show the exact change to the named stat, not an overall weapon strength rating.

Crossbows · Crossbow

Explosive Bolt

NERF
−8.5%
damage
BEFORE130
AFTER119
Damage

Lower sustained damage in both PvE and small scale PvP, particularly across repeated casts.

Cursed Staffs · Rotcaller Staff

Plaguebringer

NERF
+16.7%
cooldown
BEFORE30s
AFTER35s
Cooldown

The healing negation is unchanged, but opponents have five more seconds before the next use.

Daggers · Dagger

Bloodthirsty Blade

BUFF
−37.5%
self damage
BEFORE4%
AFTER2.5%
Self damage per use
  • Maximum self damage: 24% → 15%

Much less punishing to activate, especially when you cannot keep attacking.

Daggers · Twinslayers

Ring of Death

BUFF
+33.3%
ring damage
BEFORE324
AFTER432
Total floating ring damage
  • Per hit: 27 → 36
  • Ring size increases by 1.5m; total affected area approximately doubles

A much more threatening floating ring thanks to both the damage and its larger area.

Fire Staffs · Great Fire Staff

Flame Pillar

BUFF
−37.5%
stand time
BEFORE0.4s
AFTER0.25s
Stand time

You can move sooner after casting, making the ability smoother to use.

Fire Staffs · Flamewalker Staff

Spontaneous Combustion

NERF
+12.5%
cooldown
BEFORE40s
AFTER45s
Cooldown

There is a longer gap between uses for opponents to exploit.

Holy Staffs · Holy Staff

Smite

NERF
−15.4%
PvP damage
BEFORE136
AFTER115
Damage vs players
  • Damage against mobs is unchanged

Smite is weaker against players, but its PvE damage stays the same.

Quarterstaffs · Quarterstaff

Cartwheel

NERF
+40%
energy cost
BEFORE5
AFTER7
Energy cost

Using Cartwheel repeatedly puts more pressure on energy management.

Quarterstaffs · Phantom Twinblade

Phantom Twin

NERF
REMOVED
slow effect
BEFORESlow applied
AFTERNo slow
Slow effect
  • Damage remains unchanged

Targets can disengage more easily now that the slow is gone.

Shapeshifter Staffs · Stillgaze Staff

Crystalburst

BUFF
+15 pp
(percentage points)healing reduction
BEFORE20%
AFTER35%
Healing reduction
  • Instant damage: 66 → 75 (+13.6%)

Much stronger healing reduction and higher instant damage in Crystal Cobra form.

Shapeshifter Staffs · Shapeshifter Staffs

Tether Shift

NERF
+45.5%
energy usage
BEFORE11
AFTER16
Energy usage
  • Shield when jumping to an enemy: 100 → 88 (−12%)

More expensive engages and slightly less protection when jumping onto an enemy.

Swords · Sword

Heroic Strike

BUFF
+14.3%
speed boost duration
BEFORE3.5s
AFTER4s
Speed boost duration

A longer window to keep your movement speed bonus going.

War Gloves · Hellfire Hands

Infernal Boulder

BUFF
+33.3%
burn damage
BEFORE162
AFTER216
Maximum damage over time
  • Damage per tick: 18 → 24
  • Initial Boulder damage unchanged

The burn becomes significantly more dangerous in prolonged fights.

Helmets · Cowl of Purity

Avalonian Beam

NERF
−14.3%
range
BEFORE21m
AFTER18m
Maximum range

Players must get three meters closer to hit with the beam.

Helmets · Mage Cowl

Firebreath

BUFF
NEW
resistance reduction
BEFORENone
AFTER0.08
Resistance reduction
  • New debuff lasts 3 seconds

Firebreath now reduces the enemy's resistances, supporting group damage.

Helmets · Dragonslayer Hood

Flare

BUFF
−20%
cooldown
BEFORE25s
AFTER20s
Cooldown
  • Cooldown rate decrease against enemies: 50% → 66% (+16 percentage points)

More frequent anti stealth use and stronger cooldown disruption.

Armors · Mage Robe

Purging Shield

BUFF
−14.3%
cooldown
BEFORE35s
AFTER30s
Cooldown

More frequent opportunities to purge important enemy buffs.

Armors · Armor of Valor

Requite

NERF
−22.2%
damage
BEFORE27
AFTER21
Damage
  • Defensive effects and silence are unchanged

Damage decreases, keeping the ability more focused on defense and utility.

Mounts · Firewing Drake

Fire Breath

BUFF
−33.3%
cooldown
BEFORE90s
AFTER60s
Cooldown
  • Ability moved from the third weapon slot to the helmet slot

The mount's breath attack can be used considerably more often in open world PvE.

Hellgates · Hellgate Lava

Lava

SYSTEM
−50%
defense vs players
BEFORENo modifier
AFTER−50%
Player defense while standing in lava

Stall groups become far easier to kill once the lava phase begins.

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