Finding Gamerscore in Albion

Published January 6, 2009

A dedicated run through Fable® II should net you hundreds of Gamerscore points even without spending extra hours unlocking those hard-to-earn achievements. Our guide to Gamerscore in Albion will provide the extra tips you need for the game's trickier achievements, including The Duellist, The Sharpshooter, The Dollcatcher, and more.

So much Gamerscore, so little time!

The Ruler of Albion
This wealth-based achievement requires that your real estate empire reach 2,500,000 gold in worth. Contrary to common belief, the money you make from your myriad holdings does not count towards this achievement. Rather, it takes into account only the total value of all your property.

Because The Ruler of Albion ignores the revenue streams of your properties, you can only earn this achievement by buying up most of the game's signature properties in addition to the standard homes, businesses, and stalls. This includes Brightwood Tower, Fairfax Castle, Giles' Farm in Brightwood, Reaver's home, and the Temple of Light or Temple of Shadows depending on whether you're playing good or evil.

You won't be able to purchase many of these signature properties until late in the game, and, indeed, Fairfax Castle is only available for purchase at the very end of the game. There's no need then to try and grind this achievement out. Simply buy up property naturally throughout the game to build up your nest egg and purchase all the major properties when the opportunity arises.

The Duellist
The Duellist achievement requires that you build a "full speed" Chain Attack with any melee weapon. First, you must purchase the Chain Attack Brutal Style from the Abilities menu. Also, while there's some dispute regarding whether your Speed ability needs to be maxed out, one thing is for certain, it doesn't hurt.

You'll need the Aimed Ranged Attack Dextrous Style to hit those pesky gargoyles.

Next up is the action itself. There's a moment near the end of your weapon swing when you can press X again to produce a Chain Attack. When the contrails of your weapon flash blue, it's been executed correctly. Press X again to keep the Chain Attack going. The timing can be tricky, but with practice, you should get it down.

You can earn this achievement easiest when attempting it outside of combat. Line yourself up on a long level area and begin swinging away. It's easy to get carried away and tap the X button too fast, so if you're having trouble, try slowing down just a bit. Also, depending on the weapon's speed, the timing will be different.

The Cliff Diver
You'll earn this achievement naturally when completing the Treasure Island of Doom quest in Bloodstone, so don't bother beating your head against the wall trying to find a 500-foot dive point before then. You can begin this quest by chatting with Salty Jack at the inn in Bloodstone.

The Menace to Society
For those of you who don't mind offending the delicate sensibilities of the Fable II citizenry, earn this achievement by stripping down to nothing but your Underoos and performing the Vulgar Thrust expression. Perform this unseemly act in front of as many people as you can and you'll be sure to offend at least one of them.

Your target must be an adult to earn the Philanthropist achievement.

The Companions
All that's required for this achievement is to perform a "perfect" co-op expression. Join up with a friend and begin simultaneously performing any expression that uses the expression meter (such as dance, belch, or laugh). Then, wait for the meter to turn green and release the button at the same time as your buddy. You can make this a bit easier by counting down "3, 2, 1," so you're sure to release at the same moment.

The Hunter
If you don't mind snuffing out an innocent Albion bunny rabbit, this achievement can be earned in just a few seconds. The only sticking point is that even if your aim is true, you can't take out innocent animals or people just by firing. You must first select your target of choice with the Left Trigger, then draw your weapon and select the Skull icon with the D-pad to turn the safety off. Only then can you fire away and do damage.

If you're having trouble tracking down rabbits, you can usually find a few hopping about nearly every corner of Bower Lake. Happy hunting!

The Sharpshooter
This achievement asks that you hit three enemies with a single shot from a crossbow or gun. I found that the fragile Hollow Men make the best targets for this achievement, so I recommend traveling to the Crucible and attempting the achievement there.

In regards to weaponry, the semi-automatic ranged weapons just don't seem to pack enough punch in a single shot to rip through three enemies so try working with a Master-quality flintlock rifle, single-shot crossbow, or blunderbuss.

When you're ready to make your attempt, target a single enemy and wait to take your shot until there's a crowd of Hollow Men behind your intended target. Also, the longer you hold down Y to zoom in on a target, the more powerful your shot will be, so make sure to zoom as much as possible.

Where's my achievement for beating this guy?

The Black Knight
Here you must humiliate a Hollow Man in the heat of battle by blowing off both of their weapons and their head. The only caveat to this achievement is you must have purchased the level four Dextrous Style Sub-Targeting ability.

Once you have the ability, track down some Hollow Men (again, the Crucible works well for this), aim at your enemy of choice with Y, press Left Trigger to enable Sub-Targeting, and then use the left stick to target each hand and shoot the weapons out of them. Then, target the head, and if they're still alive after exploding their noggin, shoot away until they're finished off for good.

The Party Animal
Once again, the Fable II achievements celebrate the raucous lifestyle. For The Party Animal, you must foist alcohol upon five citizens to make them drunk. First, make your way to the nearest inn or bar. Then, perform a few joyful expressions to get enough people to gather around and get in the spirit of the occasion. Last, simply buy five servings of alcohol and start offering them as gifts to the folks around you.

Keep in mind that you must complete the task in under three minutes, so don't dawdle. Also, if one beverage doesn't do the trick, try giving a second round to the same five people you gave alcohol to before.

The Hoarder and The Gargoyle
For the Hoarder and Gargoyle achievements you must find all fifty silver keys and gargoyles in Albion, respectively. This will require extensive exploration of each area, but there are a few tools that will make this challenge much, much easier.

• Barking treasure: Your loyal dog will bark any time it's near treasure, including silver keys. Always make sure to follow your canine companion whenever they track down some treasure.
• Listen: Every one of the fifty gargoyle busts shouts insults at you if you're near enough, so use your ears as much as your eyes to track down these collectibles. Also, the gargoyle's eyes glitter brightly, making them easy to spot if you're looking for the sparkle.
• Quests/Maps menu: Perhaps the most powerful tool for tracking down keys and gargoyles is your Quests/Maps menu. Bring up the menu, select Regions and you can see just how many gargoyles and keys remain in each area.

I hear insults!

The Dollcatcher
In order to complete this achievement, you must collect all the Hero dolls in Fable II. Here's the catch, though. You can only collect every Hero doll by trading with other players online. And, you'll need to earn your own Hero doll to trade with others.

Head to the shooting range in Westcliff and place second in the competition to earn your own doll. You'll want to do this a few times to collect enough dolls (it will be the same one each time) to trade with friends over Xbox LIVE®. After that, it's simply a matter of tracking down enough people to trade with for different dolls.

The Completionist
This most difficult Fable II achievement requires you to earn every expression, dog trick, and ability in the game. Listing them all here along with how to earn them would fill an entire article in and of itself, but there are a few tips to keep in mind to make this easier:

• Swinging morality: Expressions like Extort, Threaten, Laugh, and Apologize are earned based on your progress along the Good or Evil morality path. Obviously, you can't be both Good and Evil simultaneously, but you can certainly swing from one extreme to the other fairly swiftly. For example, donations to the Temple of Light and saving slaves will earn you points for Good. Likewise, setting out on a vicious crime spree will send you plummeting towards Evil in a hurry.
• Fiction Burns Bookstore: Many expressions can be purchased at Fiction Burns, the Bowerstone bookstore, so check back often to see what they have in stock. Even better, peruse the bookshelves themselves to see if you come across any expressions not yet for sale. Also, you must own Fiction Burns in order to collect every last available expression from the store.
• Fable II Pub Games: Certain expressions and tricks, like the dog's Backflip, can only be earned by completing tournaments in Fable II Pub Games. You can check to see which rewards are offered for which tournaments in the menu of that Xbox LIVE Arcade game.
• Flash game: Play the Hero's Tale flash game to earn the Feign Attack expression. Make sure to select the award on the right-hand side at the end of game or you'll earn a reward other than the expression.

Whether you've just begun Fable II or you're heading back to Albion for a bit of extra adventure, the preceding tips should help you pad your already impressive Fable II achievement totals. Good luck, hero!

Article by Ryan Treit