The Adventurer's Guide to Albion

Published October 21, 2008

In order to get the most out of your adventures in Albion in Fable® II, you must understand and use all the game's myriad features. From earning massive Purity or Corruption through rent control to tracking down those pesky Gargoyles, earning fast cash and fine-tuning your combat skills, our Guide to Albion will touch on several key tips and tricks to help you enjoy all that Fable II has to offer.

Their worms are their weakness. Take aim!

Do It All
Where so many role-playing games reward you for specializing your character's role in combat, Fable II really allows you to succeed in all three phases of combat: Strength (melee), Skill (ranged), and Will (magic).

Yes, you can succeed if you only ever employ one combat style, but you'll be missing out on many abilities that add so much to the game. Try to incorporate all three techniques into nearly every combat encounter so you don't leave one style lagging behind the others.

If Strength, Skill, or Will does begin trailing behind, don't forget you can buy and find experience point potions to boost each category. It's money well spent.

Abilities First
Sure, it's useful to bump up your Physique so you can dish out melee damage with greater authority, but I'd suggest spending your Experience first on the Brutal and Dextrous Styles like the Flourish and Aimed Ranged Attack. Go for the interactive upgrades first and focus on the passive buffs later on.

Buy autograph cards for the kids at a general store.

Will Specialization
Unless you plan on using Will abilities almost exclusively in combat, you might consider focusing on just one or two Will spells rather than buying all of them.

For example, if you prefer melee combat you might invest in Time Control and Chaos to slow and distract enemies so you can build combos and execute flourishes with ease. If you prefer ranged attacks, Force Push and Vortex work wonders to keep your enemies at bay so you can pick them off with headshots.

Come Back Later
Taking extra time to comb through Albion's various zones for Gargoyles, Silver Keys, and treasure is time well spent, but you can't find them all your first time through each zone, so don't go crazy trying.

There comes a time in Fable II where each zone undergoes radical change, and it's then, when new paths and areas that didn't exist before are introduced, that you can finally track down the remaining Gargoyles and Silver Keys. Some of these locations are at least partly related to quests as well, so make sure you complete every side quest you can.

Play the Economy
Supply and demand is alive and well in Albion and astute observers can take advantage of this to fatten their wallets and purses in a hurry. Check for Sales in the Quests/Maps menu every hour or two you play.

Flourish is a beautiful thing. Deadly too.

Anytime you spot a shortage rather than a sale, you know you can sell those items well above cost. Don't stop there, though. Once you have a healthy cash supply, drop by "big sales" and buy up all the stock you can. Then, wait for a shortage in that market, and resell anything you don't need to make a nice tidy profit.

Investments
Shrewd handling of supply and demand may net you a decent gain but it's in real estate investment where real money is made. In every town, nearly every building can be purchased. If it's a house, you can rent it out, and if it's a shop you'll get a cut of their profits. Keep the following in mind:

• Constant revenue: When you own property in Fable II, gold is earned every few minutes no matter where you are in the world, and even when you're NOT in the world. The real estate system operates in real-world time, so if you go to bed and start playing the next day, you'll have a fat sum of gold waiting for you.
• Start small: Rather than wait until later in the game when you've saved up some cash, start investing immediately in small stalls at the Gypsy Camp and in Bowerstone. Your revenue stream might not be huge, but it adds up in a hurry and will help you to invest in larger properties more quickly than you could otherwise.
• Diversify: Don't invest too heavily in any one place. Each city and area is affected by its own unique economy so if one area takes a turn for the worse, your investments in other towns and cities can pick up the slack. This is particularly true if you're playing an evil character with a penchant for crime sprees, which can send the local economy into the toilet.
• Unique property: Keep your eyes open for unique properties. Places like Bowerstone's bookstore and Giles' Farmhouse in Brightwood offer more than just profit. Anytime you're notified you can buy the property but never sell it, make sure you search the premises thoroughly.

Earn the citizenry's love through Expressions.

New Wares
In Fable II, the bulk of your clothing, weapons, and gear will come not as quest rewards but from merchants throughout the land. If you don't find something you want your first time at a merchant, be sure to check back frequently. The items they have for sale rotate constantly.

Money for Good, Kill for Evil
If you feel the need to rocket down the road to good or evil, you can speed things along in a couple different ways. First, if you're following the path of righteousness, stop by the Temple of Light in Oakvale and donate large sums of money. Not just a few hundred here and there, but several thousand at a time.

If you're getting cozy with your inner evil, unsheath your rage on a town full of people. I wouldn't recommend this course in Bowerstone where the guards are more plentiful, but a good solid sacking of the Gypsy Camp in Bowerlake or someplace similar would do nicely.

Fast Road to Purity and Corruption
If you don't want to spend too much time coddling your Purity or Corruption stats, either one can be maxed out passively by buying up a load of buildings and raising (Corruption) or lowering (Purity) the rates on each property. This way, you can go about your business while enjoying a bump in either stat every few minutes when your real estate cash flow is counted.

Diet Time
Is your hero sporting an unsightly spare tire? Chances are you've been living the high life at the pub or scarfing down one too many mutton pies. Don't fret though, lose the weight by turning to high-grade vegetables. Stay away from the cheap stuff like "flaccid celery." Make sure you get the more expensive produce.

Get ready to dodge.

Location by Insult
Tracking down and shooting the various talking Gargoyles throughout the game is a tricky business made a great deal easier by one simple fact. They talk! Not only that, but they shout insults at you with a distinctive voice, and if you hear one, you can be sure they're in the very immediate vicinity. If you don't hear one, don't spend time looking.

Typically, Gargoyles are found perched outside on walls, cliff-faces and the like, but occasionally you'll find them inside buildings. Spot them by looking for their glittering eyes.

When you finally shoot down your first set of ten Gargoyles, you can find their hidden cave under the bridge in the water in Bowerstone Market. Just swim over the little whirlpool and tap A to dive inside their secret lair.

Your life in Albion is whatever you make of it. Whatever kind of hero you want to be, you can be that hero in Fable II. With these tips at your disposal hopefully you'll be just that, but wealthier and better prepared as well. Good luck, hero!

Article by Ryan Treit