A Hellgate drops two parties into the same demon-infested map. You clear mobs for fame and loot, and sooner or later you meet the other team. Win and you take their gear (in lethal) plus an extra chest. It is the purest small-group PvP in Albion, and the 2v2 is where most players learn to fight.
What changed in 2025
If you watched a Hellgate guide from before mid-2025, several things are out of date:
- Hellgates are entered only from the Antiquarian's Den in each royal city. Open-world entrances are gone and Hellgate Maps can no longer be used.
- 10v10 Hellgates were removed. Only 2v2 and 5v5 remain.
- Loot and fame went up, and loot no longer scales with Infamy.
- Duels are not allowed inside, Fame shrines were removed and trading was disabled.
Formats and entry
| Format | Party | What a loss costs |
|---|---|---|
| 2v2 non-lethal | 2 | You are knocked down. Gear stays on you. |
| 2v2 lethal | 2 | Full loot. The winners take what you wore. |
| 5v5 non-lethal | 5 | Knocked down. |
| 5v5 lethal | 5 | Full loot. |
Lethal Hellgates need 900 base IP to enter and soft-cap anything above 1,100: you keep only 35% of the IP over the cap. Non-lethal 2v2 needs 700, with a soft cap of 900 at 10% scaling. A 1,000 IP player in a non-lethal 2v2 fights at 910.
The soft cap matters more than the entry. In a lethal 2v2, a 1,400 IP set fights only a little stronger than a 1,200 one and costs a lot more to lose. Most lethal players sit just over the cap.
Matchmaking uses your party's average Hellgate Infamy, so you tend to meet teams with a similar record.
How a run plays out
- Walk into the Den, choose the format and enter with your party.
