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Allods Online

Massively Interview: Allods Online talks health, housing, heroes, and horizons

Fantasy, Business Models, Economy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Interviews, Lore, Patches, Free-to-Play, Interviews (Massively's), Allods Online, Dungeons, Housing

Allods Online
Allods Online takes a lot of flak for its early direction, particularly over its F2P model, so we weren't entirely surprised when last month the game downsized to a single North American server. But when just a few weeks later gPotato opened a new server and then announced what looks like a whopper of an expansion (complete with the Allods-equivalent of player-owned housing!), we couldn't help but be intrigued. What the heck is this game up to?

That's where gPotato Production Coordinator Aaron "Condulus" Biedma comes in. Biedma graciously stepped up to answer in detail our frank questions about the health of the game, the new expansion, the cash shop, and what lies beyond New Horizons. We even sneaked in a question about sexism in the lore. It's all after the cut!

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Choose My Adventure: The indie edition

Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Polls, Contests, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, Humor, Mabinogi, Kids, Runes of Magic, Choose My Adventure, Allods Online, Family, Clone Wars Adventures, Miscellaneous

Goonies screenshot, down here
It might be your time up there, but it's my time -- my time -- down here! For this latest edition of Choose My Adventure, I get to hand out a selection of odd little games for you to vote on, and then for the next month and change, I will stumble my way through the title. At your direction and with your help, of course. The trouble is that I have already played darn near everything. I've downloaded and tried so many games that I simply can't remember them all. So, what to do?

Well, I decided to give a mix of games a chance at several weeks coverage here on Massively. I picked out an assortment of browser games, independent titles, and lesser-known client-based MMOs. Hopefully you will steer me the right way, and if I am lucky, I won't even have a horrible time. I chose games that I know have a robust community in the hopes that plenty of voters will turn out. The key is to get the word out there, so if you have a favorite, go tell your community!

But first, click past the cut and vote on the game you would like to see me tackle for the next several weeks. Just don't expect to see triple-A games on the list!

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Massively Speaking Episode 209: Space skirts

Podcasts, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO Industry, News Items, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Allods Online, Miscellaneous

Massively Speaking Episode 209
We're going to let you know this up front: In this episode, Bree loses a bet. The proof is in the above picture. You'll just have to listen to the full episode to find out why. So what are you waiting for?

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
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Read below the cut for the full show notes.

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Allods Online gives a glimpse of new expansion areas

Fantasy, Expansions, Previews, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Allods Online gives a glimpse of new allods
The Allods Online community is aflame with excitement over the upcoming New Horizons expansion, and gPotato seems determined to keep throwing fuel on that fire. Today the company posted a brief overview of all seven new allods (zones) coming with next month's update.

These new allods range from the spooky, gloomy region of the Lost Expedition to the lush, untamed Jungles of Mboa-Mboa. There's also the demon-plagued Black Rampart, an all-female city called Fenia's Cloister, the murky depths of the Underwater Kingdom, the toasty Cinder Vale, laboratory-run-amok Zone 51, and Metal Municipality, a city undergoing civil war. All in all, it looks to be a diverse travel itinerary for any adventurer.

GPotato recently posted the trailer for New Horizons.

gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer

Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer
Yesterday we told you about Allods Online's New Horizons expansion. Today gPotato has released a trailer that shows off a bit of what's coming when the content goes live on August 8th. You'll get new mercenary functionality, seven new astral allods (plus the ability to own one yourself), and a new PvP feature called the Smugglers' War.

The clips runs for well over four minutes, so head past the break to see for yourself.

[Source: gPotato press release]

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Rule your own allod in Allods Online's new expansion

Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Rule your own allod in Allods Online's new expansion
It's only been a few days since gPotato announced a new server for Allods Online, but today the firm has even more exciting news for fans of its free-to-play fantasy MMO. An expansion called New Horizons is coming on August 8th alongside the new server launch.

Quite a bit of content is in the offing, including the ability for players to build, design, and rule their own allod (which is basically an island in the game's vast expanse of magical space known as The Astral).

The expansion also brings ship-to-ship combat, territorial and trade wars, and mercenary characters to the table. These mercs can be called upon to join parties and take down tough content that's not normally tenable for solo players or small groups. The mercs will take a share of the loot spoils, though. That's not all there is to the new patch, but you'll need to head to the official Allods website to find out more.

[Source: gPotato press release]

Allods Online previews patch 3.0.4, spills new server details

Fantasy, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Allods Online begins patch 304 teasing, spills new server details
Allods Online is constantly on the move, and as such, the team recently announced that the next update will be coming soon to the game. In addition to a brand-new North American server, patch 3.0.4 will witness significant changes to the mentoring and questing systems.

Mentoring came with the previous update and is still being fine-tuned. With 3.0.4, mentors will be limited to 10 apprentices per character. Apprentices can be dismissed if a player is over the 10 limit and wants to add a new one. The dev team also announced a mentor/apprentice quest line that will give rewards to both. These quests can be accessed starting at level 10 and completed once per five levels beyond that.

Patch 3.0.4 will also include more improvements to questing. The quest tracker and find quest feature are slated to become more intuitive, and the automove ability has been expanded to allow the system to run players through multiple zones in one go. The devs examined the quest flow as well and adjusted it to make it smoother in certain areas.

The new server announced yesterday will be called Avilon and was created in response to a larger-than-expected influx of players onto the single North American shard. Players will not be able to transfer existing characters to Avilon, as the devs want to keep the server fresh and fair for those who roll there.

Allods Online announces patch 3.0.4, new North American server

Fantasy, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Screenshot -- Allods Online
Allods Online players are probably still busy playing with their new toys from the recent patches, such as the new Dead City raid and the Bard class, but gPotato has plenty more tricks up its sleeve. In a new post on the game's official site, the studio has announced Allods' next major update, patch 3.0.4. Information on the new update is scarce at the moment, but the post promises that "previews... of some of the new content and mechanics [players will] be able to experience in the new update" will be cropping up over the next few weeks on the official site. A few of these features include "changes to the mentor system and autorun, the Psionicist and Paladin reworks, new Allods to explore... and more."

But that's not all that this new update is bringing with it. North American players are in for an extra treat in the form of a brand-new server. That's right, in addition to all the fancy new features that 3.0.4 is bringing to the game, NA players will be able to start on a fresh, clean server. This is somewhat odd, considering that the game recently merged two of its servers into one. The studio claims that it will "go into more details about the server and what to expect in the first preview which will arrive tomorrow." While you wait on more juicy information, though, just head on over to the Allods official site to give the full post a read.

The Daily Grind: Has a cash shop ever killed a game for you?

Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Daily Grind, Allods Online

Allods Online
Oh, Allods Online. You could cure cancer, end poverty, and kick off another green revolution, but some people would still hate you. It's not fair, really. You're beautiful. You have neat Russian steampunk elements and elves and gibberlings and bards and really great hair. You have freakin' dirigibles as player housing. But none of that matters because of your cash shop -- specifically, the extremely high prices in your cash shop when you launched compared to the prices charged by the rest of the industry.

Players found that cash shop (and the subsequent holy charms bait-and-switch) greedy and unforgivable. We're reminded of this every time we post something innocent about the game and inadvertently cause our commenters to spasm with angry mourning, even when the original complaints have long been addressed. Gamers just don't forget these things. They won't give Allods another chance because of the initial sting of the microtransactions.

So when has a cash shop killed a game for you? Is there anything that game could do to win you back, or is your grudge eternal?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Allods Online merges down to one server

Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Allods Online NA merges down to one server
In every young server's life, there comes a time when it must leave the nest and join in union with another. And so it is for Tensess and Nezeb, Allods Online's two North American servers, which have now joined in holy matrimony to become one.

gPotato has merged the sole two NA servers to become a new one named Yul. To "celebrate" the merge, the publisher is giving a free Water of Life to every character affected by the move.

If a player has more than eight characters following the merge, the character select screen will now give access to all of them. While players can have more than eight due to the merge, if any characters over the eight limit are deleted, the spot is forever closed.

The issue of duplicate names has been dealt with as well. Characters that haven't logged in during the past eight weeks forfeit their right to those names, while players with duplicate characters can re-snag that name on a first-come basis.

The Perfect Ten: Worst MMO launches of all time

World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Aion, Anarchy Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard, All Points Bulletin, Humor, Final Fantasy XIV, Allods Online, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous

Perfect Ten
First things first: Whatever MMO release is currently ticking you off is the worst launch of all time. It would be folly of me to try to convince you otherwise. You've been roundly slapped in the face and you don't want me to convince you that the pain was in vain. I understand.

Getting past that, however, would it be possible to examine the subsequent 10 worst launches in the MMO industry? If your trauma isn't too great, that is. It would be? Terrific!

What constitutes a horrible game launch is varied, although each and every one of the following games made an unfortunate blunder that caused the title to stumble instead of sprint out of the gate. It's not the end of the story, of course, but it does make for a good tale to tell to youngsters camping in the open woods or a particularly seedy LAN center.

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Allods Online releases Astral Storm update

Fantasy, Patches, PvP, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Allods Online
Wakey wakey, Allods Online players -- the Astral Storm update is here! Patch 3.0.2 was released to North American and European servers today hosting a wide variety of anticipated additions and changes to the game. These include a mentor system, pets that can loot for you, more PvP content, and an overhaul of alchemy.

GPotato also nerfed its own free-to-play penalties in the update, as it removed Tep's Curse and Holy Charms from the game in order to protect players' gear. Dying will no longer cause player items to be cursed, which means that the charms are no longer needed as well.

To celebrate the release of Astral Storm, gPotato brought back the tropical Atoll for three weeks. Catch up on all of the 3.0.2 goodness on Allods' special minisite devoted to the patch.

[Source: gPotato press release]

Allods Online prepares players for patch 3.0.2 with a new mini-site

Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Patches, PvP, Free-to-Play, Allods Online, Dungeons, Crafting

Allods Online
Allods Online's mascots are back for another humorous video, as Troll and Crab try their hands (claws) at making potions. It doesn't quite go as expected, but it's hard to blame Crab for what happens (he's just an earnest little guy). This is all to promote the game's newest update, patch 3.0.2, which promises to be a savory concoction for players to quaff. Over the weekend, gPotato opened up a new mini-site to promote the update and has since posted several new articles highlighting the changes.

Some of patch 3.0.2's big selling points include a revamp of the Alchemy profession, the ability for pets to do the looting, a neat-sounding mentor system, a new skirmish called The Deserted Farm, a free-for-all treasure hunting space, a new raid boss, and better questing.

Before you head over to see all of the patch changes, make sure to catch up on the latest episode of Troll and Crab after the break!

[Thanks to Alex for the tip!]

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Allods Online's patch 3.0.2 bringing mentor system, new Astral space

Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Screenshot -- Allods Online
Allods Online's astral space is about to get just a little bit bigger thanks to the game's recently announced patch 3.0.2. The title's publisher, gPotato, announced today that the game's May content update will be bringing "a host of fixes and tweaks alongside some significant new features, including a new mentoring system and a new sector of astral space dedicated to free-for-all treasure hunting."

The game's mentoring system allows experienced, high-level players to impart their wisdom and knowledge upon new characters of the same faction and archetype. The system is managed entirely through the game's mentor interface, which also helps to match prospective apprentices with a mentor. Mentors can receive a number of rewards, including gold and marks of diligence, depending on the amount of time the mentor spends with his apprentice. The update is also unveiling a new area of astral space wherein players will compete in a free-for-all battle for randomly spawning treasure, but be warned: The more players are in the zone, the higher the chance that a demon will show up to try to wreck your day. Players will have a limited amount of time to contend with opposing players and marauding demons and to gather the most loot possible before time's up.

To get a sneak peek at these shiny new features, just head on past the cut and have a look at the update's official trailer.

[Source: gPotato press release]

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Allods Online to add new features, anniversary gifts

Fantasy, Patches, Previews, PvP, Free-to-Play, Allods Online

Allods Online
Allods Online is barreling down the road toward Patch 3.0.0.02 (the extra decimals denote quality!), with an array of fine features to anticipate. Chief among those is an overall improved questing experience. The patch will give players additional ways to track and find quests, not to mention a new "auto-move" feature that will whisk you away to your desired destination.

Next on the patch's agenda is the game's second PvP skirmish map: Deserted Farm. Deserted Farm will be a 6v6 skirmish where players will struggle to control a central flag. The twist to the map is that a pair of cannon can focus-fire onto this location, so obtaining one or both of these is mandatory for success.

Finally, 3.0.0.02 (the extra decimals are a secret code that tells you gPotato loves you) will add a new raid boss to the Kingdom of Elements. His name is Gen'ul, Lord of the Volcano, and he'll be very pleased to meet and then wipe the floor with you. Multiple raids can attempt to down him at the same time and then squabble over the huge treasure chest that he drops.

The Allods site has also been updated with details on the anniversary celebration and gifts.

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