Allods Online beta today

The Closed beta for this game is running from Dec 29th to Jan 11th. Are any other GWJ fans going to be playing today?

Normally I ignore FTP games but Shawn Schuster's impressions post convinced me to check it out.

http://www.massively.com/2009/11/13/...

Its closed beta 3. Hopefully they will release soon as it was slated for a winter 2009 release. Or at least open beta should be right around the corner...

The video makes the game look gorgeous! It has great particle effects. The visual style is very WoW but with a splash of grit from WAR and some Asian player race vibes.

edit: I would also like to add that if anyone has a spare beta key they aren't using, please PM me =)

Was going to until i saw that same write up and saw these words "Combat is very slow-paced"

Then after watching the video i definitely decided on giving it a pass.

Combat is not slow paced.

This is better than Runes of Magic. The PvE questing and combat is better than WAR.

I've only played for a few hours so far but if this keeps up and they manage to do as well with instanced dungeons and raiding as they have with classes, combat and PvE, WoW may have to go F2P.

Of course at this point, the momentum is so far in favor of WoW that they can get away with charging a monthly subscription for quite a while. But I would not be surprised if word of mouth once this is launched is big. This game has as good and in some cases evolutionary production values over WoW. It is going to be a fight with between this and Cataclysm.

Oh and it appears I didn't need a beta key. I have had an account to gpotato prior so I guess I may have been sent a beta key at some point and ignored it. Big mistake... This MMO has a lot of potential!

If you've played any gpotato games in the past, download the client and see if your name and password works. It did for me and I'm in heaven.

fangblackbone wrote:

But I would not be surprised if word of mouth once this is launched is big. This game has as good and in some cases evolutionary production values over WoW. It is going to be a fight with between this and Cataclysm.

Care to elaborate more? Because from the videos i've seen on youtube i'd say you're out of your mind or not played WoW in the past year or 2.

They've shown that they can do scripted events on par or even better than WoW's in Allod's newb experience. The particle effects really are phenomenal! As with everything of this nature its better experienced than explained.

There is no auto attack. You have a basic weapon swing that is on a cooldown but if you want to use it, you have to click the button. Now, I know this doesn't sound revolutionary and its not. However, it contributes to what is described as slower combat. Combat is not slower, its more complex. Every class has a more intricate level of skill/spell chains in combat:

Mages have a channeled ice spell that causes a snare effect. Any damage after that breaks the snare, but if you use a fire spell, it will do extra damage. You also get a lightning spell that will do double damage in the target has less than 25% health. There is also a system way better than WAR's fire wizard backlash. Every spell cast causes an stacking elemental timer to start. It lasts 10 seconds. If it stacks 5 times an erratic effect will be applied, clearing all timers. This erratic effect can be: healing or hurting the mage, stealing or losing mana, or causing a damage buff or debuff.

Psionisists are very cool. They have a main attack that is channeled but not able to be interrupted. Casting spells too rapidly causes a debuff that lowers two critical stats by a small amount. Casting spells also can potentially cause your next mind link spell to be instant (normally 3-4 second cast). Mind Link cast on a target allows the caster to paralyze, damage or DoT it. It also allows attack spells to recoup some of their mana costs. There is also a big damage finisher to use at any time during the 10-15 second Mind Link timer.

Scouts are combo ranged and melee dps. One of their most unique skills is the ability to channel a spell that fills their quiver with arrows of different element effects. The first two are a small fire DoT and another with an increased chance to critical and stun. It takes like 4 seconds to conjure a full quiver. Yes you can mix and match arrow element types. Yes you can fill you quiver during combat and you can channel a single arrow and fire it in 1-2 second in combat. Scouts also get positional attacks that automatically move your character to the side, rapidly, to connect with it. Its more like teleporting than moving. Scouts also get an AoE knockdown.

Now, I know what you are thinking and here's the rub. These classes play like this not at level 20 or 30, but at level 5-6. So who knows whether they will stagnate in the higher levels or continue to grow. That is one of the key aspects of WoW's classes is that they continue to grow in power and complexity as you get into your 20's, 30's, 50's, etc. Each class does have a talent tree that I have yet to experience more than trickle. It seems like there are no prerequisites for skill tiers other than having 5 points in the previous tier. But, like I've said, I've only put 3 points max into a single tree. I think you get a point every other level.

There are also lots of stats, 10 I believe. You start getting equipment to boost them right off the bat. The stats determined critical to your class are highlighted. Plus you do get a stat point to use every level.

This is just scratching the surface as I have played every archetype accept for the warriors. Some I've played more than once to determine the racial and faction differences. In the class descriptions there appear to be racial and faction differences but they have not surfaced by level 6. I hope it is more than the current differences which is only some skill name changes in the talent tree. Hopefully it is something like another talent tree opening up at level 10. Or there are skills you are awarded that are not in the talent tree, so maybe those start to make subtle changes down the line.

fangblackbone wrote:

There is no auto attack. You have a basic weapon swing that is on a cooldown but if you want to use it, you have to click the button. Now, I know this doesn't sound revolutionary and its not. However, it contributes to what is described as slower combat. Combat is not slower, its more complex. Every class has a more intricate level of skill/spell chains in combat:

Since its free i went to try it out myself. Only done 2 classes so far 1 good 1 evil, but the combat is slow. Its not due having to manually hit an attack button. Its the time after you hit the button and the reaction thats the problem. There's also (not sure if its due to lag or what) times when nothing at all happens. You dont get a miss or hit indicator, but your timer has been used. Luckily when this happens you dont appear to take dmg either.

Now it is very good looking game and the effects are amazing considering this is a F2P game. The scripted events are even nice, but i personally dont see them better than the DK ones you have in WoW. Definitely better than the other starting areas though.

My two favorite classes are the Warden (I played a good human druid) and the Psionicist (evil human mentalist). The Warden is great all around dps with a pet. They get a hp regen for both them and their pet, some nukes, melee specials and pet skills.

The Psionicist does really good damage. About 25% of the time they kill as slow as most of the classes, but most of the time the buff that makes mind link insta-cast is up and the target goes down quickly.

The heretic isn't the fastest killer but I love the combat and style. It is the healer/mage archetype with a life tap spell. I love the steampunk/undead/egyptian race. I need to put the defiler through some more paces. They get their zombie/skeleton summons at level 5.

One of the neatest things I've seen is the evil city once you get out of the newb scripted sequence. The city looks pretty much like any other until you look above and beyond the immediate buildings. The steam creeping out of the big structures isn't all that complicated an effect but it sure looks pretty.

edit: I should have clarified with the combat pacing. The combat is slow(er) but not slow. If its a hair too slow for anyone's taste then I recommend trying the wardens, scouts, and mages.

edit2: The warrior is pretty much straight up WoW warrior which is disappointing.

I wondered aloud on Twitter if anyone wants another WoW clone, even if it's free to play. The game replied to me, I hurt its feelings. Then it offered me a beta key. Yikes.

I've been playing a Gibberling psionic and a Human Warden and I'm really enjoying both classes. I play WoW 4-5 times a week and it is probably my favorite game of all time. I don't think WoW is in any danger from Allods but the creators of Allods have learned alot from Blizzard and are putting together a very polished and enjoyable game.

As my kids get older it and start wanting to play MMOs it is much cheaper to let them make accounts of FTP games than it would be to hold multiple Warcraft accounts. Right now I share my WoW account with my wife and my two oldest sons because 60 dollars a month for 4 accounts is not going to happen. If we all make Allods accounts maybe we could all play together once in awhile.

I really think the only MMO in the forseeable future with any chance of denting the Warcraft player base is Star Wars: TOR.

Certis wrote:

I wondered aloud on Twitter if anyone wants another WoW clone, even if it's free to play. The game replied to me, I hurt its feelings. Then it offered me a beta key. Yikes.

With Aion catching your eye you may enjoy this and well for the price dont have much to lose.

I signed up for the beta hope to recieve a key soon!

Just download it and try to log in. It may just work =)

You sneaky bugger Fang. Downloading now.

From what I have been reading the PvP is pretty solid. I have not played high enough my self to give it a try.

I like the role the Summoner class has, being a pet class and a healer. Concepts like wound complexity seem like it will make healing a bit more dynamic and interesting.

Also the end game space stuff looks like fun but no one has had a chance to try it out yet in the US beta.

I am defiantly going to play this at least for a little while when it goes live. Between this and DDO I might get all my MMO needs fulfilled for free this year.

I am defiantly going to play this at least for a little while when it goes live.

You are such a rebel! =P

If this game had the number of quests, daily quests and the quest proximity of Runes of Magic, you would have one uber F2P MMO.

fangblackbone wrote:
I am defiantly going to play this at least for a little while when it goes live.

You are such a rebel! =P

If this game had the number of quests, daily quests and the quest proximity of Runes of Magic, you would have one uber F2P MMO.

Heh, I do that all the time. Need to pay more attention with my spell check.

I have not played past level 12 or so but there where more than enough quests to get me there. I heard some of the daily quests at the high end where there to help lower the amount of time it takes to build your Astral Ship.

Here is a nice write up on Allods from Mystic Worlds

Keen posted a high res video of some Boss fights from a mid level dungeon.

So, apparently the word on the street is that CBT4 starts January 19th =)

Closed Beta 4 starts today.

Open Beta starts this coming Tuesday (2/16). Any interest in starting a...whatever they call a guild?

Dyekenee's Allods Online Beta HD Review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bevby...

I am planning to dabble in Allods to see how I like it.

In game name will be SirZoloid, class: not sure yet, reading up and thinking about scout or summoner right now.

Summoner's are a little bit of a struggle until you hit level 5 and get your pet. Its not that big a deal but for a first class, it may make you struggle more than necessary when learning the ropes. The mage classes are a bit of a struggle too as most of their spells have long cast times and take even longer to cast in melee when they are interrupted.

Lots of classes look like they come into their own after level 10 when everyone gets actual talents. Do not be confused that the skill tree you start off with is a talent tree. It is a skill tree, and at level 10 you get additional talent "trees". The reason I quote "trees" is that the talents are arranged more in a swirl or spiral pattern. Its a pretty ingenious system and will make more sense once you get them at 10 or find one of the class builders online.

Of course, they messed up cb4 where some people that were allowed to play in cb3 lost the ability to play in cb4. So I never got past level 8 in any class. And leveling is much slower in this game. I'd wager getting to level 8 is like getting to level 15-20 in WoW and level 10 seems like it would be like getting to level 20-25.

If you are thinking of the summoner class, I'd recommend the wardens. You get you're pet right off the bat and you can mix it up in melee and with nukes. You also get a group health regen at level 5 that is nearly as powerful as the heals of other classes at this level. It just doesn't stack with other warden's.

Scouts are one of the classes that really seem to come into their own after level 10. They can be a bit repetitive up to that point. They are DPS but they are markedly outclassed by mentalists, wardens and warriors at early levels. If they want blistering DPS then they must prepare their arrows with elemental attacks. This takes ~7 seconds for a full quiver so it lowers the overall DPS until you get talents to lower prep time and talents that let you insta prep an arrow every 5-10 seconds. Talents also let you increase your melee DPS to be comparable so that you can bypass arrows and prepping altogether.

Speaking of mentalists, oh how awesome they are, I sort of wish the mages borrowed a mechanic or two from them. Well, at least the mage's channeled spell should be uninterruptable like the mentalists. It would help mages to struggle less soloing at early levels. I get the feeling mages are going to fall into the typical kiting class or group class that noone wants because they can only dps and are difficult to manage aggro. But back to the mentalists... what a unique class. It takes a bit for people to wrap their head around the class because they must maintain a direct and reciprocal relationship with their targets to be effective.

The healer classes are a lot of fun. They can go nuker or melee with adequate dps and moderate tanking ability if you go melee.

Just as an FYI, the open beta starts on 2/16. They have said when the game goes live they are not going to do a character wipe so that's a nice thing

If you downloaded the client prior to 12am PST 2/15, you should look here:

http://allods.gpotato.com/news/2010/...

I'll give this one a go just kinda snuck up on me and has grabbed my attention.

If any one is making a gwj guild let us know
I would be interested

which server are you all using? Just started on Nezeb myself but that was a random pick

I think I picked Nezeb. My character name is Selani. She's a level 5 mentalist. It is so crowded in the newb zones. The good thing is that performance is good with all these people around. I mean there has to be at least 100 people running around in close proximity. Each section of the zone for the different quests is filled with 30-40 people each and there are 5-6 quest sections once you get past the tutorial.

I've had a little hassle getting quest objectives completed. I can only imagine how the slower leveling and none ranged attack classes are struggling.

They need more servers, stat!

fangblackbone wrote:

I think I picked Nezeb. My character name is Selani. She's a level 5 mentalist. It is so crowded in the newb zones. The good thing is that performance is good with all these people around. I mean there has to be at least 100 people running around in close proximity. Each section of the zone for the different quests is filled with 30-40 people each and there are 5-6 quest sections once you get past the tutorial.

I've had a little hassle getting quest objectives completed. I can only imagine how the slower leveling and none ranged attack classes are struggling.

They need more servers, stat!

I went ahead and rolled on that server as well. Have a level 4 Psionicist named Mystwrath and agreed the newb zones are crazy right now heh.

Server just went down and I wasn't even done with the intro! Liking the fact that my character won't disappear so I don't mind putting some time into it. I hope that when the store opens they do it like Runes of Magic. I didn't mind paying $10 or so to have a perma-mount rather than paying monthly for it.

Edit: EWWWW! I just read about their FoD (Fear of Death) mechanic. Looks like it boils down to a 25% reduction of all stats for 51 minutes at level 40. You can get rid of it only by paying a good amount of in-game cash, using an item that you can get 1 a day, or using the cash shop to buy more of the item (cologne I think it is). Anyone knows that if you PVP you can expect to die many times over. On the forums one of the users said you can expect to make enough currency per day to remove the FoD 5-6 times per day. That means you are playing to pay for repairs, ugh. Gonna pass on this one until that is re-thought. Lots of negative feedback on the forums so hopefully NC Soft is listening.

NCsoft has nothing to do with this. This is distributed to NA by gpotato.

I don't think death in pvp has the same penalty as pve. That penalty does sound unreasonably harsh. I know that when you die now, you go to this limbo like place. You can bribe a goblin that is there for early release. Its not very expensive at all and if you choose not to pay and to wait, its only a 15 second wait.

So I hope your information is incorrect or I too will pass on this one once the death penalty gets even close to that unbearable.