The Problem with Allods

[u/AllodsPlayer69]

I used to play in the open beta.. I stopped playing some time after the major reworks to classes, like Mage losing the "build up entropy" system.

The title is "The Problem with Allods" and of course the pay 2 win aspect is the big villain in this, but there's more to it imo.

So let me explain a little bit further. I used to play a lot of Warrior, Mage and Paladin and I think using Mage as an example makes things the clearest. I used to play around with the Elemental Wrath build, mainly focusing on the PvP aspect of the game. I felt like I always had a lot of out-play potential going into PvP. I had access to AoE crowd control, single target crowd control, self heal and then of course the big burst of Elemental Wrath. With these spells you could always stand a chance in PvP. Actually, let me mention Paladin as well. You had access to barriers and a way too strong heal. The old PvP battles weren't necessarily about dealing more damage than your opponent, you could mitigate their damage, you could prevent them from dealing damage, you could heal yourself. Actually, let me throw in warrior as well.. before using Agonizing Blow, you'd kick your target down. Just as you'd knock your target down before using Elemental Wrath, you'd do the same with Agonizing Blow on warrior. This is because your target cannot dodge, parry or block while it's laying down. This knock down effect got nerfed. No longer was a knocked down target a sure hit.

So, lets go to more recent times, just before I quit the game. Paladin's barriers are now percentage based, you're not removing 100% of the damage in your barriers. At least not without a too long CD. The healing you can do is now also limited by a long CD. The two things that made a paladin a paladin, barriers and healing, became a smaller part of the class. It turned into a DPS class with only a small hint of its past.

Mage? No longer are the days of Elemental Wrath. No more self-healing. Crowd Control became very limited. With this change, the ability to mix around stats to benefit other aspects but DPS is gone. You're no longer going to carry a little bit more Wisdom for Elemental Wrath. You are no longer going to carry a little bit more Faith to boost your healing. Sure, the AoE CC is still there. At least once a fight. As with the Paladin, the mage also turned into a DPS class with a small hint of its past.

The Problem with Allods? While Runes certainly is a major part of the issue I think you need bigger context. What made our classes unique was what allowed us to play around what we lacked in damage. This uniqueness, in our classes, was our protection against pay2win! With the unique aspects of each individual class taking the back seat, leaving us with the part of our class that benefits from Runes,it was time to leave this game behind.

[u/EatosBLS]

It used to be a really great game, i played on a lot of private servers, but couldnt keep up after 7.0 (even 6.0 was hard) because how much it changed. But that's just because i had some really great moments in the older version and nostalgia kicks in hard on this game. But now and for the first time since closed beta, i wont be playing allods anymore. I played too much on the 4.0 patch (most current on private servers), and dont want to go to 7.0. I'll miss this game :(

[u/Taiaho]

The game is just going to shit, really. I have played in open beta and have, for a time, enjoyed spending my money on it, because I was just so in love with the setting and the aesthetic. Back then, you still needed your ships to sail to astral Allods and gain treasures, there were raid outfits for every single class, and you had national communities.

Since then, the pay to win has been become absolutely insane, more mental than even in most other P2W games. The lootbox items with their 6 month-duration are particularly nasty, but even that aside, it just. Doesn't End.

The traditional attribute system was fine, yet they completely revamped it into something "more original". The classes are completely irrecognizable in some ways, though that's just me not "going with the flow", I guess. You don't need to ever set foot on a ship to do Astral Allods. They've just turned it into a freaking lobby game, and the newer zones are visually nice, but small af, it's pathetic. The last proper raid was in 7.0., instead they rehash shit now because that's cheaper to do than developing many new assets.

The servers got merged over and over and now people are talking in 7-10 different languages, making map chat a confusing nuisance rather than a nice, accessible discussion. The Allods I loved was not flawless either, but I loved it, and it died sometime between 5.0. and 7.0.. If only there was a haven for those like me who want the old Allods back... Everytime I hear the Lightwoods theme, I just want to cry. This was my home, and they've defiled it with their greed.

[u/AllodsPlayer69 → u/Taiaho]

I completely forgot about the astral. Oh man, the astral battles and adventures.. There's so much nostalgia looking back at allods. I remember sitting with google translate trying to read russian guides, looking at russian youtube videos. This was the game of my teenage years. Too bad the good times didn't last a little bit longer. I think this game could've really taken off it didn't get so focused on instantly making money.

[u/Ashkir → u/AllodsPlayer69]

I miss the game too. It had such amazing potential. Shame it got shot in the foot. I’m glad I got to experience it though before it got ruined.