Allods Online Game Review
"Allods Online" - one of the earliest and most famous Russian MMORPG, which at one time was perceived almost as our answer to World of Warcraft. Recently, interest in it has flared up with renewed vigor. Is it only due to the fact that many Western MMOs have left the Russian market or the game itself is still interesting from the gameplay point of view? We are looking for answers in our review.
About the plot and setting
"Allods Online" is part of the cult series of games from Nival Interactive. "Allods: Seal of Secrecy", "Allods 2: Lord of Souls" and "Cursed Lands" - these RPGs with strategy elements were released in 1998-2000 and became the first Russian commercial games to appear on the Western market. But they became especially popular with domestic players. Not surprisingly, after some time in "Nivala" thought about creating a full-fledged MMORPG in the universe of "Allods" - development began in 2006, and the game was released 4 years later.
So what kind of universe is this? In fact, it is quite colorful and filled, you can say, with the Russian spirit, which was one of the reasons for the success of the game. On the one hand, there are quite standard for fantasy things - the action takes place on the planet Sarnaut, which was once prosperous, and then almost died as a result of the Great Cataclysm and disintegrated into a lot of islands floating in the astral (those very titular allods).
So what kind of universe is this? In fact, it is quite colorful and filled, you can say, with the Russian spirit, which was one of the reasons for the success of the game. On the one hand, there are quite standard for fantasy things - the action takes place on the planet Sarnaut, which was once prosperous, and then almost died as a result of the Great Cataclysm and disintegrated into a lot of islands floating in the astral (those very titular allods).
This is a very elaborate world, about the history and chronology of which you can read huge articles. There are different races, states and continents, the story involves elves, dragons, demiurges, demons and gods, multi-faced Architects, representing the collective consciousness, and so on and so forth - it feels quite typical fantasy. True, there are some very colorful races. For example, the local orcs are more like typical Russian men. And then there are gibberlings - they look like kittens and represent three creatures at once, which we control as one. And the undead in "Allods Online" is not quite ordinary - it is a mixture of the living dead and robots.
But even more color in the local factions. The main ones are the Empire and the League, between which players need to make a choice. This will affect many things, including the story quests - they are different for different factions, which is quite within the standard format for such games. Another thing is that Empire is inspired by the USSR, so there is Soviet romance and flavor, among the locations there is, for example, a military recruitment center and some research institute, and drunken paratroopers walk the streets of cities. Totalitarianism rules here, the collective good is put above the personal and so on. And the League is inspired by...Novgorod Russia, which, according to the developers themselves, was a more democratic, free state, built on the freedom of each person, on natural resources, wealth and trade.
But even more color in the local factions. The main ones are the Empire and the League, between which players need to make a choice. This will affect many things, including the story quests - they are different for different factions, which is quite within the standard format for such games. Another thing is that Empire is inspired by the USSR, so there is Soviet romance and flavor, among the locations there is, for example, a military recruitment center and some research institute, and drunken paratroopers walk the streets of cities. Totalitarianism rules here, the collective good is put above the personal and so on. And the League is inspired by...Novgorod Russia, which, according to the developers themselves, was a more democratic, free state, built on the freedom of each person, on natural resources, wealth and trade.
In any case, everything here is imbued with domestic flavor, and it is manifested not only in the fact that all dialogues are written and voiced in the great and mighty, but also in the presence of huts, birch trees, churches and even newsstands, in jokes, funny names, speech turns and references to Russian cinema, folklore, literature, fairy tales and anecdotes. However, you can also find references to Western movies like "The Terminator" and Stephen King's books.
Thanks to all this, even rather typical for MMORPG quests (kill 10 wolves, collect 15 mushrooms and so on), which are especially numerous at first, do not look as boring as they could - the authors often try to play and describe them in an interesting way. And later, both the plot and the tasks become more exciting: among other things, we have to look for traitors and install bugs in the bushes, get rid of the power of demons over our minds and even make a movie.
Thanks to all this, even rather typical for MMORPG quests (kill 10 wolves, collect 15 mushrooms and so on), which are especially numerous at first, do not look as boring as they could - the authors often try to play and describe them in an interesting way. And later, both the plot and the tasks become more exciting: among other things, we have to look for traitors and install bugs in the bushes, get rid of the power of demons over our minds and even make a movie.
About gameplay
About the same duality is present in the gameplay itself. On the one hand, it is quite standard for the genre and in many respects, including graphics and even the interface, is really similar to what we saw in World of Warcraft. Another thing is that it doesn't have such handy features as automatic character movement to quest locations and quest characters - so even items for quests can be found. In addition, there is highlighting of quest items and the ability to instantly complete some quest in certain cases.
In "Allods Online" we, as usual, fight, complete quests, increase our reputation in factions and guilds, create and improve our equipment with the help of runes, collect weapons and armor (the value varies from junk to legendary), go in groups to beat strong bosses in raid dungeons (there are ordinary and heroic) and participate in battles with other players (we will tell you more about it in detail). The combat system is quite typical for the genre - it's a standard non-targeting system, when we select an enemy, and the character automatically attacks him, and we have to juggle skills competently on hotkeys.
In "Allods Online" we, as usual, fight, complete quests, increase our reputation in factions and guilds, create and improve our equipment with the help of runes, collect weapons and armor (the value varies from junk to legendary), go in groups to beat strong bosses in raid dungeons (there are ordinary and heroic) and participate in battles with other players (we will tell you more about it in detail). The combat system is quite typical for the genre - it's a standard non-targeting system, when we select an enemy, and the character automatically attacks him, and we have to juggle skills competently on hotkeys.
There are other standard MMORPG things - bank, auction, trade, riding animals, guilds, classes and professions. There are 11 classes in the game - Warrior, Templar, Priest, Necromancer, Scout, Pagan (a mix of a hunter from World of Warcraft and a typical druid), Wizard, Mystic, and Bard. There is also the Engineer, who uses turrets and a huge cannon in combat, and the Demonologist, who occasionally transforms into various monsters. These are the basic archetypes. Each race has its own names for them - for example, the Hibberling scout is the Weasel, and the Orc is the Thug.There are nuances and differences, but the specifics of the base class are always roughly the same for each race.
There are many professions too. You can do herbalism, alchemy, blacksmithing, gathering, leatherworking and so on. If you can gain respect in the local Guild of Craftsmen or Suppliers, there is an option to even learn a second profession. Traditionally, all this is mostly needed for the sake of mining materials for crafting, which is not quite usual and is done in the form of mini-games.
And, of course, all this, and classes and professions need to pump. In "Allods Online" you can reach the 100th level. And in addition to experience in the process of character development involves and the mechanics of accumulation of so-called fatigue - for this you need to rest. Yes, and in the role-playing system, and in many other aspects in "Allods Online" has its own specificity - you can still remember that after death, the character falls into purgatory, the time of stay in which depends on his level and how often he died before. But in general, the ground gameplay here, we repeat, quite typical for MMORPG.
There are many professions too. You can do herbalism, alchemy, blacksmithing, gathering, leatherworking and so on. If you can gain respect in the local Guild of Craftsmen or Suppliers, there is an option to even learn a second profession. Traditionally, all this is mostly needed for the sake of mining materials for crafting, which is not quite usual and is done in the form of mini-games.
And, of course, all this, and classes and professions need to pump. In "Allods Online" you can reach the 100th level. And in addition to experience in the process of character development involves and the mechanics of accumulation of so-called fatigue - for this you need to rest. Yes, and in the role-playing system, and in many other aspects in "Allods Online" has its own specificity - you can still remember that after death, the character falls into purgatory, the time of stay in which depends on his level and how often he died before. But in general, the ground gameplay here, we repeat, quite typical for MMORPG.
About PvP and astral ships
But, in addition to this, in "Allods Online" there is an opportunity to control large astral ships and participate in air battles - they take place in the astral, where you can find the most valuable in the game orange things. Each ship is a complex mechanism, which has a lot of different compartments (including the navigator's cabin, deck, repair bay and even the infirmary) and equipment - shields, visors, scanners, cannons, ray guns, engine, reactor, altitude and directional rudders.
One person can't control this complex mechanism, that's why the adventures on astral ships are designed for 6 players, each of whom must competently fulfill his role - navigator, flight engineer, helmsman, gunner, bosun or flight engineer, who is subordinated to a team of repair goblins (they patch holes in the plating during battles and after them).
One person can't control this complex mechanism, that's why the adventures on astral ships are designed for 6 players, each of whom must competently fulfill his role - navigator, flight engineer, helmsman, gunner, bosun or flight engineer, who is subordinated to a team of repair goblins (they patch holes in the plating during battles and after them).
Naturally, all this is expensive, especially considering that ships can and should be improved and repaired. And it is not available immediately. To get your own ship you first need to accumulate 1500 gold, get 3 licenses from different guilds and complete a long chain of tasks. As a rule, you will be able to build your first astral ship by level 35.
And this opens up a lot of new opportunities, including participation in exciting battles between players. The thing is that everything gained by your team's hard work while traveling through the astral between allods will become available only after the ship is moored. That's why piracy flourishes in the game, when other players' ships attack each other. This gives a whole new emotion - battles on ships are unique, there you need to competently maneuver and even have the opportunity to take the opponent on board. That is why it is always important to bring along players who will participate in boarding battles.
And this opens up a lot of new opportunities, including participation in exciting battles between players. The thing is that everything gained by your team's hard work while traveling through the astral between allods will become available only after the ship is moored. That's why piracy flourishes in the game, when other players' ships attack each other. This gives a whole new emotion - battles on ships are unique, there you need to competently maneuver and even have the opportunity to take the opponent on board. That is why it is always important to bring along players who will participate in boarding battles.
There are other PvP-activities in the game - not only 1 on 1 duels, but also random and ranked battles in the format of 3 on 3 or 6 on 6, mass battles in the "Arena of Death", where as many as 48 players divided into two teams, inter-factional confrontations on allods, where representatives of the Empire and League perform their tasks and try to prevent their rivals from doing so. For successes here we accumulate points of combat glory and reputation, which allows you to increase your rank and get new ranks - the higher they are, the better the rewards. A special place is occupied by the so-called goblinball - it is a local blood sport, similar to soccer, where instead of the ball in the goal you have to score someone's head.
Finally, the highlight of PvP is Astral Confrontation, in which guilds fight each other for a free allod (island), which grants access to one or more sectors. All guild members with special capes are teleported to the battle site, where the attackers must capture four control points protected by cannons and defeat the boss, the Grand Mage. And the defenders, respectively, try to prevent them in every possible way. Victory brings a lot of rewards and bonuses. Well, and in general, as in all MMORPGs, being a member of a guild is very useful. True, for its development and improvement, you need to play actively and their successful actions to increase the general piggy bank of authority of the guild. At the same time, there is such a parameter as guild loyalty - it can be both increased and decreased.
Finally, the highlight of PvP is Astral Confrontation, in which guilds fight each other for a free allod (island), which grants access to one or more sectors. All guild members with special capes are teleported to the battle site, where the attackers must capture four control points protected by cannons and defeat the boss, the Grand Mage. And the defenders, respectively, try to prevent them in every possible way. Victory brings a lot of rewards and bonuses. Well, and in general, as in all MMORPGs, being a member of a guild is very useful. True, for its development and improvement, you need to play actively and their successful actions to increase the general piggy bank of authority of the guild. At the same time, there is such a parameter as guild loyalty - it can be both increased and decreased.
Conclusion
As you can see, Allods Online is a very interesting and unusual game. On the one hand, it has all the standard things for the genre, including a large world, a lot of quests, classes, professions and opportunities for pumping, as well as raids and epic PvP battles. And on the other hand, the game has its own charm and color, you can even say - the Russian spirit. Plus unique battles on astral ships. Of course, someone complains about the system of donation - say, only those who invest with live rubles win. But in fact, almost all items and opportunities can be opened in-game. In addition, there are special subscription servers, where all players who have paid for a subscription, find themselves in equal conditions. And in 2022, after Blizzard left Russia, which caused difficulties with paying subscriptions in World of Warcraft, Allods Online hastily opened 4 more subscription servers. So the game is still alive and well and perhaps now is the best time to try it out, if for some reason you haven't had a chance to do so yet.
Zarium. January 2024
Zarium. January 2024