Allods Online exclusive interview

Allods Online is an extremely ambitious free MMORPG that started with a bang but is generating some discussion over the Revelations of Gipat patch. Free MMO Station spoke with Darren Allarde, Allods Associate Producer, and Shelby Goad, Community Manager to find out how the game is doing.

How is Allods Online doing in these first months? Is the player base growing just as you expected?

It’s been an amazing first few months. From the amount of coverage in the press, participation from the players, and feedback we’ve received from the community – there are many aspects of Allods Online that have exceeded our expectations. The team has been working extremely hard these past few months and while challenging at times, it’s great to see our player base grow at a good pace.

Would you consider Allods Online as one of the top five free-to-play MMORPGs? If so, what are the features that make it stand out?

Absolutely! While Allods Online may feature some of the traditional themes found in fantasy realms, Allods also includes completely new features and content never before seen. In addition to our award-winning gameplay and cinematic soundtrack, players get to build their very own Astral ship, in order to freely explore the ever-changing Astral. Players aboard their Astral ships can discover new Allods- islands suspended in space, battle Astral demons, and engage in ship-to-ship PvP combat. And to top it off, Allods has an incredibly rich lore, a number of unique dungeons, and a soccer-like mini game where you and five friends take on other teams of six in a game of Goblinball.

You’re hosting a huge $50.000 giveaway. How are the players reacting to your challenges?

The players have really stepped up to the challenges and we’re already on Quest #3! Meaning, players have already put in over a million hours since we launched the Quest for Chests giveaway. Quest 3 includes prizes such as Blue-Ray players, 24-inch monitors, and a home theater speaker system! Overall, we feel that the Quest for Chests is a great way to give back to our community and have fun while doing it!

How do you feel about all the commotion that generated from the new death penalty and the cash shop items?

Patch 1.1.0 is our biggest patch to date and a major step towards improving and enhancing the game and gameplay mechanics.

The new death penalty, Cursed Items, was introduced as the alternative to Fear of Death. In some ways it has been viewed as more obtrusive than the previous death penalty, however, I’d argue the opposite. The new death penalty does not prevent players from enjoying the game as much as the naysayers may be claiming. We are continuing to encourage players to give the patch an honest shot.

As far as the rest of the Item Shop, things have been very good. A lot of the new items such as the mount and XP scrolls have been well received, and we are happy to say that our Item Shop is just as competitive as other comparable Item Shops out there.

What’s in the future for Allods Online?

Players can expect to see tons of new content coming to Allods Online. We’ll soon be putting the finishing touches on our raid, Gorluxor’s Tower, balancing classes, and there are even whispers of an entirely new zone specifically for PvP on its way! Not to mention an overhaul of the guild system, complete with the ability to create and wear a custom guild emblem.

One thing’s certain: there is much more to come from Allods Online.