Allods Online

Classes

• Bards – bards weave magic through performance, using musical abilities to harm enemies and enhance allies. Their signature effects are called Marches, and multiple bards in a party can maintain different Marches at the same time.
• Engineers – engineers rely on heavy firearms, gadgets, and explosives to control fights. They can set up turrets for sustained pressure or use bursts of damage to clear threats quickly.
• Healers – as members of the Church of Light, healers channel holy power to keep parties alive while still bringing offensive spells to punish opponents when needed.
• Mages – mages command elemental forces and excel at area damage. Their AoE toolkit makes them especially valuable when enemies come in groups, whether in quests or instanced content.
• Paladins – paladins blend survivability with righteous aggression. They do not match the Healer’s raw recovery, but they compensate with sturdy defenses and the ability to hold the line as a tank or bruiser.
• Psionicists – psionicists focus on mental magic, empowering themselves while disrupting enemies. Their theme is control and manipulation, turning fights through buffs, debuffs, and mind-based pressure.
• Scouts – scouts are flexible damage dealers who can operate at range or up close. They make use of stealth, mobility, and specialized attacks, from sudden ambushes to bow-based pressure.
• Summoners – summoners specialize in dark magic, using curses and life-draining spells while calling undead or demonic helpers to overwhelm opponents over time.
• Wardens – wardens represent nature’s power, mixing primal magic with beast support. They can unleash storms and command animal allies to keep steady damage and utility flowing.
• Warriors – warriors are straightforward masters of arms, able to use multiple weapon types and swap defensive stances to reduce incoming damage while staying active in melee.

Full Review

Allods Online Review

Allods Online is a 3D fantasy MMORPG developed by Russian studio Astrum Online Entertainment and published by Mail.ru, released on April 26, 2011. The game initially operated under gPotato, then transitioned to Mail.ru after gPotato was acquired and folded into Webzen in February, 2013. At its best, Allods delivers classic MMO structure (quests, dungeons, gearing, and faction rivalry) with a distinctive twist: Astral sailing, which turns travel and PvP into a shared, crew-driven experience rather than just another queue.

Sarnaut’s shattered geography is more than a lore detail. The floating continents and the Astral space between them shape how players move through the world and how endgame content is structured. Since the publisher change, the game has also smoothed out some of its harsher edges, and several punitive systems that frustrated players early on, including the old fear-of-death style debuff, are no longer part of the day-to-day experience.

Getting Into the Game

Your first major choice is the server type. Allods supports two environments, a free-to-play server and a separate server intended for paying players. After that, you pick a faction: the Empire or the League. Each side comes with three races, the Empire fields Xadaganians, Orcs, and Arisen, while the League offers Kanians, Elves, and Gibberlings. Importantly, you are not permanently bound to one side, you can create characters across both factions without restrictions, which makes it easier to explore the setting and try different class options.

Character customization is respectable for an older MMO. You can adjust facial details, hair style and color, skin tone, and body shape. It is not a modern character creator with endless sliders, but it provides enough range that towns do not feel like they are full of clones, especially once armor sets and cosmetics enter the mix.

Early Progression and Quest Flow

The opening hours are structured around a faction-specific tutorial zone that teaches the game’s fundamentals. One thing you notice quickly is that combat does not include auto-attacking. Basic attacks require input, which keeps you engaged, but it can also feel repetitive during long stretches of standard kill quests. When you are clearing the same mob type in large numbers, the constant clicking can become more work than challenge.

Questing volume is one of Allods Online’s defining traits. NPCs often offer multiple tasks at once, and it is common to carry a very large active quest list. Early on, that abundance can translate into rapid levels, sometimes fast enough that older objectives become low value compared to your current level. Later, though, the same density becomes a benefit because you rarely run out of things to do.

Travel is the main drawback in this part of the game. Many objectives require running across sizable areas, and backtracking is frequent. The built-in auto-run feature helps more than you might expect, since it lets you manage inventory, read quest text, or plan talents while your character moves. It remains useful even at endgame, where the level cap is 65 and your time is better spent planning than staring at a road.

Talents and Skill Growth

Progression is built around a talent tree plus three talent grids. The tree contains your core abilities, and each skill can be ranked up to level three. Costs scale with rank, so investing heavily in one ability is a real commitment rather than a trivial choice.

At level ten, the talent grids unlock. Think of these as three separate pages of enhancements that modify how your kit performs. A Summoner, for instance, can pick an upgrade like Massacre to reduce mana cost and cast time for Acid Bolt by 10%. The grid layout also enforces adjacency rules, upgrades remain locked until you unlock neighboring nodes, which encourages planning and prevents grabbing only the strongest bonuses immediately.

The Astral, the Game’s Signature Feature

Allods’ most recognizable system is the Astral itself. Sarnaut was broken during the Great Cataclysm, leaving islands drifting in a hostile dimension. Players can take astral ships into that space to reach other continents and instanced locations called Allods. Since Allod positions shift, there is no single fixed map you can memorize, navigation is manual and there is no autopilot to carry you to safety.

This design has real gameplay consequences. Loot collected during Astral runs is stored on the ship until you make it back to a dock, which raises the stakes and makes successful returns feel like a victory. The Astral is also a PvP space, so even routine travel can turn into a confrontation if enemy crews are nearby.

Astral Ships and Crew Roles

Astral ships become central once you hit the mid to late game. The quest chain to earn your ship starts at level thirty-five, and unlocking it is a major turning point, it opens up the Astral content loop and gives purpose to organized groups beyond standard dungeon runs.

Faction identity is reflected in ship design, but functionality is what matters. Ships are split into stations: thrust control, horizontal turning, and vertical steering are separate roles, which can be handled by one multitasking player or shared by three for better coordination. Navigation includes a 3D route view, and navigators are responsible for calling out Allods, threats, and incoming enemies.

Gunnery sits on both sides of the ship. Cannons shoot forward and do not auto-aim, so pilots and gunners need to communicate to line up shots. There is also defensive management, including shields and a reactor system. Reactor heat builds during combat, and if it overloads, the ship is destroyed. Cooling it down may require shutting it off, which prevents movement. In practice, this creates a tactical rhythm where teams balance aggression with heat control, and fights become as much about coordination as raw damage.

PvP Modes and What They Offer

Allods Online supports several PvP formats, and they are meaningfully different from each other.

At level twenty-one, open conflict between factions becomes possible in the world. This immediately changes how contested zones feel, because you can be pressured by hostile mobs while also watching for enemy players. It adds tension, but it can also be frustrating if you are trying to quest during peak times.

Ship vs. ship PvP in the Astral is where Allods stands apart. Crews man stations, trade volleys, and manage reactor heat while trying to out-position the opposing vessel. If ships close distance, boarding becomes an option, and combat can spill inside the enemy ship. The treasure room mechanic raises the stakes further, since loot recovered from Allods can be stored onboard and stolen during a successful boarding. Piracy and ship battles are among the most distinctive experiences the game offers, and they are far more memorable in practice than they sound on paper.

For instanced large-scale combat, Arena of Death is a structured objective mode. It unlocks at level fifty-one and supports 24 vs 24 matches. Teams fight to collect chests and deliver them to a capture point, with carriers slowed while holding a chest. If chests are left unattended, demons appear, adding extra pressure to keep the field controlled. The first team to reach 15 or more points wins, and the mode offers a welcome alternative to pure deathmatch-style PvP.

Guild-focused players can also participate in Astral Confrontations, which are organized guild vs. guild events. One side attacks and the other defends, with attackers capturing four points before confronting the Great Mage boss. Cannons around objectives provide added firepower, and the final phase is a high-stakes push because defenders do not respawn after their last spawn cycle. Victory leads to meaningful outcomes: the winners can capture the Allod for a week, plunder to split resources, or raze it so no one gains anything. It is a strong system for competitive guilds that want more than random battleground queues.

Cash Shop Concerns

The item shop remains one of Allods Online’s most debated elements. In the earlier era, pricing and design choices drew heavy criticism, with some items feeling far more expensive than comparable purchases in other free-to-play games. The most infamous problem was how death penalties interacted with cash shop solutions, dying could reduce stats, and Holy Charms were sold to remove the curse. Player backlash was intense, and the game later made Holy Charms available for free, which helped reduce the sense that basic playability was being monetized.

Even with those improvements, there are still reasons for cautious players to pay attention. The shop can include items that go beyond convenience, such as guild nobility points, bonus experience, and materials used in item upgrades. When upgrades and stat boosts are purchasable, it can create an uneven playing field, especially in PvP where small power gaps matter. Convenience purchases are common across the genre, but the moments where spending can translate into combat power are where Allods draws understandable criticism.

Final Verdict: Great

Allods Online is not a flawless MMO, and its monetization is the clearest sticking point, particularly for players who care about fair PvP. Still, it offers a substantial amount of content, a well-realized world with strong music, and a class and race lineup that encourages experimentation. Most importantly, the Astral system and its ship-based combat deliver a kind of cooperative gameplay that few MMORPGs attempt, and even fewer execute with this much personality.

For players looking for a long-running MMO with a distinctive hook and plenty to do, Allods Online is easy to recommend, as long as you go in with clear expectations about how the cash shop can affect progression and power.

Links

Allods Online Links

Allods Online Official Website
Allods Online Wikia (Database and Guides)
Allods Online Wikipedia Entry
Allods Online Subreddit

System Requirements

Allods Online System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 2000 / Windows XP
CPU: Intel Pentium 3 1.5 Ghz
Video Card: nVidia GeForce FX 5200 / AMD Radeon 9550 / 9600
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP / Vista / 7
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or better
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 7600 GS or better
RAM: 1 GB or more
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB or more

Music

Allods Online Music & Soundtrack

Additional Info

Allods Online Additional Information

Developer: Astrum Nival (AKA Astrum Online Entertainment. AKA Allods Team)
Soundtrack Composer: Vladislav Isaev, Mark Morgan, and Michael Kostylev
Closed Beta Date: November 19, 2009 (First closed beta in U.S.)
Open Beta Date: February 16, 2010

Foreign Releases:

China / Taiwan / Macau: March 4, 2011 (Published by Cayenne Tech through the Wasabii.com portal)

The Brazilian server for Allods Online shut down on December 23, 2014. The European servers through Mail.ru have no IP Restrictions, so those in Brazil are free to play there.

Development Background

Allods Online was created by Russian developer Astrum Nival, later known as Astrum Online Entertainment. The project was built with a $12 million budget and positioned itself as an “AAA” free-to-play MMO at the time. It launched in Russia in early 2009 and rapidly attracted attention outside its home market. In North America and Europe, the game originally operated under gPotato, and after that publisher’s closure, Mail.ru assumed publishing duties. Today, Mail.ru publishes Allods Online globally with no IP restrictions.