The really exciting news is that when I asked gPotato.eu for a key to access their closed beta, they offered to give me a dozen so that I could share them with all of you. In the mad hopes that I have more than eleven readers, I’ve decided to distribute them through a simple competition.

It’s easy to enter and win a chance at a key for the Allod’s Online closed beta! Simply leave a comment with a valid email address on this post answering the following question:

What feature or aspect would you really like to see in upcoming Multiplayer Role Playing games?

Space ships? More twitch? Less PvP? Girls in bikinis?

Personally, I would love to see more plots and lore revealed by quests which is one reason why I’m looking forward to trying out Allods Online. There are apparently more than 1,500 quests with separate factions and a PvP element all set in a beautifully crafted Astral solar system unlike anything I’ve seen so far.

If you are hot for more details about the game, take a look at our Allods category where we’ve taken a close look at all the archtypes and factions.

The Rules

Meanwhile, to enter the competition, simply post your answer in the comments below.

We need a valid email address in order to contact with you with your win, but we do not publish this and we do not spam!

One entry per person, please.

No entries will be accepted after midnight GMT on Sunday the 29th of November.

Winners will be selected at random and announced Wednesday morning.

So leave a comment (with a valid email address) and tell me:

What feature or aspect would you really like to see in upcoming Multiplayer Role Playing games?

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Our final post focuses on two of the most popular archetypes: Scouts and Warriors. All races can choose these archetypes but the skill-set varies largely by class.

Take a look at our screenshots and class details brought to you by Allods Online.

The Scout Archetypes

There are four Scout classes:

• The Kanian Stalker
• The Gibberling Trickster
• The Xadaganian Saboteur
• The Orc Headhunter

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The Kanian Stalker

Faction: League
Race: Kanian
Archetype: Scout
Armour type: Leather only
Specific ability: “Stalker’s shot’, Inflicts range damage with an arrow and blinds the enemy.



Class background:
Stalkers have a very specific role within the Kanian army. Firstly, as only those who are capable of thinking before they strike are required for this role, they are highly valued for certain tasks. Secondly, their mortality on the field is generally higher than other troops. Finally, the vast majority of Stalkers are women.

Unlike warriors, Stalkers should be agile, capable of making decisions quickly and be flexible enough to adjust to any situation. Kanian women have shown these traits more than enough and have formed the basis of these squads. They are not only capable of quick and merciless extermination of their enemies, but are also well known for their stealthy intrusion into enemy territory. They are often tasked with collecting information, performing acts of sabotage and coming back alive.

For men, to become a scout is an honour that carries great responsibility. Women in the regiment are a precious asset and a male stalker is responsible for the death of his female companion, regardless of what the circumstances leading to her death were. Usually those squads under the name of “Death Messengers” are attached to army squads and working together on the battlefield.

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The Gibberling Trickster

Faction: League
Race: Gibberlings
Archetype: Scout
Armour type: Leather only
Specific ability: “Trickster’s Net”, Throws a net on his enemy that roots him.



Class background:
It is the most popular military profession among the Gibberlings. There are able to approach their victim and remain unnoticed, to shoot an arrow straight at their target and to set a trap. These hunters are sly – the best scouts in the world, elusive assassins and excellent pathfinders.

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The Xadaganian Saboteur

Faction: Empire
Race: Xadaganian
Archetype: Scout
Armour type: Leather only
Specific ability: “Saboteur’s mine”, Caster can plant an invisible mine that will explode when an enemy enters the area of effect of the mine.



Class background:
Saboteurs are the best scouts and assassins in the Imperial army. Due to their natural dexterity, perfidy and agility, saboteurs have become the main combat force within the Empire of Xadagan. If their enemy is strong, and if one has to win by skill over sheer force of numbers, saboteurs are the key troops. They are able to win in situations where other troops would surrender.

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The Orc Headhunter

Faction: Empire
Race: Orc
Archetype: Scout
Armour type: Leather only
Specific ability: “No escape”, Allows the caster to trace an enemy and will not let the enemy hide or become invisible from the caster’s sight.



Class background:
A large number of Orcs will not acknowledge any figure of authority. Such unsociable, independent Orcs can be trained to be excellent headhunters, experts of stealthy intrusion and of quick assassination. To become a true headhunter an Orc will have to pass through a psychological process aimed at breaking their good will and get used to the thought that killing an enemy in an “unfair combat” is morally acceptable.

Often, headhunters are treated as outcasts by their own tribe; even though everything has evolved among the “civilized” Orc tribes, this rarely occurs. On the contrary, a skilful headhunter will gain respect and maybe one day, one of these Orcs will become a well-known “hero” and will be added to the pantheon of honoured spirits.

Nowadays Orcs headhunters are few in number but form a mighty brotherhood. They share the secrets of their art within their own peers and thoroughly select the new members, before tackling them with the most difficult tasks. The harder the aim is to achieve, the tougher the Challenge, the more respect is gained to the one who accepts it and completes the task.

The Warrior Archetypes

There are four Warrior classes in Allods Online:

• The Kanian Champion
• The Gibberling Brawler
• The Xadaganian Vanquisher
• The Orc Brute

The Kanian Champion

Faction: League
Race: Kanian
Archetype: Warrior
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from level 20 only
Specific ability: “Champion’s Armour”, Increases AC of the caster.

Class background:
The Kanians are a warrior race. The art of warfare has flowed in their blood ever since the war against the Orcs. Champions are the backbone of their army. Welcome to the infantry!

“Queen of the battlefield”, “Essence of war”, “Army brotherhood”: just some of the tasks a Champion recruit has to accomplish during his short basic training. Successful completion will give them a position in a squad where they will wait until they are ready to be on the front lines.

The Kanian army is distinguished from other races by a very strong competitive spirit between its military units. This spirit has been carefully cultivated by the Generals within the army. The majority of the squad has bold, proud or magnificent names, with their own signs of distinction, mottos and specific colours.

The Gibberling Brawler

Faction: League
Race: Gibberlings
Archetype: Warrior
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Brawler’s Trick”, Increases Agility of the caster.

Class background:

Judging by their appearance, the Gibberlings are not the most suited creatures to be warriors: they are short and cannot boast well developed muscles. The Gibberlings warriors are known condescendingly as “brawlers”. Their weakness is successfully compensated by their agility and their unusual vitality. Gibberling brawlers are excellent with blade weapons and prefer short swords and spears.

A creature that can bravely fight off a polar bear with only a spear can also kill an orc, and there are numerous examples of it throughout the Gibberlings history. A brawler is like a bee stinging a bear. The best way to save yourself is to run away, especially when there is not a single bee, but the whole swarm.

The Xadaganian Vanquisher

Faction: Empire
Race: Xadaganian
Archetype: Warrior
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Vanquisher’s training”, Increases Magic resistance of the caster.

Class background:

Despite the fact that the majority of the Imperial warriors are Orcs, the Xadaganians treat their proficient vanquishers with arms and respect. Xadaganian vanquishers are distinguishable by their skills in sword fight, spear and axe – but not for their rage and strength. It is believed that in each Xadaganian vanquisher lives the spirit of the Great Ancestors, those who captured the southern part of Kania with their swords and founded the Xadagan Empire.

The Orc Brute

Faction: Empire
Race: Orc
Archetype: Warrior
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Brute’s Dab”, Increases Strength of the caster.

Class background:

Brutes are an honourable opponent and worthy of any Orcs. In principle, any orc can take an axe and protect his tribe. It is common to see a group of young orcs leaving their tribe to join the Imperial army. Squads of brutes are usually formed of such tribal groups.

In practice Orc warriors fight in a well organized and coordinated manner, with their friends side by side and under the flag or totem of their tribe. But again, it often happens that an Orc squad leave the army base without any explanation and come back to their yurt. However, there are professional Orc brutes that serve the Imperial army on a constant and faithful basis. They are the best warriors – strong, skilful, furious and capable of inspiring others by their actions on their heroic deeds.

There is a recent trend in the Imperial army to form squads under the authority of one leader. It can be viewed as a small horde of brothers where everyone is ready to give his life for his squad mates. These squads carry proud names usually related to the name of their Chief: “Hatchet’s Slackers”, “Colossus’ Sons”… When a squad leader dies on the field, his squad will keep his memory alive, and he becomes that fallen leader ‘hero’, whose spirit is worshipped from then on.

allods.gPotato.eu have offered us a dozen beta keys to distribute so you can join us in the closed beta. If you would like a chance to see this game in action, be sure to stay tuned for our competition at the end of November. If you want to make sure you get all of our updates, why not subscribe to the feed?

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

The casters are separated into three archtypes: Summoner, Mage and Psioniscist. Each of these archtypes has three different classes based on race.

Summoner classes:

1. The Elven Demonologist
2. The Xadaganian Defiler
3. The Arisen Savant

Mage classes:

1. The Kanian Magician
2. The Elven Archmage
3. The Arisen Sorcerer

Psioniscist classes:

1. The Gibberlings Seer
2. The Xadaganian Mentalist
3. The Arisen Occultist

We have a more detailed look at each of these classes along with images from allods.gPotato.eu

The Summoners

The Elven Demonologist

Faction: League
Race: Elf
Archetype: Summoner
Armour type: Cloth only
Specific ability: “Demonologist’s Curse”, Curses an enemy with a DOT that heals a party members.

Class background:

Summoning is only for the Chosen few. Not every elf is ready to accept the prospect of beauty, death and creation. There was a time when this kind of magic was forbidden, in additional to mind magic. Mainly due to the activities of the de Desirae Family, members of the class who usually practice the magic of Death has become an integral part of some Elven life.

The Xadaganian Defiler

Faction: Empire
Race: Xadaganian
Archetype: Summoner
Armour type: Cloth only
Specific ability: “Defiler’s Care”, Increases Strength and Dexterity of the caster’s summoned pets.

Class background:

Xadaganian Defilers are all-purpose soldiers, capable of protecting themselves and helping their allies. In combat, Defilers are self-reliant. At the same time there is no one else in the Imperial or League armies with equal skills when it comes to dealing with the resurrected undead.

The Arisen Savant

Faction: Empire
Race: Arisen
Archetype: Summoner
Armour type: Cloth only
Specific ability: “Savant’s Touch”, Fully heals all pets of the caster.

Class background:

Summoning is a natural gift to all Arisen. Even after two thousand years the Arisen have a lot to teach their Xadaganian colleagues. However, the sense of this magic discipline has changed for the Arisen. In the past, an Arisen Savant’s main task was to prepare the dead for consecutive resurrection.  Known for their thoroughness and great abilities to use magic and learn quickly, Arisen are now solving others matters; hence appeared a new name for this chosen path: Savant.

The Mages

The Kanian Magician

Faction: League
Race: Kanian
Archetype: Mage
Armour type: Cloth only
Specific ability: “Magician’s Concentration”, Casting cannot be interrupted.

Class background:

Kanians are not the most talented race with magic on Sarnaut. However there are some of them who possess an instinctive inclination to discover secret and unknown knowledge. The events that occurred the night the Astral portals opened have significantly determined the foundation of the Schools of Magic. Schools of Magic were seeking the most gifted Kanians who could complete the whole training course and become a Great Mage, capable of sustaining the allods.

But not everyone who decides to master secret knowledge can complete the training. In the past everyone who had completed the study could try to pass the Test, which meant death if they failed. Now only those who have a strong prospect of successfully passing the test are admitted into the school of magic. For other pupils that don’t make the grade to do the test, their studies are over and the best option available to them is to find an alternative career within the army.

Magicians, those capable of commanding the powers of nature, are the elite squads in the Kanian Kingdom. Their power is used to suppress enemies, while the rest of the army tries to protect them from any threats. The power of magicians inspires respect and awe. They often have leading roles in their faction’s victory in battle.

The Elven Archmage

Faction: League
Race: Elf
Archetype: Mage
Armour type: Cloth only
Specific ability: “Archmage’s Enlightenment”, Increases Intelligence of the caster.

Class background:

The Elves study the basics of elemental magic during their childhood while they are at school. They study it at the same time as they learn how to read and write. So there is no surprise as to why the Elves are the best mages in the League. Magic has a role in every aspect of Elven life. New magic achievements can usually guarantee superiority of one of the Houses.

The Arisen Sorcerer

Faction: Empire
Race: Arisen
Archetype: Mage
Armour type: Cloth only
Specific ability: “Astral Blast”, Inflicts direct Astral damage.

Class background:

Studying elemental magic will leads to the path of Sorcerers. In Hicut, the Zems Magic High School, magic controlling natural elements was underdeveloped compared to invoking. A large reason for it was the tragic example of the Junes who had developed wizardry into a highly developed magic discipline. However, it did not make them successful.

After the resurrection of the Arisen, Zems found their place in this world and became the most persistent scholars of the Xadaganian wizards. Due to their natural inclinations they surpassed their teachers in many aspects. Now the Sorcerers are the backbone of the Order of Magic Governance (OMG), an integral part of the regular Imperial army.

The Psioniscists

The Gibberlings Seer

Faction: League
Race: Gibberlings
Archetype: Psionicist
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Insight”, Allows the caster to predict his enemy’s actions and thus avoid any of their melee attacks.

The Gibberlings don’t have a regular army. They are Gibberlings after all. They are however, interested in protecting and guarding their community, their house and their ship. There are Gibberlings who mainly focus on fishing and hunting, and they are talented tricksters. Everybody in the Gibberlings society tries to be useful and helpful. If the Gibberlings are threatened by a fight or war, the whole community will pick up weapons and defend their home.

Class background:

Mental magic is one of the types of High Magic. If all other races show abilities with the variety of forms of High magic, the Gibberlings are only known as masters of one. The explanation of this paradox lies in the Gibberlings religion and is related to their skill with fortune telling. The Gibberlings don’t want to seek answers on their own as they consider this to be a waste of time which only a clever Kanian or Elf pays attention to. If there is a gift – wonderful, if there is none – may the Thread bless you.

The Xadaganian Mentalist

Faction: Empire
Race: Xadaganian
Archetype: Psionicist
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Mentalist’s Will”, Immunizes caster to any melee damage.

Class background: The most mysterious and probably the most powerful troop of the Xadaganian army is the mentalist. They are capable of turning an enemy’s weapon against them with just the power of thought. Anyone who decides to enter into battle against a Xadaganian mentalist is sentencing themselves to death. A mentalist only has to execute the sentence.

The Arisen Occultist

Faction: Empire
Race: Arisen
Archetype: Psionicist
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Stress Coping”, Clears the mind of the caster.

Class background: The Arisen passions for magic studies have led them to master a new discipline, mind control. The vast majority of Zems were formerly mechanically enhanced people who developed their mind to be their main instrument two thousand years ago. Nowadays psychics can be found in the MANANAZEM Research Institute, on the battlefields and in the basements of the Committee where their art helps the Imperial Intelligence Service.

allods.gPotato.eu have offered us a dozen beta keys to distribute so you can join us in the closed beta. If you would like a chance to see this game in action, be sure to stay tuned for our competition at the end of November. If you want to make sure you get all of our updates, why not subscribe to the feed?

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Today, we are focusing on the Healer and the Templar classes.

The priest archetype has four different classes: the Kanian Cleric, the Elven Priest, the Xadaganian Inquisitor and the Arisen Heretic. The Templar archetype equivalents follow the same pattern: the Kanian Knight, the Elven Paladin, the Xadaganian Commisar and the Orc Reaver.

This closer look and the images were brought to you by allods.gPotato.eu.

The Healers

The Kanian Cleric

Faction: League
Race: Kanian
Archetype: Healer
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 10, Plate from lvl 30
Specific ability: “Tensess’ shield”, Absorbs any damage.

Class background:

Clerics are the servants of the Church of Light as well as being knights, but they have a specific role in civilian and army life across Kania. During peacetime, their mission is to propagate the principles of the Church of Light, as well as helping the sick and the feeble.
But when war occurs, they fight side by side with other defenders of the Kanian kingdom. Nearly every military squad contains a cleric granting help and healing to its congregation. Clerics are the last hope for warriors, archers and mages. They are highly respected and command a huge amount of authority among their fellow warriors and superiors. They are so powerful that specialist squads of clerics are often created to inflict huge damage to enemies with their faith.

The Elven Priest

Faction: League
Race: Elf
Archetype: Healer
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 10, Plate from lvl 30
Specific ability: “Priest’s Revenge”, Burns some of the enemy’s mana or energy.

Class background:

The Magic of Light has allowed the elves to enhance themselves to a new level of self-perfection. The main influencing factor that determined the acceptance of the Church doctrine by the elves was the death of Tensess. The Elves believe that the Great Mage of Kania died not only with dignity but in a heroic way. In short, his death was beautiful. This one event made the Elves treat the religion of Light with respect. It brought the grandeur of the Church rituals and the art of icon painting, inseparably connected with magic practice and ability to save lives. As a result, the Elven priests are strong preachers, capable of powerful sermons in otherwise mundane church services.

The Xadaganian Inquisitor

Faction: Empire
Race: Xadaganian
Archetype: Healer
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 10, Plate from lvl 30
Specific ability: “For the Motherland”, Immunizes the caster and their party from all movement and any control attempt.

Class background:

Inquisitors are a new kind of troop. Their main task on the battlefield is to heal the wounded and to resurrect the fallen. Apart from this they perform many tasks. Within the Imperial Church, they are given the responsibility to inspire soldiers to be heroic while at the same time punish apostates and deserters.

The Arisen Heretic

Faction: Empire
Race: Arisen
Archetype: Healer
Armour type: Cloth from lvl 1, Leather from lvl 10, Plate from lvl 30
Specific ability: “Wisdom of Arisen”, Increases Wisdom of the caster.

Class background:

Heretics are priests of the Arisen, who voluntarily made a vow to serve the Triune Imperial Church. Being atheists, heretics study and research the Holy magic that came into this world. They are the most devoted members of the Xadaganian Church in performing rituals, following the vows and penance. They compensate their lack of faith by sheer endeavour and thoroughness.

The Templars

The Kanian Knight

Faction: League
Race: Kanian
Archetype: Templar
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Knight’s Strike”, Inflicts melee damage and DOTs the enemy.

Class background:
Knights were initially the first warriors to make up the bulk of the Kanian army. They wielded the magic of Light, granted to them by Tensess. They acquired a reputation of being irreconcilable fighters against demons, and they served as the backbone of the Kanian armies that fought in the Great Astral Campaign.

Becoming a knight means spending your life serving the Church of Light, being an example of courage and selflessness on the battlefield as well as in civilian life. Recently, with the increased role of the Church in Kanian life, knights are usually assigned to command posts in important units.

The Elven Paladin

Faction: League
Race: Elf
Archetype: Templar
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Paladin’s Triumph”, Inflicts deeper melee damage that might not be healable on the first heal attempt.

Class background:
There is a social aspect that explains the Elves readiness to accept the new teachings. Holy magic gives elves an opportunity to combine a life of service with beautiful status. It is something new that was unknown before which has given the Big Game of the Elven Houses a new impulse.

So, the Elves became not only priests, but they also joined the Templar order and called themselves “Paladins”. They tried to emancipate themselves not only through magic, but also in combat. This has been a significant revolution in the Elves position in the world of Allods.

The Xadaganian Commissar

Faction: Empire
Race: Xadaganian
Archetype: Templar
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Commissar’s War Cry”, Lowers any damage received by party members.

Class background:
Commissars are a new kind of troops. They are the ideological chiefs of the Imperial army. Their weapon is their holy words, sanctified by the Magic of Light, and their personal example of courage and valour in the name of the Great Nezeb. Commissars are relatively new troops to the Xadaganian army.

They have not yet had the opportunity to prove themselves in battle or test their competency in combat. They are eager and willing to fight in order to show their loyalty to the ideals of the Church of Light.

The Orc Reaver

Faction: Empire
Race: Orc
Archetype: Templar
Armour type: Leather from lvl 1, Plate from lvl 20
Specific ability: “Reaver’s Coup”, Inflicts a direct melee damage and burns the enemy’s mana or energy.

Class background:
The first time Orcs met Templars was during the Second Astral Campaign when the armies of the League and of the Empire united to throw demons back to where they came from. At that time Kanian Champions and Orc Brutes were the backbone of the army. The holy wrath of templars and the savage rage of the Orcs ensured victory. That campaign showed that unbelievable thing can happen –former sworn enemies fighting on the same side, learning and estimating the powers of their rival.

Orc shamans wanted to bring up a Great Mage in the appearance of Orc templars. The new magic of Tensess, the magic of Light was an opportunity to learn something new. That is how Orc Reavers appeared. It is worth mentioning that there are not so many true followers of Tensess amongst Reavers. They generally treat the necessary Rituals only as necessity.

It is well known that only true believers of the Sacrifice of Tensess can become true Reavers, able to do miracles. They are not many among the Orcs but from day to day the number of those who kneel before the Church of Light grows. We can say that Tensess became a “hero” for the Orcs – they worship his spirit as well as the other Orc fighters who worship the spirit of Scull.

allods.gPotato.eu have offered us a dozen beta keys to distribute so you can join us in the closed beta. If you would like a chance to see this game in action, be sure to stay tuned for our competition at the end of November. If you want to make sure you get all of our updates, why not subscribe to the feed?

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Today, the focus is on the Warden archetype. There are three different warden classes: the Kanian Druid, the Gibberling Animist and the Orc Shaman.

The Kanian Druid

Faction: League
Race: Kanian
Archetype: Warden
Armour type: cloth from lvl 1, leather from lvl 10
Specific ability: “Scare’em”, Order pet to scare an enemy.

Class background: The order of druids is an informal and ancient organization. It originates from ancient paganism, weird and insufficient studies of magic and the natural powers which are difficult to control. The basic rules of druid magic are taught in Kanian schools of magic, but only at an elementary level.

To become a real druid, a pupil has to find a personal teacher on his own and spend many years as a hermit. Unlike others classes, druids do not have military squads or signs of distinction. They usually are never assigned to the army as they appear when and where they want. However, nobody will refuse their help as druids are versatile fighters, capable of defending themselves and help their allies. They appear unexpectedly, like a ghost in the battlefield, but their appearance at a critical moment can sway the balance in their country’s favour. Once they have done what they come to do they vanish and move on. This has contributed to a large number of legends featuring them.

“Druids are our last hope” is a phrase that League soldiers bitterly joke when they can see that the outcome of battle is on a razors edge.

The Gibberling Animist

Faction: League
Race: Gibberlings
Archetype: Warden
Armour type: cloth from lvl 1, leather from lvl 10
Specific ability: “Hold’em”, Orders pet to rush an enemy. Enemy cannot attack anyone but the pet.

Class background: An Animist is a Warden among the Gibberlings. They used to be the most respected and honourable profession. The Gibberlings always wanted to live in harmony with nature and Animists were the keepers of the Great Tree. When wandering, Animists ensure the Gibberlings survival. They support them not only with their art but also with tales and stories about the past and dreams for the future. It is no surprise that animists often become Elders and spiritual counsellors of young sprouts.

The Orc Shaman

Faction: Empire
Race: Orc
Archetype: Warden
Armour type: cloth from lvl 1, leather from lvl 10
Specific ability: “Bonds of Brotherhood”, Any damage received is shared by the pet and the caster.

Class background: Shamans and Reavers are the second group within the Orcs that prefer magic to weapons. This situation evolved over the last 300 years, since the Orcs fell under the rule of a Chief-Shaman. Shamans purposely look for the gifted ones and teach them their art.

The path of a newly initiated shaman is connected either to his native tribe (where he replaces his teacher and becomes the new chief), or directly to the Imperial army. Orc shamans form separate small groups to provide support, inspire warriors about heroic deeds and save and treat wounded troops.

We’ll be running through all the classes and then running a competition for access to the closed beta.

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Allods Online is a free-to-play MMORPG based on a micro-transaction system. It is actually the fourth game in a series of games started by Nival Interactive, with the latest version developed by Nival Online. The series has a history which stretches back to 1998, and a game lore that covers thousands of years of in-game history. Set on the shattered remains of the planet Sarnaut, players will have the chance to explore the Astral space, battle Astral demons and fight for domination of dozens of allods, islands floating in the Astral space.

Here’s an official trailer showing the Astral:

But my favorite aspect so far is Goblinoball. It is, as you might imagine, a football-like sport played by orcs, using goblins for the ball.

Undoubtedly, Orcs are physically perfect for this kind of sport. It is so important to them that many sports teams have their own scars, colours and tattoos, about the only thing that can get a female Orcs attention. The game is so simple, and Goblins so plentiful, that the sport is available to every member of Orc society and even sometimes participating teams from other races. The game has no strict rules, but the Goblinoball Stadium is located on a contested allod known across the allods as “Competition Island”. When you get in game, it’s situated rather far from your starting point, so you’ll need to bulk up before trying to take on established players.

Each team has up to six players; one is the goalkeeper, with specific abilities. Two teams face each other with a ball, a Goblin, in the centre. They then split into backs and forwards, with the main objective to kick the goblin into their opponent’s goal, while defending their own net. Players can also learn about the intricacies of the sport by completing quests on the way to Competition Island.

I love the fact that they have included Goblinoball as a co-op game alongside the more traditional PvP in the Astral battles. You don’t have to be an orc to play Goblinoball but I have to admit, I’m tempted.

The game is going into closed beta soon and you can apply to take part on the Allods Online gPotato website. I’ll be posting some more information about the game shortly, in hopes of getting early access myself!

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.