Not really 'free' to play.

[maniacal<1>]

Oh I know, they offer that as an option, but the unfortunate fact is that this game can't be played without spending money, even on the f2p server. You will not be able to make it past lvl 20 unless you have a full group of friends playing with you, have a high level guildie running you through content, or you pay money to buy whatever those blue gems are called to buy incense to get your deity buff. It equals a 50% increase to damage and healing, and all content is scaled to where this buff is necessary. Even as a pure DPS class, you will notice around lvl 15 that enemies take 2-3 times longer to kill, and therein lies the draw. You NEED that buff, AND the Speck of Life consumables that trickle in from drops or that you can buy via the cash shop because they both increase DPS and survivability substantially.

Similarly, you need money to buy megaphones for global chat, to buy mount feed to raise a mount, to buy an item to let you raise your crafting ability past a certain point. Everything you want to do costs money. And don't let the 'can be bought on AH' fool you...the prices for even the simplest item are so astronomical it'd take you grinding for months at cap level to be able to buy them.

Allods is a fun game. I like the asthetics ( especially the Empire ) and the classes and skill trees are nice and robust, but the "f2p" server and greedy paygating are among the worst I have seen, and have been since this game first came out in the West ( I played then, too...even subbed a bit ). If you have no problem buying a subscription with third-party currency ( I refuse to ) to play on the 'fun' server, or don't mind a game that was designed to overlay a dollar sign over every in-game mechanic, then have at it.

However if you are looking for a real f2p MMORPG with optional cosmetics to spend money on, I'd look elsewhere.

[maniacal<1>]

Originally posted by kamikaze-TMX:

you need to do all quests in the area's then you can get rep and buy blue stuff... thats how you do it... did lv engi to lv 20... and did it with easy doing all the quests to get rep and buy better stuff :)

Yes, I am aware of how to play an MMORPG. I over-leveled the zone I was questing in by 4, running pure DPS class, and it fell into exactly the same rhythm as it did way back when I leveled my Warden to 40+. I'm glad you're enjoying it, I hope you continue to enjoy it, but the fact remains that this game is designed to milk you for money, and if you haven't hit that wall yet you will soon. Preference of the game is an opinion, but the fact you will have to pay is not, it is a guarantee.

[RopeDrink]

Heya Manical,

This is essentially a 'relative' debate, often hinging on what you wish to achieve from Allods vs how much time and work you wish to invest in that goal. There are players who amassed everything for free, others who decided to pay small amounts just to enjoy things on a calm, casual level -- and of course there are some who paid massive ammounts to enjoy everything on demand.

I've met quite a few players who took the 'free' approach, and have all they could have ever hoped for (some of which you can chat to on the forums). Granted, it takes time and effort (a considerable amount), and some of said people have been playing since Allods originally began thus have had that time, but the word 'impossible' doesn't apply. F2P means you can pay for what you like, whereas P2P is pay once to have access to everything. Experienced players on F2P will typically blend both, resorting to cash only if in a hurry or if they feel like it, given you can amass fortunes in-game thus purchase crystals or even use the exchange rate if you're feeling generous.

On a personal level, I joined Allods (game) via F2P in 2010, long before being becoming a part of its official team. At the time of joining, I had paid a considerable sum of subscription fee's to other MMORPGs over many years. In comparison, once I reached level 30+ here in Allods (which was easy even back then, despite the game being considered much, much harder in the old days), I decided that I wished to stay, and enjoyed it enough to settle on one or two subscription-worth of payments to acquire a comfortable place in mid/end-game. This fee paled in comparison to how much is expected from some standard products, from P2P models, and even other 'free' games, so to me it was entirely worth it and led to countless years of enjoyment and memories in Allods.

On the above note, runes are the biggest deal given their flat increase to power/defense when your 'blessing' is active (which you can survive on using the daily + 2hr Potions from your capital city. ie. buying incense is purely for convenience, not a requirement unless you play more than 2hrs a day - and even then it's not mandatory). Assuming a player can increase their runes to mid-level (let's say 666-666), life on F2P improves significantly. It was all that was needed for borderline competitive end-game back in the old days (comfortable PvP and PvE, but obviously not able to overthrow those with vastly higher rune levels ie. a more casual approach), it is likely the same now - and it didn't cost too much. Whether this is a requirement is, again, up to personal opinion based on how much work you wish to put into the game -- and what is 'too much' is also relative.

The class changes in 7.0 have also made PvP more gear reliant than before. Runes are still a factor, but there are plenty of reports of experienced veterans being soundly challenged by less money driven competition.

Crystals being obtainable in-game and out assure that it never always boils down to the wallet. You can acquire much the same with work, time and dedication -- and this is typically expected when the game is playable entirely for free.

Ultimately, this discussion has been held so many times over the years that it's elevated to near undebatable territory. People say X, people say Y. It really is better to leave it up to the individual player to make up their own mind up based on their own willingness to either spend, or not spend -- rather than post flat-out statements to discourage or disuade others who may not find it as bad as it is made out to be on either side of the spectrum.

If you wish to continue the debate, I recommend doing so via our forums, given you will get a more meaty perspective from both sides when more veterans are involved.

Regardless, thanks for the feedback!