Allods Online UPDATE 3/20/13

 Allods Online is a AAA mmorpg filled beautiful environments that change from a scorching hot dessert to a lush jungle and to a robust city filled with players and npcs.After logging in and reaching the character selection screen you will see your available classes and races.These are separated into two factions.The League,which is more of fantasy oriented faction with castles and forests,has the Gibberling,Elves,and Kanian Humans.The Empire which has the Arisen,Orcs,and Xadaganians.After selecting your race and faction you can now choose what class to play as.Note that some races cannot play as certain classes!

  Now the gameplay is as most mmorpg games.You do quests that give exp,honor,and gold to progress while doing instances to gather gear for yourself.Now the noteworthy thing is that combat is more...tactical...than other mmorpgs.Some classes do more damage if you build up enough points while others can activate special effects depending on the amount of points they have.This is where resource managing comes into play.You cannot simply barge into battle and faceroll your keys to get a win.More often than not your death is your fault with one exception which I will cover later on in the review.
  After reaching level 10 you gain access to the talent tree that allows you to build your character for any sort of situations.You gain 1 "ruby" or talent point per level and can distribute it on the grid so long as it is connected to another already highlighted talent.This may seem troublesome but with recent updates some classes can get all the major talents in a few levels!Some talents though are virtually useless and are never used by many knowledgeable players.Thus I suggest you take a look at your classes forum section and read up on what does what and what talents are useful for a certain situation.

  After you advance to level 25 you are sent off to an island where you will get your first taste of PVP.Now most of you think that PvP is skill based.But this is not true for everyone.Some players have purchased runes from...you guessed it...the almighty Cash Shop.True the game has  a in game trader to get Cash Shop currency for gold...but lets face it...you have to pay in order to survive on this island!Most of you think you can go on without having to fight...wrong again...some quests will have you going deep into the opposing factions territory.More than likely you will be used to seeing the screenshot on the left when you get killed by a level 25 player with level 8 or 9 runes.
  To make matters worse some raid groups REQUIRE that you have a minimum of a full set of level 7 runes.Without them you are going to go through hell trying to find a raid group that would willingly take you under its wing.So unless you have spare cash laying around you are going to be in for the toughest ride of your life.Aside from the fact that you need to pay to be competitive this game is still worth the work.Marvelous instances and raids gorgeous graphics and a diverse selection of classes and builds you will enjoy your time playing this game.Even if it is for a short while.
  I forgot to mention the bard class.Though at first glance one would assume it is a musical class that can buff and debuff parties.But it can also AoE and do insane amounts of damage also it can shield itself from damage for a set period.This class has been referred to as OP and I must agree.Be aware of this class during PvP!
  Lords of Destiny is now live!What does this mean for you the player?More content of course!New skills,gear,a glyph system,more Astral Bosses for those Astral faring players!There is much more to discover now!Here is a link stating what has been changed and added! http://allods-forum.gpotato.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=62491
Final Review:
Gameplay-10/10
Content-9/10
Population-8/10
Balance-6/10
Cash Shop-4/10
Crafting-1/10