However, the other thing that's making the game seem slow paced to me is that I haven't gotten any new general purpose combat abilities in ages. I've been using the same two buttons in 90% of fights since I was level seven or so. I do have a lot of neat situational skills, such as heals, a health drain, and a rezz ability. In fact, I recently got a plague heal ability that I really like. You cast it on one target and it bounces around among friendlies as long as there is a fresh target in range. You can heal a whole raid with it . . .very cool. I also have a great instant cast fear ability. However, situations where I need to use any of those abilities just don't come up too often, since I mostly solo.
I am still a bit curious about the PvP areas. But if I'm not having enough fun to log now, when I can quest uninterrupted, it's hard to believe that I will start having fun again when I enter an area where I'm at the very bottom of the PvP food chain. Regardless, I'm just not very motivated to push through those last two levels right now, and my spare time isn't exactly abundant.
I do not by this post mean to imply that Allods isn't a good game. It's a great game. Allods kept me entertained for a little over two months, which is roughly the same run I get out of the average sub-based MMO I try out. I can recommend without hesitation that anyone who isn't burned out on EQ/ WoW style fantasy MMOs should try it. It's one of the most polished FtP MMOs I've ever set foot in. The first ten levels on the Empire side were incredibly fun, and had a really intriguing Eastern European flare to them. I would say I was having good solid fun until at least the high teens. The game is going to stay on my hard-drive for certain, but for now I'm off to different pastures.
Magaera at level 20, with her pet robo-scorpion:
I suppose those last few levels would pass quicker if you were really looking forward to the PvP. Since that isn't much of a carrot, every bogs down.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you enjoyed your time in the game. Getting more than a month into any MMO is a good sign.
So what MMO are you headed to now that Allods is back-burnered?
ReplyDelete@Anjin: I completely agree, there aren't a ton of games that have lasted me more than a month. And I never did spend any money, so it's hard to argue it wasn't a good value.
ReplyDelete@Blue Kae: I originally planned to head to STO next, however while checking prices for it I stumbled on the SWG "all of it" pack for $20. I've been meaning to give SWG a real shot for ages, so I'm taking the trial for a spin this week. In fact, that's my next post :-)
Not SWG, argh...
ReplyDeleteI live AoC, but one thing that bothers me is that new spells and combat abilities become fewer and farther in between the higher level you get. As much as I love the combat, it would be great to get something, anything!
WoW has a nice setup; every even level for the most part you are going to be training for something, or you are going to get a talent point that will unlock something new possibly, it's a virtual carrot on a stick and it helps keep the player interested in playing.
@Jaydub: that's exactly what killed AoC for me when I tried it. I was using the exact same combos every single fight for way too long. In a game where you have to kill something every ten feet, it eventually gets old no matter how flashy the game is.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of SWG, it's one of the few old MMOs I've been curious about but never played for any length of time (I lasted about a week when I first tried SWG pre NGE). I feel as if right now is probably the last time it will make remote sense to try it (i.e., before the bulk of the community moves on to Bioware's game, and while the graphics are still passable). I'm not sure I'll still be playing ten days from now, but it's been interesting to see how the post NGE game turned out.
I got "bogged down" in Allods at about level 7. I enjoyed the summoner and warden classes the most. I totally agree that the Empire side is awesome and the other side was just "meh" not only for art direction but in how they set up their lowbie areas.
ReplyDeleteI didn't plan on spending any money on it either, so I kept it installed figuring I could pop in to it every so often if I wasn't "feeling it" for the other 3 MMO's I play at least semi-regularly (EQ2, EVE, and DDO -- how's that for an odd mix?), but this week I saw their Evony ad rip-off and decided that it was so silly as to make me lose any desire to play Allods at all ever, so then I uninstalled it.
Aren't ads supposed to draw people in, not push them away?
@Magson: I haven't stumbled across any of their Evony style adds. I hope I don't. I agree that's kind of a turn off.
ReplyDelete