One can only ignore game imbalances and flaws for so long, and people can only be so patient. It would suffice if the GMs promised balancing patches in the future, but seeing how we get a glimpse of RU patches anyways - the future looks bleak. What's especially questionable is how RU servers are going to add "new content" aka upping the level cap to 42, without fixing all the bugs and glitches of the first 40 levels. Yes bored 40s are complaining, but I think it's in the best interest of the game to, well you know, make the trip smoother before you add more problems to the pile.

I have observed the forums for quite awhile now, and I see the same responses and the same inquiries by many players... I'll be looking into both sides' defenses and their imposed changes.

Lots of text ahead!

Since we are getting a new patch within the next few weeks, a lot of players are speculating about the "hidden" changes, and other players are upset about the future of cash shops. Although NA servers have Fear of Death, and are not changing it for awhile... our Allods friends in Russia have voted it away, to be replaced with a "cursed" item system. This has caused some unrest in the forums, but no one seems to know for sure exactly how often items will be cursed upon death.

Of course along with cursed items comes with cash shop items to prevent and/or remove these curses. Allodsfan.com has a few articles about translated patch notes and RU's new cash shop system. Their new shop seems to be a type of indirect subscription model (with future xp scrolls), which I have mixed feelings about... at least the prices are very affordable.

A few things to keep in mind: since we are only on version 0.6 and this is in 1.0+, we will probably not get these changes for quite awhile. Gpotato has shown us in the past (and present) that what the Russians get, isn't exactly what we get. I hope Gpotato will make the right decisions to keep this game popular in NA (and for all the international players too).

Have you made any cash shop purchases? When I first joined I was awed enough by the game to state that I would "pay a subscription for this game" but seeing how those who run the NA servers do not have direct connection to the developers (Gpotato = middle man) and thus cannot hotfix aspects of the game, I have become a bit more hesitant. :)