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Thats right. Allods Online Open Beta starts on February 16th, 2010, or so we know from the Business Wire. We will all soon be able to play a character on Allods Online by Astrum Nival without the fear of getting wiped! Yay!

Well, this is earlier then I expected! but this is what the press is saying with Tara Einis of Gala-Net has the source.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gala-Net, Inc., a leading free-to-play online game publisher, has announced today their Open Beta Test (OBT) for Allods Online in the North American market. The Open Beta Test will go live on February 16th and will allow players access to the entire game. All players are welcome to join the world of Allods, and there will be no restrictions to join!

Allods Online is a revolutionary sci-fi fantasy MMORPG developed by Astrum Nival, creators of Heroes of Might & Magic V, with a budget of $12 million and four years in development. Astrum Nival is owned by Mail.Ru, the leading online gaming publisher in Russia. Two warring factions, League and Empire, vie for control of allods—islands floating in Astral space. The truly unique aspect of Allods Online is the Astral ship system. Players can create their own ships, crewed by entire parties where each player has a distinct role, from navigator and helmsman to engineer and gunner. From their astral ship, players can navigate the randomly generated astral space where they can explore uncharted allods, fight massive Astral demons, and engage in Astral piracy on unwary fellow travelers. The game features an unprecedented amount of content for a free-to-play MMORPG: 2 factions, 6 races, 8 archetypes, 28 classes, and over 2,000 quests. The production values are top-notch with full motion-capture animation, top award-wining artists, and a soundtrack by Mark Morgan, composer for the hit TV-series Dexter, Fallout & Fallout 2, and Planescape: Torment.

“Allods Online had a phenomenal response from users across all of our closed beta tests! The positive feedback has been overwhelming, from hundreds of press articles and blog posts, to tens of thousands of emails and forum comments. Players have been raving about every aspect of the game experience, from astral ships and exploration, to the wonderfully detailed steampunk atmosphere. Most importantly, however, we’ve had countless players tell us that Allods has demolished the standard for quality in a microtransactional game. With our open beta, we welcome all newcomers to discover the Allods universe, as they journey from the planet of Sarnaut to the farthest reaches of Astral space.” – Patrick Paik, Marketing Manager, Gala-Net, Inc.

Users can sign up for the Open Beta at http://allods.gpotato.com

Check it out the article at Business Wire. Business Wire is a very reliable source, and has been in the past. Hence why this is posted.

Original Novograd Times

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Version 2.1.6.2049

New Content

    * Naga Acropolis Demon Stronghold
    * Elven Elite Skill 45, 50(LV)
    * Class Balancing: Knight
    * Crafting System adjustments
    * Epic Quest Pt. IV: "Great Barrier"
    * Ancient Treasure
    * New Public Encounter: "Bloodbath Valley"
    * Start of the Flower Festival
    * Addition to the Guild interface: A "Weekly Resources Report" has been added, listing the players' contributions to the guild.

Additions

    * New Quest added: "Green Leaf Dew" hint text. When the player accepts this quest, there will be an option for him to select in the dialog which will explain how the Green Leaf Dew can be obtained. This dialog option will only disappear once the player has finished the quest.
    * Green Leaf Dew for the planting craftsman quest. Planting level has been increased to 40.
    * Blue armor items now drop in all instances.
    * In the light of adventurers encountering difficulties in completing their quests due to insufficient supplies, the allied commander has ordered a scouting party to assist adventurers with supplies at the Aotulia Volcano zone.
    * Lieutenant Diloss has dispatched a group of special scouts dressed as Zurhidion members to infiltrate the Naga Acropolis. Besides collecting information, they are also responsible for helping our allies bypass the stringent security and infiltrate the Naga Acropolis and prepare supplies for our people.
    * 29 new titles (level 1-3) have been added to Elven Island，Weeping Coast，Savage Plains，Aotulia Volcano etc.


Class changes and adjustments

    Knights

        * Knight ability "Punishment": The target needs to be under the influence of only one seal (instead of 3). In return part of the damage is now calculated against the target's Stamina attribute.
              o Seal 1: 30 points of damage plus 10% Stamina
              o Seal 2: 60 points of damage plus 20% Stamina
              o Seal 3: 90 points of damage plus 30% Stamina
        * Knight ability "Mana Return": This skill now can be used while the target has only one seal. Additional seals will increase the skill's effect, but also add additional 6 secs of cooldown time.
        * Knight ability "Threaten": The seals on the target will no longer be removed when using this ability and the damage output has been increased. In return the skill now has an 8 second cooldown.

    Mage / Warrior

        * Mage: "Energy Influx" and "Shadow Fury" (Priest / Rogue Elite) can now be used at the same time.
        * Warrior: "Moon Cleave" can now be used without spellcasting beforehand.

General Changes

    * Purple armor from all instances now grants more HP than before. Additionally the HP bonuses will now stack (add up).
    * Arena Gifts (1v1 fights) now contain a potion closer to the character's level.
    * Abilities for magical musical instruments increased:

        * Lute: Increased Physical Attack Speed from 10% to 25% for each round played (5s)
        * Guitar: Increased spellcasting speed from 10% to 25% for each round played.
        * Saxophone: Increased the defensive ability. For each round played, the damage received by up to 6 party members within a range of 80 is reduced by 15% (from 5%).
        * Rattle: Increased Defense and Magical Defense from 8% to 15% for each round played.
        * Tambourine: Increased Attack and Magical Attack from 8% to 15% for each round played.

    * The difficulty of Malatina's Dungeon 2 has been tweaked:

        * The time limit for the game has been changed from 10 to 15 mins.
        * To complete the prerequisite for the first Special Treasure Chest to appear, players now have 6 minutes instead of 5.
        * The second Special Treasure Chest (complete round three) now appears after 9 minutes instead of 8.
        * There is now a chance of getting Phirius tokens from normal treasure chests.

    * When character dies while in a dialog, the character will not get Moa’s core.
    * Phirius potions / elixir / special water series can now be while under the invincibility buff.
    * Spell casting will now reduce weapon durability.
    * Increased the effect duration from 600 to 900 sec of: Roasted Fish, Roasted Meat, Roasted Salty Fish, Garlic Roasted Meat, Salted Fish, Smoked Bacon, Salted Fish with Sauce, Smoked Bacon with Herbs, Honey roasted Chicken, Fish Egg Sandwich, Creamy Seafood Pie, Meatsauce Burrito, Deluxe Seafood, Spicy Meatsauce Burrito, Swamp Mix, Seaworm Salad, Delicious Swamp Mix, Unimaginable Salad, General’s three-color Sausages, Cheese Fishcake, Imperial Seafood Pie, Dragon’s Banquet, Doom’s Banquet
    * Increased the Physical Damage bonus of the Spicy Meatsauce Bur...