It looks like someone's been hard at work! That's right, Gala Networks Europe, the publishers of Allods Online in Europe and North America, have just announced their first major update to this Russian MMORPG. With this update comes the Arena of Death, which they claim to be "the next step in ground Player vs Player combat."

For players level 38 or higher who want to try out the Astral content, or while their ship is still under construction, they can now check out an Astral ship training mode. As well, a number of improvements have been made to the Astral Ships themselves, with a number of improvements being made to the game play details, like decreased damage in some areas, in addition to a redesign of the league ship and components, such as the visor, cannons, shields and the motor.

As well, some camps and main capitals have been bolstered with more policemen and an improved respawn timer, and the chance to increase reputation with the enemy's faction has been removed.

Finally, more quests have been added to the game and a number of existing quests have been polished or fixed. This also comes with many graphical enhancements to the game which the team claims should "subtly enhance the look of the game without changing the overall visual style."

You can check out all the information at the European Allods Online website - it's just a matter of time before this comes to North America!

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between an MMORPG developer and an MMORPG publisher? Well, wonder no more, as it seems as though the North American Allods Online GM team has finally decided to clarify the entire issue in their first "Allods Team Diary." For those of you who don't know, a large portion of Free-to-Play MMORPGs actually have two seperate teams involved in the existence of an MMO: the publishing team, and the development team. In most situations, these two teams are actually very different, with the Publishing Team being in charge of GM Events, Localization, Bug Reporting, Q&A and Customer Support, while the Development Team is entirely concerned with the development, creation and balance of the MMORPG itself. Unfortunately, because Development teams are usually focused in one country, one of the biggest problems that can come about is when the Development Team ends up holding back development in a foreign country, and the Publishing Team ends up taking all of the flak for the shoddy update schedules (when, in fact, they are usually not at fault).

Sadly enough, this misconception seems to be playing out with Allods Online, but, in a surprising turn of events, gPotato's GM team has decided to address this sometimes tricky subject. Thus, in their first "Diary" entry, the team works hard to distinguish themselves from the Development Team, and while they do assure players that questions are being forwarded to the game creators (Astrum Nival), gPotato can't do much to affect the development of the game itself. So the next time you see a GM on in-game, and you're about to demand that the GM go "fix some bugs," or "go add mounts to the game," perhaps you should think hard before you send that private message.

The Allods Online news page has announced the launch of the Allods Online Guild Portal. The official portal allows users to create, recruit for and show off their guilds. As of the time of this writing there were under 20 guilds signed up and many only had a couple members. So if you're looking to party up with a new group of adventurers or start bring the hurt with your own guild, now is the time to start playing Allods Online.

To add your guild, all you need to do is go to the Allods Online Guild Portal, sign up and click the "+Add a Group" button. You can upload a logo, write of your guilds history and even provide a link to your guild's webpage. Allods Online is a young game and many guilds are looking for new members. If that makes your MMO-loving heart beat then go here and check it out.

After checking out the latest on Gala-net's Aika Online, next on the GDC docket was Allods Online, the simply stunning free-to-play Russian import that is making many take a second look at free-to-play gaming. Mike B. aka Fony was once again on hand to lend his thoughts on Allods, much like what he did with Episodes 10 and 12 of The BFF Report. This time, however, it was all about high level gaming in Allods. Watch the video below to find out more!

Following the wake of all the recent Item Shop drama (and the eventual reduction of cash item prices), Allods Online publisher Gala-Net finally released the MMO's first official trailer on YouTube today. Fans can watch the 40-second teaser trailer on YouTube by following this link; Gala-Net released the trailer in several resolutions, including a 720p version. Last December in our preview coverage, ZAM praised the free-to-play MMO for its vivid colorful graphics and polished animation, supported by a highly-optimized and scalable 3D rendering engine.

Allods Online is still in its open beta-testing phase; you can sign up at the official site to jump in and start playing. For more information about the MMO, check out ZAM's Allods Online portal site. You can also watch ZAM's BFF Report video coverage of Allods Online, beginning in BFF Episode 10 from last December.

A couple weeks ago, the Allods Online player community wasn't happy after the MMO's publisher, gPotato, opened its micro-transaction item shop. As we mentioned back then, 94 percent of players polled thought the price of items in the cash shop were excessive, compared to other MMOs. In response to the backlash, gPotato asked its player community for feedback and announced that it was "actively working on new pricing options to accommodate the masses," according to ZAM's follow-up report.

On March 3, gPotato launched the updated version of the item shop and posted an announcement on the offical Allods Online Web site, detailing the changes: "We’ve made significant adjustments to many item categories, from perfumes and crystal chips to containers and the holy rune," according to the post. "These changes were made after significant analysis, review of the community feedback, and discussion with our developer. We’re confident that many of you will respond positively to the changes."

In addition to the significant reduction of various item prices (check out the complete list after the jump), gPotato is offering refunds to players who bought items prior to the update: "Those who previously purchased Allods item shop goods before the changes went live will be compensated for the difference between the original and revised prices in gPotatoes for their purchases," according to the post. "This covers item shop purchases from between February 19th and Mar 3rd (9:05am PST)." gPotato is asking customers to contact billing@gala-net.com if their accounts are not credited to reflect the refunds within one week.

As we reported, many Allods Online players were shocked last week when they visited the new item shop and found that the prices were pretty high. gPotato quickly apologized to the community for its lack of communication and stated that it will "evaluate the details" of the shop. In response, the company just issued another announcement that provides more details on the issue and asks for feedback from players.

According to the post, gPotato is "actively working on new pricing options to accommodate the masses. However, we ask the Allods community to please be patient with the situation! Adjustments like this cannot happen overnight." The team has started a feedback thread that gives players a chance to give constructive criticism on the item shop. The thread will be checked on an hourly basis.

Also, gPotato uses the announcement to debunk rumors that the original Astrum Nival developers are no longer involved in Allods. The company confirms that "the original vision of Allods Online is still being followed by the developers." You can read all the details after the jump.

Allods Online entered open beta last week, and many players were shocked to see the prices on items in the Cash Shop. A user on the forums converted the gPotato prices to US currency; 20 perfumes cost $13.50, which will let you PvP for 10 hours without penalty at the max level, and a 24-slot bag costs $20. The post also contained a poll, and it shows that 94% of players feel these prices are unreasonable.

gPotato has apologized to the community for its lack of communication and admitted that "some of our players feel the prices we have in our item shop are not fair." The team stated that it will "evaluate the details of our item shop" and plans to introduce new items in the future.

You can read the full letter after the jump.

That's right folks! Fans of Allod's Online will be happy to check out ZAM.com's exclusive new screenshots from Allod's "Dead Sea" Zone. The zone is an Empire Zone for levels 15-19, and if a giant, sweet looking tree isn't making you interested, there are also Water Elementals, Lizard Men and Giant Scorpions to be found in this gorgeous area.

You can check out ZAM's exclusive screenshots at our screenshot gallery!

The Allods Online open beta kicks off today, Feb. 16, at 11 a.m. PST, which means players have approximately 20 minutes until the free-to-play game is open for business. All closed beta characters have been wiped, so this is your chance to start fresh with the rest of the game's community. Keys will not be required to enter the open beta, which will give players access to all current content through level 40.

If you downloaded the Allods Online client before midnight on Monday, Feb. 15, you're going to need to update it to work with the open beta. More information can be found in the FAQ after the jump.

While you wait for the servers to open, be sure to check out episode 10 and episode 12 of our BFF Report to get a first-hand look at Allods Online.