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Enter at Your Own Rift: Looking back at RIFT's first year
As I ran around smacking loot piñatas (finally, someone acknowledges these things for what they are), I wondered how on earth RIFT's first year went by so fast. The Carnival of the Ascended is just around the corner, and on March 1st, the game officially celebrates its first birthday. In just one year, RIFT has seen seven game updates, a handful of world events, and all sorts of new additions and improvements to the world of Telara. Rather than being a straight-up retrospective, this week's Enter at Your Own Rift is looking back on the first year with a Justin-style list of highlights and even a glimpse of what's coming in 1.8.
Trion releases RIFT Endless Adventure trailer
As we inch closer to some big MMO releases in the latter stage of the year (and on into 2012), Trion is looking to keep RIFT firmly established in the minds of gamers everywhere. To that end, the company has just released a new two-minute trailer called Endless Adventure. The clip highlights all of the big bullet-point features (raids, world events, PvP, etc.), and shows a smattering of gameplay footage from each. The trailer also focuses on the flexibility afforded by RIFT's soul system, and though the huge, blocky fonts and bright text colors are somewhat distracting when paired with the game's lovely visuals, the clip does a good job of summing up RIFT for the uninitiated (or the unsubscribed). See for yourself after the break. [Source: Trion press release]
Choose My Adventure: Seriia vs. the Guardians
Writing this article pains me. It's not because I have nothing to write about, although it was a bit difficult for me to compile content that I believed was compelling. It's also not because I had nothing to do in the game. There is plenty of content for me to explore. I do not like to tell obvious fans and creators of a game that I do not enjoy their game. As I have said in the past, RIFT holds some incredible content, and the graphics are the most gorgeous I have seen in a game since Age of Conan by far. So why has logging in felt like a burden this last week and a half? The burden of the grind is not the only thing I would like to talk about this week. I also did some extensive PvP before I hit level 20. In fact, I hit level 20 while I was in the Black Garden. That gave me a chuckle. After the break, I have laid out my whole level 10 to 20 PvP experience. Perhaps that will lighten the mood of this somber article. This might be my second-to-last article for Choose My Adventure, but there is still time to get some last-minute rifting done before I sign off. And... umm... can I get a rez, please? %Gallery-131417%
Enter at Your Own Rift: Finally 50
As an MMO player, I'm generally behind the curve when it comes to leveling and cutting-edge content exploration. Pushing myself to level quickly is far less fun to me than taking my time and exploring all the nooks and crannies, and my available playtime is far less than it used to be. Ergo, while many of have been at the level cap for months and are either elite PvPers or Raiders of the Lost Hammerknell, I've just hit 50 this past week for the first time in RIFT. In a way, being behind the curve is a blessing because others have gone before you and forged a path so that coming from behind is much easier. That said, I still felt overwhelmed when the final ding happened because my previously clear goals evaporated in a second. What do I do now? How do I gear up? What does one do at level 50, anyway? Fortunately, I'm part of a guild that's full of seasoned 50s, not to mention that I'm friends with plenty of bloggers who were 50 when I was still in diapers. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Ahem. So for this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, I posited them this question: What do you and should you do when you hit 50 in the game? They came back to me with excellent responses that I'm now going to share with you. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR IMMINENT KNOWLEDGE!
Enter at Your Own Rift: One-point-four
Last week, Karen provided an excellent analysis on Trion Worlds' broad, eight-page State of the Game address as the company outlined its plans for the game's long-term future. This week, we're still going to cast our eyes to the present. As we wrap up the final phase of RIFT's Waves of Madness (how much fun is water bladder throwing, huh?) and raid guilds bang their way through Hammerknell, it's the time to revel in a brand-new content update: patch 1.4. Yes, another patch. I think people are still in disbelief that Trion is able to pump out updates as rapidly as it has, and the current naysayer theory is that the company is merely polishing up content it wanted to get for launch but had to hold back for whatever reason. There's probably a kernel of truth to that, but it doesn't hold up from what we know. We know that Trion has parallel teams -- up to six of them -- working on live development, which includes world events and content updates. We know that some of the features we've seen in previous patches were a direct result of post-launch player feedback, so it can't all be capping off unfinished projects. Say what you will, but from where I'm standing, Trion's putting its actions where its mouth is by continuing a hot-and-heavy updating streak without showing any signs of slowing down. It's smart, too; by providing faster updates than most MMOs on the market and giving players incentive to stay, return, and try the game for the first time, Trion's firming up its position as an MMO that's here to stay -- not one that's going to fold up shop when future titles hit. So let's take a peek through the highlights of patch 1.4 as I offer my award-winning commentary on each of the points!
Enter at Your Own Rift: The no-quest challenge
OK, I know you all probably want to talk about the news that addons are coming to RIFT, but the truth is that it's not that big of an issue for me. My feelings on addons are that I'm for them if they enhance the game and encourage player creativity, but I'm against them if they reduce players to mere statistics in the eyes of others (GearScore) or are absolutely necessary to tackle the game's content. So if you feel passionate about this topic, I give you leave to vent more about it in the comments below, but as for me and mine, we're going to look at quests today. More specifically, not doing them. Now, I generally like quests. They give me a feeling of accomplishment (as I am fond of checking off items from my to-do lists in real life), the stories are occasionally interesting, and they give nice boosts to leveling. But I've come to realize something interesting about RIFT that might run under the radar of most: Quests are superfluous to the game. Well, at the very least, they're optional and not the mandatory tasks that most modern MMOs make them out to be. So I had a thought. What about playing RIFT without questing at all -- taking on a "no-quest challenge" of sorts? Is it not only possible but fun too? Hit the jump and we'll examine this from all the angles.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Looking for groups
Like some of you, I feel that RIFT's Update 1.2 can't get here soon enough. A good content update, in my opinion, has a little something for everyone, and in talking with Trion Worlds last week, I definitely got that feeling from this patch. The team is catering to endgame players with Slivers, build-enthusiasts with a fifth role, rift-runners with new types of dynamic events, and people who aren't content to merely spam my Twitter feed with accomplishments but must now do so from inside Facebook as well. I'd be lying if I said I'm not planning on spending huge amounts of time assembling dashing and fashionable outfits for my characters once the wardrobe is in the game, too. I'm all about outfits in Lord of the Rings Online, so it's great to see RIFT bring this type of system into the game (unlike some other stubborn studios, which shall remain nameless). Players like to feel powerful while looking incredible, and this outfit system will hopefully allay some of the complaints of similar-looking toons. Above all this in Update 1.2 towers one of the biggest changes to the game yet: the Looking for Group (LFG) tool. Designed to assemble teams of players to tackle dungeons and group quests, the LFG tool will certainly change how we play RIFT. Will it be a good change or bad? That's the $1,000,000 question, which I will tackle after these brief messages, by which I mean, "after the jump."
RIFT developers explore the dynamics of PvP!
Trion Worlds treated us today with a video montage of the exciting PvP in RIFT. This is the moment many players have been waiting for! What is in store for the gamer exploring this dynamic world? Executive Producer Scott Hartsman and his crew have pieced together this exhilarating video to outline each part of RIFT's PvP. The journey for conquest begins with the zone-scale invasions. Members of opposing factions can cross enemy lines and assault the enemy adventurers while they are out questing. Next, Warfronts are cross-server instances that allow players to battle each other while completing specific PvE objectives. The Battle of Port Scion, for example, is the conquest instance that allows players to build an invasion force while the opposite faction attempts to stop them at every turn. PvP starts at level 10, at which point the players begin to gain Favor, the PvP currency. Prestige, the PvP ranking system, begins at level 50 and determines the type of armor and the number of points you can spend in your PvP Soul. But really, that's enough words from me. Check out the trailer after the break!
Enter at Your Own Rift: A tour guide to beta four
It was once again a busy weekend in RIFT, and I eagerly rolled up my sleeves to get to work exploring. This beta event contained a lot of great game changes and new content. First, the level cap was increased to 27, and two new hunting areas were made available: Gloamwood for the Guardians and Stonefield for the Defiants. In addition, two new dungeons were open for play: Darkening Deeps and Deepstrike Mines. But one of the most exciting additions was PvP instancing, as players finally got to try out two new Warfronts -- The Black Garden and The Codex. In this week's column, I'll give a wrap-up of my beta experience. Read on to hear more about Gloamwood, Warfronts, Darkening Deeps, and a lightbulb moment that I'll never forget.
Next RIFT beta event begins January 25th
The dust is still settling from last week's "Warfronts" beta event, but Trion Worlds is already gearing up for the next RIFT-related shindig. The latest round of testing will commence on Tuesday, January 25th at 10:00 a.m. PST, with a wrap date of Friday, January 28th (also at 10:00 a.m. PST). For those keeping score, this marks the fifth RIFT beta preview to date, and the new event (titled "Battle of the Ascended") brings several additional features to the world of Telara. Among them will be a raised level cap (30), the Scarlet Gorge zone, and a new dungeon called Foul Cascade. Trion is also trumpeting the fact that beta players logged over a million hours of playtime during last week's "Warfronts" event, and today's press release also mentions that the Codex PvP warfronts will continue to be available in the next round.
Warfronts star in the RIFT beta 4 patch notes
As you may or may not have heard, Trion Worlds is unleashing the fourth RIFT beta event today, an event that spans the entire weekend. And as Uncle Ben used to tell us, with great beta events come great patch notes -- so what do players have to look forward to with this update? The most significant change to RIFT's beta is the increase of the level cap -- to 27 -- and the unlocking of the Stonefield and Gloamwood zones. In the prior three events, players were limited to a maximum of level 20 and confined to the two starter areas. This round, players looking for more PvE dungeon goodness should enjoy the Darkening Deeps and Deepstrike Mines, while PvPers will rejoice at the inclusion of Warfronts (Black Garden for level 10 and above, The Codex for level 20 and above). Warfronts are like World of Warcraft's battlegrounds or Warhammer Online's scenarios -- instanced PvP areas where (hopefully) evenly matched teams can go at it under special conditions. There are several quality-of-life improvements rolled into this patch as well. The skill soft queue has been upgraded to a full next ability queue, more hotbars are available, and many of the souls are getting tweaked. You can read the full patch notes here.
The Codex added to RIFT's PvP weekend
Looking forward to RIFT's upcoming PvP beta weekend? You're in good company -- a lot of people are, which is part of the reason Trion Worlds has made the event even sweeter. Aside from the already-announced Black Garden warfront, players in the 20-29 level range will be able to take part in the Codex battle. It's a chance for Defiants and Guardians to cross swords for control of the eponymous artifact with unknown purpose. In terms of gameplay, the Codex will be a domination-style map, with players seizing control points around the artifact and attempting to control the Codex itself. Players can also earn points by defeating enemy players as well, helping to put the game on a faster clock when players interact with one another. RIFT fans can test out the warfronts this weekend, starting at 1 p.m. EST tomorrow and running until the same time on Monday, January 10th.
Hands-on with Rift: Planes of Telara at Gamer Day II
As part of its recent Gamer Day event, Trion Worlds invited Massively back to its studio for another look at Rift: Planes of Telara. Having now been to two of these Gamer Day events, I can say without a doubt that last week's was the more festive -- the player-community leaders and swarm of devs certainly made the whole experience much more wild than the first and reminded me that I was supposed to be having fun (not just studiously taking notes for you lovely readers, although I did that too!). Since this was my second day-long hands-on with the game (the first being last summer when I got to check out Rift's dynamic content), I thought it best to focus on two areas: improvements to systems I'd seen before, and totally new elements I hadn't seen at all (like the Guardian starting zone, PvP, UI enhancements, Deepstrike Mines, and several new souls including Riftblades, Bards, and Wardens!). Follow along after the break for my second impressions of this MMO that continues to surprise me with its glittering shine of polish.%Gallery-101448%
Massively's hands-on with Rift: Planes of Telara's dynamic content
Just a few weeks ago, I was invited to attend Trion Worlds' Gamer's Day in San Francisco to get some hands-on time with a couple of the company's upcoming titles, including Rift: Planes of Telara. If Rift seems to have come out of nowhere, that might be due both to the acquisition of EverQuest II veteran Scott Hartsman to head the project as executive producer, and to a clever name change meant to reflect the team's shift in development focus. In fact, that shift in development focus is precisely what I was at Trion's studio to test -- I got to check out the Rifts themselves in all their glory, in the context of the greater dynamic content system that the developers are so excited about. Massively's writers have been able to play and report on character creation and the starting areas of Rift several times over the last year or so, including earlier this summer at E3. But until today's embargo lift (coinciding with the reveal at Gamescom), no one had quite seen the fabled planar invasions and takeovers in action. Now we have.
