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Enter at Your Own Rift: RIFT's battle plan
A month or so ago my colleague Karen looked at RIFT's own future forecast for the game, and it's apparent from Trion Worlds' state of the game reports that the company is confident and clear in the direction it wants to go. The problem is that nobody consulted me, personally, on what I think the game needs as it heads forward. Not that I'm any great gaming guru, mind you, but it would be nice to be asked. In a very real sense, RIFT is at a crossroads. It will shortly cease to be the newest big kid on the block, a position it has enjoyed for a majority of 2011. I won't invoke the names of the power hitters on deck, but trust me, many RIFT players are well aware of the competition. Players and guilds are evaluating the game as it is right now and whether or not they'll want to stay when the new hotness is released. My prediction? Some will, some won't. You can quote me on that. Personally, I think RIFT is in a remarkably good position. It continues to grow in subscribers, according to the company, and it's proven to have staying power a half-year after launch. I'm encouraged when I see friends and fellow players randomly praise the game even though its honeymoon veneer has long since worn off. There's something worth fighting for, here -- but a fight it will have. Hit the break as I lay out what I think should be RIFT's battle plan for the next 12 months.
World of Warcraft battle plan vol. 4
World of Warcraft's lead producer Shane Dabiri has jumped in with a new battle plan today, outlining the present and future of our favorite game. I don't personally see much (anything?) here that I didn't already know, but I'll outline Dabiri's points below. New features since the last battle plan... Naxxramas New PvP and PvE sets as well as a legendary caster weapon Paid character transfer service Cross-realm battlegrounds Before the Storm, coming soon to a realm near you... A new PvP honor system The Arena PvP system The Burning Crusade... Hellfire Citadel: A four-wing dungeon with varying difficulty per wing Heroic difficulty: The ability to play expansion dungeons on either "normal" or "heroic" difficulty settings, with better loot rewards for more difficult content The Black Temple: To be the most challenging dungeon in the expansion, and still under heavy development Further down the road... A team-balancing feature for battlegrounds, likely to be seen in a post-expansion patch
