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A look back at RIFT on its second birthday
"Once upon a time in a land called Telara, 573 Guardian players were minding their own business in a region called Silverwood. They were frolicking and levelling, and levelling and questing, and looting and laughing, collecting and crafting.... Ah! What a peaceful time it was. "And then, the world exploded." That's how former RIFT executive producer Scott Hartsman described the Prince Hylas event from Beta 2, and for me, it will always be one of my favorite MMO memories. Telara was instantly transformed into a hellish quagmire, with invaders stacked on top of each other at every foothold in Silverwood. It's hard to believe that two years have already gone by, but it's even more amazing how the game has evolved since that unforgettable beta event.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Why Summerfest is the best
Over the past few weeks, I've been over on RIFT's test shard to preview some of the changes arriving with update 1.9, like Summerfest. So now that it's live, it was fun to spend some time on the live servers to see it launch. And since I didn't get the chance to spend a lot of time with the Summerfest event, I decided to roll up my sleeves, break out my fishing pole and cooking pan, and try a few of the events and scavenger hunts. I mentioned in a previous column that I thought 1.9 would be the biggest one yet and that it would bring some really important game changes, but my recent adventures in game this past week were even more eye-opening than I expected. Read on!
Enter at Your Own Rift: Rift evolution
RIFT has seen a great deal of new content and features over the past year, and each update tends to generate a lot of buzz about things like new raid zones, new warzones, world events, and yes, even fishing. But there have been quite a few subtle (and not so subtle) changes to the core of the game -- that is, the rifts themselves. Last summer, Justin wrote a great piece wondering whether rifts were in "danger of collapsing," and his point was that they were a good idea on paper but needed tweaks in order to stay relevant to the game. It's worth looking back at the evolution of rifts over the past year to see what's changed since launch day. Read on for a look at what's new with rifts!
Trek through fire and flame in RIFT's Infernal Dawn raid
RIFT's Carnival of the Ascended is in full-swing in Telara, but there's something dastardly dwelling under the veil of the festivities. While the Ascended feast, imbibe, and debauch, the less-than-phlegmatic cults of the Golden Maw and the Wanton scheme to free their dragon overlords from imprisonment in the upcoming raid, Infernal Dawn. But no Ascended should go up against the dragons unprepared, so Trion Worlds' Adam Gershowitz has volunteered to take players on a short tour of the Earth Wing of Infernal Dawn, where they will be tasked with destroying the Golden Maw, the Wanton, and ultimately their leaders: the earth dragon Laethys and the infernal Maelforge. Infernal Dawn isn't the only new feature in the works. Gershowitz also reveals that the studio is working on new Instant Adventures set on the Ember Isle. Less pugilistic players will be receiving some new treats as well in the form of new tradeskills. While Gershowitz doesn't reveal any specifics on what these new tradeskills will be, he does hint that they "may or may not involve bodies of water." We've been fishing for ideas all day, but we're just not getting any bites. Oh well, we'll find out soon enough! In the meantime, check out the full video tour and prepare yourselves; Infernal Dawn is planned to go live in "just a month or two." Oh, and remember: Former RIFT subscribers can play free starting today until March 14th, so if you wanna get back into the world of Telara, now's the time. And finally, be sure to keep an eye out for our own Karen Bryan's RIFT coverage straight from GDC 2012, which will surely shed more light on these upcoming additions.
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.
RIFT opens the Ember Isle to players with a new trailer
It's time to head off for an island adventure in RIFT. The heavily anticipated patch 1.6 has hit the servers, and that means players will be off to the brand-new Ember Isle, a massive zone that's stated to be twice the size of anything else. But that's not the only thing coming along with the patch -- there are new zone events, a new set of Planar Attunements, new group content (both a dungeon and a raid), and a new warfront mode. Not quite enough to pique your interest? Then take a look at the trailer just past the cut, which gives an overview of the lore driving players to explore the island. There's more to the story than simply "the spot where the Kelari used to live," and the trailer shows it off in all its glory. Take a look past the break to watch it, perhaps while you fire up the game's launcher and get down to the brass tacks of updating. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
RIFT's patch 1.6 goes live today
Sharpen your blades and hone your spells, Telarans. RIFT's patch 1.6 goes live today, and it brings a ton of new content for players to experience. The new Ember Isle zone gives players a variety of new quests to complete, and the addition of sourcewells to the Island will allow players to fight off invasions on their own terms. Social players looking for a challenge will find just that in the form of the new non-linear instance (known as Caduceus Rise) and new world boss mobs. And of course, what is new content without new ways to progress your character? The second tier of planar attunement is now available, allowing players to further customize the way their characters play. For the full details, check out the patch notes over on the RIFT official forums.
RIFT Ember Isle developer diary talks art and lore
"1.4 was a big patch, 1.5 was an bigger patch... 1.6 is going to blow them away," declares Trion Worlds' Hal Hanlin in this most recent dev diary for RIFT's upcoming From the Embers patch. RIFT's Design Producer is joined by developers Morgan Lockhart, Michael Daugherty, Mike Chang, Jason Colombo, and Berenger Fish to discuss the newest endgame zone, Ember Isle, the largest the team's undertaken to date. But it wouldn't be a proper dev diary without some gushing about the lore, art, locations, and mechanics of the zone, and that's all included too. Sweeping musical score included free of charge! Hit the break to review the video in all its green glory.
The MMO Report: The beard is gone edition
An unashamedly beardless Casey Schreiner* bookends a special (albeit late) edition of The MMO Report this week, and it's all about RIFT's colossal 1.6 update. The Report features RIFT Producer Adam Gershowitz, who declares that RIFT is now well-known for being "the MMO that updates the most" while discussing November's impending From the Embers patch, RIFT's sixth major update and its largest to date. Gershowitz explains that the update inserts a massive new zone-playground for endgamers, the Ember Isle, complete with the new Rise of the Phoenix raid instance, the Caduceus Rise dungeon, the instant adventure "looking for quests" tool, and RIFT's first recurring holiday event, Fae Yule. (*Casey's de-bearding was, he claims, "for the greater good," and by the greater good, he means in the service of a swanky Petyr Baelish Halloween costume. How cool is that?) Hit the jump for the special edition MMO Report!
