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The Perfect Ten: Literal kill 10 rats quests
Webster's Dictionary describes "kill 10 rats" as "something nerds do, now shut up and read a few intelligent words." I think the editors are getting a little lazy there at Webster's, but that's nothing compared to the OED crowd that routinely slips in paragraphs of cut-and-pasted Hunger Games fan fiction just to pad the volumes. Anyway, we all know that "kill 10 rats" is a derogatory term for those quests that make you slaughter a certain number of things to make life happier for the quest giver. Why that quest giver has a very specific number in mind has always fascinated me, but never mind. It stems from a long-standing RPG tradition by which lowbie characters typically start their career by doing a little rodent culling in the basement of a tavern. That's how all great people got their start, Abraham Lincoln included. With "kill 10 rats" already being a trope, developers have this habit of trying to be coy and meta by actually putting quests in their MMOs where you, yup, kill 10 rats. I get the feeling that they think they're doing something clever and cheeky, even though practically all of their competitors have done the same. So here we go: ten literal "kill 10 rats" quests that you can find in your games today.
Trion Worlds to close EU branch
Only a week after acknowledging the closure of its San Diego office, Trion Worlds has announced in a statement that it will be closing down another office. Trion Europe in Guildford, UK, will be cutting 10 jobs in the process, including branch boss John Burns and communications boss Jon Goddard. "European localized versions of Trion's live and upcoming games will not be affected as all regional game development and support continues from Redwood City, CA," said the statement.
RIFT's Mayhem in Mathosia event starts August 21
RIFT fans, mark your calendar for August 21st. Actually, go ahead and mark it for August 21st through September 4th while you're at it. The reason? Trion is putting on an event called Mayhem in Mathosia which basically amounts to massive planar invasions. Players may gather in Scarlet Gorge, Scarwood Reach, and Moonshade Highlands to save the world, and by doing so they may earn bonus loot drops, planar currency, and a new achievement.
Stock up on your trophies with RIFT's upcoming store section
If you've ever wanted the share the spoils of your RIFT achievements with your alts, you'll soon have the chance. Creative Director Bill "Daglar" Fisher took to the forums to announce a new trophy section coming to the store that will allow players to buy another copy of the rewards they've already earned from completing achievements. These copies will be bound to the account, however, so they can only be transferred to alts, not to poor achievement-less friends. In the future, Fisher said that the team will be experimenting with adding more exclusive items to this section. Players can expect to see trophies appear in store on the PTS in the upcoming weeks.
The Daily Grind: What have you purchased in-game lately?
I'm always fascinated with gamers' spending habits. Some of us have plenty of disposable income to splurge on frills while others of us have to watch what we buy very closely. MMOs are littered with ways to spend your money, from outfits to boosts to character slots to lockbox keys. I am still burning through my virtual wad in RIFT, having accumulated a great amount of credits from my previous subscriptions. I indulged in a guilty pleasure of picking up a swimsuit for Summerfest the other day because I just had to be a Cleric kicking butt in a tasteful two-piece beachwear. But I also resolved to save the rest of my credits for RIFT 3.0's new souls when they come out. Other than that, I haven't bought a lot in MMOs lately. What about you? What have you purchased in-game this past month or so? Was it worth it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
RIFT's Ffinch on monetization and playing incognito
RIFT senior design director Simon Ffinch spoke to PCGamesN about the fantasy title's free-to-play conversion recently. Ffinch said the switch has "been amazing," and he also offers a few quotables with regard to both F2P discourse and the perils of playing a game you've developed. "I just hate that word 'monetize,' Ffinch said. "'Let's monetize our players!' They're people and they're playing a game because they want to have fun, they're not a frickin' ATM machine. I don't like that attitude at all, and in the business world you can't help but hear it." He also drops a few interesting tidbits about his in-game experiences. "I'm in a guild and they don't even know I'm a dev," Ffinch says, before adding that he avoids voice chat but tries to "gently probe" his fellow players for useful feedback. "Some of the responses just make me glow inside," Ffinch explains," but then there's also the other side of it, when they respond with 'I don't know what those devs were doing, they're frickin retarded!'"
RIFT 3.0 will increase level cap, possibly introduce PvP dimensions
Excitement is building for RIFT 3.0, the unnamed second expansion for the game. While we've known that it will include a combat pet system, new souls, and better item advancement, today we have gotten official confirmation of two additional key features: a level cap increase and PvP dimensions. Rift Junkies translated a video from buffed.de in which Trion Worlds Senior Design Director Simon Ffinch dished out the juicy details. He confirmed that players will have five new levels to add, increasing the level cap to 65. He also revealed that the team is working on PvP player dimensions, although it's not clear whether this will be finished in time for 3.0. These will allow players to customize and operate their dimensions for PvP deathmatches. Ffinch said that while RIFT 3.0 is an expansion, it will only be offered digitally. It will also be free except for the new souls which, as with Storm Legion's souls, will be sold through the in-game store.
RIFT kicks off Summerfest on July 25th
It's getting hot out there. Like, really hot. Hot enough to melt plastic, even. But as long as you've got air conditioning in your house, why not stay inside and get in the spirit of summer fun with RIFT's Summerfest? It's all the fun of relaxing in the sun without the heat, risk of sunstroke, or potential for melanoma! (Please note that without air conditioning your computer will heat up your room until you burst into flames, probably.) This year, Summerfest starts on Thursday, July 25th, and brings with it a whole host of new achievements. It's also probably going to contain other treats aside from the normal seasonal events; statements from community managers imply that this year will finally see the inclusion of swimsuits, quite possibly in the cash shop. Even if you're not the sort to enjoy summer fun, you can still enjoy the event when it goes to the live servers late next week.
One Shots: Taste the rainbow
I think rainbows are pretty darn cool, especially when they double up and you can freak out appropriately over them. More MMOs need rainbows, I think. Rainbows in raids! Rainbows in space! Rainbows in that dour death zone for ambiance! Reader Marshall and his crew know a good rainbow when they see one, as evidenced by our first One Shot of the day. "Some friends and I decided to try out Ragnarok Online 2," Marshall writes. "We ended up spending more time taking screenshots than playing the actual game that first night. These were some of the best ones." I think my retinas may be on fire due to the intense colors, but I don't mind. Rainbows! Will there be more rainbows in the rest of today's player-submitted screenshots? Sadly no, but we'll persevere nevertheless.
The Daily Grind: What MMO projects have you started lately?
Summertime always seems to bring out the altoholic in me. The stretch of largely release-free months between spring and fall is the perfect time to try out a new character and see a different angle of the game. I'm currently doing this in just about every MMO I'm playing. I'm leveling up a new Dragon in The Secret World after completing all of the quests on my Templar, I'm planning to roll a Hobbit Minstrel on a new server in Lord of the Rings Online to start from scratch, and I've jumped back into RIFT with a baby Mage. Whether or not these projects go anywhere is almost irrelevant as long as I'm enjoying them right now. Which I am. So what MMO projects have you started lately? Any lofty goals you're looking to achieve by the end of August? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Soapbox: You will not wish you had spent more time gaming
Spoiler alert: You are going to die. It's inescapable. Maybe you fall off a cliff. Maybe you grow old and fade peacefully into the nether. Maybe hawk-wolves pick the lock on your front door and attack while you're frying eggs and trying to remember what you had planned for the day. Maybe you sneeze on the subway and your head literally explodes, ruining the morning commute of dozens of office drones. Whatever the cause and time, death is the inevitable conclusion to the story of your life. It can be neat, it can be messy, it can be expected, it can be a surprise, but it always comes. And no matter who you are, I'm willing to bet one thing about that cacophonous moment in which the world slows and you stare death in the face: You will not wish you had spent more time raiding.
One Shots: Video games are bad for you
I love the snarky billboards in superhero MMOs. I don't know why, exactly, these games became the place to place them, but I'm not complaining. Reader Elliot sent in one of my favorite billboards from Champions Online. I'm honestly tempted to make this into a business card. "I am not sure if this is up to par for One Shots," he wrote, "but I ran into this sign outside RenCenter in Millennium City and couldn't resist snapping the pic." We now return you to a feedback loop of irony. A sign in a video game warning you about playing video games? My head spinneth. Let's check out the rest of this week's player-submitted screenshots before I need to go lie down, OK?
The Daily Grind: What should MMO tutorials include?
A couple of weeks ago I jumped back into RIFT because of, well, its free-to-playness. I couldn't help it; it was as if there was a party going on and I had to go or else feel forever alone. Apart from the massive crowds that come with F2P launches, RIFT featured another surprising change from the last time I was there: Its tutorial was shortened. Trimmed down. Cut in half and then some. So what used to take me around 45 minutes to go through the opening tutorial zone now took me less than 20. It made me think a lot about what MMO tutorials should include. Obviously, you need to show the ropes to players who have never picked up an MMO before. You can't overwhelm those folks, either, so the ins and outs of the game need to come in measured doses. You also need to inform MMO vets as to what is different about this particular game than other ones. And it's probably a good idea to, y'know, allow players to skip tutorials if they've done them a couple of dozen times already. What should MMO tutorials include? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
RIFT offers early access to a new dimension
If you're enjoying RIFT's free-to-play model, you're probably also enjoying the game's various Dimensions. This means that you're no doubt excited about the upcoming launch of a new Dimension, Three Springs, complete with its own unique Dimension items. But you don't have to wait for its full release, as the development team is offering a select few players a chance to get early access to this Dimension. How do you manage that? By being awesome. On July 9th, the owner of the top weekly rated Dimension on each server will receive a special early access key to Three Springs and the associated items on a character of the owner's choice. That means you'll need to have the most awesome Dimension on your server during voting from July 3rd through the 9th to try it before you can buy it. So what are you waiting for? Crack your knuckles and get decorating -- there's a new space to create!
Why I Play: RIFT
I've heard the common complaints. Heck, I've been the one issuing them from time to time. RIFT is too much like World of Warcraft. Its story often feels bland. Its 50-to-60 journey takes just this side of forever. Its cities are more like "one building and a couple of adjoining huts." Its dynamic content never lived up to its potential as the core feature of the game. Its races are some of the most generic in the MMO industry. And yet I play it. I love it, in fact; I have ever since I first tried it in beta. The sign of a worthy game to me is not perfection (as that does not exist outside of the deluded hopes of fans anticipating the next big title) but a game that succeeds despite its flaws. For every flaw RIFT has, I could name two ways that it's done a great job in entertaining players, pulling together the community, and treating consumers with respect. Free-to-play has caused a lot of folks to check out RIFT, some of them for the first time. Others who used to play are now returning because the subscription barrier is no more. So why do I play RIFT? Let me give you 20 reasons.
Save RIFT's Silverwood and Freemarch cities starting June 27
Death is coming for the zones of Silverwood and Freemarch. And you, noble Ascended, are the only thing that can stop it. No pressure. RIFT is putting on a planar invasion event starting on June 27th. Rewards include bonus currency, loot, and new achievements tied to zone events. Special items may drop too, and you'll find a list of those on the announcement page at the game's official website.
Trion teases new RIFT souls, item advancement, and more
Yesterday's Trion livestream featured a number of big reveals focused on the firm's RIFT fantasy MMO. The newly free-to-play title will be getting a number of new souls (Support Cleric, Healing Warrior, Tanking Mage, and Healing Rogue) as well as companion abilities and levels. Trion is also looking at item advancement tweaks to include more customized weapon and armor upgrades tailored to specific playstyles. Finally, the devs announced that the game's 3.0 update will feature the plane of water, and they also hinted at some sort of increased interaction with regard to RIFT's dimension housing system. [Thanks Chris!]
Take a tour of RIFT's free-to-play store
One of the most-asked questions that we've seen following RIFT's free-to-play conversion is, "What does the in-game store look like?" This must be a universal query because the folks over at Rift Junkies have put together a video that takes players on an in-depth tour of the shop and its offerings. You can watch the full video after the break, but be warned: You might come away from it with your pockets a little lighter.
The Daily Grind: What's motivating your return to RIFT?
RIFT went free-to-play recently, and judging by the server queues and the number of people who tipped Massively about Trion's response to all the shenanigans, it seems like the business model switcheroo had the desired effect of bringing people back in droves. As an outsider, I can't really wrap my brain around the phenomenon. If the game was good before, my inner cynic says, surely it was worth paying for, no? I can understand the excitement if you've never played RIFT (and if financials were the reason why), but I've seen a few commenters and even a blogger or two who seem to be coming back because they're afraid of missing a deal rather than because they really dig the game. I could be wrong, though, so that's why I'm throwing today's Daily Grind out there. Assuming you're returning to RIFT, are you doing so because you love the game or is it because you don't want to miss out on a perceived good deal? In short, what's motivating your return to RIFT? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Free for All: How free-to-play affected how I feel about RIFT
Back in April of 2011, I asked myself whether I would play RIFT if it were a free game. I know that I was impressed with its build quality but not so much with its lack of spirit. It seemed like a hollow game, one that used gimmicks to take the place of true adventure. At the same time, I didn't want to downplay how well it was made. I still agree with this sentiment; the game is great and has only improved over time, but I still wish it had a little something more. Did the recent switch to free-to-play change how I felt about the game? Why would a payment model affect how I felt while playing the game? After all, I champion the idea that a payment model does not define a game, but I still have to recognize how a payment model affects people. Including me.
