Rift vs. Archeage; Trion Showdown

              VS

Archeage Naval Battle

Archeage over the past few months has seemed to 

win the hearts of many MMO gamers, it promises it all, with a huge sandbox world with themepark rides dotted all around, a focus on world PvP, player driven content, stunning graphics and the power to the players to shape the world, it sounds hard to beat. While Rift has big plans of it's own, the players focus all seem to be on the release of Archeage.

The End for Rift?

I think not, Rift has had some turbulent times in the past, its numbers dropped drastically within the first 6 months of its release due to bugs and grindy leveling, but it bounced back, Rift has maintained a strong, loyal playerbase, that may not be as large as that of other games, but once you love rift, you love it! I think Rift's playerbase will see a large decline with the release of Archeage, but I don't thnik many players will be removing the game from their PC's. With Rift now being free to play and a more PvE orientated game, I think players will continue to play Rift, even if only casually.

The games are completely different!

Yes the games are different, and that is what will save Rift. Archeage is more focused on open world PvP and player created content, where Rift is largely focused on PvE and instanced content (although it has some amazing open world features). The sandbox world of Archeage will not be for everyone, some people much prefer the likes of Rift (I have said myself that it is my favourite game). These of course are the base difference, both games feature PvE and PvP but how prominently they feature largely differ. 

Trion

One concern loyal Rift players have is that Archeage is being released by Trion to the western world (Archeage was released in south Korea in January 2013, however they have only allowed South Korean Nationals to play it so far) and they don't want them to lose interest in Rift, or produce sloppy work because they were more focused on Archeage. One thing these people must remember is that Trion are publishing a ready made game this time, the game has been live in Korea for over a year. This means that they are not going to need large teams of developers coming up with new ideas and content for Archeage at release. Rift will continue to bring in Revenue for Trion as will Archeage, they will not want either game to slip.

So Nobody Wins?

Trion win. The hype about Archeage in the Rift community alone has been phenomenal, with a lot of players from other games also itching to get into that open world and start the killing, Rift will fade into the background slowly, holding a small playerbase while Archeage is packed to the seams of it seamless world!

Only time will tell if Archeage can live up to the hype and take that number 1 spot, for now, at least we have our Rift. It is an opportunity for Trion to now take what they have learned from Rift and produce a game beyond expectation, this is Trions chance to take over the game that has reigned over the MMO world for 10 Years! With Rifts playerbase slowly growing now and with millions itching for the Archeage release, the Trion chairman must be planning some exotic holidays!

/Dakra

Rift 3.0 Ripples

Rumours have been rippling through the planes of water about rift 3.0, the second expansion! However not everyone that I have spoken to seems thrilled about it, some worry that the game is not going in the right direction or may end up like Warcraft where by the newer content could not match up to the older... but I say neigh to these neigh Sayers! Trion have their heads screwed on about this one, and will avoid mistakes where possible! Here's a little of what we know so far.

(Please note: everything that you are about the read is subject to change; Some information is educated speculation, it is however the most I know)

Where?

Rift 3.0 is set to be Rift: The plane of Water and from what we have seen in the underwater zone near Ember isle we can pretty much guess we will be fighting the ancient race: the Akvan, currently they sleep but a quest chain has hinted at them awakening! We will hopefully see some Creepy creatures powered by water ad dark magic. It has been speculated that the majority of content will be set under water, however the underwater zone near Ember isle has not been overly successful, which we hope Trion notice, and in turn rethink the zones a little.

 What else?

Well there an numerous things dotted around the web, I tend to take these things with a pinch of salt, but alas, this cannot be ignored. The picture to the right was released by Trion, it was a brainstorm of ideas for 3.0, a lot of it seems to be based around dreams and water. I wont go into detail with all of it but if you enlarge the photo you can see the numerous awesome ideas. Another thing to note is the picture stuck onto the whiteboard, this we believe is a concept for the new continent/island/zone that will be the main place for 3.0 content, as you can see it has multiple layers! Like a cake, and everybody loves cake. This would be an interesting spin on underwater content, as it would allow players to walk rather than swim, which makes controlling your character much less of an annoyance.

When?

This is the part where everything falls down, there are much greater details than those which feature in this article available on the web but this is the part I wanted to talk about. With 2.7 on the Horizon and the release of 4 new souls along with it, it would seem there is now no rush to release a new expansion. The souls were scheduled to be released with 3.0 however Trion officials have hinted at a possible patch 2.8 and possibly implementing tier 3 raids in storm legion. With all this information and us being promised "More" than what we already know about, it seems unlikely that the speculations of 3.0 being released this summer are true, if these rumours become truth though, there shouldn't be too much grumbling from the players, with a new tier of raids and 4 news souls to play around with. Another benefit of releasing "expansion worthy" features in regular content patches is that it allows Trion to iron out any bugs more efficiently, thus making the whole game more enjoyable at a quicker pace.

New Features

Here of some of the new feature ideas floating around

• New abilities
• Water mounts which will allow you to travel quickly across or through water.
• Fishing Rifts!
• Nightmare Rifts - Potentially 15 stage large scale rifts
• Single player and Puzzle Chronicles
• 4 new zones
• New dungeons and Raids

A lot of these features of course, are expected to be added with a new expansion to any MMO game, but it is the features we haven't heard about yet that excite me. Whether or not these new features are set to drop with 3.0 or prior to it, I for one, welcome them.

/Dakra

Is Rift truly "Free to Play"?

Free to Play, or Pay to Win?

Hey guys, another edition of Rift Rumour, this week I will try to answer this testing question that causes much debate among the Rift players, is Rift really "free to play"?

When Rift was originally launched it was a pay to play game, it required the purchase of the game and a monthly subscription fee. Many players from the likes of WoW flocked to it, it was a normality in the MMO world for high quality games to charge a subscription fee, however Rift was not all that Trion had promised it would be. Rift was full of bugs and little annoyances which had the player base drop drastically. Trion were quick to act, they ironed out what needed ironing and got their heads down to work on Rift: Storm Legion, the first Rift expansion. With player numbers still low Trion announced that Rift would become "Truly Free to Play" and in my opinion, they were honest.

Being a free to play player limits you very little in Rift, you have 2 fewer bag slots, and you cannot sell on the auction house without having "loyalty points" this was introduced by Trion in an attempt to foil "gold sellers" and for the most part it works well, you are also limited to two characters per shard and 2.5k platinum (in game currency) per character. Never fear though free players, as REX saves the day! REX is a currency designed by rift, and stands for Rift Exchange. Many free to play players can save up their free to earn platinum and trade it for REX, one REX usually costs around 1.4k Platinum and can be exchanged for 1250 credits and 2500 loyalty points, which would lift the cap on your platinum and allow you to sell via the auction house! Although subscription gives some minor perks it does not effect advancement so greatly that without it you cannot play. 

One thing free players cannot access is the new "souls" from the storm legion, although these can be purchased through the Rift store, or by purchasing Rift: Storm Legion. Again, the game is not broken without the ability to use these souls, however they are more powerful than some Free to Play souls.

In my eyes Rift truly is a free to play MMO, it can and should be enjoyed by all players, whether or not you pay a subscription fee. There are a few snags here and there (always remember that it is a business and they cannot run the game if they are not in profit) but almost all purchasable items are cosmetic. All content is available to free players!

So with that settled and your pockets full of cash from the subscription fee you will save, i'll see your happy faces in Telara.

/Dakra

Rift; Creating your Character

Character Creation in Rift.

Rift has an amazing character creator, there is no doubt, but what makes it so damn good?

"And his Axe!"

Well I believe it is the simplicity of it! Some games just do not give you enough options to build a unique character, while others allow you to make the characters ears bigger than its head! Rift has a healthy balance, giving you easy to use tools and a diverse range of features that can really make your character stand out; or blend in.

There are six races in Telara; split into two factions, the Guardians and the Defiant; initially the two factions were entirely separate, much like the set up in WoW or SW:tor. However Trion later decided that this was not the way they wanted the game to be, but alas, it was too late to remove factions entirely, instead they made it possible to cross faction group, guild, friend, mail, chat and more, which means if you fancy playing a mysterious Eth mage of the Defiant and a friend of yours wants to play a hearty Dwarf warrior from the Guardian faction, you can still play together! You're even able to play as a Guardian Race on defiant and vice versa through the Rift store!

Rift's character creator allows to to modify attributes such as height, eye color, head shape, facial features, markings, hair and a lot more, each race has six presets per gender and are incredibly easy to edit to get the look you desire, and with a random name generator that generates a name based on your race and gender, you don't have to site for 20 minutes thinking of that perfect name!

In conclusion, Rift has a character creator that gives just the right amount of customization options, you can have a character with a unique look but you wont be stuck in there for hours making those annoying little tweaks. I hope to see your creative turnouts running around Telara soon!

/Dakra

5 Reasons YOU should try Rift

Rift; 2014

What's up guys? It's Dakra here from Rift Rumour and i'm here to tell you why you should give Rift your attention in 2014! After a rocky start, Trion managed to iron out those bugs, polish their game and bring a truly impressive expansion pack to the original MMO game, in my opinion, nobody does it better than Rift! So without further a due lets delve into my 5 Reasons to try Rift...

1. Rifts!

Ok, ok so its a little cliché, but, Rifts and world events in Rift take that linear feeling of leveling away. I've played dozens of MMO's, some are too linear, some are too sandbox like but in Rift I found the perfect balance. Increasing in difficulty as more players' join the fight, these rifts and world events could just take you by surprise, they are not as easy as they look but they attract dozens of players, it really gives it that MMO feel.

2. PvP

PvP is not always something I enjoy, especially in a Fantasy MMO; but Rift takes PvP to a new and exciting level. There are only 4 classes in Rift but there are a huge variety of "souls" to choose from (think talent tree's before WoW broke itself). You can mix and match your soul's how you see fit and it's not as complex as it all sounds. The Battlegrounds are well thought out and plentiful, there is gear available to buy every 10 levels and here comes my favorite part "No Balance", it might sound crazy but there are just too many souls for Trion to balance in PvP so they don't, they keep everything at a competitive level but there will always be a soul combo to counter your own! This means that PvE and PvP changes don't effect each other too much, which makes everyone a happy bunny!

3.Visuals

Gameplay > Graphics, as always, but Rift does it all, it has a very Warcraft-esque style of combat but it is done so much more beautifully. Rift's graphics are by far my favorite in any MMO, from the way your spells illuminate your staff in all the vibrant colors you would expect them to, to how detailed the armored saddle of your horse is. The game is set in the world of Telara, which is world full of rich environments and diverse terrains, filled with the most hideous terror's and extravagant bosses! Rift is definitely a good looking game. 

4. Epic PvE

The days of enjoyable PvE content had long been dead for me, until I tried Rift. The classic "trinity" system still stands in Rift with the "Tank, Healer and DPS" roles being available, however Rift adds a fourth role, "support", the support role is amazing good fun, and very, very busy! You are an off healer, a buff dispenser, a debuff cannon and an AoE damage God! (and that's just in the 5 man dungeons). On top of this new role that is on offer in Rift, there is a twist on raiding, with exciting mechanics that are randomly selected to keep you on your toes, no one is carried in Rift, if somebody is not pulling their weight, you know about it! Which makes you feel more important and sorts the bad from the Rift-Raft (sorry, had to use the joke). There's always something to do in Rift, and with cross faction, cross server grouping, its never been easier....

5. MMO - Truly

A lot of MMO games now miss this aspect of the game, the multiplayer of MMO seems long forgotten sometimes in the likes of WoW and SW:tor, but you are not alone in Rift, there are world events that draw mass amounts of players, Rifts being closed by groups and guilds, dungeons being run, raids to clear and even instant adventures that are all tools that allow you to group with players for as little or as much time as you like, features like dimensions and guild dimensions (housing) mean you can find solitude, a place to RP or even just prep with your guild for a raid without the spam of trade chat. Rift is by far the easiest game to group up in that I have ever played.

There are hundreds of reasons to try Rift, but I wanted to just list enough to get your MMO taste buds tingling at the thought of jumping into Telara and joining the epic battle that is never ending! Rift has its minor flaws as all games do but for me, nothing beats it!

/Dakra