RIFT MMO News, Guides, and Features at Ten Ton Hammer

In the past few years every major fantasy MMOG that has launched has been compared to WoW in some way or another, with some even being crowned the WoW killer. None have gone as far as Rift though, launching TV ads that boldly proclaim: “We’re not in Azeroth anymore.” With over a million players pre-ordering and the headstart servers packed to capacity, Rift may be the first serious challenger to take a bite out of the WoW playerbase. Can Rift survive past the first 30 days and maintain steady growth, or will it lose a war of attrition as players flock back to their old games? It’s probably too early to tell but the answer may lie in some of the things we have seen in the first five days.

Thus far, Rift has been one of smoothest running and best performing games at launch in recent memory. Servers have been incredibly stable, client-side lag has been negligible and even the most populated of areas have run smoothly. Individual computer performance can play a huge role in this of course, but even playing on my older laptop the game was incredibly smooth, albeit with graphics setting adjusted down slightly.

Don't cry, it's only a server queue.

The only major knock on game performance has come from those unable to get into the game due to some fairly lengthy server queues. Trion has been swift and measured in regards to this and has introduced several new servers to help ease the load. There have been a few instances of server restarts and minor performance-related patches, which can normally be frustrating. Unlike most games at launch, however, the folks at Trion Worlds have been spot on in their estimation of downtime and have usually had the servers back up within 15 minutes.

Gameplay

In Rift you play the role of an Ascended, a hero brought back to life to battle the forces of Regulos, who seeks to destroy Telara, as well as to battle the otherworldly forces his attacks have unleashed by creating tears in the fabric of reality. The world is divided into two major factions, the Guardians and the Defiants. The former is comprised of the races that trust in the gods of the Vigil and the latter is made up of those who have shunned their teachings and instead put their faith in technology. Since all classes and callings are available to both factions, the choice is a purely aesthetic and lore-related one.

A brief cinematic brings new players up to speed with a history lesson tailored to the faction of their choosing that helps usher them into the game world. The process of choosing your first soul will introduce you to the games quest mechanics and begin a linear chain that moves you quickly through the first zone and first 15 levels of the game. All of the major components of Rift are introduced fairly early, with the obvious exception of end-game raiding. The leveling process is a quick one, perfect for today’s brand of MMOG player, but like any other form of repetitive gameplay it can get monotonous fairly quickly.

Planar invasions are there to help break up that grind, build up the community, and offer an extra dimension of gameplay. Invasions can happen anywhere and at any time, even in cities and quest hubs – reinforcing the feeling that nowhere is safe in Telara. Participating in these events is as simple as showing up; with the auto-grouping feature there is no need to beg for an invite or worry about getting proper credit. Each invasion has waves and each wave has various objectives that are spelled out in a UI frame that opens up when you are in range of the event. Completing the objectives rewards you with coin as well as a planar currency and can often times gives you a chance at rarer rewards.

This invasion-spawned treant leviathan was nothing to mess with.

Combat is fast paced and fun, with spells and abilities being unlocked by spending talent points in the various soul trees. Being in direct control over which combat abilities you have at your disposal can make you feel much more invested in your character and encourages you to spend some effort in creating a well-rounded build. In an era of cookie cutter specs, armor that looks the same and so many classes brining the exact same things to the table, it is refreshing to be able to craft something unique with your character.