You'll find many zones you
will adventure through in your
pursuit
to level 50, some of these have rifts. A rift is a 1 way portal that
takes you from your home territory, to the...

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You'll find many zones you
will adventure through in your
pursuit
to level 50, some of these have rifts. A rift is a 1 way portal that
takes you from your home territory, to the enemy's. Each rift
appears randomly at set locations throughout the game world. They have
maximum capacities, meaning once a certain number of people go through
them they will close, as well as default timers that once the time
limit is reached they will disappear.



Using rifts, also known as "Rifting" or "Rift hopping", is becoming
more and more popular as people are getting to
higher levels. For people who love to PvP, it really is a
thrill being in enemy territory. Just knowing that the enemy could be
around the next corner, or coming up from behind you at any
time is enough to make the experience worth it.



Rifts appear through Atreia in designated zones. Eltnen (Elysea) and
Morheim (Asmodae) provide Rifts for levels 20 to 40 to take a 1 way
trip to the enemy territory. Each Rift has different spec's so be sure
you know what you are getting into before you take the plunge. Some
Rifts are for higher level players and take you into areas much higher
than you might be, while others do just the opposite. Each Rift also
has a cap on how many people may use it, some allow only as many as 12
people while others will  70+ players to hop through. The
Rifts found in Heiron (Elysea) and Beluslan (Asmodae) have a much
higher capacity than those found in the lower level areas as these are
for level ranges 30 up to 50.



The lifespan of Rifts are relatively short so finding one takes
communication on part of all interested parties. They generally last
for around 2 hours of time within the game, or 26 minutes on your local
clock. Keep in mind that once the capacity of the Rift has been met, it
will close. So if you hear about a Rift being up and by the time you
get there it has disappeared, its likely that the capacity had been met
before you arrived. This tends to only be a problem in the lower level
areas, higher level area Rifts can support over 70 people per Rift.



Forming up parties to go over is never a bad idea, as you'll find the
quests very rewarding on the other side. Quests that usually give you a
standard reward from Elims (Treelike creatures) will be significantly
higher in enemy territory. Many areas have higher level guardians
blocking passage, so going in groups is ideal if you plan on doing some
exploring, or ganking.



While this is about Rifts, its only fair to mention that for those
among us who do not wish to engage in Rifted play -- at least early on,
there are "safe" zones exclusive to the faction you choose. For Elyos
you can find refuge in Theobomos, an island zone. Asmodians can find
this same refuge in Brusthronin. These are both zones enemies can not
access, so people looking for a decent break for a few levels go to
these zones.



Rifting can be a very fun and rewarding experience, and should be taken
with a grain of salt. Every MMOG developed these days has to have that
appeal to it to attract such a very large part of the community. Having
an open PvP experience does make it seem more realistic to people who
are looking at it from a practical stand point. Having artificial
barriers in the way only detracts from the experience many companies
only try to create. Many of us like to be competitive, having a
progressive PvP experience is an awesome thing and Aion provides that
avenue.