Rift: Planes of Telara

[palmer_eldritch]

I hope this doesn't have any impact on their plans to bring Archeage to the west. That's the only MMO I have any hopes for at the moment.

[dd0029]

So, they've got the cash shop up on the PTS for current subscribers. Everything other than the absolute best gear is for sale. You can even buy the lvl 1 water for money. Every merchant interface has been replaced with the cash shop interface which fills up nearly the entire screen on a non widescreen monitor.

I will say that outside of the "competitive " raiding thing, they have kept to their promise to make it easily and mostly painlessly playable without spending a dime. There's some neat options in the shop for wardrobe materials and some of the xp/rep/token consumables are reasonably priced for a weekends play. Unfortunately, there aren't all that many options currently. Maybe 20 different sets with several of those just being recolors. I've only heard of one mount only obtainable in the cash shop. All of the other mounts are just what you can currently buy. I don't believe there are any shop only companion pets either.

However, I think they're banking on their raiding players to keep the game afloat. They have added in a whole new tier of consumables at the top end, giving roughly a 20% bonus over the current consumables. However, these all have absurd in game costs of time and materials. But no worries, you can buy the materials from the shop for $3. Doesn't look like a bad idea, until you realize the cost for a typical 3 hour raid night can be more than a current 1 month sub. Figure most of the raid guilds go 2-3 nights a week. On paper it might look like a good idea, but I can't see how that's completely unsustainable.

[Aza]

So far I like their model more than most F2Ps. It brought me back fromm being inactive for more than a year and I even felt incentivied to sub for a month while I play the expansion content. We'll see how this ends.  

[March]

Other than the goofy and confusing Loyalty credits, I'm enjoying the expansion quite a bit too... even gave them some money.

The micro-trans are 100x better than GW2, which is supposed to be a micro-trans game out of the box.

All that said, I pretty much play just to build characters and wander the open world.  As far as I can tell, the game is still 100% focused on forced grouping or zerging PvE once you cap 60.  I Still think they stupidly "blinked" when they made their originally planned solo Chronicles content Duo (or overgeared solo).  So, once I tire of my new Druid/Tank and/or hit 60 with all four archetypes... back on the shelf.

[Sky]

I get bummed out when I have to pass by all the dungeon quests in each zone. Back of the bus, soloer.

But yes, the f2p implementation is awesome and if you casually dig the game it's perfection now.

[Kageru]

GW2 isn't particularly micro-trans... it's box price and future content expansions like GW1.

This sounds much more like desperation, and it takes a fair amount of development time to support a raiding content progression.

[Dren]

I get bummed out when I have to pass by all the dungeon quests in each zone. Back of the bus, soloer.

But yes, the f2p implementation is awesome and if you casually dig the game it's perfection now.

That's where I am right now.  I've even paid them some money here and there for some things.  It's a fun game.  I know I'll get to a point where my solo'ing will hit a brick wall, but knowing I can pick or drop the game as I wish puts that at the back of my mind for now.

[Modern Angel]

This sounds much more like desperation, and it takes a fair amount of development time to support a raiding content progression.

Oh yeah. I'm wondering what their angle is because this shit really IS free. I have no idea how their revenue stream is going to be enough.

[Fabricated]

I haven't had a problem getting into LFG groups for the first few dungeons.

That 1-20 stretch fucking feels like forever and as a guardian that generic fantasy forest zone is so goddamn boring and big it's like a not barren barrens.

[Draegan]

If you want to level as fast as possible to get into the expansion areas, or level as fast as possible to get into another level tier your best bet is to grind Instant Adventurers over and over. You can level incredibly fast that way if you get a few people to do it with you.

Of course, with a few veteran xp pots, I grinded mobs in Freemarch for a bunch of levels with my cleric. It was even faster.

[dd0029]

Actually, do that and some assorted PvP randoms all the way to 50. You'll probably spend most of your time mentored to 15 doing the Silverwood IA chains. It's quick, but it gets a bit tedious.

[Phred]

If you want to level as fast as possible to get into the expansion areas, or level as fast as possible to get into another level tier your best bet is to grind Instant Adventurers over and over. You can level incredibly fast that way if you get a few people to do it with you.

Sadly the same people who afk leech in Battlegrounds will do it in IA's as well. Which leads to people joining, seeing no one actually doing the adventure and quitting. Can't really build a group around that mechanic. If ever they needed a vote-kick it was there.

[Nebu]

If I could get a group of 5 reliable players, I'd go back to this game in a heartbeat.  I thought the dungeon boss mechanics were pretty fun.  

[Logain]

If anyone's still playing this I'm on haloil with a 60 rogue named Collision. I'm sure I could get someone into my guild. We run experts daily, do the daily raid rifts and are going to be running the raids once we have enough geared people.

[Reborne]

I'm playing, messing around with the summer festival.
I'm still on Three Springs with a 41 Cleric called Vashon.
Being in Bat Country I can see that some people log in every now and then, maybe 5 other characters have been on in the last month.

I like that they're giving away free money for logging in during the event.
If you didn't see the announcement, there is a daily log in reward in the store that contains a small amount of their real money currency.
25 from memory.

[dd0029]

Not aware that they are giving away currency. The daily box has a Loyalty thing in it about half the time. They gave 450 credits for the really crap server instability last week.

[Reborne]

I seem to have stopped getting the currency in the daily reward.
Maybe it was for a limited time or I was just really lucky for a few days in a row.

[Aza]

I seem to have stopped getting the currency in the daily reward.
Maybe it was for a limited time or I was just really lucky for a few days in a row.

It feels pretty random since there will be a string of days with no currency, then string where you get plenty.

My take on RIFT: Pretty good if you like pvp, not pro pvp, but a good casual Battleground/Warfront style environment to enjoy. I went from 20-50 and 50-60 with a couple of characters solely from pvp and had plenty of fun. The pve solo content is pretty poor, the dungeon content is pretty good, and the Instant Action (performs as its name implies) pve is an OK brainless activity you can do for good exp.

[Chockonuts]

Tried to get back into this from six months after launch.

Not sure why but this game still feels like eating tofu stuffed with mayonnaise topped with cottage cheese to me. 

Seems like it should be way more fun than it is, but something there.. I don't know...meh.. screw it.

Uninstall. Again. Good luck to 'em.

[Jerrith]

I seem to have stopped getting the currency in the daily reward.
Maybe it was for a limited time or I was just really lucky for a few days in a row.

The currency in the daily reward containers was a limited time offer which has ended (at least for now).  There were some serious network problems that results in a 450 credit award to anyone who logged in to the US servers during the affected period.  There's also a 1 million PA exp bonus available right now to anyone who logs in (and hasn't claimed it yet) as an apology for auto-consuming stored PA exp items without granting the exp.

Lots of new stuff on the way with 2.4, including (my favorite) two new 20 man raids.

[Chockonuts]

I seem to have stopped getting the currency in the daily reward.
Maybe it was for a limited time or I was just really lucky for a few days in a row.

The currency in the daily reward containers was a limited time offer which has ended (at least for now).  There were some serious network problems that results in a 450 credit award to anyone who logged in to the US servers during the affected period.  There's also a 1 million PA exp bonus available right now to anyone who logs in (and hasn't claimed it yet) as an apology for auto-consuming stored PA exp items without granting the exp.

Lots of new stuff on the way with 2.4, including (my favorite) two new 20 man raids.

Lemme know when you guys start working with Voxels. Maybe I'll come back

[Typhon]

Any more two man stuff planned?

[Jerrith]

Any more two man stuff planned?

Yes.  Two new two man chronicles scheduled for 2.4.  I don't think we've said too much about them to the public yet, might have been some info in the last live stream.

Lemme know when you guys start working with Voxels. Maybe I'll come back

No plans at Trion for voxels in Rift right now.

[Draegan]

Hey Jerrith! Miss ya buddy.

[Reborne]

The currency in the daily reward containers was a limited time offer which has ended (at least for now).  There were some serious network problems that results in a 450 credit award to anyone who logged in to the US servers during the affected period.  There's also a 1 million PA exp bonus available right now to anyone who logs in (and hasn't claimed it yet) as an apology for auto-consuming stored PA exp items without granting the exp.

Lots of new stuff on the way with 2.4, including (my favorite) two new 20 man raids.

Thank you for clarifying.
I'm one of the slowest levelers ever though, so even though I've been playing on and off since the beta I'm still only level 42.
I'll get up to Plannar Attunement one day, probably after a few more festivals where the daily quests don't care about your level 

[Draegan]

I wouldn't worry about Planar Attunement, it's one of the worst systems to ever be put into a game. They've changed it to be a bit more palatable, but it's still awful.

[Chockonuts]

/follow disabled in Warfronts and Conquest

Hey folks,

 As some of you may have noticed, we've disabled /follow in both Warfronts and Conquest for the time being. This is a toggle that is now in our remote admin tool that we can turn on and off in real time.

 I know that there are a lot of opinions on the subject of multi-boxing and it is a heated subject for some people. Please share your opinions on how this has affected your actual gameplay - but keep it clean folks.

 Bill "Daglar" Fisher
 Creative Director: RIFT

[Numtini]

While I appreciate the convenience of following a zerg, /follow has been a plague on MMOs.

[Sky]

Put in an IP flag so multiboxers can follow, or make it an option setting (friends list can follow or w/e).

I want to play my cleric more, love the gameplay. But no time!

[Typhon]

I think you mean, "multiboxers can't follow"?  I've been playing this a bunch lately and (from chat) it seems that the PvP playerbase is convinced that multiboxing needs to be excised.

[Nebu]

If Rift got rid of macros, multiboxers would be significantly less useful.  The players are cutting off their own noses to spite their face.

[Sky]

I forget how much I hate macros.

Also, when will developers learn to implement different rules for pvp servers/instances? So many years of bad decisions for pve because of pvp and vice versa.

[Typhon]

I PvP'd a fair amount at launch.  It was fun for a bit, then it just made me unhappy, so I'm not doing it this time.  Doing small group stuff until it's not fun anymore, then will move on to something else.

I enjoy defending wardstones.  I think I'd enjoy it more if the waves got bigger and bigger and the concept was to try to hold out as long as possible (with the inevitable failure at the end).  Feels wrong to just leave the NPC to be crushed after I've gotten my 20 waves defended.  Occasionally folks will come by and join up, and it just feels kind of organic - but also wrong that I abandon them once I've hit my 20.  Maybe if you could defend it against a massive final invasion the wardstone spawns vendors and stuff.  I want closure dammit!

[Pennilenko]

I forget how much I hate macros.

Also, when will developers learn to implement different rules for pvp servers/instances? So many years of bad decisions for pve because of pvp and vice versa.

Everquest 2 had alternate functionality for skills in pvp. The tooltips even explained what they did in pvp and pve. So it has been done before. What I don't understand is why Hartsman never pushed for the same functionality in Rift since i am pretty sure that mechanic was his baby in EQ2 at least partially.

[Sky]

I'm pretty sure there was a rabid anti-EQ2 contingent on the dev team. There was a lot of anti-EQ2 sentiment I heard during the early alpha when I kept submitting issues with 'this worked in EQ2!' and also plenty of 'because WoW' and so much Vanguard-ism.