Gamers: who has played RIFT?

[Apex]

Last night I finally got the trial to download and run on my XP machine, hitting level 8 on my mage in about 1.5 hours. Not bad since I kept walking away to take care of other things while playing. Just curious who here has been playing it and if it is worth buying. Right now I think I will buy it, but I'm not 100% sold on it. I like WoW a lot, but the engine they used on this game is quite impressive.

I may go ahead and get it and play it for a while, just to have something to play that isn't console. I get so bored playing console based games, unless it is like Forza 3 or something like that.

[Ambar]

Havok and I both play Rift. We both have lvl 30ish mages and enjoy the game alot though we haven't had time to play much lately. I've played various MMO's, starting with Diablo then moving on to EQ, and SWG when it came out, finally ending up in EQ2.

Rift seems, to me, to be a very well put together game. I like the way you can have various different character soul setups and change between them at will. To me it adds a bit of depth to the game.

[Boosted139]

I played from release for about a month. I thought it was great, then I just didn't play for a few days because other things going on and just never went back. Guess it wasn't THAT great.

I thought the PvP was meh and that's one of my favorite aspects of a mmorpg. I was lvl 34 when I stopped.

[CynicalC]

Thanks for the heads up actually. Quit wow a while back and went back to aion private server. Got bored of it and played some portal. Been waiting on a free trial of rift for a while. Didn't think it would come until q4. I'll get it tomorrow.

[Bols]

I have been playing WoW for 4-5 years pretty hardcore. Quitted in february, just couldn't take the way they managed to screw up rbgs and arena as they did. After that I have tried about every mmo out there. I pre-ordered Rift and played the first included month, but that was about it. Its a nice game, but something was missing. Talked it over with a friend who also was testing it, and suggested we'd try Aion again.

Aion sucked pretty bad at release when we last tried it, but has now been overhauled and changed, and has gotten alot better after Aion 2.0 aka "Assault on Balaurea" got released. I love their solo instances! They have actually launched a major patch during the last night, Aion 2.5. It is also alot cheaper to buy than Rift. I would recommend you trying it before buying Rift.

My top 3 ranking of MMO games, excluding WoW:
1. Aion
2. Rift
3. WAR(Warhammer)

[Apex]

I started a rogue on another server (friend plays on that server) and I got her up to 7 (almost 8) last night. This character is actually a defiant. It is neat because I'm seeing the other side of this "battle" that I otherwise would have never seen. I was enjoying it so much, I went ahead and clicked "buy". Come to find out, if you get the trial and then upgrade to the collectors edition, you get the first month's subscription for free. Ok, not really, they just give you a $15 price break over retail so it is like you are getting a month's subscription for free. Plus you get a mount, a trinket, a companion, and something else (can't remember).

So I get a free month for the same price people would pay at Best Buy or whatever. Figured it was a pretty good deal, went ahead and signed up.

[Liber]

I've actually gravitated away from my computer, partially due to the lack of good games lately. As far as MMO's go, Rift seems to be a solid MMO, but nothing really special. I haven't bought it because I know I would get bored with it in a month or 2.

I just get tired of the character development formula that WoW created and everyone since has copied. I've been messing around with MMOs for 13 years, so I guess I just got used to the idea of being able to gimp a character. I miss the complexity of character development in Anarchy Online.

I'm waiting for Planetside 2, which I plan to spend some time on when the colder months come back around.

[Apex]

I'm actually waiting ever so patiently for Diablo 3 to be released. I think it would be really cool is Blizzard would release a combo pack that adapted Diablo and Diablo 2 to the new PC formats so they could still be played. I'd play D2 again in a heartbeat. It is definitely my favorite game of all time. WoW is right behind it.

[Bols]

Originally Posted by Apex

I'm actually waiting ever so patiently for Diablo 3 to be released. I think it would be really cool is Blizzard would release a combo pack that adapted Diablo and Diablo 2 to the new PC formats so they could still be played. I'd play D2 again in a heartbeat. It is definitely my favorite game of all time. WoW is right behind it.

Have you tried Torchlight? Pretty Diablo similar from what I've heard, and also cheap on steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/41500/?snr=1_4_4__13

[zilaniz]

I have played a few MMO's, the last one was WoW that I still play off and on (85 war).
For me my favorite MMO of all time was EQ, nothing grabbed my attention like that did, maybe because it was my first MMO, I dunno. I looked at Rift but haven't tried it out yet

I do have my eye on the witcher 2 though, that looks good even though its not an mmo.

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by Apex

I'm actually waiting ever so patiently for Diablo 3 to be released. I think it would be really cool is Blizzard would release a combo pack that adapted Diablo and Diablo 2 to the new PC formats so they could still be played. I'd play D2 again in a heartbeat. It is definitely my favorite game of all time. WoW is right behind it.

I played the first and missed the second :/ really wish I had a chance to play it because it's nearly impossible to play now like you said. :/ REALLY can't wait for d3. Hope it's not a disappointment.

[Liber]

If you want to play Diablo 2, but can't, play Titan Quest. It is a solid D2 clone with plenty of skills and tons of loot to collect. My brother, cousin and I spent 3 summers beating it into the ground.

+1 on torchlight though it has no multiplayer(yet).

D3 looks alright. None of the classes seem to appeal to me.

As far as single player games go, Mass Effect is my new favorite RPG series. Nothing can replace the multitude of all time best RPGs on the SNES and Playstation. I miss those days

[Ambar]

I do like Rift and the character creation concept in the game. However, I'm not that big into pvp. I'm more likely to be killing something, wonder why I'm dying so much faster than I should be, and look over to find the other faction whaling away at me lol. But for what it is, it is fun and a nice way to kill a few hours.
With so many games out there, you're bound to eventually come across one that suits your playstyle and interests.

Lately, I've been having fun playing Super Mario with my daughter on the WII.
It plays almost exactly like the old SNES Mario's. It's somewhat of an ego boost to have your almost 15yo kid yell from the other room "Mom, I can't beat this level, can you help me"...and you can.

[Apex]

I don't like PvP because I need a totally different build. I like keeping it simple and just use my PvE build.

I went and hit level 18 today. Should have been further ahead, but concentrated on my professions a bit much. Now I'm starting to get things taken care of. Still enjoying it...not having to run all over the place to complete quests nearly as much as in WoW. It is a nice change. The starter zone runs lvl 1-5, and the first real zone runs 5-20. I don't miss the WoW levels where I change zones like every 5 levels, and I have to run from one side of the level to the other, and back again like 3 or 4 more times just to complete a couple of quests.

[Liber]

Sounds fun. I might give it another look.

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by Apex

I don't like PvP because I need a totally different build. I like keeping it simple and just use my PvE build.

I went and hit level 18 today. Should have been further ahead, but concentrated on my professions a bit much. Now I'm starting to get things taken care of. Still enjoying it...not having to run all over the place to complete quests nearly as much as in WoW. It is a nice change. The starter zone runs lvl 1-5, and the first real zone runs 5-20. I don't miss the WoW levels where I change zones like every 5 levels, and I have to run from one side of the level to the other, and back again like 3 or 4 more times just to complete a couple of quests.

I never have the mindset of needing to play at a certain pace. It takes away from any game. Explore, level your professions, flip some stuff on the auction house, quest... It's all part of the experience.

The big problem with wow is that they sped up the leveling process too much. Every major patch, you see it in the notes. "decreased amount of experience needed to level by x% for levels 10-70. Increased the amount of experience given by mobs and questing by x%" Then plus all the heirlooms adding up to what, a 25% bonus? I leveled my warrior 15-75 as PROT in like 3 days played. So all the areas of the game that used to be essential in leveling are abandoned. As are the long chain quests that reward you for doing all that running around. Because now you get blue gear for just running a random dungeon. All you have to do is show up and breathe.

I'm sort of ranting here because this is why I quit the game. I don't have a problem with the new content, it's just that they make it so easy to faceroll your way to and through it.

Let me know what server you're playing rift on. It's halfway finished downloading for me.

[RhinoJC]

Originally Posted by Apex

I don't like PvP because I need a totally different build. I like keeping it simple and just use my PvE build.

I went and hit level 18 today. Should have been further ahead, but concentrated on my professions a bit much. Now I'm starting to get things taken care of. Still enjoying it...not having to run all over the place to complete quests nearly as much as in WoW. It is a nice change. The starter zone runs lvl 1-5, and the first real zone runs 5-20. I don't miss the WoW levels where I change zones like every 5 levels, and I have to run from one side of the level to the other, and back again like 3 or 4 more times just to complete a couple of quests.

Wait, once you hit 30 or so it goes down hill fast. Granted the server I was on was a ghost town which really made it boring, but around 30 is when I started to notice a lot of annoying little things.

Around the 25-30 range is when you start getting pigeon-holed into a specific soul setup and all but lose the option to customize, depending on your class.

Some of the quest hubs send you back to the same place several times. This is normal in MMOs, but a few places get excessive, especially when it takes a good 15+ minutes to fight your way in and another 15+ back out.

The PvP is meh.

Probably my biggest gripe is the complete lack of re-playability. Once you've played a specific faction through once, you've seen it all. If you like to play alts, going through the levels again is brutal.

[Apex]

Yeah I've already noticed instances where I fight my way up and back down, only to get another quest that sends me right back up.

I don't mind it since I'm learning a new character. In WoW I had a warlock/mage (can't remember) with the water elemental. I always just sent it in no matter what and I really didn't need to think about it too much. With my Bard, assassin, and ranger combo, I 100% rely on my pet to keep me alive. If my pet dies, I severely struggle to stay alive. I'm getting better now...using a lot of bard to keep buffs up and to weaken the target, then switching to assassin for close range, using ranger for the pet and some bow/arrow ranged attacks.

One thing I like about WOW is that you can play the game two or three times and do different quests each time.

Are the dungeons ok for LFG to level?

[Apex]

Yeah I've already noticed instances where I fight my way up and back down, only to get another quest that sends me right back up.

I don't mind it since I'm learning a new character. In WoW I had a warlock/mage (can't remember) with the water elemental. I always just sent it in no matter what and I really didn't need to think about it too much. With my Bard, assassin, and ranger combo, I 100% rely on my pet to keep me alive. If my pet dies, I severely struggle to stay alive. I'm getting better now...using a lot of bard to keep buffs up and to weaken the target, then switching to assassin for close range, using ranger for the pet and some bow/arrow ranged attacks.

One thing I like about WOW is that you can play the game two or three times and do different quests each time.

Are the dungeons ok for LFG to level?

[Apex]

A friend of mine converted to RIFT for now, dumping WoW for a little bit. We both have not renewed our accounts and will stick with RIFT for a while. If it starts going downhill, we will go back to WoW. He already passed me up, at 22 while I'm still at 18. My wife did come back into town this week, so we have been hanging out together because she was so homesick. I'll have time to play more this week.

I haven't had much time to play since I've been working on installing Win7 64-bit. Got it done, just need to configure it, download some old programs, transfer data between the old hard drive and my new one, and download RIFT again.

[Liber]

Age of Conan is free to play now. I'm starting to play again. Pretty fun so far.

[shiroganeshinobi]

Originally Posted by zilaniz

I have played a few MMO's, the last one was WoW that I still play off and on (85 war).
For me my favorite MMO of all time was EQ, nothing grabbed my attention like that did, maybe because it was my first MMO, I dunno. I looked at Rift but haven't tried it out yet

I do have my eye on the witcher 2 though, that looks good even though its not an mmo.

I can sympathize with you here EQ was practically my first MMO as well. Forced grouping and spawns created a community where you knew good players and your average players. Drama existed from racing towards contested rare raid spawns or rotation zone sharing like who day was it in Fear/Hate. It's nice to reminisce but you don't want to relive that pain. EQ actually has progression servers where they are following a release timeline based upon the server vote but it doesnt feel the same.

Originally Posted by CynicalC

I'm sort of ranting here because this is why I quit the game. I don't have a problem with the new content, it's just that they make it so easy to faceroll your way to and through it.

I can tell you this why WoW is in decline now. In vanilla, raids felt more epic but it was inaccessible to regular casual people. They corrected that in BC with small raids with each subsequent expansion until today. They gained tons more subscribers but now the base is slowly bleeding away.

People are waiting for the next "wow killer" and i think Star Wars The Old Republic might become close but it wont kill wow.

[Apex]

Wow is also going south because of their engine. People want a more modern platform. People love seeing great graphics and playability. WoW, while it is playable, the graphics are suffering, especially when you set it up next to a new game like Rift. I'm level 34 now and I still am really enjoying the game. I find it fun to take my time, find artifacts, complete achievements, and just chat up with some friends. At about level 30 in WoW I was starting to get annoyed with certain things. The invasions help a lot because I really do enjoy participating in those.

[CynicalC]

Ah you had to revive this thread >_<

I played rift for about a week and it's a GREAT game from what I can tell. I only got up to level 14 or so, with a fire Mage. I decided not to buy it though because I really need to start doing better things with my time. BUT it's on sale again this weekend for $10. So tempting.

[Apex]

Go for it. Join shatterbone and I'll help you with some tougher or group quests. I just hit 35 today. Not bad for only playing about 2x a week. hahaha

[bettysmith]

FWIW, you can have multiple masteries / skill trees to suit different needs (PVP, Farming, Raiding (healing, dps...), etc.)

Let me say that I have very minimal experience with Rift.

I played WoW since Vanilla (Up until before Cataclysm). Downloaded the Rift trial. Fun game, but it's just like WoW. Well...let me say this; it's WoW with bonus features and a lack of smoothness. Way too much grinding to, but what else can you expect from this genre at the moment?

[Apex]

Everyone is playing copy cat with WoW. I'd like to see someone come up with something that is a bit different from WoW. Like the combat tables. They constantly have elites and newbies have an issue with understanding elites. Many see an enemy with the same level, attack, and are then shock when they die in 4.3 seconds. Why have the combat tables like that where you have elites. Just give the enemies the level you want with the health and armor required. Then add a table where they have a reduced parry, reduced block, etc, to make the higher level able to be hit, but have the power required to be difficult. This would help the newbs with knowing who the "elites" are.

Just a simple thing that could help newbies I figured out. Maybe if I write a table, they'd use it. hahahaha

[CynicalC]

Eh, the only real elites you come across now are in dungeons. On my mage and shaman I've solod 99% of the elite quests in the game, and I have loremaster on my shaman. (not so much on the rogue or warrior.)

[Liber]

I am now officially a casual gamer. I play Age of Conan 2 hours or so every evening after working out. I'm kind of astonished at how quickly I'm making progress. I think when I power gamed all my previous RPG's I spent an enormous amount of time sitting idle. Now, since I only play during peak hours, it's really easy to find raids and groups. I like it.

[CynicalC]

Someday I will have the time to game again, and the will to do it casually.