I’ve spent a lot of time in Rift this last week and it’s surprising just how much the game has changed since release… for good and bad. Environments have been upgraded, quests and combat streamlined and a lot of new activities added.
Mostly I’ve just been questing, following the breadcrumb trail back and forth, endless killing and collecting but I kind of enjoy it. It’s a very comforting activity at times, especially when you’re feeling a bit ill and don’t feel like moving or thinking.
Finished off the gloomy land of trees. Had a lot of fun there with the invasions; closing rifts and banishing the invaders. Some more relaxing fishing and trying to complete that insane daily.
Then ventured forth to Scarlet Gorge which for some reason was always my favourite zone. I love the red and brown aesthetic and the way the light plays with the earthen tones is really quite soothing.
The Great Outdoors
It was also the first zone were I really delved into some Open world PvP. The previous zones had this as well but only a small group or occasional high level character, this place was war on release. Raiding parties were constantly sent out against the opposing parties camps and towns. NPC’s and players alike were slaughtered with an alarming frequency.
I remember raiding the Guardian section numerous time on the way up to the Foul Cascade dungeon and having fights that would last hours. Winning and losing fights, back and forth pushes and lots of graveyard runs.
I hate them soooooo MUCH
Then there was the large Fire rift, right in the middle of the zone that each faction had to quest over and fight to complete. It was a dirty and vicious war that spawned some intense rivalries between the sides. A rivalry that continued on through the entire game causing many many fights and I loved every minute of it.
I see dead Guardians
It’s a feeling that I will never get back now. There is only one PvP server left and I would doubt the animosity would have survived all this time. It was a time that could only have come from the release of a game, where everything is new and everyone is levelling together and contesting the space around them.
Next it was on to Iron Pine Peaks, the zone that was recently refurbished by Trion and they’ve done a really good job. Changing it into the a mid level zone creates a smoother questing path and creates more options for levelling at this range.
The quest flow is nice as well and there wasn’t too much backtracking done. My only issue though is that Rift is still far too easy. I miss the challenge the world used to hold. I remember being punished if I ventured to far on my own or if I’d thought I can take on too many mobs.
During events or even for missions it was far better to be in a group rather than quest alone, it was quicker and safer. There were even times were you would need to fall back on the support type roles like healing and tanking to succeed yet here every part is completely soloable. I’m finishing off rifts and even the bonus stages all alone, I’m wiping out invasion groups and outposts and am having no problem just ploughing through mobs. It’s just too much,
Yep, I can take it
The game I remember was one that both supported and encouraged grouping and coordinating together. The public grouping pop up during events was a great way to have informal grouping but it was a style of working together rather than the now popular Guild wars style of playing alongside. It is a subtle difference but a rather important one that is the difference between encouraging and rewarding various roles and the everyone for themselves mentality.
Trion have done wonders creating a variety of ways and content for people to group, breaking barriers with initiating groups and removing the usual level restrictions and yet they make the content so easy that you are still just playing by yourself.
I guess with how the majority of players are at the upper levels rather than here you have to make certain allowances since any jump in difficulty could stop people’s progress. And it does seem to be getting harder but still…. I don’t even go through a single rotation most of the time before the target is dead. Unless I aggro way too many the damage is unlikely to even go through my shielding.
It’s great being able to just see something and know you can jump straight in to complete but it makes the experience feel lacking and, by extension, an experience that is less likely to lead to making contacts and friends within the community. I also like being challenged, with having a certain amount of strategy to combat and tackling the bigger events and this is not it.
Maybe it gets better later on…
I started having a look at the dimensions but mainly just used it as an item dumping ground. I just needed to get all these dimension items out of the bags and that seemed like the best way. It kind of looks like I’m holding a garage sale now though… just without all the random junk.
I’m just waiting until I’m further along and coin is quicker to come by to actually start designing or decorating. It looks like a rather costly affair in terms of time and/or money, especially since the items are all single use rather than an unlock like I’d thought. I was expecting to be able to copy and paste items but unfortunately every single piece, from the floor boards to cups and plants need to be bought.
Can’t wait till I can afford one of the bigger ones.
#Rift #MMO #Questing
Healing the masses 