Rift (MMO)

[anvi]

I played most MMOs big and small and this is one of the better ones. I think people should try, especially because it is old and doesn't have many players left so it will die eventually. Playing an MMO by yourself isn't for everyone but I think if anyone liked Skyrim or DA:I or similar modern MMOs, then they would like Rift, but probably far more.

 

[ADL]

Played this shortly after they went free2play but before the first expansion pack released in 2013-2014 and the hybrid class system kept the gameplay more interesting than most of its contemporaries. Heard the business model went to complete shit, which as an ArcheAge player rings true under Trion/Gamigo. If that doesn't bother you and you don't mind playing a MMO from 2011 give it a shot.

 

[anvi]

TL-DR Yes it has some really good ideas, deserves to be remembered at least. I really enjoy playing it.

Longer story:

At release the mobs were really tough so general noob questing was actually fun for me. I played with 2 real life friends and it was smooth sailing but for solo players it was a real challenge. I really loved that about the game... I played as a Bard whose attacks built up points that you spend on varied effects mid fight. So it was strategic and felt good even in the low levels.

As ADL said you can switch class at any time (out of combat) and each class could also perform any role. So Warriors, Cleric, Rogue, Mage, each can be built as a tank, healer, damage, or support (control and healing). It made grouping so much easier because people could play their first choice or switch to something different to fill a slot of a group that was ready to go. It has other advantages too.

I finished the game as a Bard and then played through again as a Mage. It was even more fun and powerful.

Each 10 levels or so there is a dungeon for groups. They are pretty typical of post WoW MMOs but I think much better and bigger than most modern MMOs. (I'm thinking of TSW and ESO etc)

I love the game but at release there was really only about 1 month of content. So I saw all there was and the game loses a lot of magic when you reach the end and kind of see the limits of the game. One of the thing that made EQ so amazing to people was that most people didn't get close to reaching any sort of end, and when they did a whole new expansion was released. Rift only ever got 1 expansion and it wasn't great. They lowered the difficulty at some point when the popularity dipped, and then repeated it. So further play throughs are a lot less fun for me because I really liked the difficulty. But at least it's now soloable for anyone.

The main problem now is that they reworked it so that level 1-40 ish is about as fast as ever, but 40+ is a super huge grind. And there is a bunch of pay to win shit in the store that lets you skip the grind. I got to 50+ before they made it a grind and I didn't like it much anyway. It felt like they were stretching out the game in not a good way and with obnoxious monetization. But still, 1-40 ish is fun and to me it's much better than a lot of modern RPGs (I'm thinking Dragon Age Inquisition). p.s. Also the population is really low and has been for many years so I don't expect this game to last that long. I would really miss being able to play it.

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I tried it at launch. Aesthetically the game was ugly! For all the hype about "you are not in Azeroth anymore", Azeroth sure looked a hell a lot more appealing to hang around in for countless hours.

Mixing and matching different souls (this game's equivalent of specializations) felt like a halfbaked idea. IIRC you could only mix and match specializations within the same archetype (ie, cleric). They should've gone all the way and allowed you to mix and match any souls. FF11 and GW1 already allowed you to equip any class you wanted as a secondary so why the limits? Felt like a step back rather than forward.

I remember one of the expansions having nifty concept art. No idea if the 3D artists managed to replicate it faithfully ingame (probably not).

That place looks cool.

 

[Dr1f7]

the 'rifts' were a cool idea and sad that it didn't really catch on with mmos in general. the warhammer mmo had something similar but that game died too

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i grew bored of this in two days. at least it lasted about double than lotro.

 

[Angthoron]

the 'rifts' were a cool idea and sad that it didn't really catch on with mmos in general. the warhammer mmo had something similar but that game died too

Tbh it did. WoW has it with the "dynamic" phased dailies. GW2 is pretty much dynamic event-centric. The form is different, sure, but it's the same concept.

I played Rift at launch (HP pools were overtuned as hell), then about a year in (HP pools were undertuned as hell), and then on and off for a couple of years.

There were some very interesting things it did - the class system, the "dynamic" events, and the gimmick they had that kept world exploration alive longer than it normally would - the artifact hunt. I really enjoyed the artifact hunt bit.

Basically, you'd be going around the map, and occasionally find a shiny morsel to loot, and that morsel could contain some random artifact, some of which were just vendor trash, and some were cosmetics etc. It was pretty much always worth keeping an eye open for 'em, since they were a major money source when selling to collectors. IIRC I lucked out and sold something for enough coin to fully gear up in best buyable gear, plus buy riding skills and a nice mount, all from one lucky find.

Graphics were somewhat horrible though, there's this awful oil-like quality to everything, and the palette is too heavy on blues, I think, and generally oversaturated in a bad way. Still, it was fun enough for a while, even to solo.

Too bad it's managed by Gamigo now, I guess it's on its last legs.

 

[anvi]

I'm trying to play Dragon Age Inquishition and it just keeps reminding me of this and how much better it was.

 

[Angthoron]

I'm trying to play Dragon Age Inquishition and it just keeps reminding me of this and how much better it was.

God

Why

Don't

 

[Cryomancer]

I liked a bit, played as a warlock/necromancer (would't pay for frostguard with the high risk of the game dying thanks to Gamigo owning it) and was a bit of fun, but also repetitive. I got tired around lv 45 and stopped.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i want to rectify my last reply. more recently i tried lotro again, and i didn't grow bored: i was furious how obtuse and limited the dorky character creation was. i uninstalled before actually playing.
this said, rift still sucks as much.

 

[Late Bloomer]

i was furious how obtuse and limited the dorky character creation was

Have you by chance visited the LoTRO thread here? They have a new character creation that might be right up your alley.