[MMO] Rift - Discussion

[BenSkywalker]

No, not in the group definition of the word Tank. However do that in any other RPG and see how long you are standing. AD&D, EQ, EQ2, WoW.

I play a mage in every MMO I've ever touched- in WoW in particular mages were rather notorious for many years for being able to solo elite mobs several levels higher then them without issue. In several raid situations mobs that couldn't be CCd were left to a single mage to deal with until the rest of the raid could help out. In Rift, Mages are more 'glass cannon' then they have been in WoW outside of POM-Pyro mages for a brief period in TBC(frost or arcane builds had significantly more durability then non Chloro Rift builds).

If my Voidwalker kicks the bucket and the mob turns to me, my health bar is going to fall. Fast.

L2P. Seriously, if your Voidy goes down and you are in trouble against a single mob, you are absolutely terrible at the game to put it mildly.

 

[yinan]

Just started playing this on Saturday and I am liking it so far. I have a Reaver/Paladin/Champ build right now at level 22. I am in no rush to level and I am trying to complete every quest I get.

I also am a miner/armorsmith/weaponsmith.

I really like all of the world events and public groups.

 

[Davidpaul007]

Just started playing this on Saturday and I am liking it so far. I have a Reaver/Paladin/Champ build right now at level 22. I am in no rush to level and I am trying to complete every quest I get.

I also am a miner/armorsmith/weaponsmith.

I really like all of the world events and public groups.

I chose those proffessions as well, they are great except you have to rely on others/AH for your wood (and a little leather). Never pass a ore node b/c you will need every bit you can get!

That spec sounds interesting, what is your primary soul?

Speaking from experience, a great combo to try out for good damage/AoE/survivability is Riftblade/Pally and whatever you want for 3rd zero point soul (I actually use beastmaster). Riftblade is great because most of your damage isn't based off weapon damage and going 1h/shield gives you survivability without sacrificing damage.

 

[cblais19]

I chose those proffessions as well, they are great except you have to rely on others/AH for your wood (and a little leather). Never pass a ore node b/c you will need every bit you can get!

That spec sounds interesting, what is your primary soul?

Speaking from experience, a great combo to try out for good damage/AoE/survivability is Riftblade/Pally and whatever you want for 3rd zero point soul (I actually use beastmaster). Riftblade is great because most of your damage isn't based off weapon damage and going 1h/shield gives you survivability without sacrificing damage.

Echoed on the RB/Paly build, grabbed it from Taugrim's site myself. Although Im on a PvE server and don't really have to worry about random PvP like he does, I find it great in both questing and PvP - switched from champ to that at 13 and have been leading warfront damage/KB boards ever since.

Also, since it seems we're still on the whole "zomg everybody can do everything the same" discussion, please note that all 4 healer classes play significantly differently, even if they all accomplish the same objective of making the green numbers. The difference between playing a 51pt Warden, a split Sent/Puri and a Chloromancer is um...yeah. Huge. The tank classes? Likewise, Riftstalker requires you execute "finisher" moves to keep the buffs up that prevent you from going splat, there are warrior souls specifically for tanking magic damage, as well as ones that are better at AE tanking. Just is apparently ez mode, but I dont know much about it.

Also, regarding group content, although there is minimal "forced" grouping per se, there are plenty of quests with elite mobs as the goal, the second quest of the epic story arc in Silverwood is a good example, with an elite mob plus two high damage adds. Droughtlands has an outdoor elite area with quests, combined with an arena. Both of these give nice blues that require a group to get. There are Major rifts that spawn, are entirely elite, and send out elite invasions (although they're a bit weaker then average elites). Plus, although some classes can solo the stage 5 elite boss of normal rifts, many people will need a hand to complete it. I think they really struck a great balance here, there's content available that requires a group, and completing it will get you some nice rewards, but you're not getting horribly gimped if you dont.

 

[pontifex]

Interesting comment, I've seen this many times as well.

For Rift, I didn't even realize it was coming until the day it realeased, I must've been under the big, heavy, WoW rock.

I played WoW off and on since early 2005 (eep). I have every expansion and maxed multiple characters in every expansion...

My thoughts on Rift to add to the discussion or for those thinking about trying it out. I bought the game on March 23.

-Very similar to Wow in the "feel" of the game as far as UI, keybindings, overall playstyle. The armor is much more "realistic" and not near as over-the-top as WoW. At first I didn't like this but over the last few weeks this has really grown on me.

-Some nice little "additions" that I think long time WoW players will appreciate--such as a customizable UI (finally w/out addons), AoE looting (I love this), public groups, and when one member of a party enters the dungeon everyone else can be ported there instantly.

-The AH doesn't have as nice functionality as WoW. It feels kinda like a plain version of the WoW AH. For instance, when you put a stack of items to sell you can't set the price/unit, you just set the price for the whole stack.

-Originally the melee sound effects seemed to be kinda blah and I prefered WoW's combat sound. I don't know if I've just gotten used to the different style or what, but I no longer dislike the melee sounds effects.

-Gorgeous graphics. I thought WoW looked fine but after going to Rift there is just no comparison.

-The soul system was daunting at first--so many abilities to learn and switching specs meant I had to sit around the city for a while reading the abilities to figure out what they all did and how they interacted. After I got familiar with a few different soul trees I REALLY like the variety available. Despite what others have said, I feel like the different souls have very unique playstyles/abilities/strengths/weakeness.

-I am just astonished how some folks feel that the classes are "generic". Wow. Yes there are many tank/healer specs but they all feel very different.

-Unlike WoW, I actually feel like I DO have several spec choices within each soul.

-I've leveled a warrior to 28, mage to 20, cleric/rogues to 10 or so. All the classes felt very unique.

-crafting is great. The stuff you make is actually useful. I never could figure out why WoW insisted on crafters leveling making crap utterly USELESS. I just love being able to craft gear that is on par or in most cases better than quested gear. This also means that gear you make to level sells well on the AH.

-the "gimmick" of the game -- Rifts -- are both good and bad depending on who you ask it seems. It adds a dynamic feel to the world but at the same time rifts are pretty much all the same (so far). Doing the rifts is cool because it gives you drops and currency that is useful for gear and crafting items. The world events remind me of Asheron's call.

-Warfronts I've done so far (only 2 types avaialable at my level) are basically like Wow BG's.

-If you are the type to grind quests w/out reading or paying any attention for large amounts of time this game will get boring like any other MMO. You are basically pressing a few buttons over and over and picking up items and giving them to NPCs. I personally don't enjoy that playstyle--I like to explore, read quests, look at the scenery etc.

-I can't speak for endgame, I suspect it will be similar to WoW where you raid, build faction, "grind" honor (favor in Rift), etc.

-I never lag in game and my ping has always been < 80ms when I check. Lag was annoying as heck in wow, there were times my ping would just get stupid and the game became unplayable.

-no dungeon finder system in Rift. Some people like this, other don't. Not sure where I sit on this topic right now. So far it's been simple to get groups for the first instances in the game but I am a tank...

-it's awesome that 3 of the 4 classes can heal and tank. Doesn't seem to be a big shortage of either from my limited experience.

-Trion seems to be putting a lot of effort into adding things into the game rapidly. I don't think we'll be waiting for 2 years for the first expansion.

So I guess you could say I'm a fan of the game. Yes it feels very similar to WoW but at the same time it feels "new" and does so many things better. Four of my RL friends who played WoW and tried out Rift also prefer Rift.

I'm not sure what you mean by the AH comment. Are you saying in WoW that you can put up say, a stack of 10 potions and people can buy either the whole stack or they can buy any quantity between 1 and 10?


What crafting profession were you? I am outfitter and play a rogue. I used maybe 3 items I could craft. Everything else was crap compared to the quest items.


One thing I am not liking after doing several expert instances is the gimmicky boss mechanics. Like you have to run and hide behind a pillar or you die. its fucking BS and is totally unnecessary. the bosses are difficult enough without having an ability that can wipe your group because someone wasn;t fast enough to run behind a pillar.

 

[LucJoe]

How is this game lately?

3 weeks after launch, I gave it up. I had already been 50 for a week and had nothing to do. End game was a carbon copy of WoW, consisting of "Expert" (heroic) dungeon grinding and poorly implemented raiding. Finding a group was almost impossible, even for a healer. PvP was mostly a joke with the overpowered class combinations.

So, is it better? Is there more stuff to do now? Love the game at first but the enjoyment ran out fast...

 

[coloumb]

How is this game lately?

3 weeks after launch, I gave it up. I had already been 50 for a week and had nothing to do. End game was a carbon copy of WoW, consisting of "Expert" (heroic) dungeon grinding and poorly implemented raiding. Finding a group was almost impossible, even for a healer. PvP was mostly a joke with the overpowered class combinations.

So, is it better? Is there more stuff to do now? Love the game at first but the enjoyment ran out fast...

Nothing much has changed. Crafting, RIFTS, Dungeons, dailies, artifact hunting, etc.

 

[Davidpaul007]

How is this game lately?

3 weeks after launch, I gave it up. I had already been 50 for a week and had nothing to do. End game was a carbon copy of WoW, consisting of "Expert" (heroic) dungeon grinding and poorly implemented raiding. Finding a group was almost impossible, even for a healer. PvP was mostly a joke with the overpowered class combinations.

So, is it better? Is there more stuff to do now? Love the game at first but the enjoyment ran out fast...

It sounds like you must have a large amount of time to play, and I'm not gonna knock you for that. I don't know what game could keep you busy for longer than an MMO though...from everything others have said the endgame is pretty much like WoW right now.

 

[Davidpaul007]

I'm not sure what you mean by the AH comment. Are you saying in WoW that you can put up say, a stack of 10 potions and people can buy either the whole stack or they can buy any quantity between 1 and 10?


What crafting profession were you? I am outfitter and play a rogue. I used maybe 3 items I could craft. Everything else was crap compared to the quest items.

I'm referring to the ability to put a stack of an item on the AH and set the unit cost and then the AH automatically determine the cost for the entire stack.

I'm a weaponsmith/armorsmith and aside from the blue quest rewards my crafted items are nearly always better than anything else I get through quests. There are also "blue" crafted recipes you can get through faction as you level through a zone which are as good or better than blue rewards from instances. Maybe your outfitter level is lagging your character level?

 

[Anneka]

Hate the fact that i've started playing on a medium population server and for the time being things at AH don't happen as i would desire (not to many bids for things)

 

[SunnyD]

Aww man? They patched out the event last night and I had 198 shards collected... just needed 2 more to be able to not have a massive surplus after shopping.

 

[skace]

Do the quest you might have gotten in your mailbox, I got 250 shards just from that....

 

[SunnyD]

Do the quest you might have gotten in your mailbox, I got 250 shards just from that....

I did. That just means I now have 448 shards. LOL!

(This is in addition to the 900 that I've already spent during the course of the event)

 

[Avogadro]

I bought all the "fluff" stuff I wanted (after getting the trinket, ring, and planar focus stone) and ended up with 109 leftover shards. I'm going to toss them in my bank and see what happens for the next world event. Maybe it will use the same currency and we can start out a little bit ahead. If not, eh.

 

[pontifex]

I'm referring to the ability to put a stack of an item on the AH and set the unit cost and then the AH automatically determine the cost for the entire stack.

I'm a weaponsmith/armorsmith and aside from the blue quest rewards my crafted items are nearly always better than anything else I get through quests. There are also "blue" crafted recipes you can get through faction as you level through a zone which are as good or better than blue rewards from instances. Maybe your outfitter level is lagging your character level?

oh, i know it will do the opposite, so say you have a stack of 20 cloth and you set your price and then you have another stack of 5, it will automatically set the price for the stack of 5 based on the price set for the stack of 20...

seems odd that it doesn't do it the other way around.

 

[SunnyD]

oh, i know it will do the opposite, so say you have a stack of 20 cloth and you set your price and then you have another stack of 5, it will automatically set the price for the stack of 5 based on the price set for the stack of 20...

seems odd that it doesn't do it the other way around.

It does. If you put a stack of "1" up for auction, then put another stack of "X" up for auction, it automatically multiplies your price for 1 by X. I do this with runes a lot.

 

[skace]

I've only bought the shard that makes me glow purple, i have 980 shards left, not sure what I want :/. I think I want the trinket at least.

 

[SunnyD]

I've only bought the shard that makes me glow purple, i have 980 shards left, not sure what I want :/. I think I want the trinket at least.

Yeah, I've noticed there's a relative lack of good STAT trinkets out there. That's why I bought the level 50 one before I bought the rings. I wanted to make sure I had at least that.

 

[Arsinek]

What about how old DnD games used to do mixed classes? That might be cool to see. Does the DnD MMO have them?

So you could have some flexibility but not as much as Rift apparently has.

 

[skace]

DnD is one of the most versatile class systems outside of a classless system and also one of the easiest systems to create a gimp character in. If you used it for an MMO, many of your players would have to restart at some point due to a useless build. It would be incredibly harsh and only for the most bored and lonely MMO gamers.

Even Everquest, which most people consider a difficult MMO had a pretty friendly class system by comparison. The worst thing you could do is not give yourself enough of your primary stat.

 

[Levantes]

What about how old DnD games used to do mixed classes? That might be cool to see. Does the DnD MMO have them?

So you could have some flexibility but not as much as Rift apparently has.

Caveat: I have not played DDO in a year and a half.

DDO allows you to mullti-class up to three classes, loosely based on the 3.5 rule set. Alignment restrictions apply, but there is no racially preferred class system, or any experience point cap for the additional classes - you get 100% XP, no matter how many classes you have.

Through a combination of classes, abilities, and the right gear, you could manage a lot of variety. There were a number of Wizards who had just enough spells to buff themselves for melee, Rogues designed to tank, Bards as primary healers, Battle-clerics. It was also possible to severely gimp yourself by making poor combinations.

I thought creative multi-classing brought a lot of great flavor to the game.

I haven't played Rift, but I see some benefits, compared to DDO. The ability to switch roles means you needn't spend forever trying to build group with just the right class combination. If they buff/nerf some class, you aren't required to completely re-roll and level up from 1, even if you might have to make drastic changes, it sounds like you should still be able to re-tool it into a useful Rift avatar. For a casual player like myself, I like the idea of having a main character that I can play in multiple roles, for variety, rather than leveling up multiple alts for the same purpose. Plus, DDO had some quests where, say, a Rogue was absolutely useless, so it was difficult to find a group that would take you, in order to get credit/reward for completing it. Mind you, a good guild would support you and take you through it, but a bad PuG would pass you over for something they considered more practical. On the other hand, the table top gamer in me liked the idea that classes were somewhat unique, and would be differently useful - and more or less useful - in different situations.

Prior to that, I played Asheron's Call 2, which world I loved. I don't know how it compares to the original Asheron's Call which is oft-cited in this thread, but it sounds like I can get some of those old feelings back in Rift. I also tried Everquest 2, at one point, and found it to be rather dull.

 

[pontifex]

I love my guild, great people and and helpful, but we cannot seem to finish an expert t1 dungeon. The last several times I joined we got so far and then just kept wiping on a boss.

I'm thinking it's due to not being properly geared, but how do you get good gear without doing the dungeons?

 

[akugami]

I love my guild, great people and and helpful, but we cannot seem to finish an expert t1 dungeon. The last several times I joined we got so far and then just kept wiping on a boss.

I'm thinking it's due to not being properly geared, but how do you get good gear without doing the dungeons?

Have a wide range of tradeskillers in your guild. Work together to pool your resources to get the daily tradeskill quests done. Buy the "blue" recipes. For example, an artificer can get Shadethorn Spellstaff from the artificer vendor which can help your offensive casters land more spells. And others do the expert dungeons so recipes such as the Dragon Hunter's Iron Ring or the melee equivalent are transferrable and can be bought at the auction house. There should be some equivalent items for outfitters/weaponsmiths/armorers. Keep in mind some of these do require rarish drops but a lot of them don't require anything that would be too difficult to obtain. Obviously this involves a bit of tedious grinding, if for nothing else for money to buy the recipes and the materials to craft the items.

Note to your guildies, if they get any extra planarites, it's a great idea to spend it on master level augments which you can add to give a little boost to your crafted items. Things such as str, dex, int, wis, atk, parry, dodge, spell crit. And spending the 15k on the summoned soul mender is a must.

Keep an eye on the quests in Stillmoor and Shimmersand which can result in some decent equipment on completion. Sometimes for difficult quests such as the raid one in Stillmoor for the epic pants, you can usually join a public raid. If not, organize one yourself. Look at your guild makeup and then on the lvl 50 channel just ask for more folks.

Lastly, do dungeons. Higher level "normal" dungeons such as Charmer's Caldera, Abyssal Precipice, and Lantern Hook can provide some decent gear. You'll require multiple runs to get through this and gear up. Incidentally, you can farm some items here in Charmers and Abyssal to help your crafters or at the least sell it off for some money.

Finally, you're ready to tackle the expert dungeons. My recommendation is to start off a few times in Iron Tomb to gear up initially. Honestly, this is the easiest expert dungeon and there is almost something for everyone. Here's a gear list if you want to do a little extra planning. Don't limit yourself to Iron Tomb. Just because you can't complete the Iron Tomb or the other expert dungeons does not mean it is a waste. First, the trash mobs also can drop gear or crafting recipes. Second, killing just a couple of the bosses still mean you guys netted some gear. I'd only say it was a waste of time if you didn't even kill one boss. Every boss kill should hopefully help your guild gear up further and further until you guys can run through every or most of the tier 1 expert dungeons from start to finish. Not saying you won't die a few times on bosses but you should be able to run through them.

 

[JoshGuru7]

I love my guild, great people and and helpful, but we cannot seem to finish an expert t1 dungeon. The last several times I joined we got so far and then just kept wiping on a boss.

I'm thinking it's due to not being properly geared, but how do you get good gear without doing the dungeons?

What server do you play on?

T1 dungeons need 50 focus/hit for DPS classes and 50 toughness for the tanks. Simply run CC/AP once or twice until everybody meets this mark, and you can also hit it with runes on the AH that give focus, toughness, and hit. If you are still having trouble, pick an easy expert like IT. If you are still having trouble, get the tank a little more toughness. Also make sure that you have an off-healer, most healers are not geared/skilled enough to solo heal experts.

AP and CC are basically T0 though, so run those until everybody meets the benchmark for T1.

 

[SunnyD]

PTS 1.2 Alpha Patch Notes