I’m half way to level 39 and still enjoying every single moment of Rift! I can say with absolute certainty, that unless a personal or technical catastrophe happens which prevents me from playing any game at all, I will reach max level in Rift and continue on to raiding. I’m sold. I’m done and in for the long haul.
I found a new love.
I recently started questing in Droughtlands and exploring Lantern hook. I was having a good time and enjoyed investigating the area's nooks and crannies. That was until I went to Moonshade Highlands to heal two guild-mates during a couple of elite quests. OMG - I’m unconditionally, irrevocably and unequivocally in love with this zone. It reminds me of fantasy meets the springtime Japanese gardens in the Chicago Botanical Garden. I’m going to quest here for a while then head back to DL which provides some overlap in questing levels.
Riding around MH I feel young again, in terms of gaming. I feel like a new player fresh off the MMO arrival boat astonished by everything I see. I’m inspired to visit every spot – not wanting to miss a morsel. I still don’t do all the quests before leveling out of a zone. I mix the quests with rifts, instances and make my own adventure (slaughter runs against all things I perceive as evil). *Laugh*
It’s time to start saving for my level 40 mount. I’m far from having the 36 plat. My almost daily soul resetting has kept my piggybank on the low side. That’s all over now. I’ve finalized on my three builds and will reserve tweaks until after I’ve purchased my mount. Can't claim they're the best builds or most effective although I obviously try to make them "good". More than anything they feel right for my style, how I approach combat and they're fun to play. I feel like me playing these combinations, not me chasing what someone else thinks is best or the flavor du jour. That said, I'm certainly open to suggestions!!
PVE Death Knight Like Build
For quick solo and AOE style questing I’m sticking with Shaman, Inquisitor and Warden. This is the build I’ve called my Death Knight like combination. When I’m going to AOE, I pull with Bolt of Depravity (BOD), Vex everything I’m going to kill then use my Shaman melee abilities in between Rage of the North > Maelstrom > Avalanche. One on one, I fly in with Battle Charge and commence to kicking ass - watching that animation never gets old. I also use this as a DPS + off-healing spec in instances if there are bards present.
PVE Warlock Like Build
For solo, small group and AOE ranged damage I’m using Inquisitor, Cabalist and Warden. I’m not a huge fan of the Cabalist but the little I’m choosing from that soul augments this play style which is similar to a Warlock, something I played for several years in WOW. BOD stays as my opener for single target pulls. For AOE I start with things that increase damage > increase number of targets that take damage then whatever damage spell is appropriate for the situation. In open world, that’s usually Oblivion. In an instance it would be Shadow’s Touch.
At 38, I don’t have many of the Cabalist abilities. As my least favorite soul in the combo, I filled out the other two souls first. I’m sure this will be tweaked as I learn more about how this trio plays out.
Main Tank Healer
I’m happy with my Warden heavy pure healer build. It can be tricky when you get behind in the rotation and the tank starts taking huge amounts of damage. One or two people taking damage unexpectedly and you can get behind on the tank rotation. So far this hasn’t been a problem. I notice it and am able to recover. However, in the next tier of instances this might not be my best option. The one time this build game me trouble was on two bosses in Foul Cascade, where the tank might not have had the best build and the others hadn’t run the instance before. I’d read about the unforgiving rotation using Warden as the primary healing soul bud hadn’t encountered it as a real issue until a couple of nights ago. I’ll wait and see how things play out.
No more tweaks until I’m riding my level 40 mount. That alone will save me almost 2 plat a day that I was spending on moving a couple of points here and there experimenting. I'm putting time into leveling my crafting now. I've been harvesting since day one but not making anything. Oh how I wish I'd known that cracked bones, teeth and other assorted body parts I've been vendoring would be needed for apothecary. *cries* No matter, I'll muscle through it my own pace.
