When it comes to gaming I know exactly what I like. Since Asheron's Call 2 went offline and my glory days in World of Warcraft waned, nothing has captivated me long enough that I hit max level. Warhammer Online and Wizard101 got close but no cigar. As much as I enjoy playing MMOs, the Circle Line boat tour I've been on the past few years, has been disheartening.
It hasn't all been bad news. I've had spurts of fun and grand adventures like the COW Guild in Warhammer Online, right-on-time help and questing with friends Tipa and Cap'n John in W101, learning about war decs on the job in EVE was exhilarating if not fun at the time, multi-boxing instanced content in WOW was a fun personal challenge and running my little furniture shop in EQ2X was the most fun I've ever had crafting, bar none.
What's eluded me, is the well rounded experience that makes me go all-in for an extended amount time and I miss it. I'm so ready to do the long haul with a character and develop an intimate experience with another MMO I can hardly stand it. I don't know if Rift will be the game to succeed where so many have failed outright or fallen short the past few years but it does have hopeful elements in its corner.
New and Beautiful World
The world itself is beautiful. It's an art style positioned nicely between the photo realism of EverQuest 2 and the stunning lushness of Age of Conan. The zones I've seen on the Defiant side are whimsical and fanciful even when sinister - similar to WOW but not the stylized "cartoony" rendering. I enjoy both styles as long as the attention to detail is nicely done. To my eyes, Rift is done in a convincing and engaging manner and it inspires me stop and look around. WAR had a similar appeal for me.
Exciting & Refreshing Class Mechanic
I can't say enough about the level of role personalization the Soul system allows. No one has to be cornered permanently into just one or even two of the holy trinity roles unless that's their preference. I think there will also be fewer "you must be this spec or you're an idiot" mantras. More importantly, I think it less likely that talent or spell changes by the devs will degrade a class to the "time to re-roll or exit" scenario. There are so many options when you have 8 synergistic skill palettes at your disposal for each calling/class.
I'm not normally a player that rolls alts. WOW was the exception because I played for so many years straight. I'd much rather continue investing in one character. I don't role-play per say, but I do feel that my main is a personification of me in that environment, on some level. I enjoy digging the RPG part of MMOs. Rift will allow me to play distinctly different roles without creating alts which perfect for me.
Dynamic & Spontaneous World Content
There's a possibility that I might still be playing Rift somehow right now and if that was the case, I'd be on my 5th incarnation of a Defiant character. And yet again, I've run across a questing hub I hadn't done before at this level. I really don't get the whole "this game is too linear" issue. I'm all over the place casually leveling and am no more being led by the nose through the content than in any other MMO. If you're rushing head long from quest hub to quest hub and next appropriate zone, please own that as your play style and personal habit. Hurrying through content is much less about the game than how people choose to play the game. That's not to say that games don't leave gapping holes in leveling content which is an entirely different issue. I just don't understand the "too linear" complaints.
I really enjoy the spontaneous rift encounters and my ability to decide for myself, if and when I want to do them. Even if the rest of the game doesn't hold up to the earlier zones - that's happened more than once in recent memory, this game will still be noted as having added the cleric to my list of all time favorite classes. A lot of that class enjoyment is owed to the soul mechanic.
Better than Decent PVE
It's crazy I know, but I'm trying not to absorb much of the quest or story lines right now. I want that experience for release. My focus in all betas is to try as many classes as possible and hammer the standard game mechanics for bugs and performance issues. Those are the things that impact my enjoyment most. You can have the best content in the world but if the fundamental mechanics are too buggy and/or the classes are boring and uninspired, it's no dice.
For my tastes, Rift has very good PVE content and I've purposely not seen any dungeons. However, what I've read about instances has been positive. The Rift Podcast did an interview with a few of the Trion dungeon and raid team developers. The game will be shipping with 5-man content that is normal and heroic (expert?), as well as having 10 and 20 man raids for end-game. I haven't done end game in a very long time. I hope this game turns that around.
Very Few Expectations
I started following WAR late in the pre-release frenzy, Aion came out of nowhere for me too and Conan hadn't even been a consideration. Regardless, there were things that I really enjoyed about all three until later levels, where holes and gullies became apparent. Will Rift be the first game since AC2 and WOW that keeps me entertained enough to hit max level? Only time will tell but I'm certainly crossing my fingers that it does.
I'm still playing EVE and working on the next installment of Shadows of New Eden. I'm mostly waiting to get into my Viator to start moving my own goods to better markets and begin doing player contracted courier jobs. I still have incomplete EQ2 Decorating DIY issues to finish. I know, I know - things unfinished but playing Rift. It's hard to resist logging into a game that feels fun and fresh, even if the feeling doesn't last forever, I'm having a hellofa good time right now!
Similar feelings to mine, and probably Mrs Bhagpuss too. We haven't completely clicked with an MMO since Vanguard. We liked W101 a lot and we had fun in War and WoW (exceptionally late to that party) and LotRO and Allods and Zentia and quite a few others, but the whole "just playing this for months because this is all we want to play" thing, that we haven't had for quite a while.
I completely agree on the "on rails" thing. You can say any post-WoW, quest-driven MMO is "on rails" if you don't have the curiosity to step off the tracks and see what's over the embankment. Rift is absolutely no worse than any other in that respect and better than many.
I'll be playing Rift and, I hope, keeping up a presence in DCUO and EQ2X. If Rift's what I hope, then I probably won't have time for much more than that for much of this year. We'll see.
Posted by: Bhagpuss | January 22, 2011 at 06:44 PM
I have done the same and I am sure that I will not regret it like I did with Warhammer and Aion. I am keeping my BETA exploration minimal and concentrating on trying out souls as much as possible before the launch.
Posted by: R.W. Harper | January 22, 2011 at 08:11 PM
Well I am sick of WOW for now, don't have much to do in LOTRO until the expansion, so Rift is coming out at the perfect time for me. I can wait for the PVP beta test to start on Tuesday.
Posted by: Thomas | January 22, 2011 at 09:55 PM
@bhag are you possibly still playing Rift this weekend? "if" that were possible, were you and I talking in general chat? :-)
@RW it's clear from your new site that you're in for the long haul: http://rift-herald.com/ VERY IMPRESSIVE!
@Thomas you're not alone. I'm still shocked by how quickly the average playe hit the new level cap. Now there's the wailing about dungeons being too hard and not hard enough.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 23, 2011 at 02:34 AM
Well, I'm jealous.. I wish I was one of the ones playing this weekend "if" that was possible... I'll have to wait for the 25th... :(
Rift is the only game since WoW that has actually lived up to (and exceeded IMO) the hype... I was afraid to pre-order after being burned so many times in the past but after playing Beta 4 I was hooked and have absolutely no regrets at all...
Posted by: Suni | January 23, 2011 at 05:22 AM
I'm kinda glad it's not possible for me to play this weekend as I have a whole new expansion in Wizard 101 I still have to get through. In other W101 news, I finally trained my pet to epic status and only need to craft one more item to get Master Artisan.
Posted by: Winged Nazgul | January 23, 2011 at 09:54 AM
@winged now that Splashtop is working well on my iPad I had just thought about how W101 might be a good candidate to play casually while relaxing. My original intent was to be able to watch unsupported video formats and to do long trips in EVE but W101 is another good candidate.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 23, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I went ahead and pre-ordered recently too. I have a short attention span with games and I know I'll be done with DCUO within a month.
Rift looks like it might be the best fantasy MMO option for 2011. I'm really hoping it's not another disappointment and it turns out to be a great game.
Posted by: Pan | January 23, 2011 at 10:48 AM
All of us are hoping the same. One solid fact is that the state of the beta is more solid than several games I've purchased at release. There are several things being done by Trion that appear to me is that as much as they've utilized existing conventions that work, they're also trying to avoid mistakes other games have made.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 24, 2011 at 08:10 AM