[Preview] Rift: Storm Legion and the Power of Choice

SBFord

With the upcoming Rift expansion, Storm Legion, players will once again be treated to playing the game in any one of a myriad of ways. It's a trademark that Rift developers are quite proud of. We spoke with the team about Storm Legion and how even more choices are being brought into the game. See what we discovered.

First up on the docket are Hunt Rifts.  They’re a new flavor of Rift new to Storm Legion that give directed and story-driven content to the player as they go about the new expansion.  They come with their own set of currency, items, and other rewards.  One thing the team remembers from the original launch of Rift was that players loved the rift events, but that they tended to take a back-seat to questing as you got on in the game. Hunt Rifts, like every other bit of dynamic content in Storm Legion, is Trion’s way of putting things like Rifts and Invasions and Instant Adventure at the forefront of the game so it’s not just a parlor trick and namesake, but a true mode of play in Telara. 

Read more of Bill Murphy's Rift: Storm Legion and the Power of Choice.

bubaluba

Back to Rift!

TomBaker_fan

The biggest reason I am happy GW2 is FTP is I can play Rift and GW2 at the same time! I love them both. 

Taking a break until SL, but already took a couple of vacation days on 11/13 to get my Rift back on!! Cannot wait for this expansion!!

 

 

ya, I said FTP, and ya, I meant it!!!

Yamota

Bah, almost nothing about PvP.

AZHokie54

CAN NOT WAIT for the expansion! It is going to be awesome.

Beastn

I too cannot wait, I took a break and reti3red to play gw2 sadly I'm already bored of it and am back in rift. Hurry up SL!

gundamwing

Awesome! Can't wait for Storm legion. And I am so glad they are adding Hunt Rifts, I will be doing a lot of that when it coems out. Thank you Trion, you guys rock!

Alyvian

BillMurphy

Originally posted by Yamota
Bah, almost nothing about PvP.

This call was ALL about the Dynamic Content they're adding.  PVP is for next time, I was told.  

Synthetick

Extremely excited for the expansion. Have been subscribed since headstart.

The only problem I've had with RIFT is that it takes literally no effort currently to get to 50. It takes literally minimum effort to gear up for the raid content, and really, you can progress through the tiers extremely quick to clear all the current content.

That's all fine and good, but I really hope they change the end-game up a bit more. Hearing of all these new systems and currencies just make me shudder inside at the thought of hitting the new level cap and doing nothing but grinding the same experts over and over.

Yea, I know, welcome to MMOs. These guys are getting the "making the leveling interesting" curve so right, I wish they could translate that diversity to the end-game. 

Deeter

Why does this game still have a sub fee? Why does any game still have a sub fee? Why can GW2 put out the same quality MMO without a sub fee? I don't understand.

Raventree

Rift is an awesome game and Trion is the best MMO dev out there.  I am really excited for the expansion.  The only thing Rift needs is a bigger population.

Foomerang

Man i am stoked! They didnt even talk about dimensions or the new raids and dungeons or pvp or that massive world boss that roams around destroying towns. Trion is doing everything right so far

kevjards

Originally posted by Deeter
Why does this game still have a sub fee? Why does any game still have a sub fee? Why can GW2 put out the same quality MMO without a sub fee? I don't understand.

i guess because its a cheap sub.also it has more than enough subs to keep charging.not to mention people will go back for storm legion expansion as well.so they really dont need to change anything..i mean if you take a years sub out for £65 you get the expansion for nothing..now thats good business imo.

NobleNerd

After playing GW2 since headstart I popped in to see if Rift had made any changes recently. UGH! No movement casting and the combat system difference was so evident between the 2 games I'm not sure I can enjoy an old MMO combat system now that GW2 and a few others have made it more dynamic. I constantly wanted to use my "dodge" to roll out of an attack and constantly canceled a spell cast because I wanted to be moving. It felt ........ boring.

Rift by far would be an MMO I would actually sub to again, but as I played and went into where there should have been a large population of people I found a ghost town. Even the chat screen was empty and void of conversation. It also seemed like there were less shards to enter than before (as I never counted them previously I can not confirm this). I will watch from afar and see if the xpac sparks new life in Rift.

Foomerang

---

Originally posted by Deeter
Why does this game still have a sub fee? Why does any game still have a sub fee? Why can GW2 put out the same quality MMO without a sub fee? I don't understand.

---

Rift has more content than gw2 plain and simple. It is subjective which game has better content. Come november, it will have far and away more content and variety of gameplay than any current mmo. Maybe wildstar will come close when it launches but thats about it.

I have to correct myself on that last part since ffxi lotro and vg are still around.

Draron

Originally posted by Deeter
Why does this game still have a sub fee? Why does any game still have a sub fee? Why can GW2 put out the same quality MMO without a sub fee? I don't understand.

Someone's delusional. GW2 is a great game, yes. But there's a reason it doesn't carry the traditional endgame approach and such. It just doesn't bring in the money to sustain that type of game. GW1, even during it's launch year, made less revenue than CoH even - which is being shut down soon.

strangiato2112

"They come with their own set of currency"

 

ugh.  Trion still doesn't get it.

 

The last thing Rift needs is another piece of content designed to be grinded over and over and over again with yet another currency.

 

I despise the currency system, but if you are going to do it, just make one currency and unify things.

strangiato2112

Originally posted by Draron

Originally posted by Deeter
Why does this game still have a sub fee? Why does any game still have a sub fee? Why can GW2 put out the same quality MMO without a sub fee? I don't understand.

Someone's delusional. GW2 is a great game, yes. But there's a reason it doesn't carry the traditional endgame approach and such. It just doesn't bring in the money to sustain that type of game. GW1, even during it's launch year, made less revenue than CoH even - which is being shut down soon.

 

huh?  GW1 and 2 arent even in the same genre.

Wanna bet which game will make more revenue this year, GW2 or Rift?

Etherignis

Awesome looking forward too logging back in.

Boardwalker

Originally posted by Deeter
Why does this game still have a sub fee? Why does any game still have a sub fee? Why can GW2 put out the same quality MMO without a sub fee? I don't understand.

Guess they want to keep the freeloaders out, and ensure a consistent stream of revenue to fund future expansions.

ninfanlink

Originally posted by strangiato2112

"They come with their own set of currency"

 

ugh.  Trion still doesn't get it.

 

The last thing Rift needs is another piece of content designed to be grinded over and over and over again with yet another currency.

 

I despise the currency system, but if you are going to do it, just make one currency and unify things.

lol... your kidding right. Name one mmo that dosent have a "grind" to it that is good and people are still paying to play? o right... none. Rift is really the only remaining mmo out there that hasent gone free to play within the first year for a reason.

It has a good amount of content and they add stuff to keep people playing aka grinding! (Artifacts, pvp ranking, rep, gear, achivements, mounts, pets, tons of events) all those things keep people playing.

Over the past 10 years almost every mmo that has come out that attempted to be differant or not be a Wow clone has failed ( no content, LFG system, or imo grind )

Acidon

Trion

Myrdynn

Originally posted by Xepo

After playing GW2 since headstart I popped in to see if Rift had made any changes recently. UGH! No movement casting and the combat system difference was so evident between the 2 games I'm not sure I can enjoy an old MMO combat system now that GW2 and a few others have made it more dynamic. I constantly wanted to use my "dodge" to roll out of an attack and constantly canceled a spell cast because I wanted to be moving. It felt ........ boring.

Rift by far would be an MMO I would actually sub to again, but as I played and went into where there should have been a large population of people I found a ghost town. Even the chat screen was empty and void of conversation. It also seemed like there were less shards to enter than before (as I never counted them previously I can not confirm this). I will watch from afar and see if the xpac sparks new life in Rift.

I did the same thing, went on the unlimited free to 20 and couldnt even get outta the first zone.  I had 3 50's fully geared in River of Souls or better gear, and now I just cant stand the way it plays

 

Foomerang

---

Originally posted by Torvaldr

I love fishing, rifting, and the rest, but it's sort of a time waster in between running instances for gear coins.  There are some minor exceptions to this such as collecting pets from shiny collections, mounts, and some of those sorts of one off rewards that those activities provide, but the real core of character progression is only rewarded from instnace running.

---

Your definition of character progression is not the definition of character progression. My character is progressing along nicely and I no longer do dungeons (unless I mentor down to help lowbies) and I have never stepped foot in an instanced raid.

I am currently working on my 2nd tier of planar attunement for death rifts, and also getting more recipes for my various crafting profs doing dailies and crafting rifts.

I think if you look at where you can get the absolute best gear and work towards that, you're are only going to be progressing one way and doing only one thing. Same goes for GW2 or most themeparks for that matter.

VirusDancer

Originally posted by Foomerang

I think if you look at where you can get the absolute best gear and work towards that, you're are only going to be progressing one way and doing only one thing. Same goes for GW2 or most themeparks for that matter.

This tends to come to mind quite a bit.  People play a game a certain way and then blame the game...then they do it with the next game and try to place the same blame...then they blame the next game...etc, etc, etc.  At some point, one would have figured that it was not the games - but themself - but that's rarely the case.