Why Rift may be the game for you.

[Saga]

Well I bought it. My ffxi ls is gone forever, 14 sucks, and I got a RL buddy who just started yesterday so wish me luck. Is there a "bg for rift" somewhere?

There's an average-sized group of us on Alsbeth, Guardian side.

[Katlan]

I enjoyed headstart and plan to pick up the game when I'm done w/ DA2. But I've been checking server status's daily and I'm very happy w/ what I see. Granted its the free month, but if ppl aren't enjoying the game they aren't logging in, and the servers seem to have retained the same population since head start. The ones that were medium pop are now med or high. the high ones are still high pop, and the ones that experienced que's are the still the same. I've even seen some high pop servers hit que's on the weekends (when they normally dont).

I think this is a good start for the game and it shows ppl are interested. And I know a lot of the ppl I play WoW w/are playing rift and really enjoying it now also. Nothing will technically dethrone WoW outside of time and ppl getting bored of the WoW formula (w/ has been happening for a while, and it seems more present in Cata - especially w/ the new snail pace content is being released).

Ive said it before though, and Ill stand by my statement. I think WoW is on it's downward cycle. It's been very succesful for a long time, and will continue to be, but by the time the next xpac rolls around I don't think it will be breaking any record sales (compared to previous ones). ppl just getting bored of the game and they are becoming tired of coming back every few months for new content to just fall back into the same cycle of boredom

[shaddix]

I got a RL buddy on Arcanis so that's what I rolled. By BG for rift I meant more along the lines of an endgame forum.

[Meko]

I want to try the game in it's full release but I want to make sure it's not WoW 2.0. Sure, it's new and the mobs are different etc but at the core, does it have the potential to excel? Is the PvP good? Is their PvP specific gear? Are the raids tiered and is the gear tiered too? The one thing I loved about the traditional MMO's is that the gear wasn't tiered...nor were the mobs/end game. Sure some of it seemed harder based on what the boss did but there weren't gear checkers at the door like you were boarding a carnival ride. I was in the RIFT closed beta and I did like it to some degree. I was very much into leveling in WoW and such so I didn't devote a lot of time to it.

With all of that nonsense being said, is the game different enough for me to venture out of WoW (it's boring for me at this point although I've been wanting to focus more on pvp and just havent)?

[Cephius]

I want to try the game in it's full release but I want to make sure it's not WoW 2.0. Sure, it's new and the mobs are different etc but at the core, does it have the potential to excel? Is the PvP good? Is their PvP specific gear? Are the raids tiered and is the gear tiered too? The one thing I loved about the traditional MMO's is that the gear wasn't tiered...nor were the mobs/end game. Sure some of it seemed harder based on what the boss did but there weren't gear checkers at the door like you were boarding a carnival ride. I was in the RIFT closed beta and I did like it to some degree. I was very much into leveling in WoW and such so I didn't devote a lot of time to it.

With all of that nonsense being said, is the game different enough for me to venture out of WoW (it's boring for me at this point although I've been wanting to focus more on pvp and just havent)?

If you're looking for a non-WoW-clone, look elsewhere.

[Meko]

I'm not necessarily looking for a complete non-WoW clone because I think WoW does a lot of good things. I'm just wondering, before I drop $50 on the game, if it's worth me switching from WoW. From the sounds of it, it sounds like WoW/WAR 2.0.

[ringthree]

I'm not necessarily looking for a complete non-WoW clone because I think WoW does a lot of good things. I'm just wondering, before I drop $50 on the game, if it's worth me switching from WoW. From the sounds of it, it sounds like WoW/WAR 2.0.

Major differences are art style and more options to do the same thing (e.g. quad specs instead of dual specs, 8 specs per class instead of 3). All of the content is evolved from WoW and all of it's predecessors.

As TotalBiscuit put it, it is the next step in a key-bound MMO. If you are looking for alternatives, I would suggest DCUO. It is the largest divergence from the current theme of MMOs.

[Lucavi]

I'm not necessarily looking for a complete non-WoW clone because I think WoW does a lot of good things. I'm just wondering, before I drop $50 on the game, if it's worth me switching from WoW. From the sounds of it, it sounds like WoW/WAR 2.0.

No. Stay far away from this game. I don't know what you want, or if what you want even exists, but this is not it.

[Meko]

/sigh - I'm assuming the sarcasm is being laid on really thick here.

[ringthree]

/sigh - I'm assuming the sarcasm is being laid on really thick here.

I don't think so. From your description of what you are looking for, I don't think you would like this game much. It just isn't that big of a change from WoW. It is more a game for someone that got bored of WoW and want a new storyline, or want to be able to play a Ret/Holy/Prot at the same time. There is very little inherent game play difference between them.

[Lucavi]

/sigh - I'm assuming the sarcasm is being laid on really thick here.

There is no sarcasm. You hate games where there are competitive players that want to get first clears of content, so they fly to end-game to do it. This is one of those games. I've explained already that there's as much content as you want there to be, but you have the FREEDOM to skip that content and get straight to the end-game if you so desire. If you hate that freedom, then this game is not for you.

I can't explain it any clearer.

[Meko]

I don't hate the game but more so the idea behind blitzing to the end game. It has nothing to do with the game but if the content along the way is crap, then the game is nudging you to the end game. Sure, I can stop leveling or whatever but that's not what I'm getting at. For instance, if I run a dungeon at level 20 and obtain some gear, I don't want to replace it in a level or two. I want to maintain it for a bit and make that dungeon worth my time. When the next quest hub provides much better gear, faster exp and moar/better lootz, it sort of pushes the player along to the end. If the content is mostly end-game, raids or rated battlegrounds etc, then it's far too similar to WoW to venture into RIFT. If the content and story is interesting and immersive, then it could be worth the transition.

[Lucavi]

You. Do. Not. Have. To. Blitz. To. End. Game.

Stop. Getting. Upset. Over. People. That. Play. Differently. Than. You.

Go play XIV or something, seriously. The MMO you're looking for simply does not exist in this day and age. I'm sorry to inform you. If you want your gear to mean something, dye it and enchant it, or simply hold onto it and don't upgrade it. You're looking at everything compared to XI, where you held onto shit for EONS (Early Drg having nothing but SH or AF1 for 18 levels until AJ, or more if they couldn't get it / Drks using Hauby and nothing else for eons). This is a different game. Do not play it. They do not need your money if you don't like the genre.

[Meko]

Lol. I'm not getting upset over it. It's a preference really. No reason to get all flustered over it but I do appreciate your. input. on. it.

[ringthree]

Lol. I'm not getting upset over it. It's a preference really. No reason to get all flustered over it but I do appreciate your. input. on. it.

You were being rather frustrating. You would ask a direct question, then you were given a few direct answers, then you would say "but, well, I don't know, I like this", and it was like you were looking for us to tell you what you were thinking anyway.

[Meko]

My apologies for the confusion.

[Katlan]

/sigh - I'm assuming the sarcasm is being laid on really thick here.

It's a lot like WoW, but if you liked besieged and stuff then imagine WoW w/ 24/7 besieged. At it's core its a more flexible game then WoW and offers more options.. For example: you can have 4 active spec's at any time and change on the fly, but it also lacks some of the animation polish of WoW.

Me and some friends didn't like it at first because it felt like a WoW clone, but as we got higher we enjoyed it more and we plan to play it. One thing that I really liked is that this is the first MMO since XI to enforce a sense of exploration.. which all mmo's aside XI (that I played) lack. You search high up mountains and deep in oceans looking for artifacts as they are in some of the most obscure places (under logs, along ridge side of mountains in bfe, waaayy up high on mountain tops, in places that will make you scratch your head wondering how the hell you get to them lol, ect...). Not only for artifacts, there are usually quest npc's in bfe locations that you wouldn't find unless you explored since normal quest npc's don't direct you to them. Me and my friend were climbing this random mountain and found this cottage way out in nowhere, and outside where 2 quest npc's.

It's things like that, that I really like about the game. It makes you want to look all over, not just go to Point A - D to complete quests

[Meko]

I appreciate the response. I'm just torn on the decision to play or not and that's probably why my posts are conflicting. I've been battling myself back and forth a bit about giving the game a real shot.

[Pyree]

Like Lucavi is saying, you don't have to blitz to end-game if you don't want to. A lot of people do want to blitz to end-game, and I have a couple of theories as to why:

1) People really play the game to make their character stronger. The ways to make your character stronger that I can think of would be: gaining levels, gaining gear, optimizing spec, optimizing your use of the skills available (ie. optimal skill rotation). The last two are things that don't really have clear goals to work towards, they're ongoing and there is no perceivable end point. The first two are very easy to set goals for and very easy to see at exactly what point you will be done (at max level, and wearing the best gear available), so they're just more attractive to work towards. Now, while a player is not yet at the max level, and they have both of those things to be working towards, the question for the player becomes 'which of these will make my character the strongest for the amount of effort required?' And the clear answer to that is leveling up.
2) Players want to work on things that they believe to be permanent, they want a feeling of completion. While leveling up, everything you get feels temporary. The gear you're using will be replaced, the spec you're using may not be your final spec, etc. When you get to the end-game, you can get the best necklace available at the time and it will feel permanent. It may be a false perception, as there will almost definitely be a replacement for that necklace added in a later update, but it does feel permanent when you get it because there is nothing better right now.

Sort of off on a tangent, but kind of related.

[Man0warr]

Or I want server/world firsts so I can lord it over all the newbs!

Also, this isn't a PvP game. It has PvP, about as much as WoW (instanced pvp) with the addition of world pvp with some sort of objective (rifts) but the primary focus of the developers is to keep releasing raid content.

It's not a pvp game like Aion, Darkfall, WAR, etc