How casual and solo friendly is Rift? Anyone have a trial key?

[FearoftheNight]

Hey I'm thinking of getting into this game. Unfortunately my life has gotten much more complicated since wow came out so I'd like to find out if its something I can play semi casually and solo if I need to. I'd also appreciate if anyone could pass me a trial pass.

 

[Malladine]

I'd say it's very solo/casual friendly. To the point where you have no need to officially group with anyone ever...you can level by questing, warfront pvp (bgs) and fighting rifts and invasions. All of these can be done entirely solo, or just joining a public group on the fly.

Don't know where i'd find a trial pass to give you, is there a trial download on the main site.

 

[pontifex]

I'm level 29 and only grouped twice for 2 major story quests and once for a regular quest. I've grouped for Rifts too.

some classes are much better at soloing than others too.

no idea if there is even a trial available.

 

[SunnyD]

Casual friendly, yes. Lots of stuff to do.

Trial, no. Doesn't exist. (Thank god)

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

How good is it for people interested in PvP skullcracking?

 

[SunnyD]

How good is it for people interested in PvP skullcracking?

Just like WoW. You have canned battlefields, and/or PvP servers.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Well, on dedicated PvP servers. Are half the world's zones non-pvp enabled even on the pvp server? And can people gaygate to flee from combat like they could in Everquest?

 

[SunnyD]

Well, on dedicated PvP servers. Are half the world's zones non-pvp enabled even on the pvp server? And can people gaygate to flee from combat like they could in Everquest?

I wouldn't know. In games like these open pvp doesn't belong, so I don't play on pvp servers.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

I just read on IGN that :"Rifts are gigantic, swirling things that come out of the sky and spit out monsters. If a rift stays open long enough, they start to spill out monsters that try to invade other parts of the map".

Does this mean if a Rift opens up in the middle of the night when the server population is low, that they overrun everybody? lol.

 

[abaez]

Yes actually they can. Not even in the middle of the night. Sometimes I run into a quest hub that has been overrun by a ton of mobs (that have killed all the quest NPCs) and they are just hanging around their stone thing. So you either have to try and single pull them and clear them out or get a group to do it.

 

[Malladine]

I wouldn't know. In games like these open pvp doesn't belong, so I don't play on pvp servers.

says you? well, I kind of agree but only due to a level difference making player x immune to player y.

But for the most part i've found myself close enough in level to the enemies I meet to make a fight interesting. Most of the time I find open pvp just as enjoyable as the canned variety in warfronts, sometimes more. The element of surprise, tactical environment use, etc. Gets the adrenaline going. Sure I can see someone who's just trying to quest or focus on the pve being irritated by the pvp interference but overall I enjoy open pvp.

Plus on PvE servers I find it ridiculous to be unable to attack/be attacked by the opposing faction who supposedly despise all members of my faction.

Maniac: to answer your question all zones outside of the 1st zone are contested. All areas in the contested zones are pvp enabled.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Yes actually they can. Not even in the middle of the night. Sometimes I run into a quest hub that has been overrun by a ton of mobs (that have killed all the quest NPCs) and they are just hanging around their stone thing. So you either have to try and single pull them and clear them out or get a group to do it.

Do the monsters eventually despawn or do they rampage until killed? Meaning they could sit there for days if not eliminated? And keep piling up if more and more rifts are unopposed?

 

[abaez]

They will just stay there until killed. I'm sure they despawn after a few hours though. And its random, so the mobs won't congregate to one place, they congregate to a bunch of different places.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Ah. From the way IGN said it, I would have thought they would actively go around killing instead of just settliong down somewhere, lol.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Ah. From the way IGN said it, I would have thought they would actively go around killing instead of just settliong down somewhere, lol.

I haven't personally seen it happen (meaning that it probably takes a number of hours), but I would imagine that the mobs despawn after a period of time. Otherwise you could literally have an entire zone overrun 100% of the time, which would stop players from leveling completely until some insane number of mobs are killed and the quest giving NPCs respawn... only to have the entire thing happen again that night.

One of the best parts about this game is the soul / role system. You have a number (8, 9?) of souls (think class or talent tree) to choose from for any of the four classes, and you can combine any three of those at your leisure. Each of the four classes have souls that are good for tanking, and all have either a healing / support soul, or a tanking soul, or both. You can purchase additional roles, allowing you to carry around up to four "specs" at any given time. So, my rogue for example, is an Assassin / Nightblade / Bladedancer on his main role (melee DPS / stealth), and a Bard / Nightblade / Bladedancer for his secondary role (healing / support). On my third role, I'll probably take Riftstalker / Bladedancer / something else for tanking. For a price, you can even respec a role, so there's absolutely nothing stopping you from trying combinations to see what play style you like best.

The beauty of this system, other than giving you a LOT more character customization than other games, is the fact that if you role a Rogue or Mage, you're not strictly DPS for your entire career. If you're a Warrior or Cleric, you're not always expected to tank or heal (and you can DPS just fine). You'll still see some groups that just cannot find that tank or healer that they need for their group, but I find group composition problems to be a LOT less of a bother in this game than WoW or similar games.

 

[KaOTiK]

You can solo all the way up to 50. I did as a bard with no problems. I quested inbetween rifts/invasions/warfronts. There are a few quest you'll get that require 1-2 other people, but they are very few and are optional from what I remember.

 

[smackababy]

Rifts and invasions spawn based on population of an area (IIRC). Therefore at night, there won't be nearly as much in the off areas, especially if nobody is there. Typically, it isn't that bad.

Also, as far as the "everyone can do anything" talk, this works during leveling, but once you hit end game, you can't just switch on the fly. For the most part, it will be gear limited.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

I still miss NWN. I recently killed my WoW sub because I play alone and it takes forever to level toons. What do I miss about NWN? Well, I joined a persistent world called Divided Kingdoms about 6 or 7 years ago and the community was large but really tight. Even with two 48 player servers there was plenty of new people coming and going, plus a core group of a couple of hundred players who kept both servers pretty full. The world was full of interesting places, great items to be had, and how you built your character was important but any build could handle most of the mod. Add in all the user created content, live DM's running events/tournaments/etc, and the myriad of other interesting options (one of my friends built a castle in the mod); and it just seems like nothing like that will ever happen again. Sad, really, that with our advanced technology we're losing more and more options that older games had.

 

[darez]

Rift's launching a 7-day free trial with its current world event:

http://www.riftgame.com/en/products/ascend-a-friend/invite.php?voucher=FCGGYP23QXELN3TKHXP2&utm_source=manual&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ascend_invite

--
Briarcliff - Defiant

 

[Feneant2]

Free trial is good, I will definitely try it out.

Actually, beyond that, does it ever come on sale? I'd love to buy it but don't want to spend 50 or 60$. I don't have much playtime and would also always solo- I wonder if I could find a guild of no one but solo players just so we have people to chat with and not be pestered to join guilds.

 

[Martimus]

says you? well, I kind of agree but only due to a level difference making player x immune to player y.

But for the most part i've found myself close enough in level to the enemies I meet to make a fight interesting. Most of the time I find open pvp just as enjoyable as the canned variety in warfronts, sometimes more. The element of surprise, tactical environment use, etc. Gets the adrenaline going. Sure I can see someone who's just trying to quest or focus on the pve being irritated by the pvp interference but overall I enjoy open pvp.

Plus on PvE servers I find it ridiculous to be unable to attack/be attacked by the opposing faction who supposedly despise all members of my faction.

Maniac: to answer your question all zones outside of the 1st zone are contested. All areas in the contested zones are pvp enabled.

If that is the way you feel, then why were you so against open PvP in Eve? Or maybe I am just mixing you up with SunnyD, which is probably the case.

Is this game open to PvP anywhere you want like in Eve? If so, I might give it a go.

 

[Red Storm]

I still miss NWN. I recently killed my WoW sub because I play alone and it takes forever to level toons. What do I miss about NWN? Well, I joined a persistent world called Divided Kingdoms about 6 or 7 years ago and the community was large but really tight. Even with two 48 player servers there was plenty of new people coming and going, plus a core group of a couple of hundred players who kept both servers pretty full. The world was full of interesting places, great items to be had, and how you built your character was important but any build could handle most of the mod. Add in all the user created content, live DM's running events/tournaments/etc, and the myriad of other interesting options (one of my friends built a castle in the mod); and it just seems like nothing like that will ever happen again. Sad, really, that with our advanced technology we're losing more and more options that older games had.

Long live NWN, I don't think we will ever see another game quite like it.

 

[SunnyD]

If that is the way you feel, then why were you so against open PvP in Eve? Or maybe I am just mixing you up with SunnyD, which is probably the case.

Is this game open to PvP anywhere you want like in Eve? If so, I might give it a go.

On a PvP server, yes. On a PvE server, only if the other player is flagged.

 

[lupi]

Not sure if it's just during the events or always possible, but I've been in zone when the rift mobs have conquered enough stuff that you get a defeated message and all the rifts and rift mobs are wiped away.

 

[smackababy]

Not sure if it's just during the events or always possible, but I've been in zone when the rift mobs have conquered enough stuff that you get a defeated message and all the rifts and rift mobs are wiped away.

The invasion events have a time limit or an object you need to keep the mobs from doing. If those run out, the event fails and you get no rewards.