The MMO market is larger than it’s ever been. There are quite a few quality games available now for MMO fans, and more are scheduled for release this coming year. With this kind of competition, many MMO developers are taking steps to attract new players and keep the attention of veteran players. The first step? Creating a quality game. Trion has succeeded there. The second step? Making that game accessible.

Some MMO companies are converting their games to a free-to-play model in order to make their game more accessible to their player base and still bring in a profit. Other companies, like Trion, are taking a different route– the trial version route. RIFT is now free, up to level 20, for new players and returning players. This announcement was made a few days ago. The details about this free version, also known as RIFT Lite, can be found on Trion’s official site.

1.7 has promised a host of changes to whole swathes of Rift. Included in the changes is a wholesale revamping of PvP advancement. PvP souls are “going the way of the Dodo” and being replaced by the Attunement of War PA hex tree. The 8 Prestige ranks are being replaced with 40 more granular levels. Most level 50 PvP gear will have Rank restrictions removed, requiring only that one amass the requisite Favour to purchase it. And players below level 13 in the new system will have their stats ‘bolstered’ to make them less squishy and boost competitiveness. Also relevant to this discussion is the addition of PA respeccing (first one’s free, after that it’s 100 plat).

RIFT’s preset soul build addition, also known as Calling Purposes, is fresh out on the PTS and available for player testing. Information about this feature and other additions Trion has in store for new players and old players alike can be found here. This brief guide will cover the various Warrior builds and some of the Warrior-centric features upon starting a new character. For the Cleric version of this guide that features more general information about the feature, check here.

The Druid class seems to be a little lost and confused, these days. Originally designed as a melee pet class, Druid melee DPS falls consistently behind Shaman DPS, and while the Druid’s Satyr can pump out some decent AoE damage, the faerie pet, even the greater faerie, doesn’t put out enough healing to warrant it a spot as anything except a vanity pet in a weird-looking costume.

Adding to the crisis, Druids have a mixed bag of attacks and abilities that may have originally sounded good on paper, but in reality, aren’t that useful. Balm of the Woods is extremely lackluster for a self-heal with a cooldown. Shield of Oak, like Glacial Shield, is essentially useless except while leveling. Bombard deals decent ranged damage, but deals earth damage, which means it doesn’t have synergy with many other Druid abilities, Shaman abilities, Inquisitor abilities, or Justicar abilities. And most RIFT builds revolve around synergy.

The beginning stages of RIFT’s Patch 1.7 are now on the PTS for player testing, and with the patch come some interesting changes to endgame. The PTS patch notes can be found here if you haven’t had a chance to check them out yet. The changes are an attempt to smooth out endgame progression in general and the gear obtained during the various phases of endgame. What does this mean, exactly? For starters, it’s a step in the right direction.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an editorial summing up the current state of RIFT’s endgame. In it, I basically discuss a gap that seems to be increasing in size between RIFT’s casual/social population and its raider population. The world of Telara is a great place to relax and enjoy small group content, but it also supports a thriving raiding community that’s eager to get back into action when Infernal Dawn is released. The problem is, there aren’t a lot of players in between these two groups. Thus, a gap is created. This makes it difficult for Hammerknell guilds to recruit and for players to obtain the gear necessary to become recruited.

There’s currently a sort of lull in between major RIFT content patches. We know Trion has some solid plans in development, but for the moment, there isn’t a whole lot to do besides dailies, PA farming, and raiding. Not that there’s anything wrong in content lulls. In fact, content lulls give us a chance to work on things we may not always have the time to do. Working on alts, grinding out the last of a faction reputation, or farming for artifacts, PvP ranks, or pets– Now is a great time to get all of this done.

One possible side effect to this lull, however, is a sort of… period of reflection that many RIFT players are currently experiencing. This is partially due to the content lull, partially due to the fact that RIFT’s one-year anniversary is approaching, and partially due to the thrum of other MMOs as they spin around the internet. For the record, I still think RIFT will stand solid among this thrum as discussed here, but my point is– There’s a lot of talk going around about what RIFT could incorporate. How RIFT could be a better game than it already is.

RIFT can be quite an immersive game, especially for the role-playing community. The gorgeous maps, the risky world Telara’s lore is based on, the range of racial options, and the unique cultural environments– there’s a lot of material for creative minds to play with. Trion has recently stepped forward and offered a helping hand to our RP community, in hopes of creating a richer, more prominent and dynamic playground for not only RPers, but all players of RIFT.

Last week, during a developer Q&A post, it was announced that RIFT will feature a wedding system in the future:

We’re looking at ways to empower roleplayers to have the ability to run their own events and control over their RP experience. What that means is still being defined but to start things off we’re proud to announce that weddings will be making their way to Telara. You’ll have the dress, rings, and even an instance with a ceremony if you decide to use it! Expect to see them pop up on PTS in the near future and we’ll keep in touch as our plans for improving your RP develop.

No matter who you are on Telara you will have felt the impact of Regulos the Destroyer. The dragon of death does not tempt you with wealth, threaten you with endless chaos or seek to subvert your very will. His goal is much more simple and easy to understand although by no means any less terrifying. Regulos wants nothing more than the end of all things.

Regulos is the former leader of the Bloodstorm, the combined forces of the elemental planes that sought to control Telara 1500 years ago. However his brothers and sisters turned on him when their own ambitions for Telara conflicted with his vision of absolute destruction, after all why should Telara and its abundant supply of sourcestone be destroyed when it could simply be controlled? This betrayal caused the schism in the undefeatable alliance and allowed the heroes of old to gain the advantage and imprison the Bloodstorm one by one, eventually leaving Regulos alone. He was cornered and his body destroyed, his very essence banished back to the plane of death in the hopes of ridding Telara of his threat once and for all.

It’s hard to ignore the commotion Star Wars: The Old Republic has been making as it stampedes around the MMO scene. Sure, it’s big. The game’s bound to make some noise. Mix the massive Star Wars franchise with the extremely solid reputation BioWare has and SWTOR is the result. Hello, huge gorilla in the room. With the game due out within the week, many gamers are questioning the future of their favorite current MMOs– including RIFT.

RIFT has had a tremendously successful run so far. Fans have seen a huge array of new content since the game’s release, and Trion has been extremely receptive about figuring out what the fans really want and delivering just that. The future of RIFT looks bright, and will continue to look that way as long as Trion keeps up the good work. RIFT’s not going anywhere.

There’s also the fact that MMOs are more popular than ever right now. It doesn’t matter how many games there are and how popular they might be. There’s always someone looking for that special something that other games just aren’t offering. RIFT has a lot of special somethings, because RIFT has a lot to offer. I’ll say it again– RIFT isn’t going anywhere. Let’s take a look at some of RIFT’s best features to find out why.

Are you tired of the daily grind? Are you seeking adventure and new experiences? Maybe it’s time you took a trip to exotic Ember Isle! The ancient home of the Kelari has much to offer everyone, from single adventurers to gigantic gatherings we have it all! But don’t take our word for it, take a look for yourself at a few of the famous landmarks you could explore.