This week we discuss Rifts announcement to go FREE TO PLAY with Elrar!  And catch up on the past weeks news too.

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:

• Got me a HELLBUG!  And then dyed my wardrobe to match it.  Took a while to find the group running around Ashora, but got it the first night I did.

• Have done all the dailies in Ashora at Nurjak Vostra, (south Ashora)

Solo’d level 60 quests, including the group quest for the dailies.

• less then a bar from level 57!

• Have my plat to buy my 130% mount!!  Why can’t it be pretty?

• After completing the quest chains in Ashora we travelled to Dusken.  Explored all but the last zone, getting all the ports, doing a few carnage quests.  Nope, not a fan, sooo creepy!

Chris:

• Hellbug mount, Hellbug pet, MORE mounts and pets…. My alts are happy.

• Dailies in Ashora

• Explored EVERYTHING!

• Instant Adventure.

• Crafting stuff, trying to get some good stuff for the AH.

News from the Rift

Elrar Interview June 12- RIFT 2.3: Empyreal Assault & F2P

RIFTS

* Hungry, hungry Helbugs have crash landed in RIFT from the DEFIANCE universe! A new fire rift named “Invasive Species” now has a chance to appear in all zones. Completing the unstable stages of this rift offers a chance at acquiring any of three different types of hellbug mounts and companions, including the extremely rare Toxic Hellbug.

http://forums.riftgame.com/official-rift-news/patch-notes/357681-rift-2-2-hotfix-11-7-00am-pdt-5-1-13-na-2-00am-gmt-02-5-13-eu.html

http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/396035159?t=39m35s

LIVE STREAM COVERAGE – Join us live* at http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds for the latest Free-to-Play details and discussion:

• Free-to-Play Overview – 1:30pm PDT Friday, May 17

• REX, Loyalty, & Gifting – 1:30pm PDT Friday, May 31

• Dendrome Preview – 1:30pm PDT Friday, June 7

• Update 2.3: Empyreal Assault – 1:30pm PDT Friday, June 14

Greetings from your new Community Coordinator, Morgana!

http://forums.riftgame.com/official-rift-news/news-announcements/358200-greetings-your-new-community-coordinator-morgana.html

Contact info

email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com

facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter

site: riftreporter.com

Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter

Voicemail: 616-666-6778 or the new widget on the right side of the site

Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

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New Dimensions, New Role Slots, New Mounts, New Companions, so much to look forward to while we madly try to catch level 60!

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:
Ding 56!

• Finished questing in Kingsward
• Story quest: Defeat Salvarola is a solo player instance, completed it at level 55, in full chloro, fighting level 60 elite boss. However I wasn’t able to pick up the next step in the store quest once finished. Had to leave and level then go back to get it. Now questing in Ashora!!!
• Did some IA to get my last two bars of level 55. Same quests over and over, not impressed.
• Spent the last week of the carnival doing EVERYTHING. Tried every game, all the new ones in Tempest Bay. (Loved the fashion show! 8 Prize tickets per!) Got several rewards, including Aurora, the Magicians Kit (blows up my head) and the dimension items.

Chris:

• PAX!
• Ding 57! ALMOST 58!
• PvP, PvP, and more PvP!
• Tower of Dawn. Had a super crappy Tactician build, so had to redo that to be successful.
• Ashora, we are there!

News from the Rift

Possible new Role Slots and or new Souls coming with patch 2.3 hinted at by Daglar. Later comment made by Daglar stated that the news Souls are more than a few months out, so likely a new role slot for patch 2.3

• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/355931-new-role-slots-2-3-did-daglar-just-confirm.html

RIFT and Raptr have combined forces again – and there’s new loot! Just use the Raptr app while you’re playing RIFT from April 23 to June 11 and you can earn incredible Raptr Rewards such as a free copy of RIFT Storm Legion™, as well as in-game items like Spaulders of Earthen Might, a Storm Legion Arbiter’s Helm, and even a special Raptr Raptor companion pet.

• http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/04232013_raptr_rewards.php

LIVESTREAM: Building a bridge to Infinity: Apr 26th
Want to know more about the Architects, an ancient race whose technology has the power to traverse the very fabric of space and time? Tune in to www.twitch.tv/TrionWorlds on Friday April 26 at 1:30pm PDT/20:30 UTC to learn more about the Dendrome, the Architects, and their history and place in Telara.

http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/04122013_april_livestream.php
http://www.twitch.tv/TrionWorlds

Last weeks Livestream showed the NEW dimension: The Moonshade Pools (Key is now available on Woody Cook in Tempest Bay!)

Elrar also showed us the new Defiance Hellbug companion pet as well as the Raptr Pet!

• http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/393029180

Planarite Bug- Cap went from 100K down to 60K. It was an error that was fixed next day, and commented on by Elrar and Daglar. Was not intentional and at the time they weren’t sure why it happened.

• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/355854-new-improved-60k-planarite-cap.html

More chronicles are in the works. You should expect one with 2.3. ~Daglar

• response to a forum thread asking for more saga quests and chronicles in SL.

• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/355853-chronicles-sagas.html#post4206861

Wardrobe will not be available for weapons. However we have another solution coming down the pipe for 2.3 to customize weapon appearances. ~Daglar

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/general-discussion-sub-forums/suggestions/227068-please-give-us-weapon-wardrobe-slots-trion-32.html#post4217412

Free Storm Legion with Defiance!

• Rift, SL and game time free with purchase of Defiance on Steam….
• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/355478-free-storm-legion-defiance.html

Is Trion’s Defiance MMO pulling resources away from Rift?

• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/356809-trions-defiance-mmo-pulling-resources-away-rift.html

Rift S.O.S.

Mage Guide: A DPS Spec for Dungeons and Raids – On Rift Junkies by Matt Duncan
I’ve been working on a DPS spec for level 60 dungeons. The one found below has moderate mobility and very good DPS without having to worry about controlling a pet……

http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/04/11/mage-guide-a-dps-spec-for-dungeons-and-raids/

Community Report

Free Rift + Storm Legion + 30 days (Free game, SL and game time received by ordering defiance through steam offered for free to the community)

To anyone who doesn’t have a game or knows someone who would like to play. You must be on steam, post your steam ID, first one to post with a decent reason of why they want it will have it sent to them.
Regards
Hacksaw

• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/355706-free-rift-storm-legion-30-days.html

New Defiance Mount Coming to RIFT?-Rift Junkies

• http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/04/01/new-defiance-mount-coming-to-rift/
• http://www.riftscene.com/reports/new-hellbug-mount-and-raptr-companion-coming-soon/

Easter Scavenger Hunt on April’s Fools Day-Danitsia: The Last Prophecy

• http://forums.riftgame.com/shard-forums/na-shards/north-american-shards/greybriar/355140-easter-scavenger-hunt-aprils-fools-day.html
• Join us on Monday, April 1st for an Easter themed Scavenger Hunt. A list of items will be released at 4 PM Server and participants will have 2 hours, until 6 PM Server, to get as many items as they can on that list. The person with the most completed list wins 500 plat!!!!
• WINNERS HAVE BEEN CROWNED:
• Elyssinia@Greybriar takes the top prize with 18 items on the list!!! They walk away with the grand prize of 650p!
• Xaiax@Greybriar was a CLOSE second with 17 items (the 18th submitted 3 mins past!!!) She gets the 2nd prize of 250p!!!
• Ferine@Faeblight came in third with 15 items found! She gets 100p… and I will figure out how to transfer it over.
• Thanks everyone for participating!!!! TONS OF FUN TODAY. We had 28 people participating!

Cinco de Mayo Celebration (River of Souls)-Danitsia: The Last Prophecy

• TLP will be hosting a “TEQUILA RUN” to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!!!
• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/356667-cinco-de-mayo-celebration-river-souls.html

Map switch button

• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/355035-map-switch-button.html

Farewell and Good Luck!

• Amary (follows Hal Hanlin’s exit from Trion)
• http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/356778-farewell-good-luck.html

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter
Voicemail: 616-666-6778 or the new widget on the right side of the site
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

This week we talk about some updates to the Carnival of the Ascended, as well as some upcoming changes to Pyromancer which are currently on the PTS!

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:

Ran Unhallowed Boneforge:

LFG for a healer… surprise died on the first trash pull. Twice. Defiler is NOT a dungeon/tank healing soul.

Took at least three attempts for each boss fight
Final boss bugged out when we weren’t all behind the wall when it was triggered. Had to abandon the dungeon incomplete.
None of the mechanics were terribly difficult, but there was a lot of ground effects and movement required.

Did a few Hunt Rifts, three I think, successfully! (Don’t think they scaled properly last time)
Popped a lot of balloons! note: Raid groups that complete games count for everyone. Also jumping buff locks you in the balloon pen.
Quested as full Chloro
Ding 55!

Chris:

Yeah, that Unhallowed Boneforge run… wow.
Lots of daily Crafting. Running around trying to get mats.
Max Weaponsmith and Forager now, working on Mining, Fishing and Survivalist
Fishing, fishing, fishing!
Hunt Rifts are awesome.
Jump, jump, jump, jump! Balloon popping time!

News from the Rift
RIFT Survey Result – Challenge Level

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/354507-rift-survey-result-challenge-level.html

72% say it’s just right (so far)

Increase in Prize Tickets per game- due to the increase in cost for items.

http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/03/14/post-hotfix-carnival-game-prize-ticket-rewards/

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/353783-new-event-items-completely-overprized.html

New event dabloons don’t match last years? Forum topic by BlackZodiac

If you were playing last year no doubt you’ll remember how the Forums exploded because some people were able to get an extra pyrite doubloon in a short 2 hour window when that particular quest “reset” too soon and were riding around on Nebula a full week early.
Now imagine if people were able to reuse those pyrite doubloons yesterday and were riding around on Aurora right now
A compromise might be allow you to trade in old pyrite doubloons for beads or prize tickets, just a suggestion but in the concept of “fair play” it looks like Trion wants everyone to get Aurora on the same day

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/353822-trion-new-event-dabloons-dont-match-last-years.html

Some changes are on the way to PTS for the Pyromancer. Flame Sigil is getting cut. Its being replaced with the ability Flame Rupture. This ability debuffs the enemy, applying a stack of Combust to up to 5 enemies within 7m every 2s. Lasts 15s. 15s cooldown. This is a tier 8 ability in the soul tree, in the same slot as Flame Sigil was.
Along with this change are a few others. Fulminate will no longer receive a damage bonus from Combust stacks. Its damage is being increased to compensate. It should now always deal damage similar to what it would currently deal with 5 stacks of Combust. Pyromancer’s Aegis will now generate an extra Fireball proc up to once every 3 seconds (instead of 4). Fireball, Flame Bolt, Cinder Burst, Flame Volley and Fusillade have all received a damage increase as well. (Kervik)

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/classes-telara/mage-discussion/347094-mage-suggestion-thread-60.html#post4192102

Return to Telara for FREE Mar 21-25th : Check out STORM LEGION without restrictions for FREE!!! Plus 25% off Storm Legion this weekend!
Plus Bonuses for existing accounts from March 21st to April 4th on almost everything! XP, Favor etc….

http://www.riftgame.com/en/products/return-to-telara/

Rift S.O.S.

The Jewel of Brevane – Carnival of the Ascended Zone event
March 15th twitch live stream footage.

http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/378138791

Community Report

RiftScene Podcast ‘Hardmode’ Episode 1

http://www.riftscene.com/podcast/hard-mode-episode-1/

(No clean tag fyi lol) – Didn’t we talk about this last week?
St. Patrick’s Day Costume Contest & Parade 3/17 @ 2 PM Server (Greybriar)-Organized/posted by Danitsia on Greybriar

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/354427-st-patricks-day-costume-contest-parade-3-17-2-pm-server-greybriar.html

Poll

Current Poll
Are you planning on participating in the Carnival of the Ascended because the games and events are fun, or because there are prizes that you want to get?

Games and Events are fun!
Prizes
I’m not participating

VOTE-VOTE-VOTE!

We’re going to be at PAX East and we’d like to borrow your acoustic guitar! If you’ve got one available we’d like to borrow it so we can record a video for Don’t Forget About Your Alts. We won’t be playing it, just miming. Email Chris at mmoreporter dot com if you can help us out!

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter
Voicemail: 616-666-6778 or the new widget on the right side of the site
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

Hello MMO Reporter listeners!

We’re going to PAX East! Here’s a quick recap of our previous PAX coverage, to give you a heads up on what to expect. We’ll be putting all of the content out on the MMO Reporter podcast feed, so make sure to subscribe (details here) to get all of the audio sent right to your computer. for our videos, check out the main site  or our Youtube Page to get them as soon as they’re posted.

But we also need your help! Harry and I want to record a video for the song attached below, but we need an acoustic guitar to borrow for a few hours on Sunday! We won’t ACTUALLY be playing it, but we need Harry to mime along as we record the video.

If you can help us, please send me a message at chris AT mmoreporter DOT com and let me know!

See you in-game!

]]> http://mmoreporter.com/2013/03/14/mmo-reporter-goes-to-pax-east-2013/feed/ 1 mmo reporter,pax,pax east 2013,preview Hello MMO Reporter listeners! - We're going to PAX East! Here's a quick recap of our previous PAX coverage, to give you a heads up on what to expect. We'll be putting all of the content out on the MMO Reporter podcast feed, Hello MMO Reporter listeners! We're going to PAX East! Here's a quick recap of our previous PAX coverage, to give you a heads up on what to expect. We'll be putting all of the content out on the MMO Reporter podcast feed, so make sure to subscribe (details here) to get all of the audio sent right to your computer. for our videos, check out the main site  or our Youtube Page to get them as soon as they're posted. But we also need your help! Harry and I want to record a video for the song attached below, but we need an acoustic guitar to borrow for a few hours on Sunday! We won't ACTUALLY be playing it, but we need Harry to mime along as we record the video. If you can help us, please send me a message at chris AT mmoreporter DOT com and let me know! See you in-game! MMO Reporter no 8:20 <iframe width="320" height="24" src="http://mmoreporter.com/?powerpress_embed=8407-podcast&amp;powerpress_player=default" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> http://mmoreporter.com/2013/03/14/mmo-reporter-goes-to-pax-east-2013/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RiftReporter/~3/N2MMJOSNlNw/ http://mmoreporter.com/2013/03/12/rift-reporter-episode-73-minds-were-lost/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:03:09 +0000 chris@mmoreporter.com http://mmoreporter.com/?p=8417

In this week’s show, Chris and Sallennia talk about cross-shard group invites, lore-lover’s rejoicing over the lore livestream, and, of course, the Carnival of the Ascended.

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:

Carnival
Onslaughts
Questing in Ardent Domain

Chris:

Ding 56!
Carnival
Instant Adventure
Onslaughts
PVP – The Wheel of Fate mode for Codex
Questing

News from the Rift

Cross shard summons?

http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/03/04/have-rift-group-summon-will-travel-across-shards/
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/353190-checking-trion-2.html#post4174702

Checking out Dendrome
http://www.riftscene.com/reports/dendrome-available-for-your-viewing-pleasure-kind-of/
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/353697-dendrome-accessible-live-shards-2.html#post4181508

Lore Livestream
http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/374872225

Rift S.O.S.

Carnival of the Ascended Guide
http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/03/08/carnival-of-the-ascended-2013-guide/

Aurora and Carnival Mask Pics
http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/03/04/live-stream-roundup-carnival-goodies-and-aurora/
http://www.riftscene.com/guides/world-events/carnival-of-the-ascended-dimension-float-previews/

What to expect when you’re expec…. level 60
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1227466-Rift-Guide-Ok-so-you-re-60-what-now

Community Report

Riftscene Podcast
http://www.riftscene.com/podcast/riftscene-podcast-on-tap/

Tempest Bay Map
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/354040-tempest-bay-map.html

WTF???? Adam Lambert promoting Rift in China
http://youtu.be/afAWQ_z1HTM

Poll

Current  Poll
Are you planning on participating in the Carnival of the Ascended because the games and events are fun, or because there are prizes that you want to get?

• Games and Events are fun!
• Prizes
• I’m not participating

We’re going to be at PAX East and we’d like to borrow your acoustic guitar! If you’ve got one available we’d like to borrow it so we can record a video for Don’t Forget About Your Alts. We won’t be playing it, just miming. Email Chris at mmoreporter dot com if you can help us out!

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter
Voicemail: 616-666-6778 or the new widget on the right side of the site
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

This week we talk about Patch 2.2 and the RIFT’s Second Birthday event, the Carnival of the Ascended, as well as recapping the Joy of Dimensions Contest!

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:

• Some instant Adventure with the guild and on my own.
• Tried to work on our current quests and it’s still too hard.
• Pinatas… that’s it???

Chris:

• Ding 55!
• A few rounds of instant adventure. Lots of people running it! Averaged 5-10 people in the raid.
• Ran Unhallowed Boneforge. Fun but a little tough with my particular PUG.
• Finished a guild quest all by myself! Had to kill 110 Endless in various parts of Stillmoor. Took me all of 10 minutes to get it done. Burn them with FIRE!!!!
• PINATAS! Watched the Carnival Spawn in Meridian, then proceeded to run around and destroy a few Pinatas. Woot!

News from the Rift

Update 2.2-Carnival of the Ascended – Feb 27th
http://www.riftgame.com/en/game/updates/carnival.php
http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/02202013_carnival_year2.php

• Carnival of the Ascended

The Carnival is more fun than ever this year. Collect glass beads, revel in pie-stomping and throwing contests, and challenge yourself in two new games of skill as you gather colorful hats and awesome mounts.

• Try your luck in PvP at the Wheel of Fate

• Special Anniversary Cape

• Tier 2 Planar Attunement added to PvP

• Planar Attunement Tier 3 for all

• Return to Telara this March

Play for free from March 21 to March 25. Revisit your veteran high-level Ascended characters and experience all the awesome additions to RIFT since the launch of Storm Legion™.

• Anniversary subscriber bonuses

From March 21 to April 4 all subscribers will enjoy 20% increases in the following:

• Guild XP
• Normal Kill XP or Planar Attunement (depending on character level)
• Prestige
• Favor
• Planarite
• Dungeon currency
• Zone Event currency

New scratch and win game for the mobile app: Carnival Candy

Further info on the Carnival of the Ascended go to Rift Junkies
http://rift.junkiesnation.com/2013/02/28/carnival-of-the-ascended-event-timetable-video/

Patch 2.2 notes:

• Four Storm Legion Raid bosses now come in Hardmode flavor! You may voluntarily trigger hardmodes of Gelidra, Artifex Zaviel, Progenitor Saetos, and Kain the Reaper for additional challenges and new Achievements.
• Augment Wardstone and Bless Wardstone abilities have been replaced by Nexus Infusion, which is now granted to all characters
• Falling from a great height once again plays the impact animation and sound effects, but still has no damage applied.
• * The Fire Elemental pet now has a new look!
• Mining, Butchering, and Foraging now have daily quests similar to those of the other crafting professions. To pick them up, visit Padma Ultan in Meridian or Eldain Diomid in Sanctum. If you’re over skill 300, visit Romas Periga in Tempest Bay.

Bitten by the Love Bug-A special enchantment is racing across the Planes to celebrate The Festival of Mariel-Taun: the Love Bug.
http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/02142013_valentines.php

Movement speed bug-
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/351089-movement-speed-bug.html#post4150464
Daglar:The fix for this is pretty involved – its done, but we didn’t want to push it up before 2.2 due to how many little things it touches.~Daglar –  Now fixed after 2.2

Guild Name Bug  (From Feb 7th)
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/351026-guild-name-changed.html
: We have an engineer working on a fix right now.
~Daglar

Tech Talk-Rift Performance in 2.2
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/352460-tech-talk-rift-performance-2-2-a.html

-Joy of Dimensions Contest

Winners revealed on Friday, Feb 15th during livestream.
3rd Place: Enoki Lounge
2nd Place:Lavish by Lyx
1st Place: Cozy Getaway
Grand Prize: Sweethearts

Facebook Page (Winners still not posted)
http://www.facebook.com/RIFTgame/app_569349899757104
Twitch page
http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/367701656

Friday Feb 22nd-
It’s time to show off the biggest, baddest, colossus of them all!

Come watch as the behemoth Volan lays waste to to the ancient Ruins of Ashora as we vanquish him before he’s able to unleash the true fury of the Storm Legion – LIVE from one of our North American Shards!
http://www.twitch.tv/TrionWorlds

Community Report.

The game mavens at ZAM have brought together their treasure trove of knowledge about Planar Attunement, the Ascended Soul system, the myriad lands and items of Telara, and more in one place: RIFThead!
http://www.rifthead.com/

Community Project
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/348801-project-rift-guru-community-community.html

Storm Legion Loot site
http://www.simple-loot.com/
Forum Post
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/350158-website-simple-loot-table-storm-legion-www-simple-loot-com.html

RIFTScene-New Community Site

• As a thank you to the community and to hopefully get the word spread – I am holding a contest to win a Nvidia GTX 670 or a Radeon 7950.

http://www.riftscene.com/contests/riftscene-com-win-a-video-card/

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/352962-introducing-riftscene-your-hopefully-all-one-rift-source.html

http://www.riftscene.com/

Poll
Previous Poll
Have you reached level 60 yet?

No 60%
Yes 40%

Current Poll

Are you planning on participating in the Carnival of the Ascended because the games and events are fun, or because there are prizes that you want to get?

Games and Events are fun!
Prizes
I’m not participating

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter
Voicemail: 616-666-6778 or the new widget on the right side of the site
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

Rift’s Joy of Dimensions contest is in full swing with just one more week left to enter and vote for your favorites!  With over 600 entries now listed on the Rift Facebook page, that’s a whole lot of Dimensions to look through!  I’ve spent several hours looking through some of the entries and have compiled a list of my top 20 favorites.

I’ve only managed to get through about a quarter of the entries, and let me tell you, there are some amazing Dimensions!  I was blown away by the creativity, inventiveness and uniqueness of our Rift community.  Limiting my list to just 20 was extremely difficult!  If you don’t have hours and hours to spend looking though the entries, follow the links I’ve included to check out which Dimensions I was particularly impressed with, and don’t forget to VOTE for your favorites!  (If you want to keep your vote private make sure you un-check the ‘share on my wall’ option, and when you first use the app you can change the setting to have ‘only me’ view your choices on your Timeline)  

To view all of the Dimension Entries, go to Rift’s Facebook page.

My #1 Favorite entry:

Kelari Palace

And the other top 19 in no particular order:

F. Lloyd Planarite                                                                            Inn of Discord

Sky Walkway Retreat                                                                       The Lost Train Station

Silvas Sternenturm                                                                          Battlestar Thunderdome

Sovrein’s Rest                                                                                [L'O.D] Galion “Le Thedeor”

Lakeside Retreat                                                                            Boviillia’s Island Estate

Lake Village                                                                                   Ahilin’s Hut

LuLu’s Beach House                                                                        Silver’s Retreat

Tranquility                                                                                     Aeriel Storm Castle

Enoki Lounge                                                                                Hotel Harshmallows

Isle Of Dreams

And just in case you’ve missed it, the genius of Hal Hanlin:

This week we talk about the departure of Scott Hartsman, the Joy of Dimensions contest, and take a brief peek at what’s coming in the spring.

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:

• Drunken rift night was a bust, as we were both sick , we didn’t drink and didn’t last long, just did a few Onslaughts.
• Maxed out my Outfitter and Butchering.  Interesting note: the high level recipes cost 30 plat to train so don’t automatically train… Between outfitter supplies and training, I somehow and surprising ended up with 22 gold.
• Spent a lot of last week farming hides and making items for the AH as well as doing crafting dailies.
• Discovered the river in Ardent Domain has a lot of little crab dudes, for skinning, but that’s about it for level 56 mobs.  The previous zone had level 454 mobs and therefore a different hide… I wasn’t tough enough to kill at 57 on my own to get any better hides..

Chris:

• Almost level 55! So close I can almost taste in.
• Running through some quests in Ardent Domain. A little high level for us, but we’re having fun!

News from the Rift

RIFT: Year Two State of the Game (part one of two)

“I wanted to let you know that I’m stepping down from my position here at Trion. It’s been an amazing time, working with some of the best developers anywhere, getting the company’s first game off the ground, taking it all the way through a multitude of amazing updates, then to Storm Legion, and even a little bit beyond.” Scott Hartsman

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/349042-rift-year-two-state-game-part-one-two.html#post4127332

RIFT: Year Two State of the Game (part Two of Two)

(March 2013 2nd year anniversary)With 2.2 the Carnival of the Ascended – a celebration of the first appearance of the Ascended – will return to Telara. Along with it, new carnival games as well as some old favorites will be available, a slew of new Zone Events will appear in the Storm Legion zones, the Planar Attunement system will expand to tier 3, and we hope to add our first activated Hard Mode encounters to Endless Eclipse and Frozen Tempest. Of course, you can also expect more bug fixes, and updates to classes as we always provide. There are also some updates to PvP that have been sneaking out to the live servers before 2.2 hits.

What secrets are hidden behind the walls surrounding the Dendrome? As we approach game update 2.3 we’ll start to peel back the layers of mystery – but that is a story for another day, Ascended.

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/349183-rift-year-two-state-game-part-two-two.html

Enter the Joy of Dimensions Contest!
Do you have a happy little Dimension you want to share? Join us on Facebook for the Joy of Dimensions Contest, now through Feb. 12!

Details on Riftgame:
http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/0122013_joy_of_dimensions.php

Video on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RIFTgame#

Our Facebook page to watch the video:
http://www.facebook.com/riftreporter

Enter/Vote link:
https://apps.facebook.com/rift_joyofdimensions/contests/311586

When you ‘vote now’ on the facebook page you will immediately get a message at the top of your screen, ‘thank you for voting etc, here is your in game reward code’.  You don’t have to actually vote to get the code, just go to the vote page…. gets you the title ‘The House Guest’ and a dimension item: village Lampost x 2.

Grand Prize

• Alienware x51 PC
• TBD New Dimension Key
• Empyrean Static Generator
• All 2nd Place Prizes

-Dimension live streams
Hungry for more? Feed your need for Dimensions with FOUR special live streams and a chance to earn even more in-game goodies! All streams are @ 1:30PM Pacific / 21:30 UTC.

Friday, January 25 – Build-Off Bonanza
What happens when we put everyone in the same Dimension with full edit rights?

Friday, February 1 – Top Dimensions Tour
Looking for inspiration for your masterpiece? We’ll be sampling the cream of the crop from every server!

Friday, February 8 – Dimensional Thunderdome
4 Teams Enter, 1 Team Leaves in this Building Battle Royale!

Friday, February 15 – Victory Tour
Come along as we explore the winners of the Joy of Dimensions Contest and announce the GRAND PRIZE winner LIVE!

www.twitch.tv/TrionWorlds

Recent Hot Fixes:

Removal of Falling Damage is permanent

• Racial Abilities: Dwarven racial ability, Density, has been removed. Replaced with Second Breakfast – Restores 8% health and mana per second over 13 seconds.

Thunderous Leap (Warrior PvP PA ability) disabled in instances and dungeons

• Ailion said on the forums: Thunderous Leap was disabled in instances because the use of this ability to bring the player to supposedly inaccessible locations resulted in some unintended game states within certain encounters. This causes the mechanics of the encounters to break. We have decided to disable this ability to maintain the integrity of the encounters.

A few random ones:

• All Feasts now persist through death – whether you respawn, resurrect, or Soul Walk
• Swift mounts (110% speed) and higher now all scale to your fastest purchased mount’s speed.
• You can now use Nexus Infusion while moving!

Community Report.

Optional Carnage buttoDearest Trion, in short, very short! can you please give us a button or check mark for optional carnage acceptance so we can turn this auto accept off? I’m level 60 and no longer in need of carnage’s especially in low level zones- Amarayna on the forums

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/349264-optional-carnage-button.html

Onslaught AOE Mechanic

There was a lot of discussion on the forums this past week about the new AOE Mechanic in Onslaughts:  The attempt is to keep players from standing in one place too long or AFK’ing during onslaughts. (anti-botting) Looks like a rift tear with a ground effect that will efficiently kill you if you stay in it.

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/348814-remove-onslaughts.html

Poll
Previous Poll
Prediction time! Do you think there will be a new expansion in 2013?

Yes 33%
No 67%

Current Poll

Have you reached level 60 yet?

Yes
No

Send Harry Hol to PAX!
http://mmoreporter.com/send-harry-hol-to-pax-east/

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
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Voicemail: 616-666-6778
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

Happy New Year!  This week we go over last years predictions and tally up the winner as well as make a few prediction for this year in Rift, and talk a little about the news as well!

Listen now:

What we’ve done in game:

Sallennia:

• Hit level 53!
• Continued with questing in Brevane, mostly completed Eastern Holdings.  Also spent some time doing Onslaughts, haven’t found my favorite yet though.  Not a huge fan of Eastern Holdings, thank goodness there are so many ports, ‘cause it’s a lot of running around.
• Did the dungeon Storm Breaker Protocol
• Sledding… sledding, and some more sledding.
• Also worked a lot of crafting, I’ve out levelled my ‘drop’ items but managed to craft some new pieces for us both that are upgrades on our gear.  Made a bunch of runes as well, to add to all the new pieces.

Chris:

• Ding 54 on my Rogue!
• Finished City Core and about half way through Eastern Holdings.
• Continuing to level my Warrior as well. Got to level 52 (almost 53!)
• Ran Storm Breaker Protocol
• Got the 28 slot bag on both of my main toons. Sledding is the way to go!

Game Mechanics

Chris – To stop the cry for flying mounts, Trion will release burrowing mounts instead.

Sal – To Enhance the cry for flying mounts, Trion will release dragon mounts, that have wings, but still can’t fly.  On a happy note, one of these dragon mounts will be purple and shiny.

Chris – To stop the complaining about unbalanced PvP souls, etc, there will be an overhaul to the PvP system. In Warfronts, players will be reduced to level 1, with one ranged skill and one melee skill, and no healers. Players will face each other with nerf bats until there is only one player left.

Sal – Onslaughts will adapt into ‘event’s’ much like the zone events, only concentrated on onslaughts alone.  Instead of the standard wait around for mobs that are scaled to be manageable by the present population, they will be massive, non stop attacks, bottle-necked along the roads which are built up with barricades where you have to call your entire guild to come and help.  Completing these Super Onslaughts will result in awesome loot unique to the event.

Chris – Revamp/Change will be incoming to the Rift Invasion system.

Content

Chris – We will NOT be going to the planes this year, but instead will be fighting in half way points, areas of Talera altered much more than they have so far.

Sal – The next major world event will be an attack on the two major cities, Meridian and Sanctum.  In Meridian, the red, glass globe in the floor of the Meridian Courtyard will be shattered, to release waves of planar mobs intent on revenge.  They will systematically wipe out every NPC in Meridian, unless the Ascended band together and stop them.

Chris – Rated small group PvP will make an appearance in 2012.

Sal – smaller 2-3 party versions of instances will be introduced throughout Telara, for ease in levelling, and to help players in the quieter hours of the night.

Chris – New update schedule will be once every other month. Events will become more spread out, but more significant.

Community

Chris – At least one Rift novel will be released this year

Sal – Weekly fashion shows will take place in the main courtyard of Meridian, complete with catwalk.  Winners in categories such as, Most Terrifying, Most Skanky, and Most Formal will receive a coveted in game item, such as the title ‘ Telaras next top model’.

Chris – More community content contributors! The numbers of podcasts and blogs focused on Rift will increase over the next year.

Personally

Sal –  I predict I will have two more level 50 characters, all with full raid gear by the end of next year.  And I will have a new mage in the works using the souls I have not used yet.  I predict I will try tanking with my cleric at some point (and hate it) and will only play my rogue when I am locked out of raids on my other two characters.  And I predict we will participate in the Extra Life Marathon in Rift yet again!

Chris – I’m going to have 4 maxed out characters, one of each calling, but only actively raiding with one, my warrior.

2013 Predictions

Game Mechanics

Chris – No new souls this year. Instead, Trion will come up with some way to give specific powers based on soul combinations.

Sal – Cosmetic weapon slots will become available, but it must be  weapon usable by your character’s class.  Cape’s will become tintable, as will some dimension decor items.

Content

Chris – Trion will add more chronicles, allowing up to three players in them. (Which was Sallennias prediction last year)

Sal – Update schedule will slow down considerably with only four major updates this year.
Any changes or new content will be centered solely around the new continents.

Community

Chris – Friday livestream will start to include GMs watching (and streaming) player run dungeons and raids.

Sal – Dimensions will add a whole new level to community interaction, with in ‘house’ parties and celebrations taking place in peoples dimensions, many guild hosted but open to the public.  It will cause the servers to crash a half a dozen times.

Personally

Chris – 3 Characters to level cap.

Sal – I will be broke for the entire year, spending every spare penny on my dimension, or cosmetic items, and will never be able to get a faster mount.
I’ll hit level 60 before the snow (at our house) melts..

News from the rift

Endless Eclipse 20 man raid now in game!
Video of the raid is on RiftGame
http://www.riftgame.com/en/media/videos/
Livestream Jan 11 was of Endless Eclipse, watch the footage if you missed it!
http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/356094504

Addressing the Bots

From Jan 9th patch notes: “While we were out for the holidays, there was a marked rise in both fishing and onslaught farming bots. We know that the vast majority of you are responsible, upstanding, and incredibly attractive Telaran citizens, but we do need to take a moment to remind everyone that automating play is a violation of the terms of service that will be acted upon.

As of today, we’ve already shut down a few thousand accounts over the recent rise in fishing botting, and we’ve begun removing gains from others in places of extreme bot use. A good number of these botters were brought in, as is often the case, on stolen credit cards and fraudulent Rift purchases.”
http://forums.riftgame.com/official-rift-news/patch-notes/347356-rift-2-1-hotfix-2-8-00am-pst-1-9-13-na-2-00am-gmt-10-1-13-eu.html

No Falling Damage
“It is not a bug, I may have been a little vague on the release note I passed to Amary however.

Right now its a test. If it becomes permanent we’ll deal with things like the Dwarf Racial, Safe Fall, and the few PA’s that affect this.
~Daglar”

http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/347463-rift-hangtime-edition.html#post4109195

Current Poll

What was your favorite thing about the Fae Yule Festival:

Sledding
Snowball fights
Mount
Costume Items
In game consumables
Nothing, I don’t do festivals

New Poll

Prediction time! Do you think there will be a new expansion in 2013?

Yes
No

Itunes reviews
Popstar4R

Send Harry to PAX East! http://mmoreporter.com/send-harry-hol-to-pax-east/

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter
Voicemail: 616-666-6778
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

Chris and Sallennia talk about the Layoff at Trion Worlds, Endless Eclipse, and Fae Yule! Merry Christmas!

Listen now:

What we did in game:

Sallennia

• Built my storage shed in my Dimension
• Almost to level 52, been questing in Brevane: Cape Jule
• Completed Exodus of the Storm Queen with guild mates.  Very fun!
• Upgraded my River of Souls staff with a random Blue drop donated to me by Drezzden in our guild.  CRAZY!
• Leveled up my crafting a bit more, and purchased a bunch of new recipes, but still haven’t even looked at Runecrafting.
• Got to do my favorite quest in Cape Jule, but it is slightly different than during Beta.  Also died, three times trying to finish one stage of a quest that is significantly harder now than in Beta, but it was too easy to start with.
• Checked out the Fae Yule Festival, did some sledding… or a lot of sledding.  Had a snowball fight.. handed out some gifts.

Chris

• Exodus of the Storm Queen with guildies. Fun!
• Leveling through Carnage Quests
• Leveling my warrior. Almost level 51, and having fun in Peledane
• FAE YULE!

News from the Rift

Layoffs at Trion Worlds
http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/off-topic/344023-trion-layoffs.html

Patch 2.1-Endless Eclipse Dec 12

• raiders can face off with the Destroyer in a 20-player raid that spans the planes of existence. Meanwhile, a new Chronicle reveals the fate of the Frozen Tempest campaign, while Guardians and Defiant across Telara join Grandfather Frost in the celebration of Fae Yule!

http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/12072012_endless_eclipse.php

Recent noteworthy patch notes:

• The item limits for all Dimensions have increased!
• Ascended on foot should now move faster through the world, both in and out of combat. This is additive with other movement speed buffs, but not changing the movement rate while mounted at this time. Please give feedback about this test change!
• STEPPES OF INFINITY
• * Even though it was pretty awesome, the super high “water” area where you could swim up into the sky has been removed.
• * Soul Walking now displays the countdown time on the casting bar UI to make it more visible!
• * While Soul Walking you now also see an aggro radius indicator around aggressive NPCs

Fae Yule Festival Returns
http://www.riftgame.com/en/game/updates/endless-event.php

Head to Sanctum and Meridian to participate in the Fae Yule Festival!  Daily quests abound, including snowball fights, handing out presents and cheer, and the awesomesauce Sledding!  (travel through the portal to sled, over and over and over…)  Many awesome rewards available to purchase with your snowflakes, including festive Dimension items, and there is also the festival mount, the christmas Vayuii.

• Instant Adventure gets festive

Join in a series of Fae Yule adventures from Freemarch, Silverwood, and Scarwood Reach to Cape Jule, Pelladane, and Ashora. Each zone features a village the Ascended will help build and decorate in the spirit of the season. Deck the halls to the Fae’s content to summon an exclusive vendor for your shard, unlocking gifts including a special helm, bags, new pets, and mounts!

• Very Merry Whitefall Steppes

Mastered sledding and snowballs and looking for more? Dive into a wintery alt-mode Whitefall Steppes where one person will be “gifted” with an extra-special Yuletide form – at least until it’s stolen by magic and blade. Stock your base with presents to win, but don’t be caught holding the Fae Yule Cake…

• Claim your Winter Cape and Dimension items

  • http://www.riftgame.com/en/promo/yule.php

Fae Yule Presents

• Treat your Dimensions with the Candy Canes housing item by signing up for the RIFT Watch newsletter before December 17. Already receiving the newsletter? You’re automatically eligible! The code to claim your gift will arrive in your December RIFT Watch.

• Visit our Facebook page and click on the “Fae Yule Present” button to receive another Dimension item – the Fae Yule Gift Pile.

• Last but not least, you and anyone you have Ascended through the Ascend-a-Friend program will each receive a special Fae Yule Winter Cape when you both buy a Storm Legion™ package* by December 31. **

http://www.riftgame.com/en/news/articles/12072012_fae_yule_gifts.php.

Soul abilities that have ranks will now be automagically upgraded when you level up, removing the need to return to a trainer and purchase new ranks.
p://forums.riftgame.com/official-rift-news/patch-notes/342874-rift-2-0-hotfix-4-10-30am-pst-12-4-12-na-2-00am-gmt-5-12-12-eu.html

Winter Subscription Sale
Save 30% on 6 months subscriptions!
http://www.riftgame.com/en/products/subscriptions.php

Community Report.

Tier 3 Planar Attunement coming soon-Rift Junkies

http://www.riftjunkies.com/2012/12/05/tier-3-planar-attunement-finally-coming-soon/

Storm Legion Review and Contest
http://youtu.be/4XstbBKgMVg

Poll
Previous Poll

What is your favorite addition from SL

Story Quests 50%
Dungeon 25%
Dimensions 25%
Crafting 0%
Gear Sets 0%

Current Poll

What was your favorite thing about the Fae Yule Festival:

Sledding
Snowball fights
Mount
Costume Items
In game consumables
Nothing, I don’t do festivals

Contact info
email: riftreporter@mmoreproter.com
facebook: facebook.com/riftreporter
site: riftreporter.com
Twitter: twitter.com/riftreporter
Voicemail: 616-666-6778
Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork