Rifting on a Theme

So, perhaps inevitably, the buzz about Rift is turning a little sour. Pete is a little down because the game isn't the way it was in early betas. Syp thinks maybe Trion should go dark in the last few weeks before launch to stem the over-hype. Ardwulf is gonna sit out the launch, maybe join later. Even GeeCee sees differences in the way the game feels based on zone population. I think Randomessa may have hit the nail on the head when she lays the blame firmly at the feet of the player community itself, especially those who blog (and tweet).

I mean, we can't have it both ways. If a game is to succeed, it has to appeal to enough players to cover its costs and make a tidy profit. Sometimes this means "dumbing it down" a little, which infuriates some of the more hardcore among us. The rifts are too hard, until there are so many people zerging the mobs that the rifts become too easy. What a pleasant problem for Trion. They are working on balance with the rifts. I would like to know how random the rifts themselves are. How quickly can they be ratcheted up or dialed back, based on pax in the zone?

Maybe because I haven't been there since Beta 1, I haven't been jaded to the current game. I'll have to admit here and now that I am one of the unwashed masses who got into beta with the express purpose of trying out the game to see if I would want to buy it. Well, guess what. Trion made me a believer. I have talked in the past about games that draw me in right away, versus games that are just meh, or even unplayable, from my perspective. I also know that other players are delighted with those very same games, while others can't stand playing the games I love.

We can only hope that the MMOs we fall in love with are popular enough to be sustained for a few years. Rift is this for me. I have been drawn in by the gameplay, and the lore. I have to figure out my characters' place in the world though. With my developed TOTG toons, I had been playing for a while before I developed their backstories. With STO I had enough lore knowledge that I could get the RP ball rolling right off the bat.

I like my Eth Rogue, and my High Elf Cleric. While I loved the spells of my Bahmi Stormcaller Mage, he died way too much for my taste. I may have to tweak the build, before he is viable. Because I still like the idea of the Big Giant Clothie.

I was the first on the scene when a rift opened up on Sunday evening, and was able to click on a gravestone to get NPC assistance until other players arrived. (I still died.) We managed to seal the rift and I went on my way, I thought it was fun. I am definitely a "stand back and use ranged abilities" kinda guy in large groups. Against individual mobs, I am much more melee oriented (this with an Assassin/Riftstalker/Bard). I find rifts and large public groups to be very chaotic, but then I find large raids in TOTG to be similarly chaotic, no matter how much "strategy" goes into them.

OK, so this has rambled on a bit. It could have been two posts, but it's what I am thinking about this evening when I intended to play my poor neglected STO. Anyway, I hope everyone finds what they are looking for.