Get the Expansion for free for next four days.

[Slipmat]

If you didn't buy the latest Rift Expansion yet, now is your chance to get it for free, yes free, absolutely for nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero, not a single brass penny.

we’re giving EVERYBODY who logs in from May 10 – May 14 a copy of Prophecy of Ahnket if they do not already own it.


TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS FREE EXPANSION WEEKEND!!!

You read that right: if you log in and haven’t obtained the expansion yet, you get a free copy to keep forever. EASY, right? Right!

In case you are wondering "wasn't this called Starfall Prophecy? yes, that was the name but it's now called Prophecy of Ahnket, seems it's got to do with some children's charity called Starfall Education Foundation.

RIFT 4.0 will be known as Prophecy of Ahnket. This name change will be reflected in game, on our website, in future emails, on ads, etc. And… that’s it, really. The only thing changing is the name. It is more evocative of the lore – we hope you like the new name as much as we do!

Why the change? We’ve recently become acquainted with a terrific children’s educational charity called the Starfall Education Foundation, and we want to make sure that the names are not confused

Now as well as getting the Expansion for free, if you log on for next 4 days you will also get a Prophecy of Ahnket cache box:

Everyone who logs in during the special promo weekend will receive a Prophecy of Ahnket Cache claimable on one of their characters! This incredible pack is stuffed full of awesome items.

Seriously, check it out:

2 Tenebrean Engines (this will help progress your Eternal Item quest)
100 Phenomenal Sparkles (Patron-only quest items that help you earn a piece of high level gear every month)
10 Individual Reward Charges (used to claim great gear drops in our raids)
1 White Deer Companion Pet (ok, so she doesn’t have any stats… we can all appreciate the beauty in life!)
1 Random Puzzle Box Dimension Item (for your Telaran home)

The Prophecy of Ahnket Cache is available on the RIFT Store ONLY during this promotion, May 10 – 14. Remember that it can be claimed by ONE character on your account, and is not transferable. Make sure you log in your preferred character before you claim it

Full details :

http://www.trionworlds.com/rift/en/2...end-may-10-14/

Producer's Letter at:

http://www.trionworlds.com/rift/en/2...ts-a-new-name/

[Edge-]

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally going to take advantage of this and check out the expansion...but this reeks of desperation. 6 months out and they're having a free expansion promo? This screams, "We did poorly initially and have not retained players, and are in need of a fresh crop of veterans that didn't buy the expansion to help populate level cap."

As for the name change...yeah, I'm calling bullshit. They're looking to get away from the SFP name because it's got such a terrible reputation given the expansions early struggles and repeat mistakes. Ain't nobody going to confuse "Starfall Prophecy" for that charity, and it's actually pretty fucking gross and disgusting to me that they'd use it as their excuse. I can't think of a single other expansion that's changed it's names midway through.

This is a selfishly good thing for me, since I get the expansion without shelling out the box price that was going to totally guarantee a higher quality expansion (fucking lol, it did nothing of the sort), but this does not look like a good sign for the health of the game in the slightest. Especially when put in context of the games other issues (PvP being completely abandoned, the first actual raid being released 6 months after launch, tons of unhappy players due to expansion quality/balance issues etc.)

[Deleted]

Fuck up the current playerbase who's the only ones stupid enough to be loyal to this game which provides no content, buys their expansion which they then give away for free. While trying to gather PR by spinning the name off a charity that i doubt anyone would even mix up with them.

Viewbotting trailers didn't work, maybe now they can get some free PR through gaming sites because of their generosity because they have no more marketing money to spend. This reeks of desperation and a giant middlefinger to anyone who bought the expansion.

[theWocky]

One of my buddies told me to check this out. I had a good laugh.

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally going to take advantage of this

Indeed - I'm going to download and upgrade my F2P accounts, download the free update and then uninstall just to f--k them out of a copy of their expansion - and then uninstall.

...but this reeks of desperation. 6 months out and they're having a free expansion promo? This screams, "We did poorly initially and have not retained players, and are in need of a fresh crop of veterans that didn't buy the expansion to help populate level cap."

Absolutely. Desperation. Like 400~500 people playing in peak hours. It's a boring, cash-grabby grindfest.
Paying for more loot-rolls - Pay 2 Win game.

As for the name change...yeah, I'm calling bullshit. They're looking to get away from the SFP name because it's got such a terrible reputation given the expansions early struggles and repeat mistakes. Ain't nobody going to confuse "Starfall Prophecy" for that charity, and it's actually pretty fucking gross and disgusting to me that they'd use it as their excuse. I can't think of a single other expansion that's changed it's names midway through.

Exactly - absolute bullshit. Name change is a feeble attempt to distance themselves from the StarFAIL Prophecy name.

Also, did anyone even notice one of their more liked Producers (aka Gingers) quit and went to another company?
http://forums.riftgame.com/general-d...ended-3-a.html

~ only like 25 replies on the forum on that thread - dead game is dead.


Also had a good chuckle at this - months after release, that sub-standard moron of a dev, Vladd is "thinking" of reworking the crappy, grindy Planar Fragment system. Too little, too f--king late, mate. Everyone told this arrogant prick his design was shit and NOW he decides to change it?

[Slipmat]

I seem to remember Blizzard throwing free copies of Warlords of Draenor at me to try and entice me back, but guess that gets a pass on this site.

People crying about getting stuff for free, you can't make this up.

[theWocky]

I seem to remember Blizzard throwing free copies of Warlords of Draenor at me to try and entice me back, but guess that gets a pass on this site.

Oh, they did, but you're being a bit naive comparing Warlords of Draenor to the steaming turd that RIFT is. Hell, WoD even had several times more content even compared to Nightmare Tide compared to the (less than 20% of the content?) joke that Starfall Prophecy / "Prophecy of Racket" this Bait-and-Switch expansion has.

That was also done AT THE END OF THE EXPANSION, not the first six months. I always wait till the end of each WoW expansion to re-sub and get free stuff. Blizzards marketing works for me as I'm a casual and like to keep up with the lore and just blow a few bucks.

besides, the only reason Trion are giving it away free now is to get players back to f--k them over by probably charging them for something else - like additional Planar Fragment slots - which will be probably be available on the cash store. Bait and Switch - aka - Trion.

Didn't you read that "Vladd" - the "dev" has Planar Fragments under a microscope? Anything that guy touches seems to turn to shit.

[Edge-]

I seem to remember Blizzard throwing free copies of Warlords of Draenor at me to try and entice me back, but guess that gets a pass on this site.

Yeah, at the end of the expansion before it gets folded into the sale of the base version of WoW/the new expansion is released. The whole point of that is to only require lapsed players to purchase the latest expansion (and not multiple) and to keep the barrier of entry for new players to be as low as possible. They're priming the pump for the next expansion.

Completely different context and situation. Blizzard does not do this shit 6 months into an expansion, with content patches for the same expansion still in the works.

Get that, "BUT BLIZZARD" shit outta here dude, it's not remotely relevant.

People crying about getting stuff for free, you can't make this up.

I see no tears. I see criticisms and opinions. Can you please point to where anyone in this thread, including myself, "cried"?

[Lathais]

I seem to remember Blizzard throwing free copies of Warlords of Draenor at me to try and entice me back, but guess that gets a pass on this site.

People crying about getting stuff for free, you can't make this up.

Totally different scenario there. I mean, if Rift 5.0 was right around the corner, sure, you could compare this to what Blizzard does. However, 4.0 has just barely begun and we are just now getting launch content. This is pure desperation to get people back to the game so that the loyal people that are still there for whatevr reason might have people to run the new raid with. When Blizz gives away an expansion at the same time the first progression raid comes out, let me know.

Also, no crying, just calling it out for what it is. A last ditch effort to get some players in to the game to milk them for whatever they can. That's not crying, that's simply stating a fact. If I said the sky is blue would you call that crying too?

[Slipmat]

As for the name change...yeah, I'm calling bullshit. They're looking to get away from the SFP name because it's got such a terrible reputation given the expansions early struggles and repeat mistakes

According to a poster on the Forum, it's a trademark infringement and Trion were going to get sued by Starfall Education Foundation, i don't have an account for that site, can't be arsed to make one so i can't confirm the story but doubt somebody would post a link if the story wasn't true:

They had no choice but to change the name of the expansion they were being sued by Starfall Education Foundation for trademark infringement.

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...on_Worlds,_Inc

Obviously they had a choice - they could have litigated the lawsuit. They quite likely would have won - a basic tenet of the applicable law is that a name that has some similarity to an existing name is permitted unless there is some likelihood of confusion. Given that this is the name of an expansion in a MMO the chances that it would be confusing to people dealing with a charity is ...not high.

Lawsuits are expensive and there is always the risk that some whacky judge or jury would have ruled the wrong way. Thus settling was a reasonable decision - changing the name isn't nearly as expensive as the cost of a trial.

((30 years as a lawyer I do have some expertise in this area though I know nothing about the charity's allegations in this case)).

Feel free to go make an account and check if this guy has it right

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...on_Worlds,_Inc

[Edge-]

See, info like that would make things look considerably less shady. Why Trion couldn't come out and say it was related to a trademark lawsuit, I don't know.

Don't have any accounts, but looking through a quick timeline here - https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...on_Worlds,_Inc

Trying to hunt down more details now, but it's difficult without accounts on most of these sites : /

[Jtbrig7390]

I seem to remember Blizzard throwing free copies of Warlords of Draenor at me to try and entice me back, but guess that gets a pass on this site.

People crying about getting stuff for free, you can't make this up.

Ok so in order...

1) Blizzard didn't give out WOD for free until well over a year it was out. It was added to accounts to auto upgrade them to WOD content that didn't already have it. They also did the same thing with MOP and will likely do it with Legion as well.

2)The only one crying here is you. SF has only been out about 6 months and Trion is giving it away for free. That 100% proves it was nothing more then a cash grab and now they are trying to get back players. Hate to bust there bubble but the ship has sailed, SF has less content then Patch 6.1 in WOD.

3) Also I love how you keep deflecting to WoW/Blizzard every time someone has something negative to say about Trion/Rift. So here is the skinny in case you didn't notice. Trion/Rift is dying and Rift itself is on Deaths doorstep, Blizzard/WoW is swimming in money, Even with all the stupid choices blizzard made with Legion.

Trion/Rift at one point had a decent size playerbase and was the 2nd biggest sub MMO. Now its lucky to beat Runescape numbers.

So clearly one of these company's is doing something correct and the other isn't.

[Deleted]

Practical question: is there any way to qualify for this without downloading the client? I assume not, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks in advance.

[Edge-]

Practical question: is there any way to qualify for this without downloading the client? I assume not, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks in advance.

Doesn't look like it. You need to actually log into the game to get it, so you'd at least need the minimum install.

[Deleted]

See, info like that would make things look considerably less shady. Why Trion couldn't come out and say it was related to a trademark lawsuit, I don't know.

Don't have any accounts, but looking through a quick timeline here - https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...on_Worlds,_Inc

Trying to hunt down more details now, but it's difficult without accounts on most of these sites : /

That would imply that Trion would use their brains for once and researched their branding, something we know they're not that keen on.

[Lathais]

According to a poster on the Forum, it's a trademark infringement and Trion were going to get sued by Starfall Education Foundation, i don't have an account for that site, can't be arsed to make one so i can't confirm the story but doubt somebody would post a link if the story wasn't true:



Feel free to go make an account and check if this guy has it right

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...on_Worlds,_Inc

Believable enough. Just kinda stupid because there is no way the two could be considered confusingly similar. If I say I hit max level in Starfall, no one is going to think I am talking about the Starfall Education Foundation. They really did not have the grounds to sue. They did though, or at least sent a cease and desist letter, and Trion made the right decision. Much more expensive to take this to court and they are already apparently hurting for money if they are giving the expansion away after making such a big deal about switching to a B2P model. Really makes me want to never ever donate to that charity though and spread word that they are sue happy idiots.

- - - Updated - - -

Doesn't look like it. You need to actually log into the game to get it, so you'd at least need the minimum install.

Yeah, that way they can say their numbers are up.

[Edge-]

Yeah, that way they can say their numbers are up.

Sure, but I'm doubtful that that's a significant reason why. If anything, that would potentially be a fringe benefit that they can use to blast out momentum announcements (doubtful), but the primary goal definitely appears to be to get more folks playing SFP due to a lack of active players who purchased the expansion and are still playing. They need more bodies, and are hoping that they can turn those of us taking advantage of the free expansion into paying players in the shop.

[Arbs]

The reek of desperation from this is very high.

- - - Updated - - -

See, info like that would make things look considerably less shady. Why Trion couldn't come out and say it was related to a trademark lawsuit, I don't know.

Don't have any accounts, but looking through a quick timeline here - https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...on_Worlds,_Inc

Trying to hunt down more details now, but it's difficult without accounts on most of these sites : /

https://dockets.justia.com/docket/co...cv00650/169593, It's not the same site, but it is something. Someone posted it in the comments on MassivleyOP.

[Kelimbror]

It's obviously a very aggressive strategy to try and get new players, but it's going to work for anyone who hears about it. I'm installing the game now just to log on and play, even though I never made it through the last expansion. It certainly won't hurt me to run the steam downloader for 30 minutes. I miss the game this used to be, but it is what it is.

I don't have any intentions of spending money or a great deal of time on this, but hey it will be fun for a little bit.

[lokoma]

seems like this is just to sweep their horrible reputation under the carpet with the new name and all. just wish they would do something for the players who bought in to sfp and felt cheated...

[StrawberryZebra]

I seem to remember Blizzard throwing free copies of Warlords of Draenor at me to try and entice me back, but guess that gets a pass on this site.

EA, of all companies, were giving out free copies of Dragon Age: Origins to promote then up-coming Dragon Age Inquisition. They were also handing out free copies of Mass Effect 2 to entice people to buy Mass Effect Andromeda too. They weren't even shy about it either, it was a straight up "Have this on us. Then spend £120 on the NEW greatest ever Mass Effect Super Mega Deluxe Awesome Hyper Alpha Edition!" It's not as if this kind of marketing is new and unheard of. Hell, EA hands out a completely 100% free no strings attached game out on Origin roughly every month. Just for using the service.

Giving away a game that's barely 6 months old that cost as much as a new EA title is really telling. At this point, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Rift is completely free to play again by the end of the year. They dropped the ball with SFP and they know it, now they're desperately trying to get some former players back who their sudden change in business model pushed away.

Really brings their decision to go back to a B2P model into focus. They wanted a quick influx of cash short term, but never considered how it would cripple them longer term. The number I saw paraded about the Rift forums was a 15% conversion rate from free to play player to a paying customer. Turns out that 15% of 0 players is far less money than 15% of what was probably player numbers in the tens of thousands. Who'd-a-thunk it?