1. #1
    The Lightbringer Toxigen's Avatar
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    Debating on Trying Rift - Advice?

    Hi all,

    Let me give just a brief background:

    Played Asheron's Call from January 2000 until a week prior to WoW's release. I raided hardcore throughout Vanilla/TBC, included server 1st kills throughout all of BT/Hyjal and Sunwell. Since the end of TBC, I have been without an MMO - I play a little bit of League of Legends here and there to keep myself occupied.

    I am looking to try Rift simply because I heard the end game raiding scene is quite good. In addition, I am nowhere near as dedicated as I used to be. I have perhaps 4 hours a day to play at most.

    Is Rift the game for me? Will I be able to find enjoyable raid content on a (somewhat) limited schedule? I really only enjoy an MMO when I'm able to do the highest end content. I'm not looking to do this right out of the gate, just eventually after working my way up (slowly).

    Lastly, is there a good source on "soul" / talent builds? I have been playing with the calculators, but without any true game knowledge I am a little lost. Are you allowed to re-spec, or can I gimp myself by making poor talent decisions? I'm leaning towards playing a heavy, heavy healing-type Cleric.

    Thanks in advance!
    "There are two types of guys in this world. Guys who sniff their fingers after scratching their balls, and dirty fucking liars." -StylesClashv3
    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    Not finding-a-cock-on-your-girlfriend-is-normal level of odd, but nevertheless, still odd.

  2. #2
    Well, Rift has many, many options for progression. 10 man and 20 man raiding are their own zones. That is to say a 10 man for tier is a totally different instance from a tier 2 20 man raid. They are even in different areas of the world. The other thing Rift does is award the gear badges [called marks of blank] for virtually any group activity.

    So one can choose to do lots of quick 5 man dungeons, weekly 10 man raids or fewer weekly 20 man raids to progress. In addition there is an open world currency that is a reward for participating in the open world actives known as Inscribed Source Stone or ISS for short. ISS is easy to come by and allows for players to buy raid equivalent gear by simply being out in the world doing stuff.

    I mention all of the above because if time is a issue, know that one can progress to the highest tier of content at their own pace. By the means they find most enjoyable as well.

    As intermediary steps; Rift offers Master Mode dungeons [think mini raids], crafting based epics, solo dungeons, small group open world raids, mid sized group open world raids and of course PVP. PVP as in battlegrounds, 3 faction world PVP and PVP specific rifts.

    If World of Warcraft offer players 2 potential specs, Rift offers six total specs you can save/reload any time out of combat. The cost of a full repec for any one spec is very low [flat fee trivial at level 50] and can be done at any class trainer. A fair amount of experimentation and role diversity is intended and expected within Rift.

    The official Rift forums are the best source of current progression based builds. However, PVE class balance in Rift is to be blunt, superb. Just about any reasonable combination is workable for non-progression content. There are some other sites like Bluedots, Rift Junkies or Dulfy Cleric for builds and such. Official Forums have dedicated guide section per major revision of the game and are a safe, collected resource.

    Depending on POV, Rift can also be somewhat grindy at max level. This is due to the sheer amount of things in the game to do; zone events, normal rifts, raiding rifts, dungeons, master dungeons, 10 mans, 20 mans, chronicles, instant adventures, pve dailies, pvp dailies, world events, planar attunement, conquest and so on.

    Its not uncommon for new players to be overwhelmed by the volume of things at the end of game. YMMV.

    I strongly advise you read up on Rift's patch history...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_%2...ontent_updates
    https://eu.riftgame.com/en/game/upda...ernal-dawn.php

    As a judge of the support the game enjoys and the type of content to expect.

    Lastly, Rift's content is modeled very closely after TBC WOW or latter day EQ2. So if that style of MMO appeals to you, I think you will find all the modern convenience of WOW/TOR in Rift with the added bonus of major monthly updates.

    Without question in my mind, Rift is the best made MMO on the market currently. Objectively speaking, by far the highest value for $15/mo of any MMO past or present.

  3. #3
    The Lightbringer Toxigen's Avatar
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    That was a very well-written summary. I really appreciate your time.

    Yep, I still claim TBC was the best period of WoW...partly biased due to my run as server's best / U.S. top 10 shadow priest. I'm nowhere near as willing to dedicate my life to an MMO like I was before, but I'm still going to aim to experience some high end 20-man raid content.

    So, in essense...I need to get my arse started, hit cap, and just start doing everything.

    Sounds good to me, thank you!
    "There are two types of guys in this world. Guys who sniff their fingers after scratching their balls, and dirty fucking liars." -StylesClashv3
    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    Not finding-a-cock-on-your-girlfriend-is-normal level of odd, but nevertheless, still odd.

  4. #4
    That's about the gist of it. Trion made the leveling very rapid in Rift. Even more so now with Instant Adventures-- takes maybe /played 20 hours. Maybe quicker. Bulk of the game is based on max level content.

    Although. I should also say that while the game is max level orientated- Rift offers elective down leveling. So you can go back to any content in the game and play it at the appropriate level if you choose. Yet still get max level equivalent reward. This goes from open world content to actual older dungeons.

    No content in Rift is a "waste of time". Its all viable, it all rewards appropriately.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Toxigen View Post
    That was a very well-written summary. I really appreciate your time.

    Yep, I still claim TBC was the best period of WoW...
    It was! I am actually planning on trying this for PVE and GW2 for PVP.

  6. #6
    The Lightbringer Toxigen's Avatar
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    Wow, after looking into the classes/souls a bit more...Bard is really starting to appeal.

    How difficult is it to level as a Bard? Are they a high-demand class/soul?
    "There are two types of guys in this world. Guys who sniff their fingers after scratching their balls, and dirty fucking liars." -StylesClashv3
    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    Not finding-a-cock-on-your-girlfriend-is-normal level of odd, but nevertheless, still odd.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Toxigen View Post
    Wow, after looking into the classes/souls a bit more...Bard is really starting to appeal.

    How difficult is it to level as a Bard? Are they a high-demand class/soul?
    They are a support soul and as such leveling as one is not really going to work, or at least it will be challenging. I would level as bard or marksman, both are endgame souls and so you'll be familiar with them once you get to 50. Bards are useful for sure, but you generally only use them in Raids, and there only needs to be one per raid. In pugs the weakest player usually bards, but in guild groups the bard is often someone really experienced with it who can squeeze a lot of performance from the role. I've seen bards to as much healing as the healers.

  8. #8
    The Lightbringer Toxigen's Avatar
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    I was reading a generic "how to bard" guide on the forums...and yes, it does seem like it can be a relatively high skill cap role in a raid environment...something I'm very interested in.

    That being said, it sounds difficult to get that spot in the first place with only one per raid. I guess I need to get my foot in the door as another spec and offer to go Bard when necessary to earn a spot.
    "There are two types of guys in this world. Guys who sniff their fingers after scratching their balls, and dirty fucking liars." -StylesClashv3
    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    Not finding-a-cock-on-your-girlfriend-is-normal level of odd, but nevertheless, still odd.

  9. #9
    Toxigen,

    Though each additional spec costs more money, it's well worth purchasing, say, 4 alt-spec slots as soon as possible. Depending on how you level up (dungeons, questing, instant adventures, pvp, etc) there'll be times you might find it advantageous to switch specs. One spec might dominate at AoE grinding/killing. Othertimes, you just gotta grab something and it'd be easier to sap/snatch an item and avoid combat. Sometimes you'll join a group for a zone rift event and they could really use some heals, in which case a bard would be handy.

    By level 50 you're going to need to know the ins-and-outs of your class and its various souls. Take your time hitting 50 and mess around with as many specs and alternate builds as possible. It'll make you appreciate the sheer variety and viability of your options, and will help prevent boredom during the leveling process.

  10. #10
    I've just started tanking, and dropped 500p on my rogues crafted tanking gear, but it was worth it, I love rogue tanking

  11. #11
    Yea, Bards are interesting. They are not like true Bards [EQ]. They occupy this weird space where alternatively you stick a "bad" player [often under geared] in the role if in a pinch. Or recruit a particularly well known/effective Bard player as they can turn things in the raid's favor very strongly. So usually have "that guy" in your guild who can play a Bard with excellence. Esp. in progression raiding.

    Do remember Rift lets you have up to 6 specs. Playing a Bard doesn't mean you won't be tanking the next fight, melee DPS afterward, ranged DPSing the one after that or sneaking around a corner after that even.

    Your class is Rogue. You are not just one thing because of it.

  12. #12
    I am a rogue, and I too was very interested with Bard when I first started playing. I gotta say though, outside of a few specific fights in Master Modes where the Cleric is busy cleansing, I rarely use my Bard spec. I also am not really raiding yet, though I know I will be using it there. What I use most often is my Ranger spec, for high DPS, followed by Marksman for PvP or good AoE DPS. I also have my Rifstalker set up and started tanking Expert last night. I then have a NB build I use for certain PvP situations as well. So yeah, I have 5 specs, and I use them all, sometimes all 5 in one day, quite often really. Different situations and different activities require different specs, you have up to 6, use them and know them. Know your entire calling, not just your role.

  13. #13
    Titan Frozenbeef's Avatar
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    Just tried bard earlier today :S imagine in wow being a shaman that can only cast totems while also being a rogue that can spend combo points to either heal dps or debuff :S

  14. #14
    The Lightbringer Toxigen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frozenbeef View Post
    Just tried bard earlier today :S imagine in wow being a shaman that can only cast totems while also being a rogue that can spend combo points to either heal dps or debuff :S
    Right, that sounds fun as hell. Unfortunately, from what I've read, they're really only desired in 20 man content.

    I just don't know if I want DPS only, minus 20 man raids. I may end up going with Cleric....51 Purifier 4tw.
    "There are two types of guys in this world. Guys who sniff their fingers after scratching their balls, and dirty fucking liars." -StylesClashv3
    Quote Originally Posted by Kalis View Post
    Not finding-a-cock-on-your-girlfriend-is-normal level of odd, but nevertheless, still odd.

  15. #15
    51 Purifier is just as rare for raids, tbh. Rift raid healing doesn't work like in WoW. You only bring one, maybe 2 single target healers to a raid, the rest are all dps/healer hybrids who aoe heal the raid. The majority of Cleric healers are hybrid "-icar" spec healers.

    Depending on the guild, the MT healer may be the best geared Cleric, or conversely, the least geared. It all depends on who you're running with.

  16. #16
    To be honest I tried Rift, but I was terribly terribly disappointed... by both the community, the level system and the flow of the game.

    In general the Cleric is still my favourite class and it will always be, but the game itself to me, it felt sturdy and boring.

    But within that time schedule, yes I think you will be able to enjoy the content.
    Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.
    Stranger: Indeed?
    Cassilda: Indeed, it's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.
    Stranger: I wear no mask.
    Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Toxigen View Post
    Right, that sounds fun as hell. Unfortunately, from what I've read, they're really only desired in 20 man content.

    I just don't know if I want DPS only, minus 20 man raids. I may end up going with Cleric....51 Purifier 4tw.
    They can be useful in 10-man if your group is not overgeared as well from what I understand. I also use mine in Master Modes on some fights where healer cannot keep up or has a high chance to be stunned or is busy with removing curses and there is noone else to remove them. In 20 man though, I think you will always have one. Basically though, don't plan to always be a bard, have a DPS spec that you will use most of the time. All Rogues that raid should have a Bard spec just in case though. It's nice to have in case of a wipe too, even if you are not barding, you can soul walk and rez.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Frozenbeef View Post
    Just tried bard earlier today :S imagine in wow being a shaman that can only cast totems while also being a rogue that can spend combo points to either heal dps or debuff :S
    I tried out the bard when Rift first came out and it drove me nuts. Did remind me a lot of a shaman ... but imagine being a shaman with 5 totems that only last 30 seconds each, so you are spending a LOT of time dropping totems instead of other, fun stuff. Did they ever increase the length of those buffs?

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by solinari6 View Post
    I tried out the bard when Rift first came out and it drove me nuts. Did remind me a lot of a shaman ... but imagine being a shaman with 5 totems that only last 30 seconds each, so you are spending a LOT of time dropping totems instead of other, fun stuff. Did they ever increase the length of those buffs?
    Motifs only last 30 seconds, you have 5 of them, and your number one priority is still to keep them up. We also have Fanfares, there are 3 and they last an hour or until death and Anthem, which are like Pally auras. You have 4 and pick one based on the situation. Normally the one that reduces ability cost for PvE.

    In short, barding comes down to, put up motifs, cadence, cadence, debuff, cadence, cadence, debuff, cadence cadence, heal, cadence cadence heal, refresh motifs, cadence, cadence, heal. If extra healing is needed you can hit your instant cast heal and your instant 5 combo points then heal, or pop virtuoso(abilities do not consume combo points) and spam your heal. If healers are low on mana, verse of joy for mana regen(like Mana totem). There's nothing really hard about it and it does get boring, though same could be said of Rogue DPS. There is a bard spec that gives you a ranged interrupt, so you can be on interrupt duty as well.

  20. #20
    I've played Rift since launch; but have recently taken a little break to get my WoW toons in line before MoP is released. I will say that Rift is a fantastic game. However - once you hit level 50 it can become very overwhelming. There is literally an endless amount of things to do. But it's not a bad overwhelming amount of things. Game is fantastic and once Storm Legion is released later this year I'll probably get back into it again.

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