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  1. #1
    The Lightbringer WarpedAcorn's Avatar
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    Is Rift SRS BSNS or Noober Friendly?

    I've never subbed to Rift before, but I did use the Rift Lite to get a feel for the game. Honestly, I really liked the playstyle and class creation, but obviously I didn't get a chance to really go deep in it. When I played, SWTOR was about to come out so I wasn't planning on subbing anyways. Since then I've kept my eye on Rift news and whatnot, and now with the Dimensions trailer the pendulum has swung dangerously close to that line where I want to play it.

    My question is whether this game can be recommended to someone who does not want to become a hardcore raider? I was in top progression guilds in WoW in Vanilla, TBC, and WotLC, and I want to avoid falling into that dedicated time sink.

  2. #2
    There are some casual time sinks, PvP, dailies/rep, epic quests, invasions, chronicles/master modes and soon hunt rifts and dimensions. Also later in the expansion earlier tiers become puggable and are what I would consider casual content.

    However the game is vast, complex, and there is definitely a very hardcore raid element, should you choose to embrace that path.

  3. #3
    It's pretty noob friendly. About as much as a theme park MMO can be... maybe a little more to be honest.

  4. #4
    Warped,

    There's more than enough to do in Rift without ever setting foot in a raid. Even better, there are enough alternative or light forms of raiding (dungeons, chronicles (one/two man dungeons), 10 man raids, raid rifts, etc. that you can LFG your way to most of the content not too long after it's been out. Mind you, I don't mean a stupid-easy LFR type of raid, I mean content-that-is-easily-puggable-after-awhile. So, if you wanted to see the content, you could do so without investing 9-20 hours a week to be on the bleeding edge.

    If you're not interested in raiding EVER, again, there's just so much to do. There's the faction grinding, achievements-a-plenty, collecting artifacts, multiple professions, dungeons with 2 or 3 different levels of difficulty, opening and closing rifts, 3 faction PvP, Instant Adventures, Alternative Advancement after max level, mentoring down to a lower level for various reasons, etc. I haven't touched on the new and evolved elements of Storm Legion (the upcoming expansion) but suffice to say, the world, the content, and the opportunities all get bigger. A pretty common anecdote on these forums involves logging in for 45 minutes to do something, then getting caught up in a chain of 10 other events. 2 hours later they can't remember what they'd intended to do when first logging on.

    I like to think of Rift as MMO University. It's where players go after they graduate from (insert MMO here)

  5. #5
    I've played it for a year and found it to be very engaging even without the raiding path. the game definitely rewards time investment and there are many days where I find myself planning to do a certain activity and find myself having spent an hour and a half chasing after a dragon on ember Isle as part of a zone invasion. (I also have a background like yours)

    every new feature of storm legion aims to introduce a new facet for the game, more options to do what you want at your own pace.

    I will concede that some of the things you can obtain in the game (epic PvE planar gear for example) can be a grind and a half, Rift just isn't one of those MMO's that hands you stuff for free.

    The community is the very best in any MMO I've tried as well. The talent/spec options also provide for meaningful gameplay on a single toon (cleric can be range dps,melee dps, healer, and tank for example) and there is a dedicated support calling which is fun to play and needed in PvE / PvP environments.
    {I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. }

  6. #6
    To add onto what Acquiesce said, I'm a stay-at-home dad with a couple infants. So I have a decent amount of time to kill. I can log in for 3 hours, not get everything I wanted to do done, and I have yet to set foot into a raid. There is plenty of shit to do besides raiding. Dimensions just adds another element.

  7. #7
    Wait, did anyone mention that it is possible to gear yourself in raid gear without expressly doing the raids? The dungeons give out daily reward tokens for raid gear of your choice.

    To wit~




    Each of of those badges represents a gear tier of your choosing.

    Also there is planar gear roughly equal to the equivalent raid tier gear. Planar gear is bought with open world currency from just milling about the world doing events & stuff.

    So yea, it's pretty accessible to casual players. It just takes longer if you don't raid is all.


    Oh! And there are Instant Adventures [hotjoin, open world questing from anywhere in the world] and solo/duo man instances called Chronicles. Which take like 15-20 mins for a lite play session.

    Natch you still have dungeons, 10 man raid, 20 man raid, open world events, dailies, quests. 3 faction PVP, 2 faction battlegrounds, open world pvp rifts, crafting rifts, open world PUG raids and epic quests too.
    Last edited by Fencers; 2012-10-12 at 03:50 PM.

  8. #8
    Scarab Lord Azuri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fencers View Post
    It's pretty noob friendly. About as much as a theme park MMO can be... maybe a little more to be honest.


    I completely disagree with the above opinion Fencers is a well seasoned gamer that has very small/short learning curve in games. With that being said many a "noob" player has been put off by Rift's soul talent system, currencies, reputations, planner attunement system and multiple content path choices. As another poster said Rift is where you graduate to the next level of MMOs. I've got personal experience with noob players who were just too intimidated with the complexity of the game and went back to wow. If you need some evidence just search "wow talent calculator" then search "Rift talent calculator"

    There are only 4 souls (classes) in Rift for a reason. Some classes can actually tank, heal, support and DPS all in one character. The hybrid spec is alive in Rift and is part of the fun and complexity of the game. You actually have 6 different specs to build choose from where wow has 2? I'm using wow terminology a lot so people can relate.

    At the end of the day they are apple to oranges in complexity and can't be answered in an easy blanket statement like Yes or No. If you are looking for simplicity Rift is not the game, that doesn't mean it lacks quality of life features it's actually very featured pack.

    I do find the various opinions from players playing this game interesting. Such a varied group of players playing and all for the most part (except PVPers) are fairly happy.
    Last edited by Azuri; 2012-10-12 at 04:12 PM.

  9. #9
    Well, okay. Guess I do assume most players have at least touched a video game in the last 12 years. >.>

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Fencers View Post
    Well, okay. Guess I do assume most players have at least touched a video game in the last 12 years. >.>
    It is a fair point, the good news is that the PTS notes show that 1.11 will introduce even more purposes from the character creation process (with more being added as one levels)

    But yes, the complexity in the beginning can be quite daunting, but it is nothing that 10 minutes of reading wouldn't solve.
    {I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. }

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Acquiesce of Telara View Post
    I like to think of Rift as MMO University. It's where players go after they graduate from (insert MMO here)
    So how does it fit into your little plan when someone tries Rift, thinks its terrible, and goes back to playing other games?

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by iceberg265 View Post
    So how does it fit into your little plan when someone tries Rift, thinks its terrible, and goes back to playing other games?
    Fair point, but to each his own. most people who found rift terrible only played at launched, and most don't understand that 10 (soon to be 11) patches of content mean significant changes to the game.

    from an objective point of view however, Rift does have more features than most other MMO's despite its age, many of which have been copied extensively (and poorly), and its difficult to argue that they are terrible if the industrial behemoth itself is copy pasting ideas from the game.

    in addition, some of the quicker patch cycles we now see for other games are, in all honesty, a direct result of the standard Trion has set.
    {I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. }

  13. #13
    Scarab Lord Azuri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fencers View Post
    Well, okay. Guess I do assume most players have at least touched a video game in the last 12 years. >.>
    Haha yeah, remember one thing though, the king of MMO'S with the biggest sub base, many of those players have never ever ventured into another MMO or run back shorrly after for whatever reason and by no means is this a wow bash but coming from current wow to rift can be shocking for some.

    I like to call it choices, they are 1000 to 1 in the overall scheme of things. (I made that number up) I had some friends return to rift about 3 months ago who played at launched and were very over whelmed but are pretty pro now.

    You should take advantage of a wow come back for a week deal and see for youself or try their trial again. If you've not played for years you'll be surprised. (good or bad your choice)

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by iceberg265 View Post
    So how does it fit into your little plan when someone tries Rift, thinks its terrible, and goes back to playing other games?
    Hey, Rift simply won't appeal to some people, in much the same way WoW, SWTOR, Aion, TSW, GW2 or Tera won't appeal to individuals. There's no accounting for taste, one way or another. Doesn't change my opinion that Rift is a step up from the old guard. I wouldn't have found Rift half as engaging or diverse if I hadn't had 6 years of WoW, WAR, and other games to prepare me.

    And come on, there's no need to call my opinion "your little plan". This isn't MMO-bashing and no one's trying to insult anyone else here.

  15. #15
    The Lightbringer WarpedAcorn's Avatar
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    Damn...I was kinda hoping to be talked out of subbing by starting this thread. Now Rift just sounds too good to be true. What's the catch? If difficulty in gameplay and/or deep meaningful character creation/upgrade paths is supposed to be a turn off, its not. =)

  16. #16
    rift is too hard for the average bad gamer. wow is for people who want to get into MMORPGs, and they always have trouble even with wow. rift is more for the type who are at least raiding/doing organized pvp.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by WarpedAcorn View Post
    Damn...I was kinda hoping to be talked out of subbing by starting this thread. Now Rift just sounds too good to be true. What's the catch? If difficulty in gameplay and/or deep meaningful character creation/upgrade paths is supposed to be a turn off, its not. =)
    The catch is that its too awesome.



    <Snip, sorry no RAF links outside of the RAF thread>

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    I'm on deepwood.
    Last edited by Azuri; 2012-10-12 at 05:32 PM.
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  18. #18
    Warped:

    Satisfied & Mature Community? check the forums here and the newcomers forum on Trion's official forums
    Timely and quality content delivery? absolutely just check the official website for patch/hotfix content and dates of delivery
    Developer Interaction? RIft Community Manager Elrar and even lead developer hartsman even post here on MMO-C sub forums for rift on occasion.
    engaging an in depth character customization? you have 6 role slots and 8 dedicated souls, which can be combined at your leisure, for each of the four classes.
    Fluid & Diverse world? yes, one with desert landscapes and icy mountains. soon about to triple in size


    Hard to talk people outta something like that
    {I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. }

  19. #19
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Azuri View Post
    "wow talent calculator" then search "Rift talent calculator"
    This part is a low blow, these are different design decisions, just going to call it at that and not going into the less/more is better debate.

    [\

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by WarpedAcorn View Post
    Damn...I was kinda hoping to be talked out of subbing by starting this thread. Now Rift just sounds too good to be true. What's the catch? If difficulty in gameplay and/or deep meaningful character creation/upgrade paths is supposed to be a turn off, its not. =)
    The gameplay isn't all that difficult. I suppose Azuri is correct in that Rift's class system offers a lot choice compared to WoW or other MMOs with singular class design; Guild Wars 2 or TOR, for example.

    However, Rift offers pre-set souls that revolve around easy to grasp themes & they even tell you how to play it very basically. You can always create your own class combination, of course. Respc in Rift unlike other games is a trivial flat fee in any case.

    It's honestly not a very overwhelming game. Just have a lot more initial choices open to players- which can give the impression you can make bad choices. Really you can't though.

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