Farewell from Amary

[Myray]

As for Rift, 2.3 is shaping up to be the single largest patch ever delivered in Rift's history. It contains, at a minimum:

1) A new end-game zone: Dendrome
2) A new type of dynamic content introduced to the game: Strongholds
3) A new Chronicle
4) A new expert dungeon
5) More role slots
6) A solution for weapon wardrobe

you forgot the new 10er t2 raid

ok i would like to see more news from the ptr but i still have faith in trion

[Kelimbror]

Lastly, as to your comment of "loyal people leaving Rift", I have not had that experience. The population has been steady for quite some time now and I have not noticed any exodus of players.

I was referring to the very people who frequently post here, which I'm guessing you wouldn't have knowledge of...not some mass exodus saying the end is nigh. I'm not even dooming the game to oblivion, only stating the obvious that can't be defended. The game's quality has suffered since Storm Legion, especially since they had to focus on launching Defiance, and whether they are directly connected there is a concurrent effect between the games.

None of this is a positive for Rift. Everyone knows that the Dendrome patch is likely to be amazing. The problem is that it is months too late and coincides with a potentially unrelated exodus of employees. I'm not screaming chicken little, or saying they are connected, but once again...none of this is positive.

[Lathais]

Lastly, as to your comment of "loyal people leaving Rift", I have not had that experience. The population has been steady for quite some time now and I have not noticed any exodus of players.

Funny that I was in 2 guilds that were full of loyal players that both experienced large fallout during progression. I've seen people on my friends list that were on all the time, not be on anymore, that are progression raiders, leaving and no longer playing, even to raid, mid-progression. I myself have cancelled my sub and am finding it hard to find reasons to want to play, even though I do kinda want to, there is no good reason too.

[Synoviarift]

Funny that I was in 2 guilds that were full of loyal players that both experienced large fallout during progression. I've seen people on my friends list that were on all the time, not be on anymore, that are progression raiders, leaving and no longer playing, even to raid, mid-progression. I myself have cancelled my sub and am finding it hard to find reasons to want to play, even though I do kinda want to, there is no good reason too.

Different perspectives, then. I'm seeing much the opposite. The last few times I've done Instant Adventures, I've actually had a nice group in there. Our raids are always on time and always full. Our recruitment forum is still bustling with applications. GHR multi-raids are going 24/7 and, at any point in time, you can hop right into a GHR group of several raids and have some fun. Recent changes to the Rogue class have brought me back to playing Bladedancer and Ranger which are now our premier melee and ranged specs for Rogue respectively. I had Bladedancer's rotation down fairly well but had to research and practice Ranger's a bit before I was comfortable with it.

[Lathais]

Different perspectives, then. I'm seeing much the opposite. The last few times I've done Instant Adventures, I've actually had a nice group in there. Our raids are always on time and always full. Our recruitment forum is still bustling with applications. GHR multi-raids are going 24/7 and, at any point in time, you can hop right into a GHR group of several raids and have some fun. Recent changes to the Rogue class have brought me back to playing Bladedancer and Ranger which are now our premier melee and ranged specs for Rogue respectively. I had Bladedancer's rotation down fairly well but had to research and practice Ranger's a bit before I was comfortable with it.

Different perspectives for sure. What you are describing though sounds more like casuals that are just now getting getting to 60 and working on stuff or newer players that are just getting to 60. The long time players, that have been playing from SL release up until now are a different story. The two probably balance each other out fairly well though. The problem is, those newer players and casuals will eventually catch up to where the players like myself are and run out of things to do as well if content delivery pace does not pick up again. But really, you can't tell me that GHRs are still fun after 40+ hours of doing them. Not in a row of course, but even spread across like 3 weeks, it gets old....fast. Same thing with IAs. Those are not the same people that were doing them just a couple months ago. It's a whole new set of players who will likely find themselves hitting a wall as well.

[RoninaThorstone]

What you are describing though sounds more like casuals that are just now getting getting to 60 and working on stuff or newer players that are just getting to 60.

Heck, I am hella casual and I am in like full epics and not down with daily grinding to exalted (or w/e it's called).

[DeltrusDisc]

I used to not care about this stuff and show how it doesn't mean anything, which it normally doesn't, but we all know that the content has suffered lately. And on a serious note, I think Defiance is what is going to kill Rift and not Storm Legion. I think we can possibly 100% blame Defiance for what we've experienced.

The game is a disaster in my eyes. More resources than we know were probably used to develop it and the game is more than sub par. I expect it to go down as a pretty large failure and it's going to take Rift with it. I only say this because the loyal people who have supported Rift since launch are starting to go their own way after the initial period of SL is long gone. I don't expect any of those people to trust Trion to return to their former glory.

It doesn't help that there are several very anticipated MMOs launching this year and subscriptions are growing less attractive each day. Blah...this isn't a bash post, just a frustrated post. Seems like every MMO I invest heavily in time and money are the ones that end up completely folding rather quickly. Meanwhile all the F2P and B2P MMOs carry on and I can still play them. I guess it's not a bad thing, but it doesn't 'feel' right.

I know I bought the year thing for SL, played to 60, then barely played at all. Idk if I regret the purchase or not though, but when I get my motherboard back from Asus I'll be logging back into Rift to see what's going on.

It does look like all they care about now is dimensions, I follow via subscriptions updates their Facebook and it's "omg Moonshade Highlands dimension FINALLY coming next week!"

"Moonshade Highlands dimension is FINALLY HERE!" a week later...

Like, come on guys, what the hell is going on?

[Lathais]

Heck, I am hella casual and I am in like full epics and not down with daily grinding to exalted (or w/e it's called).

Yeah, my GF is pretty casual as well, the only reason she is in mostly epics now is I got lucky one night when my guild was PuGing for FT due to attendance and I won the roll on the crafting item from Crucia. Made 8k Plat off it and bought her a bunch of crafted stuff. She hardly plays though. Mostly just messes around in her dimension for a little bit every couple of days. She cannot stand Hunt Rifts for more than 20-30 minutes. Dungeon groups she's tried all end up failing, and it's not her cause she's just a DPS and I've watched her, she isn't over aggroing or pulling on accident or anything. She's an experienced raider as we raided in WoW and Chocolate Rift together. She finds IA insanely boring as well and is sick of dailies. She doesn't even play half as much as I do/did though, and is already as bored with the game as me, if not more so. The only reason she still plays is to mess with her dimension from time to time.

[RoninaThorstone]

The only reason she still plays is to mess with her dimension from time to time.

Yeah... And that is NOT worth 15 dollars a month.

[Lathais]

Yeah... And that is NOT worth 15 dollars a month.

Well, to her it is, but I am thinking about picking her up a copy of Minecraft, should alleviate the need for Dimensions.

[DeltrusDisc]

Well, to her it is, but I am thinking about picking her up a copy of Minecraft, should alleviate the need for Dimensions.

To be fair, Minecraft's look and style isn't for everyone, especially a typical Rift player, I daresay. If she likes Rift dimensions she'll either love or hate Minecraft, granted I don't know her, but I know some people love the look and feel of Rift while others don't mind the boxy stuff in MC.

[Jaronicity]

Different perspectives for sure. What you are describing though sounds more like casuals that are just now getting getting to 60 and working on stuff or newer players that are just getting to 60. The long time players, that have been playing from SL release up until now are a different story. The two probably balance each other out fairly well though. The problem is, those newer players and casuals will eventually catch up to where the players like myself are and run out of things to do as well if content delivery pace does not pick up again. But really, you can't tell me that GHRs are still fun after 40+ hours of doing them. Not in a row of course, but even spread across like 3 weeks, it gets old....fast. Same thing with IAs. Those are not the same people that were doing them just a couple months ago. It's a whole new set of players who will likely find themselves hitting a wall as well.

My guild's actually had two or three people return after a break from SL. Haven't seen anyone leave yet, either. Though I have noticed a larger influx of newer players based on the latest random experts with people having not done them.