Up and coming MMO developer Trion Worlds announced their epic fantasy adventure RIFT in 2006, with the first trailer being shown three years later. When the game released last year, the gaming press buzzed about the deep story and unique class system, with IGN going so far to claim that the game’s world, Telara, was “a worthy successor to Azeroth” (and many commercials for the game played on that as well).
So when Will and the team at Trion Worlds offered me a chance at six months of free game time, I jumped at the opportunity–I wanted so much to buy the game on Steam, but the subscription charges were what held me back. Now that I have played the game a little, I can at least say that the gaming press were on to something when they said it could possibly dethrone World of Warcraft.
After setting up the game and waiting an eternity for it to download (et tu, 10 GB file size?), I created an elven minstrel named Loras, who at this time has the blade skill and fire and dark magic of a nightblade plus the raw power of a bladedancer on top of her songs and ballads. I was then immediately thrust into Telara and its troubled past.
So far, it’s been a wild ride, learning about the rifts, the black dragon Regulos, and the king that tried to control him. I am very impressed with the class system and can see why it is so widely praised.
The game’s site explains the class system like this:
In RIFT™, players are one of the Ascended, a Telaran slain during the great Shade War and resurrected to combat the forces of Regulos. As an Ascended, players have access to special powers, the greatest of which is “Soul Attunement”, the ability to commune with, and embrace, the souls of Telara’s ancient fallen heroes.
The Soul Attunement system offers players nearly endless customization. In RIFT, you’re encouraged to experiment with many combinations of souls and abilities to discover the path that’s right for you!
That means you can have a warrior with the healing magic of a paladin, a mage with the ability to absorb enemy attacks, or (in my case), a minstrel that also can fight with a blade.
Stay tuned to learn more of my adventures through Telara with Loras–and if I experiment with the other Callings.
Untill then,
SparklingBlue
