Rift score:
(194 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading...Rift screenshots:
Rift
( Play more Free MMORPGs,Free MMOs games )
Rift review:
Developed by Trion Worlds for Windows.SYNOPSIS
Rift: Planes of Telara is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where thousands of players adventure together to save a world being torn apart by magical rifts that unleash deadly planar invasions. Rift: Planes of Telara will be available both as a digital download and as a boxed product in your local video-game retail store. And it is scheduled to be available in English, French, and German.
BACKGROUND
Telara is one of many worlds in the known universe, but unlike the others it rests at the intersection of several powerful planes of reality, the very forces that make up all existence. The planes form a nexus of energy around Telara, and it is this unrivaled power that first attracted the mighty elemental gods of the Blood Storm.
Led by Regulos, god of Death, the Blood Storm devoured countless worlds in its unending hunger for conquest. But when these baleful gods moved toward Telara, the Blood Storm turned upon itself; each sought not to destroy Telara, but to rule it. The vicious infighting that resulted allowed the people of Telara, and their native gods, to strike back, imprisoning the elemental deities one by one. United, the Telarans expelled even the powerful Regulos, destroying his physical form and then banishing his spirit.
Helped by their gods, the mages of Telara fashioned the Ward, a magical barrier around the world. The Ward would protect Telara from the planes, keeping the peace by imprisoning the captured Blood Storm and preventing the return of Regulos.
For eons, the Ward held. And then, abruptly, it was breached. Aedraxis, a king whose rivalry with his brother led to the Mathosian Civil War, somehow made it possible for Regulos’ power to slip through again into Telara. The Ward was fractured, and a devastating magical disaster known as the Shade swept across the land, destroying or maiming whatever it touched. In the eighty years since, massive rifts have begun to appear where the planes intersect, tearing through the Ward and bringing the chaos of these outer dimensions to Telara.
By studying the rifts, Telaran scholars have so far identified six planes that interact with Telara through cracks in the Ward, each representing a primal element of the universe: Life, Death, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. There are many theories about the true nature of these discoveries, and there is much yet to be learned. But one thing is generally agreed: The elemental planes are in danger of destroying the world of Telara and must be stopped at all costs.
DYNAMIC LAYERED WORLD
Every player experiences a different adventure in the living, breathing world of Telara. Rift: Planes of Telara™ has all of the traditional quests and deep story arcs you expect from a fantasy MMO role-playing game, but there is unpredictability to life in Telara that guarantees even familiar terrain can offer new dangers and opportunities.
Whether it’s a previously peaceful farm being ravaged by demons, a tranquil forest glen suddenly ripped apart by a violent rift, or merely an unassuming traveling merchant with astounding wares, spontaneous events are taking place all across Telara for you to discover and take part in.
The ebb and flow of activity in Telara is always changing. Thousands of unexpected encounters are occurring at any moment, making every adventure unique — with more being added all the time. And just like in real life, you can revisit favorite haunts to see what's different, adding a novel sense of exploration to even well-trodden ground.
RIFTS
Mysterious rifts are tearing the world of Telara apart. A powerful magic explosion during the final days of the Shade War has left the veil between Telara and other planar dimensions fractured and torn. Treacherous and powerful, these rifts occur when another plane of reality intersects with the magical Ward protecting Telara. Rifts create doorways for planar invasion, destroying the lands and people of Telara, but they may also grant otherworldly power to those brave enough to seize it.
Now no part of Telara is truly safe. Invasions can occur anywhere and at any time, and the danger to the world is growing. Two major factions have emerged to save the world of Telara from the rifts: the Guardian and the Defiant. Each faction works in different ways to preserve Telara's future, and both seek to undermine the other.
While little is known about the exact nature of the rifts, Telaran scholars, priests, and historians strive to unlock the mysteries of these massive portals. It is believed that the rifts are being caused by direct attacks on the magical Ward surrounding Telara. Regulos, the dragon god of extinction, seeks to free his imprisoned minions of the Blood Storm trapped deep inside Telara. These attacks weaken the veil and cause planar disruptions that open the destructive rifts across the world.
Often, rifts appear in the world as a tear in the fabric of reality. Powerful magic has been used to study these anomalies, and sometimes they have been opened inadvertently, resulting in great tragedy. But there is still much to learn from these destructive forces. Can riftic power be harnessed by sorcery? Can powerful beings enter the rifts to venture into the deadly planes beyond? How many planes really exist?
RACES
Rift: Planes of Telara provides many playable races to choose from. Each race has its own characteristic look, unique racial ability, and distinctive background story. Races also belong to one of two opposing factions, either Guardian or Defiant. Each race will offer players its own set of advantages and disadvantages during gameplay.
Bahmi
The Bahmi are the curious and reclusive denizens of the Rhaza'de Canyons. Their elemental ancestors, the Shalastiri, arrived on Telara through a rift from the Plane of Air at the time of the first Blood Storm Wars. Led by their prince, Bahmi, they proved invaluable warriors in the fight against the dragon gods.
High elves
Beautiful, elegant, and extremely cultured, the High Elves trace their roots all the way back to the Age of Legend, when their god Tavril and the other four gods of the Vigil created the world of Telara. The High Elves are one of the oldest and most storied races living on Telara.
Mathosian
Honor, faith, and duty are the most sacred tenets of the strong Mathosian humans who once ruled the rocky highlands of the north. Mathosians value strength, hard work, and a man’s oath above all other things except perhaps loyalty. It is their commitment to these virtues that helped turn Mathosia into one of the greatest empires Telara has ever known, and from the humblest of beginnings. Tragically, it was also the very beliefs that eventually tore them apart.
Dwarves
The Dwarves are a fallen people now. Without a homeland, they wandered for many years, taking shelter with the Mathosians, Elves, and even the Eth, as few towns would turn away a dwarven craftsman looking for a home. When Borrin Gammult returned as an Ascended Guardian, many Dwarves rallied to his banner in Sanctum, vowing to build a new home with the Vigil’s blessing, and to seek redemption for the sins of Hammerknell. Holy Sanctum owes much of its beauty and strength to the efforts of Dwarven heroes, mortal and Ascended, whose genius never faded even as their hope guttered to embers.
Eth
The Eth are a tribe of humans who adapted to the harsh southern deserts by becoming master survivalists and taming their environment through magic. During the Blood Storm Wars, this inquisitive and fiercely scholarly race discovered a means to harness sourcestone as a fuel for eldritch war machines.
Kelari
Thanks to prolonged interactions with spirits, the Kelari are both culturally and physically distinct from their High Elf cousins. The Kelari are a proud race, believing themselves spiritually equal, rather than subservient, to the gods. They have no betters, only those who must prove themselves equals.
CLASSES
There are hundreds of potential class combinations in Rift: Planes of Telara. Once inside the game, you can choose one of many different starting classes during character creation. Later on, you will have the opportunity to change and enhance these classes in unique ways. Rift will be offering an expansive and unique class system for players.
Warrior
Weapons, tactics, and combat are the mainstays of a Warrior’s life. Both the barbarian raiding a village and the knight commanding a column of troops adhere to the tenets of discipline, personal combat, and martial training. Every Warrior knows how to fight in close quarters, to take a blow and deliver a mortal wound in return. As the elemental forces have closed around Telara, a growing number of Warriors have incorporated magical techniques into their martial styles.
The Warrior classes are: Champion, reaver, paladin, warlord, paragon, riftblade, void knight.
Cleric
Clerics are renowned for their powerful support magic, able to repair the most grievous injuries or cure the deadliest diseases. The spells at a Cleric’s command are as varied as the patron deities they follow. Many Clerics are also capable combatants who rain divine wrath from afar, or wade into the thick of battle, warhammer swinging.
The cleric classes are: purifier, inquisitor, sentinel, justicar, shaman, warden, druid.
Rogue
Rogues are most at home skulking around the edges of battle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with overwhelming force and minimal chance of counterstrike. They excel at tasks requiring a quick mind and quicker blade, such as dueling, scouting, and assassination. Not all Rogues live in the shadows. Many are simply loners, at home on the edges of society, mastering the arts of hunting and animal husbandry to survive.
The rogue classes are: Nightblade, ranger, blade dancer, assassin, riftstalker, marksman, saboteur.
Mage
Devastating long-range combatants, the arcane powers Mages wield can tear through any opponent, regardless of armor. While Mages are renowned as a fearsome offensive force on the field of battle, a number of orders specialize in potent support and healing magic as well.
The mage classes are: elementalist, warlock, pyromancer, stormcaller, archon, necromancer, dominator.
FACTIONS
Guardians
The Guardians represent the sincerest belief that the Vigil, the five gods of Telara, have not abandoned the world, but are working towards an intricate plan for the final battle of good against evil — the Day of Judgment. Members of this faction feel they have a destiny to fulfill as part of a divine plan to save the world.
The Guardians see themselves as the protectors of the people of Telara. They believe it is their sacred responsibility to bring law and order to the defenseless, even if they do not seem to appreciate or want it. Many do tend to be overly judgmental and controlling of the places they rule, but in the end they believe it to be in the people's best interest. And all Guardians believe they serve the greater good by protecting the masses from the rifts, or from themselves.
The Guardians believe that a convergence of all the planes is coming and will destroy the world. It is their holy mission to prevent this catastrophe by restoring the Ward of Telara, and sealing off the planes forever. To this crusade they have sworn themselves — even if it means destroying the reckless Defiant faction before their foolishness ends the world before Regulos does.
Defiant
The Defiant do not care whether the gods abandoned the world or not. To them, this entire planar convergence disaster is the gods' fault in the first place. Indeed, as soon as things went from bad to worse, the gods suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.
So while the Guardians run around Telara building temples, sticking their noses in everyone's business, and desperately praying for a miracle, the Defiant plan on actually delivering one, even if it means being branded as heretics and operating outside the laws of the land.
Above all else, Defiants are rugged individualists who love technology. Mixing technology with magic offers amazing opportunities for innovation, personal power, and cultural progress. If used correctly, these advancements could also be turned into spectacular weapons to fight the looming darkness. The Defiant absolutely believe that the best defense is a great offense - something the Guardians will never understand.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Unspecified.
Website: Rift
Looking for more Free MMORPGs,Free MMOs games?
Rift game
Pretty good write up, hitting the major points. Honestly, this looks like the most polished MMO title to release in recent memory. Look at games like Mortal Online or Darkfall as examples of being released prematurely. I have more and more faith in this title with every announcement. The class system sounds pretty traditional on the surface but after researching gamers will see that it allows for a level of customization not seen since Shadowbane. I see reason to be excited in a genre filled with little reason for hope.
Addiction looks forward to seeing you on the Rift PVP Server.
I’m one of the Rift’s lover. I started to play rift warrior on beta. For more information check this out rifttelaraguide.com
RIFT is a very polished game, and has too be one of the beter Betas I played.
But, I believe that it will fail.
Why, cause of the RIFT’s themself. Like Warhammer did with PQ’s, RIFT has not really improved this feature of the game.
If you plan to play this solo with little help from say a guild, you will struggle after awhile. Not right away while people start loging on the first time, but after awhile the “Rush” will slow down and you start to find players trying to solo stuff and are failing very badly at it.
I am not saying that you should be able to solo RIFT’s, but if I log into a game in a non peak time and cant complete content due to not enough players on, well that ain’t really good enough.
Now before you laugh, this has already happened to me. Starter zone’s have a RIFT that you need to go though. Sounds easy enough till you try to solo it yourself. Well after two GY walks I was lucky to find another 2 players on, which we grouped and passed it easy. The problem is, why the hell would they make a RIFT in a starter zone not soloable
I hope they fix up the playablity with this game cause it truely has some awesome idea’s.
Get Beta, jump on. Don’t compare it to other MMO’s and you might just find this a really enjoyable game to play
One of the most polished beta’s i have played in a while, i tried it expecting to write it off quickly as another below average clone but it is good enough that it got me hooked instead..
There is really nothing new here however it seems to have the best of multiple existing mmo’s all rolled into one and a deep storyline, the gameplay is cool and smooth..
Likely one of the best mmos to release in years..
Great beta, loved it all. Was reading from R!FLE above about thinking Rift may fail because they couldn’t solo parts of it. This is a MMO and not meant to be solo’d. I think its silly to think that someone can save an entire world by themself. If you want to solo things, get a console game. This is interactive. If you can’t get along with others, or don’t like guilds, or want to do it all yourself without coop play, this, nor any MMO is for you.
Graphics are nice.
I agree with Jim about this being a
Mmorpg I mean for real guys what do u think mom
Standa for? Massive multiplayer online role playing game. Some solo
Is good bit thata not what really mmo is really for.
The idea that it may fail because of the non soloability of the game is intriguing. I agree with this idea. Do not underestimate the volume of people who play mmo’s and like to do it ALONE. They had better fix this issue or it WILL fail.Like most of you i have several level 85’s in WOW and did them ALL alone.
I have been playing wow for 2 years and have 2 lvl85’s. Recently boredom set in due to solo play-ability, or should i say lack of it!
Many mmo’s put to much focus on grouping for eliet and instanced content.
Pvp gives me a rush as and when the desire arises to do pvp. Although, the need to grind instances to get gear puts me off somewhat!
I have recently ordered Rift with the wow bug leaving me, but feel very apprehensive about playing Rift the more I read about it…
One thing stands true about mmo’s, lots of people like to play mmo fantasy games in peace without the desire of grouping with others just to get to stand toe to toe with other players!
Before making generalizations about solo play in Rift, I recommend playing at least past level 20. Now that the head start is underway, and Trion has had time to tune, playing solo isn’t out of the question at all. If you have managed to get ahead of the curve, the higher level zones are less populated, meaning less Rift invasions as well as their difficulty being tuned down. I have no problem at all questing (as should be expected), but some rifts I come across/lure, I can solo without much difficulty. Harder rifts that require a group still come up, but you get better drops from them :).
Hes not saying it will fail because you cant solo it.. hes saying at some point there wont be anyone at the lowest level to group with to complete tasks.. therefor you will not be able to progress, happened in warhammer online, could easily happen again here
I have been playing RIFT since beta 4. I am absolutely loving this game and having more fun than I have had since playing my enhance shaman pvp in classic WoW. The PvP is fantastic and the PvE even better. As far as soloing, post-beta it has not been an issue for me. I have soloed the starting zone rift on a warrior, mage, and cleric so far. If you are having issues with this still, maybe you can post and we can take a look at your talents or technique? Not trying to be critical, just wanna help. Well, I hope my post was informative. See you all around.
I have to agree with Phil above. I was a WoW player for quite awhile, but I could never finish the endgame because of guilds and guild politics. Frustration drove me out of the game when my WoW guild fell apart and endgame became impossible trying to PUG (pick up groups) raids. Although from reading it looks more like 2-3 other players will team up to accomplish harder tasks. But I’m still deciding if the price will be worth it.
Review has missed out one subclass for each calling: Warrior (Beastmaster), Cleric (Cabalist), Rogue (Bard) and Mage (Chloromancer).
Bad reviewer, no cookie.
Rift, or rather Ript (as in ripped off WoW), is just that, a rip off of World of Warcraft – and not a very good one. Sure, it looks different but the gameplay is exactly the same right down to “N”/talent tree. The character generation is a bit different but not really a departure as is claimed. The world is extremely dark which is probably used to mask the relatively weak texturing in the world.
Worst of all are the graphics which look little better than 2D. You can’t confuse the animated movies and character select graphics with the game graphics because there is a huge discrepancy between these.
If you are tired of WoW, then play Rfit. If you want to save some money, then play WoW.
Rift is just another fantasy MMO game with a developer who makes extremely unwarranted claims. It’s forgettable and will be.
^
|
|
|
lol. And WoW ripped off Everquest. It’s the cycle of MMO’s. Though your fangs are dripping with WoW fanboyism if you can’t even accept that Rifts graphics are vastly superior to most MMO’s, including the ever outdated WoW. They did copy WoW’s talent tree in the sense that they took what WoW did wrong and made it freakin’ awesome. WoW = limited talent paths, Rift = talent depth like never before.
I havn’t played it but after reading the comments about not being able to play alone i wont…, i don’t have a lot of time and when i go on the last thing i want to be doing is finding people to play with online just to do the basics -_-… Maybe if i could solo, which is what i prefer
There are some rifts that you can not solo from the start in the beginning area, the major rifts that spawn elites. Those you definitely can not solo. The minor rifts are soloable but will be a challenge to do so. I just don’t like hearing about someone saying the game will fail because you can’t solo something that was never intended to be soloed in the first place. It is whiny babies like that who have to turned WOW into the online daycare center it is now. If someone states its too hard to solo with a mage or a rogue, then go back to Wow and actually play a rogue or a mage, it was never easy to solo with those classes no matter what mmorpg you are in. If you have trouble reading character descriptions, and like to purely solo, I recommend finding a game that is made for soloing only. To keep it simple if you can’t play your role in a massive multi player environment. Then play something else. Multi player and playing role seem to be requirements to playing any MMO, sorry to break it to anyone who thinks otherwise.
MMO was first created so a player can interact/play with other players at their own choice, and not to be just an anti-solo game system. WOW is still so successful because it gives the user the freedom to choose one or the other at any given time. Forcing a player to teamplay just to level up is not a wise move because players will feel constraint. Although I do agreed that MMO should encourage players to play with other players but it shouldn’t disregard solo-playing entirely.
Many people say that MMO’s are meant to be played with other people online to accomplish game goals and that is true to a limited extent. But to disregard people who like to socialize, but also to pursue their gaming goals solo, is a big mistake. The real reasons have nothing to do with being a carebear or a baddie. It really has to do with most player’s limited game playing time and they don’t want to spend it trying to forge a team together. They want to be able to dive right in and be able to do something productive to the advancement of their character. But at the same time, they like to socialize with other people via the chat channels. If they can get a group together and go do something without too much waiting around while other people take care of phone calls or eating dinner and the like, then so much the better. But to force a player’s game time to depend on synchronizing with other people’s schedules is not a wise move and will doom a game from the very start.
These days most developers know this and try to cater to the market. If they don’t cater to the market they go out of business. To all of you elitists out there, just understand that you are a small, albeit noisy, minority of the MMO gaming market. Just thank the stars you have your hardcore raids to sate your desire for a challenge. Even carebears like myself like having those raids for something to strive for even though we may never get there because of real life constraints.
But ultimately Rift will fail for one major, major reason – the rifts themselves. They spawn randomly with elites that cannot be soloed at all. Even worse, they can develop the ability to lay waste a town that has quest givers and/or quest objectives. So a player logs on at a slow hour and not too many players are on. He merrily picks up some quests, but suddenly some rift monsters barrel unexpectedly toward him. He gets killed not even a minute after he logs on right in town where he thought he’d be safe before venturing out. Not good at all. That right there can and will kill the game before it even really gathers any real subscriber base. I can only hope the developers realize their mistake before it’s too late.
Ok…I have been playing RIFT for about a week now. And……….meh!. Just another MMO. Better than most but not this revolutionary new thing it was touted to be. Will I continue to play? Sure..lol…why not?
Do they have guilds in this game ? No one has made it clear
I am a WoW player for over 6 years and have a few 85’s. I must say wow lost all interest. A few work mates have started playing Rift and have encouraged me to play as well. I have been reading all these reviews and commets and it appears to me that Rift will be good to play. It will be something different in the aspect you cannot kill one mob and gain half a level like these days in WoW. It will be time consuming but lets face it. If an MMORPG could be complete in 8 hours of gameplay then it would be the worst MMO out their.
Rift for me seems like a change. It appears they have taken the bad from some MMOs and tried to improve on it. My only concern is the game is called Rift. What happens when your maxed level youv called all the rift creatures for your gear and are maxed out. A new expansion is released but it will still require rifts to be opened up in the new zones and then this falls into a repetative game straint similar to WoW.
I personally will play Rift to see how it feels as a new MMO and the improved graphics is certainly a positive feature makes for more dynamic game play.
Been playing wow since the day it came out. Decided to try this game as something to do between guild raids which is all I do in wow anymore.
Its exactly the same. A little more flashy but still the same. And the talent trees our too much. Yeah they give flexibility but too much flexibility is confusing.
I’m gonna stay with wow.
Pepsi or Coke? Some are passionate about the difference, others are looking for something wet. For me the game will be made by how well the community matures and how the player/ developer relationship evolves. Like the Colas, I suppose, it’ll come down to marketing.
Pre-Purchased Rift and the three month founder’s price to give it a trial run. I liked it at first, then realized some incredible issues that would make this game extremely irksome/annoying to play.
Major thing: if you don’t get playing when a realm first opens, you’re screwed as all the players will NOT be in the starting zone and the rifts that open will be impossible, practically. Along that same line, you need to close these rifts to get your souls..kind of annoying.
I hated the crafting and the auction house. It was aggravating and frustrating to use.
My major thing had to do with the graphics, yes they looked pretty, however, they make most computer’s, unless you have a hard core gaming computer, have to run on “low” graphic setting. I can play most games out there today with no issues, but with Rift, i was constantly frustrated by low fps and latency issues.
Right before I would be charged for the three month price, i cancelled. I am not wasting my money on this game, which I see failing within a year due to its non-friendly/aggravating starting zones that barely anyone will be in, unless it’s older players starting new characters, which is a bad setup for longevity in getting new people to play the game..THIS is the major problem i see in the future.
Strange that you reviewed a game and didn’t use any of ‘fun’, ‘enjoyable’ or ‘entertaining’ anywhere.
I’m wondering: is it fun, enjoyable or entertaining?
This isn’t WoW.
I’ve played WoW, Runes of Magic, etc., etc. And I find all the WoW heads talking about how this looks like WoW so funny. Because WoW wasn’t the first MMO, and certainly isn’t the only one out there.
It does have similar features as many of the available MMO’s that you would expect (look wise), but there’s a great class build system. I want to compare it to Runes of Magic’s system but it’s bigger and it makes it so every Mage doesn’t have the exact same build as every other one they read off of a Wiki page. With so much to choose, and with gear that you can customize, you can be pretty unique.
RIFT is amazing. Great graphics, the Rifts do open up over your head, and makes for excellent fun. You can SOLO Rifts from the get go, you just have to know how. Obviously, don’t go flying into a an elite Rift alone but a minor Rift you can do on your own. There’s a good learning curve but there’s plenty of players to help you along and it’s been going pretty well.
And raids at night are open from day one. That’s what makes it so fun from the start. You don’t have to wait for all the fun stuff that’s at the end. The fun stuff is right there from the beginning. There’s so much to do!
Rift is pretty much a grind fest once you hit 50.
after 50 there is almost no solo-able content..so be prepared for that…the game basically dies once you hit 50…there is not enough content to keep folks amused..
I rate it 3 out of 10..
Hey There. I found your weblog using msn. That is a really well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your helpful information. Thank you for the post. I will definitely comeback.