As you may or may not have heard, Trion Worlds is unleashing the fourth RIFT beta event today, an event that spans the entire weekend. And as Uncle Ben used to tell us, with great beta events come great patch notes -- so what do players have to look forward to with this update?
The most significant change to RIFT's beta is the increase of the level cap -- to 27 -- and the unlocking of the Stonefield and Gloamwood zones. In the prior three events, players were limited to a maximum of level 20 and confined to the two starter areas. This round, players looking for more PvE dungeon goodness should enjoy the Darkening Deeps and Deepstrike Mines, while PvPers will rejoice at the inclusion of Warfronts (Black Garden for level 10 and above, The Codex for level 20 and above). Warfronts are like World of Warcraft's battlegrounds or Warhammer Online's scenarios -- instanced PvP areas where (hopefully) evenly matched teams can go at it under special conditions.
There are several quality-of-life improvements rolled into this patch as well. The skill soft queue has been upgraded to a full next ability queue, more hotbars are available, and many of the souls are getting tweaked. You can read the full patch notes here.
Reader Comments (15)
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 10:26AM Aganazer said
The ability queue sounds very nice!
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 10:29AM SwobyJ said
Have fun everyone! Might not be able to play until Saturday, if at all.
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 10:29AM Valentina said
Lot's of good updates!
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 10:29AM Resurge said
Sounds great ..they really seem to be working non stop to get this ready in time for release. This is a game that was off my radar for a long while ..after getting a new computer over the hollidays ,i decided i was able to participate in some current/upcomming betas ..so went and signed up for a few that caught my eye ..and yay! ..1 day later(this morning) i get an invite to Rift Beta ..this weekend just got ALOT more fun ! :D
Can't wait to get home from work today and crank this game up and see what it can do. The patch notes look incredible, and while i have nothing to compare it to, it sounds like they are really working hard to improve and polish this game up for release.
Can't wait to get home from work today and crank this game up and see what it can do. The patch notes look incredible, and while i have nothing to compare it to, it sounds like they are really working hard to improve and polish this game up for release.
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 10:47AM Greyjoy said
Didn't get invited to this one, the one I really wanted to get invited too :(
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 11:00AM Gaugamela said
I got my invite and will be playing today and saturday. However, a lot of these patch notes go way over my head since I only leveled untill level 11 in Beta 3.
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 11:50AM krisbo9000 said
Would love to hear any feedback on the Warfronts ... :D
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 12:27PM Channel84 said
just found my invite today in my spam mail box haha
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 12:58PM diamount said
Got an invite also. Looking forward to it, should tide me over to make this weekend more enjoyable.
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 1:19PM Elkoremarr said
Buy the game you get into All beta.
Posted: Jan 7th 2011 8:57PM Neural said
Rift is a great looking game but there are some serious issues that Trion refuses, so far, to make any move on.
Regardless of a persons perspective on PvE, whether you love it, or you think it's for "carebears", Trion certainly appears to be looking to pull a fast one on the PvE crowd.
There have been several threads on the primary forum, as well as the beta forum (during Beta #3) in which people clearly defined situations on the PvE servers in which a PvE player could be forced into PvP mode. This included things like being in the middle of a rift battle using AoE spells, and an opposing faction member who was flagged for PvP would simply step into the AoE range, and the result would be the PvE player instantly being flagged as PvP.
There were comments regarding this sort of situation, only involving Clerics healing people. As well as situations in which flagged PvP players were following invasion forces, then getting into the middle of it and waiting for someone to accidentally target them. (this isn't confirmed to have been on the PvE server though).
These issues are the sort of "tricks" that are exploited to no end by users who feel it is their right to ruin the game for people who don't think like they do.
Rift has some issues outside that, but nothing that would keep me from playing, but I think they need to be forward with the public about their PvE mechanics and their intentions.
Regardless of a persons perspective on PvE, whether you love it, or you think it's for "carebears", Trion certainly appears to be looking to pull a fast one on the PvE crowd.
There have been several threads on the primary forum, as well as the beta forum (during Beta #3) in which people clearly defined situations on the PvE servers in which a PvE player could be forced into PvP mode. This included things like being in the middle of a rift battle using AoE spells, and an opposing faction member who was flagged for PvP would simply step into the AoE range, and the result would be the PvE player instantly being flagged as PvP.
There were comments regarding this sort of situation, only involving Clerics healing people. As well as situations in which flagged PvP players were following invasion forces, then getting into the middle of it and waiting for someone to accidentally target them. (this isn't confirmed to have been on the PvE server though).
These issues are the sort of "tricks" that are exploited to no end by users who feel it is their right to ruin the game for people who don't think like they do.
Rift has some issues outside that, but nothing that would keep me from playing, but I think they need to be forward with the public about their PvE mechanics and their intentions.
Posted: Jan 8th 2011 1:36AM DancingCow said
@Neural
That's really disappointing to hear. They've been so smart about so many other things. PvP exploits like this are real fun-killers.
They've responded to other feedback on the forums. Hopefully they'll attend to this. If they don't, it could put a big dent in their income.
Reply
That's really disappointing to hear. They've been so smart about so many other things. PvP exploits like this are real fun-killers.
They've responded to other feedback on the forums. Hopefully they'll attend to this. If they don't, it could put a big dent in their income.
Posted: Jan 8th 2011 3:59AM (Unverified) said
@DancingCow
Believe me, that issue isnt as dramatic as he is making it out to be..Trion is working out the glitch as we speak.....
Reply
Believe me, that issue isnt as dramatic as he is making it out to be..Trion is working out the glitch as we speak.....
Posted: Jan 8th 2011 11:30AM Neural said
@DancingCow
I've not seen any feedback on it from Trion representatives yet, but I do hope that they will say something.
The threads regarding the mechanic of the game tend to get out of hand as all PvE vs. PvP type threads do, but there are a number of people for whom this issue is a deal breaker. I don't blame them, they have their own play style, and it would be nice to know what Trion is planning to do about it before they shell out $50+ for the game. Sure, they can wait until March and maybe find out, but I think some would like to pre-order and participate in the rest of the betas.
People who don't mind PvP, or people who play specifically for PvP should check out the beta if they can. Their class system is nicely done, and the game has a decent amount to offer.
PvE players might want to hold off until Trion officially states their position on the PvE server mechanics.
Reply
I've not seen any feedback on it from Trion representatives yet, but I do hope that they will say something.
The threads regarding the mechanic of the game tend to get out of hand as all PvE vs. PvP type threads do, but there are a number of people for whom this issue is a deal breaker. I don't blame them, they have their own play style, and it would be nice to know what Trion is planning to do about it before they shell out $50+ for the game. Sure, they can wait until March and maybe find out, but I think some would like to pre-order and participate in the rest of the betas.
People who don't mind PvP, or people who play specifically for PvP should check out the beta if they can. Their class system is nicely done, and the game has a decent amount to offer.
PvE players might want to hold off until Trion officially states their position on the PvE server mechanics.







