With the RIFT preorder head-start beginning this Thursday, some people opted to back off from the beta and instead let anticipation build. There again, we've also heard of some other people who are using their time to knock out work and chores early so they can enjoy a slacktastic weekend of guilt-free gaming! Today's gorgeous One Shots comes to us from our friendly neighborhood Mr. Angry, who has also opted to step back and wait for the pre-launch. He writes in: "Mr Angry here. I figured I'd send you a screenshot from RIFT Beta 7. I made a Cleric and am having so much fun with the soul system. It is liberating to not be confined to just one role. This was the last screenshot I took before I decided to log out prior to head start. I am looking forward to playing an Elf in release as well. Trion has done a great job realizing the world so beautifully and creating a new high-water mark for game performance, artistic design, and dynamism in what would otherwise be a fairly linear MMO! High hopes for RIFT!"
Would you like to share some images of your recent adventures? We're always on the hunt for more screenshots of the many different MMOs out there -- but we need your help. Email your screenshots in to us at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in!
Reader Comments (15)
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 4:01PM Joshua Przygocki said
I'm just a sweet...
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 4:22PM Marklar19 said
I've been super looking forward to RIFT, pre-ordered months ago, and am extremely excited to play...but as per my beta policy, I have not joined any of the betas in any capacity, i want the whole game to be a surprise
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 4:31PM BGExorcist said
Godspeed to all :)
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 4:38PM Innocentte said
It is a great looking game, and am eagerly awaiting the Head-Start launch. That being said, I did play in the last beta as much as I could, and am glad I did.
It is very easy to make a less than optimal choice in the early Soul selections. And, these classes are not like anything I have been able to put together in other MMOs. So, just spending some time doing classes to level 10, or so, really helped me understand what and where I wanted to put my play time.
Those who opted not to get in some experimentation? I would really recommend heading over to Zam and studying the Soul Trees. It will pay off in more early fun as you get familiar with the game. And will really not detract at all from the coming excitement. :)
It is very easy to make a less than optimal choice in the early Soul selections. And, these classes are not like anything I have been able to put together in other MMOs. So, just spending some time doing classes to level 10, or so, really helped me understand what and where I wanted to put my play time.
Those who opted not to get in some experimentation? I would really recommend heading over to Zam and studying the Soul Trees. It will pay off in more early fun as you get familiar with the game. And will really not detract at all from the coming excitement. :)
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 8:08PM aurickle said
@Innocentte
While it is relatively easy to make poor selections early on there is NO reason to go back and create a new character.
1) In your mid-teens you get to your capital city. There you will find quest givers for each of the souls in your calling that you don't yet have access to. (In other words, five quests each for mages, rogues, etc.) It's a very easy quest and gives you access to these other souls.
2) At any of your calling's trainers you can respec. It's very cheap to do this. (At least the first one is free.) When you respec you not only get to re-allocate any points you've spent but you can also swap in other souls that you've learned from doing the quests. So if you start as a Necromancer/Pyromancer/Archon you could respec to a Chloromancer/Elementalist/Warlock if you want. Or anything else in your calling.
3) In addition to respecs, your class trainer lets you purchase additional roles. The first one is cheap (34 gold, if I remember right). Each additional is more expensive up to a total of four roles. These are like WoW's dual-spec system. It takes 30 seconds to change roles while out of combat and each role can use any three of your calling's eight souls.
So if you get into the game a bit and realize that you like your calling but aren't too happy with your soul choices just give it a little longer and get to your capital city. You'll be able to change things up without having to replay the starter content.
Reply
While it is relatively easy to make poor selections early on there is NO reason to go back and create a new character.
1) In your mid-teens you get to your capital city. There you will find quest givers for each of the souls in your calling that you don't yet have access to. (In other words, five quests each for mages, rogues, etc.) It's a very easy quest and gives you access to these other souls.
2) At any of your calling's trainers you can respec. It's very cheap to do this. (At least the first one is free.) When you respec you not only get to re-allocate any points you've spent but you can also swap in other souls that you've learned from doing the quests. So if you start as a Necromancer/Pyromancer/Archon you could respec to a Chloromancer/Elementalist/Warlock if you want. Or anything else in your calling.
3) In addition to respecs, your class trainer lets you purchase additional roles. The first one is cheap (34 gold, if I remember right). Each additional is more expensive up to a total of four roles. These are like WoW's dual-spec system. It takes 30 seconds to change roles while out of combat and each role can use any three of your calling's eight souls.
So if you get into the game a bit and realize that you like your calling but aren't too happy with your soul choices just give it a little longer and get to your capital city. You'll be able to change things up without having to replay the starter content.
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 4:47PM Interitus said
Thumbs up for the title
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 5:29PM Gloon said
I don't really get the whole idea of not playing the beta to build anticipation. I love participating in betas. I try them all. If I hadn't played Rift's beta, I wouldn't have bought it. And I certainly would not have preordered it. I've never preordered a MMO before.
But, hey.. whatever works for you. :)
But, hey.. whatever works for you. :)
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 6:27PM agitatedandroid said
Thoroughly enjoyed my time in BETA. If not for the open beta period I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have given Rift another thought. I'd somehow managed to miss all the hype on Massively right up till Tuesday of last week. I suppose I was just overly obsessed with other games.
So glad I took the blinders off. Is it the 24th yet?!
So glad I took the blinders off. Is it the 24th yet?!
Posted: Feb 21st 2011 10:45PM Eldan said
+1 for Rocky Horror reference.
That makes two things in this article relevant to my interests!
That makes two things in this article relevant to my interests!
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 2:07AM Aenedor said
Have to say I have played every beta of the current series and it has not spoiled the game for me. Far from it, along with other guildies that played it has helped to generate huge hype. There is very big interest from our PA. I think our Rift guild is gonna be one of our bigger ones... www.thesecondsun.org/forum
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 2:58AM Raesene said
I spent the last evening of the beta taking my level 23 warrior on an adventure and making the trip from Meridian to Sanctum to cause some havoc along the way. I saw some great scenery and met lots of interesting people who subsequently tried to kill me.
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 4:38AM BGExorcist said
@Raesene
After a few deaths from higher lvl players, guess what I did when I stumbled across 2 travelers form the oposing faction, 10 lvls below me.
SABOTEUR SMASH!!!
Reply
After a few deaths from higher lvl players, guess what I did when I stumbled across 2 travelers form the oposing faction, 10 lvls below me.
SABOTEUR SMASH!!!
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 7:50AM Starry said
I have been playing Rift since Beta 5 - the game is awesome. It is refreshing to see a game being released that is nicely polished. Trion will be teaching companies like Cryptic and $OE how to develop and deliver a AAA MMO.








