Choose My Adventure: RIFTastic!

Frenzy engulfed this last week's poll, which is one of the reasons I tweeted about it so often. EverQuest II and RIFT battled to the death over which would hold the attention of this writer for the next five weeks. Ultimately, the power of Regulos overpowered the Norrathians, but not without a fight.

Usually the first community manager or game developer who catches wind of his or her game's appearance on Choose My Adventure wins. And just like past devs, Community Manager for EverQuest II Tiffany "Amnerys" Spence tweeted and posted in the EQII forums to encourage fans to vote for her game. However, Lindsay Lockhart, Lead Defiant Lore Writer for RIFT, would not have Telara beaten by Norrath, so she tweeted about it and passed the information off to Community Manager Erick "Zann" Adams, who posted it on RIFT's Facebook page. Immediately, RIFT's votes doubled then grew quickly after that.

Congratulations to the RIFT fans. I hope I do your game justice, but I do want to give a shout out to all the EQII fans. I hope you stick around for this. You put up an awesome fight and certainly made the poll interesting to watch.

As for this week, we step into RIFT's character creator. All the decisions are up to you! Should I roll Defiant or Guardian -- Warrior or Mage? Just cruise past the break for all the details!

The battles this week boil down to the basics of character creation. Who am I? Where do I come from? What is my purpose in life? You get to answer these questions for me. First is the most basic question of all: man or woman?

Fan of Gamebreaker asked me on the show one day if I would have any issue playing a character of the opposite gender. Of course I wouldn't have issue with that. Especially in a game like RIFT, where the character models for both genders appeal to my sense of artistry. And from a roleplaying perspective, it challenges my abilities to step into the boots of the opposite sex. However, the choice isn't mine; it's yours. Whose boots should I wear?

If you are familiar with RIFT at all, then you know that all the players are divided into two factions: the Guardians and the Defiants. Guardians tend to appeal to the spiritual nature of Telara, whereas the Defiant lean on technology to guide them. Each race for these factions has its own inherent abilities that appear to be more than passives you never notice.

Guardians serve the Vigil, the five gods of Telara. These spiritual people strive to gain forgiveness for the actions their leaders. Aedraxis Mathos pierced the veil between the plane in an event called the Shade, and Prince Hylas broke the sacred covenant of the gods. The people of the Vigil divide into three different races. The tribe of humans called the Mathosians settled in city of Sanctum. High Elves reside in the capital city of Cliffside Vale and the great forest of Tavra. Lastly, Dwarves divide themselves into clans, or delves, yet these tinkerers have had a hand in creating nearly every major Telaran city.

Mathosians

• Legacy of the Shade (Passive): Death resistance increased by 20.
• Motivational Roar (Activated - Out of Combat): Increases the movement speed of the Mathosian and nearby group members by 30% for 10 seconds. This ability cannot be used in combat.

High Elves

• Grace of the Forest (Passive): Life resistance increased by 20.
• Angelic Flight: Flies toward the selected area. Cannot be used in combat.

Dwarves

• Miracle of Hammerknell (Passive): Water resistance increased by 20.
• Density: Dwarves can fall twice the distance of other races safely.

Defiants define themselves by their technology. This faction created the most advanced mechanics in existence. The Defiants do not worship the gods of the Vigil. Not only could they not care less about these gods, but they believe the gods caused the troubles with the world. The nomadic humans called the Eth and the brutish Bahmi were the first to defy the Vigil. The Elven race of Kelari joined the Defiants after the Shade, when they were driven from the Kelari Isles.

Eth

• Desert Dweller's Birthright (Passive): Earth resistance increased by 20
• Agility (Activated - Out of Combat): Increases movement speed by 70% for 15 seconds. This ability cannot be used in combat.

Bahmi

• Shalastir Heritage (Passive): Air resistance increased by 20
• Mighty Leap (Activated - Out of Combat): Leaps at the selected area. Cannot be used in combat.

Kelari

• Legacy of the Fire islands (Passive): Fire resistance increased by 20
• Camouflage (Activated - Out of Combat): The Kelari transforms into a ghostly fox for up to 30 seconds, giving her a wider radius to avoid aggro with and despawning any pets the Kelari may have. This ability cannot be used in combat.

Now it's your turn to pick. Remember that although the classes are the same for for both factions, the races are quite different and have their own abilities that will affect my gameplay.

When I set out to do Choose My Adventure, I had no idea it would require this much homework before I even began playing the game, especially when it came to setting up class choices. On the surface, it appears to be simple -- four classes, four roles, right? Not so. Callings divide gameplay into four different styles, but it's the souls that define the group role. Thankfully, I had skilled RIFT players like Matt Daniel from Massively and Jasmine Hruschak of Gamebreaker's The Sanctum to help me split up the souls into something reasonable.

Although I will be able to purchase more souls later on, the first three are required to leave the starter area. I don't know about you, but I would like to leave the starter zone this week. So the souls have been divided below into the different possible group roles. I understand that these are not the only combinations, but they are generally the most viable combinations. We can always go back later to redefine my role in the group or maybe do a bit of experimenting as well.

Here are the Callings, roles, and the Souls that coincide with them. Pick your favorite one and I will role roll with it as I play through the starter zone this weekend.

Larry Everett is a nut who loves to play MMOs. Sure, he really wants to be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, but alas, it's not out yet. In the meantime, he needs your help: Tell him what and how to play while he waits! Direct his game time in Choose My Adventure on Wednesdays and the livestream on Fridays!