We’re not in ….Azeroth….anymore.
We’re certainly not. We’re in Telara. Rift is brand-spanking new (not for spanking) and has raised the MMORPG bar to a new level. Visually stunning, the models continue to look just as alive on the regular game as they do on the cut-scenes. There is a decided lack of ‘cartoonishness’, and the world is pretty seamless, although when running the graphics on high my computer does have to work a bit harder than I’d like. The game is absolutely running in serious Hi-Def. All I have to say about this is that it’s a darn good thing I updated my video card in November.
Character selection starts out with one of four choices: Warrior, Cleric, Mage, and Rogue. Following this basic selection, things get really interesting. Every class has at least some sort of healing capability, although the Rogue class is never going to be a main spec healer (I seriously doubt anyone picking a rogue has the idea that they’re going to be the main spec healer anyhow). Every class offers offensive, defensive, and support capabilities, some of which are pretty darn ingenious. I was absolutely intrigued by the Cleric class first, and started out in Telara with a lovely High Elf named Nypholith.
Speccing is the next big adventure in this game. There’s almost immediate access to three souls, all of which have their own pro uses. I think it’s going to take a very long time for theorycrafters to come up with the ‘best’ spec for this or that, mostly you can take what you like and run with it. Nyph’s almost a pure healer, but she’s more than capable of ripping mobs up on her own, with her self-heal abilities even as a caster she’s able to take on three to four mobs at a time as long as I’m paying attention. Your choices can be quite tailored to your playstyle in any of the four classes, however be warned—Mages do wear cloth!
Our adventures together were both entertaining and I continued moving on with the wonder only a really great game can give you. The questing system is very standard, anyone who’s played an RPG in their life can figure it out, and if you haven’t played an RPG, you can probably still figure it out without too much help. The game tutorial lasts for about 6-7 levels (although you can probably make it go a bit farther with some monster-grinding), but other than having a head start on the monsters in the real game there’s no pressing reason to do this. The ‘death penalty’ is pretty innovated, your souls lose some of their power the more times you die. You can have the penalty removed by a ‘soul healer’ which costs you a bit of cash, but money pretty well stands up to your needs in this game, unlike some other games which really get you on armor repairs when the mobs aren’t dropping much cash in the beginning. I’d say that the cash drops keep up with your needs pretty well.
Crafting isn’t really necessary, but it does help tremendously. So far I have Nyph doing Armorsmithing and Vaxxish (my rogue) doing Alchemistry. The game is really forgiving on where you are doing foraging type stuffs, Nyph’s up to almost level 25 and the low level mats are still there, so even without a huge amount of effort you can make crafting level up with your needs.
Rifts are the next big thing. The game starts you in raid-type non-instance encounters pretty early. The rifts open through the ‘shield’ in Telara and elementals of all different types come through. The more people that team up on these, the better off the area is. Also, the number of rifts are directly correlated to the number of people on the server, so if you’re not sure how excited you are about wandering into elite elementals all the time, I strongly suggest a low population server.
Also, it’s interesting to note that this is the first MMO I’ve played through in my memory that actually rewards players for helping others out. You earn ‘planarite’ (a type of currency) for closing rifts in a group with others. This can be used to buy high level gear and other items that can stick with you for a relatively long period of time while leveling. The stuff
That’s it for this time, there will be more as I play through the game. Dungeon reviews next! Tune in next time for more on the great new world of Telara.
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9qbzMVUHjE[/tube]
Excellent review.