RIFT Beta Babble
So I got into the RIFT beta. I'm pretty excited to check this game out, because the consensus (between Zach and me anyway) is that it just looks like a much prettier WoW. It sucks that I can only play my beta during beta "events," which only last a few days at a time. I can play this one until Friday this week. I couldn't get a really clear answer on whether or not I'd be guaranteed a spot in future beta events because I got into this one, so I guess I better make this count if I'm going to think about buying this game. If I go ahead and preorder, I get a permanent beta invite, so that's cool.
Character creation is fun! You can do a pretty good amount of noodling with the character's design. It's kind of like Dragon Age: Origins' character creation screen, but with a few less details. Eye color, nose size/width, height, makeup, etc. etc. etc. all have quite a few options to choose from. I've only created characters for 2 of the 6 races so far, though. Although I'm always tempted to make female dwarves in games, I'm a little...scared of these dwarves. The males are...special...and the random models that it came up with for the females were...special also. Still, I'm a dwarf nerd, a sucker for short thick cuties in plate, I guess. Making one tonight!
If you haven't heard of this game, the cool thing they're trying to do to set it apart from other games (and believe me, they REALLY need to work to separate it from WoW, because...come on. I could watch the trailers for the game and go "oh look, there's Deathwing." "Hahaha Arthas is a pansy in this game" etc.) is to basically let us play exactly how we want to. They don't want there to be set talent trees and rotations. They want everyone to kind of do their own thing, which is a cool concept, but you just KNOW there are going to be theorycrafters who figure out just exactly which class/race combination whoops the most ass, right? Anyway, I made a shaman and a beastmaster (lol hunterwarrior derp). I didn't get the thing downloaded until like 2 in the morning so I only played through for a few minutes before I was off to create another character because character creation is my very favorite thing. Just look at my army of alts in WoW and you'll know it's true.
Anyway, back to the talent trees. I'm still learning how all this works. Basically, you get "souls" when you level up and complete certain quests, etc. Your first "soul" is chosen after the very first quest, and it's like your main calling (within the class you chose when creating your character), with a talent tree all its own. After a couple more quests, you get your second "soul" which lets you dig into your secondary class if you want, or continue with your primary class. For instance, I picked Beastmaster as my first soul, and got to put 2 points into it before I had to pick my second soul, Champion, because it was recommended, and who wouldn't want to rush into battle with a super sweet pet and a pair of GIANT FUCKING AXES?!
So there are four main classes, pretty standard: Warrior, Cleric, Rogue, Mage. These are divided into 7+ specializations each (I think they're supposed to be adding some more? IDK) So for instance, if you pick Cleric, you're not pigeonholed into healing. You can start off with a damage spec and then use your second tree for your heals. It is my understanding that you can switch trees whenever you want to? They REALLY don't want it to be like WoW, where you have to spend your points in the smartest possible way or else you're failing at the game, so I suppose that's good.
When you choose a pet class, they immediately give you a spell that will summon your first pet. You guys, I got a white tiger with pink stripes. Sold. He matches my warrior's awesome pink striped hairdo. Because cute pink warriors are THE BEST THING. Screenshots DEFINITELY incoming. I named my tiger Toki <3
Anyway! I'm excited to go home and play some more, because it is a pretty game, although like most games with the more realistic style, the character and NPC animation is kind of clunky and stiff, which bugs me. How is it that WoW can manage to make their 6(?) year old animations still look like they're carrying weight and not just flitting around, whereas these "prettier" games just can not get the hang of it?
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to take and post screenshots and whatnot, so I'll definitely be doing that. If anyone's interested in this game at all, now would be the time to sign up for the beta on their website. It looks like they're giving them out pretty frequently. I waited maybe 3 days to get my invite (and I have a sneaking suspicion that the only reason it took that long was because they were waiting for a beta event to let more people in.
Yay for new games!
Character creation is fun! You can do a pretty good amount of noodling with the character's design. It's kind of like Dragon Age: Origins' character creation screen, but with a few less details. Eye color, nose size/width, height, makeup, etc. etc. etc. all have quite a few options to choose from. I've only created characters for 2 of the 6 races so far, though. Although I'm always tempted to make female dwarves in games, I'm a little...scared of these dwarves. The males are...special...and the random models that it came up with for the females were...special also. Still, I'm a dwarf nerd, a sucker for short thick cuties in plate, I guess. Making one tonight!
If you haven't heard of this game, the cool thing they're trying to do to set it apart from other games (and believe me, they REALLY need to work to separate it from WoW, because...come on. I could watch the trailers for the game and go "oh look, there's Deathwing." "Hahaha Arthas is a pansy in this game" etc.) is to basically let us play exactly how we want to. They don't want there to be set talent trees and rotations. They want everyone to kind of do their own thing, which is a cool concept, but you just KNOW there are going to be theorycrafters who figure out just exactly which class/race combination whoops the most ass, right? Anyway, I made a shaman and a beastmaster (lol hunterwarrior derp). I didn't get the thing downloaded until like 2 in the morning so I only played through for a few minutes before I was off to create another character because character creation is my very favorite thing. Just look at my army of alts in WoW and you'll know it's true.
Anyway, back to the talent trees. I'm still learning how all this works. Basically, you get "souls" when you level up and complete certain quests, etc. Your first "soul" is chosen after the very first quest, and it's like your main calling (within the class you chose when creating your character), with a talent tree all its own. After a couple more quests, you get your second "soul" which lets you dig into your secondary class if you want, or continue with your primary class. For instance, I picked Beastmaster as my first soul, and got to put 2 points into it before I had to pick my second soul, Champion, because it was recommended, and who wouldn't want to rush into battle with a super sweet pet and a pair of GIANT FUCKING AXES?!
So there are four main classes, pretty standard: Warrior, Cleric, Rogue, Mage. These are divided into 7+ specializations each (I think they're supposed to be adding some more? IDK) So for instance, if you pick Cleric, you're not pigeonholed into healing. You can start off with a damage spec and then use your second tree for your heals. It is my understanding that you can switch trees whenever you want to? They REALLY don't want it to be like WoW, where you have to spend your points in the smartest possible way or else you're failing at the game, so I suppose that's good.
When you choose a pet class, they immediately give you a spell that will summon your first pet. You guys, I got a white tiger with pink stripes. Sold. He matches my warrior's awesome pink striped hairdo. Because cute pink warriors are THE BEST THING. Screenshots DEFINITELY incoming. I named my tiger Toki <3
Anyway! I'm excited to go home and play some more, because it is a pretty game, although like most games with the more realistic style, the character and NPC animation is kind of clunky and stiff, which bugs me. How is it that WoW can manage to make their 6(?) year old animations still look like they're carrying weight and not just flitting around, whereas these "prettier" games just can not get the hang of it?
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to take and post screenshots and whatnot, so I'll definitely be doing that. If anyone's interested in this game at all, now would be the time to sign up for the beta on their website. It looks like they're giving them out pretty frequently. I waited maybe 3 days to get my invite (and I have a sneaking suspicion that the only reason it took that long was because they were waiting for a beta event to let more people in.
Yay for new games!