ARS: Rift, a new MMORPG looking to make a big splash on a scene dominated by World of Warcraft, has been available in open beta for a few days now. Ars sat down to get a read on how the game is shaping up in advance of its launch next month, and, while it may draw some resentment for stepping on Blizzard’s enormous MMORPG toes, Rift is shaping up to be a unique entry into the world of online gaming.
For better or worse, WoW is the de facto standard in the MMORPG world, and Rift has not forgotten this. On startup, old WoW salts will notice that the hotkeys are currently mapped exactly, and we mean exactly, the same as in WoW—O for social, P for spellbook, and so forth. While this gave us a sense of copycat-related foreboding, once we got into the game, Rift proved to have dynamics and gameplay that stand apart from WoW.
Players can progress through 30 levels of challenges by completing daily and weekly quests, thus earning Battle Pass experience points and rewards. The Battle Pass can be played for free and will reward players with various consumables and a set of artifacts that will literally make their pants burn – the “Pants on Fire” effect
gamigo is pleased to announce it has assembled a hefty collection of in-game events, quests and items for the “Budgie Carnival Celebration” in its fantasy MMORPG, RIFT.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the Hellbugs have reared their ugly heads once again to invade Rift. It’s up to players to fight these hellish creatures to save Telara – and in doing so – earn a number of unique rewards that will display their dominance over the Hellbugs.
