I like climbing mountains.
One thing I’ve noticed about leveling 3 characters to between 9 and 14 in Rift is that the game shifts gears pretty quickly.
One through six is absolutely boring, standard, ‘seen it before’ MMO.
I’ll give them props for pretty great visuals in some cases. I like the steam-punk fantasy laboratory that you start out in Defiant territory, with NPCs wandering around conducting experiments. From there you’re dropped into an apocalyptic landscape under constant attack. Burned out buildings, ruptured landscapes, meteors raining from the sky. A quick shift away from the pleasant weirdness of the lab.
In guardian territory you start out in a grand castle, much more standard fantasy. You emerge into a graveyard overlooking a city under attack. I like how extensive the city is, often cities in MMOs have 10 buildings and you’re done. This one seemed to go on for ages. It all looked quite good.
The Defiant starting area ends with a boss fight that sends you into the past, to escape the end of the world much like Kyle Reese. The Guardians send you into the future in much the same way, where both sides end up not far from one another. A broken bridge stretches the length of the harbour that seperates you.
6 to 10 is mostly more boring stuff but you can begin to see some potential.
On the Guardian side I was asked to save 4 drowning soldiers, which I found to be really disappointing. There are dozens out there, but, screw it, just save 4. Quests in Rift are so monotonously similar to every other MMO that once again I find myself not reading the quests or learning the lore. Auto-Pilot.
The rifts are interesting though. You come across them randomly while questing, and can see them in the distance. They’re a great visual, and the game is solidly good looking overall. Participating in your first rifts is a harrowing experience. You don’t know where enemies will spawn, you’re not sure if they’ll be too powerful for you, and hell you’re not sure what is even going on. It can be pretty fun and the rifts in the beginning are quick and to the point. Stage one, stage two, boss fight, rift sealed.
10 to 15 however is making me pretty unhappy right now. I didn’t pre-order and don’t have a mount. I need rewards from rifts to upgrade my gear. These two things do not go together. Time after time I’d rush over to a rift, watching as packs of mounted players arrived minutes before I do, and seal the rift just as I arrive. Pain in the ass.
I have to wonder at this juncture, with a few characters approaching level 15, if rifts will get boring. I can easily see them doing so. Each rift I’ve been to so far has been utterly predictable after a point. A simple progression from stage to stage that culminates in a boss fight. I’m hoping it gets more complicated, with a variety of challenges presented, but right now it is just ‘kill each wave’ and I’m not sure how long that will amuse me.
There are a lot of people in chat talking about just how good the game is, and often times I’m left wondering what drug they’re on. It’s a solid game, a well crafted one with nice details, good art, and rifts that keep you busy, I’m just not sure that’s enough for me.
There are plenty of bloggers I read who keep saying, “it gets better once you leave the starting area” or “it gets better once you hit the teen levels” or “it gets better once you reach the twenties and really begin to enjoy yourself”. Well, the first one is right anyway. I guess we’ll see about the rest.
