RIFT developers exploring co-op faction play, cloaks, and more

In a recently posted Q&A, RIFT developer Trion Worlds answers some frequently asked questions about things like co-operative faction play, and other items like the possibility of cloaks or Arenas being added to the game.

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A new, official developer Q&A for Trion Worlds' MMO, RIFT, has surfaced, in which the developers address a number of common questions raised by fans. The array of topics touched upon is fairly eclectic, and include questions about the possibility of playing cooperatively with friends in other factions, whether or not Arenas will make it into the game, and even whether or not players will be able to to warm their avatars' chilly, virtual shoulders with cloaks.

Folks interested in playing RIFT with friends from the faction opposite their own may soon be able to do so, though Trion Worlds is still sussing out just how that will work. "We are exploring many different ways to provide players with opportunities to play alongside players from the other faction," the developer notes. "The first step in this process is, of course, the mercenary system. This has had the fantastic benefit of virtually eliminating PvP queue times. We do have other, grander plans in store, but I can’t go into details yet."

Expanding RIFT's "soul system"--which would include adding more souls, levels, or "callings"--is also something on the developer's radar, but envisions those changes as part of a more "large-scale," future update for "expanding the game further."

Arenas, on the other hand, go against RIFT's design ethos. "We have no plans for arenas at this time, RIFT is a massively multiplayer game and we really want to embrace the mechanics of getting large groups of players together and arenas are counter to that." However, Trion Worlds is doing some things to serve more competitive players.

"We are adding leaderboards to both PvE and PvP content complete with divisions and rankings so players looking to compete will have a great tool for measuring how badass they are," the developer states. "We've also got some exciting new PVP content cooking but it’s still too early for us to give any details."

"Cloaks of all types (Guild or otherwise) are something we really want to do," Trion Worlds writes in response to inquiring fans. They'd love to add them, you see, but not at the expense of gameplay performance. "RIFT is unique in the fact that we have many activities that encourage hundreds of players to play together and we don't want to negatively impact that experience," the developer states. "You all will be the first to know if/when we solve this particular problem since you know we could never keep something that exciting under wraps for long!" Pun intended, we think.

You can check out the complete list of topics and answers in RIFT's latest developer Q&A for more tidbits.

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  • reply
    March 30, 2012 1:30 PM

    Jeff Mattas posted a new article, RIFT developers exploring co-op faction play, cloaks, and more.

    In a recently posted Q&A, RIFT developer Trion Worlds answers some frequently asked questions about things like co-operative faction play, and other items like the possibility of cloaks or Arenas being added to the game.

    • reply
      March 30, 2012 1:49 PM

      YES! Cloaks, finally! That will get me in the game.

    • reply
      March 30, 2012 1:54 PM

      Rift's gameplay may be pretty standard MMO stuff, but I really feel like they've done a great job with updating and streamlining the game since launch. And their endgame setup is probably the best of any current MMO.

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        March 30, 2012 2:15 PM

        It's interesting comparing them with SWTOR in some regards. Bioware keeps stating how they want to have community and that is why there are some things missing.

        Rift does the exact opposite they have weekly free transfers, cross server lfg, cross server pvp with mercenary system and yet the game is probably the most social I have played. As there are lots of events in the world that require people to get out of the home city and work together. Instant Adventure is a great example, hit a button and join a queue with a bunch of people on your server going through proceduraly generated quests. And the easy way to join up in public groups if you are in the same area as other people, its just so group and social friendly.

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          March 30, 2012 2:19 PM

          I should really give this a try again.

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          March 30, 2012 3:09 PM

          Most of Rift developers are also from the EQ dev team and have a ton more experience with MMO's than Bioware.

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        March 30, 2012 2:48 PM

        I played the trial and I was impressed with it. I love how they shamelessly rip off WoW whenever it's appropriate, rather then change things just for change sake. And then everything that is different is so for good reason. Too many MMO's seem to try to differentiate for it's own sake and end up making mechanics that are worse then WoW's just to be different.

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          March 30, 2012 2:59 PM

          Yeah, it's a very interesting mash up of things that worked in other games (lots of WoW stuff, WAR's public quests, but better, LOTRO's cosmetic options, etc) and their own unique concepts, like the easily-changed souls to make every "class" able to try out lots of different combinations without rerolling, and the endgame advancement through planar attunment in addition to raids, PvP, crafting, etc.

          It's probably the game I'm second most excited about playing on a new PC since illfinally be able to run it with all the effects and stuff turned on, which make it look quite nice.

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      March 30, 2012 3:14 PM

      I love the game. Got to some end game content before the last patch. I even wrote some fiction for it before it was released because I love the lore.

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