Last night of open beta, did some exploring

[Redbeard]

Didnt get very high, got to level 8 on a few characters.

TLR version: Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I like the rifts!

So i was just running around and I took a wrong turn and went to a zone with level 20 mobs. Well, I ran into this town at the beginning of the zone. There was a hill off to one side so i ran over there to see what I could see and came to a cliff. There was a shiny (collectible) on the ground that I picked up.

When I turned around, the sky above me was shimmering. Apparently before a rift opens, there are "tears" that appear like that. Everyone has an ability called planar lure they can use to draw them out. So I opened the rift =P Out come level 20ish mobs from the rift and im insta smoked.

No big deal. I rezzed and then ran off to the side of the rift so I could observe what would happen. For about 5 minutes the mobs just milled about. Then, a gong went off and the "raid warning" portion of my screen warned me that there was an invasion happening. A mini boss and some minions broke away from the rift area and ran down into the town and start ganking guards. Once they had killed some of the guards, they started attacking this "waystone" in the town. They got it to about 3/4 life before more guards came and the invasion was stopped.

So that was cool. What happens if the waystone dies I wondered? So im standing around and the screen all of the sudden goes crazy. Apparently like 12 smaller rifts somehow spawned off of this one all over the zone and shit was going DOWN. I go back to check out the town and the waystone is dead and i look on my map and there is whats called a "Foothold". I dont know what the implications are, but shit was growing in the town. I didnt get a chance to see what was happening in the rest of the map cause i was too low level to get over there.

Anyways. Long story short, the rift stuff looks cool as hell. =)

[MiRai]

I posted weeks ago that I felt multiboxing would be useful in this game, even if you only boxed a tank/healer for the exact situation
that you mention. What if you were solo and wanted to quest in that zone? Who is going to help you close the rift and clear the
elites from the quest hubs? You certainly cannot do that playing solo.

When RIFT goes retail and everyone is leveling up the game will be great, but if they can't keep the player base and the lower
level zones populated well... then what will new players do? Or people leveling alts?

[Wadis]

I posted weeks ago that I felt multiboxing would be useful in this game, even if you only boxed a tank/healer for the exact situation
that you mention. What if you were solo and wanted to quest in that zone? Who is going to help you close the rift and clear the
elites from the quest hubs? You certainly cannot do that playing solo.

When RIFT goes retail and everyone is leveling up the game will be great, but if they can't keep the player base and the lower
level zones populated well... then what will new players do? Or people leveling alts?

I'm pretty sure the invasions are based on who is in the zone. I noticed that open beta (with a heap of players rolling around the new zones at level 30+) that the rifts that were opening in the starter zone reflected that. EG,. lvl 15-20 rifts in a starter zone.

I'm guessing they are dynamic, so with 10 people in the zone an invasion will be less severe.

all IMO.

[Redbeard]

Those are all great concerns Fen, I am really not sure.

I do know the rifts close after a time. Also, it seems like they start off slowly and build up.

Hopefully they have something up their sleeve so its not like WAR was with PQs.

I know for myself personally Im not a big alt guy so as long as they can make the "max level" stuff interesting ill be alright, but certainly for longevity lets hope theyll have an intelligent solution for the noobie rifts.

In a way its somewhat the opposite of the direction WoW has gone. Were there even any group requiring quests in CATA? I dont know, I didnt make it to the end. Not in the few zones I did though. This is potentially forced grouping.

[MiRai]

I do know the rifts close after a time. Also, it seems like they start off slowly and build up.

Yeah there are timers on them if you mouse over them on the map I believe.

Hopefully they have something up their sleeve so its not like WAR was with PQs.

Haha that is exactly what I'm referring to. I tried out WAR later than most people, so when I was leveling up, it was a ghost
town and was very difficult to get a group together at times to get those done as well as the RvR.

In a way its somewhat the opposite of the direction WoW has gone. Were there even any group requiring quests in CATA? I dont know, I didnt make it to the end. Not in the few zones I did though. This is potentially forced grouping.

I don't think WoW has had group quests while leveling up since TBC.

[Redbeard]

I did want to mention that 1 guy (he was level 21 and the rift mobs were 20) was able to come and re-take the town... he died a few times, he was a tank class.

But then that begs the question, if one guy can close the rift.. are they just going to be pushovers?

We will see.

[Lyonheart]

I did want to mention that 1 guy (he was level 21 and the rift mobs were 20) was able to come and re-take the town... he died a few times, he was a tank class.

But then that begs the question, if one guy can close the rift.. are they just going to be pushovers?

We will see.

One guy can take down a minor rift, maybe, but no class will be able to take down a major rift solo. Minor rifts have few if any elite mobs. Major rifts have multiple elites and the Boss usually is harder. If you hover over a rift on your map, it will tell you what type it is.

[Redbeard]

Well some of the quests in WOTLK at the end of zones I *think* were 3 man quests etc. I could be wrong.

Anyways, doesnt really matter.

Im not really sure Fen, I hope they have something figured out though.

[Lyonheart]

When you hit the level 20-25 zone, you get a few quests that say they recommend 3 players. I think two would be enough for those. When i did them with my trio, they were very easy. There might be quests later on that are full group quests, not sure.Also, the Rifts are not forced grouping,, you have a choice to join the raid when you are near an area invasion or rift. But its smart to join, i believe you get better rewards for being in the raid, as well as more buffs and such.

[Redbeard]

The reason I say forced grouping Lyon is... I saw the timer on the rift, it said 100 minutes left. Correct me if im wrong, i am just getting into the game a bit so dont have all the details.

But say they take over the town for 100 minutes. Are there multiple places to quest or is it linear? If its linear, and youve infested the zone im in, youve basically shut me down for 100 minutes or until somebody bands together and deals with the rift.

If the rifts are not soloable, I need a group to clear them. If I want to keep leveling, the grouping is forced. Thats what i meant.

I could be way off base.