trion posts

Rift's biggest innovation, as we pointed out in our review, is the addition of customizable classes. For each archetype, the player chooses three souls that define it however they like. This trailer shows off several different class combinations and how they function in the game proper. Our personal favorite is the Bard/Ranger/Nightblade, as we are suckers for support-focused classes. Healing and buffing call to us. Regardless of our personal preferences, however, this trailer is excellent. After all, we do love trailers that are primarily in-game footage of different game mechanics.

Download the Rift 'Rogue Class' trailer
Check out all Rift downloads

Rift may be brand new, but it's not slacking on the content front. The developers are releasing a new raid, and this trailer details the lore aspect of it. Depicting Alsabeth as she attacks Telara with her Endless Court cultists, it shows lots of the sweet visuals and not much else. We liked Rift, so more endgame content is always appreciated, especially when it furthers the lore considerably. However, you can skip this trailer safely without losing out on any information.

Download Rift 'Alsabeth Raid' Trailer
Check out all Rift downloads

Rift was launched less than a month ago but the development team at Trion Worlds is already close to releasing the fantasy MMO's first major content update. Today Trion Worlds announced that the update will launch for the game's subscribers on Wednesday March 30.

On that Wednesday, the game's villain Alsbeth the Discordant will be generating rifts all across the game's fantasy land of Telera which will spill out tons of monsters and baddies. Players will try to fight offf the beasties over the next week and will also get access to lots of new in-game items. After the rift event, players can then go on a new 20 player raid called River of Souls to fight through undead monsters in order to get to Alsbeth herself.

There is a classic reviewer adage when asked to review an MMO. Simply enough, it states "you can't review MMOs." In most cases, this is true, as MMOs are designed to be ongoing and involved experiences. Unlike single-player games, you are encouraged to play MMOs for hours upon days upon weeks upon months. It's no secret that developers even put in extra incentives for dedicated players, such as vanity titles and awesome gear. When you base an MMO off of the success of previous games in the genre, however, it makes reviewing a much easier prospect. Such is the case with Rift, and while it shamelessly cannibalizes other developers while winking at you knowingly, one can't help but be drawn into the world of Telara. Minor flaws aside, Rift is one of the strongest MMO launches we have seen, and gives us hope that other developers will attempt to match Trion for their polish.

Team Fortress 2 players who have also pre-ordered the upcoming fantasy MMO Rift will be getting a couple of new in-game melee weapons for Valve's multiplayer shooter. Starting today, people who pre-order Trion Worlds' MMO by March 1 will get two melee weapons in Team Fortress 2: The Sharpened Volcano Fragment for the Pryo class and the Sun-on-a-stick for the Scout class.

Furthermore, if those Team Fortress 2 players unlock the new Steam achievement "Riftwalker", they will receive a code that can be used to unlock a new hat item in Rift, the Well Spun Hat (shown above). The hat will be available for Rift players starting with the game's headstart time period on February 1. Rift will officially launch on March 1.

[Via email press release]

A good cinematic does three things. First, it shows off the visual expertise of the developers, letting the players know that the game they are playing is in the hands of a competent team. Second, it introduces the players to the basic world concepts, such as the two different factions and the devastating power of the rifts. Finally, it sneaks in a few references to game mechanics to prime players for the game proper. In this case, it's things like dynamic PvP and ancestor souls. This cinematic for Rift fits all three, and is a visual stunning and informative overview of Trion's baby.

Download Rift Cinematic Trailer
Check out all Rift downloads

Player vs Player is becoming more and more essential to increasing the lifespan of a good MMO, and Rift is no exception. The one problem is that, for the most part, PvP has been done to death. Most of the bases have been covered, from fortress control (more Korean MMOs) to Realm vs Realm (anything by Mythic) to straight, normal PvP (World of Warcraft). For those that care more about ganking than raiding, this trailer gives a glimpse into the unique aspects of Rift's PvP system, such as combination PvE objectives and gathering of PvP "souls."

Download Rift 'PvP' Developer Diary
Check out all Rift downloads

Some MMOs have talent trees. Others, like World of Warcraft, even have several talent trees per class. This is the first time, however, that we have seen a whopping eight talent trees per class. In this case, the game is Rift and the class is the Warrior. While this trailer doesn't offer any concrete details on what exactly each class does, it does show off the names and the hybrid trees. For example, the Reaver is apparently a soloing and main tank hybrid class. We're certainly intrigued by this selective display of information from Trion!

Download HD Rift 'Build Your Class - Warrior' Trailer
Check out all Rift downloads

Rift is nearing release, and if you doubted that it is almost here, we've got a little something to change your mind: TV spots! These two advertisements show essentially the same footage, but with a different ending for each. The first, above, is 30 seconds long and has an ending of a creature coming through a rift. The second is 15 seconds long and ends with a tentacle swinging down upon the party. They also take on World of Warcraft directly by mentioning Azeroth in a rather Wizard of Oz fashion.

Download HD Rift 30-second TV Spot
Download HD Rift 15-second TV Spot
Check out all Rift downloads

After several years of development, Trion Worlds is about to finally launch its first MMO game. The company announced today that its fantasy MMO title Rift will get its official launch on March 1. The game has gone through a number of changes since it was first announced (including two changes to the game's title).

As we reported last month, Trion Worlds has some special pre-order in-game items for people who want to buy the game early along with a Collector's Edition of the game with even more content. Pre-order customers can also participate in all of Rift's upcoming closed beta tests and will be able to play the final game online on February 24, five days before everyone else. The monthly subscription fee will be $14.95 a month but they are also offering a "Founder's Pricing" plan that for a limited time will let players sign up for $9.99 a month if they pay for six months.

[Via email press release]