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Rift SOS
Having played quite a bit in the beta and now since head start began, I see two major problems Rift has, that together are going to drive their target market (disillusioned WoW players) right back to where they came from. They're going to have to change these two things, and FAST if they want to keep those players around.
#1. Probably the number one complaint on the rift forums: getting dismounted by mobs. Anything and everything can dismount you, regardless of what mount you're using or what level you are. You can be a level 50 riding past a level 8 mob, get hit twice, and BAM, dismounted. I know I'm not going to put up with that crap long-term, and I'm 100% sure the majority of other players won't either. To make matters worse, the "new" content Rift has that WoW doesn't (rifts....) requires mobility, and running around in the zone. No one wants to have to stop and fight crap en-route to a rift or an invasion boss every 30 seconds.
This issue is really a common sense thing, and honestly I have no clue why it was ever designed like this in the first place.
#2. Large-scale invasion events. The idea is awesome, but their implementation needs some work. Why, you ask? Population. I did see this coming, but I think a lot of other players didn't. You have to have sufficient players to handle the large-scale invasion events. If you don't, your entire zone eventually gets over-run, and you're basically screwed until it's over. During beta, and so far (for the most part) in live it's not been a problem... at least as far as most people can see. That's because the starting zones are huge, and encompass quite a large level range, so there's a lot of players in that zone, and the invasion events are easily handled. The next zone isn't too bad either. But on my shard, in the zone after that there's rarely enough people to handle invasion events, and I've found out all too well how that works out for players. Bottom line is, it doesn't. Some events literally take over the entire zone: questing areas, quest hubs, and roads. You literally can do practically nothing except try completing the invasion event and dieing horribly over and over again because you just don't have enough people. Or, you can simply log out and wait for the event to go away. I don't know about other players, but I know *I* am not going to pay to play a game where I routinely have to log out for 45 minutes or an hour every couple hours simply because there's not enough players to complete the content.
And I can tell you without a doubt, this WILL be how it plays out, unless they fix it. Server/shard population is hard enough to maintain at the crucial balance needed to complete such large-scale content (and at the same time, not cause login queues), but then you also have to worry about zone population. And that, frankly, is impossible to balance because you're inevitably going to get to a point where most active players are level 50, all the low-level zones are routinely overrun, and no one's going to play new characters for very long simply because it's way too frustrating.
The only real solution I can see to this is to parse the zone for population just before the event starts, and scale the event accordingly.
Comments
The mount bit I'll give you however the rest is kinda debunked TBH - i beleave the size of the events are based on population in the zones, so the zones wont be 'overrun' as badly as it looks now theres a LOT of players in the starting area still as it's only just been released and many only have had this weekend to play, my shard for instance has an invation of 30 dark rifts this weekend whereas during the weekday afternoon it was 5 or 6 in the same zone..
Bring on the WARRRRGGHH!
The obvious problem with this is that not everyone in the zone is going to be interested in dealing with the Rift events. This morning for example, I took a break from healing what felt to me like the 1000th rift event of the morning to catch up on tradeskills and quests and I simply couldn't do it because the zone was overrun by mobs higher than I was and moving anywhere was instant death. I finally just logged off and played something else for a while.
When people are actually logging off from the game to avoid content then there are probably issues with that content that need to be addressed.
@OP I wish you wouldn't refer to Rift players as desillusioned WoW players, you won't make friends in either camp starting like this
Agree with your first point it's annoying to be attacked by low mobs, kill them in three hits and remount. LOTRO addressed the issue; you have a small bar to check your mount status, when depleted you are dismounted, bar replenishes quickly; basically if you slalom properly, even hit occasionally by mobs of your level you are never dismounted, plus you have zero aggro with grey mobs even standing on them.
On your second point, the game actually just started and people are discovering everything, certainly more interested in PVE quests and dungeons and crafting than running around to counter invasions and rifts for now, maybe because it's a new concept and many see them as an annoyance to their quiet levelling path, when they are actually a core feature of the game, give good EP and good rewards. Rift is about cooperation, if you do something solo, your reward is modest so in the end when people know how invasions are vital for their shinies and rewards, they will focus on them and join raids.
To be honest I'd rather die trying something impossible in a good dynamic mmo than beat static mobs waiting to be slaughtered to finish a quest. Untill now I never had to rage log out out of frustration, when an invasion is successful it never bothered me, as far as I know it means we missed excellent rewards but the zone isn't made unplayable. And you can still go to another zone or do something else, a mmo is supposed to be a large world with infinite opportunities 8-P
Btw their easy grouping system is great, it's the first time I don't hate people, because the more you help, the more you receive, it's a brilliant concept.
About mobs dismounting you and fighting mobs ins the way of a rift, In my opinion, the problem of scenery packed with mobs is an issue in most theme park games. In fact it was one of the things I didnt like of Rift. So i think same as you, thye should fix this.
Your concern about the mounts I doubt constitute a game breaker for many people. I just avoid the wildlife mobs, some of whom are fighting rift invasions also, which I think is cool. But I digress.
But your second concern I am forced to agree with. I, too, have logged off to avoid too frequent rifts, a fact I let be known to the devs several times in beta. Slow down the invasions. Some people don't want to do that repetive content 24/7. For a change, an event, I enjoy it. But when invasions become so common, you feel like" not again", and log off.
I had same concern with the so called Dynamic "Rifts" in the game. I think many will grow tired of the same event over and over. If you do it for the first 30 levels what makes you think I want to continue to do for another 20 levels and once expansions hit and level cap is lifted, yipee more Rift grinding.
I hope the rewards improve for participating in the rifts. The starter area's really only offered one really nice reward as far as armor/weapons went. You did get a few things for crafting but I cant comment on how valuble they are as I never did crafting.
I was under the impression that the "Rifts" would not spawn as much as they did in Beta, can anyone give me an answer on that?
Im kind of at a point where im not currently subscribed to a MMo and really wondering if I want to pay to play this for a few months. I would just like to see the use of the rift events be less than they were in Beta, otherwise they will not seem that special.
Till those lots of players sooner or later getting tired of closing rifts all together, then you are in a zone with lots of people with lots of rifts but only a few closing them.
the rifts i think will be come a problem at some point.
#1 - Stop running through mobs. This is an issue with the player, not the design. I've had no 'problem' with this. If anyone quits a game because they get dismounted by a mob, good riddance.
#2 - This is something that Trion can fix very easily. Here's the current problem as far as I can tell. Power levelers have gotten so far ahead of everyone else and there aren't anyone in their level range to help them survive. Trion has said several times that the rift content is scaled with the zone population, maybe they need to take a closer look.
Has anyone looked into if higher class mounts allow for extra "dodge". As i seem to be able to take 3 or 4 hits most times now while running past mobs around my level. But like somebdy else said, its not exactly a gamebreaker - and if thats a major concern I would have to applaud Trion on the success.
And the Rift's and frequency/qty has been explained before. Its server dynamic, based on a %age of population in each area at certain times. And the duration it takes for them to be closed is factored into current % of players actualy willing to participate in events.
They will appear dense and frequent at the moment as there is large population in most areas, levels will start spreading out with more time.
The Rifts will get progressively harder/require less people to cause them, as by higher levels you should have some degree of being able to work as a group and 3 ppl could perform far better than 10 working solo.
Rifts and invasions give you one of the most beneficial currencies in the game, the more the better lol.
I have no complains with the game at the moment.
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How can you not have a problem with mobs dismounting you? They are every 10 across the entire world.
Hey you realize a game that the game is called Rifts right? The rift invasion are kinda the whole idea behind the game. Thats kinda like buying a chocolate cake then taking it back and telling the baker that it's has to much chocolate in it, that they should change it or people who like vanilla cake with white frost wont ever buy it.
I don't mind getting knocked down by mobs when i take damage, it's annoying, but their mobs it's suppose to hurt. It is annoying jumping off some steps and getting dismounted if you take damage though. Not sure if they changed that, it happened a few times to me in beta. I kinda just learned to not jump off high places with my mount.
ok here is the concept. You have main road. Big black lines on the map which rarelyyyyyy have mobs. Then you have dirt paths off the side of the road. I can find a dirt path in the amazon it does not mean I am safe from a jaguar if I use it.
The wide scale events that fail are an inconvenience at the most. At least from my experiences. Maybe they can find a way to scale these to the average level of the specific public group..perhaps adjusting each phase of the invasion as new people join or leave the specific public group.
Just avoid mobs when mounted. I understand it's a small hassle to ride around them and a bit annoying when knocked off a mount...but creatures should have the ability to do that anyway. A level 8 mob doesn't weigh any less than a level 40 mob....the difference is you can kick it's ass after you dismount..whereas higher level mobs might take more effort. I honestly thought it was stupid to ride through a group of mobs and they act like you're not there are just magically "know" you're too high a level to beat in a fight .
I only see these things as game breakers for people who lack patience and imagination .People that probably should be playing a different sort of game if an occasional set back that occupies a few seconds is too much to handle or if they expect to never lose a fight.
Your joking right ?? you seem very misinformed about the Rfits themselves..... You dont do rifts for the actual loot, you do them for the planarite and shards (currency). SOME of the best loot comes from buying stuff from planar merchants with the currency you earn from rifts/invasions. First zone alone you can get 3-4 blue weapons and armor and at least 1 purple armor also rare essences and sigils and warstone enhancements. Which will be better than most quest rewards/loot you will get in the first zones. And that fact carries on thru other zones.
Planar merchants sell awesome stuff and the their rewards teir up in each zone. Yeah theres pvp gear,dungeon loot,puzzle loot that are really good as well. Planar loot is a lil more easily attainable for folks who may not want to pvp grind or dungeon crawl.
RIFTS spawn based on zone population-- game just came out zones are packed,so lots of invasions and rifts are there too--when you go to the next higher level zone, the rifts and invasions dont happen as frequently. Also as you progress thru zones the Rifts and invasions change, so your not doing the same things for 30 levels.
At the high end game you do raid rifts which are for your raid only, others can help but they dont reap the rewards your raid wouldget and the rewards are some of the best in the game.
I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE PLAY A GAME CALLED RIFT BUT COMPLAIN BOUT RIFTS its kind of like playing need for speed and complaining about having to drive -- GO FIGURE.
rift is a great game in my opinion what i dont like is that the rifts and invasions are to easy cus there are to many people at the spot.
when i open a rift solo it seems like it the rift is balanced to my character but later on loads of players saw a rift opened on their map and join in making it to easy so boring
In the higher level zones, the roads are also infested with mobs. There is no place you can run or ride through without aggroing mobs. Even in the second zone (Gloamwood, if you're a Guardian) there are already places where the MAIN road goes right through a bunch of mobs, and there are just as many on the road as anywhere else. The only way you can ever ride through these areas without being dismounted is if someone else has cleared out the mobs for you. The higher the level of zone you go to, the worse it gets. This is one of those ways in which this game differs from WoW, and unfortunately in this case it is not a good thing, because their clear target market will not put up with it for long.
They did a really good job with the level 6-20 zones. Good enough to get a lot of people hooked after playing the beta, because most people didn't get past that in the beta. The next zone isn't too bad either, but the third zone is where a lot of the masses will finally have enough and quit, due to frustration. Sure, not everyone will, but unless they change this stuff, and FAST, this game will end up right where Warhammer and Conan did: lots of players at release, that are going to quit in a month or two and go back to where they came from, leaving Rift as just another OK MMO with a couple hundred thousand players. That is obviously not what they are aiming for. But it's what they're going to get if they continue to refuse to listen to their customers.
>"@OP I wish you wouldn't refer to Rift players as desillusioned WoW players, you won't make friends in either camp starting like this
"
Trion didn't beat around the bush, and neither will I. Everyone knows that's their target market. They may as well have announced it in an official press release, because anyone who didn't get the memo clearly doesn't pay much attention.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Just because the game is called Rift people need to close rifts 24/7?
I send feedback and made threads on the forums during beta for #1 several times.
Every time I was stormed by so called "hardcore" and players who had "real skill" because I was "too stupid to avoid mobs", nevermind that mobs will chase you far and that there are plenty of narrow corridors where you have no choice.
Trion seems to have something against people who ignore mobs or against running away from them, the "exposed" debuff is also an example of this, pretty irritating imo.
The second issue became apparent during the later parts of beta where no one was doing the large scale events in scarwood reach because people got spread out thinly in higher level zones and the general interest in them decreased.
They did implement some things already to make them better (made them take down wardstones less quickly etc).
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
your wrong, wait until you open a major rift 3-4 levels higher than you and the mobs rape you as they spawn. youll be wishing people were there to help
Then I can only assume you have yet to get much beyond level 20. Keep playing, and you'll find out what I'm talking about. The next zone after Gloamwood (if you're Guardian) is where the real pain starts.
>" I only see these things as game breakers for people who lack patience and imagination."
They're game breakers for the masses they are trying to attaract from WoW who have little patience when it comes to dealing with unnecessarily frustrating BS. Imagination has nothing to do with it. That was the one thing WoW really got right, that Rift really got wrong in some key ways. And that is having the game get out of the way so the player can actually play and have fun.
If they were trying to attract the niche market of players that enjoy more challenging games like EQ and Vanguard, they would be fine, at least in this regard. (Of course, that group tends to demand a lot more out of the crafting system as well, so they don't really hit the mark there either.) But they're not - they're targeting a much bigger market. And they currently have themselves set up for an epic fail, if they don't fix this stuff.
Bottom line is they are walking the edge of the clfif right now. If they make the right changes in time, they can set themselves up for huge success in the coming years. If they don't, they are going to fall, hard and fast. They're going to have to move very quickly if they want to save what they have. It's almost too late already.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
If that were actually true, there would be no issue. It's not true. Wait until you find yourself in a higher level zone with insufficient player population to defeat the invasion events. Unlike Silverwood or Freemarch, there are no areas where you can safely go quest and ignore the invasion. You will find the entire zone taken over, and there is nothing you can do about it besides log off. If you think I am making this up, don't take my word for it: keep playing. You will see.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
I have seen it-- invasions dont last forever -- just go run some warfronts- you get good exp from that-- go craft-- or run some dungeons- you act like questing is the only thing to do- go do some open world pvp- cmon i have seen it in scarwood reach - that didnt mean there werent things to do to gain exp until the invasion was over - geez
The rifts were, suprisingly, pretty much the only reason I quit playing (beta). It got to be a damned nuisance having to close a rift every half hour just so I could quest in the area. Rifts are not optional, sorry. If you want to quest, gather crafting mats, or what have you, then you need to close them.
Which is too bad, because the game is otherwise fairly enjoyable. I might end up trying it again once the box price drops.
So here is a game that actually make us work together to save our land our world etc, a very intriguing system to me and most of us want it to be tone down or because most of you think that it will get boring quickly... I just do not see how I mean I may take a break but I never see it heading to bordom. The only way I see how Trion can amp the rifts up abit for the ones that get borde of it is to add a second system to the rift by allowing us to enter that rift world and explore it with added quest, new mysteries gear that looks differrent from our world of Telara and an added quest chain that would grant us final access to that the world final boss.