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How's the PvE?
So I played WAR, loved the pvp. However the pve just stunk imo. Atleast when I played at release. How is the pve in Rift? Is it engaging? I suppose what I didn't like about WARs pve was a few minor things really. Not being able to queue an ability was a minor annoyance. Only using like 2 or 3 abilities in a fight. It's hard to put my finger on what I didnt exactly like about WARs pve but it just seemed rather dull. How does Rift fair in comparison?
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Well, one thing about Rift's pve that I like is that almost none of it is bugged. WAR had so many bugged quests and PQ's, some are still bugged to this day. Quests are similar, probably easier in Rift because they tell you exactly where to go, more so than WAR's. It depends on the souls you use how engaging the actual pve is. When I am playing a shaman, I really don't use that many abilites. But on my warrior, specifically the Reaver soul, I am using a crap ton of stuff, makes it more engaging. I actually liked tome hunting in war, and going after hero mobs and bestial tokens and such, so I miss that, but there are artifacts in Rift, and other various discoveries out there in the world. Rifts/invasions are better than WAR's public quests no doubt in my mind.
Rift is still pretty similar to WAR in terms of PvE. Rift is much more polished than WAR was at launch, but both are still very similar.
I prefer Rift's PvE mainly due to the rifts events. Honestly, the whole quest thing doesn't appeal to me right now... I don't bother to read or anything. I just shoot through quests and hope for a rift to open, which happens enough.
In the end, if you didn't enjoy WAR much, than Rift may have the same effect, with one exception... rifts. I almost feel as if rifts were the main attraction, but in order to get there, I have to run through a whole bunch of tedious chores. It's really up to how you WANT to play the game. If you let yourself be immersed, than maybe you will be. I simply can't immerse myself in a quest that lasts all of 15 minutes.
In terms of using 2-3 abilities, it depends on what class you chose. There is still that annoyance where one skill becomes tiered really high and makes other skills useless. This is a problem with a lot of MMO's. I wouldn't say you spam 2-3 buttons, I'd just say you spam a handful of buttons.
It's hard to highlight how RIFTs PVE compares against WAR's when you find it difficult to put your finger on what you didn't like in WAR, but my 2c on RIFT:
I don't like the global cooldown on abilities. It's a bit of a PITA.
The RIFTs are fun, chaotic and rewarding, but i think there's too many of them (perhaps reflective of high populations at the moment).
I haven't played the 1st Dungeon yet, so have no basis to make a comparison. I actually thought the Dungeons in WAR were relatively well done though.
Spawn rates seem a little fast. I don't know if this is again due to expected volume through areas during launch.
Agro range, wandering monsters, monsters per sq metre - seem a bit high/agro. You can negotiate your way through an area without drawing agro...but it will be a challenge. Together with the spawn rates it can make adventuring a bit of a mine-field and encourages a 'stick to the road' mentality.
I love the soul system. Having said that, I find myself with almost too many abilities. For example, I've got 3 souls. I therefore may have 3 low level/low damage attacks. Because of the global cooldown I can't use more than one of these at a time, so I really only need one. Sure, I could choose my favourite and drop the other 2 off my hotbar (which is probably the approach I will end up taking), but why give me 2 unneccessary abilities?
I wouldn't say the PVE is spectacular, but it's solid. Pretty similar in approach to what you've seen elsewhere.
Having said all that, all my complaints above are minor. I'm still enjoying the game, and apart from the odd PVP battleground all my experience has been PVE. Crafting is infinitely superior to WAR (how could it not be, right?), pretty similar to WOW, but the items compare favourable to quest items you receive, so you'll actually end up using those boots you make as opposed to selling them off as trash. Also, I'm liking the ability to scavenge armor and weaponry, so all the leather in those 30 pairs of boots I made to level up my crafting can be recycled and isn't lost to an NPC vendor somewhere.
Rift's PvE is not that different from WAR's PvE, just much more polished, with more content, and more builds possibilities. If you really enjoyed the PvP's part of WAR, you won't find that in Rift. You can queue for the equivalent of Scenarios, but there are less of them. And there is no open world RvR you can level with.
Also the class/soul system is probably not really balanced/conceived having PvP in mind at the moment. Doesn't mean it can't be fun though.
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