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Rift Endgame
So wait a minute...I just read this article: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/431/feature/6742/Storm-Legion-and-the-Power-of-Choice.html
There's nothing in it about raiding.
Is it possible that Rift has an endgame that is not raiding-centric? I haven't played for a while and I'm interested in Storm Legion. I know there is *a lot to do* at endgame in Rift. I enjoy dungeons, pvp, rifts, etc. I just don't like raiding because I don't like scripted events involving large numbers of people and scheduling hours of my time to a game. I want to play when I feel like it. That's why I don't like raiding, not because I'm averse to grouping.
Can I progress my character and get the best gear without raiding with a max level toon either now or in Storm Legion?
Comments
I understand that you don't need the uberest gear if you don't raid. So that means raiding is the pinnacle of what you can achieve in both Rift and WoW (besides having fun).
So can you get "really good" gear to set you up for raiding by doing things other than raiding? I wouldn't mind raiding sometimes, but like I said, I hate to be in a raiding guild where I need to commit blocks of time like Thursday night from 7 to 11 PM. I just don't want to do that.
Sometimes I do want to do a raid or see what's in there, but I don't want to go the whole organizational lockstep guild thing. Maybe WoW is a better choice (for me) because it offers pug raiding? Does Rift have pug raiding?
EDIT: Nitth, I know you're a TSW guy. Me too. I have a lifetime sub. But TSW instances are the hardest I've been in, so far. I can see the time commitment necessary to work with people to be successful in TSW's pve. I just don't have that kind of time to commt. I play TSW for the story and world (and the *potential* for pvp). I like to run a dungeon once in a while, but looking at LFG now, it looks like it's become very exclusive.
That's good to know. I'm not in a hurry if I'm having fun with the gameplay.
I have two level 50s and I've never done raids and I don't do dungeons either, I play mostly on Ember Isle at the moment and run dailies on there as well as defend the source wells etc... and do a few instant adventures to boost my planer attunement. It suits me fine. I don't need to be tied to epic gear grinding to play the way I want to play. Rift is one of the few games, maybe the only game where you can carry on playing usefully in the open game world and aren't stuck in instanced dungeons all the time post-max level.
Hmm maybe LOTRO too.
Not all raiding in Rift takes place in dungeons, you can open Raid Rifts with planer lures you can get daily in the two major cities or through crafting. If you shout for a raid group and you have a lure and you aren't part of a guild someone might join you. As for raid PUGs, with the LFG tool which slots you into raids across all servers all groups are PUGs.
Actually you get a lesser version of the gear, and you don't tend to get weapons or the other trinkets. To be truthful, not really huge on it being set up that way myself (I rather have to work my way through) but it doesn't REALLY give you the best loot. At beast it might be 2nd Best in slot, but typically its below that with better raid drops able to replace it until it gets upgraded.
Rift End game IS raising. I doubt they would ever take it out considering the raiding is its bread and butter of what many people find good about it. Yes, hate me, but the raiding in the game is far better then WoW has been offering lately and I highly doubt they would give up on it.
Hammerknell is my second favorite raid of all times in any MMO ever released, the only thing to ever top that would be Karazhan, not for difficulty but for how sheer amazing the place was and interesting.
I have nothing against raiding, mind you. I just don't have (or want to make) the time commitment raiding in a decent raiding guild requires. I'm glad there is good raiding for people who enjoy (whether in Rift, WoW, or TSW). For me, I just want to play the game because I like the world and the gameplay of whatever class.
To be even better, I would like the option to raid through PUGs, so games that offer that are good for casual gamers like me. I don't need best in slot, but I like nice things
I don't mind "working" for them. I like it, in fact. It's just that I want to do it when I have time and the inclination to do it. I don't care how long it takes.
Sounds like Rift and WoW have enough for casual players like me, so it just comes down to which gameplay and world and community I like better. With being in a guild, the general community issues isn't too much of a factor.
Rift's raids are mainly only for the hardcore.
WoW has raids for the hardcore (heroic mode, virtually identical difficulty to Rift's raids), raids for the player willing to put in effort but cant do full dedication (regular modes, Rift's slivers can fall into here perhaps), and raids for the very casual (LFR)
I dont do instanced raids or pvp. I enjoy instant adventures, mentoring dungeons, fending off invaders on ember isle, fishing and cooking, working towards crafting epic gear (which is nuts btw), doing zone events and invasions, or pugging a raid rift.
All of these activities are pretty fun, range from highly social to chill solo, and in one way or another progresses my character.
There is a lot to do in this game once you shake the raid and gear progression mentality. And its only going to get better in the expansion.
In addition to what prior posters have stated, you can get into raids doing Pugs as they are shouted for quite often. Just do not expect to be at the forefront of progression raiding if you are doing this. Along with the Raid Rifts doing normal rifts and other activities grants you currency that you can use to purchase gear from vendors (think dungon currency but from doing dynamic open world events). From the article you read it seems they are throwing in an additional way of progressing through hunting rifts. There is also the PvP route which most gear can be mix maxed with some PvE gear, but this certainly isn't ideal if you plan on doing organized raiding, though there has been some debate in the community throughout the past year in regards to BiS weapons and raiding.
You can get raid quality gear without ever setting foot in a raid. and it takes a couple weeks to have entry raid level gear and maybe a couple more weeks to upgrade to the next tier.
People blast Rift for having too many currencies, but it's that difference that allows you to grind the different kinds all at the same time. So it doesn't take that long. But you need to participate in a lot of different activities.
Experts, Zone Events, Instant Adventures, World Event Dailys, PVP, Crafting.
That's how I got my latest toon geared on par with most raiders. and I don't raid.
That's good to know.
I just want to be able to access all the content at my pace. I don't need the 1337est gear, so LFR works well for me. I just want to be able to see the raids sometimes. I mostly like just traveling around and doing various things, sometimes grouping, sometimes alone.
I like to have some sense of "making progress" toward something, as long as the journey is fun. I don't have to be first or fastest. I'm even happy getting there after everyone else has already done it. I just like to know content is reachable at various levels of dedication with commensurate rewards.