And if so, how is it?
I am. It’s fun. It’s a lot like WoW, but with more flexibility in building your character. Plus some “dynamic” events where NPCs attack back.
You can read previous threads:
Rift: Planes of Telara
Rift: Gonna Play?
If you have specific questions, I can probably answer.
Yeah. A friend of mine and I both play on Estrael, on the Guardian side. So far, it’s not massively different than WoW, but different enough that I find it interesting. I love the graphics, and I kind of like that the lore is still in its nascent stages. It allows for more flexibility in role-playing, at least (Estrael is an RP shard).
The mechanics are complex but manageable thus far; it feels nice and flexible. I love that each of the four classes can play more than one role. I really don’t love the tab targeting logic, but that’s a habit that I should break, anyway.
I’ve been playing it more than WoW lately. Not that I don’t like WoW anymore, but it’s nice to be in a different place, and to play around with different character concepts. The only thing that I don’t like thus far has to do with debates regarding the merits of either side–but that’s a bit of geektitude I’ll only get into if asked.
I’d like to try it, but they don’t make it for Mac. I won’t boot up Windows unless I need to use AutoCAD, so Rift is a no-go for me.
Right now I’m loving it. There are some issues that really should be worked out, but those are mostly where Rift copied WoW directly without refining the design or using the advanced design found in WoW addons. The auction house interface is incredibly cumbersome without Auctioneer, for example.
Still, the graphics are pretty, the class design is really neat, the gameplay mechanics are varied and interesting, and on the whole it’s just fun to play. You can tweak your character to incredible degrees (granted, the customization is so varied that it’s easy to get lost in the sea of options) and there’s a lot of different ways to play.
They really hit a home run with the core conceit/concept of rifts: they are in essence micro-dungeons that spawn randomly in the world where you have to fight through various stages of foes. Anyone can join in fighting off a rift, and if a group is set public you can join them and link up for the duration of the battle, although it’s not necessary and you don’t lose out on rewards for not doing so. It allows for a very organic and natural feel of cooperation with your fellow players, and it’s really amazing when a major rift comes through and you find yourself battling off a raid boss with 20 other people who came together spontaneously. In addition to the nice rewards you get, it’s just fun.
One of the guys here at work calls it ‘WoW for adults’ and really loves the game. He says that it’s really easy to spec and respec your character depending on what you want to do (solo play, PvP, dungeon raid, etc). and that the graphics are wonderful, and the character classes interesting. I’ve been considering giving it a try, since I stopped playing WoW (again).
-XT
“WoW for adults” is a good label. I’ve heard tell of some right assholes on other servers, but on the server where I play I’ve seen nothing but interesting (and punctuated!) chatter on the zone channels.
Also, the neat thing is that, due to the way the classes (called “callings”) are set up, everyone has access to a support spec. Warriors can tank and DPS, mages can heal and DPS, and clerics and rogues can tank, heal, and DPS. Because of this, you never end up with situations where you have 10 guys who want to run a dungeon but all of them are DPS-only; someone is going to have a support role. (Or at least they don’t have an excuse not to.)
Something I discovered recently was the “puzzles” they’ve hidden in the world. The first time you solve the puzzle (typically by manipulating things into a certain pattern), and you get an achievement and really good loot. I got a purple helmet from one.
You can “cheat” by looking on the web, but it’s more fun if you don’t. I found the first one accidentally while exploring, now I keep an eye out for them.
And of course, there are the glowing artifacts hidden everywhere. This game really knows how to satisfy players who like to explore.
Hey, I play a Guardian on Estrael, too.
Oh, definitely. The artifacts are like a worldwide Easter Egg hunt. And my friends are the kind who like to find ways up mountainsides, even if there’s no obvious paths; more than once they’ve scaled a seemingly-impossible mountain only to find NPCs up there!
Oh, and:
Defiants all the way!
Are there any mounts in the game…or any plans to put them in? Especially flying mounts? I have to say that this was the coolest aspect of WoW when I started playing again…having the ability to fly around was really cool, though it couldn’t make up for the fact that the game was still a grind in the end.
-XT
No flying mounts…yet. The game looks like it’ll support them out of the box, though. There are land mounts, and although they’re expensive, there’s no minimum level needed to get the basic mount. And if you buy the Collector’s edition you get an (ugly) mount immediately.
I’m giving the game serious consideration. My co-worker has been trying to get me to buy the game and start on his server with some kind of hunter type character (like a DAoC scout combined with a WoW hunter with pet from the sounds of it), which is right up my alley…I love that type of class. He says the graphics are really cool as well.
-XT
It’s pretty fun. Like others said, it’s a WoW knockoff, but somehow it’s fun where the idea of playing more WoW makes my head ache.
Crafting is more fun - I’ve spent a lot of time picking flowers in zones where the mobs are 10 levels above me. Sure, I die a lot, but it’s fun. That’s a new one for me, I’ve never thought crafting was anything other than a pain in every other game.
And like others said, the artifacts are a lot of fun, too. It’s great to see that sparkle coming from under a tent and then you’ve got to figure out a way to distract that big mob while you grab it. Or be climbing that mountain and find artifacts all over.
I’m liking combat, too. In the early levels it was a bit tedious, but nowadays I’m a 30-something saboteur (a rogue DPS build) and I’m having a blast with land mines and explosive charges. Set down a bunch of land minds, throw a bunch of charges at a mob, set them off, it comes running at you, you run to a land mine and BOOM! No more mob. I could literally do that all day without getting bored.
The screenshots I’ve seen don’t do the game justice. After getting used to the stylized Blizzard art and models in WoW, Rift screenshots look kind of drab. But when you’re in the game, it’s absolutely amazing. View distance is far; the Defiant starting zone is on the north side of a very large lake and you can see clear across it. Cities loom in the distance. (Some of it is perspective tweaking, but it works really well.)
And combat is absolutely fun. It’s similar to WoW (you’re going to hear that a lot), and some souls are almost direct knockoffs of WoW class trees, but each soul has a unique style to it and all the ones I’ve tried so far are engaging.
No kidding. I just lately had to go back to Freemarch after not being there for several levels and just noticed you can see Lantern Hook from over by the Iron Fortress.
For those of you not in the game, Lantern Hook is this huge rock formation in the middle of a desert zone; Freemarch is the next Zone over, separated by a river. Iron Fortress is a fortress (duh!) on top of a mountain, a ways in from the river. So we’re talking look clear across two zones if you climb far enough up the mountain where Iron Fortress is located.
It reminded me of climbing mountains/foothills around Boulder, CO and realizing I can see the skyscrapers in downtown Denver once I got high enough. Pretty neat!
I’ve been playing a bit, though not as much as when I started. There are definitely a lot of things to like about the game–the graphics are gorgeous (especially if you have the computing horsepower to punch them up to max or near-max), the characters and callings and souls are neat, the rifts are fun. I plan to keep my subscription going and dabble at it.
A couple of things I’ve found not so cool about it, though–for one, the rifts get kind of old for me after awhile. After you’ve done some, the whole concept is kind of “samey”–go to the rift area, fight a bunch of monsters, get some loot. It’s particularly annoying when it’s happening someplace you want to quest and there’s nobody else around so you can’t get rid of the rift.
Another thing is that some of the quests are confusing. Right now my level 26 Defiant is stuck because he’s supposed to do a quest in Scarlet Gorge and I can’t find where he’s supposed to go. The big yellow circle is there, but the area has several elevations and I haven’t been able to locate the quest area. So that’s a little frustrating.
I haven’t done any of the dungeons yet, but I’d like to. And it’s hard for me, as more of a raider mentality who’s focused on performance (Am I doing well? Am I really sucking?) not to have tools to tell me how well or badly I’m doing.
All in all, though, I like the game. Not as much as WoW, but that might just be because I’ve got a lot more time and effort invested in WoW.
I think the Rift system is what makes the game. Rifts are basically randomly spawning portals into the planes of Fire/water/air/earth/death/life, when one appears you have to defeat a mini event in order to close it. If the rift isn’t closed after some time invasion forces start coming through and head for the major quest hubs, if the invasion forces manage to take over a quest hub they murder the NPCs and set up a foothold which spawns defenders and sends out more invasion forces. Eventually you have to deal with it, you can’t just ignore it and continue quest grinding, shit is actually happening in the world not just waiting around for you to get to it and there are consequences if they are allowed to go unchecked. Occasionally major invasions happen with tons of rifts and invasions opening at the same time and ending with an epic boss fight if you manage to defend the quest hubs while taking out the invasions and closing the rifts in a certain amount of time. It’s just great how they always start by everyone getting killed by the massive amounts of invaders, then one or two quest hubs fall before anyone can react. Then everyone groups up and pushes back. Edit: yes closing the rifts is very “samey” after a while, but it’s not really about that. It’s about playing in a world were things are happening around you that don’t directly involve you, it’s about not having predetermined gaming experience every time out. Without the rifts this would be WoW with more class variety and 1/10th the content.
Woot! Coincidental Doper gathering!
Ooh! We should all gather or something! 
I’d love to, but my playtime is very limited, typically an hour or so after 9pm PT. Character name is “Sublime”.