Rift: Killing Faeries
The Rift Head Start event began this past Thursday. Anyone who pre-ordered the game is allowed to start playing before the official launch date of March 1st. I rushed home from work with great anticipation and a long play session ahead of me. As I soon learned, I wasn’t the only person with the same idea.
The launch serves were packed with players, which meant most people had to wait in a queue before they could get in. My queue was 45 minutes long. It was frustrating, but not unexpected. Trion did the best they could, bringing up new servers quickly, but it was obvious that this game was in great demand. A testament to how good the game is.
Once into the game, I created my Paladin/Riftblade/Beastmaster and tore through the newbie areas as fast as I could. My guild changed their minds at the last minute and decided to play on the Guardian side. The original plan was to be Defiants, so I had spent my entire alpha/beta test time in that area. So, all new content for me! I enjoyed the Guardian level 1-20 content, but I prefer the Defiant lands.
I was level 17 when my guild decided to try the 5-man instance located at the Realm of Fae. I was designated as main tank for the group. Things went fairly well considering it was our first time through. We wiped a couple times due to a larger pull than anticipated, but other than that, we cruised on apace.
Realm of Fae boss
As you move through the instance, you go higher and higher into the mountains. The landscape eventually turns to snow and you find yourself in a blizzard. The environmental effects of this area are some of the best I have ever seen. It really looks like you are in a blinding snow storm.
Is this the Donner party?
The Fae Lord is the final boss of the instance. You have to plow through a bunch of his minions before facing him directly. He is no slouch, but we took him down without any deaths. I did very well as far as loot drops went. I obtained three very nice blue items by the time we were done. All-in-all, it is a fun instance. My biggest piece of advice would be to take a healer that is as high a level as possible.
Realm of Fae end boss
I leave you with a nice cozy inn:
A cozy inn
Rift Beta 6
Another Rift beta test is in full swing this weekend. Things are going smoothly so far. They held a “bring down the servers” event to test their robustness and they never went down. This game is getting more polished every day.
I decided to try a new soul combination this week. I went for a Paladin/Beastmaster/Riftblade build this time. I am really liking it so far. The Paladin is a defensive tank, so the extra DPS the pet provides greatly helps in getting things dead. It really comes into play when battling multiple mobs.
Some of the skills I like are the Shield Bash-type. There is just something satisfying in watching my shield smash into an enemies face and hearing the resulting WHACK! I was also pleasantly surprised to find that a Paladin gets an instant cast complete heal spell early on in his career. It’s on a 10 minute cool down, but it can still be the difference between death or surviving getting ambushed by a group of bad guys.
This is the soul build I am working with: Paladin/Beastmaster/Riftlbade.
I have tried many different soul combinations and I liked the majority of them. It is going to be difficult to decide what my main character is going to be when the game goes live. One thing is for certain, I am very tired of seeing the newbie areas!
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