Can somebody give me an opinion on how "casual play friendly" Rift is? What I mean is, my wife and I are MMO addicts. We just need to have one to play, and we've been away from them too long and it's clawing at us. However, I am in my last two semesters of my degree, and she's in the middle of a master's program, plus we both work full time, so we have jack shit for time. Like the most we get to play video games now is about 6 or 8 hours a week, and only on the weekends, sometimes even less.
We played some of the tutorial in the open beta but just to like level 4 and it seemed fun, albeit fairly generic. The class system seems like it opens up some really cool possibilities for customization that you don't get in other games. We're just wondering if it would be worth it. There isn't a LFG type tool, right? Is there a lot of general zone chat, making it easy to get a group together for one of the dungeons?
Thanks for any input.
I'd rate Rift as being very casual friendly. The quests are mostly fast and solo-able. The Rifts and public group function make it easy to enjoy some group content without making a major commitment to a guild. The leveling curve is easy. Hard core players hit 50 in under a week. Casuals can probably do it in about a month.
There's a LFG chat channel (type /lfg to join). Also there are chat channels you're automatically put in for each level range and it's common to see people forming groups there. I'm not sure if your reference to an LFG tool meant just a search function, or WOW's auto-group, but there are advantages to not having the auto-group such as being able to get to know people around your level and group with them again if they're good.
Thanks for the post. I have no problem with not having a dungeon tool like WoW's, as long as sacrificing that convenience doesn't mean I can't ever find a group, but it sounds like people are having a fine time getting groups for levelling dungeons, which would be my main concern.
Can I do anything with the extra shards from Freemarch? I've since moved on and have 3 shards sitting there doing nothing. Can they be upgraded somehow?
As far as I know: no.
Also, the shards from Stonefield are also used in Scarlet Gorge. Might be an idea to save them for there if the Stonefield ones aren't a big enough upgrade.
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Kai_SanCommonly known as Klineshrike!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
God dammit. I hate this game, I hate you guys, and I am spending 50 bucks right now
I wish there was some kind of trial, but I really want in on my first new MMO experience since 2004 and wow -_-
What secondary Souls are people using with Bard, and why?
I've tried Assassin and Ranger as secondary but neither really felt like they did anything for me.
I primarily play my Bard in PvE as a Healer/Support.
I have nightblade/ranger. Ranger as the 0-point third soul just to get the pig to tank. I picked Nightblade for the Blazing Fury talent which boosts combo-point generating abilities dmg by 15%, hence making my cadence and main heal stronger, and then Coup de Grace talent which boosts finishers dmg by 15%. Don't actually use any of the nightblade skills and the only non-bard ability I use is the head shot finisher from Ranger since its stronger then my bard's finisher.
Once I get past 30 and the pig stops leveling up I will switch Ranger out for Riftstalker.
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NNID: Sabuiy
3DS: 2852-6809-9411
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FiggyFighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered Userregular
I don't get this problem. He was spamming abilities to rank high in contribution, I guess? That's griefing how?
I wouldn't even call it an exploit. The meter is designed to reward you for keeping your GCD going. Working as intended. Retarded design. But working as intended.
Edit: Looks like the latest patch took the tracking abilities off GCD, which means you can no longer spam them for rift contribution. Step in the right direction.
I don't get this problem. He was spamming abilities to rank high in contribution, I guess? That's griefing how?
I wouldn't even call it an exploit. The meter is designed to reward you for keeping your GCD going. Working as intended. Retarded design. But working as intended.
Edit: Looks like the latest patch took the tracking abilities off GCD, which means you can no longer spam them for rift contribution. Step in the right direction.
From that thread....
EDIT: Also, the mouthy ones are one person with a lot of alts and a drinking habit. Vegas, right?
I'm the mouthy drunk with too many alts from Vegas.
I have had a few run ins with this guild as well. When asked in whispers they can get pretty mouthy so I just let them alone and chalk them up to a WoW Fanboy sophomoric guild.
mouthy? sure. Sophmoric? sure. WoW Fanboy? possibly. 2 out of three ain't bad.
I don't get this problem. He was spamming abilities to rank high in contribution, I guess? That's griefing how?
I wouldn't even call it an exploit. The meter is designed to reward you for keeping your GCD going. Working as intended. Retarded design. But working as intended.
Edit: Looks like the latest patch took the tracking abilities off GCD, which means you can no longer spam them for rift contribution. Step in the right direction.
From that thread....
EDIT: Also, the mouthy ones are one person with a lot of alts and a drinking habit. Vegas, right?
I'm the mouthy drunk with too many alts from Vegas.
Christ Mercy, is there anywhere you don't have a reputation?
Wheee. All new thread. Speaking of thread, still making bags for people if you send me mats and cash to cover the thread. Slowly creepin' my way up to 18 slot bags soon, but for now Burlap, Wool, and Silk can all make bags if you still need room.
CorriganX on
CorriganX on Steam and just about everywhere else.
I don't get this problem. He was spamming abilities to rank high in contribution, I guess? That's griefing how?
I wouldn't even call it an exploit. The meter is designed to reward you for keeping your GCD going. Working as intended. Retarded design. But working as intended.
Edit: Looks like the latest patch took the tracking abilities off GCD, which means you can no longer spam them for rift contribution. Step in the right direction.
From that thread....
EDIT: Also, the mouthy ones are one person with a lot of alts and a drinking habit. Vegas, right?
I'm the mouthy drunk with too many alts from Vegas.
Christ Mercy, is there anywhere you don't have a reputation?
Wheee. All new thread. Speaking of thread, still making bags for people if you send me mats and cash to cover the thread. Slowly creepin' my way up to 18 slot bags soon, but for now Burlap, Wool, and Silk can all make bags if you still need room.
I haven't had a space problem since you donated those 14 slot bags, we'll talk once you get the 18s though xD
Sadly justicar/shamwow is starting to fall a bit behind in pvp, use to be I could just outheal everyone swinging away at me, and still do some decent damage. Now all it takes is one warrior of any flavor to kill me. What's a good cleric pvp build now adays?
I wish people actually tried to protect healers in PVP rather than just jerk off to their huge numbers and then go "OMG HEAL ME" after a random rogue ganks me.
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Loving Bard
So much so that I feel kind of like making my Rogue my main instead of my Mage
Aside from everything else, Mage feels all gimpy in pvp where it's way more fragile but doesn't do way more damage or healing.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I wish people actually tried to protect healers in public rift groups rather than just jerk off to their huge numbers and then go "OMG HEAL ME" after a random rogue ganks me.
I leveled my cleric in PvE and my bard in PvP. So far PvP seems to go faster ( I never lose with my bard) but has fewer rewards (items).
There's a fair bit of rewards, but they do however require you to travel to different areas to buy them.
There are like 2 awards here and there, spaced between many levels which in my mind is very little. You get 2 items at level 12, then again at 18 then at 25 then at 35 and so on. I have an abundance of favor I can't spend on anything
What secondary Souls are people using with Bard, and why?
I've tried Assassin and Ranger as secondary but neither really felt like they did anything for me.
I primarily play my Bard in PvE as a Healer/Support.
Ranger. Damage mitigation talents up until I get the wolf unlocked. Pig for soloing, wolf for groups with a tank.
Then I have Riftstalker as the 3rd, 0-pt soul for now. Just for the dash to get the fuck out.
Riftstalker is pretty much the best 2nd soul. Spend points in it until you get a ranged finisher that gives you 15% mitigation to all damage in the form of a damage absorb shield that will absorb up to 50% of your health. You can also get a permanent +30% healing bonus to yourself and a 20% bonus to armor. You will become very hard to kill, and you can get another finisher that increases your armor by 30%. My 0 point soul is the Saboteur for the AOE snare. This way you get a ton of survivability + a blink + an aoe snare making you a bitch to kill and giving you a lot of tools.
This is mainly for PvP however, since survivability there can be key to success
Okay, just saw my first Rift tv commercial. Wtf? Seriously?
They're going with the "we're not in Azeroth anymore" tagline for the general audience? Cause ripping on WoW has gone so well for other games. Gods.
And mind you I hate WoW, but trying to campaign directly against them is pretty suicidal.
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Best secondary soul for Bard PVE is Nightblade, hands down
Nightblade gets +15% damage to combo point building moves (Cadence), and +9% damage to non-physical attacks (Cadence) for just 10 points. Another 5 gets you +15% to finishers, and while I'm not sure if that boosts healing finishers, your damaging Codas can be pretty useful too. (And also get the 9% boost to non-physical damage)
Nightblade is also probably solid for PVP as a secondary soul because anything that boosts Cadence is pretty great.
Thanks for the PvE Bard advice, folks. Gonna try out a Bard/Nightblade/Riftstalker build when I get home.
Really enjoying the shit out of Bard, but christ is it boring solo. I guess thats what my Assassin build is for.
I suggest also having Marksman or Ranger in there somewhere, and here's why
When you use Cadence, the damage is calculated using whatever weapon you are auto-attacking with. Bows and Guns usually generate slightly higher Cadence damage than one handed melee weapons.
Unfortunately, the game is stone cold retarded when it comes to ranged auto-attack unless you have a soul that is classified as a ranged soul, and you'll spend a lot of time faffing about with the Toggle Ranged Auto Attack button. Whereas if you have Marksman or Ranger, even with 0 points, the game will nicely default you to ranged auto-attack when you start combat at range via Cadence or Power Chord. It's a small convenience, but since the third soul tends to fall by the wayside and Full Support Bard can easily justify 51 points, it's well worth it in my mind.
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Thanks for the post. I have no problem with not having a dungeon tool like WoW's, as long as sacrificing that convenience doesn't mean I can't ever find a group, but it sounds like people are having a fine time getting groups for levelling dungeons, which would be my main concern.
Nightblade. + Cadence Damage, + Finisher damage, + nonphysical damage.
Also I have a 31, two 22s, and a 10.
As far as I know: no.
Also, the shards from Stonefield are also used in Scarlet Gorge. Might be an idea to save them for there if the Stonefield ones aren't a big enough upgrade.
I wish there was some kind of trial, but I really want in on my first new MMO experience since 2004 and wow -_-
I hope I enjoy this shit.
PS I don't really hate you guys
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
I have nightblade/ranger. Ranger as the 0-point third soul just to get the pig to tank. I picked Nightblade for the Blazing Fury talent which boosts combo-point generating abilities dmg by 15%, hence making my cadence and main heal stronger, and then Coup de Grace talent which boosts finishers dmg by 15%. Don't actually use any of the nightblade skills and the only non-bard ability I use is the head shot finisher from Ranger since its stronger then my bard's finisher.
Once I get past 30 and the pig stops leveling up I will switch Ranger out for Riftstalker.
3DS: 2852-6809-9411
I don't get this problem. He was spamming abilities to rank high in contribution, I guess? That's griefing how?
I wouldn't even call it an exploit. The meter is designed to reward you for keeping your GCD going. Working as intended. Retarded design. But working as intended.
Edit: Looks like the latest patch took the tracking abilities off GCD, which means you can no longer spam them for rift contribution. Step in the right direction.
I'm helping, I'm helping!
Wow, some stupid in that thread.
From that thread....
I'm the mouthy drunk with too many alts from Vegas.
But I gotta go get back to spamming motifs now
I thought you meant me until you got to alts :P
We heard you like seafood, so we sent you a giant shrimp.
(Also, my new UI)
also from that thread
mouthy? sure. Sophmoric? sure. WoW Fanboy? possibly. 2 out of three ain't bad.
gamertag:Maguano71
Switch:SW-8428-8279-1687
Christ Mercy, is there anywhere you don't have a reputation?
CorriganX on Steam and just about everywhere else.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
u r so rite. they should rename them to "of the Vendor".
I've repeatedly offered my vent server to the Sunrest guys, and only about 3-4 of them have actually taken me up on the offer.
CorriganX on Steam and just about everywhere else.
Should make it official somewhere! The Six Mouths needs some sort of website. If I had known about your vent server, I'd definitely have joined up.
Working as intended.
I haven't had a space problem since you donated those 14 slot bags, we'll talk once you get the 18s though xD
Sadly justicar/shamwow is starting to fall a bit behind in pvp, use to be I could just outheal everyone swinging away at me, and still do some decent damage. Now all it takes is one warrior of any flavor to kill me. What's a good cleric pvp build now adays?
So much so that I feel kind of like making my Rogue my main instead of my Mage
Aside from everything else, Mage feels all gimpy in pvp where it's way more fragile but doesn't do way more damage or healing.
It's not just PvP.
Comedy whine thread of the year nominee. Are Sabo's the 2nd or 3rd whingernaut thread targets?
There are like 2 awards here and there, spaced between many levels which in my mind is very little. You get 2 items at level 12, then again at 18 then at 25 then at 35 and so on. I have an abundance of favor I can't spend on anything
Riftstalker is pretty much the best 2nd soul. Spend points in it until you get a ranged finisher that gives you 15% mitigation to all damage in the form of a damage absorb shield that will absorb up to 50% of your health. You can also get a permanent +30% healing bonus to yourself and a 20% bonus to armor. You will become very hard to kill, and you can get another finisher that increases your armor by 30%. My 0 point soul is the Saboteur for the AOE snare. This way you get a ton of survivability + a blink + an aoe snare making you a bitch to kill and giving you a lot of tools.
This is mainly for PvP however, since survivability there can be key to success
Very nice - do you just have the pet bar hidden entirely?
Also did you rebind 1-0 to another bar to hide the big frame around action bar 1?
They're going with the "we're not in Azeroth anymore" tagline for the general audience? Cause ripping on WoW has gone so well for other games. Gods.
And mind you I hate WoW, but trying to campaign directly against them is pretty suicidal.
Nightblade gets +15% damage to combo point building moves (Cadence), and +9% damage to non-physical attacks (Cadence) for just 10 points. Another 5 gets you +15% to finishers, and while I'm not sure if that boosts healing finishers, your damaging Codas can be pretty useful too. (And also get the 9% boost to non-physical damage)
Nightblade is also probably solid for PVP as a secondary soul because anything that boosts Cadence is pretty great.
"We're not in Azeroth anymore"
"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto"
Really enjoying the shit out of Bard, but christ is it boring solo. I guess thats what my Assassin build is for.
Battletag: Kain#1658
I suggest also having Marksman or Ranger in there somewhere, and here's why
When you use Cadence, the damage is calculated using whatever weapon you are auto-attacking with. Bows and Guns usually generate slightly higher Cadence damage than one handed melee weapons.
Unfortunately, the game is stone cold retarded when it comes to ranged auto-attack unless you have a soul that is classified as a ranged soul, and you'll spend a lot of time faffing about with the Toggle Ranged Auto Attack button. Whereas if you have Marksman or Ranger, even with 0 points, the game will nicely default you to ranged auto-attack when you start combat at range via Cadence or Power Chord. It's a small convenience, but since the third soul tends to fall by the wayside and Full Support Bard can easily justify 51 points, it's well worth it in my mind.
Suck it, Guardians.
I'd be more bothered by this if I didn't play Chloromancer and Bard.