Rift has been in commercial release for nearly a month and we will be launching our official review very soon. In the meantime, MMORPG.com Lead Writer Bill Murphy will be spending the next two editions of The List discussing both those things that Trion Worlds did right with Rift and those things that could use some work. Check out today's version of The List and then leave a comment or two when you're through.

As we close in on our official review of Rift, I think we’ll drive home the point of our review much better if I take some time to punctuate the thing by spending the next two lists on my own personal takes on what Trion’s freshman release has done right, and what it’s done wrong. Keep in mind, as always, that these lists are just my opinion. You’re completely free to disagree, and I encourage you all to discuss the merit of this content below. That said next week I promise tackle five things that Rift doesn’t do quite so well in order to assure you I’m not just some gloating “fanboy.” These are in no particular order either. Now then, all the explanatory stuff and disclaimers out of the way… let’s dive in shall we?

Read more of Bill Murphy's The List: Five Things Rift Did Right.

In my oppinion, they took away basic-we-all-know-it-grinding to be replaced by "Rift"-grinding. Killed it for me.

I love the RIFT events... it's awesome! Little boss events spawning made this game for me. Never the same, it's so much better than other grind quest titles!

Originally posted by Margrave

I love the RIFT events... it's awesome! Little boss events spawning made this game for me. Never the same, it's so much better than other grind quest titles!

I, myself enjoyed the Rifts during the beta, but I can definitely see it become incredibly boring when you've done them 500+ times before.

One thing they did wrong.

TAB 123... For the love of god this is soooooooooooooo old now.

Originally posted by Mad+Dog

One thing they did wrong.

 

TAB 123... For the love of god this is soooooooooooooo old now.

 

   Y eah i feel the same combat pacing seem so boring sometimes , i tried so many souls combo and there always these spamming combat skills  that just seem to break it for me .

i cant quite explain it , maybe it's a CD tweak they need or something i play a bard as my main and it's great and all but am pressing the same thing over and over in rifts just to keep the meter up there for me .

they need more spells with CDs and less skills that are faster cast and still have nice dmg so that that spell will become ur spam spell and nothing else?

soo agree XD

Open Grouping > Star Trek Online did this, and it was terrible, but REQUIRED in Rift to do anything of note worthyness.

The Ascended Soul System > DAOC did this but in a LESS mobile sense. Not only is this not new, but the way it was designed favors "Flavour of the Month" builds to frequent the game.

Invasions as Content -> Extremely repetitive content that becomes boring, and dull after a short amount of time. Not exactly something done right here Bill.

Leveling Through PvP -> Star Trek Online did this too, as did DAOC, and the problem that cropped up in both is friend (or people with multiple accounts) farmed the crap out of their own characters. There are not enough stopgaps in-place currently to balance this feature.

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

agreed. I think if you are bored of this type of game (mmo's) then Rift will not convince you but if you still love mmo's then you will probably love Rift for what it is and not what it isnt.

mounts are pointless fluff? wow never heard someone say that. lol weird

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Open Grouping > Star Trek Online did this, and it was terrible, but REQUIRED in Rift to do anything of note worthyness.

The Ascended Soul System > DAOC did this but in a LESS mobile sense. Not only is this not new, but the way it was designed favors "Flavour of the Month" builds to frequent the game.

Invasions as Content -> Extremely repetitive content that becomes boring, and dull after a short amount of time. Not exactly something done right here Bill.

Leveling Through PvP -> Star Trek Online did this too, as did DAOC, and the problem that cropped up in both is friend (or people with multiple accounts) farmed the crap out of their own characters. There are not enough stopgaps in-place currently to balance this feature.

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

 

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

 

No offense, but that's why it's called an opinion. Just like what you did, you quoted him then stated your opinion. Neither are right or wrong, they reflect how you see and enjoy the game. Not saying you did anything wrong, but neither did Bill. Not everyone has to agree with what you think though. And that last line you wrote pretty much trys to force that.

Originally posted by blueturtle13

mounts are pointless fluff? wow never heard someone say that. lol weird

Exactly, what's the point of having to GET a mount to get some where faster if everyone else gets the same mount & speed from lvl 1? There's no achievement, and little purpose to the world being any size larger than it needs to be for you to walk there if mounts are something EVERYONE has.

Again, this makes mounts worthless fluff. They're nothing special, and require nothing to obtain.

Originally posted by mackdawg19

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Open Grouping > Star Trek Online did this, and it was terrible, but REQUIRED in Rift to do anything of note worthyness.

The Ascended Soul System > DAOC did this but in a LESS mobile sense. Not only is this not new, but the way it was designed favors "Flavour of the Month" builds to frequent the game.

Invasions as Content -> Extremely repetitive content that becomes boring, and dull after a short amount of time. Not exactly something done right here Bill.

Leveling Through PvP -> Star Trek Online did this too, as did DAOC, and the problem that cropped up in both is friend (or people with multiple accounts) farmed the crap out of their own characters. There are not enough stopgaps in-place currently to balance this feature.

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

 

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

 

No offense, but that's why it's called an opinion. Just like what you did, you quoted him then stated your opinion. Neither are right or wrong, they reflect how you see and enjoy the game. Not saying you did anything wrong, but neither did Bill. Not everyone has to agree with what you think though. And that last line you wrote pretty much trys to force that.

I agree, however Bill states that it's 5 "factual" things that Rift has done right. The way he presents them in such a public manner that changes it from "Opinion" to something supported by MMORPG as fact. They shouldn't present them in this manner if they're mearly their own opinion. :/

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Open Grouping > Star Trek Online did this, and it was terrible, but REQUIRED in Rift to do anything of note worthyness.

It is not required. I have played Star trek Rift is miles ahead of ST if only in the fun factor

The Ascended Soul System > DAOC did this but in a LESS mobile sense. Not only is this not new, but the way it was designed favors "Flavour of the Month" builds to frequent the game.

I highly disagree with this. Flavor of the month doesnt really apply to Rift. There are way too many options.and rolls.

Invasions as Content -> Extremely repetitive content that becomes boring, and dull after a short amount of time. Not exactly something done right here Bill.

they are dynamic that alone makes it fun for alot of us who like them. It lends a sense of danger to the world. Love it.

Leveling Through PvP -> Star Trek Online did this too, as did DAOC, and the problem that cropped up in both is friend (or people with multiple accounts) farmed the crap out of their own characters. There are not enough stopgaps in-place currently to balance this feature.

there are people who farm crap in free realms as well but that isnt the games fault it is the genres

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

my crafter who travels the world looking for nodes and herbs really enjoys the 60% run speed over walking fluff? not so much

 

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

 

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

 

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

I'll have to disagree on this point.

I care. getting from rift to rift is far easier and more enjoyable on a mount. It still takes 2 gold so one has to make that. I dont care if everyone has done it or not. I view mounts as a part of the game world and infrastructure not a "hey look at what I achieved" reward.

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Originally posted by blueturtle13

mounts are pointless fluff? wow never heard someone say that. lol weird

Exactly, what's the point of having to GET a mount to get some where faster if everyone else gets the same mount & speed from lvl 1? There's no achievement, and little purpose to the world being any size larger than it needs to be for you to walk there if mounts are something EVERYONE has.

 

Again, this makes mounts worthless fluff. They're nothing special, and require nothing to obtain.

 

 I dont care who has what. I care about my dwarf miner and forager getting mats for my crafting. 60% increase over walking helps me do that so i can get back to crafting not walk the earth for hours

Originally posted by blueturtle13

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Open Grouping > Star Trek Online did this, and it was terrible, but REQUIRED in Rift to do anything of note worthyness.

It is not required. I have played Star trek Rift is miles ahead of ST if only in the fun factor

I disagree, fun factor does not tie into the open grouping aspect of any game. Forcing you to navigate open groups in order to complete a goal means fun factor has no influence. It's about doing A to get B while you have X number of players for Y goal.

The Ascended Soul System > DAOC did this but in a LESS mobile sense. Not only is this not new, but the way it was designed favors "Flavour of the Month" builds to frequent the game.

I highly disagree with this. Flavor of the month doesnt really apply to Rift. There are way too many options.and rolls.

Again, having a "large number of options" does NOT mean FOTM builds will happen any less. SWG had more options, and rolls, available for you to choose from. Yet people still found the top 3 or 4 builds that were FOTM, because people ALWAYS want the best for X situation with Y build. FOTM will never be inconsequential(sp?) as long as ease of access is available such as in Rift.

Invasions as Content -> Extremely repetitive content that becomes boring, and dull after a short amount of time. Not exactly something done right here Bill.

they are dynamic that alone makes it fun for alot of us who like them. It lends a sense of danger to the world. Love it.

"Dynamic" means nothing, invasions happen so often via Rifts it has, and will become repetitive. There also is no danger when if your die there is LITTLE to no penalties. You can die multiple times with little setback or loss. There is no "danger" presented here, merely having to run back a couple times for your body.

Leveling Through PvP -> Star Trek Online did this too, as did DAOC, and the problem that cropped up in both is friend (or people with multiple accounts) farmed the crap out of their own characters. There are not enough stopgaps in-place currently to balance this feature.

there are people who farm crap in free realms as well but that isnt the games fault it is the genres

It is the "Game's" fault, as a Developer it's their job to make sure things like this cannot be "exploited" like this in order to allow the game to function properly. Using this excuse will get someone like a Developer laughed out of the room, or out of their job.

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

my crafter who travels the world looking for nodes and herbs really enjoys the 60% run speed over walking fluff? not so much

Yet, everyone else can EASILY obtain said 60% run speed with little to no difficulty. If EVERYONE else has that 60%, what's the point in giving you a mount? Why not simply add a "travel mode" to your running speed so you can get places just as fast without all the FLUFF. Thinking about it more closely will yield the answer you're looking for in understanding what i mean by "fluff".

 

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

 

Originally posted by blueturtle13

agreed. I think if you are bored of this type of game (mmo's) then Rift will not convince you but if you still love mmo's then you will probably love Rift for what it is and not what it isnt.

you mean if you still love "these kind of mmo's" because i love mmo's but not the fluff n stuff theamparks like wow / rift / allods so on and so on..

i just want my sandboxes back! ;(

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Open Grouping > Star Trek Online did this, and it was terrible, but REQUIRED in Rift to do anything of note worthyness.

The Ascended Soul System > DAOC did this but in a LESS mobile sense. Not only is this not new, but the way it was designed favors "Flavour of the Month" builds to frequent the game.

Invasions as Content -> Extremely repetitive content that becomes boring, and dull after a short amount of time. Not exactly something done right here Bill.

Leveling Through PvP -> Star Trek Online did this too, as did DAOC, and the problem that cropped up in both is friend (or people with multiple accounts) farmed the crap out of their own characters. There are not enough stopgaps in-place currently to balance this feature.

Mounts at Level One -> Numerous developers have already gone over this, and explained why this is a bad idea. Rift shows the problem quite clear, and that problem is that your mount becomes worthless. If it takes nothing to get the mount worth doing, it's not worth having. Who cares if you get from A to B faster, you did it like everyone else did so you're still essentially walking there. What's the point of even having to get somewhere? What's the point of even having mounts? You're ALL going the same speed, just as if you were walking. Pointless, pointless, pointless, fluff.

 

I'm sorry Bill, but you've presented nothing that could be considered "Things Rift did right" :(.

Me thinks your in love with Star Trek...

Warhammer did all the things you mentioned before Star Trek. 

Originally posted by blueturtle13

agreed. I think if you are bored of this type of game (mmo's) then Rift will not convince you but if you still love mmo's then you will probably love Rift for what it is and not what it isnt.

 

It's not that people are bored of MMOs. I despise Rift but I'm not bored of MMOs. I am thoroughly enjoying EQ revisited at the moment and if SOE were to open a classic SWG server then I would bite their hands off. I enjoyed EQ2 but the population and developer insistence to promote raids and solo activities conspired to zap the point of being there.

What I am bored of is the same old, same old of every MMO out there. Rift does nothing that MMOs in the last 6 or 7 years haven't done, and most of that it simmers down to its lowest common denominator. Rift has shrunk the mechanics of MMOs to their simplest form, to stuff that favours not having to work to get results or achievements. The mounts at level 1 is a perfect example of this. There is no work, especially if, as William Murphy says, you can just send an alt the money needed. As for why you'd need a mount to navigate the alarmingly small world...well I won't go there.

Why must it always be assumed that people are bored of MMOs because they don't like Rift? It's a cheap throwback to many, many well thought out posts that detail excellent criticism of Rift and the narrow path that MMOs appear to be following.

I for one am seriously looking forward to GW2 now. Maybe it won't be a huge challenge, maybe they will reward players for little effort and maybe it won't be everything I want. One thing it will do, though, is change the formula. ArenaNet are changing the fundamentals of MMOs and making them new again. Something development teams such as Trion were not willing to do. They just trod old ground and it's actually painful to watch journos struggle to come up with what Rift does great. It's like draining the last remnants of water from a tank when you could just walk a mile to get more water. Make some effort and get something new.

We're not bored of MMOs. Stop saying this. We just want originality.