Hello to you, fellow PC jockeys.

The other day, Rift’s patch 1.7 went live, and although we covered what to expect in the last installment of this most amazing column, there is a new addition that I felt should be mentioned here. And that is the introduction of Rift Lite.

Trion is now allowing anyone to try out the first 20 levels of Rift free.

Free? I hear you say. What’s the catch? Well, there is none. It’s totally free. You pay nothing. Nada. Nothing. Nix. Zilch. Zero. Zip. You can play all the way to level 20 without paying a thing. Pretty cool. So now’s the time to go tell your mates to join in.

Another new feature I just became aware of, (and one that is sure to divide the fans), is the addition of a new tool called Calling Purposes. Calling Purposes is an assistant, so to speak, a helper that guides you through your soul choices and will automatically allot your points into preset soul templates with one click of the mouse button. Soul templates take the most popular builds of the player community and provides them as preset templates for the player to use.

Now, I know this won’t be popular with a lot of you dedicated role-players out there, but I kind of like it. Of the three souls I picked for Caedryn, I seem to be putting all my points into only two of them. (Beastmaster and Champion.) I picked Paragon for my third soul, but it's not really doing anything. It's just… lingering there, like a shy person at a party. The problem is, when I picked the souls I didn’t know what the best combination was. I thought this would be a good one, but that last soul is totally wasted. So a little help would have been quite welcomed.

Actually, I’m going to test this out. Hang on…

Here you see my current soul tree.

As you can see, a bit of a waste with the Paragon soul there. But if I click on Purposes, let’s see what it suggests.

Hmm. Destroyer. Not too keen on that. Don't want to lose my pet Fido. Plus, I have no interest in being a Defender.

Next suggestion is a Pathfinder, and that doesn’t sound too bad, actually. I might pick this build when I level up, just to see how it works out. I will keep you updated.

Another thing I mentioned last week was that 1.7 will bring with it the ability to get married. Remember? And remember how we made a bet about how many people would take the plunge on Valentine’s Day? (We did make that bet, didn’t we? I thought it, at least.) Well it seems Trion had the same idea, because they are going for a world record. To whit: the most In-Game Marriages in a 24 hour period.

Now, I question this decision. You’re going to get all these people rushing to get married just so they can take part in the record attempt. These Ascended warriors should maybe move in together first. Make sure they don’t drive each other insane before making it official. You know how it is. You think you've found the perfect partner, and then you move in together and realize that they don't ever change their socks. Ever. But by getting married first, it will be too late when you discover this kind of thing.

But for those of you who still want to take the plunge. The details:

“Any players who get married between 9am PST on Feb. 14 and 9am PST on Feb. 15 will be logged by the Guinness Book of World Records—note that you must still be married by the end of the event to be counted. Soon after, we’ll find out if we’ve got a place in their 2013 edition!

Everyone who participates (and only those who do!) will receive the exclusive in-game title “Tier of Knots” to commemorate your contribution!

Tying the Knot – What you need to know:

Use the new wedding instances atop Hammerknell (Guardians) or in Orphiel’s Spire (Defiant), or tie the knot anywhere in beautiful Telara! GMs will be performing impromptu ceremonies all day, so put in your petitions for that personal touch.

To marry your loved one, see the Marriage Coordinator in Meridian or Sanctum. Purchase a Marriage Contract and use it on your intended. You will both be prompted to confirm your vows.

If you got married before Feb. 14 and still want to be part of the world record, purchase Divorce Papers from the Marriage Coordinator and use them the same way. The Marriage Coordinator also sells a Wedding Planner, a book with extensive instructions on in-game matrimony and the wedding instances (such as how to invite up to 200 guests).

True Romance in Telara – Share your story and we’ll personally plan your in-game day!”

Oh. My. God. The irresponsibility! Not only are they asking people to get married without testing the waters first. They are actually encouraging people to get divorced just so they can get married! Think of the children!

“We’re moving out, Timmy. Your stepmother and I are getting a divorce.”

“But why daddy? You only just got married last week. I thought I’d finally found a mother to love me. Is it… is it my fault?”

“Oh, Timmy. Yes. Yes it is your fault. You stepmother just didn’t anticipate how annoying it would be to have a six year old running around all day. So yes, you have effectively ruined daddy’s last chance to find love and meaning in this crazy, war-torn world. Goodnight now. Sleep tight.”

And then a few days later you get married again! Poor confused Timmy!

The last piece of info I wanted to cover today, (and next week, I promise we will catch up with Caedryn again. I'm going to try and join a public group to venture into the Fae Realm so I can take Hylas out, so I'll be writing about that next week. Actually, if anyone is hanging around the Laethys North American Shard on Saturday, about 8am EST, or 1pm GMT, then come on over and give me a hand. Please.) deals with Valentine’s Day. The one day I hate more than Christmas. Concocted by the secret King of the World and his team of Ultimate Marketers.

Picture it:

The Ultimate Marketers were gathered around a table sipping water purified through diamond filters, waiting for their turn to pitch to the King of the World. First up it was the toothbrush guys.

“What do you have for us?” asked the Big Man.

“Well, you know toothbrushes, right? What about if we put these little ridges on the back here, yeah, and tell people they have to brush their tongues otherwise they're going to die from gum disease? Then we charge double the price for the brushes.”

"What about mouthwash? Doesn't that do the same thing?"

"Yeah, but no one will notice."

“Insane! I love it. Next.”

The razor guys stepped up. “OK, we’ve done one blade. We did two blades. We all thought that was as far as we could go. That no one would pay any more money for a razor blade. But then we tried three blades, and the idiots went for it! So now, we want to try four blades. –BUT – and this is the great part, yeah? We put batteries in the razor and it vibrates as it shaves.”

“You want a razor with four incredibly sharp blades on it to vibrate back and forth on someone’s face while they're using it? Brilliant! Next.”

The new guy stepped up. “You know how you own all the greeting card companies in the world? Yeah? And we have all those cards in shops? For birthdays and the like, I thought we could create a new, special holiday, right? Where people have to buy cards for their loved ones, and we push it so hard, that if they don’t buy cards for their partners, they're in trouble for weeks afterwards.”

“Brilliant. A holiday nobody wants, but everyone has to take part in it just to make their lives easier. I love it. What’s it called?”

“I thought we’d name it after a murdered priest.”

“Great. Get to work.”

And that’s how we got Valentine’s Day.

Phew. And the reason for this rather elaborate setup that has taken me over my allotted word count is to say that Trion are running a Valentine's Day competition where you can all share your stories of love and affection. Would have just been simpler for me to say that, I suppose.

“Whether you met in-game, found a common bond in gaming, or use online worlds as a way to spend time together even when you’re physically apart – we want to hear from you. The best part – your story doesn’t have to start in RIFT, true romance can be found anywhere and you don’t need to limit you story to the confines of Telara.

Of course there’s something in it for you – from the stories we receive five lucky couples will get the royal treatment on their wedding day! Yours truly, Elrar – Community Manager, will officiate your wedding and provide all the trimmings, including the new wedding wardrobe outfits. That’s not all though, we’ll celebrate your new nuptials by telling all of Telara with a personalized in-game broadcast!”

So, you know. Get to it. If that’s your thing. Just remember, if you celebrate Valentine’s Day, you're giving more power to the real King of the World.