Once you’re there, you’re on the cutting edge. RIFT has always been wonderful for its endgame offerings, especially when the entirety of this column is taken into account. There are players of every sort enjoying the game but it’s hard to argue that raiding and PVE hasn’t always been at the heart of it. The outlook is good for the endgame raider. More options seem to be added with every major update and Bindings of Blood just ups the ante.
So what can we infer from this latest, raid-centric bit of news? First, I think it’s pretty clear that Trion is doing its best to encourage players to take up raiding. It’s their forte and when so many other games are applying raid buffs and easing their difficulty curves, Trion is adding even more challenge. There is an old-school sentimentality to this type of design. They’re throwing down the gauntlet and inviting players to feel what real difficulty is like.
This news drop is also telling about where the playerbase currently stands with RIFT. It would be a mistake to assume that it somehow means the majority of players are raiders. All that we know about free to play cautions us against that. What it does indicate, though, is that there are much more than the 1% naysayers so often claim there to be and, likely, that these players stick around a whole lot more than the average leveler. When Bill sat down with Trion, they made it clear that more of the same was coming. Would that happen if the numbers said different?
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As a player approaching the final sprint to 60, my prospects for the future are high. I count my blessings that I love tanking and, unlike most players I know, love pick-up groups. Each of the things I talked about here could be taken on with friends. For me, I look at these new adventures as ways to make new friends. Learning an encounter for the first time is exhilarating and learning from the players willing to take the time to teach is even more so. But I’m a weirdo.
How about you, what’s the outlook for a new 60 look like on your server?
Christopher Coke / Chris has been an MMO player since the days of MUDs. Since that fateful day in March, 2011, he has found himself firmly entrenched in Telara, enjoying all forms of PVE, PVP, and dimension building. Follow him on Twitter: @GameByNight
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