Rift Head Start Information
The head start for the game Rift: Planes of Telara begins on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 10:00 AM PST (1800 GMT). The official site for the game posted a Head Start FAQ for those looking forward to the game as well as the complete head start server list:
US Servers
Belmont PvE
Briarcliff PvP
Byriel PvE
Deepstrike PvP
Faeblight RP
Gnarlwood PvE
Greybriar PvE
Keenblade PvE
Lotham PvP
Reclaimer PvP
Seastone PvP
Shadefallen RP
Shatterbone PvE
Snarebrush PvP
Spitescar PvP
Sunrest PVP-RP
Wolfsbane PvE
Europe Servers
Akala DE RP
Brutwacht DE PvE
Trübkopf DE PvP
Argent EN RP
Blightweald EN PvE
Cloudborne EN PvP
Firesand EN PVP-RP
Icewatch EN PvE
Steampike EN PvE
Whitefall EN PvP
Brisesol FR PvE
Rubicon FR PvP
People have been warned to uninstall the beta client before installing the launch client. Hopefully, the installation and head start will go as smoothly as the open beta did.
Open Beta Impressions
Speaking of which, The open beta event ended on Monday and went very smoothly considering the popularity of the event. As with any new MMO game, there are still issues that need tweaking (does game balance ever stop getting tweaked in any MMO game?), but the whole game has shaped up to be a fun experience. As an example of one of the needed tweaks, my boots appear in stealth if I swap them with another pair as shown below. And yes, I was rather amused to run around as a pair of boots.
While the level cap was raised to 42 (an awesome number) and two new zones were opened up, it remains to be seen what the end game is really like or if it'll hold those anxious to get to 50 ASAP when live servers open. The game has been fun so far and only time will tell.
Since my overall impressions didn't really change between the last beta review I did and open beta, for now I'll just show images for some of the fun things I saw this beta.
The latest puzzle I solved needed a minimum of 2 and preferably 3 people to solve. It was likely so difficult due to the evil brain in the glass bubble.
Doesn't this guy just look like somebody's really creepy uncle?
A view of the Droughtlands as I snuck around and explored.
My first close up view of a Wind Rift. The rocks flying around looked dangerous.
And of course, here's to hoping that I'll finally get a chance to be the one to ride into the sunset on my horse and leave others behind.
Comments
With 4.1 patch for WoW coming out soon, I'm not sure when I'll visit Azeroth to take advantage of that new content. So far Rift and WoW are my 2 favorite MMO's out of all the ones I've tried over the years. I have no idea if I'll be playing both in 6 months, but odds are I will be. I'm giving rift a good chance to make it as a AAA quality MMO.