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[Editorial] Rift: Hitting Its Stride in F2P

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Comments

  • tristanryantristanryan Member Posts: 233
    Im also enjoying myself very very much.
  • MargulisMargulis Member CommonPosts: 1,614
    You know I really do think this is probably the best themepark available right now - I just can't seem to find the interest in myself to play this style of mmo anymore however....
  • GettCoupedGettCouped Member UncommonPosts: 47
    Great positive responses guys. A comment section worth the read.
    Great article as well
  • AtrocitusAtrocitus Member UncommonPosts: 85
    Im back to Rift as well. Having a great time on the new server Hailol.. good article btw
  • NearioNeario Member Posts: 2

    Rift is a great game, always has been. Even after the initial months it was great, even on dead servers it provided enough to do(I played at Argent, EU, which was  RP-shard and one of the most dead ones at that. Still the Argent community at that time was small, but lively, helpfull, and just a great community to be part of). 

     

    Trion has shown the ONLY right way to convert to F2P in my opinion, and as long as they provide us with new content(and they will: 2.3 gave a new 10men raid, and tons of other stuff. 2.4 will give a new 20men raid, and again tons of other stuff(I am there for raiding, hence my focus on that :P) I will stay a subscriber. €9,- aint much and I happily support Trion with my money. At least till Wildstar and TESO release.... then it might be time to move on or indeed start playing Rift as a f2p player..

  • aspekxaspekx Member UncommonPosts: 2,167
    i have to say this is the best f2p conversion i have witnessed or experienced, to date.

    "There are at least two kinds of games.
    One could be called finite, the other infinite.
    A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
    an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
    Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse

  • NearioNeario Member Posts: 2
    Originally posted by strangiato2112
    Originally posted by NobleNerd

    I agree that Trion has done a great job going f2p. It is not in your face all the time trying to get you to buy something. I love how you can open the shop and purchase with credit or ingame currency anywhere you are. The f2p is not what will stop me from continuing to play the game (at current I still sub.).

     

    What will hinder me from continuing to play Rift is the fact that the factions are still sharing everything, not only that but little is faction specific anymore. You can now purchase the other faction's mounts, etc and I still have to play "nice nice" with the other side!!!! I know for many they don't care about this nor do they even think about how the lore is all messed up now, but this matters to me. When I pvp I want to have an enemy, but half the time I am teamed up with my enemy. NOT only am I forced to be a mercenary with my enemy, but I share guilds, raids, IE, and dungeons AND now They can even defect and be a part of the opposite faction !?!?!

     

    In a time when more and more old school players (especially) are crying for 3 faction divided experience Trion is pretty much doing away with factions all together!

    Yes, the f2p model is overall excellent.  it is in your face though.  I found the near full screen vendor screen annoying.  there is far too much for sale too (world/seasonal event mounts for instance is ridiculous- make a different model to sell, there should be a divide between earned mounts and cash shop mounts)

    The rest of your post is a large reason why Ive uninstalled Rift finally.  not the faction merge, because as another poster said it wasnt that interesting to begin with.  because Rift's world is crafted to look pretty but its one of the absolute worst MMORPG worlds I have ever seen.  Its possibly the worst AAA world.  the races are garbage, and the lore is nothing special.  And they make changes with no regard to the world they have created:  3 faction PvP in a 2 faction world is a prime example.  they remove falling damage completely instead of just toning it down.

     

    Rift is just a soulless world and they arent going to fix that anytime soon.

    Luckily for Trion, many people don't care about that sort of thing and really only care about their carrots and rift does carrot on a stick as well as anyone.  But with themeparks like EQ2 and LOTRO and, yes, WoW providing more depth (in combat for all 3 and out of combat for the first 2) and a *much* better world I shouldn't have given rift as many chances as I did.

     

    Suzie is right about the LOTRO f2p model: its garbage.  the worst freemium model by far, because even subbers have to pay money (unlike EQ2) for basic features.  Rift is easily the best AAA f2p model, so if you are looking for free gaming than Rift is where its at for you.  but I would rather pay 15 a month for a game I enjoy than play a game that I feel lacking for free.

     

    You do realise that PvP is still 2 factions, not 3... What you mean is Conquest.. which indeed is 3 facions PvP, but the main PvP is still 2 factions.

    Conquest takes place in a different timeline, a timeline where Defiant/Guardians indeed resolved their issues(and defeated the dragons) but, as is human nature, there were still different beliefs on how to continue.. and that was the start of the 3 factions.

    Now because you said you find the lore is nothing special, you probaply arent even aware of this :) but both the 10men raids and conquest takes place in different timelines(compared to the timeline you play in while questing and doing 20men raids)

    Hell the WHOLE GAME is taking place in a different timeline then the initial startzone

    So eventhough you can argue some things, and eventhough you can offcourse find the lore nothing special(as its an opinion) you cant really say Trion makes changes without regard to the world and lore. It was clear already in beta the Rift would have different timelines(if you paid attention that is)

     

    Now to the "peace' between Guardians and Defiants: there is no peace, there is a truce..

    There is a bigger danger to the world then the petty diferences between the 2 factions, hence the truce. They arent allies.. keep that in mind.

    Now I dont think that there will ever be a Guardian vs Defiant war again, it could happen just lore-wise, but game-wise it wont(with most guilds having both faction now etc). But I dont understand why it bothers you: the game is still the same, it doesnt change anything. It only changes something when you are an RP-player, but then you can easily RP that you dont accept this truce.. it aint that hard ;)

  • ArthasmArthasm Member UncommonPosts: 785
    Originally posted by Arakazi
    I don't understand why so many people are gushing over this game, it has one of the most lackluster combat systems I have played in an MMO, made worse by the ease in which you can macro its was 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2, and if things get really exciting you might have to move a bit to the left to avoid the red circle. There is very little strategy involved, or twitch... in fact it is one of the easiest MMO I have ever played. Almost as easy as lotro and thats for special people. The Graphics are ok overall, if a little dull, but the character animations are poor and lack of character creation options is a letdown. The music is good, but the voice acting is woeful, especially in the SL expansion. Crafting is dull as is the lore and housing. In fact the only thing that kept me playing was the raids. Personally, I think there are better f2p games.

    Have u ever raided in Rift? I guess not, since you said it's easy game. I'd rather play game with challenged end-game with easy leveling, then game with challenged content (still looking for that one, didn't find) all the way leveling up with no end-game at all. 

  • ivaylo1981ivaylo1981 Member UncommonPosts: 30
    I start game 2 days ago , and now i can say "The game is amazing" !!!
  • sportsfansportsfan Member Posts: 431

    Quote from the article:

    "While Rift proudly billed itself (and still does) as something of a World of Warcraft killer, the staying power and longevity that it manifest as a subscription revenue model title simply didn’t happen."

    It is amazing that a game that was turned into a ghost town on every server (killing 99 servers in the process)... 6 months after launch is now considered "awesome" just by the fact it turnef F2P...

    The same happened to Lotro, D&DO, Start TrekMMO, SWTOR...

    Nope, these failed subscription based games are NOT better by turning F2P.

    Sad to see this promotion on MMORPG of what is simply a shake out and sell off of the industry:

    tldr: F2P is the last resort of an AAA developped MMORPG. Watch this industry die in very low cost productions and ditto development.

     

     

     
  • sportsfansportsfan Member Posts: 431
    Originally posted by Scot

    Only one MMO this year has released as P2P (including B2P). Enjoy this while it lasts as without great new P2P MMO's being launched you are not going to see any great F2P hybrids coming out.

    We will be left with F2P at launch MMO's to set the quality standard...good luck with that.

     

    So correct, in view what I wrote above: old failed AAA subscription based titles that turn f2p is NOT what will make this industry "alive and kicking".

    People only view the short term profit, but they lack to see that these games were made to make a long term investement through subscriptions.

    F2P in MMORPG land means garbage content and garbage long term support, because you can't replace a fixed subscription based revenue with some lacklustre and very doubtful long term income from a cash shop.

    F2P works in iPad gamettes or Facebook games (even there Zynga lost 80% of its stock in 2 years time), not in highly developped and extreme costly MMORPG world designs.

    Rift going free to play is not a better game then it was when having a subscription. And Rift F2P is pretty much RIP AAA Rift.

     

  • daltaniousdaltanious Member UncommonPosts: 2,381
    Enjoyed a lot original, one of best bug-free releases ever, multi specs & all the rest since release ... But i do no understand why nobody is bothered by incredible increase in hp of mobs in expansion areas? Normal mobs have more then double hp then elite mobs of SAME level in old world compared to new. One spend eternity to kill trivial mobs and I had enough of this after a week. Rift is now past for me, but still returning from time to time just to check if something has been adjusted. Nope. Quit again.
  • Po_ggPo_gg Member EpicPosts: 5,749
    Originally posted by sportsfan
     

    So correct, in view what I wrote above: old failed AAA subscription based titles that turn f2p is NOT what will make this industry "alive and kicking".

    And you mentioned above "The same happened to Lotro, D&DO, Start TrekMMO, SWTOR..."

    DDO is f2p almost 3 years now, LotRO 2.5 years, STO 1.5 years and they're all pretty alive and kicking as I see :)  with multiple updates, expansions, increased playerbase and stuff.

    Oh, and there's SW:TOR as well. (sorry  :) )

  • ArakaziArakazi Member UncommonPosts: 911
    Originally posted by Arthasm
    Originally posted by Arakazi
    I don't understand why so many people are gushing over this game, it has one of the most lackluster combat systems I have played in an MMO, made worse by the ease in which you can macro its was 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2, and if things get really exciting you might have to move a bit to the left to avoid the red circle. There is very little strategy involved, or twitch... in fact it is one of the easiest MMO I have ever played. Almost as easy as lotro and thats for special people. The Graphics are ok overall, if a little dull, but the character animations are poor and lack of character creation options is a letdown. The music is good, but the voice acting is woeful, especially in the SL expansion. Crafting is dull as is the lore and housing. In fact the only thing that kept me playing was the raids. Personally, I think there are better f2p games.

    Have u ever raided in Rift? I guess not, since you said it's easy game. I'd rather play game with challenged end-game with easy leveling, then game with challenged content (still looking for that one, didn't find) all the way leveling up with no end-game at all. 

    Of course I have. Like I said it was the only thing I enjoyed about the game, but everything else was a bit of a chore. Fishing for crafting tokens for example, was particularly dull.

  • GilnidorGilnidor Member UncommonPosts: 115

    I am one of the players that plowed through all the content with my guild and ended up with no more to do after 5 month playtime, I did linger in the game for another 2 months and then decided to move to another MMO.

    Though I have returned a few times for free weekends and events like the Extra-Life 24 hour gaming donation marathon.

    And I did return to rift one month before it did go back to the F2P, and I have to say that this is the best conversion to F2P that I have ever experienced.

    image

  • Four0SixFour0Six Member UncommonPosts: 1,175
    The question is: "Is being "Free" what Rift needed to retain players?" If not, well then in 6 to 12 weeks, or less even, the same will happen as happened before. Players will leave.
  • SkuzSkuz Member UncommonPosts: 1,018

    This is by far the best F2P game I have experienced to date.

    The number 1 reason is that the gameplay was not "gimped" to force you to ungimp it via the cash shop, the cash shop is filled with "luxuries" non-essential purchases that add variety or cosmetic appeal but do not curtail your enjoyment of the game only enhance the very solid basics.

    I have already spent money on the game in buying it & I subbed previously for a monthbut was too deeply engrossed in other games when it released, now two years on those other titles aren't holding me so a return to RIFT has been refreshing.

    RIFT has also the best gameplay features to capitalise on a F2P game early -on, namely the rifts themselves, these work so well with a crowd of people couple that with the ability to swap roles easily & if you see no tanks or no healers you can quickly become one & ensure the success of the group - if you wish.

  • 43%burnt43%burnt Member UncommonPosts: 162
    Hm..the first patch after the transition into f2p broke my installation, causing a bsod every time I tried to load up. Is this fixed ?
  • AtrocitusAtrocitus Member UncommonPosts: 85

    I will say this though...

     

     

     

    Theres a crap ton of server lag, and many of us are getting booted off and crashing to desk top.

     

     

     

    Everything else is great, but TRION needs to fix this immediately. Its getting worse....

  • KyngBillsKyngBills Member UncommonPosts: 452
    Best F2P game I've experienced by far!!! Because I used to sub way back when I even got some REAL nice rewards for coming back including a fast horse on every toon!!! VERY impressed!!!
  • TheMaahesTheMaahes Member Posts: 185

    "It was there that we discovered Rift’s shortcoming: There wasn’t enough to do at the top end unless players were part of a very active raiding group."

     

    I love how you include this line in the article and then proceed to show screenshots of you on a r1 toon in the starting room.

  • LadyAlyseLadyAlyse Member UncommonPosts: 36
    I think it's a great F2P game.  I play frequently, alternating between RIFT and GW2. 

    image
  • blohm86blohm86 Member Posts: 43

    This is just so much fail, the game is utter crap (which Ive said since day one), the whole game is just dull. When the expansion came out I felt I had to give the game CPR or something, it was just so hearthbreaking.

    Id ask kindly that mmorpg.com staff get their wits about and stop hyping and let this game slowly die out with mercy.

  • sportsfansportsfan Member Posts: 431
    Originally posted by Po_gg
    Originally posted by sportsfan
     

    So correct, in view what I wrote above: old failed AAA subscription based titles that turn f2p is NOT what will make this industry "alive and kicking".

    And you mentioned above "The same happened to Lotro, D&DO, Start TrekMMO, SWTOR..."

    DDO is f2p almost 3 years now, LotRO 2.5 years, STO 1.5 years and they're all pretty alive and kicking as I see :)  with multiple updates, expansions, increased playerbase and stuff.

    Oh, and there's SW:TOR as well. (sorry  :) )

    The alive and kicking was not adressed at these games themselves. It was adressed at the industry that will no longer make/develop games with AAA quality labels as F2P simply doesn't allow that.

    All these games were made as supposed AAA subscription revenue models. F2P was a last resort to gain money, but forget about that in the future as an AAA MMORPG made from scratch is simply too costly to make to support F2P at the start.

    F2P is a death knell for new AAA MMORPG's, so it is bad for the industry that needs to go forward, hence the "alive and kicking" remark.

     

     
     
  • AroukosAroukos Member Posts: 571
    well said. a great article for a great game.
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