Patch 1.10 PTS Goodies: Round 2 and a Storm Legion Ship?

The Public Test Shard (PTS) has already seen some interesting hints of what’s coming our way in RIFT 1.10, but this week we’ve seen another PTS update and a few additional goodies have unsurfaced. One of the most fun aspects about RIFT’s PTS system is the fact that random updates are often made without being announced. This lets us explore and speculate to our heart’s content, and I’m pretty sure the folks at Trion get at least a little enjoyment over seeing the crazy ideas we sometimes come up with.

Note: As always, any PTS information is subject to change at any time.

First off, one of the big news items of last week can be seen on the PTS now, at least in part– the partial Guardian and Defiant cross-faction joining. This “Faction as Fiction” feature, announced last week, will make it easier for players to enjoy group activities with both factions. On the PTS, it’s currently possible to join open world groups/public groups with the opposite faction, take part in cross-faction trade, join the Looking for Dungeon tool, enter a dungeon/raid, take part in the other faction’s Instant Adventures, and even marry the other faction. We’ll see more cross-faction features added to the PTS in the near future.

There is also a new achievement on the PTS. It’s under World Events, and reads: City Saver: Defeat all of the bosses in the City Siege Instant Adventures.

Two objectives are listed: Defeat Perfect Storm and Defeat Storm Bringer.

Now this is interesting. The placement of it being in the World Events section makes me think it may very well be tied to some type of pre-expansion event. It also would make sense to have a full-scale air invasion to kick off Storm Legion. I do hope, however, that it also takes place in multiple areas of the game’s world, and not just within the Instant Adventure and the new Zone Event in Iron Pine Peaks.

This bit of speculation also fits with the fact that this beauty appeared between the borders of Silverwood and Freemarch (click on each image to bring up the full-size versions):

Its location is shown on the map the left here. Interestingly enough, the ship doesn’t look like it crashed on the island between Freemarch and Silverwood, but rather, landed there with a purpose. The ship can be boarded from behind, and numerous areas, while empty right now, can be accessed. Given its location, most PTS players can’t help but think it also must be related to any pre-expansion goodies we may see. Maybe we’ll even see our first NPCs from Dusken and Brevane on board, whether they be friend or foe (related the achievement, perhaps?). It might also be the way we eventually travel to the new areas.

The fact that the ship is carefully planted between both factions’ starting areas also leads most players to believe it has to do with the expansion content. If we’re going to playing alongside our opposing faction starting in 1.10, it definitely makes sense for us to begin having quests and leveling areas that can be accessed by both factions.

As an interesting note, the water beneath the Founder’s Threshold, the bridge in front of Port Scion, can now be easily crossed. The whole ocean around that area is more accessible as far as fatigue goes, and the invisible barriers have been removed on the PTS. This will make traveling between Silverwood and Freemarch much easier.

It looks like we have some fun things headed our way. Stay tuned for the next round, whenever that will be!