Ever since the third tier of planar attunement (PA) was released for player testing, RIFT players have experienced a mixed bag of reactions about the tier and its release. Many players felt that update 1.8 was too soon to introduce tier 3, when a large number of players have yet to max out the second tier. Tier 2 is a fairly large climb, especially for newer players.

Many others simply felt it unwise to release a new PA tier at the same time of a major 20-man raid release. MMO progression content is generally released in a staggered manner for a reason– to keep the content threshold stable, and to create a sense of constant progression. Players were also worried that tier 3 PA levels may make too large of a difference during Infernal Dawn progression, which is a whole other issue in itself.

Tier 3 of the Planar Attunement system is currently available on the PTS for player testing. Most of the stat and resist nodes are familiar territory and are direct copies from other tiers, but there are a few new abilities to plan ahead for. Here is a basic list of the unique abilities and nodes that should be shared among all classes. This is not a full list of all nodes. Class-specific weapon and stat nodes are not listed here. For information about every node, check out the PTS.

The PA costs aren’t included in this list, but they remain similar to the first two tiers. Each ability has one node unless listed otherwise. The number of ranks listed is per node. All of this information is subject to change at any time. If you happen to notice any mistakes, feel free to drop us a line!

We got a chance to wrack Josh York’s brain in regards to Trion’s direction for itemization with 1.7 and beyond. With the latest game update we see Trion flexing it’s muscle in creating a itemization system that should give the room to grow as we inch closer to the one year mark. With these changes, we are probably going to be seeing a new tier of content very soon. Hopefully these changes will help create a smoother transition to new game content.

The biggest test to the new itemization system will come with the next tier of content. Previously, PVP gear remained the best in slot option due to being able to get a full set well before the natural saturation point in Hammerknell. With the new PVP changes and gear more easily gotten, at least there isn’t a major grind. Hopefully the implemented changes allow a much smoother transition for new and returning players along with long time veteran players.

Josh York is an up and coming developer for Trion, and you might remember him from an interview we did when he was part of the QA team. He’s working with the Itemization team and we thought he was the perfect person to talk to about the new itemization system in 1.7!

Keep reading for the full interview.

Platinum. Planarite. Inscribed Sourcestones. Plaques. Marks. Greater Marks. Special Event Currency…

Rift has a boggling number of currencies — far more than I have ever seen in any game, MMO or otherwise — and up until this point, each has had a serious flaw. At a certain point, each becomes mostly obsolete, continuing to accumulate, but with little, if anything, left to buy with it.

With the Rift 1.7 patch on the horizon though, it looks like Trion is finally beginning to address this problem. In the most recent PTS Set (#2), Trion has added new sinks for almost every currency. Those thousands of expert dungeon plaques you had saved up, or the hundreds of raid marks that sat in your vault collecting virtual dust can now be traded in for planar attunement xp. This is a perfect sink. The gains from PA levels are extremely incremental, but desirable enough to be worth something, and it will remain something that players will continue to be able to benefit by purchasing for a long time to come. [If you are interested, current exchange rates on the PTS are included at the bottom of this article.]

I find that people either love Atrophinius for his drunken ways or hate him and wish he would stop talking so they get on with the killing.  The satyr has had a rough journey getting to where he is today, shifting allegiances and even a bad case of death have gotten between him and his precious mead, but now he stands before us, cup of Fae Wassail in hand, a champion of his people. So how did a drunk rise to such prominence within the Fae community and where could this path possibly be leading him?

Greenscale and Akylios are dead. The Ascended have broken into their prisons and shattered them, their very essence now strewn across reality as elemental motes. Their treasures have been plundered, their followers weakened and Telara has become just a little bit safer. But what does this all mean in the long run for Telara and its inhabitants? Today we will speculate on what exactly is to become of the planes of life and water now that their masters have departed.

Note: The following guide has been submitted by Colonel Carnera -Tribal- of Deepstrike.

Planar Attunement Universal Tier 1 Hex Costs
1. Each PA Level requires 500,000 XP
2. Each PA Level Grants 100 PA Points
3. Hex Rank costs stated above are in PA Points

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Trion had a panel on Friday where they had Morgan Lockheart, Lore Lead, and Game Producer Hal Hanlin sit in and discuss RIFT as a whole with some details on the upcoming Ember Isles. Morgan discusses the lore of the island and Hal discussing all the different new game features introduced in 1.5.

JUNKIE NATION is heading to New York Comic Con this weekend to get the latest scoop and interviews with the guys at Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic and TRION’s Rift, Defiance and End of Nations. Stay tuned to all of our network sites for the latest coverage on all of these games.

End of Nations Junkies | RIFT Junkies | FORCE Junkies | DEFIANCE Junkies