Phase 2: Parade of the Dragons is finally here! As part of the Carnival of the Ascendent’s second phase, we received some additional carnival games and activities to explore. We also finally gained a repeatable source of Prize Tickets that isn’t quite as repetitive as the methods available during the first phase. The carnival float parades are making their way through classic RIFT zones and Storm Legion zones, which is quite an impressive sight when you stumble upon them.

One awesome addition to the Carnival thanks to the recent hotfix is the ability to trade Pyrite Doubloons from last year and exchange them into Prize Tickets. 1 Pyrite Doubloon grants you a Prize Ticket Bounty from the Moneychanger NPC in Sanctum/Meridian. Using the bounty will grant you 50 Prize Tickets. And yes, the bounties are bind-to-account. Make sure to check your alts and cash these in!

Let’s explore the Phase 2 additions in detail, shall we?

As part of RIFT 2.2′s Hotfix #3 yesterday, we received a slight boost to the amount of Prize Tickets most Carnival of the Ascended games offer. After seeing forum threads like this one, Trion finally broke down and realized many folks simply weren’t happy with the carnival’s effort-to-reward ratio this year. I also shared some thoughts about the carnival in an editorial regarding the same subject.

Keep reading to take a look at the updated rewards as they currently stand.

Despite the fact that we’re right in the middle of RIFT’s second anniversary and Sanctum, Meridian, and the dock area of Tempest Bay are full of cheerful NPCs, colorful balloons, and carnival games galore, there’s one thing missing among the festivities on many shards. One group of things, rather. Well, okay, not things exactly. People. Despite the popularity of last year’s Carnival of the Ascended, this year our carnival grounds seem a little sparse.

Not all shards are experiencing this sparseness, of course, but even on high and medium population shards, folks are noticing the lack of carnival goers. I know I have. It was hard to miss the giant raids of balloon stompers last year even on low population shards. This year, the first day had a few smaller raids forming up on the two PvE shards I frequent, but now even during peak hours there are rarely more than three people wandering through any of the carnival attractions. So, what gives? Why aren’t the carnival games as popular as they were last year?

This year’s Carnival of the Ascended is now well underway. We have games to enjoy, spacebars to wear out, and plenty of currency to collect. There has been a few new additions this year as well as some pretty hefty changes from last year’s Carnival of the Ascended. This guide will go over all of the reward vendors, carnival games, and the current activities, repeatable quests, and regular quests associated with the first two phases of the world event that marks RIFT’s second anniversary celebration.

Note: Since the event’s in progress, this guide is still a work in progress. I’ll update it as the next phases roll on out. If you notice we’re missing anything, feel free to drop us a line in the comments section below!

In Trion’s last live stream that took place Friday, Elrar showed off some of the new items we’ll be able to grab when Carnival of the Ascended 2013 goes fully underway in the coming weeks. He showed off a new mount that will be available who’s named Aurora. Aurora is a recolored version of Nebula from last year and is a galaxy-inspired steed that’s lighter blue in color and features a mane with icy fire effects. She also breaths out a frozen cloud of vapor every now and then.

Aurora, Nebula, and Tindrel (the clanking spider) will all be available this year. From the sounds of it, Pyrite Doubloons, which were what was used to purchase the two mounts last year, will not be making a return this year. That may mean that the mounts may be purchasable with Glass Beads or obtained during a quest similar to the quests involved in choosing one of the mounts from both Fae Yule and Autumn Harvest.

Keep reading to take a peek at a couple screenshots of Aurora that were taken from the live stream as well as a preview of some of the various Carnival of the Ascended-themed masks and other goodies.

As part of today’s RIFT 2.2: Carnival of the Ascended major update, we received another update to the RIFT Mobile app. Yep, we finally have a new world event-themed scratcher mini-game. This one is called “Carnival Candy” and can be explained quite simply: Find the anniversary cake and win a prize! The prizes are mostly Glass Beads this time around, but it’s also possible to get rare goodies from other world events like companion pets and wardrobe items. Each Glass Bead win seems to net you between 8 and 15 of them. All-in-all, the mini-game seems to be a decent source of complimentary Glass Beads, although like the most of the games, the odds can be somewhat unpredictable.

Surprisingly, Trion hasn’t tossed much information on the Public Test Server about this year’s new additions to Carnival of the Ascended, the RIFT anniversary World Event starting this week. We know a few things, of course. We know that there will be at least two new games and a handful of new rewards including new hats and new mounts thanks to a few hints in the official announcement (look closely at this small screenshot to notice what looks like a recolored Nebula mount). We know there will also be an anniversary cloak up for grabs on the currency vendor.

We’ve also seen a few hints on the PTS. Players got to test out the Carnival of the Ascended alternate The Codex Warfront a couple of weeks ago. This alternate version is called Wheel of Fate, and involves this nifty wheel, balloons, and these awesome cannons that can send you flying across the battlefield while dealing damage to your enemies. Even a non-PvPer has to admit that sounds pretty fun, right?

There have also been a handful of new achievements popping up on the PTS over the past week or so. Among the additions have been a few for Carnival of the Ascended. Keep reading to take a peek!

Ascended, get your balloon-popping shoes and PA building plans ready– RIFT 2.2 and this year’s Carnival of the Ascended World Event are right around the corner! Trion announced today that the patch will land next week on February 27th. RIFT’s second anniversary is coming up and that means that all of the fun mini-games, things to see, and rewards will be returning from last year– along with some new games and goodies taking place in Storm Legion zones this year.

There will be two new games and pie-throwing seems to be involved in one of them. Anything involving pies has to be good, right? As part of RIFT’s second anniversary, Ascendants will be able to pick up a special anniversary cloak. There will also be a new Carnival-specific alternate Codex Warfront to enjoy that involves a bit of luck in the Wheel of Fate and a collection of corresponding achievements that are currently being previewed on the Public Test Server.

RIFT 2.2 will also finally be bringing us our third tier of Planar Attunement that will include these nodes as well as new weapon enchant nodes that were recently added. We’ll also be getting the second tier for the PvP Planar Attunement tree. We’ll be getting a new Steppes of Infinity zone event, too.

Trion announced that RIFT will be holding another Return to Telara free event from March 21 to March 25. During the anniversary week of RIFT (March 21 through April 4), subscribers will receive special bonuses for XP, PA XP, Guild XP, planarite, zone event rewards, favor, and more. Check out the official announcement for all the details.

Many members of the RIFT community waited apprehensively yesterday for Daglar’s second half of 2013′s State of the Game letter. After Scott Hartsman’s sudden departure from Trion Worlds, some were afraid that news of the coming year would be sprinkled with hints of free-to-play. Instead, we received a brief letter from Daglar in which he thanked RIFT’s community and expressed enthusiasm over the months of updates to come.

Specifically, he talked about what we’ll be seeing in RIFT 2.2 and 2.3. In 2.2, we’ll finally be getting the third tier for Planar Attunement, new zone events on the Storm Legion continents, and our first Storm Legion raid Hard Modes. An updated Carnival of the Ascended will also be making a return, marking RIFT’s second anniversary. Not much is known about the 2.3 update yet, but Daglar did throw out a pretty big hint– it involves the opening of Dendrome!

Keep reading to take a look.

With Carnival of the Ascended in full swing Trion is throwing out some subscriber only weekend bonuses! The first weekend was Ascended Weekend (March 2-4) which gave 25% bonuses to pretty much everything you do in game. The next three weekends will be more specific and the bonus will be more substantial.

Next up, Warlord’s Weekend (March 9-11), which will grant us 50% bonuses to Favor and Prestige from kills. I will be redoing my PvP spec in preparation and stocking up on Amp and possibly Cheetos. I fully intend to finally use up the last of my Veteran’s Favor and Veteran’s Prestige Vials over a binge Warfront Queueing session that will not end until I am asleep on my keyboard, drool pooling on my desk when my Amp finally runs out!