RIFT is preparing to launch their eighth major content update, bringing to us a new raid, new trade-skills and the ever-expanding role of Instant Adventures. This week, we sat in on a conference call with Hal Hanlin, Scott Hartsman and Adam Gershowitz, and discussed everything that is coming with this latest patch. We even got a taste of what is coming on down the road.

There were plenty of questions regarding Fishing and Survival. We learned that these new skills don’t just bring reasons to roleplay and play around, they bring actual benefits to your character, from a power and convenience perspective. For example, the tents and bedrolls for survival are not just for roleplaying purposes; they do have effects. According to Adam Gershowitz, from a gameplay perspective, they are there to give you a little bit of rest experience as well! The developers main focus is to allow players to pitch a tent, so that they can attend to things happening in real life, like kids or making dinner, and not force the player to head back to town to log off safely.

Check out RIFT’s latest community blog as they give you a step by step look at the new guild finder coming in patch 1.8.

RIFT is a massive game, much of which is enjoyed best with friends!

We also know that between new players joining or returning all the time and free character transfers it can be a game in itself to find others to adventure with. Fortunately in RIFT 1.8: Infernal Dawn we’ve made it easier than ever to find a guild and get back to the action! Whether you’re looking for a guild or your guild is looking for more you can connect with other kindred players instantly via the new Guild Finder.

Source: Guild Finder arrives in RIFT 1.8 Infernal Dawn!

INFERNAL DAWN BREAKS NEXT WEEK IN RIFT™

Eighth Rift™ update brings new 20-person raid, tradeskills, and leaderboards

As the Telaran sun sets on the Carnival of the Ascended, a violent new day breaks next week as Trion Worlds launches Infernal Dawn, the next Rift™ content update. The update’s centerpiece is a new 20-person raid that pits players against the dragon lords Maelforge and Laethys within the volcanic depths of Ember Isle’s Mount Carcera. Additional features include a guild finder tool, leaderboards, Fishing and Survival tradeskills, and Instant Adventure on Ember Isle.

Full list of features included in RIFT: Infernal Dawn:

• Infernal Dawn – Epic 20 person raid within Mt. Carcera on Ember Isle
• New Tradeskills – Fishing and Survival come to Telara
• Leaderboards – Ascended stat tracking comes to Rift
• Instant Adventure – Join the adventure on Ember Isle

Check out four new videos that members of the community have created showing off the new armor models in the upcoming Infernal Dawn game update.

The folks over at Trion gave us an exclusive screenshot of the Maelforge encounter from RIFT’s upcoming brand-new 20 man Raid coming soon. Do you think you’ll be able to slay the dragon?

Casey gets a sneak peek at Rift’s next content update, Patch 1.8

Originally posted by Gersh_Trion (Source)

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Hello Testers!

Starting in 1.8 we will be offering a variety of titles that can be earned through participating in PTS events and helping us test new features. This is Trion’s way of saying thank you to all of the dedicated RIFT players who put in the extra effort to help us make sure our new features are AAA+!

Below are some details on what titles will be availible and how you can earn them. PTS titles will not be something that is super easy to obtain, and we will be watching for those players who really put in the extra effort during our events.

As always please remember when we try something new there will be rough patches to iron out, and PTS granted titles will be no exception =)

Enjoy!
-Gersh

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.

Originally posted by Ailion (Source)

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Additional changes to the Sab will be coming up in tomorrow’s PTS update (if the push goes through).

High Explosives: Duration has been increased to 8s, up from 6s. Now stacks up to 3 times.

Increased Explosive Power: Damage increased by 5-25%, up from 3-15%.

Bomb Specialist: Damage increased by 5-25%, up from 3-15%.

Combat Wounds: Now increases damage of Spike Charge and Caltrop Charge by 15-30%, up from 10-20%.

Chemical Bomb: Damage has been increased.

Caltrop Charge: Damage has been increased.

Spike Charge: Damage has been increased.

Fragmentation Bomb: Reduced the cooldown from 15s to 10s.

Carpet Bombing: Reduced the cooldown from 2 min to 1 min.

Rapid Setup: Reduced the cooldown from 1 min to 30 sec.

Trench Warfare: Damage bonus from Attack Power is increased by 5% for every point spend in the Saboteur soul above 26, up from 4%.

Rough earth grips me, scraping my scales. Jagged teeth of stone transfix my wings, wings that once fanned flame across eternity. They have entombed me, dull gray rock for miles before my eyes. Their crude magic drains my heat, dragging it far above, to ooze from the mountain whose weight has crushed me through millennia.

These Telarans. They have forced sleep and stillness on me. How I hate them.

In long-gone eons I blazed from star to star, far ahead of my sisters and brothers, the void screaming, scorching in my wake. I would tear the cores from living worlds and gulp them down like beating hearts.

And as the molten juice ran down my chin, warrior gods would come give me battle for the ashes of their dying creations. We would clash in the sky and the spaces between the planes. I slew them with great relish, and my triumphal roar blasted their brittle remains across the heavens.