In an announcement put out in a press release, Rift will go free to play starting June 12, 2013.

PLAY ALL YOU WANT AND PAY WHAT YOU WANT AS RIFT® GOES FREE-TO-PLAY!

Trion Responds to Community Demand;
Trion’s Proven MTX Engine to Power Free-to-Play RIFT

Redwood Shores, CA (May 14, 2013) - RIFT®, the award-winning online game from Trion Worlds, will adopt a free-to-play business model starting June 12, 2013. Players will be able to experience the entire game world; every dungeon, every zone, and every level and get full access to all current and future game updates.

“We have been listening to feedback from our players and watching the continuously developing MMO community, and are now ready to launch RIFT as a premium free-to-play experience,” said Bill Fisher, Creative Director of RIFT. “After taking our time and planning a careful transition; we are very excited to bring an enhanced game experience to everyone, without barriers.”

All players will be able to explore the entire world of Telara for free and will have access to the expanded in-game RIFT Store where a variety of services–mounts, boosts, wardrobe items, and more–will be available for purchase. An optional subscription will still be available that grants a slew of “Patron” benefits and bonuses to maximize the RIFT experience. Trion will celebrate its current and previous subscribers with loyalty and currency rewards for their time spent playing RIFT thus far.

“As a gamer’s game, a super fun and fair experience is of the utmost importance to us,” said Fisher. “Players will have the opportunity to buy customizations and boosts to heighten their play experience; however the best gear in the game will always have to be earned through playing RIFT.”

RIFT free-to-play kicks off with massive content update 2.3, Empyreal Assault, which will open up an unforgettable new zone, world event, chronicle and much more. Empyreal Assault launches on June 12th, 2013 for all Ascended of Telara.

For full details on RIFT F2P visit: www.riftgame.com/free

Does this change your opinion of RIFT? Will this make you stop playing or start again? What does the community think?

So you want to join the ranks of Mage healing.  I won’t kid you, it’s a tough job that’s made even more tough by only having a couple direct healing spells.  While you could be a good dungeon healer you will likely play a support healer in raids.  This isn’t a knock against Mage healers, we are very good at pumping out group heals, but keeping a tank up during massive pulse damage can be tricky with little to no margin for error.

So with all the challenges that a Mage has to overcome when healing what spec makes it easier and how can a Mage go from being a good healer to a great one?  Well, most of the time you will find that those Mages who are good at healing know all the fights like the back of their hand and, more importantly, they know how to manage their cooldowns and time their direct healing abilities properly.  While the timing and management of cooldowns are an art form that will take a fair bit of practice to master we can take a look at how you might want to spec out your Mage souls, what macros to have available, and a general rotation of some spells.
 

The Agonist is a serious death dealer which can maim your enemies and protect your allies.  Trion listed the Defiler soul as a healing soul, however, this soul has much more potential than just being a healing soul.  By combining the Defiler and Cabalist souls, this spec reeks of death, and your tank will thank you after that huge pull.

Agonist Spec purpose:  Solo, AoE Damage, and tank/group damage reduction.

I’ve been working on a DPS spec for level 60 dungeons.  The one found below has moderate mobility and very good DPS without having to worry about controlling a pet.  I never like to quote DPS numbers because it varies by equipment, mob/encounter type, etc. but for those that are interested I can usually get at least 7K sustained DPS in an expert level 60 dungeon against a boss with a fair bit of movement mechanics.

Please post up your questions and comments on this build.  I won’t pretend to have all the answers so if you see something that might work a bit better in the rotation, point distribution, or anything else then speak up. The only way we will all learn to get the most out of our class is if we share ideas, macros, and tactics.

With Patch 1.9 we’ve seen the introduction of IA into the zones of Silverwood, Freemarch, Gloamwood and Stonefield respectively. Even though it provides an alternative way of levelling, there might be some kinks in this new system that do not sit well with people. Especially with Storm Legion on the horizon, this complication might be worth looking at.

Now let’s face it, levelling by IA is superior to ordinary questing for the levels up until 50. Having levelled my mage up in record time in comparison to some of my other characters shows this. This, in turn, leads to IA being very popular among levellers. However, at the same time its biggest detriment is the lack of story.

An example, the story in Stonefield culminates in researches playing with an old Titan Gate which accidentally summons Centius, an ancient Titan. When levelling in Stonefield through quests, one slowly but surely finds out about the researchers and about Centius and where he came from. However, when a particular player is teleported to the Titan Gate and told to kill 10 ‘Centius Spawns’, he really has no clue what’s going on story-wise.

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

Hey everyone!

As you can see, we’ve recently redesigned the website. RIFT Junkies is the first site out of Junkies Nation to get a face-lift. Our intentions with this new design is to bring you content at faster speeds and bring you news from all across our network. To celebrate this new launch we’re giving away a RIFT Time-Card and the only way to win is to tweet:

So get out there and tweet to all of your friends to check out our new design and get a chance to win some game time for RIFT! We will select winners on 5/4/2012 so you have plenty of time to enter!

TRION WORLDS AND ASIASOFT SIGN EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT TO BRING RIFT™ TO SOUTHEAST ASIAN MARKETS

Global Growth Continues With Award-Winning Rift Coming To Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – Feb. 21, 2012 – Trion Worlds, the leading publisher and developer of premium games for the connected era, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Asiasoft to release the award-winning title, Rift™, in six Southeast Asian territories: Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. This follows the recent announcement of exclusive partnerships with CJ E&M Games and Shanda Games to bring Rift to Korea and China respectively, demonstrating Trion Worlds’ continued commitment to growth and expansion into global markets.

“Trion has a global view when it comes to delivering premium games, and our initiatives to bring Rift to Asia through some of the industry’s biggest collaborations sets Trion apart from other Western game developers,’’ said Lars Buttler, Founder and CEO, Trion Worlds. “Asiasoft, with its deep reach into Southeast Asian countries, is an ideal partner to realize our goal of bringing original connected experiences like Rift to gamers everywhere.”

TRION WORLDS AND CHINESE ONLINE GIANT SHANDA GAMES TEAM UP TO MAKE HISTORY, BRING RIFT™ TO CHINA

Success of Award-Winning First Title Rift^TM Drives Accelerated Growth in Global Markets

REDWOOD SHORES, CA – Feb. 9, 2012 – Trion Worlds, the leading publisher and developer of premium games for the connected era, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Shanda Games, a top Chinese Internet company, to release the award-winning title, Rift™ in China. The broad-scope relationship will grant Shanda an exclusive license for Rift localized in Chinese/Mandarin, and set a new bar for Western-developed games provided in the East.

“Our collaboration with Shanda is a huge step for Western premium games in China and we are proud Trion is at the forefront, setting the standard once again,” Lars Buttler, Founder and CEO, Trion Worlds, said. “The appetite for great, new original game experiences like Rift, that disrupt the existing paradigm of traditional gaming, is universal.  Shanda, with proven track record of localizing and delivering content, is the best publisher for Trion to offer gamers in Mainland China an authentic Rift experience.”

Trion’s accelerated expansion to Asia follows the unparalleled success of Rift since launching last March.  As recently reported, the company saw more than a million active accounts in just four months and North American and European revenues of more than $100 million.  Rift’s swift success proves gamers are embracing original, high-quality new properties and rich, dynamic game experiences built from the ground up for the new generation of online gaming.

“We are delighted to bring Rift, Trion Worlds’ much-acclaimed award-winning title, to China,” said Mr. Alan Tan, Chairman and CEO of Shanda Games. “Rift offers an adventurous online world with fantastic dynamic content and stunning graphics and has attracted many devoted fans worldwide. Based on our experience and expertise in the China market, we are excited about the upcoming launch of RIFT to our broad gamer audience and are confident in the success of Rift in the China market.”

The Shanda partnership showcases Trion’s commitment to a global premium online games business that defines the future of games.  Today’s announcement follows Trion’s updates of a $85 million round of strategic growth equity financing, and the company’s plans to launch an initiative which comprises both a consumer platform and a full-scale publishing and development platform, code-named Red Door, later this year.
More details regarding the launch of Rift in mainland China, including launch timing will be announced at a later date. For more information on Rift, log onto www.riftgame.com.