Storm Legion’s final beta weekend, which is a completely open beta, begins this morning at 10 AM PST, and one of the new features we’ll be getting to test out is the brand new Warfront Trion is adding in Storm Legion, Karthan Ridge. Trion is looking to do some player testing in Karthan Ridge this weekend, and is going to be holding a series of special events that include dev-slaying and nifty player rewards. Keep reading to see the full announcement, which was posted on the official forums yesterday afternoon by Elrar.

Conquest, Trion’s new three-faction PvP area, has now seen its second PTS test. Plenty of players popped in to get in on the action, and most walked away fairly impressed. The developers still have to work out a few tweaks in the system, but for the most part, Conquest is shaping up to quite an enjoyable experience. Here’s our overview of some of Conquest’s features, along with some tips for first-time players, and my personal review.

It’s pretty easy to figure out how to maneuver through Conquest the first time you hop in. Players will have to choose one of three factions: Dominion, Oathsworn, and Nightfall. These factions are independent from normal factions. Each Conquest faction has their own starting base on the map, which is an instanced version of Stillmoor. There are no NPCs or mobs in Conquest, but most of the structures and cliffs are still around. In this sense, Conquest takes the shape of an open-world PvP zone, but sadly, remains very instanced. Players will join a queue for Conquest, just like any other warfront.

One of the problems with diving back into the world of Telara on an alt or completely new character is the fact that, well, RIFT’s quests aren’t always that exciting. Sure, some of the quest chains are awesome. Some entire maps are awesome. I’m a huge fan of Gloamwood and Iron Pine Peaks, for example. Other maps, for me, prove a little more difficult to muddle through the second or third time around (Scarwood Reach and Scarlet Gorge, I’m looking at you). I don’t know what it is about the 30-40 leveling hurdle, but for some reason, my alts always get stuck there.

I don’t think I’m the only one with similar leveling hurdles, either, because many new players that are trying out RIFT for the first time find themselves a little underwhelmed at around the same levels. Trion was pretty quick to notice one of the glaring issues at these levels and have since changed the entire look of Scarwood Reach. The lush, green surroundings are a huge improvement, believe me, but there’s still… something off about the 30-40 level range.

Originally posted by Elrar (Source)

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I love the smell of PTS in the morning – that fresh, crisp, new car scent. It’s time to get back under the hood as we unleash the latest round of features destined for 1.5. To make it super easy to read we’ve tried to use as many bullet points as possible.

Let us begin!

Originally posted by Elrar (Source)

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No you’re not crazy, you do not have to adjust your monitor.

I said “NEW WARFRONT” and I sure as heck mean it! You might have thought we’d take a break on new content after 1.4, but you would have thought wrong.

No my Ascended friends, we toil ever forward taking RIFT to new heights each day – or in this case…depths!

Hammerknell was a seat of great power in Telara, and in its ruin artifacts remain that can turn the tides of war. The Defiant and Guardians are no fools of the strategic advantage some of this cursed magic could provide and so their leaders have chosen you to battle it out for supremecy.

Join us tomorrow, 08/10/11 @ 3:00PM PDT for a battle royale as we take our first stabs at testing this new PvP instance.

Welcome to…. Library of the Runemasters!

Within the depths of Hammerknell, Guardians and Defiants fight to take control of abandoned dwarven rune vessels. Able to bind powerful planar beings, these artifacts could prove invaluable to the armies of Ascended.

You must fight to take control of these powerful vessels. Be warned, the longer one is within your grasp, the more its dark power will eat away your soul.

Earn points for your team by holding onto the relic for as long as possible. However, no one can withstand the power of the relic for long, and the carrier will take an increasing amount of damage until they die. You may also accrue points for your team by defeating enemy players.

Originally post by Elrar (Source)

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Hey all,

We wanted to post a quick follow-up to some of the feedback you have been sharing with us.

As you may have seen, we’ve recently expanded one “Wargroup”, or a group of shards who can engage in Warfronts together, to include additional shards. This was done to directly address queue times for Warfronts and to allow for more players to engage in PvP faster.

We’re closely monitoring this change for any issues or bugs that arise as well as to see if it leads to improved queue times. We will keep you updated on our decision to expand additional Wargroups in the future.

Furthermore, we’re also looking at improving match-making between pre-made groups so that, whenever possible, a pre-made will face a pre-made and have less mixing with random pick up groups.

Lastly, starting tonight in Europe and tomorrow in North America (05/27) you’ll see a number of improvements to Warfronts that will encourage more competitive gameplay and coordination, here’s a first look at the notes:

Imagine, for a moment, that you’re in the heat of battle. Allies and enemies are falling all around you, shields and armor clamor upon the ground as the piercing ring of steel shreds your eardrums. Arrows soar past, inches above your head, and spells land so close to you that their very impact rattles your resolve. You’re injured and weakening by the second, your fellow combatants are struggling for survival but victory is so close you can almost taste it. Inch by inch, your side pushes forward. Victory is at hand.

Our crack team here at Rift Junkies has put together a map detailing the scoring areas in The Black Garden. If you’re not familiar with The Black Garden, take a look at this article we wrote last month, but essentially it’s a murderball style game. You pick up the Fang of Regulos and run around with it. Depending on where you stand, you gain more points per second. Now you will know where to stand! Check out the map after the break.

Two new shots from Rift: Planes of Telara’s booth at GamesCom, one shows us the character stat sheet and another shows us what warfronts will look like. First the stat sheet.

I don’t think there are any surprises there.