Rift is one of those MMOs that never really got the attention it deserved. Seemingly doomed to forever wallow in WoW’s shadow, it never quite managed to garner a massive following, and yet it remains one of only successful subscription-based MMOs still around. Thanks to a stable playerbase, and a strong effort by Trion to continually push the game forward, Rift has come a long way since release, but it seems like it’s finally time for Telara to open its doors wide and embrace Free to Play.
This transition is to be accompanied by the 2.3 Empyreal Assault update, which brings with it a healthy dose of new content, a large chuck of which is aimed enhancing the endgame. With 3 new open-world raids that fully scale to your group size, a new 10-man raid that explores creepy alternate realities, and vast Strongholds to defend from invading hordes of the Bloodstorm, there’s plenty there to keep veterans interested and for newbies to look forward to. You can have a look at some of what’s new over here, and while Trion is promising a bigger update than ever before, the transition to F2P is certainly going to be the most impactful change to the game yet.
Speaking of F2P, it’s looking like one of the least restrictive implementations around, with all of the content in the game available to everyone. Moreover, players will be able to freely trade and exchange ingame currencies or commodities for currency purchased for real money by other players, which should help create quite the vibrant economy. If you’ve ever wanted to give Rift a try, but the subscription didn’t sit well with you, I highly encourage giving it a spin, as you might just find yourself playing a very competent MMO with a lot of unique features going for it. See you in Telara.
