Rift Goes F2P The Right Way

[YCRanger]

I've brought up Rift a few times on these forums as it was my first MMO. I missed the initial WoW craze and once I decided I wanted to try an MMO my friends had all moved on. The idea of giant zone wide fights appealed to me and got me to check out Rift. After a while I had to give up my subscription. But as of yesterday Rift and its expansion Storm Legion are F2P. I know that no one seems to care about this game but I urge everyone to at least try it as now there is no cost to do so. Trion does a great job updating and adding new content. And their F2P model is the way it should be done. You get access to ALL content for free. No pay to win as the items you can buy in the store are cosmetic. The only things you'll miss out on is the expansion Souls if you do not pay for the expansion. Before when I've brought up Rift I've been met with a resounding cry of indifference. Does this make you interested in checking it out?

 

[krazykidd]

You got me curious . So other than the expansion , are there any things you can buy? I ask this because some games have classes / items ...ect you can buy . So what i'm asking is , how are they going to continue to make money ? Will i ever NEED to spend any money on this game?

 

[Anathrax]

I don't know... how is the combat system, the quests? Is there a good PvE endgame? Do I HAVE to PvP? Is there a buttload of grinding? Do bosses need a lot of strategy?

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

Still hasn't really changed the way I feel about it.

The game still feels 'soulless', lacking in personality y'know. Yeah, it's pretty well polished, and the dev team seems active enough. But that doesn't mean anything when I'm not invested in the game.

 

[YCRanger]

You got me curious . So other than the expansion , are there any things you can buy? I ask this because some games have classes / items ...ect you can buy . So what i'm asking is , how are they going to continue to make money ? Will i ever NEED to spend any money on this game?

As far as I know they will provide cosmetic items and boosts to exp and currency and such in the store. They made it a clear point that the best items will be earned in game. Also if you don't buy the original Rift there will be restrictions to the amount of bags you can carry. I'm sure you can buy extra bag space in the store as well. They will probably come up with mounts and such as well

I don't know... how is the combat system, the quests? Is there a good PvE endgame? Do I HAVE to PvP? Is there a buttload of grinding? Do bosses need a lot of strategy?

It's as grindy as most WoWish MMOs are. So yeah it will take a while to get to the higher level raids equipment. They have a strong end game and you do not have to PVP as far as I am aware. Most dungeons can be run through as long as each member of the group holds their own and are the appropriate level. The combat system is typical hotbar combat but you are allowed flexibility in how you build your character through the soul system

 

[KeyMaster45]

Frankly Rift's initial marketing campaign, where they touted constantly about how they were so much better than WoW, really put me off to them. Seems like a silly reason, but their self-proclaimed "WoW Killer" status seemed like a sad cry of attention for their mediocre MMO. If they'd really had confidence in their product then they wouldn't have felt the need to take a hostile stance in their marketing.

That alone made me not want to invest the money needed to try their game, and now that they've gone F2P I still don't because now thinking about Rift only brings up the impression of a game run by the exact type of people I try to avoid when playing online.

In that span of time though I have also come to associate F2P with poorly maintained games with predatory design that nearly forces players into micro-transactions. I would rather pay a monthly fee than put up with the various bullshit that plagues F2P, and expect that Rift will ultimately have to succumb to those things if it hopes to survive.

So yeah, this game has two very big marks in my book that land it squarely on the shit-list of games to avoid.

 

[Sordin]

Well since I now I have a buttload of free time I think I'll check it out.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I'll give it a shot. I like to try out a new MMO every now and then. And I noticed that it always happen during the summer.

 

[Sonntam]

In that span of time though I have also come to associate F2P with poorly maintained games with predatory design that nearly forces players into micro-transactions. I would rather pay a monthly fee than put up with the various bullshit that plagues F2P, and expect that Rift will ultimately have to succumb to those things if it hopes to survive.

So yeah, this game has two very big marks in my book that land it squarely on the shit-list of games to avoid.

One can say a lot of things about Rift, but currently they have perhaps the least taxing F2P system right now. It's as OP said, only cosmetic items in shops and no thousands of micro-transactions like in SWtOR.

The game itself is not exactly my type, but one must admit that Trion is being very gentle with its players while still providing a lot of support for the game.