Expansions

This weekend's RIFT Storm Legion open beta arrived with the news that all zones were open for players to explore. So what better way to spend my gaming time than hopping on my mount and heading off to see as much of the world as possible? I knew the world was large, but it wasn't until I was halfway through Brevane that it really sunk in.

RIFT's expansion has a lot of exciting content, but I think what will surprise people is the sheer scope of the world. I journeyed through every zone (except for The Dendrome, which was still closed) and put together a brief guide of what I saw, which hopefully will make it easier to get started in the new areas.

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EverQuest II's ninth expansion is less than a week away, so expect Sony Online Entertainment to ramp up the publicity machine in the coming days. The first salvo is a new video focused on Chains of Eternity's environmental spiffiness. Game Designer Nathan McCall and Senior Environment Artist Maria Del Casino narrate a quick look at the new zones of Ethernere, otherwise known as Norrath's afterlife.

"When you get to Ethernere, you really have to question whether this is reality or not," says McCall, before going on to describe the Obol Plains and the Eidolon Jungle with terms like "lush" and "technicolor." It's not all bright colors and happy fun times, though, as SOE also shows off some eerie grayscale locations and plenty of fearsome mobs. See all that and more in the clip after the cut.

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The countdown is on like Donkey Kong, yo, although not as gorilla-y and barrel-y. With two weeks to go until Storm Legion thunders down on our heads like the big awesome expansion that we wanted, RIFT is positively buzzing with anticipation. Over the past week or so, Trion Worlds triggered the world event that will lead us into the expansion's content, and I've been on the ground doing all manner of responsible journalistic research with aplomb.

That is to say, I've been running around in circles yelling, "GUYZ! WHERE IS QUEST-GIVEY PERSON?" to my guildies, taking loads of screenshots to test the storage capacity of my hard drive, and occasionally trolling general chat by inviting people to my "personal dimension." It's what I do best.

While it's not quite over -- as of the time of this writing, it's just moved into phase three of four -- Tempest Rising is unique in RIFT's canon of world events. It's the first and only one that's served as a direct prologue to the single biggest content addition to the game, and it has to be spot-on with introducing the lore and conflict coming to the world. How's it going so far? Let's take a look.

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I'm in trouble now. I thought I had it made; I thought I was on easy street. I had one Aion character slot left, open and waiting for that inspiration. Then along came the cloak-donning, guns-blazing gunslinger class. Right on! I know who that slot's going to come 4.0. Or do I?

Basically, NCsoft is evil! I had no interest in a musically minded class, none at all... until the Troubadour announcement last week. A healer! Come on, that's not fair; healing classes are my favorite, my passion, my calling in life. Short of a second Aion account, what in Atreia do I do now? This is not a good predicament for the decisionally challenged.

Thankfully, at least I know I have no interest in the third class. No, really -- this time I mean it! I know, because even though I gave it a shot once before, I just have no desire to play a tank. And how do I know it is a tank? Elementary, my dear Daeva.

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Ready for another RIFT soul reveal? Trion's happy to oblige by way of the Defiler. "The Defiler terrifies and impresses with a repertoire of life-warping desecrations and ghastly heals. A medium for the energies of death, the Defiler can absorb and redirect allies' pain into potent afflictions, twisting friend and foe alike to fit any purpose," Trion says.

The class is a pretty good damage dealer, too, and Trion has included a bit of lore to go along with the class description and screenshots on its Storm Legion website.

[Thanks to Brad for the tip!]

I don't know about you, but Riders of Rohan has genuinely made me excited to log into Lord of the Rings Online once more. Don't get me wrong; I always like the game, but some days are more of the "same old, same old" than others. This expansion, however, is like a fresh spring wind sweeping away the stale memories of yesterday. This is good stuff.

I'm sure many of you are already level 85 and masters of the horse, whereas I am but a lowly level 77 and am cursing at my war-steed because it handles like a drunken garbage scow. I don't fly through expansions uber-quickly, but in this case I don't feel the need to. I want to savor all of this.

I want to save a more intricate discussion of mounted combat until next time, so for today I would like to look at the initial stages of the Rohan story and how Turbine is handling the franchise as it moves deeper into The Two Towers territory.

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Trion global brand director Jim Butler has some bad news for RIFT fans hoping for a lifetime subscription option. "Nope; never. I was against the idea when we did it at Turbine, and it won't happen on my watch here at Trion," Butler told A List Daily. "Lifetime memberships are a great deal for consumers that plan to spend the next few years playing the game, and a financial disaster for subscription-only companies that have to continue paying for new feature development, salaries, server costs, marketing, etc."

RIFT's Storm Legion expansion launches on November 13th.

Want an early look at RIFT's Storm Legion expansion? First you should read our hands-on preview. After that, you might want to consider jumping on board for the open beta test that begins November 2nd and ends on November 7th.

Trion has issued a press release noting the time frame and procedure for taking part in the expansion's final test phase. You'll need to create a beta account and download the client. You can either create a new character or transfer your live server avatars to the beta environment. The testing concludes on November 5th, and Storm Legion releases on November 13th.

[Source: Trion press release]

If you logged into RIFT last night to find your server shuttered and your guild shipped off to the far reaches of Telara, well, apparently it's all part of the plan.

Trion has been updating its shard technology in advance of the Storm Legion expansion, and the result is that everyone in the game's European and American regions can play on their own dedicated wargroup. Trion says via forum post that the updates "have effectively doubled the capacity of the individual servers" and reduced queue times for dungeons and PvP.

Briarcliff, Byriel, Deepstrike, Gnarlwood, Greenscale, Keenblade, Millrush, and Silkweb have all been converted to trial servers. Trion is offering free character transfers to former residents, and there are instructions and further details on the process at RIFT's official website.

For the past two weeks, I've been sitting through panel after panel, keynote after keynote, and the constant message was about what the future of MMOs will look like. The big buzzwords from GDC Online and SOE Live were things like mobile gaming, user-generated content, emergent gameplay, and e-sports, but sometimes, it's the little things that make for a great MMO.

I'm still cutting my teeth on RIFT's Storm Legion, but there are several things that already get me excited about the expansion. We've heard a lot about the big things coming to the game, but in this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, I'd like to talk about a few of the little things that will make this a well-received expansion.

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It is undeniable: Between panels, keynote addresses, and interviews, SOE Live offered fans a smorgasbord of information this year. Even as we reported on some information, more came our way. Such is the case with EverQuest II and its upcoming Chains of Eternity expansion; no sooner had I shared the new tradeskill AA and prestige lines than I was able to sit down developers to gain more insights into the new features. And of course, another panel came along offering even more tidbits about the expansion and beyond!

Did previous announcements leave you wondering whether crafters will be required to grind their own AA tree up from 0? How many crafted items can actually be mass produced at one time? And what's in store for the Dungeon Maker and SOEmote? These questions and more were answered as I sat down with Brain Ferguson (PvP and tradeskill game designer), Holly Longdale, (Producer), and Dave Georgeson (Director of the EQ franchise).

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While KingsIsle has been heavily focused on Pirate101's recent launch, the studio wanted to send a strong message that it's still fully behind Wizard101 and has a dedicated team working hard to keep improving and expanding the game. In fact, the Wizard101 team is larger now than it was at launch and has a huge announcement to share.

So what's the big exciting news of the day? Producer Leah Ruben was bursting at the seams to tell us in three words: "Dinosaurs are awesome!"

Actually, the big news is that Wizard101 is preparing to release its ninth new world since launch, a dinosaur world named Azteca. Azteca not only will challenge players to progress through 13 areas but is going to raise the level cap. And the biggest surprise of all? It's going on test servers this week for players to try out.

Keep on reading to find out what Azteca is going to do for the landscape of Wizard101!

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Trion has released another round of Storm Legion concept art. The latest update features four bodacious beasts that you'll face when RIFT's expansion lands on November 13th. First up is a Shade Giant, followed by Animator Cahail, an Empyrean Arbalest, and an Architect.

This last is an elemental servitor recruited by Crucia from across the cosmos. Trion says that Architects "are much sought after for their martial prowess and technical skill." Have a look at the new images in our Storm Legion gallery below.

Another new Aion class has been revealed via a Korean developer blog. The Troubadour joins the Shooting Star in the lineup of new archetypes coming with the fantasy title's 4.0 update.

MMO Culture reports that the Troubadour is a support class featuring the ability to both heal allies and weaken enemies. The blurb also compares the new class to Aion's existing Priest, saying that the former plays "at a higher tempo" and boasts skills that work well in both PvP and PvE.

The Troubador marks the second of three class reveals hinted at earlier this year. Head past the cut for the new class concept art.

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HA! For the who-knows-how-many umpteenth time, my carefully considered words for the week (which were incredibly timely and sparkly, by the way!) have been usurped by yet another last-minute announcement by NCsoft. So we will all have to just exercise our patience muscles and explore those words of wisdom next time. Today, I am delving into the idea of making your mark in Aion!

As announced just today, players have the opportunity to design a unique weapon for the new Gunner class coming in Aion's big 4.0 expansion/patch. Think about it: A piece of your creativity could be in the hands of every gun-slinging Daeva in the wild Western market! Not only is this cool in itself, but the fact that the non-contest is happening at all is a positive sign that NCsoft actually listens to Aion's players. Now, you may be sitting there asking yourself, how did she come to that conclusion? Well, here's how.

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