Developer Trion Worlds entered the treacherous waters of the massively multiplayer online game market last month with the release of Rift. The game is taking aim at the current leader in that genre, World of Warcraft, a game with more than 15 million current players and six-and-a-half years of player loyalty.
With World of Warcraft holding more than 62 percent of the MMO market, any competitor faces a decidedly uphill battle in building a fan base. Rift does, however, offer some ideas that are brand new to the MMO space, and has the benefit of being a new game, with new graphics, going up against a title that hasn’t had a full graphical overhaul since its release.
Another thing Rift features is an entirely new plot, without an orc or flying mount in sight. In Rift, players represent the Ascended—resurrected warriors who have been tasked with protecting the lands of Telara and defeating Regulos, the god of death.
When creating a character, players are given a choice between two opposing factions: the Guardians or the Defiants. The roles of “good guys” and “bad guys” are not set in stone; it is made clear that the only difference between the factions is their beliefs.
After pledging their alliance to either the Guardians or Defiants, players choose one of four main “callings”: Mage, Rogue, Cleric or Warrior. Each of these options then branch off into eight “souls” which specialize your character even further. The souls are similar to classes in World of Warcraft.
However, instead of just one class, each player can have three, as well as being able to switch between four “roles” comprised of their own distinct three soul combination.
This system is complicated, especially for those who have no previous experience with an MMORPG. Rift is clearly designed for those who have at least some idea of how to play this type of game.
In addition to this unique class building system, Rift features one more fairly new idea for an MMORPG: worldwide events called “rifts.”
These events, the game’s namesake, are meant to bring the warriors of Telara together for a common cause. When a rift occurs, the sky splits open and the otherworldly minions of Regulos spill into Telara.
When players see a rift open up, they are encouraged to drop whatever they are working on to aid in sealing it. Special rewards granted upon closure are offered to compel players to actually help rather than just wait for everyone else to seal the rift.
The rifts produce waves of enemies that all must be defeated before a final boss appears and the rift can be closed up. Before the final fight, both Guardians and Defiants make temporary truces and defend their lands together.
These world events are hectic, and the game’s developer has made every effort to make them worth each player’s time. In comparison to World of Warcraft, rifts make Rift stand out.
However, besides the class system and world events, Rift and World of Warcraft are very similar games.
Questing in Rift is the same as in nearly every MMORPG. Quests include killing ten of something, breaking five of something else or picking up fifteen of another something.
Ryan Kiley, a sophomore in technology education, is a World of Warcraft fan who is reluctant to give Rift his time or money.
“I spent so much time playing [World of Warcraft],” Kiley says, “I don’t want to start over again in a game that is basically the same.”
Kiley’s viewpoint is the driving force behind World of Warcraft’s current dominance of the MMORPG market, no one that has their character maxed out in WoW wants to start from nothing in Rift.
It appears that although Rift has made a few changes for the better, devoted Warcraft players have no desire to make the jump to Rift.
Another World of Warcraft player, Kevin Dearing, a sophomore in psychology, is on somewhat of a middle ground when it comes to his opinion of WoW vs. Rift.
“The reason WoW is [currently] better is that Rift is still too young to know where it’s headed. What kind of content or expansions will we see?”
He also said the lack of Mac support for Rift cripples it against Warcraft, because WoW can be played on both PC and Mac.
“I stick with WoW because it is a consistently solid game,” Brian Speir, a sophomore in international studies, said. “It brings a lot to the table, which Rift has yet to offer.”
Rift has lured a few players away from its competitors but how long they will stick to the new game is yet to be seen.
Jordan Curd, a sophomore computer science major, has begun playing Rift after quitting World of Warcraft earlier this semester.
“The reason people are still playing World of Warcraft instead of Rift is because it has six and a half years of content and support and its more well known than Rift.” Curd said, “But Rift has more potential, it’s more polished, it’s new and it’s just a better game.”
Rift is a new direction for games of its genre but it doesn’t appear to be a “World of Warcraft killer.”
