Fae Yuling around Telara

Yes, I've been enjoy Storm Legion for the past month, I couldn't even come here and write how good it is, despite the flaws. So, what's going on? Fae Yule festival is here again and it's richer than last year. More daily quests, more prices and the whole atmosphere is totally awesome. It even returned me back in Meridian, to see my old NPC folks and to have snowball fights with my fellow Telarans and Ascended.

I got the festival cape, mount and one of the two pets - Dasher. Currently collecting snowflakes to get the second one, along with the nice 28 slot bag. I already have my Fae Yule goods from last year, so I'm saving for the new ones. 

Fae Yule is everywhere, even in the deserts of Ashora! Too bad Brevane and Dusken lacks a wintery zone. Already in Phase 2, the third one is coming soon. There are even subscriber bonuses starting from December 24th. 

How to get the best achievement in City Core

Rusted Entertainers 

I was 'carnaging' (is this how we call it now?) around City Core when I came across a gazebo and there was a band of rusted guys hitting their drums, playing some weird music. Yes, I tried to kill them and I got the funniest achievement in City Core and Storm Legion so far. And I don't even just go around killing bands in video games. It even comes with a 'Killjoy' title.

 

 Location of the Rusted Entertainers

So, how do you get this awesome 'I Didn't Like What They Were Playing Anyway' achievement. Go to City Core (7233, 9173) and locate this rusty band. After you kill their last member, you will be known as the Killjoy. Gratz.

 

Storm Legion: Cape Jule Journey (with screenshots)

Yes, Storm Legion is finally here! It's massive, has breath-taking zones and it's full of old and new people! Trion made one of the best expansions ever. Bravo!

I'm going to be leveling my character zone by zone. There is a lot to explore and I have no reason to rush. I've spent these days in Cape Jule, a lush rainforest on the Brevane continent. That's the zone I choose to start my journey and I completed all the Carnage and Normal quest and got the achievement for both.

The main settlement in Cape Jule (or city) is Tulan. You can find the trainer for crafting there as well as the ship that takes you to the new capital - Tempest Bay. Tulan has astonishing design, but it's only a partial of what you're about to see in other zones.

Without spoiling the story in Cape Jule, here's a part of my journey presented with screenshots. Hit Read More below to see the beauty of Cape Jule.

Phase 2 of Tempest Rising and City Sieges

Before I start with my experience in the Tempest Rising World Event, let me say few other things about this whole patch. Although, 1.11 brought many, many changes which made many, many people angry, what we actually have here might be just a part of history. History of Rift, Telara, Trion and the whole MMO genre. Something that will go down like a turning point of the game. Something that will have players, years after Storm Legion expansion, talking about this Tempest Rising adventures and how they led to the new continents.

And no, this isn't the worst Rift patch. And yes, I got this after I let go of my old Pyromancer build and accepted the changes with full arms. No, I can't be mad at something I love so much more than one day. It's might be selfish and subjective, but what the hell.

Now, about the Second Phase of Tempest Rising. It's actually pretty cool. People from the 'far away land' are setting in Iron Pine Peak to help my currently favorite team - the Icewatch. Highly suspicious Queen Miela (she really looks like the human form of Crucia) is also there, and she needs help from you, the Ascended. Her and her people, along with the Icewatch are fighting the Storm Legion forces, who are building settlements around Iron Pine Peak. There are few daily quests in which you aid the friendly people with barricades, ballistas and you're even releasing Yetis at the Storm Legion camps. Poor Yetis, it really broke my heart the way I dragged them there. I never had anything against Iron Pine Yetis, I even have a Yeti pet. Never tried to understand what wrong did they meant to those bastards who gave me quests to kill them.

Anyway, Yeti fur aside, we're getting to City Sieges. The quests from Iron Pine led me to Asha Catari in Meridian which actually opened the City Siege Instant Adventures. Pretty much like 'normal' IA's but these are inside the town! And they are everywhere, of course, Storm Legion themed. You'll be fighting various 'stormy' creatures like owls, elementals, build barricades to defend the city, recruit soldiers... you know, the usual thing when your city is under a goddamn siege. The Storm Legion is actually inside Meridian which makes is kinda not-that-cool because only players and nearby NPCs are involved. I mean, it's a city siege and it's a small city, you know! You're fighting of a bad ass massive boss for your achievement (you'll probably grind for a while to get it) in Meridian Training Yard and freaking Trena is across the street teaching people how to fish! Not saying that every single NPC should be in battle, but why not place the Storm Legion camp elsewhere? Like, outside of city walls? However, this whole City Siege thing is neat, but it might get boring after a while.

I really cannot wait what will the next phase bring. This one is so good so far and I'm loving it. And if anybody's counting, Storm Legion is coming live in three weeks!

Tempest Rising, Corgi Rifts and other 1.11 rants

Tempest Rising, the 1.11 patch update is here, bringing many 'stormy' changes to the world and the game in general. Besides the new World Event that eliminated the grind of currency, 1.11 also brought major overhauls to all Callings and Souls.

To be honest, I've never been unhappy with Rift before. Never, ever. Over the past year and a half, or let's say, two years, people ranted about everything. PvP, endgame, Souls, balance, story - everything. I never had anything to "qq" about, I accepted every change as a part of an ever evolving game. Well, until now.

It isn't the first time Trion is changing the souls. But when my main character is almost unplayable, yes, I have a problem. I played 51 Pyromancer / 15 Warlock / 0 Archon. Since I enjoy playing solo, especially on locations such as Ember Isle when survivability is crucial, I was a Reconstruct (ab)user. Reconstruct was one of the most used spells by my dear old Mage. A spell that can return a portion of HP in exchange for Charge? Neat boost for a solo player, isn't it? They also removed Flame Jet, which was a blast for PvP.

At the moment, I'm still trying to get this 51 Pyromancer to work fine. The Combust is fine, but doesn't add up for the lost spells. It isn't just a change I need to adapt to, it's a totally different gameplay that doesn't fit my style at all. I'll try to find a decent replacement, but it's not everything about DPS. I like Fire, I like playing my Pyromancer with total control. I don't want to roll an Elementalist or a Stormcaller. Luckily, the Chloromancer isn't changed that much, still works fine in Library of the Runemasters.

Now, I'll wait and see what will Storm Legion brings to the Pyromancer when all the spells are available. I will be playing the Harbinger too, of course, but the Pyro is still in my focus. Until then, it's time for a break for regularly playing. I'll login just for the World Event quests and that's all.

And yes, Corgi Rifts. Spend few hours opening Life Rifts with a raid group and guildies. Had fun for few hours and got the title and achievement. Probably the most positive thing in Tempest Rising so far. Other than that, I personally think this is the worst patch ever. Sorry, Trion.

One month to Storm Legion

Time seems to pass slowly, yet we're at one month to the Storm Legion expansion. 4 new souls, 10 more levels and two massive continents will be available exactly one month from now. And of course, Dimensions.

As a casual-to-hardcore player I achieved most of the things I wanted in Rift. Did some raiding for fun and progression (never completed Hammerknell, though), completed most of the story quests I wanted, got my notoriety with the three biggest factions besides Ember Isle and collected tons of artifacts and companions.

I also never set foot in Infernal Dawn and I really hope I will drag my casual ass there before Storm Legion hits. I have my Endless Saga left incomplete, and notoriety with factions like the Runeguard. Although I wanted to complete all the quests I could find, seems impossible now with my tight spare time.

Storm Legion will offer a ton of new things to do. I won't be rushing to level 60. My plan is to take things slowly, enjoy questing, stories, crafting and clear the zones one by one. At least my main character will be leveled this way. I have one year subscription and I wouldn't like to sniff up the content the first month.

I really hope Storm Legion will bring some fresh blood to Telara. More populated zones means more fun, both on PvE and PvP shards, especially PvP shards because most of them seems kinda deserted. And I must say the lack of new Warfront announcement makes me kinda nervous. We got trailers, previews, live events about almost anything, except the PvP goods. Conquest is just not enough. It's a different approach to PvP, maybe even less enjoyable then "classic" Warfronts to me. Although now Guardians and Defiants are at some kind of truce, I hope Trion will find a way to get these factions to combat for some cause.

If dreams come true, let us have some lore dose in the form of comics, books and other merchandise. I know Rift has a small market, but give us something special. Give us something that will take out the game out of our computers.

And please freeze me in carbonite until the Storm comes.

That quiet place in Moonshade Highlands

Telara is crowded. In fact, too much crowded. All zones seemed overrun by various mobs and empty areas are quite rare. Areas when you can open your book collection and read about The Day the Rifts Came, listen to the environment sounds and enjoy peaceful music. I really hope Storm Legion will "fix" this and explorers like myself will have something to fill their hearts.

While on my Endless Saga quests, I found a place in Moonshade Highlands that I simply couldn't remember. Although I got the Every Nook and Cranny achievement over a year ago and explored Moonshade the first time I stepped there, this place was new to me. Some quests I missed (or can't remember) might lead there, but I was empty when I got there. No mobs, no NPCs, just a lonely artifact.

The views are just perfect,  especially if you take your time to stand on that old bridge.

 

While on the bridge, I noticed something. It looked like a house, so I decided to see what's there. Naturally, I jumped and died instantly. There's some sort of a cave entrance, covered in spider web. Unfortunately. my Soul Walk was on a cooldown that I couldn't wait, so I respawned in the center of Moonshade. Until my next visit, this place will remain mystery to me. 

Storm Legion map from the Tactician Soul reveal

At the end of the Tactician Soul reveal live event, we've been shown a sneak peak of the Storm Legion map. The map has more details on the zones of the two new continents, Brevane and Dusken. The world seems HUGE, I counted 12 zones along with the Tempest Bay island. Check out the screengrab.

Click on the map for large version

However, the most priceless detail here is the shot of Adam Gershowitz and his beer. :)

UPDATED: Strat Varius posted the revealed map in the comments. There it is.

Tactician Soul Reveal Video

Trion revealed the new Rogue soul, the Tactician. For those who missed the live event last night, there's a video for you. Check out the brand new Rogue as well as some previously unseen zones.

The Tactician adds deep and situational versatility to the Rogue calling. Offensively, the Soul combines bolts of withering energy with a devastating set of elemental torrents that erupt in arcs of fire, ice, and death. The Tactician’s group healing skills are just as enviable, as are its fire-and-forget cores and robust support abilities. 

For Tactician lore, click here.

What happened to the Shadowlands?

When Trion announced Storm Legion and it's two new continents people were asking many questions. One of the most discussed topic on the official forums was the destiny of a the Planetouched Wilds. The Wilds were a zone included in the early map, east of Droughtlands. There is even videos of it, but no sign that we will roam there in near future. Trion said they were stopping the development of Planetouched Wilds and that we won't be seeing it in Storm Legion.

But there is even more mysterious place in Telara that might be stuck into development hell or completely canceled. Have you ever heard about the Shadowlands? There is even an early video of it, you can check it right here. What happened? Is Freemarch the updated Shadowlands? Is Stillmoor Shadowlands?! Part of the geography really looks like Stillmoor. Despite the low quality of the video (the color is abysmal), it looks freaking awesome on the screenshots I found.

Whatever happened to the Shadowlands, that place looked cool. The trees are giving a whole new atmosphere to the game, especially if this was meant to be a starting zone for the Defiant. And I'm sure the tree models and coloring was used in some Death Rifts, at least similar coloration.

I don't really think that we'll ever see Shadowlands, but as a part of Rift's history it's a good thing to document. I guess this was an early work of the game previously called Heroes of Telara. However, any info is welcomed, even more screenshots and videos.

Storm Legion Closed Beta on October 5th

Trion published on their Facebook page that Storm Legion's first Closed Beta Test begins this Friday, October 5th!

The new continents, Brevane and Dusken will be open for testing! Also, they will be releasing new Rogue soul info on the same day. Although I'm not sure if I want to participate in the Beta, because of spoilers, I wish everybody a fun time while testing the upcoming expansion.

The updated model for the Young Treant pet companion

Trion updated the model for the Young Treant, the pet companion from the Autumn Harvest event. Looks nice, it's "autumnish". :)

The hotfix for 1.10 yesterday also added a confirmation message when using the auto-sort bags feature. The popup has a checkbox to allow you to skip seeing it until the next time you log in.

Some thoughts on the Autumn Harvest and the Spectral Mounts

The Autumn Harvest is over for me. Got everything I needed from the event vendor (the crow pet, the young treant pet and the hat) and I finally got the spectral mount. The Ash Strider, which I already have. Not the spectral version, but the 'standard' from a past world event.

I also filled a bank character with artifacts, donated a lot in the guild's bank and there's nothing really I want to do here anymore. I was a nice run, but I must admit, for the first time, that the prices weren't so special after all. The 'spectral' skin of the existing mounts seemed lazy and I only got it because I get (almost) everything from world events. It would be nice if we could've get something different and new, but it is what it is.

And it's time to make a short break from Rift until the next event hits in October. I'm sure Tempest Rising world event will be much more interesting, because it will pave the way to Storm Legion.

The Autumn Harvest has a great potential to become a solid annual event, but this one seemed more like a filler. Seemed so amazing in the beginning...

Glorified with the Icewatch

Finally! Glorified with the Icewatch, right before Storm Legion. Well, it took a while. Especially because I got it by doing daily quests and fishing instead of running Abyssal Precipice. I got the Mountaineer costume and now I look like the honored Icewatch guards.

I even got that mount I fell in love with long time ago, but currently my transport is taken care of by the Landslide, so the Yarnosaur will wait for it's turn.

I also got the "Glorified" title, which is unlocked when you're glorified with Icewatch, Dragonslayer Covenant and the Order of Mathos.

Now I'll try to get the highest notoriety with Ember Isle factions, before Storm Legion comes.

I, Stormbringer!

I got the Storm Chaser edition of Storm Legion! Got the title, the Landslide mount and a bunch of other stuff like the Veteran rewards. I'm ready to face Crucia's army now!

Seriously, this seemed like a very nice deal. I will play Rift for a year anyhow, so the 12-month subscription + an expansion for free is awesome.

Taiwanese Rift Trailers

Rift was released in Taiwan and they got some amazing promotional videos, slightly different from those targeted to US and EU markets. Check them out.

Trailer 1 | Trailer 2 | Trailer 3 | Beta Weekend

New Bear Mount in Storm Legion

Around 14 minutes of the Tempest Soul Reveal video, a new armored bear mount was shown. It was just a tease, so we're waiting for a new info. 

Soon Trion will reveal the two remaining new souls - The Defiler and the Tactician, so I'm sure there will be more teasers of Storm Legion goodies.

The Autumn Harvest is upon us!

Yes, the Autumn Harvest is upon us! And it's one of the best events this game has seen. At least I'm having a such a great time. The atmosphere, the quests and the friendship between factions makes it kinda special annual holiday.

For the first time in Rift, the event has taken place in a instanced zone, Realm of the Fae to be exact, now called Realm of the Autumn Harvest. Pumpkin decorations, spectral mounts as a reward, along with a vast selection of prizes such as costumes, pets and consumables.

The only thing I found hard, or didn't at all were the Autumncap Fungus. The fungi grows all around Telara, except for Iron Pine Peak and Stillmore. They're needed to complete a quest, but you need a really sharp eye and a bit of luck to find them.

And of course, there's a very special treat for artifact collectors!

Check out what else 1.10 brought to the table.

The Storm Legion quests in Iron Pine Peak

Well, the release date and the new trailer for Storm Legion are all over the net these days. And I'm sure everybody has seen it. Next week, Trion will release their 1.10 patch, the first one to lead into the new story.

For me, seemed like a great time to catch up with the story in Iron Pine Peak, because I had some quest left behind. It turned out, the quests leading me to Glorified notoriety (which I'm planning to get before the expansion, along with the Mountaineer's costume set) with the Icewatch are directly connected to Crucia's Frozen Army. A quest chain has led me right into the Howling Caves where her Arbiters are frozen into the walls.

According to PTS info, 1.11 World Event connects Vanilla Rift to Storm Legion. And the Icewatch are those who are keeping Crucia imprisoned deep below the frozen mountains in Iron Pine. Before those event quests hit, you can go reveal more of her story there, if you haven't already.

Slayer of Immortals, Eye of the Storm and The Frozen Army are just few of the quests you may get in Defender's Stand. Seems we'll be seeing much more of those nasty Arbiters in Storm Legion, so it's better to be prepared.

Storm Legion Updates from PAX 2012

New zone in Brevane

Trion attended this year's PAX and showed many, many new stuff from the upcoming Rift expansion Storm Legion. We were given sneak peaks from a new zone in the new continent of Dusken, called Fetid Planes where Crucia flies over. They also presented the new raid instance where the players will have the chance of facing Regulos. That place looked quite amazing!

Regulos Instance Raid called Endless Eclipse

Also, we peaked at Brevane (the other new continent coming in the expansion) and the Golem Foundry instance. For those who are waiting the Storm Legion beta, Trion announced that is coming soon and will be open for everybody, just like their Public Test Shard. PTS World Event dates hinted (or may not) that the expansion is coming on November 21th, yet nothing is confirmed. One thing is surely true, that Storm Legion is coming this fall and it will be HUGE.

Finally, Planar Attunement is becoming account wide and there was a T3 PA opened in the background on one of the videos!

 Fetid Planes

There are lot of screenshots from the video streams available at the forums. Credit goes to Slipmat and Sargonnas_KoA. You guys did an amazing job sharing these with all of us. Also, make sure you check out the actual videos from the PAX 2012:

Fetid Planes, new zone in Dusken

Regulos Instance Raid

Golem Foundry Dungeon

Scott Hartsman Interview

Retrospective: Heroes of Telara

Greetings Ascended! The time has come to remove the dust off this blog and prepare for what we all waited - The Storm Legion expansion pack of our favorite MMORPG. And right before I start covering the hype I've been riding on since the first news were announced, let me take you back in time. Way back.

Before Rift, there was Heroes of Telara, the MMORPG Trion started developing in 2006. As Trion's developers were working on their brand new game, the story seemed to rapidly evolve. Dynamic content has been announced and worked on and some of the elements came to be the core lore for a slightly different game in the established world of Telara. What seemed to be a generic fantasy setting, with epic heroes battling evil force, transformed into a world torn by the Blood Storm and monsters from the Planes.

Heroes of Telara became Rift and turned out to be amazing. Both marketing and gameplay wise. Before Rift: Planes of Telara (early title of the re-branded, re-worked game) was preparing for release, Trion marketed Heroes. They've released promo materials, even attended E3 with that title. I've found few utterly nostalgic videos, that depicts the world we wander around today. Take a glimpse into a world that is so familiar, yet different.

Heroes of Telara E3 2009 Trailer
Russ Brown Heroes of Telara Interview
Han Hanlin Heroes of Telara Interview
Heroes of Telara: What do we know (Part I)
Heroes of Telara: What do we know (Part II)

Trion promised more Storm Legion news in September, coming along with 1.10 patch and the new world event. I'll be updating more often now, so keep an eye.

 

Fishing!

1.8 patch is here on EU shards! New tradeskills are available, fishing and survival. Ember Isle Instant Adventures are available too, along with the Leaderboards that keeps the player's score.

Fishing seems so nice. There are quests to go along, poles and what not. Also, it's quite crowdy in Freemarch, it seems everyone is fishing. Which is of course nice, to see the players embracing this new feature.

So, get ready for the Infernal Dawn raid and check the full patch notes here.

Fresh HK Run Before 1.8

Last night, our guild, Spears of Destiny made a Hammerkneel Fortress run. If 1.8 comes today on EU shards, this is the last HK run before every trace of the Carnival is gone.

 We had fun a time, around 3 and a half hours, killing 6 bosses. We stopped after Vladmal Prime and we're continuing on Sunday with Grugonim. All bosses went down smoothly, except Sicaron. He's has a stunningly cool mechanics and very simple tactic to follow, yet we somehow managed to wipe couple of times. Sicaron dropped the Cowl of Blackest Night, which I was lucky enough to get, significantly increasing my stats. Other loot I got my hands on, is the Maddening Flame wand from Estrode.

Thanks to every Ascended in Spears of Destiny for the great run, especially those with iron patience who successfully guided us through the depths of the Hammerkneel Fortress. See you all on Sunday!

Glorified with the Dragonslayer Covenant

Being a "resident" of Shimmersand for the past few days, I grinded my way to a Glorified notoriety with my favorite Rift faction - the Dragonslayer Covenant.

The Dragonslayer Covenant was formed as an order of Telarans, primarily Eth and Bahmi, sworn to keep watch over the dragon cults and prevent the release of their false gods. We may not have agreed with the methods of the sorcerer-kings, but we embrace Ethian technology in our methods of doing so. Even after Shimmersand fell into chaos, our order persevered.

In the days preceding the Mathosian Civil War, our order uncovered evidence that Prince Aedraxis Mathos had been consorting with Regulos. The leader of the Covenant sent our most adept mage to warn Aedraxis's brother, Zareph. When the Ward was damaged, death and horror spread over the land in a choking cloud, and we Dragonslayers lost many of our finest trying to defend the people of Telara.

The Dragonslayer Covenant has spent the last twenty years trying to rebuild ourselves after that tragic event. Our organization has existed for hundreds of years, and it will see many more.

I was rewarded with the Drake Slayer title and I will proudly wear my Sandcovered set.

Today was a fun day for me in Telara. I also got my Tier 2 Attunement of Fire and now I will be spending points in the Attunement of War.

New models for the animal companions

There are new models for the animal companions currently rolling on PTS (Public Test Shards). The new pets look amazing. Beastmaster's pets, Ranger's pets and the Druid faeries - they're all updated to neat, armored models, different from the previous enemy-skin copy+paste.

Beastmaster Warrior – Greater Primal Companion

There is no current info on when they'll be going live, probably Trion is still working on the design. Check the full story and photos on RiftJunkies.

Questing in the Flatyard

I've been doing some previously missed quests in Shimmersand, towards my completion of Banishing the Mirage and Dragonslayer notoriety. My journey took me to a place called the Flatyard. The Flatyard is a prison that holds inmates from the Dragon cults.

I stumbled upon the sands in the Flatyard through a quest from Sylver Valis where I suppose to discover the inmates' escape route and what they actually do. Next thing I know, I'm disguised as an inmate doing some dirty work in the prison yard. Supplying my "fellow" inmates with 'Sigaras' (I guess the Rift's equivalent to cigarettes), proving myself by killing other inmates and dealing with gangs. Just the usual stuff that goes on in jail, right?

As you progress with the quest line, you discover the secret hideout of Prince Hazeed, the last of the line of Ethian Kings and current leader of the Golden Maw. A plot to kill Asha Catari unfolds before you and you're faced with a challenge to kill Hazeed. When you complete the quests and deal with Hazeed you're awarded with the Doing Time achievement.

After you're done with him, there's an even bigger conspiracy waiting for you in Forture Shore, as you track down an assassin that reveals more about the plan to kill Asha Catari.

Such enjoyable quests and story, one of my favorites in the whole game.

CotA Phase 6: War of the Wanton Maw

The Carnival of the Ascended is coming to an end. Phase 6 started just yesterday, with new quests and challenges for the defenders of Telara. This is also the last chance to get a Pyrite Doubloon for the Carnival mounts. New currency is also introduced, dropping from Fire and Earth Rifts.

Scaidantus and Duke Ryras on the border of Shimmersand and Droughlands

The main event quest is to fight back against Fire and Earth invasions in the zone events. This can be done in many zones, suiting the player's level.

Other event quests are also available.

Closing the Doorway (Daily)

• Close a Fire Rift that would grant experience.
• Close an Earth Rift that would grant experience.

Planar Menace (Group)

• Confront Fire Lord As'tano in Freemarch/Silverwood.
• Kill Fire Lord As'tano and Earth Lord Vorzet (both elite)

 Wanton Enemies (Daily - Raid)

• Kill Scaidantus
• Kill Duke Ryras

Five Bosses That Were (Almost) Impossible to Beat

One of the greatest things while watching Rift grow, was the people learning the game. We didn’t know about the capability of the rifts, the consequences of the invasions and especially the tactics for beating the dungeon bosses. I remember how many times we were dying because we didn’t know what a certain boss does. Also, some people were slower in learning the tactics shared by the group, so we had to deal with them too. There weren’t any dungeon guides, so many times we were forced to learn on the go. There wasn't a LFG tool as well, so getting new people to fill for the quitters was kinda painful.

Similar thing happened when expert (T2) dungeons were introduced. The encounters below gave many people a hard time. Today, they are easy and can be done really quick even on expert difficulty. 

Gatekeeper Kaleida

Michael Bringhurst / Dungeon: Darkening Depths (Normal)

Although everyone’s favorite werewolf has a very simple tactic, sometimes he was a real pain. He must be tanked away from the moonlight which is giving him a brute strength. He would even one-shot the tank. He has an ability that stuns the whole group, so if the tank isn’t fast enough to stop him getting his moonlight dose, the whole group ends up dead. 

Gatekeeper Kaleida / Dungeon: Deepstrikes Mines (Normal)

Gatekeeper Kaleida’s crystals brought death to many players. To this day, most rage-quits I’ve seen in Rift were because of this guy. During the encounter, he will spawn crystals, one to deal damage to the party, and the other to heal him. There was a time when those crystals were a DPS run,  so we either wiped or he would heal himself to an insane amount of HP. Killing Kaleida took a lot of  time to beat, because of the low gear we had.

Konstantin / Dungeon: King's Breach (Expert)

Most hated boss for newbie healers and tanks. The strategy is very, very simple – avoid the spikes and you’ll live. And he spams those spikes coming out of the floor every second, from circles, in different locations. The tactic is to move from circle to circle, while doing the usual thing that a party does in a dungeon. Just move quick. Once you learn how to move at Konstantin’s chamber, it’s easy. Anyhow, Konstantin frames an Ascended head in his hideout from time to time, even today.

Chillblains Winterfrost  / Dungeon: Realm of the Fae (Expert)

Tank and spank boss but set in a foggy environment where all you can see are the name frames. He spawns Vortex adds that deal a solid amount of AoE damage. The people would DPS those adds  instead of simply avoiding them. That’s it. Easy, once you die a couple of times.

Jultharin  / Dungeon: Chalmer’s Caldera (Expert)

Shortly after you start beating Jultharin on the edge of a cliff, a chain of sparkly magic will start going towards the party, eventually pushing them to their horrible wipe. It’s sort of a timed DPS race, so you must defeat him as fast as you can. In the days when the party DPS was low, we were dying like crazy. In most runs today, we kill him in less than 100 seconds. There’s even an achievement for that.

to be continued...

Glorified with the Order of Mathos

Today I got my Glorified notoriety with the Order of Mathos faction in Stillmoor. Finally, I'm able the ride the Swift Rock Najmok Reins mount. I also received the Knight of Mathos title.

Now it's time to farm Dragonslayer Covenant notoriety.

Getting ready for the Infernal Dawn raid

Rift patch 1.8 is coming very soon and along with it comes a new 20-player raid called Infernal Dawn. The Ascended will face two dragons of the Blood Storm, Maelforge and Laethys, masters of the Fire and Earth planes.

Below is the collected info on what dwells in the depths of Mount Carcera.

Infernal Dawn Trailer

HD Infernal Dawn Armor Videos

The Art of Infernal Dawn