trying the free trial of Rift

[Worba]

I tend to keep interest in solo'ing long after many others have moved on. I played wow almost from the beginning, 99.9% of which was solo play... and was only just starting to get bored when TBC came out - which completely renewed my interest, for another year or so.

Looking back I have no idea why I was so hooked, but I can't say it won't happen again... that's why I've come to put more emphasis on combat. Many if not most of my favorite moments in wow have been from hair pullingly frustrating solo fights that I insisted on trying again, and again... and again. And finally pulling it off somehow.

Not sure if MMORPGs will ever bother making solo content really difficult, but I'm always holding out hope... in TBC they actually did ramp up the difficulty a few notches, including some quests where the difficulty even lay beyond basic combat - I'll never forget the dragonmaw race or the degrader in Blade's Edge Mtns (those were examples of designers putting as much thought into solo play as they normally put into pugs or even raids)... unfortunately once WotLK came out, that trend was brought to a screeching halt.

But if I could find a new MMORPG that gave you enough solo challenge to really push your toon to the limit - THAT would get me playing for certain. Even if they don't have hunters.

[TygerDarkstorm]

No offense, but they're MMORPGs for a reason--they're meant to cater more toward groups of players rather than just soloers. I know solo content is good to have and all, I'm just saying.

Personally, I've gotten into a very big solo habit as of late.

If you're really careful, you can solo a minor rift, but fat chance with a major one since the major ones tend to harbor elites, and elites hit like trucks, even a few levels under you.

[Worba]

A lot of people think being an MMO precludes challenging solo play (this is common in modern day wow), or that being an MMO precludes solo play of any kind (Everquest, at least how it was when I switched to wow), when in fact it means nothing of the kind.

The average wow player spends a large amount of time solo'ing, but has resigned him/herself to the idea that it is an inevitable grind - whether they are after mats for trade skills, XP or just something to do between dungeons, it's generally considered "mindless grinding" - and that means a niche for other games to exploit should they choose.

That's what wow did to EQ, among other things - back then at least, you couldn't really solo past lvl 10-15 in EQ due to mobs being scaled to force players into grouping, and the quests (those that they had) without exception were absolute crap and gave no usable rewards. E.g. EQ was an extreme case of what happens when you write off solo'ing. So wow pretty much ate their lunch on that one...

Not saying that was sole reason for wow's edge - obviously things like instanced dungeons and other group-related improvements carried a lot of weight too, but at least now you *could* solo!

Like I said in my last post I doubt solo challenge is right around the corner... but I think it'll happen someday.

[Silivren]

So I'm probably going to make a Defiant on Galena but I'm stuck - Kelari, Eth, or Bahmi and a Warrior(Beastmaster) or a Cleric hmm...

[TygerDarkstorm]

You can solo your way through Rift from what I've seen so far. The quests reward decent gear, and if you participate in Rift events a lot, especially public quests, you can even buy rare and epic quality gear.

I said myself that I solo a lot, but the words "massively multiplayer" tend to imply that playing with people is typically expected at some point--that was more my point with the statement.

I almost exclusively solo. I did so in WoW after my bf quit and up until I quit, and I do so mostly in Rift as well. So far the groups I have had in Rift have been pleasant (teamed up with this kick ass warrior tank on my chloro and we went around and duoed a crap load of events), but after getting into a group that trashed my self esteem in WoW, I pretty much just keep to myself.

@Vulpixen: I really like the Kelari, but I hate their racial; I just feel the camo thing is so useless. The Eth's agility boost and the Bahmi's leap are fun. And I love the idea of a Bahmi warrior myself.

[Silivren]

I may do a Bahmi Beastmaster - But the Kelari are REALLY appealing.. I just dunno cause the clerics look SOOO awesome. Currently I'm a high elf Mage so I'd like something other than a mage.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Aye, the Kelari look pretty awesome; I love my mage's bright blue and white faux hawk.
I'm fond of my Bahmi warrior as well. Hell, I like all of my characters. XD

[Silivren]

Yeah. I had started as Defiant but my buddy quit so I tried Guardian and got hooked - Decisions decisions!

[TygerDarkstorm]

RL friend of my bf's plays Defiant so that's what we went with and I'm enjoying it so far.

[Silivren]

Aye true. I just kinda wish they had a faction switch/server xfer option now LOL - My mage is level 41! Got my Valmera... aka epic kitty mount. I LOVE the way Bahmi casters stand though and I gotta say Eth females are perrrrty sexy.

[Rhyela]

In the area I'm questing in right now, there are elites that wander around in certain small quest areas. But, these elites are neutral (at least, I think they are...now I'm thinking the giant ent we took down was actually hostile) and when you kill them, they drop an item that begins a quest - usually to just turn the item in for some extra money. I'm only level 19 right now so I'm far from knowing everything about the game.

Here's my dwarf, Ermengarde! Just tanked my first instance tonight with no wipes, though my group tanking could use some work it seems. Got a shiny new axe from the quest, though!

(These are on ultra settings, turned it up for the pics, I usually play on medium - second SS is my yarnosaur's butt :3 )

[Silivren]

OH-MI-GOSH!!! YOUR SOOOOOO CUUUTE!!! Lookit that dwarf females CAN be smexy

[TygerDarkstorm]

I like my Eths--my rogue and cleric are both one. ^_^

My Bahmi's yell on the loading screen scares the crap out of me.

And woot Rhyela! Your dwarf looks good.

I don't know much about the Guardian side of things since I'm predominantly Defiant.

[Rhyela]

I forgot to get a pic of my pet - Hoppy, Harbinger of Regulos (a bunny). He was a drop out of an Ephemeral Puresource, epic quality! I about poo'd myself. He glows purple, too, it's rather cute.

[Silivren]

My main is a High Elf - I dont know how to take SS's though in game - How do I do that? I'll turn up my quality and take some rofl.

[TygerDarkstorm]

That is awesome!

You hide your UI with ctrl+u and use the print screen button for SS's.

[Silivren]

That is awesome!

You hide your UI with ctrl+u and use the print screen button for SS's.

Epic! I'll take some of my awesome kitteh to show off. And my little pets! I have.. Courage(The RaF Corgi), A Shadetouched Hound..and a White Bunny

[TygerDarkstorm]

Only mini pet I have is the one you get from the collector's edition. XD

[Silivren]

I've run into a predicament.. I cant find the Screenshots I took in my computer.. - Where can everyone else find theirs? ><

[TygerDarkstorm]

Same way you find the ones in WoW--go to your Rift game folder and it has its own screenshots sub-folder.