With this issue of MMOCO, a new format for the column is being introduced. I’ve loved running a new MMO every month with the focus being on the unique co-opportunities that game affords; however, the sad fact is that after about a dozen MMOs, the number of games I can draw upon and report on from personal experience has dwindled dramatically. The old format will certainly appear from time to time as I have the chance to play new games or I find another MMO that has substantial unique co-opportunities. The new format will be focused on recent updates to MMOs that increase co-opportunability as well as recent news for upcoming MMOs and the unique co-opportunities they may have in store. So without further ado, let’s delve in!
What I’m Playing: RIFT
Co-opportunity Updates: Patch 1.2 and 7-day Trials
The latest content patch for RIFT brought in a whole slew of cooperative content. The first 10-man instanced raid, Gilded Prophecy, was introduced (the other instanced raids are 20-man), opening up raiding opportunities to smaller guilds. The Dungeon Finder Tool was also implemented, letting players hop in in queue with their different roles selected (e.g. Healer, Tank, DPS, Support) to find an appropriate group for either a specific dungeon or a random dungeon, with random dungeons yielding further rewards upon completion. To facilitate the success of random groups, many tweaks were also made to expert dungeons, making them easier to complete with pick-up groups. The additional rewards for random dungeons and the ability to just port into a dungeon from anywhere in the world as opposed to having to physically run out there also made things easier for players who don’t want to find random groups and play with a preformed group.
7-day trials were also introduced for people who are interested in the game, but want to see what it’s like before purchasing. The Ascend-a-Friend program was introduced to current subscribers, offering rewards to players who successfully recruit friends to play the game as well as rewards to players who answer the call of their friend. This includes a special title “the Chosen” for the new players as well as the ability for both Ascender and Ascendee to teleport to each other once every half hour. Iif you’re interested in trying the trial, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message, and I can message you my personal Ascend-a-Friend link.
On the horizon is patch 1.3. Though little has been announced about it so far, free character transfers will definitely be making an appearance. These transfers will be unlike any seen before in an MMO, letting players instantly transfer their characters (and guilds, if they are guildmasters) to different servers once a week. Transfers will be allowed across PVE and PVP servers, which is good news for people who have friends on other servers than the one they’re playing on.