Originally Posted by Hartsman Originally Posted by

HIGH ADVENTURE FOR EVERYONE



Also behind the scenes, we've already begun planning out new kinds of adventure to be had in Telara.

As we've watched both the dynamic and static content of the world evolve post-launch, there have been some consistent themes in ways to make the game even better. This is definitely a place where your feedback, combined with our own experiences, has been steering our focus over the past weeks and months.



First off, RIFT is a game where getting to max level is intended to happen at a pretty accessible rate. People who have experience with different MMOs, or end up in active, helpful guilds end up doing really well in understanding what’s fun to do "next."



Once you turn 50 in the game, there's Port Scion, Prestige ranks, level 50 Events, expert instances, expert rifts, raid rifts, 10 and 20 player raids, epic quest lines, and still more, including the recently added level 50 “Twisted” artifact collections. The experience just isn't quite as directed as it was the moment before the ding occurred.



A whole lot of people enjoy the freedom of picking an activity to go do "next," and just running with it, enjoying the dynamic elements that happen along the way. Others enjoy knowing there's a raid game waiting for them and continue the logical progression that way.



RIFT does its job really well for those groups of people. If you prefer a bit more direction, hitting 50 can be a pretty abrupt experience. Internally, we've spent a lot of time on this.



There are three main categories of things that we have in development here. I apologize in advance for being a little vague, but we'll get more specific on them as their time gets closer.



INSTANT ADVENTURE



We’ve been working on a new type of gameplay, called Instant Adventure. The goal is to deliver on a similar dynamic to the hectic fun of zone events, while making that kind of fun more available when you want it, by giving people a really accessible way to build up to it.



Here’s the thinking: If you're around when a mass event of your level happens, with a bunch of other people around, it's generally a great, unique experience! You can hang out for a time and stay to the end, but if you need to drop out, it's entirely guilt-free.



Many of you agree that this epic-style gameplay is a unique strength of RIFT that you enjoy a lot. We’ve been really excited to push that aspect of the game even further. Expect to begin hearing more in the relatively near future.



NEW INSTANCES: CHRONICLES OF TELARA



We've also been working on ways to get a similar sense of involvement with key story characters, and new key areas, in a way that's available to more people.



The story involvement with world events is a good first step here, but we think there's even more we can do. Chronicles of Telara are solo/small group instances that get everyone involved with key characters and villains in the worlds’ ongoing story.



We're aiming to do this in a way that is accessible to solo and duo people who may well be great players, and excellent friends who really enjoy Telara, but may not have the uninterrupted time they’d like. These are shaping up to be a really fun way to make sure you can stay involved with the story.



We're going to be working on these in a way such that they're fun to do for the most casual of players, all the way to the people who are already enjoying the raid game and interested in new things to do in their downtime. (Even the hardest core raider doesn't raid 24/7!)



Telara needs to be a world that's capable of entertaining all kinds of people, who like all different kinds of things - When we succeed there, everyone wins.



WHEN THE END GAME BEGINS



Additionally, we recognize that once you hit 50, there’s an immediate aspect of the game that could be improved to feel a lot better. The experience gain just suddenly stops, yet there continue to be a ton of things to do in the world that would otherwise keep awarding it. This is something that we also haven’t talked about in public yet, as it’s all been internal development to this point.



Rest assured that we have been concepting new post-50 uses for experience, and we’re set on including a continuing reward mechanic for further progression here, without making it a mandatory grind.



We’re really looking forward to getting a solid use for that experience being gained. It should provide a really fun and rewarding context to the totality of the content that exists in the world - both that which exists today, as well as new kinds of content we’ll continue adding in the future. Similarly, look for more on this in the coming weeks.

