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Rift Storm Legion
Trion Worlds' Rift, one
of the few remaining subscription-based MMORPG games on the market, is
receiving an expansion. Trion Worlds has shown a distinctly aggressive
attitude towards competition in the past, but the market has remained
dominated. Faced with this, Rift could have copied other games'
expansion model, with many reasonably sized add-ons. Instead, they've
decided to bring the content - and lots of it. For Rift fans, Storm
Legion is nothing less than massive.
Storm Legion's main attractions include an increased
level cap - bringing the highest possible level to 60. This increase of
ten levels represents a much longer extension than it at first appears,
with a new warfront and expert versions of all of the seven new
dungeons. A new raid and sliver are also available. That's the nitty
gritty of it, but in truth the game world has been effectively tripled,
thanks to the addition of the new Dusken and Brevane continents.
Included to tie all of this together is the new city
hub, Tempest Bay, which is a mixed city representing the alliance of
Guardians and Defiant. Players also now have the ability to create
"Dimensions", Rift's take on customized homes which are no less than an
entire world for you to play with. Like with other popular MMO games
that offer such world-building tools, players are likely to create some
amazing things with this alone, but it should be kept in mind that this
is a feature that will only truly be viable for high-level characters
with accumulated wealth.
The other big change to the game is a new soul for
each calling. Clerics will now have access to the poisonous defiler,
whose specialty is damage prevention. Mages can access the Harbinger
soul, which is tanky and excels in close range. For rogues, the new
Tactician soul adds versatility to the calling, focusing less on
assassin-style combat and adding other options. Warriors can access the
Tempest soul, which adds a focus on ranged and Area of Effect attacks.
These additions to Rift's soul system allow for further customization,
blurring the lines between tank, healer, dps and nuke.
Everything content has been boosted with this
expansion. New weapons, armor, crafting items and recipes are served up,
as well as capes and new "upgradable items" which can be customized
along set paths to make them more attractive as long-term equipment. An
increased crafting skill cap helps accommodate the additions to that
portion of the game. What's more, new music and sound effects have been
utilized to complement the many new zones and battlefields. There are
some various bug fixes and changes included with the game, about on par
with any normal update. Overall, however, Storm Legion represents less
of a change to the basic Rift game and more of a big load of new
content.
Rift has always been an immersive contender in a
market that is tough to compete in. Yet not only has Rift survived, it
has flourished - well enough to support an expansion, and Trion Worlds
shows love for their game's community with this monster of an update.
Many players swear by Rift, and with such a strong and lovingly-crafted
expansion, it seems likely that the number will grow. If you already
play Rift, then by now you know what an awesome addition Storm Legion is
to the game. If not, consider this deep and complex MMORPG a worthy
contender for your time.
- Josh Waters
Gameplay: 8 - Storm Legion does more to improve
gameplay than any other aspect of the game.
Graphics: 7 - Those who can run the game at high
settings will find it beautiful, but at middle and lower settings the
change is drastic.
Sound: 6 - Rift's sound is pretty decent, and Storm
Legion does add more.
Value: 7 - For what it adds, Storm Legion definitely
warrants its price tag - but with Rift continuing to operate in the
subscription-based arena, it is still an expensive game.
Overall: 7
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