Streamlined

Not completely Rift related....but too good to not share.

On Sunday, my mom informed me that her church services were "streamlined."

(that means that the services were streamed online - for those who aren't down on techmom lingo)




















More real stuff coming soon....

The Night I Became Daredevil

Baby warrior is now level 27. So recently I spent a lot of time in Stonefield. More importantly to this little story - I spent a lot of time in Granite Falls. And everytime you take the porticulum there you zone in facing that beautiful triple waterfall.



I'm not really sure when it caught my eye, but there is a giant cliff hanging out over the little pond. (Maybe it's because I live in Southern California and I'm just waiting for an earthquake to bring that thing down on my head.) I found myself thinking one day "I wonder if it's possible to get up on top of that." If you could, you'd have a really nice view of the zone. Or you could stand at the top in your underware screaming "Spartans! Prepare for glory!" At any rate, the thought was there and needed to be followed up on. AND...I really like screaming in my underwear in public places.


So I was up late one night, insomnia in full swing, and I decide that this is the perfect time to see what's what on top the ol' mountain. After a few trial and errors (and some Soul Mending for a good 20 or 30 gold - that's expensive for this noob) I was standing on the edge of the cliff - peering down at Granite Falls.



Now - here's the best part. As I'm in the "trial and error" stage and laying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the waterfalls, someone else's pink pixel body comes flying off that cliff, lands in the pool, and gets an achievement called Plop! Turns out, there's a whole series of achievements for leaping to your demise called High Diver.

So with one last look around, I toss back some liquid courage, double check for positioning, and I take the leap splashing down safely into the pool below. Up comes Plop! But wait there's more!! Something else appears in my chat window: "You have earned the title 'the Daredevil'"

Sweet.

Not a bad title for a short little achievement. Here's a little video tutorial of how to get up there (it's possible there are other ways, but this was my path).




I haven't seen too many people rockin' this title so grab it while you can. You can still be a beautiful and unique snowflake for a few more weeks.

Collector's Editon.....Is It Worth It?

Let's say you haven't actually bought Rift yet (and if that's true....what is wrong with you?) You have a couple of options if you're ready to take the plundge. So let's take a look at what is, really, the only wise choice.

If you head over to the official Rift website you'll find 2 options - the standard edition (SE) or the collector's edition (CE). For $49.99 you'll get....well, you get Rift. A bargin at any price. Buy it, Play it, Love it. For $10 more, though....you get a few little extra perks from the CE that are more then worth it.

The Good.

First up, is the mount. What can I say, I'm a sucker for mounts. For me, the extra mount was enough to buy the CE. However, I found out real fast just how great it really was. Around level 6 (that's pretty stinkin' early) you'll find your first mailbox. If you've purchased the CE, you'll also be looking at your first mount. And if you've played any MMO before, having a mount or means of fast travel is great. It speeds up questing and just all around makes things more enjoyable. If you haven't purchased the CE....you'll have to save up your pennies. The cost of the low level mounts isn't completely insane - but you'll proabably be walking for another 10 levels or so. And seriously...who DOESN'T want a two-headed turtle mount?

The Bad.

Second up, is the mini-pet. I like a good mini-pet now and then. It's nice to have a friend stand there and watch you gather 12 Black Tea Roots for Dr. SoandSo. But this one.....not so much. I've only used this pet twice since I got it. Once, when I first got it. The second time to take the screenshot you see above. It's like some teenage-mutant-hobo-goblin. No thanks, Trion.

The Ugly.

And lastly -- not so much ugly but rather unglamorous -- is the Collector's Satchel. Yup...a bag. The Collector's Satchel increases your primary bag slot up to 24. But, if you've played any other MMO before you know that when you're out a questin', bag space is king. It keeps you questing longer and allows you to focus on having fun rather then constantly deleting and moving stuff in your bags. When you hit higher levels, more bag space allows for more gear options on you at all times and keeps you from hitting the bank all the time. It's the little things that matter.

Remember....


You are a Beautiful and Unique Snowflake and you're worth the extra $10.

Jumping...TO THE MAX!!!

I'm a jumper.....I jump....a lot. Maybe it's a twitch in my left thumb. Maybe it's my short attention span. But when I play MMO's my character is bouncing around like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert. (2 silver to whoever knows that reference - it's also one of my fav movies)

So I buy Rift, start installing and like a good MMOer should do, I hit the web to see what spec my baby warrior should use for leveling. I come across this post that says go with Champion because of Bull Rush.

"Being able to charge from monster to monster will save you an incredible amount of time."

Great, I've got limited play time and this sounds like a logical conclusion so away I go. Bull Rush set to keybind #1.

BLAMMO!!! Bull Rush to the first mob. "Oh wow, that's a cool animation," I say. BLAMMO!! Bull Rush to the second mob. "Hmmm, this is a lot of fun." BLAMMO!! BLAMMO!! BLAMMO!! BLAM....you get the point.

When I used to play my pally in WoW, I would often jump right before I attacked something. The thumb was already hovering over the space bar anyway so why not, right? It gave questing a little more epic feel when I jumped up in the air, swung my mighty axe-the-size-of-Texas, and bashed that poor Hulking Boar into the ground.

NOW......Rift has taken it to a whole new level. Not only do I jump before I kill some helpless herbavore, but I freakin fly through the air with God-like rays emanating from my backside and land in all my blazen glory. Hasta lasagna Hulking Boar. And on top of that....sometime around level 19 or so (not 100% sure, this is when I grabbed it) you can talent Blitz and use Bull Rush while IN COMBAT. That means zero downtime.


Remember...Beautiful Snowflakes can beat the livin' snot out of stuff too.

First Impressions

There was this guy I knew....he played World of Warcraft. He was a co-leader of of casually hardcore guild and main tank for a 10man raiding group that plowed it's way through the Wrath of the Lich King content. But recently, he found himself pretty bored with the game. He would log on occasionally and do a battleground or maybe some dailies - but the excitement just wasn't there anymore.

Then one day a friend says to him, "Hey, have you heard about this game called Rift?" Yeah, he had heard about it, but never really looked into it.

"It's just like WoW" said the friend.

•INSERT RECORD STOP HERE•

Here's the deal...Rift is and isn't "just like WoW." For those of you thinking about making the switch - I highly recommend it. Here's why.

It IS just like WoW
What I like about this game is that there isn't a huge learning curve for people who have been playing WoW. Rift seems to have taken the idea "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and ran with it. Everything from quest text boxes to talent trees are extremely familiar. I even found that most of the default keybindings are the same as WoW - which I'm chalking up as a one for the plus column because everytime I instinctively reached for a key, it did exactly what I was expecting it to do. I've tried other new MMOs and in trying to make it their own, they move stuff....just a little....and it bugs the crap out of me. It's like trying a new restaurant out. You order the hamburger but all you really wanted was a Double-Double from In-N-Out.

It ISN'T just like WoW

Here's the part I have to sell you on.

First off, the graphics are (in my humble, yet correct, opinion) way better. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the "WoW has a stylized look that's unique and therefore good" argument. Let's be honest here people...you just say that because you're talking yourself into believing that they're good. WoW is a graphics system/look that is FIVE YEARS OLD. Yes, they've updated it but it's still old. Trust me, my fat ass doesn't look any better now then it did 5 years ago and I am in no way stylized. But wait there's more! Not only is the engine better - I think the world just has a better look to it. When that first Rift opens up right on top of you - you'll know what I mean.

Speaking of Rifts (see how smooth I am?) - open public quests bringing a community together to fight a common enemy? Sold. I never played an MMO with something like this so it's all new to me. It's a great way to meet new people and definitely takes some of the boredom out of leveling up.

And what's an MMO without Dungeons? I'm not too deep into the game yet, but an entry level dungeon (check out Iron Tombs) where each boss actually has fight mechanics to it? Sold again.


Sign here on the dotted line
Rift is taking everything you know and love about MMOs and making them better. One million registered users right out of the gate.

I think you're the perfect 1,000,001.

Remember, You are a beautiful and unique snowflake.

And It Begins

So....why are you here? Why am I here? You probably stumbled here because you clicked on the wrong link in Google and now you're just too lazy to click "Back." I'm here because I have (or think I have) a unique voice amongst the RIFT community and must share it with the world. Yes, I AM a Beautiful and Unique Snowflake.

Currently I am playing an Eth Warrior on the Shadefallen shard. But the "altaholic" in me runs deep and you'll probably see me change that a few times. I've played several other MMO's throughout the years and I usually end up either tanking or healing. What can I say...I'm power-hungry and I like people to listen to me. Maybe THAT'S why I'm here.