Check Out My New Battlefield 3 Blog

As you are probably well aware I am a pretty keen gamer (hence I post on my Rift blog here) With the release of Battlefield 3 I have let the MMORPG goodness go for a while and decided to get up to some good old blowing stuff up. Today I started a new blog called 'BF3 Multiplayer Guide', where I aim to share some of my gaming knowledge and blog about general interest issues for Battlefield 3 gamers. My inaugural post, entitled 'Battlefield 3 Dominator Guide Review' is up - in this I am looking at one of the new BF3 strategy guides that has been released in the past 48 hours. It's a pretty detailed review, so if you are interested in BF3 check it out.

Rift Supremacy Level 50 Footage

Hey guys, can't remember if I have posted this video before, but here is some footage of Level 50 gameplay with Rift Supremacy. If you haven't got your own copy of this guide yet then I highly recommend you read my Rift Supremacy guide review.

Here's the video anyway:

Rift Warrior Guide For Beginners

If you are new to Rift and either playing, or planning on playing, as the Warrior calling/class, then you need to read this Rift Warrior guide. The four different callings in the game all play very differently from each other, and are not comparable to similarly named callings from other games such as WoW.
The Warrior class is basically the king of PvP, and is also the champion of tanking. If large amounts of damage need to be absorbed or dealt out, then the Warrior is the go-to calling. Also, if you want to cause lots of damage per second to one enemy then the Warrior is very good. The properties of the Warrior are also massively augmented by the unique soul system in Rift.
You can have up to four different specs available in Rift, and switch between them very easily. This means you can go from PvP to PvE, DPS or defense rapidly.
As a Warrior in Rift you will probably want:

• A leveling spec (this will help cut down on the time it takes to gain levels, and makes power leveling much more simple)
• A solid PvP spec.
• A power PvE spec.
• A tanking spec.

This will give you four different ways of playing Rift with your Warrior, and will provide you with a lot of interesting and useful gameplay possibilities.
As far as statistics go, Warriors need high Strength and Endurance. Dexterity is not quite so important (although it is still a worthy consideration) as you can mitigate a lower dexterity by equipping weapons that have a high critical hit chance.
When starting out as a Warrior in Rift, your first soul should be Riftblade. Although this soul has been weakened somewhat by recent updates, it is still very powerful and enables you to wield a lot of static damage- this means that you can deal lots of damage at lower levels, even without strong weapons. This will therefore give you an edge earlier on in the game.
Your next soul choice when you unlock soul 2 ought to be Champion. This soul has an ability (Bull Rush) that will help you level up more quickly. Also, Soldiers Bearing will increase your damage by 5%.
This basic Rift Warrior guide will help you to understand the mechanics of the Warrior calling, as well as set you on the right path to creating a powerful character. If you are serious about dominating Rift as a Warrior then click here to learn about the best Rift Warrior leveling and build guide.

Rift Guardian Beginner Guide - Your First Steps As A Guardian In Rift

Here is a brief beginners guide for Guardian players in Rift. If you are absolutely new to the game, and are not sure at all of how to play, then watch the video below to learn how to pick up your first few quests, get souls etc.
Even if you want to play as Defiant this video is well worth watching, as it will give you a great insight into basic game mechanics. Rift can be confusing if you have never played online MMORPG games before, so this is well worth watching for all new players.
There is also a great wee preview of Rift Supremacy, which is perhaps my favorite strategy guide for Rift. If you are new to the game and want to learn how to play properly then I really do recommend that you buy yourself a copy of Rift Supremacy. It costs less than $35 USD, and is a great resource full of leveling guides, excellent builds for all callings, and item and quest guides; you also get free updates and a money-back guarantee.

Guardian vs Defiant

In today's post we are going to be taking a look at Guardian vs Defiant, the differences between these two 'factions', and how much your Rift experience will be altered depending on which one you pick when creating your character.
Basically, the Guardian are the 'good guys' of the Rift game world, chosen by the Gods and all that jazz. On the other hand, the Defiant (as the name suggests) are the 'bad boys', and instead use technology to enable themselves to resurrect 'ascended'; both Guardian and Defiant players are 'ascended', the only difference is how your character arrives at this point.
As far as Guardian vs Defiant is concerned, there aren't too many major differences in gameplay. If you go to Rift forums many will rant on endlessly about how one side is so much better than the other, but in my honest opinion it really doesn't matter too much.
The biggest difference is that the 'races' are faction specific- three for Guardian, three for Defiant. Guardian have Dwarf, High Elf, and Mathosian, and Defiant have Bahmi, Eth, and Kelari.
Here is a neat table showing the different attributes of each of the the races:



In conclusion, there isn't much difference between Guardian and Defiant, beyond the different races available. If you are new to Rift then click here read this comprehensive Rift beginners guide to learn exactly how to play the game like a pro.

Rift Dungeon Guide For Beginners

In this newbie-friendly guide we are going to be looking at dungeons in Rift. If you've ever played any MMORPG game before you are probably well aware of how dungeon play works; however, there are still going to be a few differences between Rift and other games. Dungeon play is an excellent way of boosting your character through experience, as well as gaining large amounts of loot. Keep reading my Rift dungeon guide for beginners.

Dungeons in Rift are 'Instances'- this means that when you enter the Dungeon with your party you get the dungeon to yourself. You don't need to worry about other players who aren't involved with your party interfering with your dungeon raid. You need a group of 5 players to venture into a dungeon, as well as a certain level requirement.

As far as Expert dungeons go, you need to be level 50 to attempt them. However, not only do you need to be level 50, but your whole party must be level 50. There are two tiers of Expert dungeons, and they can be pretty tricky to survive!

Getting through dungeons in Rift can be quite a steep learning curve. If you want to dominate instanced Rift gameplay then read Rift Supremacy, which is the best and most comprehensive strategy guide out for the game. Click here to learn more about Rift Supremacy.

How Many People Play Rift?

When Rift first came out, Triond announced that there were over 1 million pre orders for the game. However, how many people play Rift now?

This is actually quite a difficult question to answer, as there are no exact stats floating around online. It seems as if the player base could potentially be shrinking, as some server/shard merging is going on. That is usually a sign of a dwindling subscriber base in MMORPG games.

On the other hand, that could just represent Triond working towards increased efficiencies and economies in the Rift project, thus reducing the risk of subscription fee increases (which would honestly kill the player base IMO)

The short answer is that nobody (apart from the game developers themselves) are quite sure how many people play Rift.

You want my opinion? Enough people play it to ensure that you are going to have a good time, so if you don't already have a copy get one now!