Traversing Telara is an exclusive series of articles from Trion Worlds that explores Rift's lore and gameplay mechanics through the eyes of one intrepid adventurer. It's a great read and a fantastic introduction to the world of Telara. Even if you're a veteran of Rift, you might enjoy hearing about the game from another perspective! Read on for Issue #8: Akylios!

Catch up on all the past issues of Traversing Telara here!

Erick "Zann" Adams, Associate Community Manager, posted today that Trion is indeed conducting a player survey.  If you get an email from focusgroups@trionworlds.com it's legit! 

Over the next week, some of you will be receiving an email from Trion Worlds asking you to participate in a short survey that will help us get to know you better, and help us understand how we can serve you better as RIFT continues to evolve.

To ensure that we get the best sample possible, we’re going to be sending the survey to a randomly selected group of accounts, so not everyone will receive one, but we did want to give you the heads-up that we are sending out some surveys, and they are legit. The surveys will direct you to QuestionPro (www.questionpro.com) and will not be collecting any information about your account, or any information that could personally identify you. We appreciate your participation.

Be sure to be candid and help Trion make Rift even better!  As a "Thank You" for completing this survey, Trion will grant the "Surveyor" prefix for all characters on responding accounts. The title will be granted automatically before June 1st, 2012.

According to a post by Walsingham on the official forums:

The servers will be coming down temporarily for a system upgrade. This is estimated to be around noon. The upgrade is to address the current login issues that are affected some folks. The estimated downtime will be 30 minutes. Please stay tuned for updates.

Here's our handy time zone conversion tool to help you plan.

Check out Tera Tome Now!

From the people who bring you Wowhead and Torhead, ZAM Network is proud to announce the official beta launch of Tera Tome, a new addition to ZAM's premiere database network. Our goal with Tera Tome is to work closely with the developers at En Masse Entertainment to bring you the most accurate and up-to-date database for the North American version of TERA that we possibly can.

For now, feel free to peruse our extensive in-game recipe list or get into character planning with our handy Glyph Calculator!

Finally, because we're constantly working on the site (and there is always more to do!), be sure to also swing by our feedback forums if you have any suggestions as to how we can make Tera Tome the best TERA database in the world! Happy database browsing, folks!

RIFT 1.8 Hotfix #4 - 5/2/12 Patch Notes

Namplates!

• We’ve been working behind the scenes on a highly requested UI feature – Nameplates allow you to easily see the status of those around you while keeping your eyes on the fight!
• By default, nameplates will replace the old health bars and appear above yours and your target’s heads while in combat.
• We have a wide variety of settings, so customize to your heart’s content by going to Settings -> Interface -> Nameplates. You can swap between your customized settings and the default with Shift+V.
• The options also allow you to turn the system off entirely, if desired.
• Name colors can be customized in the Name Colors tab.

World Event

• Increased the drop rate for Power Cells while on the quest Parcels through the Cracks.

North American shards were down today for a the second hotfix of Rift 1.8.  Here's the patch notes:

RIFT 1.8 Hotfix #2 - 8:00am PDT 4/25/12 [NA] - 1:00am GMT/2:00am BST 26/4/12 [EU]

GENERAL

• Master mode dungeons now reset on Sunday at 4:00am server time, instead of Saturday at 4:00am server time, for their second weekly reset. Wednesday reset day remains the same.
• The new Keepers crafting daily quests now turn in at Keeper Ambassador NPCs located at the Travel Stones outside of Meridian and Sanctum, so that characters below level 40 can complete these quests.
• Raid Assistants can once again directly invite players into their groups.
• Adjusted the audio of Razorbeast pets so they make noise less frequently.
• PvP Quests may now flag you for PvP while being progressed. Quests that do so will warn you in the quest accept and quest log windows.
• King's Breach: Hunter Suleng should no longer be killstolen by the friendly NPCs at the start and leave you unable to complete the zone quest.
• 'Speed Clears' now only begin when players physically leave the zone entrance area. They will no longer start incorrectly by a player disconnect or teleport.
• Fixed a combat case where beneficial abilities could apply to friendly faction characters as if you were in PvP against each other.
• Trial players can no longer attempt to withdraw more coin than they can carry from guild banks.

Episode 15 is here, as well as Chris, Trevor and Josh's first opinions on 1.8. The crew goes over fishing, survival, leaderboards, the HK changes and the bosses in Infernal Dawn. They round it out with the some up and downs for some new spec changes.

Download the Farm Status at Podomatic or iTunes!

All NA shards came down at 8am PDT for 1.8 Hotfix #0.5. EU shards already had this hotfix included in their original 1.8 patch. Here are the patch notes:

RIFT 1.8 Hotfix 0.5 - 4/19/12

GENERAL
* Fixed the incorrect spamming of re-server firsts.
* Tents and Bedrolls are now available for use!
* Fishing-related pets now summon instantly.
* Fixed an edge case with formed LFG groups and public grouping that could cause pre-queued groups to break up prematurely.

LEADERBOARDS
* The Leaderboard for Expert Darkening Deeps has been corrected and can now be enabled.
* Fixed a problem with the Library: Mass Martyr Duration leaderboard.

ITEMS
* Slinkers of the Dawn: Now with correct pricing.
* Ember Isle Raid Rift Essences now have a minimum level requirement to equip.

All NA shards are coming offline at 8am PDT on Wednesday, April 18 for Patch 1.8. Estimated downtime is two hours. The update is tentatively scheduled for 2am GMT on Thursday, April 19. Here are the patch notes:

Welcome to RIFT 1.8: Infernal Dawn!

== FEATURES ==
* Infernal Dawn: The new 20-player Raid that challenges players with seven new boss encounters as they enter Mount Carcera to prevent the rise of Laethys and the release of Maelforge from his imprisonment beneath the volcano.
* Kick back on the shores and relax, or go on a wilderness adventure; the new Fishing and Survival skills let you do both! See more under FISHING AND SURVIVAL, listed below.
* Players and Guilds can have an easier time finding each other through the new Guild Finder tool. See GUILD FINDER below for how to use it!
* New Leaderboards feature allows you to compare and compete against your friends, guildmates, and other players in a variety of categories. More under LEADERBOARDS, below.
* All-new appearances and animations for Druid Faerie pets, Beastmaster Primal Companions, and Ranger pets!
* Instant Adventure comes to Ember Isle; level 50 characters can now join the action immediately with the new Ember Isle queue available in the Instant Adventure menu.
* Achievements that are partially completed are now highlighted in the In-Progress Achievements list on the Achievement window.


Continue after the jump for the rest of the notes!

Traversing Telara is an exclusive series of articles from Trion Worlds that explores Rift's lore and gameplay mechanics through the eyes of one intrepid adventurer. It's a great read and a fantastic introduction to the world of Telara. Even if you're a veteran of Rift, you might enjoy hearing about the game from another perspective! Read on for Issue #7: Sanctum and Eliam Fields!

Catch up on all the past issues of Traversing Telara here!