ZAM Gets Rift 1.5 Details from Hartsman, Hanlin
Rift Update 1.5: Ashes of History is adding a ton of content to the game next week. Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff attended a press conference to get all the details!
Rift Update 1.5: Ashes of History is scheduled to launch next week (no, there's not an official date yet), and we had the opportunity to attend a press conference with Executive Producer Scott Hartsman and Design Producer Hal Hanlin to learn all about the new features that are being added to the six-month-old MMO.
The duo began the press conference by outlining the major features of Update 1.5. “For Ashes of History, we are beginning to herald the rumored area that's over the water. Part of that will be a world event where we start rebuilding some traveling stones,” Hanlin said. To be clear, the event won't start next week with the launch of the update. He then mentioned that the new Chronicles duo instances have everyone buzzing, as well as the solo Chronicles of Attunement. As Hartsman put it, that's the ceremony that “takes you from a level 50 to making you a super Ascended.”
Of course, there's more to the Ashes of History update than the world event and the Chronicles. They both mentioned the Planar Attunement post-50 advancement feature, the new Library of the Runemasters Warfront, Veteran Rewards, the Master Dungeon mode and the beginning of AddOns. Keep reading after the jump for all of the details on the patch!
Chronicles
Hartsman said to think of the Chronicles instances as “mini-progression.” The goal is to hit level 50 and solo your Chronicles of Attunement, which will celebrate the fact that you're fully Ascended. Once you've completed that task, you can start to duo the Chronicles, which will consist of Greenscale's Blight and Hammerknell at the launch of the patch. They're intended to be challenging in quest gear, and you'll ultimately be able to progress enough that you'll be able to attempt to solo the Chronicles.
When asked why they're developing endgame content for solo players, Hanlin simply said, “We're making sure everyone gets to be a part of this story.” They want to open up some unique content and locations to more players than just raiders. “It's all about accessible awesomeness,” Hartsman said.
In fact, accessibility is why Trion Worlds decided to focus on Greenscale's Blight and Hammerknell for the first two duo Chronicles. “The big desire behind this is to expose people to key stories in the game. The natural first place to put it was in raid areas where the overarching story is being pushed update to update,” Hartsman said. However, Hanlin explained that they're keeping their options open for future Chronicles, so they may break the trend of basing these instances on familiar raid content.
As for rewards, Hanlin said you'll be able to get loot in Chronicles from bosses, chests and collections. Hartsman said they're looking at expert quality loot and mentioned that some chests in Chronicles will contain consumables, which you can use in the instance or save for your raid night. “Since exp has a value to raiders as well, they will be able to get a reasonably good chunk of exp for Planar Attunement,” Hartsman said.
Continuing that discussion, Hartsman explained that “hardcore vs. casual is not a solid line.” Some casual players have unlimited playtime, while other players with a hardcore mindset don't get to log in much. He feels that the Chronicles content can appeal to all types of players. Hanlin mentioned that attendees at Gamescom and PAX Prime were most excited about the duo instances, which makes him think that the feature will help draw new players into the game.
Veteran Rewards
As Trion announced yesterday, Update 1.5 will bring with it the Veteran Rewards system. Players will receive access to items at the following subscription milestones: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months. "Those are the initial intervals. The way we're adding them allows us to add more over time," Hartsman said.
Hanlin confirmed that the system is retroactive, so all of your previous subscription time will count. In fact, you can buy a long-term subscription and receive all of the associated prizes immediately. If you left Rift and came back, all of your subscribed time should still count. Both Hartsman and Hanlin said that Trion will be taking care of any odd cases that may arise.
Hartsman said you'll receive your items through the in-game mail system, and they'll also be visible in the achievement window so you can track them. “We want you to know what's coming next,” he said. He also said that some of the rewards must be purchased at a vendor, and there will be a cost associated with them. “They're all very unique, so we think there's enough excitement there,” he said.
Planar Attunement
Planar Attunement is a post-50 advancement system that is themed after the six planes. Each plane has three different tiers of abilities. The first tier is being released in Update 1.5, and they'll release details about the future tiers closer to their own updates.
When asked if it's more advantageous to follow a couple trees or max out all of them, Hartsman said there's a fair amount of picking and choosing between convenience and stats. “We expect some people will go all in and some will dabble,” he said.
Hartsman said there is no artificial cap on Planar Attunement. "We don't think about this as a system you will necessarily grind toward,” he said. “It's not about that. It's about providing a context for all of the things you're doing in the world at level 50. You're earning exp at level 50, and this gives you a place to put it.”
"This system is intentionally separate from the soul system,” Hartsman continued. “We expect that people will be choosing to invest in the role they play primarily. It's slightly different gameplay from the soul system."