So I’ve been reading about the betas and run-up to launch for Rift, and more recently I’ve become interested in the ‘soul system’ where a given character can have several different builds across the eight different classes for their archetype.
In all my MMOs I’ve had a tendency to give in to creating multiple alts. WoW I’ve had a full stable of 10 characters since soon after starting. LOTRO I have eight characters mostly to have all the professions for self-sufficiency. Even in Guild Wars I’ve tried almost all the classes for at least a few levels.
This usually leads to a distinct lack of progress towards the end-game, which I think if I’m honest is deliberate as I find cyclical gear-grinding so boring.
Now the Rift take on character variation is very interesting, that kind of flexibility is rare in a game. But if your one character can easily perform many roles, with a great variety of ‘builds’ then perhaps creating alts is a lot less attractive. I’ve read that 4 alts, one for each archetype, will be enough.
That does raise the question of longevity of play; can Trion produce enough PVE content to keep people interested? Also without alts a player like me would end up stuck at the end-game all too soon, and from what I’ve read so far I doubt there’s much to keep me interested for long…
GamingSF 