Category Archives: Rift

I’m going to post about server transfers, again

Posted on May 24, 2011 by SynCaine

If nothing else, Trion wins the “talk about us” battle. I still don’t see how this is, in any way, something to be proud of or celebrated. Its server transfers for a themepark people. Tell me if this sounds familiar: … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Rift, RMT, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Busy week IRL = Quick thoughts

Posted on May 23, 2011 by SynCaine

Yes, the Warband Saga post was a lie. But I can explain! Basically I’m on day 173 in my game, which means I’m beyond the intro phase and well into the mid-game. The post I started to write was first … Continue reading →

Posted in Mount and Blade: Warband, Patch Notes, Random, Rift, RMT | 11 Comments

Rift: Post-1.2 expert difficulty

Posted on May 19, 2011 by SynCaine

Random thought based off an instance run in Rift last night: the easier the content, the worse you play, the worse you feel, spiral downward of doom. T2 dungeons in Rift are now pretty damn easy, and in a somewhat … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Rift | 10 Comments

Celebrating 12 years of themepark hate

Posted on May 12, 2011 by SynCaine

My enjoyment of virtual worlds goes back to Ultima Online, in large part because I loved the sRPG Ultima games, growing up on Ultima V and always being jealous of a friend who had a PC and had Ultima VI … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Random, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 36 Comments

Difficulty settings, not tiers

Posted on May 11, 2011 by SynCaine

While plenty of forum posters are not happy about the expert dungeon nerfs (which, I must admit, I find somewhat surprising), the more I think about it the more I realize this is not an issue of making the current … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rift | 20 Comments

Rift 1.2 patch: day after

Posted on May 11, 2011 by SynCaine

One night into 1.2, here is the good, average, and bad. The good: The weekly crafting rift quest is well designed. The rifts themselves are new, look good, and are pretty damn easy (you can duo them at worst, most … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rift | 17 Comments

The return of server reputation?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by SynCaine

Since I’m at work, I’ve not yet had a chance to see how hard the 5 man content was hit in Rift (that make or break is tonight), but one item I did notice in the patch notes that (on … Continue reading →

Posted in Patch Notes, Rift, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Witchers, Heroes, Thrones, Rift

Posted on May 9, 2011 by SynCaine

Just some quick hits for today. I finally, for the first time, beat The Witcher. My previous two attempts both fell short due to mass bugs (at release) and a comp change (a few months ago). Now, on the new … Continue reading →

Posted in Patch Notes, Random, Rift, The Witcher | 16 Comments

Time to make WoW accessible, end the elitism!

Posted on May 6, 2011 by SynCaine

Blizzard needs to stop being elitist with WoW, and allow the 100m or so Farmville players access to the game. Clearly tab-1-2-2-3 is too difficult. Assigning talent points is hard. Getting to 85 is a ridiculous grind. How is anyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant, Rift, World of Warcraft | 28 Comments

Little Billy and his trophy

Posted on May 5, 2011 by SynCaine

I’m not a fan of the “everyone is a winner” approach, be it Little League Baseball or MMOs. Handing out a trophy just for showing up is, to me, silly at best. I don’t care that little Billy is 6 … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments