ZAM dives into a build of Trion's upcoming fantasy MMO and experiences life as a Nightblade on the side of the Defiants. The Gods be damned.

Once I knew who I was and what my background was, it was time to start saving the world. I began my quests in the Shadowlands, where a variety of tasks got me familiar with my abilities as well as the importance of my faction's reliance on technology. Even though the game is in late alpha, the interface was fairly clean and easy to grasp. I was pulling off combos and leveling in no time. As I leveled, I unlocked various abilities in my Soul Tree. Certain abilities become available automatically if you spend enough points in that tree. And you can choose abilities from three trees at any one time. While a game like World of Warcraft will eventually let you become dual spec at higher levels, Rift will eventually allow you to become quad spec so that you have greater versatility depending on the scenario you and your group face.

Playing the Nightblade was a fun experience and learning the nuances was not an involved process. Mobs could be pulled with a stacking, combo point-style ranged attack with other attacks being more powerful depending on how big the stack was. I achieved stealth at an early level, which made it easier to get around and bypass enemies if I needed to. I hit level 10 before I died the first time, which proved an interesting visual sight. As I got closer to death, the screen started to gray and I could hear my heart beating faster. It's a cool effect that lets you know your status without constantly having to glance at your health bar. When you die, you lose a portion of your maximum health, but it can be regained by eating special foods after you return to life.

One of the unique things about Rift is the game play mechanic of tears forming in the world. If these tears go unchecked, they grow into full-fledged rifts that will spawn in wave after wave of creatures from different elemental planes. If you come upon a tear, you can launch yourself into it and fight the creatures before they materialize on Telara. You must defeat anywhere from three to five waves of creatures to close the tear. The same holds true if a rift opens: Defeat the waves and close the rift. What makes this part of the game so enjoyable is the extra cash and loot that you can derive from participation. The more you participate, the more you get. I soloed a few tears and rifts for my level and got cash and items that buffed my gear, including the occasional magic item. If you help others close the rift, the game rewards you based on your level of participation in defeating the waves. I found that hunting for rifts and tears became an enjoyable minigame unto itself.

By the time I hit level 12, my solo play session was wrapping up and it was time to test one of the new instances being unveiled. The Realm of the Fae was a level 30ish instance that required five players and a premade character. I was already fond of the art style in the game, but the instance was even more vibrant. The concept was a four-section dungeon that played off each of the seasons, starting with spring. Each season had a miniboss to defeat that offered up better loot than what you could get from questing in the world. Our team was able to defeat three of the minibosses before our play session came to an end. But the instance was a good gauge of how easy it was to hold your own, despite only learning the interface and mechanics a couple hours earlier.

The game is approaching beta, but it was amazing how stable it was even in the alpha state. There were very few placeholders and the mechanics and quests were solid. At a time when the industry is being besieged by all manners of fantasy MMOs, the time I got with Rift has solidified the game's place on my short wish list. I can only hope the end product is as enjoyable as my play session.

My world needs saving … and I am Defiant.