What do you think so far about Rift?

What are your expectations? Is it what you expected? Pros/cons, etc. :)

pros: choosing my class style

cons: blender of other MMOs gone wrong, cut and paste WoW/EQ style questing and combat, terrible lore/story, doesn't suck you in.

It's another no break from the norm MMO that will turn into an epic grind-a-thon.

TTD

It's a good game and I think people will be surprised how well it does.

I didn't really like it the first time I played it. It took until level 15ish before it really started growing on me. The class system is great, rifts are fun. It takes things that work from other MMOs and adds a few things of its own. They have a lot of confidence in their product, that's why they're handing out the VIP beta keys (25 people can use one key) like candy. Basically anyone who wants to get in the beta can try it out, just look around a bit for a key.

If you're really invested in your current MMO and are enjoying yourself, there's not a lot of reason to switch. However, if you're like me (and a LOT of other people), if you're not currently playing an MMO, or aren't really having a good time in the one you're playing, Rift offers a polished, fun, new world to explore. The devs seem to know what they're doing, both in listening and in implementing.

If you do try it, make sure you get out of the newbie tutorial zone. A lot of people seem to be making their judgements just based on that, when it isn't a very good indicator on what the game offers.

Was largely upset with the class imbalance. For PvP you really have to make specific builds. The game is enjoyable, even though it is quite comparable to WoW. I just don't know how anyone can compete with the innovation of WoW, but you have to give them respect to their heroic efforts. I've played up to lvl 30 now and only just got frustrated because I couldn't compete in PvP, but kicked butt in rocking tough missions by myself.Shinida

Class balance will be an ongoing process, obviously, especially in a game that has some focus on PvP. But it's very easy to change your build with the soul system. Also, kind of like in Guild Wars, when a certain build gets really popular, then builds will come about that specifically seek to counter that build, so in some ways it's self-balancing and ever-changing.

All right, here we go, this comes from a completely unbiased view from a guy who heard about the game and it's promises and tried it out during the last beta a week or so ago. Ok, lets start with positives, the class variety is awesome and the graphics for an MMO is quite nice if you like to have some eye candy....now that we have covered the positives...let's continue.

The leveling system is the most generic thing I have ever seen, it is the EPITOME of "go kill x, bring back y" I got to level 20, in my range from 1-20 I did 1 questline that was NOT "go kill x, bring back y". This is incredibly boring and gets old stupidly fast. I also did some PvP, and it was pretty bad...it was a mexican standoff with ranged having a hayday and melee twiddling their thumbs in a completely un-inspired "battleground". I did the first dungeon, and it was eye-gouging bad. The dungeon was nothing but a giant, arduous grind of tank and spank. (That is the first instance so take it for what you will, but at this point I would think MMO's would want their first instance to leave some form of nice impression).

So then, PvP sucked, questing sucked, dungeon sucked, but let's go onto the Rifts/invasions, after all, it is called RIFT! Well, I will say, the Rifts/invasions are fun, I will give the game that, but I foresee a dire consequence in Rifting. It is just like public quests in any other game...eventually when everyone is max level, you and the 4 other people out there will be unable to stop the rifts/invasions and your particular zone will just get manhandled. Actually that happened to me a few times in the beta, an invasion would occur and just not enough people were on to stop it, or care about it, making the whole point of it useless.

When I was first told of Rift I did have pretty good expectations, but after playing beta, there is absolutely nothing the game has to offer that makes it worth the price tag/monthly fee, NOTHING atall. With that said, I did only get to level 20 during the beta, but if the higher level content is ANYWHERE near as bad as 1-20 then this game will flop fast. (Oh, and the class imbalance that someone mentioned, is incredibly prevalent. And when the devs were questioned about class imbalance, they actually said that they love class imbalance, it's what makes MMO's exciting....could find a link I suppose if someone really wants me to. All class imbalance does though is make people forcefully spec a certain way just so they don't suck.)

Eh, so far... I've lost interest. I've had the opportunity to beta test the past two events and while I find the graphics to my liking, that has been, so far, the extent of my enjoyment. It's a little too easy to become bored with the game. You start in the future with a little bit of background history before being hurled back into the past to actually start the game. The gathering system is iffy, in my opinion. I haven't decided if I'm still going to pre-order the game or not. Pros: Beautiful graphics, detailed character customization (more than most, less than some games), six playable races and a rather decent amount of character "class" combinations. Cons: Depending on player, the game can quickly become boring, class combinations are limited to archetype (warrior, cleric, mage, scout (or is it rogue? I don't quite remember.) That's my take on it, currently.MrsBlunder

Believe it or not the game is still actually in Alpha build.