Rift is launching soon, and I’m all set to go for the headstart this Thursday. I’ve mostly refrained from playing in any of the beta events over the past few weeks. I knew I wanted to play from my earlier experiences with the game, and so after that decision was made, it didn’t make much sense spending a lot of time on a character that was going to get wiped anyway. So I’ve patiently been waiting for the live launch so I can really dig in!

I did log on this past week though, to check out the Defiant starting area (I’d strictly been playing Guardian). I was pleased to find a very different experience for the other side. While the Guardians are all about faith, and the gods, the Defiant put their trust in machines. In the Defiant starting area, you actually begin in the future, in a doomed world that has failed to defeat Regulos (the primary antagonist). Your goal is go get sent back to an earlier time where you might still effect change and save the world.

I enjoy that Trion was able to create two factions, neither of which can simply be labeled “The Good Guys” or “The Bad Guys”. In fact, both Guardians and Defiant seem to have the same goals, just very different ideas of how to go about it. Though I’m sure they’ll ignorantly be declared “The new horde/alliance”, their values (or their races) are not quite as clear-cut as that.

I’m excited to see what Rift has in store post-launch. So far I’ve been very impressed with Trion Worlds, with both their enthusiasm and product, as well as their candor and interaction with the community. Rift may be one of the most solid, well-rounded MMO launches I’ve seen in recent memory. I hope this means great things over the next few months.