Is April 12th a bit too soon for T2 raids?

[Wolvesfang]

Hello all,

so there has been much hype this weekend with all the announcements in Rift. Brand new calling, new zone, and even our return to Hammerknell. This was all exciting news, and made me look foward to pushing hard with progression in my guild.

However, there was a wave of disappointment when I heard that T2 will arrive as early as April 12th!? Personally I love the pace of Trion's content and usually want it sooner but in this case, with it being only a month and it isnt even on PTS concerns me. I remember back in base Rift most of its content sat on PTS for atleast 2 months before being released. Since it is a re-polished instance I understand why it shouldn't need that much testing but its something that I thought should be considered.

The thing that concerns me most is that the next tier of content is being release while majority of RIft's player base have not even finished current T1 raids! Many guilds are still working through Mount Sharax, and I'd guess 70% of guilds probably havent even had the chance to step into Tyrants Forge. I feel this will put a lot of pressure on the casual guilds or guilds currently rebuilding since they are falling behind in content by large margins.

It seems like this move is catering towards the more elite guilds of the game, since they were able to plow through most of the content already and had the opportunity to farm it consistently. I fear that if this fast paced raid content continues people will be overwhelmed and begin to not care, ultimately leaving the game.

Am I alone in this concern? Does anyone else think this release is a bit too soon?
Let me know what you guys think, please no flaming, I want to just point out my opinion on this announcement and how it affects the game.


For those of you curious as to where I got my information on the release date, you can find it in the audio link here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7rz...ature=youtu.be

Go to 2:15 for HK info and T2 release date.

[ttlyevil]

I wouldn't mind a bit of a break from progress... Also I really really hope they dont release this intrepid HK raid in parts or with some kind of gating. Having the whole thing at once would be so much better for a progress race.

[Yolodisco]

I can understand where you're coming from but I honestly don't think releasing it sooner will make casual players care less about progressing. Putting it out sooner rather than later ensures the more progress minded guilds stick around and have something to do now whilst also providing a further layer of content for the casual guilds to complete a few months further down the line.

[Wolvesfang]

Actually, I think a gated instance in this case would be a good thing. If released on april 12th, there will be a huge gap between the top raid guilds and the moderate to casual raiding guilds. I'm all up for allowing the top players to be beating content and be ahead of others because of their skill and effort, but to the extent of a whole tier is excessive and was the same reason why majority of the player base didn't even get a chance to touch T3 SL.

Yolodisco Thank you for your insight, and I do agree that it wont cause players to give up entirely, I just think that this whole process is a bit too soon and can be a bit demoralizing to be behind an entire tier.

[Yolodisco]

Actually, I think a gated instance would be a good thing. Right now, there is a huge gap between the top raid guilds and the moderate to casual raiding guilds. I'm all up for allowing the top players to be beating content and be ahead of others because of their skill and effort, but to the extent of a whole tier is excessive and was the same reason why majority of the player base didn't even get a chance to touch T3 SL.

Gating stuff is a really lame way to slow people down. There's literally 0 point in being a competitive raider if you're forced to wait for people.

[radiomaryja]

I wouldn't mind a bit of a break from progress... Also I really really hope they dont release this intrepid HK raid in parts or with some kind of gating. Having the whole thing at once would be so much better for a progress race.

This. I rather wait extra month than having gated instance. That kills alot of fun.

[evantide]

I don't think that many guilds even have crucia or enough people with 1.2kk hit yet.

[Khelendross]

I wouldn't mind a bit of a break from progress... Also I really really hope they dont release this intrepid HK raid in parts or with some kind of gating. Having the whole thing at once would be so much better for a progress race.

According to the audio its a "Return to" not a "Intrepid". Yes there is a difference!

[Liadva]

Well then... That's a lot sooner than i expected.
I'm with the others - I'd rather they don't gate the content. Though I also hope it doesn't include lots of "features" for us to qq about. With the release that soon I'm not getting my hopes up on that

[Meowy]

So this means when T2 comes out, I can buy the T1 raid set with credits? :P

I just need the shoulderpads and helmet now to complete my set for RP purposes hahaha.

[Wolvesfang]

Well then... That's a lot sooner than i expected.
I'm with the others - I'd rather they don't gate the content. Though I also hope it doesn't include lots of "features" for us to qq about. With the release that soon I'm not getting my hopes up on that

I'm all for not gating the instance, but I think T2 should be delayed a bit just for more quality assurance with testing on PTS.

[Necalli]

Remember, it's about quantity not quality!

[Kronos v]

Rift is made for the 1% of the players who are competitive raiders. if they are ready for the new content, then Trion will give them the new content.

[Killerkonnat]

Tier 3 SL was released when about the same number of guilds had killed Abominus than I expect to have killed Mecha Crucia when T2 NT gets released. I don't see a problem. There are a lot more guilds who have downed Threngar, just as there were with Volan. You still get access to relic loot from the "easier" final boss.

There are 29 guilds with 5/5 Mount Sharax and 21 guilds with 2/3 Tyrant's Forge. (From those that list themselves on Topofrift) Over HALF of all listed guilds have 5/5 MS and a third have 2/3 TF.

That's more than enough progress to farm loot for your guild and you've still got a month to gear up for T2 and raise your progress.
I don't see a problem with the release schedule.

[Meteorblade]

Brand new calling, new zone, and even our return to Hammerknell. This was all exciting news, and made me look foward to pushing hard with progression in my guild.

My reaction wasn't excitement but rather disappointment that Trion are so out of ideas that they're going to re-cycle a raid zone from three years ago and have the audacity to call it new.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved HK when it was new. It's probably my favourite raid zone they ever made. But that was three years ago and I don't want to do it all over again with slightly different mechanics.

In the same way that BoB was a huge turn-off for a lot of people who thought "Really? We're going back to GSB?" having HK as the next raid is tantamount to Trion admitting they're out of ideas.