Please make marriage meaningful

[XaviourEQ2]

As of now, in-game marriage is just fluff. No benefits to it whatsoever.

My RL wife and I play and we are also married in-game. Sometimes we want to share resources but cant.

After the mount screw-up this event, I dont think any talk of "exploiting" anything applies anymore.

There are measures to prevent any game-breaking exploits as well:

1 Just like in RL, make divorces EXPENSIVE for both parties to get started.
2. Stackable items get split right down the middle during a divorce as well. So as soon as you start divorce proceedings, you lose half of stacked items from your bank account.
3. Divorces are also time consuming. Once a divorce is initiated, you have a 30 day cooldown before being finalized and being able to marry someone else again. 90 days before you can marry the original partner again.

These three things alone would make exploiting marriage in RIFT that much more difficult.

As for benefits...

1. How about a joint bank account.
2. How about the ability to share "soulbound" items with your "soulmate."
3. A trade window just for married couples where items can be traded between the couple on the spot regardless of distance without the need for mailboxes or traditional trade windows.
4. A marriage buff of somekind when PvE or PvPing together.

Just some ideas to make in-game marriage a bit more immersive, useful and fun.

feedback/discuss please.

No.That is all.

[Neo Omni]

Its a bloody game. What are you on ?

Exactly. It's a game. As it stands now, marriage is just a useless piece of RP used to break a world record for TRION. Make it useful somehow is all I' m saying.

I think alot of you saw the word "meaningful" and thought I wanted some kind of RL meaning to ingame marriage.

Um...no.

[Ancem]

As it stands now, marriage is just a useless piece of RP ...

Working as intended. If there is some kind of ingame benefit beyond some costume pieces and a title, something that actually affects gameplay or stats, then people who are obsessed with squeezing every little advantage from the game feel that they *have* to be married, and they add it to their obsession. Essentially what you are asking for is to take something that works just fine for its purpose and break it to the point where people feel pressured to participate because there is an ingame advantage to doing so.

Dyes don't change the stats on your armor, and costume pieces don't change your stats or give you any abilities. Wardrobe slots don't change anything beyond the appearance of your character. Similarly, marriage was not intended to do anything for your character's stats and abilities, and shouldn't be made to do so. Some things exist in the game simply to be used by people who like them.

[Neo Omni]

Working as intended. If there is some kind of ingame benefit beyond some costume pieces and a title, something that actually affects gameplay or stats, then people who are obsessed with squeezing every little advantage from the game feel that they *have* to be married, and they add it to their obsession. Essentially what you are asking for is to take something that works just fine for its purpose and break it to the point where people feel pressured to participate because there is an ingame advantage to doing so..

If this game "pressures" anyone to do anything then they have bigger issues.

May as well do away with guilds as well becuase they will pressure people to join them to "squeeze every little advantage from the game."

Oh wait...that's OK. Guild perks are OK but marriage perks are not.

If this helps any, think of marriage as a mini-guild, complete with mini-perks.

[Ancem]

If this game "pressures" anyone to do anything then they have bigger issues.

May as well do away with guilds as well becuase they will pressure people to join them to "squeeze every little advantage from the game."

Oh wait...that's OK. Guild perks are OK but marriage perks are not.

If this helps any, think of marriage as a mini-guild, complete with mini-perks.

Yes, they do have bigger issues. But the fact remains that there are people who feel this way, and who join guilds exactly for those reasons, and will exploit any such advantages because they feel they have to be king of the hill or whatever. Everything in the game doesn't have to be attractive to them.

You could apply the same logic to any other non-game-changing feature. Make magical dyes that work like runes and add extra stats to your equipment. Costume items like a wolf-helmet that allows you to change into a wolf. Alter wardrobe slots to count towards set bonuses so you can wear two sets of armor and get the benefits of both.

Small things, all of them, but they go beyond the scope of developers' plans for them and become game-changing abilities. It is unnecessary and does not enhance the game to do so. In fact these small changes can add up to significantly alter the game.

[Neo Omni]

Yes, they do have bigger issues. But the fact remains that there are people who feel this way, and who join guilds exactly for those reasons, and will exploit any such advantages because they feel they have to be king of the hill or whatever. Everything in the game doesn't have to be attractive to them.

You could apply the same logic to any other non-game-changing feature. Make magical dyes that work like runes and add extra stats to your equipment. Costume items like a wolf-helmet that allows you to change into a wolf. Alter wardrobe slots to count towards set bonuses so you can wear two sets of armor and get the benefits of both.

Small things, all of them, but they go beyond the scope of developers' plans for them and become game-changing abilities. It is unnecessary and does not enhance the game to do so. In fact these small changes can add up to significantly alter the game.

You are presenting a straw-man argument.

I am discussing marriage and in-game perks for marriage, nothing else. TRION can do whatever they want with any other game feature. Im just making a suggestion for a seemingly useless (not even cosmetic as you have nothing to show) feature that can be expanded.

[Wulferton]

I haven't got married in rift so I dunno if I should be saying much here... I can agree with some things your asking for but, I see how they can be exploited I don't think they should have their own bank. Trading soulbound items would be cool though, I doubt we get these things though cause people will probably exploit it.

[aabuster1]

No, I really don't feel like min/maxing who I marry.

Most people min/max when they marry in real life, why would a game be different?

[Ancem]

You are presenting a straw-man argument.

I am discussing marriage and in-game perks for marriage, nothing else. TRION can do whatever they want with any other game feature. Im just making a suggestion for a seemingly useless (not even cosmetic as you have nothing to show) feature that can be expanded.

I'm presenting my reaction to your suggestions. And I suspect the reason why others are not flooding the thread with suggestions of their own is because, like me, they believe the marriage perk is meant solely for role-playing and doesn't need to have in-game effects.

[Neo Omni]

I'm presenting my reaction to your suggestions. And I suspect the reason why others are not flooding the thread with suggestions of their own is because, like me, they believe the marriage perk is meant solely for role-playing and doesn't need to have in-game effects.

..or they dont want anyone else to have any in-game advantage with a feature they dont care for. I suspect many of the responses here are from those who have not married in-game. Being in a guild is very different from a one-on-one binding and that may scare some. Yet, they cant enjoy any benefits from something that scares them...so no one else should either.

No one is making you do it (marry), but at the same time do you need to deny any perks to others who do as welll?

[Ancem]

..or they dont want anyone else to have any in-game advantage with a feature they dont care for. I suspect many of the responses here are from those who have not married in-game. Being in a guild is very different from a one-on-one binding and that may scare some. Yet, they cant enjoy any benefits from something that scares them...so no one else should either.

No one is making you do it (marry), but at the same time do you need to deny any perks to others who do as welll?

What? I don't care one way or the other. I'm not in a guild, I'm not married in-game, and my real wife doesn't play. I have no feelings about how others play one way or the other.

I'm not denying anyone anything, because as it stands now there are no measurable game benefits to in-game marriage, and it's open to anyone who wants to and can find a partner to marry.

What I *am* saying is that Trion obviously intended this, that it is similar to other "fluff" additions to the game like costume items and wardrobe slots, which allow you to do things with your character that don't have an effect on its stats or the way you play the game. Taking half of someone's 873 platinum by divorcing him ten minutes after marriage or being able to trade account- or soulbound items with other people takes the game in directions that the devs clearly did not intend (or the items wouldn't be "bound" to you) and opens the doors for gold sellers to scam people, etc. Your ideas just do not add anything to the game, except ways for min/maxers and con men to do more of the things they want to do.

Someone early in the thread asked a rhetorical question, something about why is anyone taking your post seriously. I have nothing against you personally, but your ideas from the OP are short-sighted and will cause many more problems than they solve - and since the wedding system is working as intended, there are in fact no problems to solve in the first place, so one additional problem is too many.

If this is your typical reaction to someone who doesn't care for your ideas, I suggest you develop a thicker skin or don't post them. Getting a twist in your knickers because everyone doesn't think like you is not going to be a successful debate tactic. If you actually were part of a development team your ideas would be shot down immediately before they even had a chance to be tested on the PTS.

A developer needs to look at the big picture, understand the kinds of players who are active in the game, and realize that everyone doesn't value the same things he does or play the way he does. Look for ways that people can "break" your improvements, to exploit them for advantages you didn't intend to provide or use them to grief others. I guarantee that no matter how many ways you find to abuse the game, a couple hundred thousand users will find even more that you never realized.

[Torvaldr]

No. There should be no special benefits to being married in game.

It's a game and special benefits should be earned through game play. What kinds of odd entitlements people want for free. First welfare raiders want free account PA and now people want game buffs for an RP event.

[Hyacinth]

..or they dont want anyone else to have any in-game advantage with a feature they dont care for. I suspect many of the responses here are from those who have not married in-game. Being in a guild is very different from a one-on-one binding and that may scare some. Yet, they cant enjoy any benefits from something that scares them...so no one else should either.

No one is making you do it (marry), but at the same time do you need to deny any perks to others who do as welll?

Or, no one is posting anything constructive because any halfway constructive responses are basically being ignored entirely. In order to receive constructive posts from others, you sometimes have to be constructive in return, and try to see the other person's side and reason with them. So far you've just been saying "no" to anything that's been posted against your idea without actually trying to understand why people don't like it; in fact, most of your responses thus far seem to indicate that you haven't actually read the other posts at all beyond the point of "I don't like...". If you actually care about this idea, you should try to compromise and refine it to the point that the exploits or concerns people are having would no longer be an issue.

[Chaosoul]

Only if you when you divorce everything owned between the couple gets divided equally.

AKA.. marry a donald trump in game then divorce their butt and become rich!

That reminded me of EVE Online. Where's it's 'legal' game practice to gain someone's trust in a corp, and then rob them blind. Made for entertaining reading in the Crime and Punishment forum anyway.

The image of "gold diggers" in Rift trying to identify the rich and eventually push for marriage for the sole purpose of making money sounds like fun drama. Of course I very much doubt that would ever be implemented. But it's a funny topic.

[Goldenwing]

Companion pets are fluff and don't do "anything".

Costume pieces are fluff and don't do "anything".

Balloons, glows, and most event edibles are fluff and don't do "anything".


"Anything": adds subjective enjoyment to the game without affecting gameplay/mechanics/outcomes/stats, etcetera. (Well, except my healing trinket seems to still heal any companion pets that are out, particularly the tank's.)


This ^ is the redundant definition of "fluff".

I like fluff.

I like the fact that it does NOT affect my gameplay / mechanics other than what I (subjectively) believe it adds to my own (personal) gaming experience.

That is what makes it fun.

It is optional.

It is outside of the things "required".

It is outside of the things that affect stats and abilities.

Again: that is what makes it fun.

I like fun.



My marriage in real life is meaningful. I do not need someone's "approximation" of what they think it should be inside an MMORPG. That defeats the meaning of RPG for me in so many ways.

I understand there are other games that lean exclusively on a "mock-social" aspect of lfe as the framework of gaming. I don't play those, never have, never will.

-leaves thread