Why do people say "the game begins at 50?"

[aabuster1]

While I immensely enjoy my time from level 1-49 it is all pointless. You really do not get anything that matters until you are level 50. Your skills and damage are not affected by what you have done from level 1-49. Every piece of gear you have aquired is replaced. You only need to know the rotations you are using at level 50. You really don't learn anything from level 1-49 that can't be learned in 1-2 hours at level 50, I'm being generous there - honestly you can learn it in far less time.

Let me reverse the table, why do people think level 1-49 is important?

[Tufelhunden]

While I immensely enjoy my time from level 1-49 it is all pointless. You really do not get anything that matters until you are level 50. Your skills and damage are not affected by what you have done from level 1-49. Every piece of gear you have aquired is replaced. You only need to know the rotations you are using at level 50. You really don't learn anything from level 1-49 that can't be learned in 1-2 hours at level 50, I'm being generous there - honestly you can learn it in far less time.

Let me reverse the table, why do people think level 1-49 is important?

I enjoyed the stories, both sides. However you are correct in that after you have seen then I now just speed level. ;)

[Simulacra]

It's the people that believe life revolves around level 50, rather than the journey getting there...

What journey? Took me 2 weeks to get to 50. I wasn't grinding or racing. Just doing quests, grouping, and PVP. The devs purposefully made it easy to level because this game focuses on endgame.

[hopp]

I enjoyed the stories, both sides. However you are correct in that after you have seen then I now just speed level. ;)

Yeah I tried to do an alternate progression path with my alt, found some quests I've never seen on my main and that was cool but at 40something I was like screw this and went to Ember Isle with a guildie and hit 50 in a couple of hours...

[Hotter]

What journey? Took me 2 weeks to get to 50. I wasn't grinding or racing. Just doing quests, grouping, and PVP. The devs purposefully made it easy to level because this game focuses on endgame.

You missed the point. No worries, the rift lite, trials, and others get it.

[Zarak]

Honestly, I think 90% of these answers don't begin to answer your question - "Why do people say Rift starts at level 50?"

Here's why i say this to my lowbie guildies:
When you're levelling up, you're doing quests, killing stuff, doing some rifts, doing some dungeons.

When you hit 50, you're doing quests, killing stuff, doing some rifts, doing raid rifts, doing experts, doing master mode dungeons, raiding, pvping, doing chronicles, doing instant adventures...all of which is going towards planar attunement bonuses.


That's why I say the game starts at level 50, there's more than double the content to work on.

[Father Grimm]

People who care about the volume of stats on their gear will say X game begins at max level most frequently, ignoring the fact that the vast majority of art resources (e.g., zones & landscapes, instances, mobs) and quests of MMOs are usually (at launch, anyway) in the leveling areas.

Rift's not so different, although there are a few unique areas and mechanics for the level 50s. Ember Isle, GSB, Hammerknell, Port Scion -- these are areas unique to level 50 that you won't experience beforehand. There's also a few variations on earlier content (expert & master mode dungeons) that open up. Similarly, there's content from the raiding zones (i.e., Chronicles) that is rehashed for solo/duo play. If Rift continues to grow, the likely majority of new content will be designed for max level.

The question to ask is are these folk merely talking about repeating the same content over and over again to progress in their gear, like rats hitting a feeder bar, or are there truly different things to do and areas to explore. Folk often fail to make the distinction of progression = new content vs. progression = bigger numbers/new gear.

Rift does offer something other games don't in terms of endgame exploration -- a great complexity in redesigning builds. While other games allow respecs, none allow the wide variation of Rift. Gear will have some effect on choice of builds, but the true advantage of level 50 customization is really just having that wide variety of points to play with.

[TechnoMage]

And you can be there in three days or three months... 'casual' is relative. Doesn't negate the fact the journey can be more worthy than the destination.

In some games that's true, in this game.. not so much. Basically they say the game begins at 50, because the Dev's have stated that their focus on adding new things is mostly directed at the 50 experience not the 1-49 experience as that part of the game is really just a process to get you to 50 in such a way that you know your character and are invested in them.

[vg stoper]

if you start game right now you so far back on pa grind and need 2000 sor stone that for you
when you hit 50 you will never catch up

[Forks]

I enjoy the character development from a skills/abilities point of view.

For me, getting a new spell is much more exciting than getting another piece of gear with slightly better stats.

For me, it's about 1-50. I'll enjoy some endgame, but for the most part I think the game ends at 50.

[PFalcon]

Getting to 50 in Rift is like getting through the built-in tutorials in Mass Effect. It's just an introduction to the world, and how to play with others.

[supahKSU]

I have been on and off RIFT for the past year. Each time I've come back I've started with a fresh char and play up to 50 all over. I have the benefit of playing and leveling with a RL friend so it helps keep my interest. IMO RIFT is just as good as games like Vanguard in the replay value. Yes the quests are the same; but with WFs and instance queues, achievements, world pvp, puzzles, rifts, etc. each time I come back I'm totally sucked in.