I want to love Rift

[xCmderz]

I'm taking a break from that one game, and got a 30 day membership to Rift. I've never played this game, going in completely blind, and I'm hoping to love this game more than the others so that I can have a new permanent MMO to enjoy investing all my free time on.

The class system really confuses me though...I want to be some kind of melee damage dealer that does well in PvP battlegrounds. So many choices it seems and I don't want to ruin my build and lose interest in the game. Am I able to change my type of character at any point in the game? If I'm a melee type and at level 35 realize I should have chose a mage type instead, am I able to reset my build completely and become a mage? Or am I forced to make a new character and start at level 1? If you are able to change your class at any time, is there any point in making alts?

My last question is about socializing. I'm hoping I don't have to go from level 1-cap with never partying or talking to other players. I HATE the single player feel of every other MMO I've been playing. What's the social feel like in Rift?

[intrinsc]

I'm taking a break from that one game, and got a 30 day membership to Rift. I've never played this game, going in completely blind, and I'm hoping to love this game more than the others so that I can have a new permanent MMO to enjoy investing all my free time on.

The class system really confuses me though...I want to be some kind of melee damage dealer that does well in PvP battlegrounds. So many choices it seems and I don't want to ruin my build and lose interest in the game. Am I able to change my type of character at any point in the game? If I'm a melee type and at level 35 realize I should have chose a mage type instead, am I able to reset my build completely and become a mage? Or am I forced to make a new character and start at level 1? If you are able to change your class at any time, is there any point in making alts?

My last question is about socializing. I'm hoping I don't have to go from level 1-cap with never partying or talking to other players. I HATE the single player feel of every other MMO I've been playing. What's the social feel like in Rift?

First question: You choose one of four callings. Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Cleric. Each calling has it's own souls which determine what you do(DPS, Heal, Tank, Support). From what you want to do, I'd say roll a Rogue. Rogue has good melee specs, ranged specs, tank specs, and support specs. It has a bit of everything. Yes, if you wanted a mage, being a different calling, you'd have to start a new character. You can have up to 6 difference combinations of the souls on you at all times, so switching between melee, ranged, tank, support is really simple as long as you are not in combat.

Second question: I think social is very good in Rift in thanks to group activities that are dynamic such as Rifts that appear randomly in the world, zone events that are random and many people participate in, and the hub cities which are bustling with activity and their chats have people looking for stuff to do at all times of the day.

Best of luck, and I hope you love rift, too.

[Synergis]

What he said. Good Luck.

dont roll a cleric

[Jonus]

To further elaborate on the above posts; there are four callings - Mage, Warrior, Rogue, Cleric. They have a variety of souls you can mix and match. You can have 6 different builds at any one time.
If you think you've made a mistake on putting points in a certain soul's skilltree, or want to change things up, you can visit your trainer and for a relatively low in-game currency fee they'll be able to reset your skillpoints so you can mix souls/skillpoints up again. It is highly customisable that way so you don't need to worry about doing something 'wrong' and then having to restart.

In Rift, besides restarting with a different calling (between Mage, Warrior, Rogue or Cleric), there will never be another reason why you would need to 'restart' (unless you want to change your character's facial appearance, race, faction or hairstyle).

As for social - it is best to find a social guild to join. The lower-levels are certainly more sparse than level 50 where almost everyone is. You'll meet new players and alts on lower-levels, but not as much as at Level 50 for obvious reasons. However, the upcoming Mentoring and new low-level Instant Adventures should help somewhat to bolster lower level play.
However, as with almost all MMOs, you'll definitely want to seek out a social guild.