A wow-blogger complains that there is too much Rift-noise in the MMO-o'sphere.

I'm so happy to see that at some times things can suddenly get so different, even if it only is for a moment.

But don't worry, the wow-tide will grow again, and then wow-free zones will be again hard to find, like always.

I wonder how many posts it takes to turn a WoW Blog into a RIFT blog, or into an MMO blog. I must admit that playing RIFT has reignited my interest in MMOs and gaming in general, because I play so few games it's doing me good to lift my eyes beyond the immediate horizon.

I have no idea whether it'll be an extended vacation, or a permenent stat of dual-MMOs, or simply a gateway into a much larger world of MMO games. For me at least. I think RIFT is striking a cord because so many WoWers are perhaps really getting into their second main MMO for the first time in a way that previous games have never managed. This is the first time I'll play another MMO and have it really click, and as a result I'm finding announcements about GW2 and Secret World more interesting.

*wanders off to write more*

I will admit that I am currently pondering closing up my WoW blog and opening a Rift blog. I fell in love with the game, it clicked for me on many levels. Outside of raiding, I am not logging into WoW, simply because I have no idea how to fill the time anymore.

What I find fascinating, though I should say not in a good way, is that I do not remember the same level of antagonism towards the other MMO-competitors that Rift seems to inspire. A lot of bloggers and WoW twitter users are incredibly defensive and condescending towards Rift. Competition is a good thing, and I think there's enough room for two major mainstream MMOs out there.

"It appears to stick in a way that the others never did, although it remains to see if it's sticky enough to last into endgame. Or maybe people are just desperate to get away from WoW after playing it for six years straight and who can blame them for that?"

I think the previous "next big thing" MMOs lasted a month or two before people grew bored and went back to WoW. It hasn't been that long yet and I'm not entirely convinced that it won't go down the same route. Perhaps an extra month, but I don't think it will stick with the majority. It will certainly be a fun little interlude while it lasts though. I think, realistically, they just timed their release very well. A lot of people I know grew bored around the same time, finding that Cataclysm wasn't enough to renew their interest in WoW, so for the time being, Rift's there.

Personally I'm more interested in Guild Wars 2, and semi-interested in Secret World too (though, hmm.. not sure yet), so even if I'm still playing Rift in several months time, will be quitting for Guild Wars 2. It's just something to do in the meantime. New things to collect, places to explore, stories to play through, characters to enjoy, people to play with and talk to.

I am curious, however, to see how many eventual ex-Rifters will go back to WoW, and how many won't. That's how you work out who's playing the game because they think it's better than WoW, and who's playing because they're tired of WoW.

*plops down in the "comfy" chair and orders a round of Uncle Bonechomper's Day Old*

I'd say Rift done be one of three factors what caused me guild ta implode this week. Is temptings ta be bitter and resentful about the new shiny, but, well, buggers gotta be free ta find they's funs. Mebbe they'll stay in Rift-land, mebbe they'll come back ta Azeroth, mebbe they'll end up somewhere else. Me, I still got stories ta live, wimmenz ta meet, things ta hit, so I's gonna be stickin' around fer some time yet.

Goin' on vacation next week ta the mountains, where I will be not-skiing while others do. Checkin' out Blue Lacuna sounds sumthin' worth checkin' out while I's doin' that sounds like it could be interestings. Thankee fer the link.

I'm no WoW fanboi but I do still love the game. Frankly, while I have not personally experienced Rift, I'm tired of heaing about it. I wish all those who continue posting on the forums who have left for Rift would do exactly that, LEAVE. Rift can be a great game, people can love it and want to play it and only it, I don't care one way or another. But stop bombarding me with the noise of it, ya know? Thanks for continuing to blog, I really enjoy reading your opinions.

"It seems as if I'm the only one left in the blogosphere who hasn't jumped onto the Rift wagon"

*cough*
Then again, those of us who post so infrequently don't count ;)
If you ask me, I think Rift is a temporary thing. I played the Beta, and it did not stick with me.

Star wars: ToR, however... :D

Hmm..
You ain't the only WoW Blogger left. Hell, I just started my WoW Blog! Umm anyhow, I've said it before, MMO's come and go. They will retain niche crowds looking for something specific. But when the patches aren't fast enough, or the content get's stale with nothing new, people return to what they know and love. I took a year break from WoW and came back happier than ever to see the world change and having fun ever since.

Anyways, I'll still be round for WoW. I've made very close friends who still play, it's been a way for my wife, her son, and I to do something we all three enjoy together. Soooo...here's to those who still enjoy! Have a great day!

I, too, have resisted the lure of Rift for much the same reasoning. Why leave WoW for another fantasy game that is fairly similar.

Of course, my bigger reason is that I don't want to get involved in it because the only other MMO I have eagerly looked forward to (The Old Republic) will hopefully land at some point this year.

In regards to the Blizzard Restrospective film, did you notice that in the last 10 minutes they were practically talking to Trion, dropping subtle hints that although they appreciate the effort, the heads at Blizzard are not at all too concerned with competition from games like Rift and they consider their position in the MMO market unassailable.

They were effectively telling Trion: "You can't trump us lol, noone can, but anyone is welcome to try."

I have played the Beta for a few days and I honestly believe that a considerable number of people will turn their backs on it after 2 months of subscription at most. WoW is just so much more polished and well-oiled, as Totalbiscuit puts it (latest Blueplz):

"...For You know that it's a good game. For all of it's faults, for all the nonsense that went on within World of Warcraft and all the bad changes that have happened over the past 6 years, you know that overall, for all that's happened, WoW is still the best MMO on the market."

For Blizzard, competition only strengthens them, and the next big MMO aka. WoW-killer will be their own MMO which will in fact be a WoW successor, not a "killer".

You are not alone, but like someone else said, a lot of us are not blogging as often as we had been in the past.

I too have seen a lot of people talking about Rift, and I will admit there are some interesting things that they are introducing like the whole rift concept. At the end of the day though I do not feel there is enough "brand new shiny mechanics" that makes me want to abandon Azeroth.

That being said, I think having a game that forces the gaming community and Blizzard (via lost subscriptions and the endless "Goodbye WoW" posts that they have to scrub daily from their forums) to pay attention. In the end, I think that, if Rift can maintain its hold on people, then this will be a good thing because it will make Blizzard (and any other MMORPGs) to start really focusing on quality and what the player base really wants.

One major turn off to me has been the attitude of many people who are now playing Rift and that could ultimately lead to Rift not getting enough of a subscription base to allow it to keep pace with WoW in terms of updating content and having the funds to reinvest into the game. If the player base eventually calms down and begins to become a community rather than a mob of angry villagers, then Rift will definitely be a good thing for those who play and those who do not.

Someone in my guild noted yesterday that apparently already Rift numbers have seemed to peak and may be starting to decline. The only raid impact on my guild is our healing shaman has pretty much abandoned us for Rift. We were already tight on healing, so it hurts, but one of our hunters with a resto druid alt has stepped up to change mains and a young paladin is gearing and trying to improve, so we'll keep plowing on.

Thank you, Larisa, for the sparkles. I need them right now as our guild fades away and we don't quite know what to do about it. The sparkles were a lovely way to begin my day :)

Rift hasn't interested me at all, still wildly into WoW! I think having a great raid group does a lot. I am vaguely interested in playing a bit more LOTRO online but it's just a vague itch, nothing real. And when Star Wars comes around we'll try it, but WoW is just so fun and comfortable for me it's hard to imagine anything else replacing it.

I think I've been guilty of mentioning RIFT on my blog once, but rest assured, it may have been the last time. I got it mainly for my kids to play anyway, and while I dabble, I still enjoy my Azerothian adventures. The main reason is the music. I get the feeling that the music I hear in RIFT I've heard somehwere else, maybe in an early Civilization or some other game.

But whatever people may say about the gameplay of WoW, it still separates itself in my mind with the amazing, original, and unique music that permeates each and every zone of the land I enjoy strolling into every day.

/Raise my glass to the composers that continue to help make Azeroth sparkle for me.

You aren't all alone on this, but I'm very happy to find another Rift-free zone. I've never played the game (and never will), but I already feel like I know everything there is to know about it from the amount of posts I've skimmed through on the subject. Between WoW blogs talking Rift and the horrendous Rift Twitter feed that will one day drive me to murder, I've really had enough of Rift.

I told myself long ago that I would never play another MMO. Not because I'm a WoW fangirl, but as you said, MMOs are time consuming. In addition to that, playing with others, joining guilds, making friends results in a sense of responsibility towards those people, especially if you're a raider. Having to be accountable in a video game boggles my mind sometimes. When my WoW time ends I'll be sticking to single player games.

I'm another voice who's still talking about WoW. :) OMK is another Rift-free zone. Not because I have anything against the game but just because it failed to capture my attention. Well, actually the twitter-achievement-spam is probably the most annoying feature any MMO has ever had, but that's nothing against the game itself.

I think I already have my two MMOs, and I don't have time for more, so until I'm ready to drop one, here I am! :)

Here's my problem with Rift: $50.00 down and $15.00 per month. No way am I going to pay for two subscription-based games. Money is tight!

For now, nothing compares to World of Warcraft. I've been playing for six years, and I still love this game. Cataclysm is *outstanding* in my opinion. I don't see any MMORPG in development that looks like it will hold a candle to WoW in quality, depth of lore, or just plain fun. So, I'll probably be playing in Azeroth for many years to come.

(By the way, yes, I've become burned out playing WoW once or twice in the past six years. It's my own fault though: I played too much. Moderation is the key!)

I played the open Beta of Rift. I have to say, it did look nice, it was fun, but in the end I prefer WoW, it's just so much nicer in my eyes. I do not raid or aim for great achievements and WoW just has that X factor for me.
WoW will still change to same degree aswell with patches coming and going.
But for me the idea of paying for two monthly subscriptions is ridiculous and I'm not leaving WoW, so no Rift for me...

I suspect the primary attraction of Rift is that it was designed with WoW players in mind, but with one specific difference: Rift is not for beginners. The amount of choices you can make while leveling a toon are so vast that it will overwhelm the noob. In that respect, WoW does a better job of helping beginners get playing.

Another reason why some players I know seriously considered Rift is that they wanted to escape the jerks in WoW-space. I'm not convinced that the jerks won't follow the crowd onto Rift servers, but you never know.

That said, I don't think that the "shiny" will detract from WoW right now. I've taken my time leveling my toons, and I'm enjoying the ride. Give the Rift hubbub a month or two to level off, and relax. I hear that Thunderbrew Ale is 220 proof, after all...

I've not tried Rift, and while it looks nice and all - I don't see myself playing another time-consuming game.

I always sort of think that if I stop playing WoW I will give the whole MMO thing a break for some time. Do more other things. Maybe write more again :)

In the meanwhile; I'll continue playing WoW while it interests me and if I want to play something else I have my PS3 and Dragon Age ;)

A few of our vrew have tried rift and liked it. However for me I dont really want to trade one fantasy MMORPG for another.
I have already told the guild that I am a Star Wars/ Bioware fan boy so when The Old Republic thats when I am likely to bid Azeroth farewell

Zetter

For my taste you are indeed a bit too much fan-girlish in this post. What about the people who had the dream to make a successful MMORPG although WoW was already on the market? Just because they don't have the money and time to make a movie of themselves, but still have to work hard .. well, you get my point.

Also, I wouldn't just listen to rumors and second-hand talk. Make the minor investment, test Rift for a while. Even more so than WoW, Rift is made for casuals during leveling. It's a fun distraction and more importantly, you can learn something about MMORPG game design. Always good to have for a MMORPG-blogger.

@Nils: Actually you have a point. I should have included the Rift team in my toast of the week. Even if I don't play their game, they deserve my respect. Fixed.

However, minor investment or not, I really can't be be bothered at the moment to play something that apparently is so similar to WoW. If I want to broaden my horizon as a gamer, I think I would do better start in a different corner of this world. My dabbling into IF is one new perspective. And I think I should try out some single-player RPGs. Any suggestions?

I'm really glad to hear you are having fun with Blue Lacuna, and it does sound very cool.

I don't feel remotely bad about having fun with Rift. I played WoW while it was fun for me and now I'm taking a break and doing other things. And even Rift gets to take a back seat now my copy of Dragon Age 2 just arrived.

I find both personally and as a blogger, it's really important to play games that remind you why you love playing games in the first place, whether it be for a break of a month or two, or even longer. I love reading blogs written by gamers who are really into their games because that also reminds me why I love gaming. And I would say much respect to the Trion team for making a fun game that is reminding a lot of MMO gamers of things they love about the genre. Obv you don't have to read blogs that don't interest you though :)

My suggestion for single player RPGs are Dragon Age Origins or The Witcher -- they're both great games and you should be able to pick them up fairly cheap via Steam sale or whatever.

Just think how sparkly you pink pigtails would be with high-rez textures!

Rift is a great WoW-along. I feel perfectly fine logging into both at the sane time. (Well not at the SAME time but you know what I mean.)

With no new major content until 4.2 you can't really blame players for wanting a taste of something different.

If you have even given the smallest thought yo trying Rift just do it. At least give it the free month. It is definietly worth the price of admission.

I agree with the pre-poster; you can love WoW and still play other games, I think I am missing this here in the article - it sounds like there's a competition or a 'threat'. as a gamer, my opinion is that every game or MMO you try out makes your choices and opinions more informed - and as a blogger. that's really the worst that can happen to you, that you see new horizons and get fresh input and ANY game manages that, even bad games will give you something constructive back if you choose to see them that way.
and a little competition for Blizzard can only make WoW better too.

for me it's never been 'either or', I simply play what I like and Blizzard is just another company in the end, although the one that has managed to fascinate me the longest. they definitely deserve that toast. but the MMO world as a whole needs to go on and outgrow its predecessors, like it always has. and I'm not sure Blizzard will produce the next MMO hit.

many WoW players sound like they're in an exclusive 'love relationship' with the game; I don't consider such a gaming monoculture very healthy and certainly not very diverse. it doesn't bother me at all who enjoys which games or talks about what at the moment, I find it interesting. wow bashing annoys me just like rift bashing and frankly, I don't consider people who do this gamers anyway. gamers want one thing: good games. not petty 'x vs y' fights..

the reason that so many players are simply tired of WoW and guilds are dying, is certainly one big advantage to the Rift launch. it0s a fresh of breath air and successful at that. don't be afraid to have a look around sometime - if wow's your true love, it can only reinforce your passion for it. :)

Oh and you CAN play MMOs in a less time intense way and more like a classic RPG by the way. I'm enjoying that a lot at the moment and I'm not looking to play Rift the way I played WoW. :)
or like you said, you could look into classic rpgs if you're not up to pay more subs. if you're looking for PC games Larísa, why not give Dragon Age Origins a start sometime.

I think there's a PC version of the first Fable for PC as well - you might enjoy that besides the ones already mentioned.

It might feel like Rift is taking over the world right now, but I've also heard a lot of negative things about it so far. Everytime a new MMO is released, there's going to be the unspoken feeling that "OMG this is the ONE. WoW is on it's way out." But there hasn't been a real 'WoW Killer' to date, and I don't think Rift is going to change that.

We might lose a few players for a while, but they'll be back to WoW before they know it. I think we're still a few years away from the game that can legitimately give WoW a run for its money.

@Syl - i'm not so sure that's correct.
"Oh and you CAN play MMOs in a less time intense way and more like a classic RPG by the way. I'm enjoying that a lot at the moment and I'm not looking to play Rift the way I played WoW. :)
or like you said, you could look into classic rpgs if you're not up to pay more subs. if you're looking for PC games Larísa, why not give Dragon Age Origins a start sometime."

I treat a decent closed RPG to be just like a good book - I want to keep going until i've read it and have devoured the story. With that in mind, the first Dragon Age i spent most of the 80 hours game time in one or two weeks over the Christmas period. Really couldn't get enough of it. I can see Dragon Age 2 going the same way to be honest. I love a good story me!

As for Rift, it's good to have a change. WoW has had such a monopoly for not only the MMO genre but the blogosphere in general for the last few years that it's good to see people talking about something different. Yes it's pretty much the same game with a few novel ideas and new paint - but if you look at it that way, ALL MMORPGs are identical when you get down to the bare-bones of it. Things can be deconstructed too much after all.

No doubt i'll be just as bored with Rift as i am with WoW in the not too distant future.

@Grumpy
Oh yeah, story definitely plays a different roles in both; but then, I've actually taken a long time with DAO myself, I didn't race through it at all. and I think you can play MMOs in a more non-chalant and casual way too than the commitment most of us have had in WoW with our raid guild.
you can be an explorer and travel the world, take time to read quests etc. and Rift allows for spontaneous quick grouping easily where needed - without any strings attached. I was more speaking from the pov of time investment there really, since many wow players are scared to try other MMOs due to the time factor. endgame is of course a different matter again, but then not all MMOs are about endgame only.
but if you're looking for the same 'closure' you get from classic RPGs, then you won't get that, no.

@Tim: Oh, I don’t think it’s been that hard to find WoW-free zones before Rift, has it? At least I read a whole bunch of MMO blogs which rarely, if ever, write about WoW.
I’m not sure how much I was complaining. It’s more a matter of dealing with changes. Blogs I’ve followed have switched to a game I don’t play. It happens. The blogosphere, just like guilds, isn’t static. It changes constantly. Old ones leave, new ones arrive.

@Pewter: I don’t know either. But when the entire first page of a blog is only Rift oriented, like the latest 10 posts or so, my interest fades.

@Kadomi: I hope you don’t see my post as hostile against Rift players. It really isn’t. Just because I’m not particularly interested in Rift blogs (as little as I read pure EvE blogs) it doesn’t mean that those blogs don’t have a value. It’s just a different audience.

@Jaedia: I just think it feels a bit different this way. Perhaps people won’t stick as long to Rift as they did to WoW though. Since as I said: it seams to be quite similar to WoW. But maybe they’ll switch over to ToR as soon as it launches? It’s something to do in the meantime? Perhaps.

@Ratshag: This is obviously a late reply, but I assure everyone that your round was delivered instantly.
I’m sad to hear that your guild imploded. Things are a little bit messy in Azeroth these days I guess. But perhaps – hopefully – it will settle again. The ones who still love WoW will have to reorganize themselves a little, perhaps merging guilds, moving around a bit, and then we’re good to go again? At least I hope so. I hope you’re having a blast in the mountains!

@Sean: I think it probably will cool down after a while. They’ll stop focusing so much on looking back, talking to us who have decided to stay in Azeroth, and start focusing on their own game. Give us a couple of months and then we’re separated.

@Dwism: You’re barely a part of the blogosphere anymore, traitor. ;)
Ofc you count. Even though you don’t blog that much about WoW these days.

: Welcome to the WoW blogosphere! Nice to see that there still are new ones popping up now that the veterans are getting old and tired.

: A lot of people talking about how they look forward to that game. Perhaps I should inform myself a little about it. Even though I admittedly am reluctant to go into another MMO.

: I didn’t listen to it that way actually, but now that you say so… One thing that surprised me a little was how strong they emphasised towards the end that they wanted the new MMO to take every subscriber from WoW. No talking about playing both as they’ve hinted earlier.

@Ruhtra: Speaking of angry now-I’m-leaving-posts, they actually exist on the Rift forums as well. I popped by there by curiosity and was astonished to see the level of whining. Already.

@Kayeri: We’ve been struggling with our numbers for a while, but I’m not so sure it’s due to Rift. We have several players who play both atm.

@Imraith Dos Santos: Thank you! There are surely other sparkles as well. Just keep your eyes open. And share what you find!

: Good to hear I’m not the only one. I guess those who have fun in WoW should speak a little more about it.

@Gronthe: Cheers! It’s funny what you say about the music. It certainly has a lot of impact on the experience. I was so glad when I switched rig and finally could have it on. Previously I often played more or less in silence when grouped up in my efforts to keep lag down. It wasn’t as enjoyable at all.

@Jasyla: I think we’re pretty much on the same page, although I’m not 100 percent sure I’ll stay away from all MMOs after WoW. I’d think closely though.

@Rhii: One more reason for me to stay away from Twitter I see!

: yeah, one MMO sub isn’t a big deal to me but two… then it starts to hurt a bit.

@Yojamba: well, then you have given it a try, as opposed to me. Kudos to you I just go by rumours… ;)

: I can’t see any reason why the jerks wouldn’t follow. As I said in a previous comment, I had a glance at the Rift forums and it looked like the same pit of whiners…

@Saga: Yeah, that’s the way I think too. There’s more to life than just MMOing.

@Zetter: Well… to be honest I always preferred StarTrek to SW. The movie universe that will say. But who knows… do you think I could fancy TOR?

: I’ve never said you should feel bad about having fun in Rift. It’s just that I’m not particularly interested in reading fan posts about Rift, but that’s more my problem than anything else. I like to read posts about different games as long as there’s some diversity in it.
I’m thinking about Dragonage, although it got a rather horrible review in my morning paper today, putting me off a bit.

: Free month? As far as I know there isn’t any free-to-try thing with Rift?. I’ve read people complaining about it. In any case, the most expensive thing isn’t the cost – it’s the time investment.

I think Rift is filling a hole created by the makers of WoW over estimating the ability of the general player base.

Most players want quick and easy fun. The heroics, while fun and not really all that difficult for people that take the effort to do the mechanics of the fight, will be (already is) the downfall of WoW. Followed by the raids of course.

WoW will realize they need to dumb thing down and they will make WoW more user friendly again and all the people that left WoW for Rift might come back... if they do it fast enough.

I play Rift, I like Rift, I am not going to get invested in Rift like I am with WoW. Rift however will be the perfect get away from the horrible world WoW has become. The game is not friendly to people that do not run with guild only any more.

When you can not run a random without 5 or 6 wipes the game loses its fun. While I can run with guild with no problem I want to be able to run in a random as well.

Until that gets fixed WoW will continue to lose users. It is not Rift taking the users, it is WoW scaring them away. People will go back to solo flash games to pass the time, they will do anything, just to not be playing WoW.

Once WoW fixes the errors of this expansion some you will stop hearing about Rift.

@Syl: I think you’re reading more into the post than there is to be honest. Of course it’s OK if other bloggers prefer Rift to WoW! It’s just that since I’m not planning to play it, their blogs become less interesting reads to me. If they were godly talented writers like Tam, I’d read them anyway. But most of the “oooh-shiny” posts about Rift have left me uninterested, untouched.

It’s possible that others can play and enjoy MMOs in a very very casual moderate way. I don’t think I could. Too little of it and I could as well not play at all. But that boils down to your personality time and preferences. I think it would be easier for me to play a single player game in a casual mode.

@Onike: Yes, I’ve seen that many times before, but this time the stream of players jumping the shift feels stronger. Just check out the comments on the latest Tobold post. 90 percent seem to be playing Rift instead of WoW and not having any plans to go back.

@Grumpy Dorf: Hehe, yeah maybe I’m deluding myself when I think that single players won’t suck you in the same way. I can definitely get sucked into a really good book, forgetting about the world completely.

: Hm…. People leaving game since it’s too hard and not casual friendly enough? I’m not sure I agree with that. Even though the entry raids and 5-mans are a bit harder than Wrath, I don’t think the difference on the whole is that big. They’ve taken away a LOT of the old grindy timesinks etc from back in vanilla/TBC, making WoW into a game that you can play on a multitude of skill/dedication levels. I doubt that dumbing down WoW is the way to make sure people come back after their look into Rift. I think they’d need to put out way more content, content blowing your mind. New areas, new classes, races, instances, mechanics, whatnot… not entirely easy tbh.