Rift: Pets

In Rift pets seem to come in two flavors: summoned pets for certain classes (beastmasters, druids, elementalists, necromancers, rangers, and warlocks) that have combat skills (hese pets level up to 8 and can be trained further) and companion (or vanity or mini) pets that just follow your character around which can be purchased from the faction reputation vendors.
http://rift.ign.com/wiki/Pets

A player's list of various pets and where to get them.
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?138521-Vanity-Pet-and-Mount-Guide

Here is a list of companion pets. They can be killed but summoned back from the dead. Note there are also pets exclusive to various chain stores that sold the game. Walmart had the Shambler Hatchling, D2D had the Corpus Kitty, and Gamestop had the Bogling Wastrel.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Companion

Photos of various critters and information about where to find these vanity companion pets.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Mini-pet

Here's Trion's own vanity pet and mount guide.
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?138521-Vanity-Pet-and-Mount-Guide

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Rift: Parties, Raids and Public Groups

Rift is full of various types of groups you may create or join.  Parties are groups of 5 players or less created to go through dungeons or PvP encounters together.  (See page 32 of online manual below.)

Public groups are rift or invasion fights that you can join.   (See below, page 33.)  If you are a party or raid leader, you can make your party a public group.  (Also page 33.)   It looks like public groups are also sometimes called public parties but I am not 100% sure these are identical things.

A raid is larger than a party.  It consists of 6-20 players.  You can't create or join a raid until you are Level 10.  You can turn your party into a raid.  To see how to create and manage raids, look at page 22 of the online manual.
http://www.riftgame.com/en/docs/RIFT_Manual_EN.pdf

Here is further information about raids.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Raid

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Rift World Event Source Stones

The source stones that you get from the world event can be turned in to a "world event vendor" in the capital cities for loot.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Re7CodJKDgUJ:rift.zam.com/forum.html%3Fforum%3D222%26mid%3D1300907977210751507%26howmany%3D50+rift+world+event+vendor&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari&source=www.google.com

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Rift: Mobile Authenticator Released for Droid Phones

Rift has just announced a mobile authenticator has been released for those with Android phones.  An iPhone authenticator is in the works.
http://rift.zam.com/story.html?story=25808

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Rift: Patch 1.1 River of Souls World Wide Event

Here's a trailer featuring the star of the event (Can you say "Dominatrix"?) and a link to a podcast focusing on the world event with a Rift employee from the Dungeon and Raid team. Basically the podcast talks about the new raid dungeon River of Souls. There are four main bosses and three mini-bosses (Dark Foci) plus mobs with a higher drop rate than usual. Non-linear and open so you can fight in any order but have to kill every boss to access the final fight with the Dominatrix Alsbeth. Same focus and difficulty (but a bit trickier) as Greenscale although you don't have to have done Greenscale to enter River of Souls.
http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/29/skinny-dipping-in-rifts-river-of-souls/

There's no time released for when this will happen today but the Solo MMO Player is betting around noon Eastern Daylight Saving Time. Here are the items I have collected and published here before.

Trion is planning their first Rift world event for March 30th. Here are some details. It looks like it will last a week, so get ready.

http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/24/rift-erupts-in-worldwide-dynamic-conflict-march-30/

The name of the new raid zone is River of Souls. Apparently unique loot will drop during this "worldwide dynamic conflict." The happening (Patch 1.1) is in alpha now.

http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/24/river-of-souls-world-event-preview-from-the-alpha-server/

Straight from the alpha, here is what Patch 1.1 will change/fix.

http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/23/alpha-1-1-patch-notes/

UPDATE:  Zam has a guide to the River of Souls.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/River_of_Souls_(Rift_Event)

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Rift: Achievements and Titles

Zam's database has a list of all the achievements available to Rift players.  Choose Achievements and then use the drop down menu to pick the type of achievement you want to see.
http://rift.zam.com/

I also found a list of achievement titles that claims to be complete.  This list is divided up into Guardian only, Defiant only, Neutral, and Profession titles.  "Press C to get to your Character screen, then press the tab for 'Titles'. You can then choose from your current list of titles. Choose one and then click 'use title.'"
http://www.progamercity.net/rift-guides/1256-guide-rift-complete-titles-list.html

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Rifts: Bags

Bags in Rift come in various sizes, with the largest bag having 22 slots (unless you bought your game via Steam and got a copy of the 24 slot Collector's Satchel).  Here's the best source of information about which bags hold how much, sorted as to whether they are drops, craftable, whether there is a recipe for making it, etc.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Bag

Each profession has four skill levels--Novice (1-75?), Skilled (75-150?), Expert (150-225?), and Master (225-300?).
http://www.riftlevelingguide.com/game/professions/gathering/

Levels at which you can craft bags (from the forums--note I've not been able to confirm this information):

"Silken Bag is trained at level 180, and is 14 slots. Spellspun Bag is trained at Outfitter level 280, and is 18 slots. The pattern for Witchweave Bags can be bought from the Outfitter recipe vendor for 318 Artisan Marks, which should take about a week, possibly less, to get, and requires Outfitter 265. And finally there's Spiritweave Bags, epic quality 22-slot bags. The pattern is bought for 4 Outfitter Plaques, which I'm guessing are rewarded for Master rank daily profession quests."

http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-70638.html?s=a21996d169ec5bd63429d657746ff25c

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Rift Interactive Map (Download)

This site claims to have an interactive Rift map that can be downloaded.  I have no idea how good the map is, but here is the link for those who want to explore it.
http://www.mmowned.com/forums/other-mmos/rift/322316-rift-interactive-map.html

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Rift: Foraging Guide UPDATED

A guide to foraging with maps to help you find resources.
http://www.riftbro.com/rift-foraging-guide/

UPDATE:  Maps with mining and foraging locations.
http://rift.incgamers.com/scarlet-gorge-gathering-maps/

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Rift: Book Collectors' Map (Guardian Zone)

Help finding all the books in the Guardian starting zone.
http://rift.incgamers.com/guides/Guardian_start_zone_hidden_books

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Rift: Dyes

Rift Inc Gamers has posted a guide to dyes and dyeing on their website.  The guide tells you where to buy dyes, explains the three types of dye and has a picture chart that shows the outcome when you dye with various colors.  They also tell you where to find dye remover, just in case.
http://rift.incgamers.com/guides/Dyes

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Rift: Guides to the Crafting and Gathering Professions

There are two types of professions in Rift:  crafting professions and gathering professions.  Here is a general guide to them all with help leveling the professions.  First up, gathering (butchery, foraging and mining).
http://www.riftlevelingguide.com/game/professions/gathering/

Now the crafting guide (apothecary, armorsmithing, artificing, outfitting, runecrafting, and weaponsmithing.
http://www.riftlevelingguide.com/game/professions/crafting/

UPDATE:  Rift Crafter has a website that will cover all the crafts.  It's just now getting started so there's not a lot there yet but the home page talks about the fixes Patch 1.1 will bring to the game.
http://www.riftcrafter.com/tradeskills/

If you want more details about the various crafting and gathering professions, check this series of articles out.  Note part three goes over the dailies, the UI, etc.
http://highplanesrifter.com/2011/02/the-beginners-guide-to-crafting-in-rift-part-1-gathering-professions/

http://highplanesrifter.com/2011/02/the-beginners-guide-to-crafting-in-rift-part-2-crafting-professions/

http://highplanesrifter.com/2011/02/the-beginners-guide-to-crafting-in-rift-part-3-making-it-happen/

From the Favorite Links, don't forget what Telarapedia says about professions (including the highly important chart that shows which gathering and crafting professions compliment each other).
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Profession

Here are some foraging and mining maps to help you locate items.
http://rift.incgamers.com/foraging-and-mining-maps/

http://rift.incgamers.com/scarlet-gorge-gathering-maps/

The Solo MMO Player has hit the wall leveling in two foraging professions. We read in the forums to head to another zone looking for non-gray items and he discovered that buying some items to craft in combination with his foraged items broke the log jam and enabled him to level a bit higher.  If you are stuck leveling a profession, try doing either or both of these things.
http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-98895.html?s=25b09da632721b48ed9e906567ba7c8b

UPDATE:  I've found three guides (foraging, butchering and mining) that list some items that go gray at various levels.  This may be helpful with the wall crafters and gathers are hitting.
http://www.riftbro.com/rift-foraging-guide/

http://www.riftbro.com/rift-butchering-guide/

http://www.riftbro.com/rift-mining-guide/

The Solo MMO Player has discovered that the controls are inconsistent across characters.  If you push the left button and get the "you aren't trained to use a loom" type message, try the right button.

Crafting Station locations, etc.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Crafting_Stations_%28Rift%29

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Rift: Circle March 30 on Your Calendar

Trion is planning their first Rift world event for March 30th.  Here are some details.  It looks like it will last a week, so get ready.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/24/rift-erupts-in-worldwide-dynamic-conflict-march-30/

The name of the event is River of Souls.  Apparently unique loot will drop during this "worldwide dynamic conflict."  The happening (Patch 1.1) is in alpha now.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/24/river-of-souls-world-event-preview-from-the-alpha-server/

Straight from the alpha, here is what Patch 1.1 will change/fix.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/23/alpha-1-1-patch-notes/

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Rift: The Apothecary (Crafting Professions)

Learn to be an apothecary using Rift Junkies' guide.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/21/mixing-it-up-an-introduction-to-apothecary/

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Rift: Mounts UPDATED

Basic mount information.
http://thisisnotarift.blogspot.com/2011/02/short-post-about-mounts.html

Maps showing where mount vendors are located.
http://thisisnotarift.blogspot.com/2011/02/short-post-about-mounts.html

An explanation of mount speed, mount types (with photos), and the fact that there are no flying mounts
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Mount

Here is a list of the available mounts and where to find their vendors.
http://rift.ign.com/wiki/Mounts

A video showing buying and summoning your mount.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d8YW5LYb5E&feature=related

UPDATE:  Here's the story about the Guardian mount (the lion-like mount with horns and a split tail) that you see some Defiant riding. Short version:  a hotfix on March 25 means Defiant players can no longer take advantage of a quest that makes them look like Guardians to buy a Guardian mount.  By the way, The Solo MMO Player has heard that those Defiant who managed to snare a Guardian mount before this loophole was plugged had it disappear and their money was refunded.
http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-133663.html?s=ac848f71ea6a370c3209a8f27ae9367c

Here is Trion's own mount and vanity pet guide.
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?138521-Vanity-Pet-and-Mount-Guide

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Rift: Loot and Understanding the Leaderboard

Rift hands out the goodies after a rift is closed according to how much players participated in the closing.  Here is how the system works (with a note by the author that this is a work in progress).
http://thisisnotarift.blogspot.com/2011/02/understanding-leader-boards-in-rifts.html

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Rift: Combat Parsing

This Is Not A Rift has a wonderful two part explanation of combat parsing and how to use it on their site.
http://thisisnotarift.blogspot.com/2011/02/combat-parsing-part-1.html

http://thisisnotarift.blogspot.com/2011/02/combat-parsing-part-2.html

By the way, Rift Junkies has a combat parser.  I've put it on the Favorite Links list on the right side of the page.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/combat-parser/

They also have a new discussion about using combat parsers on their site.  These are controversial because combat parsers are used to analyze raid performance.  Guilds can use this tool to exclude players who are inexperienced or who are a bit confused about their roles instead of educating members.  Rift players are eager not to have the game turn into WOW, in other words.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/25/ear-to-the-rift-to-parse-or-not-to-parse/#more-6367

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Rift: Tanking Guides

This is a general guide to how tanking works in Rift.  It talks about marking targets, single and multiple target rotations, consumables, race and character customization that helps tanking, etc.  There is even a paragraph on the difference between tanking rifts and tanking instances.  This is a good introduction to playing as a tank.
http://tanktelara.com/forums/blog/6/entry-7-tanking-101-meatshields-in-telara/

This article talks about Riftstalkers.
http://tanktelara.com/forums/blog/6/entry-8-riftstalker-101-planeshift-tanking-and-you/

Justicar tanking--
http://tanktelara.com/forums/blog/6/entry-6-justicar-tanking-mace-to-their-face/

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Rift: Healers' Guide UPDATED

A basic guide to healing as it plays out in Rift.
http://riftaholic.com/?p=29

Tank Telarea has a multi-part healers guide.

Part One (the basics, including types of healers available)
http://tanktelara.com/forums/blog/11/entry-15-healing-101-a-simple-healing-guide-to-rift-part-one/

Part Two (Raid Awareness)
http://tanktelara.com/forums/blog/11/entry-43-healing-101-episode-2-raid-awareness/

Part Three (UI and Keybindings)
http://tanktelara.com/forums/blog/6/entry-64-healing-101-episode-3-ui-layout-and-keybindings/

Three healing builds-
http://tanktelara.com/forums/topic/305-three-healing-builds/page__pid__2037#entry2037

UPDATE:  Rift Junkies talks about Clerics as healers.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/04/07/divine-retribution-a-cleric-healing-overview/

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Rift: Moonshade Highlands

Moonshade Highlands is a Guardian location and also a quest series.  There is also a Moonshade Highlands puzzle.  First up, a map.
http://rift.incgamers.com/guides/Moonshade_Highlands_map

Here is a video of how to find the Monshade Highlands puzzle location.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfmFdpwIAQ4

Here is information about the Moonshade Highland quest series.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Moonshade_Highlands_(Rift_Quest_Series)

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Rift Butchery (Crafting Professions)

One of the professions in Rift is butchery.  Here is everything you ever wanted to know about butchery, including maps that show locations of trainers.
http://rift.incgamers.com/guides/Butchery

Telarapedia has a list of dropped and trainable recipes for butchery.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Butchery

Zam's Rift wiki has a Defiant butchering guide as well as a list of butchery quests plus other information as above.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Butchering_%28Rift_Profession%29

Can't find heavy leather?  It sounds as if one needs to move to a new area and find higher level skinable mobs.
http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-53292.html?s=a21996d169ec5bd63429d657746ff25c

The online Rift Manual (page 39) says, "To gather, you must find a source.  Sources are marked on your Minimap when.you.have your Track Ability active, and they shine and sparkle when you’re close enough to see them.  Stand by the source and right-click on it.  After a few seconds, a Loot window opens, with one or more items to gather." The gathering skills include butchery, foraging and mining.
http://www.riftgame.com/en/docs/RIFT_Manual_EN.pdf

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Rift: Mage Builds UPDATED

Here is the Mage Build website that has a great many builds for various flavors of mages.
http://riftmagebuilds.com/

UPDATE:  Rift Junkies has started a multi-part mage discussion called The Magic Storm.  The second link is to the Necromancer.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/23/the-magic-storm-a-mage-calling-overview-part-1/

http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/04/04/the-magic-storm-the-necromancer/

Rift Role Builder has a build-your-mage page.
http://www.riftrolebuilder.com/builder/?calling=mage

UPDATE:  A very sophisticated discussion of the Mage Cholormancer with rotation and theory crafting information.
http://www.etherealshadows.com/rift_Chloromancer.php

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Rift: Choosing Souls

The Zam wiki has a page about soul collection with some information about soul quests and all the souls available for each calling.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Rift_101-_Soul_Collection_%28Rift%29

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Rift: Gear Lists (End Game)

Rift Junkies is starting to compile gear lists that show what you get where.  This is the one for Greenscales' Blight which is end game.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/19/raid-dungeon-gear-list/

This is the Tier 2 list for high level dungeons.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/19/tier-1-expert-dungeon-gear-list/

This is the Tier 2 list for expert level dungeons.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/19/tier-2-expert-dungeon-gear-list/

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Rift Security: Account Hacks

A Rift player discovered how to access accounts without any account information.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/19/rift-junkies-not-the-source-of-account-hacks/

Apparently this security hole has been patched by Trion.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/19/scott-hartsman-weekend-security-update/

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Rift: Soul Swapping Mechanics

After much searching, here's what I have found about switching out souls.   You have to be Level 13 before you can switch any of your currently equipped three souls.  You have to go to the class trainer to reset souls and this has a cost.  If there are zero points assigned to a soul, you can switch it at any time (unless you are in combat) but you must have quested for souls to have replacements.  In other words, you can't switch out your three souls with something else until you earn something else to switch the original(s) with.  Here is an article that shows the soul UI and explains how the soul and role system works.
http://rifterguide.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-do-souls-work.html

Check out what Troster says about 2/3 of the way down the page about how to get your souls once you have collected a shard from a rift fight.  "Once you have collected the shard, you can open your inventory and you will find the shard plus a 'net' to capture the soul. Right click on this and an enemy mob will appear. Kill him. No need to go to another rift to do this. You can do it anywhere. Then return to the quest giver to collect your new soul.*  There will be five NPCs offering soul quests dotted around your capital city. When you have completed a soul quest, you can go straight back and pick up the next one. I got all five souls inside a hour with my last character in beta.

In order to start swapping roles, you need to visit your trainer and purchase a new role for 30 gold.  Once you've done that, press N to open your soul tree and you will see you now have four new slots at the bottom centre of that screen. Your original soul tree is role one, and there will be another blank one called role two. You can rename these to something of your choice. You can now fill out role two with any mix of souls you have available. Having previously had zero points in one of your souls in the original role is irrelevant as you are starting from scratch other than you have however many points already accrued to spend as you like.

You can use some of the souls from your original build, or none. It's up to you. Once you have created your second build, press N to open your Abilities window and you will see a new tab there called Roles. This will have two icons. One for Role 1 and one for Role 2. These can be dragged to a skill bar allowing almost instantaneous switching between roles. You will need to setup all your user preferences, UI layout, skill bars etc again for the second role."an then http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?94509-Cannot-change-a-soul&highlight=soul+swapping

"If you want to change which souls you're using in your current spec you can also do that, by simply paying for a respec, then clicking on the square in the center of the soul tree and changing it out with another soul you have earned by the aforementioned questing/rift closing/running back and forth process."

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/riftplanesoftelara/show_msgs.php?pid=995594&topic_id=m-1-58385992

"To 'get rid' of a soul, got to your class trainer and respec your talent points to 0. Once a soul's talents points are at 0, you can click the soul itself on the soul trees screen (hit N), and change it to something else, providing you have earned more than three souls already."  (quoting Kahrn middle of page here)

http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-40528.html?s=a15147dbdc6a83bcc52f9d040311ab8d

The Zam Rift Wiki's Soul Collection page  talks about where to find your souls and gives help in choosing the right soul for each calling (Cleric, Mage, Rogue, Warrior).
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Rift_101-_Soul_Collection_%28Rift%29

Once you have all the souls locked and they are in your tree, how do you switch one out?   How do you switch souls, in other words?

"Simply click the soul Icon and a drop down menu will pop up allowing you to choose a new one. If you have points spent in the soul you'll only be able to 'preview' a soul. If you have 0 points spent it will replace the soul that was there."
http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-132606.html?s=77e36f6f5f43e1538330b6946c26d16b

*More about soul quests-"You will be given a quest item when you pick up the quest, you will then need to go to any kind of rift near your character's level and complete it. (make sure you aren't dead when it closes) You will have a high chance of obtaining a Plane Shard in your rift contribution loot. You now will need to use the quest item you were given originally to summon a hostile mob, it will be a white ghost with the same abilities as the quest you are on. Kill it and return to your quest giver. You will now have a brand new soul in your collection."
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Rift_101-_Soul_Collection_%28Rift%29

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Rift Security: Coin Lock

The Solo MMO Player has been on vacation and was surprised to discover the new "coin lock" procedure (implemented March 17) had him locked out of Rift.  Here's the best summary I found about how it works.
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?122396-Update-on-Hacked-Accounts

Note that some sort of authenticator system is in the works.

Apparently the new coin lock system had problems.
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?129952-Coin-Lock-is-there..wait..no-it-s-not

So Rift updated (March 19) the coin lock system they implemented in such a way that everyone has to use an email code to get into their account. More information about how it all works here:
http://rift.ign.com/articles/news/7486/Coin-Lock-Update

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Rift: Starter Zone Walk Throughs

IGN's Rift wiki has posted Defiant and Guardian starter zone walk-thrus for beginners.
http://rift.ign.com/articles/news/7443/Wiki-Spotlight-Beginners-Guide-Updated

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Rift: Warriors in All Their Glory UPDATED

Rift Junkies has posted part one of a three part article about warriors, including attributes and a suggested rotation for both offensive and defensive warriors.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/14/the-warrior-pulse-warrior-overview-part-1/

UPDATE:  Part two has been added.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/22/the-warriors-pulse-warrior-over-part-2-offense/#more-6147

UPDATE:  Part three is now available.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/04/06/the-warriors-pulse-overview-part-3-defense/

UPDATE:  The Beastmaster Warrior
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/04/19/the-warriors-pulse-declassified/

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Rift: Callings, Souls and Roles for Beginners

Raging Monkeys analyzes how callings, souls and roles work for those just starting out in Rift from a World of Warcraft perspective.
http://raging-monkeys.blogspot.com/2011/03/rift-souls-for-wow-brains.html

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Rift Lore

If you want to read summaries of the game lore, this is a good place to start.  The right hand column breaks down lore into various areas.
http://ashacatari.blogspot.com/

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Rift: Traveling Telara

Want some pretty pictures with your coffee this morning?  Visit Traveling Telara.
http://travelingtelara.com/

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Rift: Level 50 Ten and Twenty-five Man Raiding

The developers show off end game raiding for 10- and 25-mans.
http://horrifticintentions.com/component/content/article/1-blog/11-the-expendables-raid-rifts-and-mercenary-guilds-in-rift

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Rift: Currency (Source Shards, Source Stones, and Planerite)

ZAM's Rift wiki has a section devoted to the various currencies available in the game.  It lists all the available monies, the level (if any), faction and what type of money each is (dungeon, crafting, PvP, world event, etc.).
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Currency_%28Rift%29

Rift Junkies talks planar currency.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/02/01/planar-currency-and-item-rundown/

Source shards and source stones information, plus planerite information.
http://www.riftplanesoftelaraguide.net/rift-planarite-guide/

Otherworldly sourcestones (associated with the River of Souls Patch 1.1 world event)
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Grim_Harvest

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Rift: Guilds and Their Quests UPDATED AGAIN

Apparently there are quests just for guilds.  The guide to guilds on IGN's Rift Kingdom says you can see any guild quest on your guild info tab.  Guilds can work on one quest at a time and apparently receive guild perks for completing quests.
http://rift.ign.com/wiki/Guild_Guide

UPDATE #2:  I've found an article at Massively about how guilds work in Rift that has a section about guild quests.  This is an excellent overview about how guilds work in Rift from how to start a guide to how the various guild windows work in the UI.
http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/03/the-guild-counsel-a-guild-guide-to-rift/

UPDATE #3:  A brief explanation of guild quests from the forums.
http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=396067&TabID=3349438&ForumID=1903286&TopicID=9559584

UPDATE:  Zam is building a page about guilds and how they work on their wiki.  So far there's nothing on guild quests except how the UI works.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Guilds_%28Rift%29

(If you need information about your guild panel, look on page 19 of the online game manual.)
http://www.riftgame.com/en/docs/RIFT_Manual_EN.pdf

This forum posting done during one of the betas describes the points you get as rewards.
http://www.lore.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=387377&TabID=3266924&ForumID=1855694&TopicID=9460587

I've found a listing of several Guardian guild quests here but haven't been able to find any Defiant guild quest information to date.
http://rift.ign.com/wiki/Category:Guardian_Guild_Quests

I've also found a list of Rift guilds (organized by shards) with links to their websites, if any.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Category:Guilds

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Rift: Warrior Guide

Rift Watchers has published a warrior guide, complete with a compact description of all the souls available and a link to a recommended build.
http://www.riftwatchers.com/2011/02/20/warrior-guide/

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Rift: A Dungeon Finder in the Works

Love it or hate it, WOW's dungeon finder is coming to Rift.  It will be cross-shard (i.e., cross-server), too.  Since the Solo MMO Player occasionally finds it hard to get through fights because no one else is around despite the high population on his beta server, this probably is a positive sign.
http://www.riftwatchers.com/2011/02/15/a-dungeon-finder-is-coming-to-rift/

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Rift: Rogue Builds UPDATED

Rift Watchers has posted a Rogue Guide that describes the classes and souls available.  As always, check out the Comments for more insight into various rogue combos.
http://www.riftwatchers.com/2011/02/24/rogue-guide/

UPDATE:  Rift Junkies has published the first in their Jagged Blade overview of rogues.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/24/the-jagged-blade-a-rogue-calling-overview-part-1/

How Patch 1.1 will effect rogues.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/28/the-jagged-blade-whats-coming-up-in-patch-1-1/

UPDATE #2:  There is a website devoted to rogue builds (that includes some rotations/casting sequences).
http://riftroguebuilds.com/

UPDATE #3:  A series of YouTube videos about the rogue and various builds.  I haven't watched this so I don't know how good the videos are, but I've inclucded the link for the visually oriented.
http://wn.com/Rift__Rogue__Basic_Overview

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Rift Websites (not Wikis)

While looking for Rift blogs, I ran across several Rift websites that look interesting.  The first is HorRIFTic Intentions, which has its own Rift podcast, blog, videos, guides, patch notes, links to official Rift sites and wikis,  and articles about the game.  This is worth bookmarking to keep an eye on.  The second link is the HI blog as there doesn't seem to be a link on the main site to the blog.  I'll be exploring the large amount of content here as I have time and will mention the Good Stuff later.
http://horrifticintentions.com/

http://horrifticintentions.wordpress.com/

The second site is Rift Watchers.  This site also has guides and a podcast and a list of Rift blogs as well as interesting news articles (the number of servers at launch compared across MMOs, articles from Rift Junkies folks, the fact that a dungeon finder tool is planned, a discussion on the lost art of grouping, etc.).   I'll be bookmarking both and watching them carefully for nuggets of information that will help the Solo MMO Player and others with Rift.
http://www.riftwatchers.com/

UPDATE:  Inc Gamers has a nice Rift website, with great detailed maps, a soul builder, videos, a dev tracker, guides and a forum.
http://rift.incgamers.com/

UPDATE #2: Looks like RiftCore.com is also one to keep an eye on.
http://www.riftcore.com/

UPDATE #3:  Here's another with at least some theory crafting in some of the builds.
http://www.etherealshadows.com/

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Rift: Artifact Sets

The artifacts you pick up here and there can be turned into the Artifact Collector (in Meridan and Sanctum).  In return you get Lucky Coins that can be used to buy vanity pets and mounts, and achievements, and various caches.  The caches are random and include gold, potions, and epic weapons and gear.  They are also tiered according to the zone the artifacts were collected in.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Collector

http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Lucky_Coin

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Rift TV

TGN.tv has created a series of Rift videos about various aspects of play.  There are two pages of everything from general introductory videos and gameplay to character creation and dungeon guides located here.  It's worth a browse to see if there is anything of interest to you but remember that these were made from the various betas.  There may have been changes for the retail releases of the game.
http://tgn.tv/?s=rift

Here is a good introduction video on how to use the UI and maps, etc.
http://tgn.tv/▶-rift-guide-sanctum-city-maps-surprises-tgn-tv/

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Rift: Zones and Their Levels and Factions

Here is a list of major areas (zones) of the game, with the level range and the faction that controls the area.  This seems to be based on the beta so it may not be totally correct and some faction information is lacking. Note that cities and areas within the zones are listed later down on the page.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Zone

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Rift: Various Maps and How Map Coordinates Work

Overall map of Telara
http://game-maps.com/RIFT-The-World-of-Telara-Map.asp

This site has maps of Gloamwood Pines, Meridian and Sanctum.

http://rift.incgamers.com/guides/Category:City_maps

UPDATE:  Another overall map from Reckoner with the zones marked out.
http://a.imageshack.us/img23/6420/telaramap01.jpg

UPDATE:  Great complete maps of Gloamwood Pines, Meredian, and Sanctum, with less detailed maps of Freemarch, Gloamwood, Scarlet Gorge, and Silverwood available.
http://rift.incgamers.com/mapping-telara-scarlet-gorge/

UPDATE #2:  IncGamers continues to update their maps with all sorts of information.
http://rift.incgamers.com/zone-and-porticulum-map-updates/

Maps showing cairn locations.
http://forum.mmosite.com/topics/576/201103/01/69,1.html

Rift Junkies maps (NPC coordinates for large cities as well as mining and foraging guide maps)
http://forum.mmosite.com/topics/576/201102/15/49,1.html?time=1298966422

Various maps of cities, zones and Guardian/Defiant areas.
http://rift.incgamers.com/guides/Category:Maps

Fallen Sons PvP guild has a map of Sanctum and one of Silverwood on their website.  Sanctum's city map shows various vendor locations as well as where the map and auction house is located.
http://www.axiomfiles.com/Files/392306/Sanctum.png

The Silverwood area map shows where various vendors are located.
http://www.axiomfiles.com/Files/392306/Silverwood.jpg

Also search for "foraging" and "mining" and also for "maps" as there are links to maps with mining and foraging sites in those articles.

How map coordinates work in Rift.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Map_Coordinates_(Rift)

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Rift: From Installing to Starting Out

This is a real beginner's guide that helps you patch the game after installation, then learn how to move around in the game, loot, interact with merchants, etc.
http://rpg-exploiters.com/guides-strategies/rift-planes-of-telara-intro-guide/

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Rift: Cleric Builds UPDATED

Rift Watchers has posted a guide to the Cleric.  The various Souls are categorized as to whether they are a tank, a DPS character, etc. and there is a link to a recommended tree for each.
http://www.riftwatchers.com/2011/03/03/cleric-guide/

The Cleric Justicar is a DPS melee tank.  Here are builds.
http://rift.zam.com/en/buildlist.html?calling=Cleric&type=Melee+DPS&soul=Justicar

UPDATE:  Rift Junkies has posted the first part of The Divine Retribution, a guide to playing Clerics.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/25/the-divine-retribution-a-cleric-calling-overview-part-1/

Part Two covers offensive (DPS) Clerics.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/03/30/the-divine-retribution-part-2-offensive-soul-overview/

Rift Junkies talks healing Clerics.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/04/07/divine-retribution-a-cleric-healing-overview/

There is a website dedicated to Clerics now with plenty of discussion of various builds.
http://riftclerics.net/riftclerics/

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Rift: Planar Focus and Planar Essences UPDATED

Telarapedia defines Planar Focus as a piece of equipment characters wear that has sockets in which planar essences are inserted (second link).
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Planar_Focus

Here is how they work (3rd paragraph).
http://rift.ign.com/articles/previews/7047/The-Telara-Times-Issue-1/p6/c1/

Planar currency
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/02/01/planar-currency-and-item-rundown/

Looks like planar essences are usually rift rewards .  They come in "greater" or "lesser" varieties which correspond to certain sockets or slots on the Planar Focus equipment. Two greater planar essences of the same family can't be equipped at the same time.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Planar_essence

Currency isn't stored in your bags, it is stored in your Currency section of your Character window.   Read more about Planar Essences and Planar Focus in the online manual, pages 17 and 36.
http://www.riftgame.com/en/docs/RIFT_Manual_EN.pdf

Apparently you can buy Planar Essences and other items from Planar Goods Merchants located in Silverwood, Freemarch, Gloamwood, and Stonefield.  (They may be in other places.)  Sorry I don't have more precise location information.  This talks about other planar pieces ("planar" seems to mean items that come from rifts).
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/02/01/planar-currency-and-item-rundown/

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Rift: Finding Trainers for Abilities

Once you move beyond the starter levels where trainers are close to the quest givers, trainers get hard to find.  The online Rift manual says larger towns and encampments are where the trainers are located, but this involves wandering around.  Turning trainers on in the mini map doesn't seem to place trainer icons on the large map or help find them.

I've found two lists of ability trainer locations.  Unfortunately they are just for the Cleric (first link) and Mage, and don't look like they are complete.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Cleric_Ability_Trainer_%28Rift%29

http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Mage_Ability_Trainer_(Rift)

Telarapedia has a section for each Callings from which you can choose the Soul you are interested in, then scroll through the Soul to find the Abilities available for it.  The Abilities chart for each Soul (example:  Rogue Assassin, Rogue Nightblade, Warrior Paladin, etc.) explains what abilities are available for each and gives you information such as the cooldown, level you need to get this Ability, etc.  But there is not a trainer location list.
http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Calling

Maybe we just have to be patient?

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Rift Combat Parser (and Forum)

Rift Junkies has a downloadable combat parser.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/combat-parser/

Here's their forum about using this tool.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?20-Rift-Junkie-Parser-Meter

Look at Favorite Links on the right to find other combat parsers.  I'll post them there as I find them.

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Rift: Warfronts (with Maps and Videos)

This site has a Warfronts guide that lists the level a player must be to participate and outlines the objectives and basic strategies.  There are a few videos to aid those who prefer visual information.
http://www.kfguides.com/rift/warfrontsguide.php

Rift Junkies explains PvP and Warfronts, including videos and maps.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/01/12/an-explination-of-pvp-and-warfronts-maps-and-videos/

Black Garden Guide
http://horrifticintentions.com/guides/warfronts/436-war-front-guide-black-garden

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Rift Favorite Builds (Roles and Souls)

Rift Junkie Forums has a Soul Build Library.  Choose the role you are interested in and explore.
http://www.riftjunkies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?12-Soul-Build-Library

Zam's Rift Wiki has a list of builds with rankings that you can filter to help make choices.
http://rift.zam.com/en/buildlist.html?1

Bard Soul Guide
http://rift.zam.com/forum.html?forum=227&mid=129710965213023822&page=1

Cleric's Corner
http://rift.zam.com/forum.html?forum=227&mid=1295990797152255221&page=1

Cleric Inquisitor
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Inquisitor_(Rift_Class)

Cleric's Skill Rank Table
http://rift.zam.com/forum.html?forum=227&mid=1296894916162355253&page=1

Mage PvE Discussion
http://rift.zam.com/forum.html?forum=227&mid=1298089181209804292&page=1

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Rift: Class Build Help (Switching Roles and Souls)

There's a Soul Tree Calculator.  It's basic compared to what WOWHead has but you might find it useful.
http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html

A second calculator.
http://riftbase.com/calc.php

How to switch roles (cleric, mage, rogue, warrior)  and souls--especially see Kliknik's information about half way down this forum page and Fergie F Ferguson's posting right underneath.
http://forums.riftgame.com/archive/index.php/t-66601.html?s=a21996d169ec5bd63429d657746ff25c

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Rift: Finding Mailboxes

Mailbox locations can be found on your mini map.  "If you click the top icon on the left hand side of your mini map (it looks sorta like an eye) you will see a list of things that can be marked on the mini map - mailboxes are on that list."  Thanks, Dreyhana.
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?73378-Please-make-mailboxes-show-up-on-the-map

Here is a map showing Meridian's mailbox, among other things.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Navigating_Meridian_(Rift)

I'm going to start listing mailbox coordinates as the Solo MMO Player finds them.

Chancel of Labors (Iron Pine Peak) - hidden among boxes and covered in snow - 4549, 1489

Fortune's Shore (Shimmersand) - two mailboxes - 6497, 7020 and 6623, 7148

Scarwood Lift Base (Scarlet Gorge) - 4606, 4417

White Fall (Iron Pine Peak) - 3764, 1727

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