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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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

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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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

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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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

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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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

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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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

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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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com