With the launch of Rift right around the corner (Feb 24th head start), we are hearing and seeing more of the game. For some, the facade is cracking a bit. One of Rift's most touted feature is the soul system. Overall it's a neat way to do character building but I do have some issues with it.
Since each of the 4 classes are really just shells, which house 3 souls at any given time, they have no inherent mechanic. Instead, the mechanic is provided by the souls themselves. The Saboteur, for example, uses a Charge (Combo Point) system. You apply charges to an enemy, and then use a finisher to cash them in. There is a twist though, charges can have different effects. There is a DoT charge, damage charge, AoE damage charge and so on.
The thing is, nearly every soul uses a combo point/stacking system. I am going to use the term combo points for stacking abilities too. Let's say you wanted to have a Saboteur/Assassin, that is two different combo point systems you have to deal with. The Stormcaller is another example, they have a combo point system called Electrified while all Mages also have a Charge system. Clerics seem to be the exception, as the ones I looked at did not really have any mechanic.
I can understand why they did it this way, but it really makes the classes feel very similar to me. On the plus side, each soul has a good amount of abilities which do not use the combo point system. It seems doable if you want to use one soul as a primary and then the other two options just to cherry pick some abilities. Trying to manage different combo point systems in a fight sounds like a pain to me.
When Rift launches, I will probably stick to a single soul and just pick neat abilities from the others as I advance. Keeping it simple is a motto I try and live by. I will be interested to see how players are able to take advantage of all of the different combo point/stacking systems.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
15 hours ago
