Rift Vs. LOTRO

I was just kind of curious for those of you who have played both of these games which is the better one? Is Rift worth paying the $15 a month for when LOTRO is F2P? By the way, I am not some hardcore, guild joining, call in sick to work MMO guy. I play these games very casually and usually by myself for the most part.

Rift:

-Good Graphics

-Runs well

-$15/month

-WoW clone in every aspect except perhaps skill tree customization

-Predictable gameplay

-Very little innovation, definitely all been done before somewhere else.

-Stable

-New

-Decent player base for now

LOTRO:

-Decent graphics considering it's dated at this point

-Free-ish to play (You can definitely get a healthy taste of it without paying a cent)

-Rigid class system with some design/implementation flaws, but not so much that there's nothing interesting to do

-Popular, familiar lore setting

-Decent player base; a moderate increase lately due to the F2play movement

-Good cosmetic customization options

-Features added in recent expac were farely well done

-An extreme, emphasis on the extreme, grind fest: can be extremely difficult to level non-dps classes

-Hard to find a good, solid, intelligent guild

-Game is fairly stable and runs well on older machines

There are way to many annoying restrictions for me to cosider F2P LOTRO a good time. If you pay the sub fee then LOTRO is worth it though. Rift has pretty nice PvP though, alot better than the crap Monster Play in Lotro. Also rifts are fun.

There are way to many annoying restrictions for me to cosider F2P LOTRO a good time. If you pay the sub fee then LOTRO is worth it though. Rift has pretty nice PvP though, alot better than the crap Monster Play in Lotro. Also rifts are fun.

rzepak

Yes, I should have noted that PVP does not exist for all practical purposes in LOTRO. Then again, some people who play that actually take pride in that fact.

There are way to many annoying restrictions for me to cosider F2P LOTRO a good time.rzepak

[QUOTE="rzepak"]There are way to many annoying restrictions for me to cosider F2P LOTRO a good time.jedinat

With just $20 you have a mount, bag space, AH slots, all the quest packs, lifted daily quests cap?

Looks like Rift will be another one of those games which do well at launch but 6-12 months end most of the player base will of gone.Shadowhawk000

Frankly, this has probably been my biggest concern. With max characters left all over the online world everywhere, what will make this different?

How soon will it take place when seeing level 50 characters already, to be sitting around trying to ge that one last piece of armor or trophy from endless repeatable quests or raid scenarios.

Pre-pay months ahead and then see characters get raped and degraded (which is announced this will not be happening), experience says otherwise though in a year, or when a new tech team comes in.

So I am leary as can be, to jump into this at this point, myself.

I am fighting hard not to jump on the rift bandwagon like I did DCUO which after about 2 weeks I found very stale. I personally think StarWars The Old Republic will be the game that make alot of people jump away from WoW. Even if it winds up being a WoW clone like RIFT, it has one thing going for it that RIFT doesn't...IT STARWARS!!!

Yes. One of the many main reasons I didn't buy it. That, and the fact that you have a distinct sense of wowja vu when you play it. I didn't even have to guess what keys got me to my chracter, skill, quest log, etc. Because the developers were kind(?) enough to make them the exact same keys as the ones used in WoW.

Ultimately, in my opinion they made it too similiar. It's good to recognize the success of a game, formula, etc. but when it comes down to it, when you make such a carbon copy of something, you're really leaving yourself with 0 chance to compete with a game as heavily entrenched in its own success as WoW is.

To carve out a respectable and lasting piece of the market, a game company is going to have to take some intelligent but large risks with a game, AND they're going to make it work properly.

-Age of Conan failed because they released an unfinished and buggy mess of an innovative game. The gameplay, such as it was, was alright, but there were way too many holes in this ship for all but the most fanatical to abandon ship within the first month or two, and very few every went back.

-Rift will die off to yet another 'niche' MMO within a year or two for the reasons listed above.

-SW:ToR I predict will fail because it really has nothing you can't find somewhere else. They tout story telling, voice acting, etc. These things are all nice but in the end they will only get you so far, and that's not far enough in the MMO world. The classes are extremely contrived and represent a tired formula. A HUGE part of the game is centered around single player content, which is a strange formula for an MMO. And based on SWG's vital signs, I'd say that the focus of the lore will not save a game. I wish them luck.

I am fighting hard not to jump on the rift bandwagon like I did DCUO which after about 2 weeks I found very stale. I personally think StarWars The Old Republic will be the game that make alot of people jump away from WoW. Even if it winds up being a WoW clone like RIFT, it has one thing going for it that RIFT doesn't...IT STARWARS!!!

kungfuchaos

Already said it in my post, but since you beat me to it: I'm afraid your point is quite pointless. There's already a Star Wars MMO out there that conclusively proves that the focus of the Lore in the game will not save it, no matter how popular it is.

Oh, and the Star Trek MMO was an abysmal failure as well, another example of a mega popular lore failing to save an MMO.

Rift is great, don't listen to the WoW clone crap, it is not WoW.

[QUOTE="jedinat"]

[QUOTE="rzepak"]There are way to many annoying restrictions for me to cosider F2P LOTRO a good time.rzepak

With just $20 you have a mount, bag space, AH slots, all the quest packs, lifted daily quests cap?

Most of the more annoying limitations get permanently removed from any character you log into while subscribing... plus you get 500 TP for subbing for a month... You'll have more than enough to buy the firstquest pack which gets you to lvl 30, and by then you'll have enough for the next one... you can get pretty far on a 1 mo sub... and I'm sure a lot of ppl could get near endgame in a month, avoidign the need to buy most quest packs anyways...

Rift is great, don't listen to the WoW clone crap, it is not WoW.

vfibsux

Elaborate.

I like many I am sure am tired of wow this and that. Even the Rift forums have wow this and that comparisons.

This is the point to this thread, about Rift in comparison to lotro. Rift is great is pretty meaningless, at leastto me. Lets hear some details of what is great about it, and the direction it is heading to be great in a month, year etc.

Beingfrom the first 3d mmo and the evolution of gaming, it takes more than its good or great to peek my interests.

[QUOTE="vfibsux"]

Rift is great, don't listen to the WoW clone crap, it is not WoW.

poisonelf1

Elaborate.

I like many I am sure am tired of wow this and that. Even the Rift forums have wow this and that comparisons.

This is the point to this thread, about Rift in comparison to lotro. Rift is great is pretty meaningless, at leastto me. Lets hear some details of what is great about it, and the direction it is heading to be great in a month, year etc.

Beingfrom the first 3d mmo and the evolution of gaming, it takes more than its good or great to peek my interests.

Myself as well as tons of others have posted reviews, go see for yourself.

Rift is the best MMO on the market right now.

LOTRO is great, but it's dated. However, it does have MASSIVE LORE to back it up and, oh yea, it's based in Middle Earth.

Why not do both? Rift has cheaper monthly fees than most MMOs and LOTRO is Free 2 Play.

[QUOTE="poisonelf1"]

[QUOTE="vfibsux"]

Rift is great, don't listen to the WoW clone crap, it is not WoW.

vfibsux

Elaborate.

I like many I am sure am tired of wow this and that. Even the Rift forums have wow this and that comparisons.

This is the point to this thread, about Rift in comparison to lotro. Rift is great is pretty meaningless, at leastto me. Lets hear some details of what is great about it, and the direction it is heading to be great in a month, year etc.

Beingfrom the first 3d mmo and the evolution of gaming, it takes more than its good or great to peek my interests.

Myself as well as tons of others have posted reviews, go see for yourself.

Thanks for your link

I have actually read quite a lot of reviews, and getting a mix of views in general. Definitely,not getting a feel for end game, and anyone planning to be here much longer than a month. Probably a unknown for most at this point. The strongest reserve I have I guess, to add another maxed out character floating around the internet in a months time. Like others I am seeing inquiring, there are many views its very similar to other mmo's, but nothing about something to hold some one's interest for long.

Reviews can only hold so much weight, with many simply popping out its great and give it a 10, sure are not mentioning aggro when on mounts and other interface issues I have viewed etc. Not to say, these are game breakers on a new release, but the feel I get this is looking towards a short lived game versus its status down the road?

So who wants to "cowboy up" at state why they know they will be here in a years time? Because ya got the years reduced cost sub, don't count in influencing me, lol.

[QUOTE="vfibsux"]

[QUOTE="poisonelf1"]

Elaborate.

I like many I am sure am tired of wow this and that. Even the Rift forums have wow this and that comparisons.

This is the point to this thread, about Rift in comparison to lotro. Rift is great is pretty meaningless, at leastto me. Lets hear some details of what is great about it, and the direction it is heading to be great in a month, year etc.

Beingfrom the first 3d mmo and the evolution of gaming, it takes more than its good or great to peek my interests.

poisonelf1

Myself as well as tons of others have posted reviews, go see for yourself.

Thanks for your link

I have actually read quite a lot of reviews, and getting a mix of views in general. Definitely,not getting a feel for end game, and anyone planning to be here much longer than a month. Probably a unknown for most at this point. The strongest reserve I have I guess, to add another maxed out character floating around the internet in a months time. Like others I am seeing inquiring, there are many views its very similar to other mmo's, but nothing about something to hold some one's interest for long.

Reviews can only hold so much weight, with many simply popping out its great and give it a 10, sure are not mentioning aggro when on mounts and other interface issues I have viewed etc. Not to say, these are game breakers on a new release, but the feel I get this is looking towards a short lived game versus its status down the road?

So who wants to "cowboy up" at state why they know they will be here in a years time? Because ya got the years reduced cost sub, don't count in influencing me, lol.

Thanks for a reply, just might need a little more time under its belt for review of what will sway me one way or other.

Both games are better than WoW.

Rift is an excellent game and is really alot of fun.

But once the excitment from the Rifts and invasions died down a bit I find myself thinking about playing my Hunter on Lotro.

If your craving something new Rift is you're best choice as of right now it's a well polished MMO and lots of fun .

2 things I miss from Lotro when playing this is the heavy armor appearnce options and Skirmishes .

The quest in Rift are the same old same old but the invasions and rifts break you from it when one occurs everyone in the areaeveryone gets a message on the screen and everyone flocks to one area and a button appears on the screen "Join public group" for me these are the most exciting times of the game.

I'm kinda back and forth on decideding which is better so I'll just put it this way if you're still having fun with lotro stick with that. If you stand around playing your lute everytime you log in because you've been max level forever and a day now try out Rift.

I only pay $10 a month for Rift (Founder Pricing FTW) But Rift is vastly superior to LOTRO. And as you can tell I really like Lord of the Rings. I'm having so much fun rift right now, it should be illegal how much fun I'm having. ferrari2001

ditto lol

Rift is great, don't listen to the WoW clone crap, it is not WoW.

vfibsux

Yep. Certain aspects will be familiar to anyone who's played WoW, but that can be said about nearly any MMO out there.

As someone who's played WoW for a long time, RIFT seems really fresh to me. I, for one, will definitely be playing RIFT for a long time.

[QUOTE="vfibsux"]

Rift is great, don't listen to the WoW clone crap, it is not WoW.

Punch_Sideiron

Yep. Certain aspects will be familiar to anyone who's played WoW, but that can be said about nearly any MMO out there.

As someone who's played WoW for a long time, RIFT seems really fresh to me. I, for one, will definitely be playing RIFT for a long time.

calling Rift a WoW clone is like calling a Ferrari a Toyota clone because it has four tires and a steering wheel :P

lighten up folks, theyre members of the same genre, and genres have specific parameters to them that all games of respective genres share.

*cracks knuckles* All right, this topic is a little old but for some here who wanted a more in depth mini-sample of Rift, I have a pretty unbiased view of it as of now. Have had it for a few days and am currently lvl 22, so still early, take this into consideration. However I have experienced a lot the game has to offer.

Questing

Rift so far is quite literally the same old same old. Quests are COMPLETELY unimaginative. From level 1-22 I can not think of a single innovative quest, they ALL were based around "kill X" or "bring me Y". They may have had a little something added like... "Turn on this buff BEFORE you go kill X", but that is as innovative as the quests have gotten so far. Believe it or not I am leveling an alt, and the amount of BOREDOM leveling an alt while repeating quests that are ALREADY redundant to begin with is sickening.

Other

A lot of my problems with the game are very minute though. Sound effects in much of the game is weird, especially many melee sounds. It just...sounds so pathetic, little clinks and clanks while swinging these giant weapons is very uninspiring. MUCH of the gear up to this point is completely rehashed over and over..and over...and over......and ovvvveeeerrrrr graphically. Many spells do not even HAVE graphics for them, and again, MANY of them have the SAME graphics of other spells/classes skills.

Classes

Regarding the class system, they have a LOT, which is a good thing...if done right. So far as I've seen though, they didn't do it right. Being a healer I grabbed the 3 "Healer" souls (classes). I am doing Sentinel/Purifier/Warden. I am spending my talent pts into Sentinel/Purifier, and for those who don't know, you get skills for your class the farther you progress down the tree. With this in mind SO MANY OF THE SPELLS IN THE TREES ARE COPY/PASTE FROM THE OTHER CLASSES. The next 3 skills I will get in my purifier tree I already HAVE from my Sentinel spec. If you are going to have this many classes, make them diverse or just don't even try making this many. It is dumb. In WoW, healing as a Pally/Druid/Priest/Shaman is all different and fresh. Here from what I've seen, the classes have subtle differences, but getting the SAME spell twice is dumb. (Even the first buff I get from both trees is the exact same...srsly, it can't be that hard to come up with a different buff for a specific class can it?)

PvP

The PvP is fun but it is FILLED with "op" classes. And I believe the dev's have said they arn't focused on balancing it atall. So, if you really wanna shine in PvP. Play as a Saboteur or Warrior class. My lvl 18 alt is a Sab, if I crit on someone in a Warfront, they generally get 1-shot, regardless if they were even my level. Again, this is really dumb.

Instances

Ive done 2 dungeons and saw a video of the upcoming 3rd one. They are all pure tank and spank so far with no coordination in the slightest needed. The zones themselves were actually kind of cool, but killing the 50th mob in a row to fight a "tank n spank" boss is dumb. Actually, while saying this, I seem to faintly remember *slight* mechanics on some bosses, but they were sooo ridiculously easy that only the failest of the fail people would die from it. (last boss in Iron Tombs, does big kaboom, NPC 2 feet from you tells you to run into his circle to survive..and you have like 10 seconds to make it...is this even considered a "mechanic"?)

Rifts

Spose I can't leave without commenting on the Rift's. Prolly the only thing this game has done right, which is great considering it is called "Rift"! These break up the monotony of Questing and it is fun to be in giant groups of players destroying invading mobs. But truthfully, I only imagine this holding appeal for so long before turning into a "omfg...another invasion.. /wrist"

Overview

With ALL this QQ aside, I am actually enjoying the game right now. I believe it is because I really love MMO's and this is...a "little" new I suppose. I keep crossing my fingers hoping it will get better, and I am playing it with some RL friends which eases the pain. I don't think I could really recommend someone to be getting it unless you are like me and love MMO's but practically "beat" WoW and tired of it. However, WoW is still the top-dog of a quality MMO and Rift pales in comparison. Hard for me to fathom someone loving this while saying WoW sucks.

Also want to point out, this is a max level 50 in almost all blues/purple gear. I realize that there is cooler looking gear in this game. But there is NO excuse as to why he looks so pathetic in his current gear. A level 50 should look like one...not like I did when I was level 12.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I am fighting hard not to jump on the rift bandwagon like I did DCUO which after about 2 weeks I found very stale. I personally think StarWars The Old Republic will be the game that make alot of people jump away from WoW. Even if it winds up being a WoW clone like RIFT, it has one thing going for it that RIFT doesn't...IT STARWARS!!!

kungfuchaos

Dont do it. I did the same thing with DCUO. If you really want to play something like WoW (which is what Rift is, a wow clone), then go play WoW. WoW literally does all of it better...I am bored with WoW and havent touched cataclsym, but I honestlty had much more fun with WoW than my lvl 20 warrior/riftblade/paladin whatever he is.