Jul 28, 2011

Exclusive guide to Rift’s brand new raid: Waves of Madness’ Hammerknell

RIFT

Who's big and gray and purple and about to eat Telarans? You are! That's right!

For the past few weeks, Rift players have been beating back the Waves of Madness with new daily quests, loot, and unique zone invasions. Now, as the event comes to a close, the doors of the ancient city of Hammerknell are opening, revealing the way to the most difficult raid instance yet. But with great responsibility, come great rewards. As huge fans of great rewards, we want to help you deck your character out in those new armor sets, so we put together this exclusive guide filled with info and strategies to help your give your group a heads-up on the bosses you'll be encountering, and how you can take 'em down with ease.

Part 1: Boss: Murdantix (8.5 million hitpoints)

Before you even get into the halls of Hammerknell proper, you’ll need to get past its guard dog. Murdantix blocks the stairway inside, eager to bite at the faces of the soft and squishy Telarans pouring through its doors. Scared? Don't be. Check out some of the exclusive details we have on this big, bad dog.

Abilities

Spirit Capture: When an attacker dies he grows more powerful.
Demonic Blast: A multiple-projectile attack with area-of-effect impacts.
Demonic Tar: A projectile attack that leaves long lasting damage zones on the ground.
Ferocious Pound: A large-radius knockback.
Mangling Crush: A ferocious attack that leaves the target with an armor debuff.
Summon Tormenters: Murdantix summons minions to fight with him.

Strategies

Make sure to keep ranged DPS and healers spread apart so they aren't destroyed by Demonic Blast, or else, well, they'll be destroyed by Demonic Blast.
Demonic Tar will aim for, and land on a player, but it should be easy to deal with as long as players are quick to move out of it. Hey. HEY! Are you Alt-tabbed or just blind? Come on, man! MOVE!
Ferocious Pound is unavoidable so be sure to have all players topped off before it hits. Though we're pretty sure you're going to try to jump anyway.
The longer the battle lasts, the more Mangled Crush will hurt you, so prepare to have at least two tanks switching between off-tanking duties.
The Tormentors should just be off-tanked and ignored if you have the healing to support it. You can clean them up when the big bad dog is dead.

Drops

Mace: Destroyer of Legends
Ring: Survivor's Hope
Ring: Drowned Diamond
1h Sword: Savage Beastcarver
Chain Boots: Treads of Stinking Tar
Chain Gloves: Salvation's Grip
Chain Helmet: Gore-Spattered Helm
Chain Belt: Gore-Drenched Waist
Cloth Shoulders: Mantle of Ravaged Souls
Leather Gloves: Cold Dead Handguards
Leather Waist: Barbed Tongue of the Beast
Plate Boots: Death's Advance
Plate Helmet: Slaughter-Forged Faceplate
Plate Shoulder: Reaper's Heavy Shoulders
Totem: Rune Vessel Remnant

Part 2: The Three Halls
When you first enter into Hammerknell, there are three sections that need to be cleared: the Halls of Knowledge, Shaping, and Command are all filled with enemies to fight and capped off with bosses to destroy. Here’s what you should expect to find.
Halls of Knowledge

Library of the Runemasters

Boss: Matron Zamira
Waiting in the middle of the large, circular room is Matron Zimera. She's described by the devs as being "pregnant with a brood of dark spirits", which is not only gross and kind of disturbing, but it tells us that the fight is probably going to be based heavily around waves of minions spawns that need to be controlled/contained while you take her down. The developers also mentioned that she has consumed the souls of many dwarves, though we feel like that might have less gameplay implications.

Mausoleum

Boss: Sicaron
Before Hammerknell fell, Sicaron was sealed away to ensure that he didn't escape. But like all attempts to protect oneself from corruption in these sorts of situations, the runebindings containing him fell and the demon of torment broke. Now he spends his time relaxing in the Catacombs, absorbing the corpses of fallen dwarves and growing larger and more powerful as their remains joined with his own. I guess we all need our hobbies.

Halls of Shaping

Mason's Corridor
Boss: Soulrender Zilas
It sounds like Soulrender Zilas is going to be one of those fun bosses that throws nonstop minions at the raid party. Why do we think that? Well, we know he's in the middle of releasing bound demons and building an army of Death inside Hammerknell to launch an invasion on the outside world. It’s probably safe to assume that when he's under attack, he's not going to ask them to sit on the sidelines while he takes you on solo. Also expect your souls to be rended. Painfully.

Boundless Quarry
Boss: Grugonim
Grugonim is a fatty. He didn’t even wait for the runebindings to break, he just broke them free himself and started killing dwarves and eating other demons. His non-stop buffet's got him so full of dark, demonic power he's about ready to burst. His hunger may be "insatiable," but we’re fairly confident that enough of your mage's fireballs is going to satiate it just fine.

Halls of Command

Throne of the Rune King
Boss: Rune King Molinar and Price Dollin
Determined to go down with the ship, the King of Hammerknell and his Crown Prince stayed when the doors were sealed shut. But instead of being devoured by the other bosses like good little dwarves, they were twisted and warped by the evil and have become the very demonic creatures they swore to protect their people from. How poetic. Kill them. We imagine a lot of the fight will revolve around requiring two tanks to position the two demonic buddies away from each other to keep them from aiding one another. Divide and conquer and all that.

Chamber of Runebinding Quarry
Boss: Estrode
Estrode is piiiiiiiiissed. At one point, the former rulers of Hammerknell bound her to the great wheel that opened and closed the lair's massive doors. But now that wheel's destroyed (and demons are running willy-nilly all over the place) she’s out for revenge, and who could blame her? Who wants to be bound to a wheel? That's gotta give you vertigo and totally screw up your back. Expect some crazy attacks from those spiky wings of her.

After clearing these three halls, a fourth will open up for you to explore. Go ahead and do that, we're sure it's not filled with more horrific monsters. Just kidding, it totally is.
Part 3:Halls of Ingenuity

Construct Foundry
Boss: Inquisitor Garau
Inquisitor Garau is the Robin to Jonaru's Batman. A technical mastermind, Garau has broken his way into the construct foundry of Hammerknell in order to steal the secrets of their runebinding technology. (And no doubt use it for some nefarius plot that ironically encases the inventors in their own trap.) We don't know for sure that he was successful in understanding the technology, but you have to believe he's going to be using this powerful tech on the players that attempt to kill him. Prepare to be runebound and controlled. Remember the golden rule on fights like this: break out your allies as soon as they're trapped. Especially if they're a healer!

After everything is dead, the last hall will open up to reveal the final boss(es).
Part 4: Halls of Commerce

Stoneborn Harbor
Boss: Jornaru
As you might expect from someone who's lifetime career has been as a bodyguard for a massive floating monster, Jonaru is powerful. The devs tell us that he “stands ready to receive the power of his master as Akylios is unleashed on Telara,” though we’re going to guess the raid parties entering Hammerknell are going to do their best to make sure that doesn’t happen. It's probably safe to expect some AoE swings from that weapon and a couple debilitating clamps from his massive claw hand, along with some magic granted by his master.

Boss: Akylios
Here he is, the reason you’ve been delving the devious dungeon for hours: Akylios the gross space octopus starfish of death. There aren’t many situations where we can legitimately say that a raid boss’ main strengths are “secrets and knowledge,” but this is one such time. Akylios knows things about things that you don’t have never even heard of, and if you’ve seen what he’s seen your brain would melt right out of your ears. We’re talking H.P. Lovecraft-scary, here. Gameplay-wise that'll likely manifest itself in some mind-control powers and fear effects. Or he's feeling old-school, he may just slap you around with his tentacles—that works, too.

And that about does it for Hammerknell! So, I'm sure your gorup had no problem clearing the whole place on their first attempt with lag spikes and only two clerics, right? Be sure to let us know how you did, and what you think of Rift's newest raid instance.

Jul 14, 2011

Rift’s next update will bring plenty of gaming goodness for raid-phobic and PvP-focused players

RIFT

We Rift players are a pretty lucky bunch. Over the past few months post-launch, we've received almost-monthly major updates with some pretty quality content. That content has pretty obviously been focused on keeping raiders entertained, however. The River of Souls, the Golden Prophecy, and the soon to be opened Hammerknell are all filled with large-scale PVE encounters.

The rest of us, however, have been left with the fairly unsatisfying River of Souls world event and the long-lasting Waves of Madness event. Substantial content for non-raiders has been pretty sparce, but not for long. Soon, level 50 players will be finding plenty of new ways to enjoy themselves through alternate advancement, new adventure stories in Telara, and upcoming changes to PvP. We talked with producer Scott Hartsman to get all the details.

Alternate Advancement
The upcoming Alternate Advancement system was definitely the most suprising reveal of our State of the Game conference call with Hartsman. The system allowing players to continue gaining XP after they've hit the level cap, and will allow them to earn more rewards and become more powerful as they continue to play at the endgame. Each time a player fills their experience bar, they'll be given points which they can spend to customize their character further by unlocking new abilities and powers. As Hartsman put it, players will be learning how they can “use the power of the planes against them.”

This is something that players have definitely been waiting for, and a welcome addition to a still-young MMO (developers usually wait until this sort of alternate advancement system is desperately needed before implementing it). Rift's current endgame, while content-rich, only allows players to advance their characters by equipping new gear. That same ol' carrot-and-stick method of enticing players to get better and better gear works for many players, but a vocal portion of the population has been asking for a more robust endgame experience for awhile, and this addition looks like it will deliver it to them in spades.

Alternate content
Hartsman also said that they want to shift the focus of the endgame away from having raids as the only options. As early as the next major update, players will have two flavors of content added to their menu: Instant Adventures and the Chronicles of Telara instance.

Instant Adventures will adopt the "feel" of the major world events that have occured so far, but will allow players to set the time and place for these major events themselves. The final goal is to have a combination of invasions, rifts, battles inspired by the current major zone events, and other "new and unique elements" that Hartsman declined to expand on right now. Your rewards for these adventures will be distributed in a similar method to the current Rift system, but will not necessarily be similar to the existing rewards themselves.

The Chronicles of Telara instances will allow players to experience story events similar to what players currently do in raids, without having to bother with all those other players! These instances, similar to normal instances in structure, will take place in unique, epic locations, and will have you fighting against (and alongside) important figures in Telara. Harstman mentioned that the first one is currently going through internal testing, that it takes place in Hammerknell, and that he finds it to be a lot of fun.

I'm very excited about these additions. Both of these experiences will be perfect for a guild like mine, who have players all over gear/progression map. I'll be able to get in game, gather a group of my virtual friends together, and, without having to worry if they're geared enough, we'll be able to play epic-feeling content that's worthwhile for all of us.

Trion's puttin' on the Barry White for PvP
PvPers will also be getting a lot of love this summer. Already announced is the new play mode Escalation (Hartsman still refused to describe how it works at this point), which will begin in the Whitefall Stepps Warfront. Hartsman also mentioned that new maps are on the way, although they won't come out this summer.

Trion has found the addition of the world PvP hotspots through the daily quests to have been very successful, which I'm glad to hear--I love 'em. Even on my PvE-RP server, players are picking up the quests, turning on their PvP flags, and going to town on their foes in an attempt to cash in on the favor rewards (the PvP-specific experience that's used to gain ranks).

The most exciting part of the entire conference call for me was when the discussion turned to the PvP rifts that'll launch with patch 1.4. Using the existing Raid Rift tears, players will be able to open a PvP rift, with the faction that opened it gaining bigger rewards the longer they keep it open, and the opposing faction gaining rewards for closing the rift. It sounds like a fun twist on the old King of the Hill archetype: pick your spot to throw down your flag and challenge anyone to take it from you.

During the call, there were another few points brought up that are worth mentioning:

Balancing skills for PvE vs PvP: Trion will keep these two completely separate, by changing the way skills work in PvP without affecting their use in PvE, and vice versa.
Ranks splitting for PvP (keeping higher ranked players in separate queues than lower ranked players): It's not currently planned, but it will be looked at in the future and is a definite possibility.
New Prestige ranks (PvP levels): Two new levels will be added, raising the cap to eight.

Jun 30, 2011

The PCG guide: Get everything out of Rift’s 1.3 event while you can – Phase 2

RIFT

This looks like the beginning of a heist movie.

Phase 2 of Rift's 1.3 update has begun, and with it comes several new opportunities to take advantage of new content. Just as was the case in the first Phase, there are a few daily missions, an event, and a new quest that's triggered by an item dropped by Water and Death Rifts. But the time you have to do them is limited, so you'd best read our guide and learn the ins and outs of the new features, so you don't waste a single moment in Telara.

The event: The Waves of Madness (all levels)
As Jornaru performs his Storm Ritual at the steps of Hammerknell Fortress, the summoned storms unleash the Abyssal forces on the land. As the Ascended defend against the waves of Abyssal invaders, the colossal Bloodtide Juggernaut and Bile Fin join the fight to bolster the invaders. When all seems lost for the invading armies from the Plane of Water, the massive Abyssal Invader steps into the theater to deliver a crushing blow to the Ascended.

Bloodtide Fanatic shouts, “Rally, my Abyssal brethren! Show these Ascended the might of Akylios!”
Jonaru shouts, “You cannot stop the Abyssal from discovering the secrets of hammerknell!”

Objective: Ascended must battle and defeat 45 of Jonaru’s invasions and 14 Water rifts. Four wardstones are scattered throughout the zone, and players must protect them or risk failing the event if all stones are destroyed. Unlike standard zone events, this invasion features minor rifts with elite mobs and super tough bosses. Collossi and major rift bosses are also beefed up, making the Waves of Madness event significantly more dangerous than the standard fare.

After sealing the rifts and driving back the invasions, two Abyssal invaders will spawn on opposite sides of the zone. Slay their faces off.

Reward: Rune King’s Seals (25), Inscribed Sourcestone

Coconut Monkey-approved tips:
Wardstones are key, so make sure you use the Bless/Augment wardstone ability to bolster defenses
Make sure you get your dailies. “Stopping the Flood” and “If it Slithers, Kill It” are ideal quests to have in your log before tackling the invaders
Coordinate your defenses and spread out. Grouping into one large herd in the hopes of completing the objectives before the wardstones fall is a surefire way to fail this event. Make sure a small, but burly, group stays at each stone to defend.

Breakdown of Phase 2′s new, temporary daily quests

Quest 1: Touched by the Rain (all levels)
"Will this blasted rain ever stop? All over Telara, the constant downpour has begun to have an effect on the land. I need someone to collect rainwater samples so that they may be tested for planar contamination. Would you be willing to help me with that?" - Questgiver Tekro Barkuul

Objective: Collect three Samples of Glowing Rain from buckets around Meridian and Freemarch
Reward: Rune King’s Seals (25), XP

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

That's right, you're collecting buckets of water. Head over to the rain buckets in the vicinity of the quest giver.
Click to collect three of them, and lift from your legs, not your back! We don't need you lying on the ground crying from spasms.
Return to Barkuul and give him the buckets he needed so, so much.

Quest 2: Stopping the Flood (all levels)
"Like a breaking dam, our veil is cracking and the Plane of Water is surging into Telara. I’m not sure what is causing this increase of attacks, but they must be stopped." - Questgiver Arnalt Prell

Objective: Close three Water rifts throughout Telara that would grant experience.
Reward: Rune King’s Seals (25)

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

Head to the area you've most recently completed experience-giving quests. It will differ from level to level, but it will be obvious once you look at the map.
Mount up and ride to some Water rifts. This is a lot easier when there is an event going on, so if you want to wait until that happens it will make things much easier.
Return to Prell and tell him how well you did to collect your Rune King's Seals (and gold stars).

Quest 3: If it Slithers, Kill It (all levels)
"Creatures from the Plane of Water are surging into our realm. Their numbers are swelling! The people of Telara are counting on you to stand against these overwhelming odds." Questgiver Arnalt Prell

Objective: Kill 16 creatures from the Plane of Water that would grant experience
Reward: Rune King’s Seals (25)

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

Just as was the case with Stopping the Flood, you need to find a level-appropriate area.
The easiest way to handle this is to go after Water rifts, since they'll be filled with creatures from the Plane of Water. If you still have Stopping the Flood you can kill two giant birds with one stone.
Be sure the enemies you're killing are from the Plane of Water, and not just random nearby enemies. Take out 16 of them.
Return to Prell. At this point, you'll begin to notice that he can't do anything himself.

Quest 4: A Dire Threat
"We have a problem. The Abyssal have been seen lurking on the coastline with a strange shell-like artifact. The rest of us have our attention on Jornaru, so it’ll be up to you and your fellow Ascended to deal with the artifact. Take a small team out to investigate the artifact, and put an end to any threat it poses."
- Questgiver Dulan Lighthammer

Objective: Investigate the Abyssal Artifact, Kill Tzzik’Clik
Reward: Rune King’s Seals (40), XP

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

Get a party, you're going to need it. Now head over to your respective quest location in Shimmersand, Freemarch, or Silverwood, depending on where the quest guides you.
Click on the Abyssal Artifact (the sparkly shell in the sand) to summon Tzzik'Clik, a giant enemy crab from the sea. Note: you have to summon him using the shell. Just killing him won’t give you credit for completing the quest.
During the fight Tzzik may spawn adds, so be sure to take care of those quickly. He’ll occasionally drop some power orbs that you can use to boost your damage, too, so keep an eye out and be careful of his AoE attack—if you’re not paying attention you could be crab food.
Return to Lighthammer and ask him why he wasn't more clear about your target being a giant crab monster. That might have been useful information.

Phase 2's other quest

Quest: Torn Scrap
This scrap of parchment is confusing. Along with some incomprehensible symbols, it has comical drawings of planar creatures scrawled in the margins. Petrov Whitemane could help decipher the script. He studies planar linguistics in Sanctum.

Objective: Talk to Petrov Whitemane in Sanctum/Meridian, Laugh at Deeps, the captive deep one in Sanctum/Meridian, Return to Petrov Whitemane in Sanctum/Meridian
Reward: Rune King's Seal (1)

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

Head to Petrov Whitemane in Sanctum/Meridian and talk to him.
Whitemane will send you to Deeps. Go over and see the poor, captive deep one in town.
Laugh at him. That's all. Just /lol at the sucker. Quest over.
Return to Whitemane, who has a sick sense of humor.

Jun 25, 2011

The PCG guide: Get everything out of Rift’s 1.3 event while you can – Phase 1

RIFT

Rift’s recent 1.3 update started the Waves of Madness, a multi-phase live event that will conclude with the opening of the Hammerknell raid instance in a couple weeks. The patch brought new companion pets and Item Sets, among other cosmetic and balance changes. But before the doors to the forsaken dwarven city open up, there's going to be several weeks of exclusive, limited-time content for you to play and earn unique rewards from. But once it's gone, it's gone forever. Luckily, we have you covered--we're putting together guides over the next few weeks to help you get the most out of each Phase's content while it's hear for the conquering.

What's Hammerknell?

Everything that takes place during the next few weeks is building towards the opening of Hammerknell, a dwarven city that's been eerily silent since the rifts emerged. That's not to say it's safe. Far from it--the city is forsaken, and filled with all manner of ghouls and horrors. When its doors open there will be a new a 20-man raid awaiting, with high-end loot and some the most challenging content to date. In other words, it's time to start getting geared, and the new daily quest content is a good place to start.

Breakdown of Phase 1's new, temporary daily quests

Just as was the case with previous Events, there will be daily quests that can be completed to earn the unique event currency. The quest givers in Waves of Madness, who share names in both factions' cities, can be found in Sanctum and Meridian. Completing their missions give Rune King's Seals, which can be spent to unlock different items.

Quest 1: War is Shell (levels 1-25), Shell Shock (26-39), Shell Comes to Telara (40+)
"I’ve received disturbing reports that the Dark Reaver population has boomed. If we don’t kill their young, we will have an army of flesh-eaters crawling up our beaches. However, their willingness to breed could be a benefit to us. Dark Reaver Eggshells have amazing restorative properties. By collecting them, you’ll help improve our stock of healing supplies." - Questgiver Tekro Barkuul

Objective: Collect 5 Dark Reaver Eggshells
Reward: Rune King’s Seal (25), XP Varies

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

Head out of the city and venture into the water. Depending on your level, the egg sacs will be in different places, with the lowest-level ones being near the shore, and the highest being in contested areas. Take a deep breath and swim down to the bottom and click on each sac to retrieve their shelly insides.
Once you open the sac, there’s a good chance that a Dark Reaver Mother will come calling, none too happy that you’re messing with her progeny. At this point you have two options depending on your current level: fight or run.
If you run: Be careful to avoid the mobs on the shore (it really helps to have a pet out that can hold aggro while you make your getaway). Wait until the coast is clear, and repeat until you have your five shells.
If you fight: Mamma Reaver doesn't have any special abilities, so just take her down and continue harvesting the sweet, sweet eggshells until you have them all.
Return back to Barkuul for your rewards, and then look in the mirror and think about the monster you've become.

Quest 2: Swift Action (all levels)

"The Abyssal are obtaining reinforcements from the Plane of Water by way of several planar tears hidden beneath the seas and lakes of Telara. Use this Warped Coral Focus. It will allow you to lure the creature on the other side of the tear into Telara. These creatures are responsible for maintaining the tears. By slaying them, you’ll help to slow their buildup of forces." - Questgiver Arnalt Prell
Objective: Kill 3 Tidelord Overseers
Reward: Rune King’s Seal (25), 1890 XP

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:
First, you need to find planar tears. Head to the coast and swim underwater.
Approach them, and use the Warped Coral Focus from your inventory (it will also show up in the Quest Tracker) when you get close.
Doing so will draw out some beasties known as Tidelord Overseers. They don’t put up much of a fight as long as you’re in the 14-16 level range, but be careful not to pull aggro from other mobs in the area--that'll definitely ruin your day. Kill them; they go down quickly.
Return back to Prell for your reward, and spend some gold for top-notch dry cleaning.

Quest 3: Something Fishy (all levels)
"Can you smell it? Smells like TREACHERY!I know there must be Abyssal slithering about, but they can change their appearance and make themselves look like regular folk. But douse them with a little sea water, and their true scales come out." - Questgiver Oblo Crustypot
Objective: Reveal and kill 7 Abyssal Infiltrators
Reward: Rune King’s Seal (25)

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

You actually don't even need to leave the capital cities for this one, but you should still mount up--it makes it go faster.
Cruise around looking for suspicious NPCs. They can be anywhere, so if you can't find one wandering around outdoors check the crafting area. They glow, and have names like Soggy, Dampened, Dripping, or Drenched Villager, so they should stick out to you right away.
Once you see one, get close and use Oblo’s bucket to douse them, revealing their true form.
Vanquish the slimy Abyssal Infiltrator. They seriously only take like two hits to kill, maybe three if you're a lower-level. Rinse, and repeat seven times.
Return to Olbo Crustypot, who does, in fact, have the absolute silliest name in all of Rift.

Quest 4: Bracing the Ward (all levels)
"If the Prophet of Woe is correct, the Ward Is under unusual strain from Akylios’ forces. We’ll need to strengthen the wardstones. Fortunately, you have the power to do just that! Find a wardstone that’s near your level of power, and use your Augmented Wardstone ability to brace the wardstone. If necessary, take back an enemy foothold to restore a wardstone first.” – Questgiver Tekro Burkuul (Note: If you don’t yet have the Augment Wardstone ability, you’ll be given a quest to get that instead, which will send you to the correct person to purchase it from.)
Objective: Use Ascended Power: Augment Wardstone on a wardstone within five levels of your level
Reward: Rune King's Seals (25)

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

Head through the porticulum to the highest-level area you can go. Usually, it's the place you've most recently completed quests.
Make sure you have the Augment Wardstone ability on your skill bar, and head to the nearest wardstone--it will be in the quest hub.
Use the Augment Wardstone ability on the wardstone and sleep easier knowing you've made the world safer for a few more miliseconds.
Return to Tekro for your reward. If he asks, just say it was really difficult.

Phase 1's story quests
While anyone can do the daily quests, Phase 1 also begins a chain of story quests available for max-level players. Here are the details:

Quest: A Storm Brewing (Level 50)
"I’ve heard rumors that the Abyssal have been slithering around Runic Descent. I don’t like the thought of them desecrating the home of my forefathers. With numerous reports of attacks on our people, the Runeguard are stretched thin. We could certainly use your aid in this matter." – Questgiver Dulan Lighthammer

Objective: Use the Crystal of Remembrance within Runic Descent
Reward: Rune King’s Seals (40), XP

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

This quest is only available to max-level players, so make sure you’re geared up and have four friends ready to dive into the regular version of the Runic Descent instance.
Travel to Runic Descent in the Moonshade Highlands (6234, 1357).
Use the Crystal of Remembrance from your inventory (it will also show up in the Quest Tracker) when you arrive at the area marked on your map to discover the reason why the Abyssal have been killing Dwarves all over Telara.

Quest: Heir of Hammerknell (Level 50)

“I, General Stanig, sealed Hammerknell's doors when the shade infected our home. If you are seeing this message, I have failed to protect the outside world from the horrors within. Now, there is only one hope. Locate the Heir of Hammerknell, as they are the only one capable of wielding the rune magic of our ancestors.

There are those who would twist this power, so to protect the chosen one, I left clues to their identity scattered throughout Telara. Find these Rune Tablets and protect the Heir so they can reopen the doors of Hammerknell and defeat the evil which I could not.

I pray that whoever receives this message has the mettle to undertake this task, for the fate of the world now rests on their shoulders.” – Questgiver General Stanig’s ghost

Objective: Travel to different areas in Telara to find Rune Tablets.
Rewards: Rune King Seals (40), Lucky Coin

The Coconut Monkey-approved strategy:

You'll have to fight your way through the whole dungeon for this one. Upon defeating the final boss in Runic Descent, use the Crystal of Remembrance, causing General Stanig’s ghost to appear and offer you this quest.
Add the Gloomy Rune Clue he gives you to your artifact collection, which will get you started on your rune tablet scavenger hunt.
Get ready for a magical adventure all over Telara! Any by magical, I mean, well, a lot of traveling. The Rune Tablets are scattered all over the place. Here are their locations:

Gloomy Rune Tablet - In Gloamwood at the back of the cave found in the bottom of Millrush Pond.
Frozen Rune Tablet - In Iron Pine Peak visit the Chancel of Labors and take the tablet from the wall in the basement.
Mathosian Rune Tablet – In Stillmoor the tablet is in a chest in Caer Kholum.
Scarred Rune Tablet - In Scarwood Reach the tablet is in the Lord's Hall.
Harrow Rune Tablet – Visit the Harrow Crypt near Granite falls to find the Tabblet. Harrow’s Crypt is in Stonefield.
Drought Rune Tablet – In the Droughtlands. Go to Mordant Knoll and find the Tablet in an alcove behind Queen Maelign.

Visit Scotty Malm, who somehow is in both Sanctum and Meridian at the same time (dun dun dun!) to turn in the quest.

Fancy things to find and spend all those Rune King's Seals on!

Completing these quests will earn you Rune King's Seals, which can be spent on new loot from the vendor. After completing the three daily quests just once you’ll have enough to buy the Lesser Barnacle Encrusted Choker, Lesser Shimmering Deepstone essence, or a few vials of Abyssal Water you can use to enchant your weapon. Don't spend them all in one place, though--with each phase, more new loot will become available. Some are cosmetic, some give stats, and others are downright absurd. Here's a sampling:

Tricorne of the Drowned Thief (Rare loot)

Drink up me hearties yo ho! The Azure Blade once plundered the coasts of Telara for fun and for profit. Then they made the career ending decision to join the Abyssal cult and have since been systematically hunted down by the Ascended of Tealra. Now, you can wear their hats!

Puffy Dwarven Toque (500 Rune King's Seals)

The first hat of this style was designed to signify the wearer as the Runeking’s favorite among the chefs of Hammerknell. The style has since become a popular and traditional toque among the dwarves, and with good reason--this hat is absolutely awesome and absurd and we love it.

Whelp of Murdantix Mount (Rare loot)

Murdantix may hide within Hammerknell, but his whelps have been captured and tamed for the convenient conveyance of the Ascended of Telara. They're fantastic if you want your opponents to cry and run away when they see you riding towards them*.

*Note: As far as we know, the mount doesn't cause people to run crying when they see it. At least not every time.

Jun 21, 2011

Stare into the Abyss - Update 1.3 Arrives Tomorrow, 6/22! (6/23 in EU)

RIFT - Elrar

We've talked about it. You've heard about it. At last...Update 1.3 - "Waves of Madness" crashes upon our shores!

Tomorrow morning following the<a href="http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?211878-**-Incoming-Downtime-for-NA-Shards-1.3-Update-8-00am-PDT-6-22-11-**" target="_blank"> update at 8:00AM PDT </a>(1:00AM BST on 6/23 for EU) the race for Telara's future will begin. The forces of Water and Death seek to drown all hope and extinguish the flame of life.

Should the Ward fall and <a href="http://www.riftgame.com/en/world/notable-figures/akylios.php" target="_blank">Akylios, mad lord of the deep</a>, escape his prison all will be consumed in the coming torrent of destruction.

It falls to you, Ascended, to bold yourselves and stand headstrong in the face of the coming tide. The hope of all rests on you - what story will history tell?

Fortunately - we've not left you unprepared, here're some helpful resources to begin your adventure in the next epic saga of RIFT:

<a href="http://www.riftgame.com/en/game/updates/waves-of-madness.php" target="_blank">The Official 1.3 - "Waves of Madness" Update Page</a>
What you have to look forward to:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.riftgame.com/en/game/updates/waves-of-madness-events.php" target="_blank">Hammerknell Opening Event - Limited time rewards, new mounts, and more plunder from the deeps</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/riftmmo#p/a/u/2/_qMLCko16bc" target="_blank">The Ancient Fortress of Hammerknell - 20 man raid, 10 bosses, opens at the climax of the World Event</a>
o <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2011-rift/716046" target="_blank">E3 2011 Walkthrough</a>
o <a href="http://www.riftjunkies.com/2011/06/20/riftception-e7-exclusive-interview-with-raid-dev-team-hammerknell/" target="_blank">Rift Junkies Podcast with Designer Billy Shaunessey</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?211683-Character-and-Guild-Transfers-(More-details-and-info!)" target="_blank">Free In-Game Character & Guild Transfers - Click for the initial destination shards and find your perfect home in the Shard Travel Hub</a></li>
<li>Guild Banks!</li>
<li>Bind on Account Wardrobe/Vanity Items: Enjoy the event, and reap the rewards for your other characters.</li>
<li>New costume pieces, including Hammerknell themed items</li>
<li>Use Quantum Sight (Defiant) and Omen Sight (Guardian) Ascended Powers to find all new artifacts</li>
<li>PvP World Quests: Daily, level 50 quests that grant favor - battle on, dudes!</li>
</ul>
Patch Notes and Step-by-step Character/Guild Transfer Guide - coming soon!