Rift: Now Free-to-Play up to Level 20

Yesterday saw the release of the 1.7 update of Trion’s popular MMORPG Rift: Carnival of the Ascended. The update in question brought about PVP improvements, a wedding system, a new Chronicle, an additional Master Mode dungeon an over haul of Expert dungeons and better endgame equipment.

Now while that might be good for those already invested in the magical worlds of Rift, what about those who have yet to play? Well now you have an incentive to go play, said incentive comes in the form of Rift being made Free-to-Play until Level 20. The first 20 levels of Rift have been dubbed Rift Lite and it’s completely free.  Your play is not timed and the servers not restricted. Simply download the game and you’re away!

“In the past ten months, Rift has evolved at a breakneck pace, through seven massive updates that set new expectations for live MMOs, in features, in content, and in service,” said Scott Hartsman, executive producer of Rift and Trion’s CCO. “We think a Lite edition with no time limit is the best way for players to see what an amazing experience Rift continues to be.”

This Free-to- Play mentality is nothing new however. Rift Lite is very similar to what World of Warcraft introduced and what many other big MMORPG have done before them. This system is a great way to allow shy gamers to dip their toes into the sea of epic adventures and magical battles and, over time, they may decide to dive in head first. It’s definitely a system that should be introduced to many more games.