Rift Reporter Episode 44 – Here Patchy, Patchy, Patchy…

This week we interview Elrar and Adam Gershowitz of Trion about Patch 1.7!

Interview Questions:

1) There’s a whole lot coming down the pipe with patch 1.7, but lets start with the change for the Expert Dungeons from 2 tiers to a single tier. What precipitated this change, and what are you hoping to accomplish with the change?
2) Can we expect every dungeon to come out with a Master version, now that there is only ‘level’ for Expert?
3) What do you see as the gamplay/”progression” path for players once they hit 50?
4) What is the level 45+ gear change mentioned in the announcement going to look like? Everything gets a buff, or will there be any nerfs?  Will you be introducing new items?
5) The changes to PvP are quite significant. Before we get into the details, what where the problems that you saw with PvP prior to the changes?
6) How will the new ranks match up for Warfronts?  Will all 40 ranks be playing together or will they be split into similar level groups?
7) The gear progressions for PvP is also going to change. Is it correct to say that other than some exceptions, you will only be limited by the amount of favor that you have? For example, if you’ve got enough favor, your could buy the best possible gear even though you’re not at maximum rank?
8) Can you explain how Bolstering will work for players?  How will it effect players who have high level PVE gear?  Which skills will be Bolsters to help balance the levels?
9) Will the new Planar Attunements Trees offer the same bonuses the PVP souls offered?  Will there be new bonuses for PVP offered as well?
10) The theme of the next world event, Carnival of the Ascended, is meant to celebrate Rift’s one year anniversary. How are you going to incorporate this into the lore of the game?
11) What are some of the activities that we can expect during the event?
12) Dragon Balloons????? More info please

Forum/Listener questions:
1)  There’s quite a few changes and adjustments relating to the basics of the game, be it PvP, souls, dungeons, etc. Was there any sort of mandate for these changes, or were they simply logical extensions or reiterations of current game design? – from Denna

2)  I understand there will be an River Of Souls chronicle coming up, will there be one later on down the line with an Ember Isle theme? – from Telnedra

3)  Patch 1.7 is attempting to streamline the gearing process making it significantly easier for new players to get ready to raid in the latest content. Is this a sign that Trion is going “soft” and will stop producing epic encounters like those in Hammerknell, specifically Akylios, that only a small percent of players will be able to kill? – from Bluedot

4)  In deciding to implement weddings to Rift, the developers consulted the RP community and asked them what they would like. Can we expect this same level of communication with other players in the future? – from Noaani (edited slightly to clarify the question).

13) date of release
14) What’s the first thing that you’re going to do once patch 1.7 launches?