The RIFT

Noble crusaders are set to defend Telara from the incursion of the Planes!

Paladins have officially been announced as a playable class for Rift: Planes of Telara.

This soul follows the warrior calling, wielding their weapons right on the front lines of combat.  Paladins definitely go for a more defensive approach using a weapon and shield, all the while clad in heavy plate armor.

Paladins have been seen in several games such as the Everquest series and World of Warcraft as a class of defensive tanks to beings capable of powerful healing spells.  So that begs the question – What will set the Paladins of Rift: Planes of Telara apart from those we have seen before?

As always, stay tuned to The Rift Podcast for all the answers when we meet up with Joshua Kurtz on August 2nd, 2010 for a quick chat.

Check out the Paladin Class page, also be sure to discuss the paladin class on the Rift Official Forums

In other news this week…

The beginning of this week saw a two part interview between the folks at ZAM and Scott Hartsman.

In-depth about Rift: Part 1

The first part focused more on as a general overview of Rift: Planes of Telara with Hartsman answering questions about general features to be expected in the game.  In this first interview Hartsman briefly touch on the topic of PvP, saying that the aim for Rift wasn’t to make PvP something entirely new but rather to have a familiar feel with unique twists.  He also goes on to discuss social aspects of the game, such as a highly sought after housing system.  He stands by his confirmation from E3 that no player housing is planned for release.

In-depth about Rift: Part 2

Part 2 takes a look at a defining feature of Rift: Planes of Telara; which is the soul system, as well as different character advancement topics.  The information on the soul system isn’t brand new information but it does give a nice introduction to it for anyone new to the development of the game.  (For a more extensive interview regarding Rift’s soul system be sure to check out the Week 2 Podcast.)

We also caught a glimpse of the zone Gloamwood, mentioned by Abigale in last weeks podcast.  The zone really does live up to its name, each of the wonderful screen shots really portrays a very ominous feel.  Be sure to head over to Rift-News to read all about it.  Daniel Steamer, the master mind behind Gloamwood, stopped by in IRC today.  Logs available on Telara Central and a wiki-fied version on Telarapedia.

That wraps up this week in Rift: Planes of Telara, be sure to stop by Monday August 2nd to find out the answer to the age old question:

Who would win in a fight, a Paladin or a Reaver?