MANILA, Philippines – Have you ever considered playing an online game but didn’t want to spend a lot of money to keep playing? The number of games without an upfront cost is growing, and it’s now easier than ever to pick up an online game and have a good time.

Because of the growth of these sorts of games, dubbed “free-to-play” titles, we thought it might be a good idea to introduce a new game every so often for people to try out.

To start of Rappler’s roundup of free-to-play online games, let’s delve into a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) called RIFT, made by Trion Worlds.

Not a simple story

Compared to more casual mobile games like Flappy Bird or even Pretentious Game, RIFT is like a good number of MMORPG titles that carry a rich story component. If I were to tease the game, however, it’d likely appeal most to science fiction and fantasy lovers.

RIFT is the continuing story of two factions of immortals fighting to prevent the destruction of the world by invaders from other planes of reality.

One faction, the Guardians, is made immortal by the creators of the world and starts the story from the past, where the world’s troubles began. The other faction, the Defiant, uses technology to transcend mortal limitations and then go back in time from the end of the world.

Using a combination of magic and technology, these immortals – known as Ascended – battle against the forces of god-like entities that embody the forces of Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Life and Death.

Game features

As a game, RIFT’s goal is for players to continue adventuring and learning more about the world and getting stronger. To do this, players engage in quests, defeat monsters, and earn experience to strengthen themselves.

The game also has active events called rifts, the basis of the game’s name. Rifts are tears in the fabric of reality that can appear anywhere in the game world. Enemies from one of the six planes can come out of those rifts. To seal the rift, you must defeat the enemies from the rift or fulfill the requirements of that event.

Users can also teach other users how to play by lowering their levels to match the person they’re training – a system known as mentoring – so they can go through content as a team without a veteran player overpowering the other.

The game features 4 base character types, known as Callings – Cleric, Mage, Rogue, and Warrior. Each of these callings can be equipped with three “souls” from that calling’s set, with each soul corresponding to a different style of play and combinations of three souls creating your character’s particular fighting style.

Mages, for example, can choose to summon elemental or undead companions and deal damage from afar or they can heal others or support others in battle.

If that sounds confusing, however, don’t worry: the game provides preset combinations of souls that will automatically level up if you just want to enjoy the story.

RIFT has a number of features designed to appeal to different sorts of players. Players can build their own equipment for use with their character through crafting. They can also purchase dimensions, which you can think of as land ownership. Players can build houses on the land they own and decorate it and turn it into whatever they wish.

With one of the various crafting skills, players can even craft their own dimensions. They can also sell their wares, including these dimensions, on an auction house or chat with others to see if someone wants to purchase their items.

Limitations of free play

RIFT started out as an MMORPG requiring monthly subscriptions, but has since changed its revenue model allowing free access to all of the existing story content.

For people who have never bought the game, this means you can simply create an account on RIFT’s website, download the game client, then start playing as a Defiant or Guardian once you’ve completed the download and installation of the files. Just make sure your computer follows the minimum system requirements listed and you’ll be fine.

Assuming you’ve never owned the game and never spent money on your account, you will have a number of limitations imposed on the account.. None of them impact gameplay severely, however.

As a new, free player, you can only have up to 2 characters per game server in the game, with each character unable to sell items in the auction house. You can, however, buy items in the auction house, though the total amount of money you can have on you is maxed out at 2,500 platinum, which actually is a hefty amount.

Your characters can only use up to three bag slots as a free player, which means your inventory space is limited by the size of your bags at the start. The game’s tutorial does provide a number of 4-slot bags, so by the start you should some additional slots for items beyond your starting backpack.

The loyalty.system

To actually use some of the game’s features mentioned earlier, however, you’ll need rank up in the game’s loyalty system.

By spending money to purchase Credits, the game’s store currency, users can actually unlock some of the restrictions, as well as buy conveniences. You can use credits to add more bag slots to your character, buy the souls from the game’s expansion, or pick up cosmetic items such as new clothes or items for your dimension, among other things.

Each credit bought and spent increases your loyalty points, with additional loyalty points rewarding players with free items or unlocking certain restrictions. Acquiring at least 1,500 loyalty, for example, will unlock the currency limits and allow users to sell items on the auction house.

Earning credits and gaining loyalty

There are three primary ways to gain loyalty, and one of them requires no money spent but a lot of time invested.

The first way to earn loyalty is to buy credits directly from Trion Worlds. Users with credit cards and Paypal accounts can spend at least US$5 to earn 750 credits, automatically gaining 750 loyalty from it. Spending the 750 credits will also generate an additional 750 loyalty, unlocking the currency limits and auction house restrictions.
The game also has other payment methods for acquiring credits, with bonus credits thrown in for credit purchases of increments of $20, $50, or $100.

Aside from this, Users can also gain loyalty by subscribing to the game on a monthly basis and earning Patron staus as a result. Becoming a patron provides inherent boosts to your character’s ability to earn in-game currency and gives you loyalty, but does not directly give you credits.

The other way to gain credits is by purchasing REX, short for RIFT Exchange, a tradable voucher that adds 1,250 credits that you can use in the RIFT Store. Some players buy REX, then sell it on the auction house or call out in chat for interested buyers, who then trade in-game currency for the REX voucher. Using the REX provides a flat amount of loyalty to your account

Recommendations

Given the game’s model, you can actually spend your time reading up on the major callings and find out if there’s a particular style of play that suits you, then create your character accordingly. You can also visit the forums, search for some basic answers and guides, and discuss the game further with others.

More information on the game’s free-to-play philsophy is available on its free-to-play overview and Store FAQ pages. On the RIFT forums, there’s also an introduction into the game’s free-to-play system and the limitations as a free player. 

My recommendation, if you plan on playing the game, is to make friends, find a guild or community that will take you in and help you out, and to not worry about spending money at the onset. You can actually take your time leveling, and then sell your junk items for loot through the in-game store interface which is available regardless of where you are in the world..

When you earn enough platinum (which will take a while), you can go ahead and buy a REX to support yourself, or you can easily spend $5 to unlock the auction house to sell your wares. Your money goes forward to supporting the game’s further development, so think of it as leaving a tip for the fun you get out of playing the game.

Next time, we’ll explore another MMORPG that actually uses an established universe many people know and love. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have questions or want to suggest a future title to discuss. – Rappler.com

Gaming Freedom seeks to introduce people to new games that provide hours of enjoyment without breaking the bank. Victor is a long-time online games enthusiast, and enjoys sharing games recommendations to people who think gaming is always a costly hobby.