Rift expansion teased in developer livestream

Rift is currently enjoying a resurgence, thanks its free-to-play switch. But having hordes of players bouncing between dynamic quests and rift encounters is one thing, keeping them there is another. In an effort to keep their newly bolstered community engaged, developer Trion held a recent livestream in which they teased upcoming updates and features, and gave the first info on the 3.0 expansion.

Four new souls are planned: Support Cleric, Healing Warrior, Tanking Mage and Healing Rogue. You'd be forgiven for suspecting that Rift's Soul design is based around arbitrarily picking words out of a hat, but in this instance, the added roles fill areas each class has been traditionally weak. The hope is to further expand the flexibility of styles on offer.

Other improvements will see a more customisable weapon and armour upgrade system, with more scope to define your style, and an increased role for companion pets. In addition, Dimensions will get an upgrade, with Trion looking to give player-owned housing more purpose.

Finally, they revealed the planned 3.0 expansion - focusing on the plane of Water. Cross-section concept art showed a multi-level environment, including a frozen lake and underground city. Previously, Trion released Storm Legion as the 2.0 expansion - adding two continents that tripled the size of the game's world. If their future plans are anything like as ambitious as that release, it should keep Rift players busy for some time.

Thanks, RiftScene (via Joystiq ).

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.