Bor Plays Rift……..Again
After having a little disagreement with LOTRO I started subscribing to Trion Worlds Rift. I hadn’t played Rift in quite a while ( from the alpha and beta to be exact) and I must say that a lot of the changes made seem to be wholly for the better. Being this is only the second MMO that I have ever subscribed to you would think that I say better just because it is different. But I do have a few other MMOs to pull from. I have to say on the whole I think that Trion is a company that has it almost completely figured out. From small things like aoe looting to larger things like world events it is like they themselves still remember what it is like to be a gamer. I have been playing Rift since mid to late December and I have leveled 1 character to level 40 and multiple other to 20 or better. And the only major issue I have is fining groups for dungeons or group quests, most of which is my fault for not using the chat system. I have mostly just used the LFG option in Rift which seems to be underutilized or just not enough people know how or want to use it. Otherwise I feel that it has been a very solid and enjoyable experience.
I truly believe the given unlimited resources the people over at Trion could make a true WOW contender, although I still contend that WOW is more of an anomaly than the goal that people make it to be. Due to timing and a story in a world that was familiar to a large sum of people was the main cause of Blizzard’s success. Now to get back on the rails I know that people believe that any development team can make a great game with unlimited resources, I do not believe that to be the case. I am not saying the Trion team is infallible but they do seem to get more right than wrong. I know that in the MMO world there is no pleasing everyone but it does seem they come pretty close.
I know that this is usually when I start pointing out the issues with whatever I am writing about. In this case however I really don’t have much to say. The only real problems are just the typical MMO issues. Most of which normally caused by the players themselves. I will issue a final thought to go along with my former article about Rift. Rift is a solid game and quite enjoyable, by no means could it be a WOW killer. After playing for this short time I will say that I don’t believe at this time the game needs to be free to play by any means. Save that my original thoughts on Rift still remain the same.
So thanks for reading if you have any thoughts leave them below or email me at TheBorReport@gmail.com and also try Rift out for yourself here www.riftgame.com levels 1-20 for free and then let me know how you feel. Until next time ~ Bor
Lord of the Rings Online : Rise of Isengard : Tusks of the Boar
This is a battleground type instance that we tested during the closed beta remember this is in the beta and may be very subject to change or even removal.
Any comments or questions leave them below or email me at bor.nimrodel@gmail.com I’ll see you next time ~ Bor
Rise of Isengard™ Video Developer Diary : Dunland
Just released by Turbine the video dev-diary on Dunland : In this first Rise of Isengard™ Developer Diary, Senior World Designer Chris Pierson and Todd DeMelle, Director of Production and Concept Art, take you through the region of Dunland, introduce you to the diverse clans who dwell there, and talk about the inspirations and details that helped them to craft the region. Enjoy
Also with German andFrench Subtitles
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A Thought on Role-Playing
I just wanted to take a few minutes to share my thoughts on RP in LOTRO and other games. I am not much of what has been come to be know as an RPer. Although I do believe that anyone playing a game in a fantasy world where they are able to customize their character are technically role playing I do know that isn’t considered RP. RP is taking the story to a new level by going beyond the just the character creation by creating a back story for their character which they play out as they go through the game. Also they will be seen carrying on conversations in character or doing other group events with other role-players. I can’t imagine the amount of work that people go through to play this mostly because my creativity is maxed out with just the facial features of my characters. I do however want to applaud the people who take the time to play any game that way. I also want to say to anyone that thinks RP is weak or lame to remember whether you want to admit it or not you are role-playing just with less effort and thought put it to it. These are just my thoughts you can choose to agree or disagree and feel free to let me know either way. See you next time ~ Bor
Comment below, email me at bor.nimrodel@gmail.com or @Bor_Jason on Twitter
MMO Etiquette and Protocol
Lately I have been playing a few games at a time and have noticed quite a bit of the normal American “I am the most important person in the world” attitude in the communities. Even in LOTRO which I always felt was one of the most mature and creative communities around has even gone down hill since they introduced the free client model. This isn’t me just voicing a complaint I am just pointing out things I have noticed, nor am I trying to lump all players into this category. Most of the things I have noticed seem to be either a lack of community members speaking up or just a lot of new players that haven’t been told otherwise. Most of these are just little things like blind invites to either groups or guilds which really just drives me nuts at least introduce yourself. Some things are a little more of a social shortcoming like mob or resource jumping. I mean just because you can do it doesn’t mean that you should. For example if there is a quest mob in an area and you don’t need it leave it alone, if you do need it and someone seems to be waiting on it send them a Tell/Whisper to find out maybe even team up and take it down. Like I said these are just a few small things that if people would be more considerate it would allow everyone to enjoy the game that they are playing more. And I want to stress that it doesn’t matter if you are paying to play a game or not you should treat everyone with respect. Just remember that the Golden rule IS “Do unto others as you would want them to do to you” NOT “do unto others before they do unto you”. This is just something I have wanted to get off my chest for a while and now I have. If you have any comments or questions don’t hesitate to ask either below, email me at bor.nimrodel@gmail.com or leave me a message (304) 534-9BOR (9267). Until next time I will see you when I see you. ~ Bor
LOTRO Character Panel
Hey guys just a quick video showing the new character panel coming in the Echoes of the Dead update on the Bullroarer server coming “soon” to the live servers. Hope you enjoy it thanks for watching and I’ll see you in Middle-earth ~ Bor
You can read Tim “Raskolnikov” Lang’s new Developer diary here.
Rift: Planes of Telara
After many Betas of Rift I can safely say that it is a decently solid game. There is a lot of polish on many features of the game. Some big things done well and even some little things that really make a lot of sense. Is it a WOW killer?
World of Tanks Open Beta
Welcome to World of Tanks your place for all sorts of tanky mayhem. (more…)
Welcome to the Bor Report
Hey everyone I have decided to branch out I will now be covering any game that I play whether it be console or PC games. I will still be covering LOTRO and will hopefully be able to get back to doing the Podcast. Until then I am going to concentrate on doing some videos and posts to let you guys check out games you may not have even heard of. I may even start to incorporate the Gondor Awaits podcast into The Bor Report or vice versa. I hope it is enjoyable to everyone because I do enjoy putting it together. Again I would like to thank Mordor or Bust for hosting the podcast archives and the LOTRO Reporter Network for allowing me to write for them. hopefully in the future I will be able to return the favors. If there is anything you would like me to cover you can still email me at bor.nimrodel@gmail.com or call me at 1(304)534-9BOR (9267). thank you for your time and I will see you in Middle-earth or some other such place :).
Th3 B0r R3p0rt 