Possibly the easiest way to begin would be to first choose which class of character you are interested in building. There are four classes to select from; Cleric, Mage, Rogue, and Warrior.
In the beginning, 4 classes appears like not enough to choose from for this type of robust game. Once you realize that each of these classes takes on several possible playing styles based on their skill sets, it becomes clearer that 4 classes in plenty.
Each class stops working to eight sub-classes each. And if thats insufficient, each sub-class can be configured in a variety of ways because you will soon learn. There are lots of different styles and talents that RIFT builds can assume.
A few of the classes abilities may surprise you. Warriors are typically assumed to become offensive or defensive. Mages should be for dealing damage... right? Rogues... surely hack and slash damage dealers. Cleric builds should be in which the healing is at.
Dont be so sure til you have had a chance to review everything each of the classes can perform:
RIFT Cleric builds have 3 different healer builds (roles), but they also have 4 different offensive builds and 1 defensive (tank) build. The Cleric RIFT builds can be a large amount of fun and may be considered a very important a part of any group. While they are able to handle two of the important thing roles of a party (tank or healer), they can also be devastating damage dealers.
Its no surprise that RIFT Mage builds can be made up of offensive abilities. In RIFT, there are 5 offensive builds (roles). Its also not too surprising to find that the Mage can take on support responsibilities. They have 2 RIFT support builds. The thing that required off guard was there would be a healing build for mages. It makes more sense if you think of mages as being magic users and typically healing is used using magic of some kind. So, the shock wears off quickly. I still think it is both odd and enjoyable when playing a healing mage though.
Should you be guessing that RIFT Rogue builds were hack and slash, you had been... mostly correct. The most of the available rogue RIFT builds are offensive in nature. There are 6 in most. Two of the coolest rogue builds are a support role known as the ⤽Bard⤠along with a tanking role! The bard build is fairly amusing and fun to experience in addition to a very vital piece of a group. They dont cast spells, but rather they use their instruments (yes, the type you play musically) to effect their friends and foes. The defensive build really sent my head spinning. A tanking rogue?!? I never might have thought it, but it is a significant fun and useful role to experience.
RIFT Warrior builds are for the most part, just what you realized. There are 4 offensive roles and three defensive roles. So, obviously these kinds is meant for laying the smack down or protecting the audience from harm and taking the brunt of the enemy assault. They are doing, however; have 1 support build that may be very helpful towards the group. If you want just being a beast of the fighter and being the savior from the meek and mild, heres your class. Dont let the simplicity of the warrior build mislead you. This class and all its builds are simply as complex and rich with a variety of skills as any of the other classes. If you had been thinking the warrior is simply too boring... think again.
The RIFT responsibilities are made up of Offensive, Defensive (Tanks), Healing, and Support. If you have been playing MMORPG or adventure type games for some time, you may be very familiar with tanking, healing, and offensive responsibilities. The support responsibility may be a new comer to some people. I know it was a new comer to me. The following is a brief explanation of every:
RIFT Tank Builds - The defensive responsibilities fall on the shoulders of the tanks of the game. Tanks are supposed to go ahead and take brunt from the battle meaning they need to contain the attention from the enemy targets. This is known as taking aggro (taking aggression). Each player will have a threat level which rises and falls depending on what the player does. Tanks have abilities that raise their threat level so the enemies pay more attention and concentrate their attacks on them. They also have abilities that ⤽taunt⤠the enemy to refocus the enemys attention from another party member to themselves.
RIFT Healing Builds - The healers of the action a very important part of any group. While the tank and damage dealers are focusing outwardly towards the enemies, the healer is focusing totally on the party members. It is their task to help keep everyone alive and heal the wounded. The most significant member of the group that has to stay alive at all costs may be the tank. If the tank falls, in almost every case, all of those other group will fall. When the battle has ended, the group usually depends on the healer to resurrect (bring back to life) their fallen friends.
RIFT Offensive Builds - These are the guys that do the dirty work; the harm dealers. Bringing down the enemy is the main job for the offensive builds. It is not always as easy as just attacking an enemy. An offensive character must be mindful of getting in harms way in addition to doing enough damage in a short amount of time as you possibly can. The tank are only able to take on so many foes and last such a long time and also the healer doesnt have an endless pool of magical energy to spend on keeping the group alive. Taking the enemy targets down fast and hard is a must to ensure that the group to survive.
RIFT Support Builds - The support responsibility is extremely special and in some cases very vital to the group. Their abilities are mostly comprised of either those that enhance the group or allies and people who diminish the abilities from the enemy. They are of help in allowing the group to do more damage and remain more protected while making it so that the enemy takes more damage and deals less damage. I have seen this role make the distinction between a field of players living and dying against battled hardened creatures from rifts and the demons lurking in ominous dungeons.
