Rift: Planes of Telara Preview

G4 brings us a quick preview of Rift: Planes of Telara, the forthcoming fantasy MMORPG from Trion Worlds. A little something on the rifts themselves and character progression:

The effects of each rift can significantly change the battlefield. Fire rifts will transform even the most fertile area into a smoldering lava pit; death rifts will fill the world with darkness; life rifts threaten Telara with an overgrowth of fauna. Close a rift and it may still take some time for the world to renew itself. For the moment, we’re told, these rifts are a one-way street. Players will be unable to cross over into the various planes themselves for a closer look at the approaching threat, but it’s certainly not difficult to imagine that such journeys would make a fine expansion pack in the future.

Clearly, the most challenging aspect of Rift thusfar is the class and leveling system, an admittedly complicated affair that’ll no doubt take some time to master. Rather than choosing a class to which you’ll be tethered throughout the entire game, players will choose one of four callings warriors, mages, clerics or rogues. Each calling contains a series of collectible souls think sub-specialties allowing players to mix and match the souls they’ve discovered in literally dozens of combinations to best suit their play-style. In addition, the skills resulting from these various soul combinations can be strengthened and leveled to allow your unique hero to become increasingly more powerful.