• River of Souls Chronicle: Gather your best friend and venture into River of Souls
• Ascended Weddings: So you want to propose to your girlfriend online? Get married and live happily ever after in Telara.
• PvP Improvements: There have been some complaints about the PvP and the vast different between one player who only PvPs and a recent 40. This should help. In addition, in order to decrease Warfront Queue time even more, “Mercenaries” are being tested on the PTS. This means you might “become a mercenary” for the opposing faction and fight your faction for one Warfront.
• Expert Mode: Tier 1 and Tier 2 have been merged.
• Caduceus Rise comes now in Master Mode.
• Endgame gear gets upgrade. Many level 45+ items will see their stats increased.
• Several Soul updates.

In addition, Telara is preparing itself for the Carnival of the Ascended to mark the one-year anniversary of RIFT. Patch Update 1.7 will be live “a few weeks prior to the Carnival” which leads us to believe we can expect 1.7 in the next couple of weeks.

For all the information, visit the RIFT Forums HERE. Don’t forget to check out other articles on RIFT as well.

Which item from Patch Update 1.7 are you most excited about? Let us know below in the comments.

So what do you have to do to sign up?

1. Visit THIS LINK (Finish reading article first!)
2. Register with Trion Worlds. (If you are registered already from playing RIFT, then just sign in)
3. Follow the instructions to ensure you receive “The Resistance Newsletter”, End of Nations’ newsletter.
4. ???
5. Profit

In case you are hungry for more End of Nations, be sure to see more on the game on our site and be sure to check out some E3 videos on our YouTube Page.

Have you signed up? Why are you looking forward to End of Nations? Let us know in the comments below!

Do you want to be one of those? Didn’t think so. Thus, we have prepared a list of all items you need to raid successfully in most/all MMOs.

A good spec that can put out damage.

It’s simple. If you don’t put out damage / can’t heal well enough / can’t mitigate damage or hold agro and there’s a spec that would likely make it better, you have to use it. Be advised, this writer has always been a proponent of playing the spec you enjoy and are good at. A cookie cutter spec is not mandated. To be frank, most good guild leaders will not care how you do your damage. They just care that you do it.

Knowledge of your class.

This goes hand in hand with the above. Know your class. Know what it can do. Know how to play it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in checking forums for tips, rotations, etc. There’s also nothing wrong in asking the class leader or just any good player who plays your class for advice.

Repaired/Healed

This changes depending on the game, but we’re talking about durability. Most MMOs give you maybe 10 deaths or so until you need to repair or heal yourself. Be sure to be at 100%. Not being repaired simply means you came unprepared.

Long Durations Pots/Elixirs

Most games have some kind of Elixir or application to the weapon that lasts for an hour or more. These usually increase damage, heals, etc. Bring them. Most don’t even disappear with a death. So, if you raid for 3 hours and they last 1 hour each, do the math. Bring three.

Mana/Health Potions

These are crucial and, you better be stacked of these. This writer recalls as a healer in World of Warcraft Vanilla, having to take a mana potion when I reached 80% mana, about 1 minute into the fight. If we wiped 20 times after that first minute, I had already gone through a mana potion. So what? No excuse for not having enough mana potions or health potions. Regardless of your class, bring these and in abundance. If needed, distribute to those that fail at bringing theirs and ensure they bring them next time.

Knowledge of the Boss fights to come

It takes maybe a few minutes at most to read what each boss does, and watch a video on YouTube and it can mark the difference between a prepared raider and an unprepared one.

Patience

You will wipe. And then you will wipe. Sometimes one person will wipe the entire raid. An interrupter will miss an interrupt and sometimes the tank will be two shotted. Things will happen that are out of your control. Think of raiding as a team game. Your teammates will screw up sometimes. But the goal is to together defeat the enemy and that can only be accomplished by working together. An excellent tank can’t help the DPS, well… DPS. A great healer, can help the tank block. And an amazing DPS machine is not healing the tank. Everyone must work together and if someone screws up, let him/her know they did. Explain why and move on. No finger pointing.

These are some of the most important items to bring to a raid. And not just progression nights, but every single raid, even if the place is on farm status. Show newcomers how your guild functions and what you expect of them. It’s important to show by example that even a farm night is taken seriously.

Do this and you’ll be downing bosses and showcasing your epics in no time, while having the time of your life doing it.

Do you have any items you would like to add? Let us know in the comments below.

There are several ways to have your girlfriend to play games and ones below are not exclusive. You might have to do all of the ones below or just one. Regardless, the outcome will be a benefit to your relationship. So let’s take a look at different ways to have your girlfriend become a gamer, like you.

Keep in mind, this is a process and not something that will occur overnight. Also, please note that some items below apply more to MMOs than other games, but we’ll try to be as general as possible.

Showcase Your Romantic Side

When was the last time you got her flowers, cooked a nice romantic, candle-lit dinner or took her out shopping or to do stuff she really enjoys? If you can’t remember, then we have a problem. Start by doing things she likes and appreciates. If she asks “How come you are being so nice?”, attribute it  to your romantic side.

Show Her Things She Cares About

If you play MMOs, don’t show her your crit or the boss you downed. She doesn’t care about that yet. Show her the scenery, a cute-looking critter or some good-looking armor. She has to appreciate things that she might care about before she screams the crits louder than you do.

Introduce Other Female Gamers

Let her know that you play with other female gamers and that they have kids, a career, etc and still enjoy playing games. If the female gamer also plays with her husband/boyfriend, even better. Showcase this.

Ask Her to Play Around With the Character Creator

Just ask her for fun, and not to play the game, to create a character she would play. Perhaps she’s drawn to humans and pretty tall elves, or maybe she’s drawn into undead and orcs. Who knows? Let her play around and offer input and show interest. Explain how to change hair color, faces, etc.

Identify Something She Really Doesn’t Want To Do & Offer Her an Option

So you know there’s something she really doesn’t want to do. Maybe watch a football game with you, work on your car, or watch a specific  movie. Offer her the option of that or to play the game. If she had to choose between that football game or to play the character she created for just 10-15 minutes, which one would she choose?” Either way, you win. But hopefully she picks trying the game for 15 minutes. Communicate that it would be important for you that she does one or the other.

Those are some tips on having your girlfriend to play with you the games you play. There’s always the other alternative: Asking “Hey, do you want to play with me?” If that fails, then you can put the plan above into action. If she tries the game, maybe she likes it and plays with you.

Warning: She might get more into the game that you ever thought possible and becomes better than you. But that’s just a risk you’ll have to take.

Did this work for you? Do you have any other tips? Let us know in the comments!

What is RIFT? RIFT, developed by Trion Worlds and released in March of 2011, is a Massive Multiplayer Online game that pits the Guardians and the Defiant as two factions trying to save their world from invasions from other dimensions, or planes. If you are currently in search of a new game to play, here are reasons you should take a look at RIFT.

RIFT is a new MMO with tons of content

RIFT is still a very new MMO having released in March 2011 and the developers have added more and more content since release at a pace rarely seen in the industry. There’s always stuff to do while leveling (quests, pvp, rifts, invasions, dungeons) and the level 50 experience continues to be expanded.

RIFT’s Class/Soul System

RIFT’s class design allows you to switch roles on the fly enabling you to have different play styles at your convenience. Let’s use the Cleric Soul as an example. You can have up to 3 roles for different situations. 1 role can be a healer, the other a tank and the third a DPS. Depending on what your guild needs, or what you feel like playing, you can easily switch back and forth. No need to visit a class trainer either.

RIFT’s Dynamic Content

As you adventure in Telara, Rifts will appear in the middle of your quest zone, or quest hub adding a new element to your game. You might be questing, and an invasion occurs that you can help defeat or ignore, but it’ll definitely present a challenge to your questing.For max-level players, Raid and Crafting Rifts are available as well with great rewards.

Chronicles

So perhaps you are not one of those big-guild raiders. Chronicles are story-driven 1 or 2 person version of dungeons that allow you to experience this aspect of game play with your significant other, best friend or by yourself.

Instant Adventure

Another added element by Trion that allows you to join an invasion in progress or zone quest from wherever you are in the world.

Raiding for Real

As much as some of the items above can be interpreted as features available for non-raiders, the raids are still challenging and require good groups to take them down.

Those are only 6 reasons why you should play RIFT but you can find out more on the RIFT website or read other articles pertaining to RIFT here on GamingWeez.

Do you plan on giving it a try? Let us know in the comments!

How do I sign up for the BETA for TERA-Online?

If you receive the TERA Newsletter or have already signed up for Alpha, you don’t need to do anything at all. If you don’t receive the newsletter and/or haven’t signed up for Alpha previously, then after you are done with the rest of the article, CLICK HERE.

Will I be able to play TERA-Online?

That depends. Does your PC match these minimum requirements for TERA-Online?

• OS: Windows 7 or Vista
• CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+ or INTEL Core2 Duo E6750
• RAM: 4 GB or greater
• GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3870 or NVidia Geforce 8800GT
• HDD: 35 GB (70 GB for download installation*)
• DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
• Optical Drive: DVD-ROM Drive
• Connection: Broadband

Will BETA for TERA-Online require an invitation?

Yes.

When will TERA-Online Invites be sent?

Before each event, invitations will be mailed and individuals will be selected at random.

What is TERA- Online anyway?

You haven’t heard, we take it. TERA-Online is an upcoming Massive Multiplayer Game due to release in the Spring of 2012. Combining beautiful graphics with an all-new combat system that differentiates TERA as its truly action-driven.

If you have any questions regarding the BETA for TERA-Online, visit this thread on the TERA forums. Let us know below if you’ve signed up and how exciting you are to play TERA. Also, don’t forget to see our TERA Online videos on our YouTube page.

Regardless of the MMO you play, most of these points below should apply to you, but obviously understand that not all games are created the same, and as such not all guild leaders are created the same.

Enough with the disclaimers; Let’s get to business:

First question you should ask yourself is:

-Am I ready to branch out from my current guild and start something? And is it the wisest idea?

Take some time to think about it. Even if something that you really disapprove of happens, don’t ragequit. Think for a few days and talk with your friends and decide if this is the best course of action. Many times, a simple conversation with leadership might change something that you feel was unfair or wrong. So let’s assume you have thought it over and have no choice but to leave the guild.

-What kind of guild will our guild be?

There are several types of guilds. Leveling guilds, raiding guilds, PvP guilds, jack of all trade guilds, friend guild. Which type of guild do you want to create and do others that will follow you share the same interest? It is crucial that everyone is after the same objective/goal.

-How will you recruit more players?

This is also crucial to your success. Unless you have the required amount of players for raids, dungeons or PvP (whichever your answer for question #2 was) from the get-go, you will need more players. Do you advertise on guild forums? Do you run dungeons with a few of your men/women so you recruit people that see that you know what you are doing? Do you imply your expertise and talent by simply being quiet and downing bosses? Do you reach out to players you’ve played with before and offer spot? Different recruiting methods have their different pro’s and con’s. Decide which would be the best way for you to recruit.

-What type of players do you want to recruit?

This is just as crucial as the above. If you are good, you will have many applicants. You might have a big need for people but do you let everyone just get in, or are you more selective on who is part of your guild? Identify key traits such as “are they just after loot? Will they help others and put guild first? What is their background? Do they have to L2P?

-Will you rule as a dictator or as part of a democracy?

This is also very important. Some guild leaders just like to say “this is going to happen, because.. well yes.” Others like to include their members in decisions. Both have their Pro’s and Con’s as well so decide which way you’d like to lead your guild.

Essentials for all Guild Leaders:

• Know every class at least a little bit.
• Set the example. If you raid, bring all the items you need and bring extra. If you PvP, know how to play. If you are a leveling guild, be sure to help players when they ask for help.
• Know your raids, battlegrounds, etc. If you are a raid leader, you have to know every pull, every boss. YouTube and Google every square foot of the raid. If you PvP, know how to fight each class.
• Be on time. If you set a PvP time or a raid time, don’t be late. (Of course, real life comes first, but unless something happens in real life, don’t be late)
• Know how to explain and talk on the MIC. Just like a President has to know how to give a speech, you need to know how to explain a boss or give orders during PvP.

These are the tips to become a good guild leader, but remember that not every guild leader is the same and the answers you get from these questions will be different. But at least, everyone should have a clear understanding of what to expect as a guild leader in all MMOs.

Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO):

Guild Wars 2:

Easily one of the most anticipated games of 2012, following the great success of Guild Wars. Taking place 250 after the original Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 is the largest project ever undertaken by the ArenaNet folks and gamers cannot wait for its release. Closed BETA has already begun in December 2011.

TERA Online:

Bringing an Asian-inspired MMO to the Western world has had its complications (See Aion), but with its amazing graphics and exciting aim-required combat, TERA promises to move the MMO world forward.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Some might be tired of more World of Warcraft expansions, but the remaining 10 million+ of us are incredibly excited for the new race, new class and new world to explore. Look for this title to launch after summer most likely.

The Secret World:

Developed by Funcom, this title promises unparalleled freedom in character progression and, unlike many current titles, will be set in the modern era.

First Person Shooter (FPS):

Defiance:

For the first time, a TV show is being developed together with a game. What gamers do in the game will affect the show and vice versa. This is a truly revolutionary idea. Will it pay off?

Real Time Strategy (RTS): 

Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm:

Not much needs to be said here. Starcraft 2 expansion or follow up to Wings of Liberty. Period.

End of Nations:

Trion Worlds launches yet another title, and End of Nations is looking like a sleeper hit so far.

Role Playing Game (RPG):

Diablo 3:

See Starcraft 2 description. Diablo. 3.

Will you be playing any of the games above? Which ones? Which one are you looking forward to the most and which ones did we miss?

The Shaman relies quite a bit on burst damage, which means crits, more crits and crits. In addition, some of the most important abilities rely on certain triggers such as a crit or a parry.

Highlight of Shaman Abilities:

Crushing Blow: Your first melee ability that will always be your spam ability. This ability does decent damage and can trigger a cooldown reduction on your Massive Blow if specced for it.

Lightning Hammer: This is basically your melee DoT. It should be included in your rotation as it does decent damage and will be one of your few DoTs.

Massive Blow: Your most potent melee hit. It does have a cooldown that can be reduced through points. You will be using this whenever the cooldown is up. In addition, if specced for it, it can make the enemy bleed for further damage.

Jolt: Triggered by any Crit, this ability must be specced into and deals air damage. You will use this after every crit, so keep it handy.

Strike of the Maelstrom: Your most powerful AoE, which needs to be specced into as well. This ability does a good amount of damage and can be made to debuff afflicted targets with a short, but powerful DoT.

Rage of the North: This top talent ability enables you to become the 3 minute Shaman. When you use this ability, all your abilities will critically hit for 7 seconds, which means a lot of burst damage.

The Shaman can also enchant his weapon with different powers. Among them: A snare and a debuff to for targets to have a 5% increased chance to be critically hit.

A Shaman also can choose to have the “courage of” an animal for a party buff. these increase Wisdom, Dexterity and Strength. Only one can be active at a time, however.

So what other souls are good to pair with a Shaman? Glad you asked.

There are probably, in this writer’s opinion, 4 souls worth pairing with a Shaman. These are:

• Justicar
• Inquisitor
• Druid
• Sentinel

The Justicar is the most commonly used second soul with a Shaman primary soul. It offers heals, extra damage and buffs. In addition, Reparation, an ability you must spec into offers the ability to AoE heal friendlies as you DPS.

The Inquisitor offers good DoTs but most importantly, helps raise, through talent points, your crit chance and damage.

The Druid is another Melee DPS soul and while it is good, it’s probably the weakest of the four souls above. It does provide you, through talent points for additional Attack Power and Crit Chance.

The Sentinel simply provides an instant heal. Useful since the heals in Shaman only triggers when critically hit and the Justicar heals require Convictions.

Who would play a Shaman?

If you’ve played melee DPS, burst classes, you will likely enjoy this class. If you tried an Enhancement Shaman in World of Warcraft or White Lion or Slayer in Warhammer, you will enjoy this class. If you are like any class of burst damage, and don’t mind relying on Crits for your big damage, you will enjoy this class.

Here are some specs recommended for the Shaman using the souls mentioned above:

Shaman/Justicar/Inquisitor

Shaman/Justicar/Druid

Shaman/Justicar/Sentinel

We hope you found this guide to the Shaman in RIFT useful and look for other RIFT articles including more class guides on our website.

Enough chatter, check out the video on our YouTube page and don’t forget that you can register for End of Nations BETA as well.

What do you think? Check out other articles on GamingWeez pertaining to End of Nations and visit the End of Nations website for more information.