What Patches Will RIFT: Planes of Telara Release Next?

Rift: Planes of Telara has been out for 6 months now. It was released in March 2011 after several months of Rift beta testing. In these 6 months 4 major patches have been released, each of them adding more content to the game. Prior to the release every patch is available on public test shards (test servers) where any player with an active subscription can enjoy and take part in Rift Planes of Telara beta testing.

On the Rift official forums there is a thread about Rift beta where all players can engage in discussions and share opinions. This discussions help developers discover bugs and get a general feeling on the next updates.

The next big patch to come is Patch 1.5. It was announced at this year's Gamescon for the late September - beginning of October and several features have been made public. There are no official patch notes yet but we have some info about its content. Some of this content, like the new warfront Library of the Runemasters it's already available for Rift planes of Telara beta testing. Among the patch's new features is the master mode for dungeons.

This is not yet part of Rift beta but the Trion representatives at Gamescon let loose a few details, just enough to get the players all excited about this. Darkening Deeps and Deepstrike Mines dungeons will be the first ones to be revamped with this new difficulty mode. Based on the players feedback and preference some more maybe be added but for now will be just these two. No info on when they will be added to Rift Planes of Telara beta though.

The players running these dungeons on master mode will find only 1 or 2 bosses with changed mechanics and tactics, obviously they will be harder. This new mode is supposed to be more difficult than already available expert mode and will require full attention, awareness and in depth Calling knowledge from all party members in order to get the bosses down. As they are harder than experts but still dungeons they will be probably aimed for more than casual players.

The overall general impression is they will be mini raids, harder than an expert dungeon but with just a few bosses that can be taken down in one night thus avoiding raid planning and such. Until they are not on public test shards for Rift beta testing we cannot know more. Being harder than expert modes which require T1 as entry gear, these new dungeons will probably need T2 or a combination of T1 and T2. The drops and rewards will be raid gear, a few items as there are only a few bosses and new vanity mounts and maybe pets.

Clearly these new master mode dungeons are for casual raiders or already T2 geared players. The boss fights will be more tactical than on expert modes but the fact that they can be run with just a normal group of 5 players will make them accessible to non hardcore raiders. Keep an eye on the official forums for the date when they will be part of Rift Planes of Telara beta and available for testing.

Dana Hartsman is an avid online mmo player and sough out expert in power leveling for the game of RIFT. You can visit his blog for this and many other topics: http://www.power-leveling-secrets-guide.com/

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Recommended by PC World Magazine (August 2004), The Miami Herald Online (Sept. 25, 2004), and Downhome Magazine (2005 – Favorite Games Site), Download Free Games has provided its users quality downloadable games since 2002.

Game players from around the world play tens of thousands of DFG’s free games every day. DFG is constantly expanding, striving to bring its audience the most entertaining game downloads found on the Internet.

Download Free Games is a small business owned and operated by Alpha Internet Media in Spokane, WA.

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How To Collect RPGs

Pen and paper roleplaying games used to be the only show in town. Before video games, computer gaming, and collectible card RPGs, tabletop roleplaying games were the only show in town. The golden age of tabletop roleplaying games was the 1970s and 1980s, after the publication of Dungeons & Dragons by a company called TSR in 1974. By the 80s, roleplaying games of all types were being played on tabletops around the country based on everything from Star Wars to the Old West.

Now that fans of those original tabletop roleplaying games are getting older (and acquiring larger checking accounts) is serious business. Older gamers are looking for games and gaming materials from their youth, even if they don't intend to play the games anymore. Sometimes just the sight of an original D&D box set is enough to bring a tear to a middle-aged gamer's eye.

Collecting RPGs is a matter of searching for original editions of roleplaying books. Many of these books were printed in a limited run, meaning they're collectible in their own right. You look for these books anywhere you'd find collectible or rare books of any kind. Rare book shops, eBay, comic book stores, and trading card shows are the most likely venues to find old table top roleplaying game books, though comic and fantasy conventions and niche market websites and personal blogs are also common haunts for old school RPGs.

There are two basic reasons for collecting tabletop RPG games: for nostalgia or for the value of the books. Value collectors are looking for items that are new, still in their original packaging, "sealed", or as part of a collector's or limited edition. Nostalgia collectors probably don't want a copy still sealed in the original packaging, since they're more likely to read the book or play a game or two with friends.

There's a tabletop RPG for every taste. Comic book fans would love to add a book from the DC Heroes RPG to their collection, especially the much sought-after Who's Who character supplements that list DC characters stats and abilities. These supplements sell for around $100 from online retailers these days. Star Wars roleplaying games were produced by a couple of different publishers, including Wizards of the Coast. Star Wars rulebooks published by WoTC are selling for around $40 in today's market.

Collecting RPGs connects older gamers to the old RPGs of their childhood. These books are also highly collectible, since they appeared in limited editions at the time of publication. Whether you're a value or nostalgia collector, the world of tabletop RPG collecting has something for everyone interesting in RPG gaming.

As a longtime collector of roleplaying games, Randy Ray has owned and played any number of classic tabletop RPGs. He is also a whisky aficionado and a man that enjoys a good round of table tennis.

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Pahelika: Revelations

Recommended by PC World Magazine (August 2004), The Miami Herald Online (Sept. 25, 2004), and Downhome Magazine (2005 – Favorite Games Site), Download Free Games has provided its users quality downloadable games since 2002.

Game players from around the world play tens of thousands of DFG’s free games every day. DFG is constantly expanding, striving to bring its audience the most entertaining game downloads found on the Internet.

Download Free Games is a small business owned and operated by Alpha Internet Media in Spokane, WA.

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The Real Effects Of Shooting Games And Other Violent Video Games

Violent-laden video games, which include those that belong to the ego-shooter or first-person shooter genre - are always under close scrutiny by parents and advocacy groups who are worried about the ill-effects of such games on growing kids and teenagers. Majority of the researches and studies about this phenomenon indicate the need for us to focus more on the personality of the player instead on the general content of these video games.

Ego-Shooters and other Shooting Games and Violent Traits

There is no reason to worry that your kid would turn into a sociopath or a serial killer when he or she gets hooked on video games, particularly those with extremely violent and gory content. However, psychologists suggest that parents be on their toes and observe any palpable changes in their kid's behavior, and if they become impulsive, moody and anti-social, then they may have to take necessary action and reduce the time spent by their kids playing their favorite shooting game.

The psychological impact of video games is a complex issue, and there are simply a lot of misconceptions and confusion about the real effects of video games with violent themes on the psychological and mental disposition of growing kids and teenagers. We cannot simply label an ego shooting or first person shooting game as either good or bad. There are several variables that need to be taken into account when assessing the real impact of such violent-laden games on the personality and behavior of an individual. For instance, a person with a specific disposition may exhibit ill-effects when playing this type of games.

Hostile Tendencies of Video Game Addicts

A team of psychologists recently noted a slight increase in the hostile tendencies of their study group and such hostile tendencies were linked to specific personality traits. The experiment showed that video players who tend to manifest hostile behavior were those who have abnormally high levels of neuroticism and excessively low levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness. The research divided the participants into 2 groups - one group played video games with violent theme and the other group played games with non-violent theme.

According to the proponents of the research, the hostile tendencies are largely influenced by the level of competition of the game and not by its violent content. Irrespective of the theme of the game, highly competitive games tend to trigger aggressive responses from the players.

Video gaming has continually grown by leaps and bounds. Some sectors are raising the red flag and insisting on the potential link between aggression and the level of violent content of games. However, there are also studies that disprove this claim. Amid these conflicting positions, parents and advocacy groups should be more vigilant in monitoring and guiding kids about the potential ill-effects of video games with extremely violent content.

Check out the wide array of Shooting Games that your kids can play and find out what makes Online Games a safe medium of entertainment and a tool in promoting a healthy level of competitiveness of growing kids and young teenagers.

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