We’re already hard at work on Rift’s first major update and soon we will need your help! We will be temporarily opening the Alpha test shard for all players with an active subscription very soon, here you will be able to have a firsthand look at all the new content and improvements we have in the wings.

Alpha will only be open during certain periods so be sure to check it out and give your feedback when you can! Of course, being a test shard means that at times things will not go as planned – expect bugs, bumps, and frequent maintenance.

While you can’t copy your characters, those who played on Alpha before headstart will find their characters are still available. Lastly, try to avoid sharing spoilers across the forums; many players enjoy learning and discovering the game on their own, we appreciate your understanding.

Thanks for your help and feedback, we’re making Rift better together – have fun!

Start patching today – Download the Alpha Client

If you still have your client installed from pre-headstart Alpha testing, don't re-download the game. Simply launch your Alpha patcher and patch up!

You’ll find the Patch Notes in the patcher!

Alpha 28-14-A
3/3/2011

Welcome to Rift Alpha Server!


GENERAL GAMEPLAY
* You can now link locations in chat! Just like other links, shift-right-click your map or minimap while entering chat text. Clicking someone's location link in chat will place a waypoint on your own map.
* You can now swim up using the jump key while also in mouselook mode (default: right mouse button to look around).
* Added a custom error if you cannot use a questgiving item.
* Raid groups roaming across the lands to destroy non-Rift/Invasion content will see lowered experience rewards.

RIFTS AND INVASIONS
* Fixed a bug during Major Rifts where low ranking contributors wouldn't get Planarite. All contributors should receive at least some Planarite.
* Reduced the amount of zone event participation required to earn the rare Sourceshards.
* Experience for appropriately sized groups relative to the difficulty of Rift, Invasion, and Foothold content has been returned to higher amounts as seen previously in Beta.
* Experience for Rift, Invasion, and Foothold content now scales down from these increased levels when very oversized groups are participating – with the net result being that very large groups should see experience values similar to the amounts granted prior to this update. Smaller groups will see increased experience reward.
* Added additional fail-safes to ensure Colossi bosses appear at the end of events.


CULT SAGA
* Links in the pages of the book 'Clever Kehmeh' have been fixed so all seven pages are readable.
* Anthousa Mona and Kaspar Massi have updated character models. Kaspar also has a new voice!
* The necklace rewards for the Epic Cult Saga have had their power increased.


ANCIENT WARDSTONES
* Quests for Ancient Wardstones are now labeled as such in your quest journal.
* After turning in quests at some Ancient Wardstones, a Rare Planar Goods Merchant might appear so you can purchase sweet gear with the currency you just earned.


COMBAT
* Abilities and other effects that increase the duration of other effects now do so before that duration calculation is modified by diminishing returns.
* You can no longer cycle between ranged and melee weapons while casting an ability.

SOULS
* Clerics: Fixed a bug causing some procced heals to consume effects that modify next heal.

ARCHON
* Ashen Defense: Corrected the debuff tooltip to match the ability description.

ASSASSIN
* Expose Weakness: Fixed a bug so that the charges of this ability are only consumed by physical damage effects. Also fixed so this correctly adds extra damage.
* Poison Malice: Removed from global cooldown. Now costs 25 Energy to activate.

BARD
* Deafening Music: This ability now updates the tooltip damage numbers for Coda of Fury and Coda of Wrath.
* Virtuoso: Removed from global cooldown. Now costs 25 Energy to activate.
* Coda of Cowardice: Debuff should now be in the same stacking group as the Archon's Ashen Defense and the Shaman's Vengeance of the Piercing Cold.

BLADEDANCER
* Dancing Steel: Fixed so that it includes immunity to knockback when active.
* Blade Tempo, Blade and Soul Parity, Dualism, Double Coup: Removed from global cooldown. These now cost 25 Energy to activate.

CHLOROMANCER
* Entropic Veil: Will no longer be overwritten by less effective buffs.

DRUID
* Satyr: Reduced size of the model; it's now approximate in size to a Bahmi.

ELEMENTALIST
* Icy Carapace: Fixed an issue with the ability description and debuff tooltip. They now correctly show damage values.

INFILTRATOR [PvP]
* Fixed a number of ability tooltip issues.

INQUISITOR
* Soul Drain: No longer applies Clinging Spirit without the caster having spent any points on that ability. Changed tooltip to better indicate that this is a player-based area of effect ability.
* Bolt of Judgment: Fixed the Spell Power contribution on ranks 1-9.
* Clinging Spirit: Fixed the tooltip to reflect that this only increases magical damage taken.
* Life and Death Concord: Description now properly indicates that the effect may not occur again for 6 seconds, rather than 8.

JUSTICAR
* Righteous Mandate: No longer blocks itself from being recast on the same target.
* Doctrine of Loyalty: Rank 5 now properly removes a Conviction.

MARKSMAN
* Hit and Run, Controlled Fire, Close Quarters Combat, and Fire and Forget: Removed from global cooldown. Now cost 25 Energy to activate.
* Quick Reload: Removed from global cooldown.
* Retreat: Should now put you 20 meters back from your current location at use.
* Lightning Fury: Fixed a tooltip error so it properly indicates that this reduces armor by a fixed value, instead of a percentage. Tooltip also now updates when spending points in Collateral Damage.
* Fan Out: Tooltip now updates when you add points into Collateral Damage.
* On the Double, Gateway: The additional effect making you immune to Snares and Roots (when you've purchased Gateway) is now displayed on On the Double.

NECROMANCER
* Skeletal Zealot: Fixed ranks 1, 2, 4, and 5 to properly respawn if it was alive when the owner died in a Warfront.

NIGHTBLADE
* Fell Blades: Healing debuff should now be in the same stacking group as the Druid's Spiteful Spirit.
* Ebon Fury: Taken off of global cooldown. Now costs 25 energy to activate.

PALADIN
* Balance of Power, Tip the Balance: Fixed an issue where these were being additionally affected by Attack Power, making the heal amount greater than it should have been.

PURIFIER
* Searing Transfusion: Will no longer consume effects that don't actually modify it, such as Flashover, Enflamed Rejuvenation, or Greater Empowerment.
* Life of the Era: Fixed the tooltip to clear up confusion with the radius appearing to be the buff value.
* Fiery Blessing: No longer triggers the global cooldown, as the tooltip already claimed it did.

PYROMANCER
* Heat Wave, Internalize Charge: Will no longer be overwritten by less effective buffs.
* Withering Flames: Increased damage.

RANGER
* Fleeting Instinct: Fixed so that it doesn't cause stealth to break when active.
* Master Huntsman: Fixed a spelling error in ability description.
* Track Beasts, Track Humanoids: Updated the tooltips to indicate that only one tracking ability can be active at a time.

REAVER
* Crest of the Abyss: Now properly applies its armor buff.

RIFTSTALKER
* Boosted Recovery: The incoming healing bonus has been reduced to 2-6%, down from 10-30%, to be in line with the Warlord ability Figurehead.
* Ruthless Stalker, Rift Barrier, Freedom of Movement, Hasted Time: No longer causes Stealth to break when using Shadow Shift, Shadow Stalk, Shadow Warp, and Flashback.
* Stalker Phase: No longer causes Stealth to break when using Shadow Stalk.
* Track Air Rifts: Updated the tooltip to indicate that only one tracking ability can be active at a time.

SABOTEUR
* Carpet Bombing: Taken off of global cooldown. Now costs 25 Energy to activate.
* Rapid Setup: Removed from global cooldown.
* Annihilation Bomb: Should now deal damage if the enemy is immune to stuns instead of failing both damage and stun components.
* Track Constructs: Updated the tooltip to indicate that only one tracking ability can be active at a time.

SHAMAN
* Frozen Earth: No longer stacks with other snares.
* Courage of the Bear: Fixed the tooltip to include restriction of only maintaining one Courage at a time.
* Bitter Wind: Tooltip now explains that this ability does not trigger a global cooldown.
* Lightning Hammer: Fixed Rank 7's tooltip.
* Endless Winter: Will now show the icon with Show Ability Icons option enabled.
* Brutalize: Updated the icon to actually look like a bleed effect instead of using the same icon as Massive Blow.

STORMCALLER
* Arctic Blast: Now has a 20 second cooldown.
* Improved Electrocute: Now properly affects the cooldown of Electrocute.

TEMPLAR [PvP]
* Echoes of Ascension: Now also restores 20% mana.
* Blessing of the Stone, Creeping Remedy, Little Off the Top: All of these will now correctly appear with Show Ability Icons setting enabled.

VOID KNIGHT
* Discharge: To better fit with desired usage, Discharge has a few new changes. Cooldown has been changed to 8 seconds. Damage reduced to come in line with other large-hit abilities. The Damage effect is now increased by Attack Power, to scale better with characters and gear.
* Singularity: Tooltip now displays the correct durations for each Attack Point.
* Rift Summon: Fixed tooltip.
* Quality Care: Clarified the tooltip on this ability to help explain it better.

WARDEN
* Healing Cataract: Fixed a bug causing the mana cost to be calculated as a single-target heal rather than a raid heal.
* Crushing Wave: Range reduced to 20 meters.
* Overflow: Now with more actual heals!

WARLORD
* Intercept: Can now be used on allies that are behind the Warlord.
* Aspect of the Elements: Power cost changed to match with other Aspects.
* Empowered Strike: Threat generation has been increased to match Leader's Mark.


ZONES

DROUGHTLANDS
* Podoxavus is no longer quite so spammy on death.

FREEMARCH
* There is a new porticulum at Knight's Stand to make travel around Freemarch easier. We also added a path from one side of Smith's Haven to the other.
* Washed Away: Reduced Mayor Jerrin's respawn time.
* I Heard a Storm Was Coming: Reduced the Fathomlord's respawn time.
* No Mercy for the Merciless: Reduced Iriri the Merciless' respawn time.
* Burning Down the Hill: Increased the number of tents that can be set on fire, and decreased the respawn of kerosene urns. Decreased general frustration level by 80%.

IRON PINE PEAKS
* Fixed a missing quest - Protector of Your Weak - in the Guardian quest flow.

MERIDIAN
* Removed the obsolete reagent vendor. These were not the items you were looking for.

MOONSHADE HIGHLANDS
* Hammerlord Post has more generally 'interesting' things going on in it.
* Polish to loot tables for Rift events.

SCARLET GORGE
* The Living and the Dead: Now with voiceover!

SCARWOOD REACH
* In the Blighted Pit, characters with pets should no longer aggro Gnarlbone while he is still behind his energy field.
* Rift - Eaters of the Dead: The Sable Broodmother should now be killable.

SILVERWOOD
* The Uncovered Grave that can occasionally be found in Treant's Grove is now home to some Undead who don't particularly like their crypt being disturbed.

STILLMOOR
* Death faction NPCs are now friendly with their buddies, the Death Rift NPCs.

STONEFIELD
* Rift - Deepstrike Summons: Skarn in this Rift event no longer have extra health and damage boosts.


DUNGEONS AND RAIDS
* Water, Life, Death, and Air Raid Rifts are now available.
* Fixed Raid readycheck behavior. Indicators will now clear properly when leaving a group. Failing a readycheck now has a sound effect.
* Fixed a bug with parties disbanding and reforming inside an instance not being properly joined to that instance.

ABYSSAL PRECIPICE
* Iceclaw Skuttler's Shell Shock no longer crits, and has reduced damage.

FALL OF LANTERN HOOK
* Rorf's Infected Wound should now properly remove when the target reaches full health.

KING’S BREACH
* Flesheater Autoch’s Wounding Charge now deals less damage.

RUNIC DESCENT
* A number if item drops in this zone were set to an incorrect level. These have been corrected and items upgraded to match with their new, proper level requirement.
* Eliam the Corrupted: Fixed a bug where Wretched Souls were not casting Wretched Union during this encounter.


PVP/WARFRONTS
* Whitefall Steppes: If you manage to get the other team's Sourcestone into your own starting area, it will return to its spawn point.
* Rewards from Warfront quests no longer have a required level to use.
* Embrace the End: Quest now rewards The Moribund notoriety, instead of Eldritch Seekers.
* Quests that require winning 5 matches of a given Warfront no longer give multiple updates for each member of the raid who is on the quest.


CRAFTING
* Expert Dungeons now drop recipes for Apothecary and Runecrafting.
* Parchment and Vellum recipes are once again available from any Artificer Trainer.
* Planar faction merchants now have new Runecrafting recipes. These include Planar resistance runes and, in some cases, unique-flagged Planar runes.
* Recipes purchased from Planar faction merchants can no longer be resold for silver.
* The Runecrafting Artisan Store now offers some new Master level recipes. Pure stat runes for weapons and three unique Planar runes have recipes for sale.
* The Apothecary recipes offered by the Arcane Hand, Dragonslayer Covenant, Order of Mathos, and Icewatch have been changed. Heroic Manasurge Vial, Heroic Fortified Vial, and Heroic Enduring Vials have been removed. New recipes for Heroic Warding Potion, Heroic Philter of Power, Sheepish Concoction, and Exalted Bottle of Tricks have been added in their place.
* Removed faction requirement to purchase Runecrafting and Apothecary Artisan recipe scrolls.
* Fixed an issue where the Light Seafoam Dye recipe scroll required 90 skill to use instead of 110, which was the recipe's actual requirement to craft.
* The Favor quartermasters in Meridian and Sanctum now offer Runecrafting recipes for Valorous Runes.
* Fixed an issue where Rugged Fabric was not combining properly into Processed Cloth.
* Updated Riding Chaps, Insoles, Padding, and Whetstones. All of these temporary items now have a duration of four hours, rather than 5-30 minutes.
* Recipe for Ceremonial Visage now requires Stillmoor-appropriate drops instead of Iron Pine drops.
* Soft Tissue Boots can now be Runebroken.
* Werewolves can now be Butchered.
* Renamed Icebound Tear to Icebound Heart.
* All items sold from Vendors can no longer be Salvaged or broken down with Runebreaking.


ITEMS
* Fixed a bug causing some items to reset their cooldowns when teleporting or logging out and in.
* Potions that grant Charge now display what they're modifying in the combat log.
* Iron Claw Shooter: Fixed so it boosts Attack Power instead of Spell Power.
* Amphibious Brew: Corrected duration to 8 minutes.
* The PvP reward, Diminishing Helm: This was improperly set as a breastplate. Fixed it to go on your head instead.


GRAPHICS AND AUDIO
* Changed overhead PvP Quest icons to be color coded based on faction.
* Added new PvP mouse cursors.
* Fixed missing projectile effect on Flame Spear.
* Improved lighting for more natural-looking character skin.
* Updated a bunch of Soul ability sounds.
* The 'UI Volume' slider no longer affects non-environmental background noise anymore.
* Additional volume mix tuning for relative loudness/quietness of audio.
* The camera should work better with underwater clipping, making it so you aren't seeing above and below water at the same time.


COMMANDS AND MACROS
* When replying to a tell, you can now hit Tab to cycle through names of people you’ve recently received /tells from.
* The macro system now supports the /suppressmacrofailures command, which will block the "Can only cast one ability per macro" and other messages generated by any commands following the /suppressmacrofailures entry.
* A macro's #show will now work after training up ranks in a #show'n ability.
* Fixed mousebutton 3, 4, and 5 + a keyboard modifier key (SHIFT, ALT, CTRL) not working very well when bound to an action bar.
* Also fixed mousebutton 3, 4, and 5 hiding the cursor.
* /wink correctly prints the wink emote text, rather than /flirt's.
* Substitution tokens such as %t, %R, etc, now work in /tweets.


UI/SETTINGS
* You can now set how many quests to track on-screen at once (up to 10) by changing the setting in the Interface -> Display category.
* The mouse cursor should now correctly change to the glowing or greyed out gauntlet to indicate whether you can cast a spell on a ground target, Salvage, or Runebreak.
* The Auction House now properly saves and displays the duration of the last posted auction.
* Planar Augments are now removed from the Crafting display after they’ve been used to create an item.
* Moved quest log indicators to the correct location for quests that group members are also on.
* Friend login/logout messages are now displayed in the chat window. Added an option under Social settings to toggle these notifications.
* Edit Layout mode: It's now possible to enter decimal points into the scale/alpha setting boxes.
* Additional Edit Layout improvements.
* Mount icons on toolbars will now properly grey out when inside instances.
* We also display a better error message when you're blocked from mounting in an area, rather than 'Invalid Target'.
* Added support for additional Turkish chat characters.

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* Added support for additional Turkish chat characters.