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This list is basically a compilation of tips and tricks that I have learned or been taught. Before jumping into the bullet points I would like to thank Arcanas from Purge to Win and and Noodley from Aftermath for helping me compile this.
General Stuff
Activate Charge Draining spells while you cast the spell that will top you off. This is usually around 85 Charge.
Esc > Settings > Interface > Combat > Cast on target’s target. This will make assisting people, like the tank, much easier.
Esc > Settings > Interface > Screen Messages > This is where you can add the spell/ability names to the floating numbers when you take or deal damage.
When in doubt, go 0 point Archon.
You can change a 0 point soul while in combat. If you have 0-Archmage, switch back to Archon while Breakfree is on cooldown.
Your 0 point Archon Buffs can be stacked before you pull by dueling someone.
Diminishing returns on Spell Crit begin at 45% or ~1187 Spell Crit. Additional crit % chance from talents is not effected by diminishing returns.
Drake Filets (+10 SP for 30 min) from the Dragonslayer Quartermaster are cheap and easy to get the Notoriety for.
If your DPS spec doesn’t have a pet its not the best.
There are 2 categories of crown control diminishing returns, incapacitate (stuns, silences, disarms) and movement (slows, snares, etc). First spell of either category is full duration up to 8 seconds, second cats is half duration, 3rd cast is immune. The diminishing returns lasts 25 seconds (from the first crowd control ability). (Some spells like Disorient will last longer because they are actually 2 separate crowd controls)
In PvP when you get purged by an enemy player, the first buffs you cast on yourself will get purged first. When you buff yourself cast the most important buffs last.
Elementalist
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
You get the bigger/better pets with the Greater Elemental Affinity.
Tempest (30% Crit Damage Bonus) stacks additively. Your crits will cause 180% damage if you take this talent.
Tempest stacks with other crit damage bonuses. If you have Overload from the Archmage and Tempest your crits will do 210% damage, to players.
Improved Quicken Elements stacks additively. With 2 points in the talent your Quicken Elements will heal your pet for 25% of its life every second.
Channel Elements uses 15 charge to regen 10% of your mana. The pets summoned from Swarming Flames will cast a Fireball, then wait until it hits before casting another one. Stand close to your target to dramatically increase the number of Fireballs they will cast (The same is true with Split Personality in the Dominator tree).
The Air Elemental’s Electrify (increases raids Spell Power) does not stack with Bard buffs.
Elemental Forces will break Icy Carapace even if the random Element isn’t Earth. If you have Elemental Forces up when you cast Icy Carapace it will break it immediately.
The Greater Earth Elemental will hold threat better if you manually use his abilities at the right time, rather then letting him automatically use them.
Pyromancer
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
Burning Bright causes each point in the Pyromancer tree to increase your Fire damage by 1.2%. It is better to put points anywhere in the Pyro tree then in Soul Fire from Archon.
Heatwave resets the cooldown of Flicker. Double Flicker causes melee to rage.
Flame Bolt does less DPS then Fireball. If you take Wildfire, don’t prioritize it over Fireball.
Flaring Intellect does not stack with Archon Buffs.
Most melee abilities require a weapon to cast, so Burn is basically a melee silence.
Firestorm ticks for damage immediately and can be used as an instant cast.
Archon
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
Archons auras can pull initial aggro, stay close to your tank if you are on an encounter where adds spawn during combat.
Consuming Flames isn’t exactly the bee’s knee’s of shields, but it can help save your life when you do pull aggro.
Archons never run out of mana, save your Mental Flare for someone else, usually the tank healing Cleric.
Flaring Power drains charge, but does not prevent charge from being generated. You don’t need full charge to cast it, anything above 30 is usually safe.
Never combine Flaring Power with another charge draining spell like Power Drain or Arresting Presence.
Make clever macro use of the [notactive] modifier: cast [notactive] Flaring Power. This prevents you from double tapping and immediately canceling it.
For optimal up time on your temporary Archon buffs, make sure all of them are recently applied (Volcanic Bomb, Surging Flare, Earthen Barrage) before refreshing other buffs/debuffs.
Cleansing Flames is an AoE dispel and purge, with no cooldown. Almost every fight in the game has some sort of dispel or purge, use it often. Just not on Sicaron.
Archon Auras don’t stack. Only 1 Archon in a raid can get the benefit of Speed in Numbers and Power in Numbers.
If a mob is immune to a debuff, the Archon will still get the self buff. For example: Lingering Dust will still give the Mage the buff even if the mob won’t get reduced cast speed.
Chloromancer
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
Lifegiving Veil is for AoE healing and is the only thing you will use until level 50.
Lifebound Veil decreases your AoE healing, but massively increases the healing your Synthesis target receives. In short, tank healing.
Radiant Spores does not put you in Combat, apply it before the pull.
Radiant Spores does not stack, if there is more then 1 Chloro predesignate who applied it.
Wild Growth is a big DPS boost for your raid/group, especially on AoE packs. Use it often, and let your raid know when you do.
The DoTs left by Vile Spores and Ruin do not receive any damage bonus from talents/items that increase DoT damage.
Dominator
Thunder Blast is an interrupt, even if they are immune to the knockback.
If you keep wiping because you missed an interrupt, get a Dominator with Empowered Presence.
Pets don’t get diminishing returns on crowd control abilities. You can spam Transmogrify on an enemy pet to get the benefit of Controlled Opportunity and Swift Control.
Split Personality can be purged, be wary of when you use it.
Haunting Pain applies 10 stacks. If you use this on an enemy player, they will need to dispel all 10 stacks (10 casts) to fully dispel it. Make sure you use this first, before using other dispellable abilities.
Warlock
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
The global cooldown in Rift is 1.5 seconds, any spell that has a 1.5 second cast time is not benefited by Opportunity, unless you are moving.
Neddra’s Torture does not stack with itself or a better ability (Clinging Spirits) from DPS Clerics.
If you have an Archon giving you Burning Purpose you only need 2 points in Improved Void Bolt to make it under 1.5 second cast time.
DoT damage is calculated as a whole spell at cast time. Meaning the game decides how much damage a DoT will do when you cast it, the damage does not vary through the duration of a DoT. If you cast a DoT then use a damage buff cooldown the DoT will still tick for the original amount, not the increased about. If you cast a DoT right before a damage buff wears off it will tick for the buffed damage for the full duration.
Defile uses charge but does not prevent charge from being generated. Using it while above 20 charge is usually safe.
You don’t have to face a mob to apply DoTs.
Necromancer
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
There are things that increase your pet’s DPS: Looming Demise, Necrosis, Deathly Calling stacks.
The Skelatel Zealot does more DPS then the Revenant, but most be in melee range.
The Revenant will do very little damage without Deathly Calling on the target. Grave Rot is typically the best way to apply Deathly Calling.
Deathly Calling stacks can be shared between mages, keep in mind some abilities eat stacks.
Feign Death is also a threat dump and can save your life if you pull off a tank.
If you use Mass Graves you will need to spam Plague Bolt and Grave Rot to maintain enough Deathly Calling Stacks on the target.
Empty the Crypts takes charge, but does not prevent charge from being generated. Using it anytime above 30 charge is typically safe.
To prevent double tapping Empty the Crypts use cast [notactive] Empty the Crypts.
Lich Form increases the damage the pets from Empty the Crypts do.
The talent Clattering Bones does not help your Skeletal Revenant in anyway. The talent Vengful Spirit does not help your Skeletal Zealot in anyway.
The DPS difference between 0 stacks of Deathly Calling and 1 stack of Deathly Calling is much larger then the difference between 1 stack and 5 stacks.
Your Revenant will apply Necrosis and Looming Demise if you didn’t, however they will be attributed to the Revenant and not show up on the target unless you disable the “Show only my debuffs on the target” in Esc > Settings > Interface > Combat. (Note this is currently bugged on live and the pet isn’t applying the debuffs at all).
The Skeletal Revenant’s Ruination will remove (Number of Mobs – 1) stacks of Deathly Calling. If there are 5 mobs 4 stacks will be removed. 4 mobs and 3 stacks will be removed, etc.
Stormcaller
Builds/rotations that use this soul:
Hailstorm is one of the few abilities in Rift that does not have a max number of targets.
Ice Shear can only be applied if there is one or more stacks of Electrify on the target.
Charged Field (Lightning Field with the Charged Field talent) will remove (Number of Mobs – 1) Stacks of Electrify. 1 mob and 0 stacks will be removed. 2 mobs and 1 sack will be removed, 3 mobs and 2 stacks will be removed. 4 or more mobs and all 3 stacks will be removed.
If you have 3 Stormcallers it is better for one of them to not be able to use Static Discharge, then to put them in a group of non casters.
The grouping priority for Static Discharge is: Other Stormcallers > DPS Mages with pets > Archons and Chloromancers > DPS Clerics and Justicars > Physical DPS with pets > Physical DPS without pets > non Justicar Healing Clerics.
Use Lightning Field right before Intensify Elements, or other damage buffs like Flaring Power, wears off. It will get the damage bonus for the entire duration.
Hailstorm is like a DoT, it will get the damage or crit bonuses that were available when it was cast, for the entire duration.
Challenging someone to a duel atop the wall of Sanctum, followed by a clever use of Wind Chill can produce much amusement for exactly 50% of the participants.
Hypothermia has two parts, the debuff and the slow. Someone or something can be effected by Hypothermia even if they are immune to the slow. The debuff increase the damage of certain spells.
Cheers!
We talk with FigurePrints at BlizzCon
Here is another video of our BlizzCon coverage. This time we talk with Ed Fries, the CEO of FigurePrints. Ed shows off one of their beautiful prints and tells us a little bit about how they make them.
If you haven’t heard of FigurePrints, you should do yourself a favor and check them out. They take your World of Warcraft straight from the game and turn it into a statue. You pick the pose, base and change your gear in game to get the look you want and voilà, you have a real statue, or print of your character! The process is amazing and they look really good.
Ed Fries with FigurePrints