As promised when we made our initial database announcement, we've made a whole ton of updates the last few days. We've added NPCs, quests, and zones to the database, which should make finding things even easier in-game.

In addition, and most importantly, we've created RIFT's first npc2item database mechanic. Users can now go onto NPC and item pages and add what a merchant sells or what a specific elite or rare monster drops. We'll be watching the activity over the next few days, and anyone that consistently submits exceptional amounts of content to our sell/drop lists or adds amazing amounts of info to the database pages has the chance to receive free premium months at ZAM. If you're absolutely amazing, we're more than happy to hand out free custom-created titles for you.

If you're interested in more detailed information about each section, feel free to read beyond the break. We hope that all of you take the opportunity to submit information, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Crafters are quickly immersed in the local Velious culture as soon as they step foot in Great Divide. The local Othmir, Snowfang Gnolls and Coldain all look for skilled artisans to assist them with their various wants and needs.

In Destiny of Velious, tradeskillers are offered a Flying Mount quest series of their own with unique gryphon appearances to choose from. The conclusion to the new crafter quests is the first tradeskill Heritage Quest, What Dreams May Come, which rewards the fabled Blessed Coldain Prayer Shawl.

For a walkthrough to all the quests available along with shopping lists, check out our Destiny of Velious Tradeskill Guide!

In celebration of EverQuest's 12th anniversary, members of the press had the opportunity to attend a roundtable interview with Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley, Assistant Lead Designer Alan VanCouvering and Associate Producer Harvey Burgess. Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff participated on behalf of ZAM, and it certainly turned out to be an interesting discussion.

We talked about a wide variety of topics, ranging from the history of EverQuest to the game's community. The team also fielded a series of questions on the progression servers, and Smedley gave us some hints on what we can expect to see in EverQuest Next.

You'll find a transcript of all of the team's answers sorted by topic after the jump. Happy anniversary, EverQuest!

When I walked into the main entrance of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to begin my PAX East adventure, the first thing I saw was a huge banner hanging from the ceiling with the now famous phrase, “We're not in Azeroth anymore.” Despite not having a booth, Rift definitely had a presence at the convention.

Trion Worlds hosted a party on Friday night to mingle with fans, and I had the opportunity to speak with Trion Worlds CCO and Rift Executive Producer Scott Hartsman the next day about a wide variety of topics, ranging from account security and server transfers to future updates and balancing souls. Check out what he had to say after the jump!

It's been a really exciting week so far at ZAM Rift, and it's only Tuesday!  On Saturday we launched the beginning of our Rift database, which so far catalogs every player discovered item, recipe, artifact collection, ability, and achievement.  Our community (that's you!) stepped up with nearly 1400 contributions and comments to our wikibase.  Here's some highlights:

• erikashkir has been busy adding augment information to items, like this Shady Soulbind Leather Brigandine.
• tubelight, bigdaddy69x, and DarkOman want to know where those recipes are!
• Ebaneezer, mjtherien, and Maleklum have been leaving great notes on quests.

We've also had a lot of pictures added.  cameling uploaded the beautful picture of Moonshade Highlands in the feature box on our main page.  Tyxa contributed a lot of awesome mount pictures, including the Bay Horse Bridle at right.

Thank you all for your contributions, comments, and feedback!  Watch this spot for more exciting news as we continue to develop our Rift database.

To give you an indication of the anticipation surrounding Guild Wars 2, the game's PAX East panel reached maximum capacity long before the doors even opened. Eager fans poured into the large room to listen to members of the ArenaNet team discuss the upcoming fantasy MMO and explain how it has evolved from the original game. Audience members also got the chance to ask a variety of questions about Guild Wars 2 during the Q&A session.

The panel was comprised of Lead Content Designer Colin Johanson, Game Designer Jon Peters, Community Manager Regina Buenaobra, Senior VP of Global Business Randy Price, Designer Jeff Grubb, Environment Artist Tirzah Bauer and Global Brand Manager Brian Porter. Now that the introduction is out of the way, let's dive into what was covered at the event.

What will the official forums of Final Fantasy XIV become?

Nearly a week since the launch of the official forums, the general discussion pages are filled with several engaging topics. There have been threads about implementing death penalties, proposals for adding advanced classes and debates about – gasp! – creating a jump feature. There’s not much trolling, although some negativity is to be expected these days. For now, the moderators of the official forums are doing their jobs well.

Yet for all the activity and constrictive vibes on the official forums, I can’t help but notice that the vast majority of threads are feedback threads. It’s like ZAM’s FFXIV Feedback Forum on steroids. That’s why I’m not worried about fan sites like ZAM and Eorzeapedia getting left by the wayside.

Discuss this in the ZAM forums.

We're pleased to annouce the unveiling of our Rift database!  Every player discovered weapon, armor piece, item, recipe, artifact collection, ability, and achievement is cataloged and searchable. It's like Wowhead.... for Rift!

Click here to go directly to the database search for items, recipes, collections, achievements or abilities. Or, if you just feel like browsing, you can select one of the options from the database menu dropdown here at ZAM Rift.

Read beyond the break to learn more about how you can find exactly the piece of Rift information that you're looking for and what you can expect from the ZAM database in the coming weeks. But if you can't wait any longer, dive into the database and check things out!

Let's face it – becoming an Ascended is a shock. Last you remember, you were face-to-face with an elemental nasty that was bringing a broadsword down on your face and then, POOF! Asha Catari is telling you, much like Princess Leia, to help the Defiants, you're their only hope. What? You just came back from the dead and now you need to save Telara!? It's a tough job, but there's more to see than just dungeons, rifts and quests. My Defiant Rogue is now level 30 and has mastered almost everything Freemarch and Stonefield have to throw at me. Think you hit it all? I doubt it — but read on to find out.

If you're just starting Rift the beautifully customizable class system can be a lot to take in.  Our Callings Guide shows you the available callings and class roles at a glance. Take a look and then try out our Soul Builder!

We are still collecting ratings on your favorite (and least favorite) soul builds!  To rate a build, click on it in this list.  On the upper right of the panel are five stars reflecting the current rating of that build.  Mouseover the stars and click to chime in (free ZAM account required).