Rift's launch has come and gone, and the first patch is on its way to users soon. As a sneak peek, we've updated our Rift Soul Tree Calculator with all of the new info so you can start tweaking all of your builds immediately to find out which still are viable in PvE, PvP, Raiding, and more!

All of the tools on our Rift site have been updated with the latest open beta information, including our abilities database and our Soul Tree Calculator.

Also, don't forget to spend some time looking through the most popular and highest rated builds on our Soul Build List. Let people know when a build isn't as good as they think by leaving a comment or posting a lower rating. Friends don't let friends drive bad builds!

If you need help while you're playing Rift, check out our wiki for informative articles or head over to our forums to talk about Rift with other players. See you in Telara!

Brewday kicks off on March 11th and your faithful ZAM staff has been working hard to bring you all the help you need. While drunkenly stumbling through Norrath we paid homage to Brell and were entertained by Oldar Foambeard for this year's new quest. The event also features two new crafting scrolls: Brewday Accoutrements to Craft II and Brewday High-tech Distilleries.

Back by popular demand we also offer you the Brewday Quest Tracker! Happy drinking!

During our time at the Game Developers Conference, we had the opportunity to swing by the Trion Worlds studio in Redwood City, CA and speak with Senior Community Manager Cindy "Abigale" Bowens about the recent launch of Rift. We talked about the responsibilties of the community team, and Bowens hinted that an MVP program may be coming to the official forums in the future. She also suggests that a large Fan Faire-style event may be held for Rift fans someday if there's enough interest from the community.

Keep reading after the jump for our interview with Cindy Bowens. Also, be sure to check out our interview with Producer Adam Gershowitz from the same visit to the studio.

During our time at the Game Developers Conference, we had the opportunity to swing by the Trion Worlds studio in Redwood City, CA and speak with Producer Adam Gershowitz and Senior Community Manager Cindy "Abigale" Bowens about the recent launch of Rift.

To kick things off, Editor-in-Chief Darryl "Togikagi" Gangloff talked with Gershowitz about Rift's smooth launch, the process of adding new servers, team members playing the game during work (hey, wouldn't you?), and the fact that experience from rifts is getting a boost. He also hinted that players can expect to see all sorts of new content added in the first couple months of updates.

Keep reading after the jump for the full interview with Adam Gershowitz, and check back with ZAM tomorrow for our interview with Cindy Bowens!

After I fought my way through TERA's Smuggler's Hideout instance at the Game Developers Conference, I had the opportunity to sit down with Senior Producer Brian Knox to talk briefly about the demo, the game's recent launch in Korea and his thoughts on the North American release. It appears that once the upcoming community play event is held in early spring, players can expect to see some more consistency from En Masse Entertainment in terms of further community and beta events.

Keep reading after the jump for the full interview, and be sure to check out our look at the GDC demo for details on enemy AI, the user interface, combat and big ass monsters.

During my visit to the Game Developers Conference, I had the opportunity to get my hands on a new TERA demo and play through a portion of the Smuggler's Hideout instance with Producer Chris Hager and Associate Producer Stefan Ramirez. With these two guys playing as the main tank and healer, it's safe to say we took down one of the dungeon's huge bosses and emerged victorious. Of course, I like to think my damage-dealing skills helped out a little bit.

Before we dove into the demo, however, the producers took a moment to discuss the depth of TERA's combat. They explained how the team has focused on the enemy AI, the user interface, the combo system and “big ass monsters” to make TERA's skill-based action combat stand out among a sea of other MMOs.

It turns out that this week's Game Developers Conference is a highly newsworthy event for Guild Wars 2 fans. During an NCsoft presentation, I had the opportunity to watch a live demo of the Norn starting area and witness the reveal of the thief profession. I also learned how ArenaNet is striving to set Guild Wars 2 apart from other MMOs by focusing on innovation in the questing mechanic, dynamic combat and the character's personal story.

Members of the ZAM team are currently at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and Editor-in-Chief Darryl "Togikagi" Gangloff was lucky enough to get the chance to sit down with Final Fantasy XIV Producer/Director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida and Global Online Producer Sage Sundi to talk about the future of the game.

We discussed various topics, such as the upcoming official forums, the team's plans for new quests, when you can expect to see some battle system changes (as well as a new high-end dungeon), and how you'll earn class-specific armor. Yoshi-P also explains how he hopes to bring both old and new players back into the game. Keep reading after the jump for the full interview!

You can discuss the interview in the ZAM FFXIV forum.

The Far Seas Caravan cleared its way through Darklight Woods’ resident undead as they set up outside the gates of Neriak for this month's city festival. Chris Weathers has recently stocked the new local specialty, an Ornate Neriak Door. The city festival will continue until 11:59pm PST on March 7th.

Patrons of Norrath's pubs will be heartened to hear that Brewday will be returning! The Bar of Brell is expected to open its portal around 12:01am PST on March 11th and should remain in business until 11:59pm PDT on March 22nd. This event has not been spotted on the Test server yet, so anything new is a mystery, but you can take a look at last year's guide for a refresher!

Later in the month the denizens of the enchanted grottos will welcome assistance from those who seek them out. Players can search for those elusive pieces to their Moonlight collections and earn tokens toward purchasing house items or mounts. Moonlight Enchantments will begin on March 20th at 12:01am PDT and conclude on March 21st at 11:59pm PDT.

Just as April is peeking around the corner, pranks will be running wild! The Bristlebane Day celebration is set to begin on March 29th and will run through April 11th. The "Highest of Silly Days" will be celebrated only on April 1st. We'll have more details on this event as it gets closer.

Yesterday marked the official North American launch date of Trion Worlds' highly anticipated MMORPG, Rift, and I'll admit that I was waiting for those server opening times with a bit of trepidation. You see,  these days it seems that most MMO development teams deem launch day to be all about ironing out the kinks in your system, and many players have come to accept the plethora of technical problems that inevitably come with being a pioneer in their fantastical new game. Unfortunately, with so many highly polished MMOs already running the market, launching a wonky product can simply make players pine for the stability of their older staples. There have been a number of MMOs out there that have run into some really rough times, simply because they launched when they weren't ready. Thus, when I sat there waiting for my clock to roll over to 1 PM EST (server opening times), my fingers were crossed that Rift would set the new standard for an MMORPG launch.