Welcome to the first installment of ZAM's exclusive Rift: Planes of Telara dev blog series! Throughout the coming months, members of the Trion Worlds team will be giving you an in-depth look at the design process behind the upcoming fantasy MMO.

For the inaugural entry, Trion Worlds CCO and Rift Executive Producer Scott Hartsman took the time to answer a question that many players may ask when they hear about the game's setting: "why make a fantasy MMO?" Keep reading after the jump for his answer.

Also, we had the opportunity to attend Trion's Gamer Day last week and get some hands-on time with Rift. Keep an eye on ZAM throughout the week for our impressions, and check back regularly for future editions of the dev blog!

Just two days ago, we dropped a nicely laden info-bomb on all of you TERA fans out there with our exclusive in-depth look at TERA's Lancer class, so it seems necessary to follow that up with... even more information! After getting the inside scoop on this ultra-tanky class, we also managed to Q&A it up with En Masse Entertainment's Lead Writer, David Noonan about some more specifics of the Lancer. For this interview in particular, we focused on some of the key roles the Lancer will play in PvP and PvE encounters, as well as that ever dreaded problem of balancing tank classes when taking a magical beating.

In other words, if you were intrigued by our initial exclusive in-depth reveal, then you'll really want to check out the rest of our interview!

When it comes to elements commonly found across most MMORPGs, nothing is more prevalent than the ever-stalwart presence of the designated "tanks" of the game. Always wearing heavy armor of some sort or another, the "standard MMO tank" typically wields a sword and shield, smacking things in the face to make them angry (but never dealing much damage!) and then hiding behind their shield when they get the baddies' attention.

This is not, however, the case for TERA's powerful Lancer class, as we quickly found out in our second exclusive in-depth look at the classes in TERA. Last month, we covered the agile, great-sword wielding Slayer, so this time we looked at TERA's uber tough tank: the Lancer! Wielding a massive lance and heavy shield as their armaments, the Lancer is certain to redefine what it truly means to be a tank in the MMO world and to finally abolish the silly idea that a frontline warrior always needs to have his or her "sword and board" at ready. The future is long and pointy!

The server mergers are scheduled to begin on or around November 16.  Despite an email and a couple of official posts on the forums, players still have some questions about the impending merges.  We combed community posts for concerns and sent them off to SOE, where Amnerys was able to get us some answers from the developers.  We hope this helps everyone plan for the mergers!

The Commonlands became a flurry of activity this month as the Far Seas caravans rolled in, offering their wares for the Freeport City Festival. Three new local specialties were introduced this month, including the much anticipated city-themed door. Also new are the Oktoberfest Forum Challenge paintings, which are sold by Sanya Farshore. The city festival will end at 11:59pm PST on Sunday, November 7th.

Players now have only this coming weekend remaining to finish up their Nights of the Dead quests. A new quest this year, Nights of the Dead Devotee, offers players a stroll through all the event areas as well as a sweet-toothed reward. The event is slated to turn off at 11:59pm PST on Monday, November 8th.

EverQuest II turns six years old this month, and in celebration of this event both Freeport and Qeynos will again be hosting the Heroes' Festival. Players can enjoy three new quests this year where they will assist the new festival band and help locate some lost decorations. Those adventurers risking the dream world again will find themselves offered a new reward. The Heroes' Festival will run from November 19th through November 30th.

The enchanted grottos will again be revealed later this month, allowing players to enter into these magical realms and assist with the locals' tasks. Moonlight Enchantments will begin at 12:01am PST on November 20th and will conclude at 11:59pm PST on November 21st. No new items are expected to be on the grotto merchants.

Having a hard time finding your city's crafting area?  Wondering where the Woodworking Tables are in Jarsath Wastes?  What happened to the Everfrost crafting area?  There are lots of interesting places to craft in Norrath!  From the forge at Fort Irontoe to the Work Bench in the Nest of the Great Egg, here's your guide to every crafting station in Norrath.  Check out our newly updated guide Tradeskill Instances and Other Places to Craft.

And if you've just come back and are confused by the fuel name changes, here's a handy chart to help you figure it out.

With a Guild Experience Bonus Weekend starting tonight it seemed a good time to look at our Status Loot Guide.  While they don't pack the punch of Heritage Quests or writs, status loot can bring a tidy boost to your guild level. 

Where do you get it?  How does your guild get status for it?  Why does some loot not give your guild any status?  Get all the answers in our Status Loot Guide!

Ever wish you could transform lead into gold?  Or that you could remake that Sorcerer's Stone Dumbledore so peskily had destroyed, in order to carry out your plans to take over the world?  How about if you just simply wish to become an effective Alchemist in FFXIV?  Well, look no further with State Alchemist's Guide to Alchemy, right here on ZAM!  From your basic tools, to synth suggestions, let the Arbiter of the Alembic, the Master or the Mortar State Alchemist take you through everything you need to know!

Discuss this on the ZAM forums.

It's always great to hear about new class reveals straight from the development team, as nothing gives players a better idea of the future development of the class, and the potential it will have, than by speaking to the people responsible for balancing it. So when En Masse gave us an exclusive in-depth look at TERA's Slayer class, you can bet that we also took the opportunity to sit down with Senior Producer Brian Knox to find out even more about this heavy-swingin', back-stabbin' rogue/warrior hybrid. Read on for the revealing interview!

Eeeek!! Halloween is approaching! Former citizens of Vana'diel will recognize that this is the time for ZAM's 4th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest! However, this year, ZAM is happy to announce that we will be hosting a pumpkin carving contest for Final Fantasy XIV as well as Final Fantasy XI!

Take a look at the entries from last year. Are you now convinced that you simply must enter this year's contest? What are you waiting for? Head on over to the contest details and see what you need to enter! We've got some spook-tacular prizes from Square Enix and ZAM to offer up for this year's competition!

Discuss this on the ZAM forums!