Some exciting new features are coming! We checked them out on the Public Test Shard.

Patch 1.3 just came out and it looks like the good folks at Trion are already at work on 1.4!  We had the opportunity to participate in a brief live event this past Friday on the Test Shard, and got some sneak previews of upcoming changes that we'd like to share with the ZAM community. New features include a cross-shard LFG system, updates to Whitefall Steppes and PvP rifts.

The event kicked off with a GM having us test the new cross-shard Looking for Group tool. This feature should help significantly reduce the LFG wait times. Interaction with the tool will remain unchanged and raid members' names will display in orange. We were asked to "break" the system and dungeons we queued into as much as possible. There were so many people trying it that the lag took care of the breakage! This tool is raising concerns among some in the Rift community regarding ninja looting and general bad sportsmanship from people on other servers.

Next, we were all asked to switch or transfer over to the PvP Test Shard for PvP rifts! This style of rift combines PvP with zone invasion style Sourceshard running. When a PvP rift is opened with the appropriate tool, a pillar in the center - attackable by the enemy faction - will spawn Sourceshards which will need to be run to a designated area. The run itself is not far but you're barred from sprinting or mounting. The required amount of Sourceshards was around 30 on the PTS, which means that on top of the race against the clock and you will also need a sizable force to guard your pillar. No completion rewards were given in this event, but we did receive Favor and Prestige. PvP rifts seem like they're going to be a lot of fun.

After the PvP rift we were asked to try out the new changes to Whitefall Steppes.  What used to be a standard capture-the-flag system will now be a scramble to retrieve and place three Sourceshards in your base.  They will be used to power the new cannon (which sits where the flag used to) that your side will, presumably, use to blast the opposition to smithereens!  The Sourceshards spawn randomly in the center-rift area of the map, where they'll need to be found and then taken to your base.  The carriers can be killed as usual, and what's more, the stones can be stolen from the opposing side once already placed.  While we waited in queue for the warfront, we were entertained by CM Elrar.  From AoE attacks getting up to 900k damage to sweet looking massive crocodile mounts, the event was a lot of fun and very insightful.