A large ~1.07GB PTS Update hit on 3rd October 2014 adding more Masteries changes, Minion additions and new Level 65 PvP Weeklies. Check out screenshots and further information on what’s up on the PTS here.
Below you can find information on the datamined files that came with this update:
Summary:
- More Loading Screens Added. – A ton of Goboro Reef, Draumheim and Tarken Glacier loading screens added in.
- Feature Page Backgrounds.
- Polish on Architecture. – Citadel of Insanity models.
- Other Skins/Models –
As always, everything below is subject to change prior to hitting Live and some things included below may never make it to Live release.
Loading Screens Added
A ton of new loading screens were added to all zones, including instances.
Goboro Reef Loading Screens
Goboro Reef Loading Screens
First up are some more Goboro Reef loading screens on top of the ones datamined in the previous update. The first one is actually for the Level 60 Instant Boost Bundle‘s ‘tutorial instance’. Others are Gyel Fortress, Gyel Fortress (Quest Instance), Shikaroth (Quest Instance), Moonriven Breach and a location I cannot recall. Might actually be in Draumheim or an area that was refurbished.
Draumheim Loading Screens
Draumheim Loading Screens
Citadel of Insanity, a few districts, the nightmare versions of Sanctum, Meridian and Port Scion, Ghar Station, Margle Palace and other city districts of Draumheim.
Tarken Glacier Loading Screens
Tarken Glacier Loading Screens
Tarken Glacier loading screens are up. A whole bunch of areas surrounding Mount Sharax, two version of Izbithu (one for open world, the other probably for Glacial Maw dungeon), Octus Monastery, Port Scuddra and even Finrir with his bling.
Shores of Terror Loading Screen
Shore of Terror Loading Screen
There’s even a Shores of Terror loading screen for the special Nightmare Rift instance that allows you to pop Instance lures that reward additional essences every 40 stages after stage 80.
Feature Page Backgrounds
RIFT Store Feature Backgrounds
Looks to be four more RIFT Store feature page backgrounds. Moonriven Breach, a city district in Draumheim, Izbithu’s Demise and Shadow Scion.
Polish on Architecture
Not surprisingly there’s a whole bunch of new architecture models and likely adjustments to models to reduce polygon count or to add more clumps to increase performance.
A few below that stand out:
More Architecture Additions
A ton of walls and other uninteresting models. The above are a few pieces of interest. Some newer looks, including an “A_GR_char_create_clump_01.ma” in the top-right that might relate to the loading screen area I don’t recall ever seeing previously.
There’s also further Draumheim street clumps, plant and clutter clumps.
At the very bottom are “_instanity_” pieces. There’s quite a few of them. These are basically all used in the Citadel of Insanity dungeon instance. The models look similar to the normal Draumheim models with the exception that they have nightmare-based greenish-brown ‘growth’ and eyeballs all over them.
Citadel of Insanity Platform Skin
And here’s a skin for platforms in the Citadel of Insanity. These are slightly different from normal platforms in that – instead of a female face – there is an eye in its place. Color scheme seems to be slightly more sinister as well.
Other Skins/Models
Words of Power Models
Words of Power Quest Item Changes
If you journey around the Octus Monastery in Tarken Glacier you will see some major changes to the area. The monastery is now open to explore, surrounding areas have a lot more doodads and NPCs, and previously dull ‘Words of Power’ quest items in the area now have unique, animated model replacements.
Ritual Stones Refurbished
Ritual Stones Refurbished
Ritual Stones have been refurbished as well, now with added animation. Previously only the orb at the top would move around but now various other parts of each ritual stone do the same. For instance, the water ritual stone’s tendrils also move and the nightmare ritual stone’s ‘skull’ jaws also snaps open and shut.
School of Skelf Corpses
School of Skelf Corpses
An absolute ton of Skelf corpse models were datamined with the Oct 3rd PTS Update. Above are just a few of them. Looks like a lot of skelf will be dying at some point in the storyline. Probably in Tarken Glacier.
Rhen of Fate Mirror Model
Rhen of Fate Mirror Model
A mirror in the Rhen of Fate. Part of a Snow White-esque mechanic, or just background doodad?
Other Skins
Misc Skins
More misc. skins.
- Top row are new skins for Tarken Glacier. Probably for the Kamoho area.
- Middle row are likely replacements to Words of Power quest item placeholders and Akvan Totem glowing text.
- Bottom-left has a skin for additional ice shards added across the Tarken Glacier zone to make the place look more interesting. Bottom-right is the same, but also shows glowing text – probably for various totems and banners.
More polish, a ton of loading screens and new models for this update.
The PTS update itself added a lot that is visible to all players including Tier 1 Relic weapons, synergy crystals, notoriety gear and a ton of new mobs in the Draumheim city districts. You can check screenshots and further information on the PTS Update here.
For past PTS Updates, click here. You can also find past datamining and 3.0-related news updates.
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