The first aspect that any player will face in RIFT is the soul system. The player talent trees in RIFT are similar the talent trees in other games however, Trion takes it one further by tying individual choices to the lore and history of the game.
By looking into the aspects of souls, we are better able to understand what it means to be an Ascended Defiant; but before we can understand the history of each soul, we need to know how they function.
From a game play standpoint, the soul system is one of the things that makes Rift unique. By choosing different soul combinations you are able to drastically alter your game play within your calling. It sounds ordinary to anyone familiar with MMO's, but the versatility is what sets it apart.
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| Soul Specialists consulting the Soul Analyzer |
It is curious that powerful Guardian souls were rejected given the current state of emergency. The fact that strong souls like Storn Homlut, a Paladin of the Mathosian Civil War, and a Dwarf, were rejected suggests some residual aspects of the souls prior personality may also be present upon successful ascension. If an ascended received the power of the soul but none of the personality, souls of former Guardians could add significant force to the Defiants push for Telara's rescue. I could better understand affiliation discrimination if the same experiments were being conducted in peacetime, however, with the fate of Telara resting on the shoulders of the Defiant Ascended it would seem the scientists rejected the possibility because of a more significant reason than old rivalries. (Follow-up provided in Lore: Ascended by Sourcestone with evidence of a souls residual memories)
Valin Kalmina (Eth Pyromancer), and Lotharia Quotha (Bahmi Champion) were souls retrieved in the short time we were able to observe the scientists in action. The noteriety of these souls (they have been recorded in the historical records) and the idea that they hale from different eras in Telara's history suggests that the ascension scientists were seeking the most powerful souls possible and that these souls can be retrieved at any time once they enter the soul stream.
Elsewhere in the facility experiments are conducted to determine how many souls a regenerated body can safely hold, with the current maximum being six. This brutal experiment seems unnecessary as Telara is in a state of failure and all scientific research not already completed will be lost when the clock is reset. However, it does give us an insight into the Defiant need for understanding and their ability to turn any situation into an opportunity for study. It also shines a light on their hatred of the Guardians and their willingness to dissect Vigil Ascended physiology for the Defiant's gain.
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