RIFT PvP Gear & Progression 101

Greetings Everyone,

I know some people are really confused with the whole "5 Tiers Of PvP Gear". I thought I'd share some light on this. First if your just joining RIFT post patch 1.7 you must be really confused. Mainly because you can only count 4 armor sets. So where's this mysterious 5th? Let me answer this for you all.

Tier 1: Removed In Patch 1.7
This armor used to be the entry level no requirements set. Armor used to be entirely based off of your PR Rank (8 PR Ranks back then). Now as Trion saw the problems with this they decided to move to a 40 Rank PvP System and allow people to Upgrade their armor instead of buying each set independently.

Tier 2: No Requirements To Buy

Guardian: Sold by Favor Quartermaster
Cleric: Redeemer's
Rogue: Seeker's
Mage: Seer's
Warrior: Tactician's

Defiant: Sold by Favor Quartermaster
Cleric: Repudiator's
Rogue: Seditionist's
Mage: Occultist's
Warrior: Legionnaire's

Tier 3: No Requirements To Buy. [Start Here]

Guardian: Sold by Lieutenant Quartermaster
Cleric: Exemplar's
Rogue: Stalker's
Mage: Clairvoyant's
Warrior: Sentinel's

Defiant: Sold by Legionnaire Quartermaster
Cleric: Retributor's
Rogue: Vigilante's
Mage: Theurgist's
Warrior: Brigadier's

Tier 4: Tier 3 Required to Upgrade

Guardian: Sold by Constable Quartermaster
Cleric: Archangelic's
Rogue: Criterion's
Mage: Soothsayer's
Warrior: Vanguard's

Defiant: Sold by Centurion Quartermaster
Cleric: Heretic's
Rogue: Nihilist's
Mage: Virtuoso's
Warrior: Conqueror's

Tier 5: Tier 4 Required to Upgrade

Guardian: Sold by Colonel Quartermaster
Cleric: Virtuous
Rogue: Pathfinder's
Mage: Overseer's
Warrior: Avenger's

Defiant: Sold by Eldritch Knight Quartermaster
Cleric: Harbinger's
Rogue: Reeper's
Mage: Savant's
Warrior: Vanquisher's

Strategy:

Now if your just getting started in PvP you will want to get the complete Tier 3 set first. This will put you at the same Valor level as everyone else in the PvP Warfronts and Conquest you'll be going up against. Valor is like Toughness for PvP. If you try to tank Greenscale without Toughness you get 1 shot. If you try to PvP without Valor you get 1 shot. It's absolutely critical that you get your valor as fast as possible. 

Once you have your Tier 3 armor take 1 piece at a time and upgrade it to max level. I highly recommend doing Chest then Pants then Shoulders then Helmet then Belt, Ring, Amulet, and Boots and Gloves last. This will maximize your armor protection increase while giving you the top statistical gains possible. Be sure to pick up your Tier 3 synergy crystal from Jiana Relos <The Unseen>  or Leesi Nalan <The Order of the Eye>  to maximize efficiency. 

By the time you've maxed your gear out you should be of the appropriate Prestige Ranks to buy your top Tier Synergy Crystal. 

That in a nutshell is your PvP Goal. Some may choose to do it differently but this system worked well for me. Be sure to try to max your Planar Attunement of War as quickly as you can. That will help your survival quite a lot. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask in these forums.

» Edited on: 2012-06-28 12:04:28

» Edited on: 2012-06-28 12:46:39

» Edited on: 2012-06-28 12:47:19

» Edited on: 2012-06-28 13:57:20

tyvm. very helpful :) *bow*

Thank you so much. I was not sure what to buy. My pvp gear is so old it does not exist anymore anywhere. :)

Hehe thanks Fog! I didn't even know what set to begin with.

I have gotten all of the tier 3 armor set. If valor is king, then the necklace, rings and planar focus and weapons would be next before moving onto tier 4 armor? I'm a bit confused about planar focus/essence items sold by Leesi Nalan for my rogue. All the essence's say unique - Family. Can I only have one planar essence from her? Is the "Family" group determined by first or last name of the item? My hope is that between Lieutenant Quartermaster, Leesi Nalan and conquest vendor I could fill out a PVP planar focus.