A Journey Through The Nightmare Saga Act 1

BY: BENJAMIN "FOGHLADHA" FOLEY

Coming back to RIFT for the first time in 4 years felt a lot like trying to drink water from a firehose. There was a wealth of new things, places, and activities that were quite the mystery for me. I asked Uncle Google about these things and found that over the years, most of the good writers about RIFT had also departed leaving very little information available to new and returning players.

Thus, I have decided to begin a new series of guides and walkthroughs for RIFT to help those new and returning players find the information they're looking for. So to kick off this new series I've decided to feature the Nightmare Saga story quest line.

Why is this quest line so important? Because at the end of the second part of this quest line you will receive your own personal Orphiel Farwind dimension item. What's so special about Orphiel? Well he talks when you emote to him, opens portals to strange places where you can fight enemies, collect a rare set of artifacts, and face off with some pretty tough bosses. It also one of the the most valuable dimension items in the game.  

Act 1

Part 1: Of Dreams and Nightmares

By traveling to the Ghar Station Mem, you can find a lad by the name of Purgav north of the porticulum and up the debris on the right. He will offer the story quest "Of Dreams and Nightmares". Purgav asks you to visit the new Ghar Memory Extractor outside of Ghar Station Rosh. Your destination will be just on the other side of the wall near the porticulum. You will need to head to your right after spawning run outside the city gates and follow the wall on your right until you see the sparkles of success.

Part 2: Everyone's Staring at You

In this next step you'll be challenged with several trivia questions in which you'll need to have 3 right answers to complete the quest. If you're anything like me, you're absolutely clueless as to what they’re asking you and you will have to use a process of elimination. The good news is there are only a few different questions, and they ask them multiple times. So by a simple process of trial and error you can pass this test with ease. I answered the same question 3 times to complete this one.

It's pretty straight forward. Accept the quest, go to Gemini Bluffs and answer some trivia questions and back to Ghar Station Mem to speak with Purgav.

Part 3: This Can't Be Happening

In what is the most disturbing part of this Nightmare based quest line, you must investigate if you murdered a whole pack of corgis. Your first task will be to find your missing journal entries which have been scattered about leading you to the crime scene. Once you get to the crime scene, you are attacked and must fight off 6 Onir and then take on a ferocious Manifest Guilt. Now word of advice. This is meant to be a group stage of the quest and as a tank at level, I was unable to complete it. As a warden/sentinel I was unable to complete it. I ended up having to call in a friend to help defeat this foe. Save yourself time and bring a friend for this part of the quest.

Part 4: Couldn't There Be A Map?

In what appears to be the internet's least favorite quest ever invented, this quest has you searching an entire city for a Frustrated Dreamer. There are multiple tiers to this city and it's a giant maze of teleporters. I spent well over an hour searching this city top to bottom before I finally broke down and scoured the internet for information. The best information I found spotted him in the Lost Knot region of Draumheim. So I sat and waited. Trying to do this quest without help would likely lead to premature grey hair and a lot of cursing.

To ease the burden on you, I followed the Frustrated Dreamer until he crossed the coordinates 5670, 5901 which was a archway that had no alternate route through. His route circles the outside Margle Palace in a clockwise rotation. While it would be easy to run a counter clockwise loop, there are so many corridors and hallways there's no telling which route he takes. He walks very slow so mapping his route would likely take more than 30 minutes. Which means he crosses the archway about every 30 minutes.

Once you speak with him, you will end up fighting him. So be ready for a fight. There are lots of easily angered creatures around so be mindful of where you choose to do battle. Once he is slain you will be sent back to Purgav at Ghar Station Mem.

This quest isn't what I'd consider hard, it's just very time consuming waiting for the ghost to make himself known. It might be a good place to check your email or catch up on an episode of Game of Thrones while you wait. Best bet is bring friends and spread out around the outer ring of the city. The more watchers the faster you complete the quest. If I made this game, the creature you fight would be "Manifested Patience".

Note: If you do this as a group, 1 player must interact and kill the target. Then the rest of the group can loot it for credit. If more than 1 person hits Frustrated Dreamer he will despawn.

Part 5: Rest and Relaxation

For this part, you really don't need a guide. This is a simple travel from one place to another. A bridge between quests. Enjoy the journey as there is some pretty scenery along the way.

Part 6: Slow, Steady, and Stressful

Are you a fan of Mario Kart? Well this is going to be your new favorite quest. In this quest you simply race through checkpoints avoiding traps. Lead by a trail of power pellets, you simply have to cross all 10 of the white circles on the floor. Avoid the black tar circles and the orange fire circles along the way. You do not need to collect all the white orbs along they way they are only there to serve as a guide. You do however need to walk through all of the glowing white circles on the ground. This is another very simple piece of this quest line.

Part 7: Why Would You Do This?

At this stage of the quest line you have an easy go to Ghar Station Rosh and interact with various terminals. At first I thought it mattered what station you talked to but later i realized it progresses anyways. At some points you have to wait a while for the interaction to complete and at other times it is instant. Be warned spamming the final terminal will cause the voice overs to talk over the main boss which makes it hard to hear the plotline. So as you near the end of the goal, wait for the speech to catch up.

Part 8: Give Me a Break

In this part of the series, we must take part in a feast. You will first head over to Ghar Station Rosh and travel to the banquet. When you arrive at the banquet, you'll give the food a taste and realize you need to find an empty tent and quick. Your stomach rumbles and you need a quick Bio Break (Skill #1).

You let loose relentlessly in the empty tent to find you've released Smouldering Leavings all about the place, so you must use your Sanitize skill (Skill #3) to clean them up. Once you've cleaned up your mess you will investigate what caused this indigestion.

Off in the hills to the north east, you will find a mysterious picnic basket that when clicked on will pit you against Indigestus, an elite creature that is the source of your agony. Once you slay him it's time to return to Purgav in Ghar Station Mem to collect your reward.

Part 9: March of the Guffins

This part of the quest can be done solo, however it would go a lot faster with friends. First you will head to Ghar Station Tau where you will be riding off to 3 different locations in Tarken Glacier and listen to the mischievous, conspiring Guffins discuss their plans for world domination. You will be discovered and be required to kill these evil penguin like creatures. You will end up fighting 6 at a time and they are mostly ranged classes, so stacking them together can be tricky.

After the third fight you will discover the Guffin Overlord, a giant ice dragon that has 3 primary attacks. The first is Frost Breath, which is an area of effect frontal cone that hurts a lot. The second is a Call of Ice, which can be interrupted and if it goes off, it will stun those in the area. The Third is Icy Reflection, which reflects damage back on the attacker. The trick I used was to interrupt his Call of Ice skill, wait for Frost Breath to begin casting, then run between his legs and attack from the other side. When he casts Icy Reflection I used any heals I had. The fight took awhile for my tank but it was not what I considered difficult even for a solo player.

Bringing a friend on this journey would be an entertaining experience for all of you. This was yet another strange quest in this glorious quest line.

Part 10: The Last Place I Looked

In this stage of the quest line you will be faced with pieces of you. You will fight 5 aspects in this quest. First you will face off with the Aspect of Despair, Aspect of Loneliness, Aspect of Rage, and the Aspect of Pride. Once you have slain the Aspect of Pride a yellow portal will appear. Enter it and you will be transported to a platform above the city where you will face off with the Aspect of Self. Upon defeating yourself, you will be greeted by Lord Arak who will give you a long winded speech before sending you off to see Purgav again.

Part 11: Nightmare Scenario

This is the final part in the Act 1 storyline and has you traveling to Tempest Bay (Instance) through a portal summoned by Purgav. Once you arrive you find yourself in the throne room with a room full of dead bodies. Two hostile creatures stand before you, Atho and Cryrro.

You will be granted a skill called Dream Prison which will put one of them into a trance for 20 seconds. Once it wears off you will not be able to use it on that creature for another 20 seconds. So you will find yourself alternating which one of the bosses you are fighting, placing the opposite into a trance.

Now this fight was not one I managed to do solo. I probably could, however each of these creatures has 3.3 million health and I damage for roughly 2000 average. It would have taken an hour or more to defeat them. So I called in a friend who can put out some damage.

The mechanic is pretty straight forward. It's an alternating boss fight where Atho casts an interruptible skill called Energy Job which sends 8 orbs spiraling outwards. His other attack is Flame Jet which is an area of effect frontal cone.

Cryrro on the other hand uses an interruptible skill called Punishing Strike and a skill called Stone Feet. He also has skill called Death Pulse which is a pulsating area of effect.

Once you slay one of these you will realize that Atho is Asha Catari and Cryrro is Cyril Kalmer. I won't give away the surprise as to who the big mastermind of all this was, you'll have to find out for yourself!

About RIFT

RIFT is an epic fantasy adventure set in the magical world of Telara. As an Ascended hero, you’ll battle against legions of elemental invaders, purge evils from dungeons and raids, and explore your way across the vast planes of existence.

Whether you’re fighting titans at the edge of the cosmos or building your very own Dimension, endless adventures await.

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