Editing Rifts

The '''Rifts''' are three expedition-only zones that tear open beyond the [[Sundered Vale]] once you defeat the '''Sundered One'''. They are the game's deepest [[Expeditions|expedition]] content: repeatable boss fights, a currency all their own ('''Rift Shards'''), the '''Riftforged''' armour set, the '''Rift Bazaar''' where shards are spent, and — unlocked by your first '''[[Ascension]]''' — '''Rift Ranks''': tougher Beta and Alpha refights of the same four bosses for steeper rewards.

== Opening the Rifts ==

The '''Rift Fringe''' unlocks the moment you beat the Sundered Vale's guardian, the '''Sundered One'''. The deeper zones open only by clearing the one before: the '''Deep Rift''' unlocks once you've defeated the '''Rift Warden''' (the Rift Fringe's boss), and '''the Riftheart''' unlocks once you've defeated the '''Twin Sovereigns''' (the Deep Rift's boss). Within the Riftheart itself, '''Storm the Riftheart Core''' carries its own extra gate on top of that zone unlock — it refuses to fight you until the '''Riftheart Colossus''' has fallen at least once.

Each zone also asks its own [[Expeditions]] level, and, once you're standing in it, '''25 patrol wins''' in that zone before its boss will fight you — see '''[[#The three zones|below]]'''.

Rifts do not appear on the [[Map|Valley Map]] as ordinary [[Biomes]]; they are their own late-game layer past the Vale.

== The three zones ==

Each zone has a '''patrol''' action you can run freely and one or two '''boss''' fights. Boss fights are repeatable, but each zone's boss is gated behind '''25 patrol wins''' in that zone — clear patrols to earn the confrontation, then fight the boss as often as you like. '''Storm the Riftheart Core''' carries the extra requirement described above: no amount of Riftheart patrolling opens it until the '''Riftheart Colossus''' is dead.

{| class="wikitable"
! Zone !! Action !! Type !! [[Expeditions]] level !! Difficulty !! Time !! XP !! Key rewards
|-
| {{Icon|rift-fringe}} the Rift Fringe || Rift Skirmish || Patrol || 68 || 260 || 62 s || 345 || Fringe Shard, 3 Rift Shards, Apex Scale (4%), Riftglass (3%)
|-
| {{Icon|rift-fringe}} the Rift Fringe || Confront the Rift Warden || Boss || 72 || 640 || 130 s || 1,430 || Warden's Sigil, 25 Rift Shards, Riftforged '''Visor''' (head, 5%) + '''Aegis''' (shield, 5%)
|-
| {{Icon|deep-rift}} the Deep Rift || Deep Rift Patrol || Patrol || 78 || 310 || 66 s || 435 || Rift Bloom, 3 Rift Shards, Emberheart (3.5%), Riftglass (3%)
|-
| {{Icon|deep-rift}} the Deep Rift || Confront the Twin Sovereigns || Boss || 82 || 800 || 140 s || 1,850 || Sovereign Twinshard, 25 Rift Shards, Riftforged '''Plate''' (chest, 5%) + '''Greaves''' (legs, 5%)
|-
| {{Icon|riftheart}} the Riftheart || Riftheart Assault || Patrol || 88 || 360 || 70 s || 540 || Heartshard, 3 Rift Shards, Apex Scale (4%), Riftglass (3%)
|-
| {{Icon|riftheart}} the Riftheart || Confront the Riftheart Colossus || Boss || 92 || 980 || 150 s || 2,400 || Riftheart Core, 25 Rift Shards, Riftforged '''Cleaver''' (weapon, 5%) + '''Idol''' (trinket, 5%)
|-
| {{Icon|riftheart}} the Riftheart || Storm the Riftheart Core || Boss || 96 || 1,100 || 160 s || 3,000 || Rift Prime Shard, 25 Rift Shards
|}

Every patrol also has a small chance (1.2%) to drop a Sundered Vale dig map for [[Excavation]]. Boss fights hit hard but their damage is scaled down so a single blow can never overwhelm a maxed fighter.

== Rift Shards ==

'''Rift Shards''' are the rift currency. Patrols pay '''3''' per win; the four boss fights pay '''25''' at their ordinary difficulty, '''45''' at Beta rank, and '''75''' at Alpha rank (see '''[[#Rift Ranks|Rift Ranks]]''', below). They cannot be sold — no trader will touch them — so their only use is the Rift Bazaar. This keeps the rift economy self-contained: shards in, permanent rewards out, with nothing to launder back into [[Amber]].

== Rift Ranks ==

'''Since v0.49.0''', once you've completed your first '''Ascension''' (the late-game prestige reset), every rift boss gets two tougher, repeatable variants: '''Beta''' and '''Alpha'''. They're the same four fights — the Rift Warden, the Twin Sovereigns, the Riftheart Colossus, and the Riftheart Core — refought at higher difficulty for a richer payout. Below your first Ascension these rows don't exist at all: no listing, no cost, no drops.

=== Unlocking a rank ===

Each boss reveals its own Beta and Alpha tier independently, by lifetime win count on the tier below it:
* '''Beta''' reveals after '''8 wins''' on that boss's ordinary fight.
* '''Alpha''' reveals after '''8 wins''' on that boss's own Beta variant.

So the Rift Warden's Alpha rank only cares about Rift Warden wins — it says nothing about your Twin Sovereigns tally. All the normal gates from '''[[#Opening the Rifts|above]]''' still apply underneath: the zone has to be unlocked, its 25-patrol clear met, and (for the Core) the Riftheart Colossus dead.

Ascending resets the ladder — defeated-boss flags, patrol clears, and rank-reveal win counts all restart, so the zone-unlock chain and every Beta/Alpha tier have to be re-climbed each cycle. What carries over: any Rift Standard, Riftbound Trinket, or Riftheart Relic you already hold, and every one-off Bazaar purchase you've made (the Sigil Press included) — none of those ever need re-buying.

=== Rift Sigils ===

Every Beta or Alpha attempt costs '''1 Rift Sigil''', spent whether you win or lose. Sigils are never sold or dropped — they mint automatically off ordinary rift patrol wins: '''1 Sigil per 12 patrol wins''' across the three rift zones, or '''1 per 10''' once you've bought the '''Sigil Press''' from the Bazaar (1,800 Shards, one-off).

=== The fights ===

Difficulty climbs with rank, and so does the payout; incoming hits are softened by that same factor, so a Beta or Alpha blow lands no more dangerous, proportionally, than the ordinary fight's — you're just taking more, smaller hits for a longer fight. The level requirement doesn't change with rank; only the numbers below do.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Boss !! Rank !! Level req. !! Difficulty !! Time !! XP !! Rift Shards !! Extra rewards
|-
| Confront the Rift Warden || Beta || 72 || 960 || 156 s || 1,644 || 45 || —
|-
| Confront the Rift Warden || Alpha || 72 || 1,280 || 182 s || 1,859 || 75 || Riftheart Relic (6%), Quality Whetstone (8%)
|-
| Confront the Twin Sovereigns || Beta || 82 || 1,200 || 168 s || 2,128 || 45 || —
|-
| Confront the Twin Sovereigns || Alpha || 82 || 1,600 || 196 s || 2,405 || 75 || Riftheart Relic (6%), Quality Whetstone (8%)
|-
| Confront the Riftheart Colossus || Beta || 92 || 1,470 || 180 s || 2,760 || 45 || —
|-
| Confront the Riftheart Colossus || Alpha || 92 || 1,960 || 210 s || 3,120 || 75 || Riftheart Relic (6%), Quality Whetstone (8%)
|-
| Storm the Riftheart Core || Beta || 96 || 1,650 || 192 s || 3,450 || 45 || —
|-
| Storm the Riftheart Core || Alpha || 96 || 2,200 || 224 s || 3,900 || 75 || Riftheart Relic (6%), Quality Whetstone (8%)
|}

Every rank fight also still pays its boss's usual crest item (Warden's Sigil, Sovereign Twinshard, Riftheart Core, or Rift Prime Shard) and rolls that boss's Riftforged pieces at the usual 5% each — ranked wins are a legitimate way to farm the '''[[#The Riftforged set|Riftforged set]]''', not just shards. Only the Rift Shard payout and, at Alpha, the Relic/Whetstone rows change from the ordinary fight.

=== Riftheart Relic ===

Alpha-rank wins alone can drop the '''Riftheart Relic''' (6% per win). It's pitied: the chase is shared across all four Alpha fights, and if you're still empty-handed on your '''25th''' dry Alpha win, that win grants it outright. Holding at least one adds a flat '''+25 expedition score''' inside the three rift zones — on top of the Riftbound Trinket's +6% rift win chance and the Rift Standard's own +10, which applies everywhere. The chase ends the moment you hold one; further copies still roll at the base 6%, purely as sellable dupes (8,000 [[Amber]] each).

=== Quality Whetstone ===

Alpha-rank wins also carry an 8% chance at a '''Quality Whetstone'''. Nothing in the rift chain spends it — it's a crafting-quality ingredient used past the rift/Ascension gate. The Bazaar sells extra copies for 120 Shards (Ascension count 1+), and the separate, Ascension-gated Warden's Bounty Exchange sells it too, for 800 Marks.

== The Rift Bazaar ==

The Bazaar spends Rift Shards on permanent stock. Two offers are one-time gear purchases available from the start; five are repeatable egg crates for [[Breeding|thin stables]]. The rest only appear once you've Ascended: three more items unlock at Ascension count 1 (alongside Rift Ranks itself), and seven Blueprint sheets for a higher gear tier unlock at Ascension count 3.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Offer !! Cost !! What you get !! Unlocked at
|-
| '''Rift Standard''' || 1,500 Shards (one-off) || A carried banner: '''+10 expedition score''' on every [[Expeditions|expedition]] || Always
|-
| '''Riftbound Trinket''' || 2,500 Shards (one-off) || A trinket-slot charm (+12 attack, +20 defence) that adds '''+6% win chance inside the rifts''' || Always
|-
| Small Egg crate || 90 Shards || 3 Small Eggs || Always
|-
| Speckled Egg crate || 90 Shards || 3 Speckled Eggs || Always
|-
| Large Egg crate || 90 Shards || 3 Large Eggs || Always
|-
| Rich Egg crate || 90 Shards || 3 Rich Eggs || Always
|-
| Pristine Egg crate || 90 Shards || 3 Pristine Eggs || Always
|-
| '''Sigil Press''' || 1,800 Shards (one-off) || Speeds Rift Sigil minting from 1-per-12 patrol wins to '''1-per-10''' || Ascension 1+
|-
| Quality Whetstone || 120 Shards || A crafting-quality ingredient spent past the rift chain || Ascension 1+
|-
| Primal Catalyst || 400 Shards || A stockpile item — no confirmed use in-game yet || Ascension 1+
|-
| Blueprint: Moonshadow Saddle || 1,500 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for a saddle || Ascension 3+
|-
| Blueprint: Sky-Tempered Casque || 1,600 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for a head piece || Ascension 3+
|-
| Blueprint: Riftwarden Aegis || 1,800 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for a shield || Ascension 3+
|-
| Blueprint: Stormstride Greaves || 1,900 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for leg armour || Ascension 3+
|-
| Blueprint: Valeglass Warblade || 2,000 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for a weapon || Ascension 3+
|-
| Blueprint: Moonlit Barding || 2,100 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for dino barding || Ascension 3+
|-
| Blueprint: Vale-Heart Cuirass || 2,200 Shards (one-off) || Teaches the recipe for chest armour || Ascension 3+
|}

The egg crates are a pity source for players whose [[Breeding|stables]] don't yet lay a given egg class themselves. Vale Eggs remain stable-only — you can't buy them here. The seven Ascension-3 blueprints teach an equipment tier above the standard [[Blueprints]] list; selling them from the Bazaar rather than dropping them means they're guaranteed, not chased.

== The Riftforged set ==

'''Riftforged''' is a boss-only [[Sets|expedition set]] — the bridge between the Sundered set and the top-tier Primal set. Its six pieces drop '''only from rift bosses''' (ordinary fights and ranked refights alike), at designated slots, 5% per piece per win:

* '''Rift Warden''' → Visor (head) and Aegis (shield)
* '''Twin Sovereigns''' → Plate (chest) and Greaves (legs)
* '''Riftheart Colossus''' → Cleaver (weapon) and Idol (trinket)

Per-piece stats: weapon +85 attack; each armour piece +68 defence; trinket +13 attack / +20 defence. Wearing the full set adds a flat '''+20 expedition score'''. Duplicate pieces sell for 780 [[Amber]] each.

== Related pages ==

* [[Expeditions]] — the skill the rifts extend
* [[Sundered Vale]] — the zone whose guardian opens the rifts
* [[Sets]] — where Riftforged sits among the expedition sets
* [[Blueprints]] — the recipe sheets the Bazaar's Ascension-3 rows teach
* [[Breeding]] — egg classes the Bazaar crates supply
* [[Amber]] — what Riftforged dupes and Relic duplicates sell for

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[[Category:Expeditions]]
[[Category:Game Mechanics]]
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