6 of my favorite pets from RIFT

Time for another installment of Syp’s favorite MMORPG pets, with a focus on RIFT. I am particularly fond of this game and its array of non-combat pets (combat pet choice is another deal), with so many to collect and really fun ones to employ. Here are the six I tend to favor the most!

1. Bernie

Bernie is one of the ugliest and oddest pets in the game. He’s a reward for doing the Ember Isle puzzle quest, a feat well worth it to get this weirdo. Bernie is pretty big for a pet, a lumpy and vaguely Kung Fu master-looking guy who smokes a pipe while you’re not running and wheezes loudly if he’s asked to jog anywhere. His huffing and puffing are probably what endear him to me more than anything else.

2. Ducklar

I got Ducklar from a convention code several years back, and for a while after, he was one of the more rare pets in the game. Kind of a neat feeling to have a pet that almost no one else does (although this has undoubtedly changed in the meantime). Rarity aside, he rocks because ducks are wonderful and he does this little waddle dance that never fails to make my kids break out in giggles.

3. Courage

In my opinion, there are never enough dog pets in MMOs (cats seem to have better agents). But RIFT has a well-known obsession with corgis — blame Scott Hartsman, who reportedly owns one — and for a while they were (are?) the unofficial mascot of the game. I just like this little guy. He’s cute, he’s always wagging his tail and lolling out his tongue, and once in a while he scratches his ear with his hind paw. Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?

4. Harbinger of Regulos

This is one of the earliest pets that I got — and one of my earliest rares as well. It’s kind of a tongue-in-cheek joke, that the Harbinger of Regulos (the big bad guy of the game) is… a little purple bunny. A glowing bunny, glowing with evil no doubt, but still. A bunny. Probably a nod to Monty Python too.

5. Spirit of Tears

I’m not a cat guy in the least, but I went out of my way to get this pet because its acquisition process is darkly hilarious. The ghostly Spirit of Tears can only be obtained by killing an array of specific defenseless critters — squirrels, cats, deer, etc. — and harvesting their tears to complete a morbid artifact set. If you have this pet out, it’s like you’re painting yourself as an animal killer. But in a fun way? I guess?

6. Winston

Honey badger memes aside, I simply like Winston. He’s cute, he paws at the ground, and he’s fiercely loyal. Wish he was a combat pet that I could fling at an enemy’s face and enjoy seeing them flail about while he mauls into their eyes, but at least I can imagine it while he’s trotting alongside of me.