Rift: Nightmare Tide expansion enters open beta

There's a prevailing rule in gaming that says underwater levels, by and large, suck barnacles. Hopefully for Rift, that doesn't prove the case. The new, long-teased second expansion, Nightmare Tide, opens up the Plane of Water—adding three new zones to the free-to-play MMO. It's due out next week, on 8 October, but you can try it via the open beta that's now launched on the game's public test server.

As well as the new zones, players will get to experience six new Dungeons, a Chronicle, a Sliver, and a Raid. You can see a full run down of the planned features on the Nightmare Tide microsite.

Or just try it out for yourself by selecting 'PTS' from the game launcher's server list. Or see below for a selection of screenshots. Or leave this page and move on with the rest of your life. You really do have no end of options here.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.