I normally don't write much about deals and freebies, but this is a really sweet one, so may as well give you all a heads-up. Starting tomorrow you'll be able to get a free copy of RIFT, including the Storm Legion expansion  and thirty days of game time thanks to Raptr.

If you don't know what Raptr is, it's quite simple. It's a little social platform that tracks your game time, achievements and game collection, on top of a chat system and a few other odds and ends. You can find it here and download the application here.

Of course in order to get the game there are a few requirements you have to fulfill:

  • You need to have recently run the Raptr app (the link is above).
  • You need to have verified your email address in the Raptr system.
  • You need to reside in one of the eligible countries (from what I've seen most of the western hemisphere and quite a lot of the rest are covered)
  • Finally you need to reach the "Experienced" rank in the Raptr ranking system for RIFT itself.

Now, the last condition is what got some people puzzled (and some downright raging). To reach the "Experienced" rank you basically need to play the game for a certain amount of hours (it took me about ten). So how can you play the game to earn the game?

It's actually pretty simple. You can go to the homepage of the game, download the free trial client that allows you to play up to level 20 for free and without time limits, then you can install it, and run the Raptr client. After that you can run the trial game (making sure that Raptr is tracking it) and start piling up hours. You don't even really need to play the game. As long as both the game and the Raptr application are running, your time will add to the count towards the goal.

If you already have RIFT, there's still something for you, as you can get the Storm Legion expansion for free.

In addition to the game and expansion you can also earn the Stone Spaulders and Arbiter Helm  in-game items and a special Raptr pet by reaching respectively the "Newbie", "Amateur" and "Elite" ranks. You can see them in the gallery below.

It's not a bad deal at all considering that Storm Legion has been released just six month ago and the game plus the expansion are priced $49.99, while the expansion alone runs for $39.99. While the deal will start tomorrow you can start tracking time now and it will still count as soon as the deal opens. The Raptr app itself will warn you when you'll have earned the reward.