Rift Carnival of the Ascended 2026 Anniversary Event Is Now Live

Rift is celebrating another year in Telara.

The annual Carnival of the Ascended event has officially returned for 2026, bringing anniversary festivities, world activities, and themed rewards back to major cities across the game. For longtime players and returning adventurers, the event marks one of the most recognizable seasonal celebrations in Rift’s long-running history.

Now in its 17th year, the Carnival remains a staple of Rift’s yearly event calendar.

Anniversary Celebrations Across Telara

The Carnival of the Ascended typically transforms major hubs like Sanctum and Meridian into festival grounds filled with activities, decorations, and event vendors.

Players can expect:

• World event quests

• Daily and weekly objectives

• Mini-games and carnival challenges

• Special raid encounters

• Limited-time mounts, costumes, and titles

While exact 2026 reward lists are being discovered in-game, previous versions of the event have included unique cosmetics, themed mounts, and collectible items tied to the anniversary celebration.

Most Carnival events traditionally run for several weeks, giving players plenty of time to participate and earn rewards.

Mini-Games, Bosses, and Event Rewards

The Carnival is known for mixing lighthearted mini-games with more challenging group content.

Typical activities include:

• Balloon-popping and festival mini-games

• World boss encounters

• Event currency farming

• Special quest chains

• Legion and group challenges

These activities allow players to earn event currency used to unlock cosmetics and collectibles available only during the anniversary period.

For collectors and longtime fans, the Carnival remains one of the best times of year to gather unique Rift rewards.

Mount and Costume Sale Also Active

Alongside the anniversary event, a limited-time sale on select mounts and costumes is currently running in the in-game store.

The sale includes:

• Discounted mounts

• Fashion items and costumes

• Returning cosmetic bundles

• Themed mount options

These promotions typically run for a short window and often coincide with major in-game celebrations like the Carnival.

Rift Continues Its Anniversary Tradition

Even years after its original release, Rift continues to mark its anniversary with the Carnival of the Ascended — a reminder of the game’s long-running community and seasonal traditions.

While major expansions may arrive less frequently than in the past, events like this help keep Telara active and give players reasons to return throughout the year.

For now, the Carnival is live, the festivities are underway, and Telara is once again in celebration mode.

Read rest of entry

Rift Complete Mounts Instruction

Basic mount information.
Mounts! Mounts! and more Mounts! Everyone wants to run faster, get to quests and back, get from rift to rift as soon as you can, but where can you get them? when? for how much? and how fast?

The first mounts you can get used to be level 20, but with the recent beta they removed the level requirement and you can now get a mount at any level as long as you have enough money. How much money do the mounts cost? (This is a picture of the mount vendor in the main city Meridian for the defiant side. The mount cost the same for both defiants and guardians though.)



The mounts cost 2 plat, 50 gold for the one that requires no level and is 60% speed, 35 plat for the 90% speed one and 125 plat for the 110% speed one.

What do the %'s mean? The cheaper, slower mounts are 60% faster running speed while on the mount, at level 40 you can get 90% speed mounts in your main cities and at level 50 you can get mounts that are 110% faster running speed.


Lastly, where can you get them? Well, they aren't far from the starting zone, they are just a few quest hubs away. The guardian's mount vendor is here, just south of the Argent Glade




The Defiant's mount vendor is here



There is also mount vendors in each main city.


Also as a side note, when pre-ordering the collectors edition, on the website it says that it comes with a mount that can be used at level 20, ever since the change towards mounts you can now use that at any level even though on the website it still says that it can be used at level 20.

Miku


An explanation of mount speed, mount types

Mounts are animals or creations used by players to move faster. Mounts have to be purchased from mount vendors and added into the player's collection (like books and companions). Mounting has a 1.5 sec cast time, and players can be dismounted when taking damage. Players will also dismount when using any ability.

The mounted speed increase depends on the level of the mount.
basic mounts give 60% faster movement speed and can be obtained at any player level
mounts for level 40 players give 90% speed increase, and
mounts for level 50 players give 110% to 110% speed increase.
This does not stack with other movement speed buffs, with the exception of some outfitter enhancement consumables that can be applied to leg items.

Apart from running (mounted or unmounted), players can instantly travel to other zones by using a Porticulum or the Ascended Power Soul Recall.

Mount types

Various vendors across Telara sell different types of mounts, most of them require a certain notoriety with the local ally faction. Each mount type is additionally available in a variety of color designs.



Mount Gallery



Here is a list of the available mounts and where to find their vendors.

Players may purchase a mount once they reach level 20. You will need to visit a vendor to purchase your mount.

After you purchase a mount, right click on the mount's icon in your backpack to have it move to your Mount Collections tab. Once the mount icon shows up on your Mount collections tab, you will be able to drag the icon to any of your action bars.

Guardia
Nell Hara is the vendor in Sanctum.



Reynora Skye is the vendor in Argent Glade.



Templar Arsbret is the vendor in Sanctum.



Defiant
Shria Terke is the vendor in Meridian.



Orobus Vend is the vendor in Kelari Refuge.



Jensen Farnsworth is the vendor in Meridian.



by Ign Wiki

How to buy and summon your mount



Mounts

Read rest of entry