I worked the Carnival of the Ascended update for Rift and I’ll give you the practical version: Update 1.7 (Carnival runs April 15–May 5, 2025) expands the event, changes rewards, and adds new mini-games that actually matter if you want the best loot. I say that from experience—I’ve played dozens of event cycles and we found the timing and vendor rotations drive what you should chase first.
Meridian, Sanctum and other hubs turn into festival grounds where you collect Glass Beads, take part in timed activities, and fight phase bosses. Want the best rewards? Plan your sessions around timers and the vendor rotation. Seriously—this will save you hundreds of beads.
🎠What’s actually new in 1.7
The carnival adds Parade Float world events, the Fortune Teller NPC with daily prophecies, and new carnival games: Ring Toss, Strength Test, Balloon Darts. Game areas refresh every four hours; Parade Floats spawn every six. The reward math was rebalanced on April 10, 2025 to improve value (dev patch note).
Here’s the funny part: the Fortune Teller sometimes hands out better value than the vendor. I’m not kidding.
🎪 Schedule and phases
| Phase | Dates | Highlights | Key rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Apr 15–Apr 21, 2025 | Games, daily quests | Glass Beads x2 (boost windows) |
| Phase 2 | Apr 22–Apr 28, 2025 | Parade Floats, world bosses | Exclusive mounts |
| Phase 3 | Apr 29–May 5, 2025 | All activities + finale | Limited edition cosmetics |
Daily resets happen at 4:00 AM server time. Plan around that if you chase daily quests or timed spawns. This doesn’t always work if your schedule is unpredictable, but it’s the best baseline.
đź’Ž Currency and rewards (why the numbers matter)
Glass Beads buy the carnival loot. Spend wisely: some limited items disappear after phase three. Between us, legendary titles cost a lot and aren’t worth chasing unless you’re aiming for completionist bragging rights.
- Common Mask — 50 Beads
- Special Effects Bundle — 300 Beads
- Rare Mount — 500 Beads
- Epic Costume Set — 750 Beads
- Legendary Title — 1000 Beads
Sources of beads (typical yields):
- Daily quests: 10–20 beads
- Carnival games: 5–15 beads
- World events: 25–50 beads
- Achievements: 100–200 beads
- Random drops: 1–5 beads
Why this breakdown? Because you can reliably farm daily quests; the rest is variable. If you want a mount fast, prioritize world events and the Fortune Teller prophecies (they sometimes give rare vendor discounts).
🎯 Daily quest checklist (quick)
Each faction hub has five daily quests. Do the easy ones first—time to reward ratio. I’ve noticed players waste hours on low-yield mini-games when a single world event nets more beads.
- Mask Collector — gather 10 masks
- Party Crasher — disrupt 5 shadow rituals
- Balloon Brigade — deliver supplies to 8 spots
- Confetti Cannon — use cannons in 3 zones
- Mystery Box Hunter — open 5 hidden caches
Achievement targets to prioritize:
Complete all carnival games once
Participate in 10 Parade Float events
Collect 15 mask styles
Defeat each phase boss
Earn 1,500 total Glass Beads
🎨 Costumes, pets and collectibles
New transmogs save year-round. The Jester’s Regalia has animated bells; Shadow Carnival pieces add ethereal effects. There are over 50 dimension items in the carnival pack. Truth: dye options are vast, but a few items feel overpriced for cosmetic-only benefit (controversial, I know!).
Analogy: the vendor rotation is like a market stall that changes every tide—if you wait one more day, the item might be gone.
⚔️ Boss phases and quick strategies
Phase bosses scale with player count. They drop bead pouches plus rare items. I’ll keep numbers minimal and give the tactics that actually work.
| Boss | Mechanics | Short strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Balloon Behemoth | Balloon barrage, helium debuff | Pop adds fast; tank swap at 3 stacks; save AoE for barrage |
| Lord of Misrule | Mask swap, chaos phases | Coordinate colors; interrupt casts; spread for jester dance |
Pro tips:
- Form groups ahead with Group Finder.
- Stock up on event consumables from vendors.
- Enable boss timers; they matter.
- Join in-game channel:
/join Carnivalfor pickup raids. - Save big cooldowns for final burn phases (30% health).
Opinions, oddities and one counterintuitive tip
Honestly, the best single “money” move is to spend on certain mid-tier cosmetic bundles early (they rotate out). It feels counterintuitive—saving beads seems safe, but vendors often remove good bundles in Phase 2. There are exceptions, of course.
Controversial point: some endgame rewards still favor long-time players; that design choice frustrates new players. Another hot take: the parade events draw server lag and sometimes break the fun. You might love them, or you might hate them. Vote with your playtime.
Here’s a small stumble—I’m human. Anyway.
“Plan your sessions around resets, hit world events first, and don’t hoard beads unless you need one specific item.” — practical advice from my playtests
Final practical note: if you only have limited time, prioritize daily quests and any Parade Float spawns you can reach. If you have a group, plan boss windows and use voice chat. This event runs April 15–May 5, 2025. See you on the grounds, and bring confetti!
— An Ascended player who’s been to too many carnivals (she/her)
