* First, a light beacon will appear on a server (one beam per server at one time), 2 real-life days before the rift will open on PvE and 3 real-life hours before opening on PvP. The location is random each time but always in a non-deeded area. This is where the gods will open the rift portal.
* The rift participation area is a 41x41 square centered around the riftlight. One can check to see whether one is in the participation area or not by using the /rift command. If the rift has not yet started, the number of hours until the rift opens will be displayed.
* Next, when the rift portal actually opens (48 hours after the beacon first appears), it will clear all the trees within its borders and turn all terrain into dirt. It will also spawn a number of traps, rift stones, rift crystals, and rift plants in the rift zone. Terraforming attempts in this area will be blocked until the rift is closed. Additionally, the rift will spawn a rift altar and a wave of deadly [[rift creature|rift creatures]] that will only fight players within the zone.