Vangard is without a doubt the best MMORPG out there. Now with the latest patch and The Port Warehouse dungeon many players have returned to the game. Unlike WOW where gold sellers and power levelers prevail, where loony tune graphics are the mainstay along with mediocre quest, Vangard will go down as one of the greatest pc online games.
I agree that we need a re-review. I have heard about Vanguard from certain people, yet they have never given me a full review, nor listed what lvl they were at the time of telling me about it.
Even if a user wants to break down the current review and let us know how things have changed since launch. (I see a lot of "VANGUARD GREATEST GAME EVER"... but then they rarely qualify that opinion with facts or points of reference)
Explaining Vanguard inevitably leads to explaining Vanguard's community. So, let's just start with it: yes, the game and the forums/fansites that support it are plagued with 'Fanbois' vs 'Haters' - the most heated faction warfare I have ever witnessed. Here, though, the rule of 'vocal minority' is in effect, and if you stay off of the forums and out of general chat, the majority of players are quiet and friendly (if you're not on a PvP server!).
I think this can be the case on many a game Website/Forum and yes they do still exist. There are some good posts on the forums and the usual rubbish where it semms that there is always something to moan about.
According to unconfirmed sources like MMOGData.com, the Vanguard community is shrinking: what at launch had featured around 200k subscribers was down below 50k by May of '07. The PvP and Roleplay server populations are still rather steady, but the "normal servers" are practically ghost towns. When I created a character to explore one of those servers, I ran into another newbie who boldly stated "you're the 3rd person I've seen so far!"
I don't have any numbers and I am not sure that SOE would really give any out, but from one of there last posts they did say that numbers are rising.
The servers have been merged. There are no way as many as there was at live, we only have 4 now. Has this made a difference. Hell yes. There are Guilds with huge populations and the servers a alive with players running about and the chat channels full with folks talking. Yes things are a lot better.
Contrary to your probable expectations, I'm not going to say that this means VG is a "bad game", or that I think it is a "bad game". In fact, I think it's a rather good game, it just isn't the game it promised to be.
I think we can all agree that at launch it was never the game it promised to be and in some cases is still not. But, it's been worked on very well by the guys and gals at SOE and they've done a great job. A number of things that were promised at the start are now in game with a number being put live in future Game Updates.
For example, flying mounts were expected at launch, and still only appear in the game as "rental" items. The Inquisitor class, an anti-magic tank type, was not ready for launch and still hasn't made its way into game; neither was the offensive fighter Berserker class. Explorers found whole city or hunting areas laid out, but not populated: the list goes on and on.
Flying mounts have now been added. To some not in the way they wanted but they have been added. The Griffon and Wyvern are the first and both need you to be 50 to have a chance and getting one. With the Wyvern requiring a lot of Raiding to be able to get that one. I, myself have started to work on th Griffon Quest line. This in it's self has been good fun so far.
Yes there are some classes that have not made it into the live version of the game. But is that not what Beta means? You test it, if it's not needed or does not work you take it out before go live. To be honest there are lots of classes already there each with some great unquie styles.
Area's are populated not with Quests all over the place. Remember the world of Telon is very big so it's not like some games where every 3 feet there is a mob to bump into. You get the great feeling of size when running around.
What is in the game now, at this moment, impresses me. Every class that I have tried in VG has its appeals both for power and for fun. For example, VG rethought the Cleric class: instead of being an exercise in heal-and-sit-and-stand-and-heal, the VG Cleric is a powerful meleer, and is expected to help in combat. Other healer-class options include the martial artist/healer Disciple, and the nuker/healer Blood Mage, who gains power when she does damage and transfers that into healing. Playing my VG Cleric, I've been able to solo and have fun bashing and smashing with the rest of the world.
All I can say here is that I've filled all my character slots trying as many clases I can. There are so many great ones and each with a fresh way of playing them. Take the Disciple for example, a fighting healer. You heal your target by performing a number of set moves in combat and as long all of them land your target gets a heal. None of which require you to use any Power (Mana). You also get Power based heals if you need them.
The Necromancer class is another interesting twist on an old idea: the VG Necromancer has the deadly DoTs (damage over time spells) and control over the undead, but their undead pet can also be augmented via body parts - yes, body parts - that you salvage from the corpses of your enemies. There is nothing so satisfying as pulling out the shinbone of your foe and handing it to your pet.
A fantastic class with some great features. You really need to try one to see what it's like. At higher levels not only do you get your Pet, but you are also able to call forward a small army of undead pets to help.
While some feel that the world graphics are too plasticy and doll-like, I personally think that Telon is an engaging and beautiful world - and a massive one, at that. The game's horseback and boat travels are absolutely necessary for traversing the three massive continents - but like the rest of the Vanguard world, travel has done its job at sparking animosity. Die hard hardcore players were expecting a world where travel was significant - fun, but still time consuming. Before launch, it was clearly stated that Vanguard would not support a teleportation system, and that users would have to hoof it or sail it to get to where they wanted to be.
The world is great and very well done. If you have the hardware to turn the graphics up you'll see some amazing things. Volumetric clouds and gases make things like weather and swamps come alive. It's not just a white line 3" off the ground trying to look like ground mist.
At launch, "temporary" teleporters were available for cross-continental travel. These became permanent teleporters, and more were added to transport you within the continent itself. While many players rejoiced at this, the original die hards grumbled and those who had already discarded the game for its "busywork traveling" rarely ran out to buy the game.
These teleporters have always been a bone of contention. But to be honest as with all games, if you get a group and you are on the otherside of the map you want to get with the others quickly as possible. So with the Riftways (large crystal stones) that allow you to transport around the world based on your level, have made a great feature to the game and help folks meet up quickly. And to be honest are not that bad. There still are portions of riding you mount and using a boat to get to some points.
There were also a lot of initial problems at launch with performance and lag; players were constantly crashed to desktop, had a "black screen of death" where you lost all graphics and had to restart. Opening doors was and still is a total lagfest - boats sometimes disappear, or passengers fall off in lag. One friend quit the game in frustration after multiple crashes and the inability to traverse town - and his system was well above the required specs. (Note: this has gotten a lot better over time, but is not yet completely solved).
SOE have done a great job on this. At the point of writing this I hardly ever get a crash to desktop and the lag is now very small. Still some can be seen within City's or areas with a large number of players running about, but to be honest this has been pretty much fixed. And with GU#6 (Game Update 6) we are going to see even more improvements.
Despite the lack of content delivery and the performance issues, I still set out in Vanguard to have a good time - that's what gaming is all about. As stated above, my Cleric character was extremely self-sufficient and able to solo quite competently; I rarely hunted with others and explored the world on my own.
Not much to say here except soloing and grouping seem to be pretty good. Of course grouping does help you level quicker and get some of the better Quests with rewards completed.
For kicks, my Cleric was created on the role-play preferred server, and I made every effort to get those around me engaged with "in-character" discussion. I had fun with my successes and a good laugh at my few failures, but all-in-all, the role-play community was fairly impressive and fun. As for lore, though, it seemed like the Vanguard lore was patched together and often hard to follow; from reviewing the official site and fansites I had a hard time figuring out whether I was supposed to follow one god or many, what and who the gods were, etc. The world itself allows for a great deal of role-play exploration, and races obviously at odds - gleaned via NPC text - could creatively work their individual stories into an overarching theme.
The Role-Playing server does not exist anymore. This was merged with others and became the Seradon server. There is still some Guilds doing the role-playing side of it and people don't get shot down in flames for doing it. It's just except part of this server.
Lore does seem in places a little lacking, until you do some of the Diplomacy and then you get stuck right in with whats going on in Telon in this area right now. Also SOE are putting a lot more information up on the Website with stories and information about areas of the game and why they came to pass.
I explored the three continents, doing various quests that ranged from 'corny' to 'awesome' in my opinion (examples to follow). One of my least favorite quest lines in my starter town had Guard A ask me to play a trick on Guard B and stick a chicken in his room. Guard B, terrified of chickens, asked me to remove it. There was absolutely no storyline, and no fun. The starter diplomacy quests were also annoying, allowing me to choose between two shady factions, and once that choice was made I could not betray my employer. My self-decidedly lawful/good character was forced to murder, steal, and lie in the name of quest advancement.
Start quests have been worked on, but they are also very unquie. You start currently in a City of your race and learn the basics of your class from here. Some of the starting areas are amazing to see let alone to play in. Others are just okay and send you for long journeys to get some things done.
Apparently they are going to change this and create one single Trial Island a bit like EQ2 had for all starting characters. Personally I hpoe they don't. Faction has been removed, this was so that a number of Quests we opened up for Evil races as the faction grinding was just way too much. With one of the next updates Faction will be back in but changed a little to make it fair.
Conversely, my favorite quest led me to discover a sleeping mace deep in a tomb haunted by undead. By collecting several drops off the undead I was able to partially awaken and obtain the mace - Adrid, Mace of Sorrow - and subsequent quests allowed me to further awaken its latent powers. I was sent to solve riddles, feed it with the sorrows of others, etc - and I had a blast progressing my new weapon.
There are some great Quest lines like this. Try Lord Tsangs this is great fun and you get a great weapon once fully complete.
Overall, the majority of quests that I came across after I left the frivolous starter town were fairly engaging and fun. But while I enjoyed my casual progression up to level 30, I had to be honest with the hardcore raider core: this was not a game I could ever play "full time", or even long past max level; I didn't see a big capacity for raiding, and the few hardcore raiders I met in my journey made max level and quit shortly thereafter to return to WoW or EQ, or move on to LotRO.
Raiding content has been added and some very good content indeed. There are now active Guilds doing raids nearly all nights of the week with some very tough boses.
There is also lots of material to get you to level 50, you are never left thinking of what to do next.
Of course, age does wonders for a game - look at the size of modern EverQuest, compared to the original three continents and three raid targets - but Vanguard's updates seem to be slowing down, and the promised additions (like the Inquisitor and Berserker classes, as well as ownable flying mounts) still haven't made it into the game. Customer Support has been excellent in dealing with bots and plat sellers, but game content support has slowed down with the change of hands between multiple companies.
Age does help. Since live this game has had a number of changes. At this point within it's life it's become a very good game. I know, it will not please everyone, but that's why there are so many out there for them to play.
Customer suppot is very good in game. If you look at the official forums you will see folks giving Customer Service Reps credit for helping them out and thanking them for there work. It's these things that make a difference.
All said and done, I would recommend Vanguard to a casual gamer. Vanguard makes a good game a couple hours a day, or only a couple days a week, but hardcore play or long-term play just aren't options, yet. Community should improve with the upcoming planned server merges, as the world once again becomes populated and playable for non-solo classes.
Hmm, I would recommand Vanguard to someone that likes a good challenge and something to really get your teeth into. Find a good guild and get stuck in. Build your character, your Legend and get to that 50. There is a great adventure on the way to 50, it's not quick nor slow but just right and let's you know that you've worked for something and got it. Once there, try the raids or just create another character and do it again, with plenty of quests that you don't have to do the same thing twice.
Comments
incredible game.
it must have much but note on 9,2
I would like to see MMORPG.com do another review. It has been 6 months since the last one and imo a lot has changed.
The last interview listed was done in 8/3/2007
The last article listed for Vanguard is on 1/12/2007 with Brad.
I agree that we need a re-review. I have heard about Vanguard from certain people, yet they have never given me a full review, nor listed what lvl they were at the time of telling me about it.
Even if a user wants to break down the current review and let us know how things have changed since launch. (I see a lot of "VANGUARD GREATEST GAME EVER"... but then they rarely qualify that opinion with facts or points of reference)
Anyhow, I am eager to read about it more.
So here is an attempt at a new review:
I think this can be the case on many a game Website/Forum and yes they do still exist. There are some good posts on the forums and the usual rubbish where it semms that there is always something to moan about.
I don't have any numbers and I am not sure that SOE would really give any out, but from one of there last posts they did say that numbers are rising.
The servers have been merged. There are no way as many as there was at live, we only have 4 now. Has this made a difference. Hell yes. There are Guilds with huge populations and the servers a alive with players running about and the chat channels full with folks talking. Yes things are a lot better.
I think we can all agree that at launch it was never the game it promised to be and in some cases is still not. But, it's been worked on very well by the guys and gals at SOE and they've done a great job. A number of things that were promised at the start are now in game with a number being put live in future Game Updates.
Flying mounts have now been added. To some not in the way they wanted but they have been added. The Griffon and Wyvern are the first and both need you to be 50 to have a chance and getting one. With the Wyvern requiring a lot of Raiding to be able to get that one. I, myself have started to work on th Griffon Quest line. This in it's self has been good fun so far.
Yes there are some classes that have not made it into the live version of the game. But is that not what Beta means? You test it, if it's not needed or does not work you take it out before go live. To be honest there are lots of classes already there each with some great unquie styles.
Area's are populated not with Quests all over the place. Remember the world of Telon is very big so it's not like some games where every 3 feet there is a mob to bump into. You get the great feeling of size when running around.
All I can say here is that I've filled all my character slots trying as many clases I can. There are so many great ones and each with a fresh way of playing them. Take the Disciple for example, a fighting healer. You heal your target by performing a number of set moves in combat and as long all of them land your target gets a heal. None of which require you to use any Power (Mana). You also get Power based heals if you need them.
A fantastic class with some great features. You really need to try one to see what it's like. At higher levels not only do you get your Pet, but you are also able to call forward a small army of undead pets to help.
The world is great and very well done. If you have the hardware to turn the graphics up you'll see some amazing things. Volumetric clouds and gases make things like weather and swamps come alive. It's not just a white line 3" off the ground trying to look like ground mist.
These teleporters have always been a bone of contention. But to be honest as with all games, if you get a group and you are on the otherside of the map you want to get with the others quickly as possible. So with the Riftways (large crystal stones) that allow you to transport around the world based on your level, have made a great feature to the game and help folks meet up quickly. And to be honest are not that bad. There still are portions of riding you mount and using a boat to get to some points.
SOE have done a great job on this. At the point of writing this I hardly ever get a crash to desktop and the lag is now very small. Still some can be seen within City's or areas with a large number of players running about, but to be honest this has been pretty much fixed. And with GU#6 (Game Update 6) we are going to see even more improvements.
Not much to say here except soloing and grouping seem to be pretty good. Of course grouping does help you level quicker and get some of the better Quests with rewards completed.
The Role-Playing server does not exist anymore. This was merged with others and became the Seradon server. There is still some Guilds doing the role-playing side of it and people don't get shot down in flames for doing it. It's just except part of this server.
Lore does seem in places a little lacking, until you do some of the Diplomacy and then you get stuck right in with whats going on in Telon in this area right now. Also SOE are putting a lot more information up on the Website with stories and information about areas of the game and why they came to pass.
Start quests have been worked on, but they are also very unquie. You start currently in a City of your race and learn the basics of your class from here. Some of the starting areas are amazing to see let alone to play in. Others are just okay and send you for long journeys to get some things done.
Apparently they are going to change this and create one single Trial Island a bit like EQ2 had for all starting characters. Personally I hpoe they don't. Faction has been removed, this was so that a number of Quests we opened up for Evil races as the faction grinding was just way too much. With one of the next updates Faction will be back in but changed a little to make it fair.
There are some great Quest lines like this. Try Lord Tsangs this is great fun and you get a great weapon once fully complete.
Raiding content has been added and some very good content indeed. There are now active Guilds doing raids nearly all nights of the week with some very tough boses.
There is also lots of material to get you to level 50, you are never left thinking of what to do next.
Age does help. Since live this game has had a number of changes. At this point within it's life it's become a very good game. I know, it will not please everyone, but that's why there are so many out there for them to play.
Customer suppot is very good in game. If you look at the official forums you will see folks giving Customer Service Reps credit for helping them out and thanking them for there work. It's these things that make a difference.
Hmm, I would recommand Vanguard to someone that likes a good challenge and something to really get your teeth into. Find a good guild and get stuck in. Build your character, your Legend and get to that 50. There is a great adventure on the way to 50, it's not quick nor slow but just right and let's you know that you've worked for something and got it. Once there, try the raids or just create another character and do it again, with plenty of quests that you don't have to do the same thing twice.
"Iskvosi, level 49 Rogue, Seradon Server"