Vanguard is an amazing game but it has worked hard to get there. I picture Vanguard as a bumbling, spastic ugly little girl who put up with name calling, tomatoes tossed at her, and birds trying to nest in her hair. This little girl got older, wiser and stronger. Now she's a lady who is well muscled, has beautiful long hair and fair skin, extremely nice curves and the ability to kick your axx if you don't treat her right.
Exotic mounts acquired through questing.... check. (Some of the best mounts I've ever seen)
Yes this is very true, there are tons of different mounts in game, however majority are for roleplaying purposes (see racial mounts) as to the majority sought after mounts are the flying/randolph(lol)/PoTa mounts. There's nothing negative here
A huge world.... check. (I mean a really huge world. No joke. Three of them actually)
Again another true statement. However bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. This goes back to early development as they made the world too big and it was released possibly 50% filled. They are just now getting caught up on the content. Is this a good thing? Depends on how you see it. If you look at it today, its not such a good thing because the world is so big with not enough to fill it, thus giving it that empty feel. Then again this is well up to opinions.
Housing... check. (Hard as hell to get one built unless you know someone who makes bricks)
My problem with this is that housing in game only serves as cosmetic bloom and extra banking space. I had a house and a guild hall...stuffed the hell out of it with runes.
Varied Armor and weapons... check. (You do NOT have to look like everyone else)
Again another positive. However it did take them a good while to finally get their acts right on this one. However I'm sorry but the PoTa gear graphics = terrible. Everything else is fine.
Diplomacy via a card game... check. (This is a ton of fun. Make your deck and then reap benefits, items, etc..)
Ok here's my pet peeve with this. I enjoyed Diplo for a small bit (got a 50). I just felt it was neglected way too much (up until they let go the entire Diplo team but Jansen). Diplomacy is an acquired taste, definately not a selling point for a game as to really it just adds buffs to game and for roleplayers (are there still roleplayers left?)
Ships... check. (Travel the world and make believe you are Sinbad. hahaha. True)
Another plus here. However you have to be 110% honest here, boats/galleons = useless. Only for RP feel. This is where I kinda get at development since they never completed content to make use of ships. I had a ship, a galleon, and flying mounts. Ships are not a used method of travel..by the majority. Again, there's nothing wrong with it, but don't expect people to go WEEE OGM SHIPS!
Quests out the yingyang.... check. (No making fun of Ever Quest... but Vanguard has a billion quests)
Nothing wrong with this either...
Quests you've never seen before... check. (One of my favorites involves grinding up a victim into feed)
I don't understand this point.
Components for days... check. (Think AO inventory was hard to manage? hahahah. Yea, right)
I don't see this as a positive so I'll let it be lol.
Crafting... check, check, check. (Multiple fields, hundreds of recipes, a collector's dream)
Now this is a personal taste. Crafting bored me to beyond tears. Its not for everyone but it is in depth. Would I call it the best? Again that's all opinion.
If there were more players this game would give WOW a run for its money. It's that good.
Give WoW a run for its money? Ok yeah now I want some of what you're smoking
I would quote each of your bullet points but...*shrugs* I dunno.
Take the easy way out when you have nothing to disprove his points, why don't ya? I know the "give wow a run for its money" is pushing it, but still everything else he said is correct.
Ok well sir since you want some points. (I'm a nice guy so I'll go easy)
So you might want to not be so sensitive when someone who posts about VG. I'm not a troll who didn't play the game. Trust me, I did my time so I have a bit of merit. Things I say may sound harsh but when you read it, it might just help you.
Vanguard is an amazing game but it has worked hard to get there. I picture Vanguard as a bumbling, spastic ugly little girl who put up with name calling, tomatoes tossed at her, and birds trying to nest in her hair. This little girl got older, wiser and stronger. Now she's a lady who is well muscled, has beautiful long hair and fair skin, extremely nice curves and the ability to kick your axx if you don't treat her right.
Exotic mounts acquired through questing.... check. (Some of the best mounts I've ever seen)
A huge world.... check. (I mean a really huge world. No joke. Three of them actually)
Housing... check. (Hard as hell to get one built unless you know someone who makes bricks)
Varied Armor and weapons... check. (You do NOT have to look like everyone else)
Diplomacy via a card game... check. (This is a ton of fun. Make your deck and then reap benefits, items, etc..)
Ships... check. (Travel the world and make believe you are Sinbad. hahaha. True)
Quests out the yingyang.... check. (No making fun of Ever Quest... but Vanguard has a billion quests)
Quests you've never seen before... check. (One of my favorites involves grinding up a victim into feed)
Components for days... check. (Think AO inventory was hard to manage? hahahah. Yea, right)
Crafting... check, check, check. (Multiple fields, hundreds of recipes, a collector's dream)
If there were more players this game would give WOW a run for its money. It's that good.
Give WoW a run for its money? Ok yeah now I want some of what you're smoking
I would quote each of your bullet points but...*shrugs* I dunno.
Take the easy way out when you have nothing to disprove his points, why don't ya? I know the "give wow a run for its money" is pushing it, but still everything else he said is correct.
Don't mind Raive. He was the guild leader for one of the most successful raiding guilds on Seradon till he got really jaded and left the game. Most of what he writes now adays is emotionally charged and not necessarily factually correct. Just bring up Silius and you can watch his head explode.
After reading every single one of these replies, I think Guyra's is pretty dead on. My personal opinion is Vanguard is the best PvE game on the market but a horrible launch and unclear development path has dwindled the population down. It hasn't been until recently that things have started making a change for the better and the original article that all this discussion is stemming from is very accurate if not a tad bit indulgent. If you play Vanguard again, BRING A FRIEND! It will make each of your gaming experiences that much more enjoyable!!
Mr rogue. Hehe jaded? I wouldn't say that so much. Disappointed would probably fit me a bit better. Upset because the game I worked with for 3.5 years is going down the drain? Very At the same time it all going down the drain because of one individual Silius? It makes me even more upset lol.
When I read posts about VG, it strikes a nerve in me. Why? Because SOE has basically shitted on the customers of VG into making them pour our these desperation "OMG VG IS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD" kind of posts. I'm not blaming the individuals at all, they are playing a game that they want to see flourish. I blame SOE because they have literally put its consumers in a state of panic with the upcoming server merge. That's my biggest pet peeve. I'm all for individuals coming out trying to get the game some rep, that's fine. I just folks to push out the 100% truth. Tell people exactly what they are getting themselves into so you won't see these "Well I left because I couldn't find a group at 20".
The insight I offer is you go into the game with your guard up. Don't go in expecting lollipops n shit (that these "omg VG is raining PVE heaven). Vanguard right now is a very strong PVE game, I've said that for years. At the same time it is the only real PVE focused game that has launched after EQ2. Right now its going uncontested for sometime as alot of the games recently have been PVP focused.
So for me, I'll be direct, my posts may sound harsh (with reason), but they are far from trolling. You don't see me whining because I can't run it on my packard bell...
Vanguard is an amazing game but it has worked hard to get there. I picture Vanguard as a bumbling, spastic ugly little girl who put up with name calling, tomatoes tossed at her, and birds trying to nest in her hair. This little girl got older, wiser and stronger. Now she's a lady who is well muscled, has beautiful long hair and fair skin, extremely nice curves and the ability to kick your axx if you don't treat her right.
Exotic mounts acquired through questing.... check. (Some of the best mounts I've ever seen)
Yes this is very true, there are tons of different mounts in game, however majority are for roleplaying purposes (see racial mounts) as to the majority sought after mounts are the flying/randolph(lol)/PoTa mounts. There's nothing negative here
A huge world.... check. (I mean a really huge world. No joke. Three of them actually)
Again another true statement. However bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. This goes back to early development as they made the world too big and it was released possibly 50% filled. They are just now getting caught up on the content. Is this a good thing? Depends on how you see it. If you look at it today, its not such a good thing because the world is so big with not enough to fill it, thus giving it that empty feel. Then again this is well up to opinions.
Housing... check. (Hard as hell to get one built unless you know someone who makes bricks)
My problem with this is that housing in game only serves as cosmetic bloom and extra banking space. I had a house and a guild hall...stuffed the hell out of it with runes.
Varied Armor and weapons... check. (You do NOT have to look like everyone else)
Again another positive. However it did take them a good while to finally get their acts right on this one. However I'm sorry but the PoTa gear graphics = terrible. Everything else is fine.
Diplomacy via a card game... check. (This is a ton of fun. Make your deck and then reap benefits, items, etc..)
Ok here's my pet peeve with this. I enjoyed Diplo for a small bit (got a 50). I just felt it was neglected way too much (up until they let go the entire Diplo team but Jansen). Diplomacy is an acquired taste, definately not a selling point for a game as to really it just adds buffs to game and for roleplayers (are there still roleplayers left?)
Ships... check. (Travel the world and make believe you are Sinbad. hahaha. True)
Another plus here. However you have to be 110% honest here, boats/galleons = useless. Only for RP feel. This is where I kinda get at development since they never completed content to make use of ships. I had a ship, a galleon, and flying mounts. Ships are not a used method of travel..by the majority. Again, there's nothing wrong with it, but don't expect people to go WEEE OGM SHIPS!
Quests out the yingyang.... check. (No making fun of Ever Quest... but Vanguard has a billion quests)
Nothing wrong with this either...
Quests you've never seen before... check. (One of my favorites involves grinding up a victim into feed)
I don't understand this point.
Components for days... check. (Think AO inventory was hard to manage? hahahah. Yea, right)
I don't see this as a positive so I'll let it be lol.
Crafting... check, check, check. (Multiple fields, hundreds of recipes, a collector's dream)
Now this is a personal taste. Crafting bored me to beyond tears. Its not for everyone but it is in depth. Would I call it the best? Again that's all opinion.
If there were more players this game would give WOW a run for its money. It's that good.
Give WoW a run for its money? Ok yeah now I want some of what you're smoking
I would quote each of your bullet points but...*shrugs* I dunno.
Take the easy way out when you have nothing to disprove his points, why don't ya? I know the "give wow a run for its money" is pushing it, but still everything else he said is correct.
Ok well sir since you want some points. (I'm a nice guy so I'll go easy)
So you might want to not be so sensitive when someone who posts about VG. I'm not a troll who didn't play the game. Trust me, I did my time so I have a bit of merit. Things I say may sound harsh but when you read it, it might just help you.
My post wasn't necessarily a negative one, it was more of a challenge. And, while you answered each point, a majority of your points are either "it is fine" or "it was bad but now is not as bad" which is what most people have been trying to say.
That being said, population tends to be the biggest problem.
Population has always been the biggest issue. But what is VG's biggest seller is also its biggest downfall as to NOW it backfires. I'm wondering how will Silius find a way to market a 1 server game...
I enjoyed the game,enjoyed my bard,even through all the bugs and the rough start.
like so many have already said..wish the pop was higher,but regardless,I may i have to give it another shot.
Its awesome to think that the game has so many races with their own starting areas,not to mention so many classes for deeper variety,which is usully sorely lacking in every other mmo to date.
vanguard is one of the best MMOs by design. it simply lags too much. i don't know where this is originated but it feels like being hosted on 56k modem.
Population has always been the biggest issue. But what is VG's biggest seller is also its biggest downfall as to NOW it backfires. I'm wondering how will Silius find a way to market a 1 server game...
Maybe it all starts with this "progress report". The game has made much progress, even since you left game. You did great on Seradon leading your guild, I'm sure you will do well in Rift: Planes of Telara. I don't understand why you have to try and bring a good thing down. It is almost as if you want Vanguard to fail and your posting here just trying to ensure that. Look, this game may not have been your cup of tea, but many others have a different opinion and they are just as entitled to post here as you. Please don't nit pick every post cause your stay in Telon didn't satisfy you. I have things I wish were fixed, I wish there were a bigger population, but despite all that I still choose to play as do many others posting in this thread.
It is a good progress report, let Vanguard have it's moment.
I loved the game, but low population has kept me from coming back. While there are many friendly guilds out there, u will be hard pressed to find one that will stop raiding end game so they can help the noobs level up through the non-solo content. If SoE where to even seem like they care, I would re-sub, but they don't .
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
theres a few of us in the process of setting up a mmorpg.com guild on one of the VG servers if your interested, a few people downloading the game etc, theres a thread in the VG section.
Currently playing : Darkfall Character name : Aeola Anara Played: Almost every P2P MMO you can get your hands on, notably: Daoc, SWG, LOTRO, WAR, AoC + Dozens more
theres a few of us in the process of setting up a mmorpg.com guild on one of the VG servers if your interested, a few people downloading the game etc, theres a thread in the VG section.
If its a long term thing i would like to join. I have tried VG in past but lvling is activity of frustration with no one around. game depends so much on other players that its really sad that more people are not playing. I have quit the game 3 times already i don't mind trying it for fourth time.
theres a few of us in the process of setting up a mmorpg.com guild on one of the VG servers if your interested, a few people downloading the game etc, theres a thread in the VG section.
If its a long term thing i would like to join. I have tried VG in past but lvling is activity of frustration with no one around. game depends so much on other players that its really sad that more people are not playing. I have quit the game 3 times already i don't mind trying it for fourth time.
i think everyone is in the same boat, many people have wanted to keep this game going but have not had a group to play with after the mid 20's, i dont know how long this will go on for but if we all want to play then it should go well
Currently playing : Darkfall Character name : Aeola Anara Played: Almost every P2P MMO you can get your hands on, notably: Daoc, SWG, LOTRO, WAR, AoC + Dozens more
Population has always been the biggest issue. But what is VG's biggest seller is also its biggest downfall as to NOW it backfires. I'm wondering how will Silius find a way to market a 1 server game...
Maybe it all starts with this "progress report". The game has made much progress, even since you left game. You did great on Seradon leading your guild, I'm sure you will do well in Rift: Planes of Telara. I don't understand why you have to try and bring a good thing down. It is almost as if you want Vanguard to fail and your posting here just trying to ensure that. Look, this game may not have been your cup of tea, but many others have a different opinion and they are just as entitled to post here as you. Please don't nit pick every post cause your stay in Telon didn't satisfy you. I have things I wish were fixed, I wish there were a bigger population, but despite all that I still choose to play as do many others posting in this thread.
It is a good progress report, let Vanguard have it's moment.
What makes you think that? Again like I posted before, just because I don't sound like an ad newspaper for Vanguard doesn't mean I'm spewing evil about it. That's what shocked me because com'on man, you know your tone of posts on the boards, seeing you post like this is a shocker to me in itself. My posts are no way in direct towards VG, if you saw my post prior. My anger is more directed at Silius/SoE because they are the reasons I left (I'm not so sure how my guild ties to my decision as it was personal).
Again I don't sugar coat my posts with the "flashy boards and epic landscape*, but more realism which has helped some individuals make hard decisions. Even since I've left I've leaned players towards VG with amazingly high retention because I had them go in with their "guard up" and not thinking it'll be a fantasyland.
VG has attracted enough players to keep the upcoming merge away, but attracting isn't the problem its retaining them. Shouldn't it be fair for incoming players to know that so they can prepare themselfes? If they went in prepared, you'd have less backlash posts about population, and more posts from folks who came in and knew how to handle it.
Personally I played the game at launch hated the bugs and how the game was unfinished. My hopes were high and they were dashed by poor execution. I left the game.
I tried the game almost a year later to find that nothing had changed, except that the place was a ghost town.
Not going back to the game regardless of how many people say the turd has been polished to a lovely glow.
However, once you hit about level 22-25 you are going to start hitting walls. Solo leveling walls at least. Even joining a large guild, I still wasn't able to overcome that level hump, since they were running endgame raids.
I ended up unsubscribing because of this, but it wasn't for lack of trying on my part. I even looked up how the game is supposed to be run at those levels and found about 10 to 20 different world dungeons with TONS of group quests that would have helped with those humps IF there were anyone around to do them with. Sadly, everyone in the game seems to be on the high end and it shows.
If they ever, somehow address this issue or throw in a ton of solo leveling content for those humps, I would come back in a heartbeat. You are spot on about the classes in Vanguard. I actually wish they didn't limit you to only 12 characters and made it more like WoW where I can have a total of 50. This way I can roll one of each class, they are THAT good and fun and well designed.
Wierd I always found lvling places for solo play. there are diferent areas so just move around and you will find areas with stuff for your lvl. I soloed pretty much all the time in the game when i was playing. Great game to need to go back again soon to i think.
Anyway its just a matter of moving to dif areas there are lots for dif lvls etc just not a normal progression like in some mmo's as there is more then 1 spot to lvl so if you run out of solo quests here move to other spot etc. Can't remember where they are for lvls you mention offhand but I do know i soloed through them ones.
Vanguard is an amazing game but it has worked hard to get there. I picture Vanguard as a bumbling, spastic ugly little girl who put up with name calling, tomatoes tossed at her, and birds trying to nest in her hair. This little girl got older, wiser and stronger. Now she's a lady who is well muscled, has beautiful long hair and fair skin, extremely nice curves and the ability to kick your axx if you don't treat her right.
Exotic mounts acquired through questing.... check. (Some of the best mounts I've ever seen)
A huge world.... check. (I mean a really huge world. No joke. Three of them actually)
Housing... check. (Hard as hell to get one built unless you know someone who makes bricks)
Varied Armor and weapons... check. (You do NOT have to look like everyone else)
Diplomacy via a card game... check. (This is a ton of fun. Make your deck and then reap benefits, items, etc..)
Ships... check. (Travel the world and make believe you are Sinbad. hahaha. True)
Quests out the yingyang.... check. (No making fun of Ever Quest... but Vanguard has a billion quests)
Quests you've never seen before... check. (One of my favorites involves grinding up a victim into feed)
Components for days... check. (Think AO inventory was hard to manage? hahahah. Yea, right)
Crafting... check, check, check. (Multiple fields, hundreds of recipes, a collector's dream)
If there were more players this game would give WOW a run for its money. It's that good.
Give WoW a run for its money? Ok yeah now I want some of what you're smoking
I would quote each of your bullet points but...*shrugs* I dunno.
I'll pick this response to respond to a few questions as it shows me that I did not make one of my points.
I don't mean defeat WOW, steal all of it's players and turn it into a desert. What I meant was that the current Vanguard would be a decent game for WOW players who are looking for a HUGE experience. Vanguard is not shallow. It compares well to WOW in the "fun" category, I personally think the graphics are better but (shrug), that's a personal opinion. The Guild set up is nice, and many things require the same devotion in Vanguard as it does in WOW to be successful at.
"Give WOW a run for its money," to me, means that Vanguard would compare well, play well, and be almost as fun to WOW players as WOW is. Nothing negative, no doom slinging, no bad mouthing... I'm just saying that people would probably enjoy it and spend their money on it and not be disappointed.
But as other posters have suggested, bring a friend or two.
Now, Crafting, which I love, is not for everyone as another poster responded. I approach each game with the mentality that on some days I do not want to be a great explorer or killer... so I tackle the mini-game of inventory control. hahaha. Ok, there's no official mini-game in Vanguard but there are enough components to keep you very busy deciding what to keep, what to sell, how much to sell it for, where to store it until it's needed and all of those other wonderful things that force anal retentive collectors to consider mule character storage.
As to the question about the Unique Quests that someone didn't understand, let me expound. Vanguard was the first game I have every played, and I've played many of them, that required me through a quest to confront a NPC, lead him back to a mill, and then force him into the griss mill to grind up his body into a food additive. Frankly, I was shocked at where this quest led me. Did I miss some clue that this was an evil mission? Where the heck did this come from?? What was my characters response going to be? Would I continue this quest line to see where it led or would I abandon it because of where I thought it was leading me?? Now THAT's unique. I usually don't think about quests much at all.
There was a comment about the ships being useless and I can definately see that point of view. Water travel to for it's own sake has to be something that you like. It can be used as a roleplaying prop, or it can be used to get somewhere fast, or it can be used to travel to your island home without having to pay for a flying mount ride, or it can be used to scout the coast line or it can be used to find a secluded beach for romantic getaways with a fellow player. I enjoyed boat travel, plus it helped me find some great areas for harvesting that were off the beaten track.
Ok, i've typed enough. I'm a fan of the game but I am not unrealistic. I think there are many people out there who would be fans of the game if they gave it a try.
Hmm weird my quote didn't work right. Anyway to elocke there are places to lvl solo all the way up in lvls. I soloed most of the way on 2 dif characters for the most part esp in the lvls you mention. Its just a matter of finding where the places are with quests for those lvls. Kinda forget offhand now where those spots are for 22-25 but I remember there being more then 1 so just a matter of finding them and moving just look for teleporters to areas that say there for that lvl and you will find quests with solo ones etc. In fact I don't really remember that many that really needed a group unless you were after hunters league rewards and such.
What people don't seem to realize is that the only ones saying Vanguard has a chance to compete with games like WoW, AION, LoTRO, and EQ2 are already playing Vanguard or are Vanguard fans who have been driven away by a lack of content. Of course they're going to say Vanguard can compete with the best in the genre.
The real oppinions of worth are those trying out Vanguard for the first time or those who tried Vanguard at launch but gave up on simply because they didn't find it much fun for reasons other than bugs and glitches and have recently come back to see what all has changed.
as for inventory management you do know there are 2 or is it 3 separate banks you get to use right? One for each continent? There separate storage ie if one is full others can be used on other continents separately and yes you can still mule stuff if needed:)
Hmm never got that quest on the grinding for feed will have to find it someday hehe
VG was fun to me for a bit. Then I look around at all the group content, and no groups. I think "Man, that'd be nice if I could experience all that content going to waste." I got depressed, and quit. Same thing with EQ2. These games need to realize they have cool group content while leveling up, but no groups. Just make it so one can solo those dungeons that no one goes to. What's the harm? You may actually entice people to stay.
Only reason i am not playing it atm is friends are playing something else so i went to play what they are now. always liked vangaurd and yes it had problems at release but name one mmo that didn't. Wow included in fact if you played wow at release it was probably buggier then vanguard was. Plus i don't think he meant it the way your saying it. I think he meant if you like wow etc you would like vangaurd to is all but would not know it as are afraid to try it etc. Not that hard to find out i guess buy trying the trial although classes just start to shape up by time you leave island really so hard to tell. classes in vg are great lots of variety etc and you have to work at playing somewhat. Most of the healing classed for instance you need to actually attack in one form or other (ie one healer needs to do melee and other magic dmg) to heal effectively although if built different they can heal like normal healers to i guess now.
Mounts are cool from ants to wolves to lots of others.
Tons of quests and with 3 continents means 3 dif areas to quest for dif lvls don't like ones here move to other area do them there.
as for inventory management you do know there are 2 or is it 3 separate banks you get to use right? One for each continent? There separate storage ie if one is full others can be used on other continents separately and yes you can still mule stuff if needed:)
Hmm never got that quest on the grinding for feed will have to find it someday hehe
LoL. Yea, that's true and you have gotten me out of the closet. Yes. I am a pack rat. hahaha.
As to the quest, it's at Silverlake... I hope that's the name. Go down the road and you'll find some NPCs standing around. It's part of one of the armor quest lines.
I hate the idea of spoiling it for you more but I'm very tempted. The quests they give are pretty simple... go down the road and (a) find a magic stick from stealthed creatures, (b) kill "x" number of demon spawn... then it gets better. They want you to go further down the road to a farm and .... well, I'll stop there. It's actually quite entertaining... well, I was entertained. Your satisfaction by be different.
Oh, and if you are playing a low level stealth character then the stealthed creatures are a great place to level up your stealth.
The article reads like a feature bulletin, and doesn't actually analyze or describe in-depth any particular gameplay feature. I'm looking for something to tide me over while waiting on FF14 but this wasn't informative at all.
I, like so many others, started playing Vanguard at release with high expectations only to be greeted with an unfinished product and subsequently stopped playing. Like so many others, I too, loved Vanguard despite the bugs and share sentiments with virtually everyone in this comment thread. Although I'm starting to see therein lies the issue. I currently subscribe to Vanguard and play a few times a week despite the low population.
I don't see anything wrong with the UI, it's ten times better than the WoW default UI. The only reason anyone thinks the WoW UI is polished is because virtually everyone uses third party MODS like Dominos / XPERL. The animations for character abilities and mobs in Vanguard are not clunky or stiff. I've played and beta'd a plethora of MMO's like: EQ / EQII / Diablo I - II LOD / WoW / SWG / Eve / Anarchy Online / FFXI / LOTRO / Maple Story / Runes of Magic / Jade Dynasty / City of Heroes / AION / Champions Online / Darkfall / Planetside / BF2 / StarCraft / League of Legends ( yes I realize a few of these fall into FPS - RTS categories ) the point is I've tried many games, and not one of them has ever made me swoon like Vanguard has ( except EQ when I first started ).
I know that nearly all of you reading this post feel the same way. You love the game. You LOVE what Vanguard has to offer. YOU LOVE THE POTENTIAL you see in Vanguard. The issue is that you feel like you're playing on the world's most fantastic jungle gym ever created, completely ALONE......
So, if scores of people, and trust me I see this every day I play Vanguard, come trickling back in to " checkup " on the game, Like what they see, except when they type /who all. If all of these people that were trickling back in came all on the same day we'd have a real population started there. But everyone comes in one by one, sees no one else, and eventually leaves for lack of the second M in MMO. What is the solution to this problem ?
One solution would be for SOE to burn to the ground. wait. no. I mean fund a marketing campaign for Vanguard. I see lots of adds for the likes of EQII and ZERO for Vanguard. Why is this when VG SOH is a far superior game?! It makes me sick to see all that potential and effort go to waste. VG is the ugly duckling of SOE and I truly believe if they would just show it a little love and throw some money at it, we'd have something to do besides sit around in Dalaran and reminisce about the good ol' days before Blizzard ruined WoW, or try every new F2P MMO listed on this website, or get hyped up about every other beautiful disaster like AION.
Anywho, long story long, I want all of you to play Vanguard and talk your friends / family into doing the same. We can grassroots this thing into existence. If Sony sees a growing population in subcribers they're not just gonna say " no we don't vant your monies we're trashing Vanguard ne-vay " but then again, they are SOE.... But really, if everyone on here would put their money where their heart is, because I know that's where Vanguard is, we can make this thing come to LIFE, and once SOE sees that this thing has a pulse I'm certain they're gonna take a fresh interest.
I, like so many others, started playing Vanguard at release with high expectations only to be greeted with an unfinished product and subsequently stopped playing. Like so many others, I too, loved Vanguard despite the bugs and share sentiments with virtually everyone in this comment thread. Although I'm starting to see therein lies the issue. I currently subscribe to Vanguard and play a few times a week despite the low population.
I don't see anything wrong with the UI, it's ten times better than the WoW default UI. The only reason anyone thinks the WoW UI is polished is because virtually everyone uses third party MODS like Dominos / XPERL. The animations for character abilities and mobs in Vanguard are not clunky or stiff. I've played and beta'd a plethora of MMO's like: EQ / EQII / Diablo I - II LOD / WoW / SWG / Eve / Anarchy Online / FFXI / LOTRO / Maple Story / Runes of Magic / Jade Dynasty / City of Heroes / AION / Champions Online / Darkfall / Planetside / BF2 / StarCraft / League of Legends ( yes I realize a few of these fall into FPS - RTS categories ) the point is I've tried many games, and not one of them has ever made me swoon like Vanguard has ( except EQ when I first started ).
I know that nearly all of you reading this post feel the same way. You love the game. You LOVE what Vanguard has to offer. YOU LOVE THE POTENTIAL you see in Vanguard. The issue is that you feel like you're playing on the world's most fantastic jungle gym ever created, completely ALONE......
So, if scores of people, and trust me I see this every day I play Vanguard, come trickling back in to " checkup " on the game, Like what they see, except when they type /who all. If all of these people that were trickling back in came all on the same day we'd have a real population started there. But everyone comes in one by one, sees no one else, and eventually leaves for lack of the second M in MMO. What is the solution to this problem ?
One solution would be for SOE to burn to the ground. wait. no. I mean fund a marketing campaign for Vanguard. I see lots of adds for the likes of EQII and ZERO for Vanguard. Why is this when VG SOH is a far superior game?! It makes me sick to see all that potential and effort go to waste. VG is the ugly duckling of SOE and I truly believe if they would just show it a little love and throw some money at it, we'd have something to do besides sit around in Dalaran and reminisce about the good ol' days before Blizzard ruined WoW, or try every new F2P MMO listed on this website, or get hyped up about every other beautiful disaster like AION.
Anywho, long story long, I want all of you to play Vanguard and talk your friends / family into doing the same. We can grassroots this thing into existence. If Sony sees a growing population in subcribers they're not just gonna say " no we don't vant your monies we're trashing Vanguard ne-vay " but then again, they are SOE.... But really, if everyone on here would put their money where their heart is, because I know that's where Vanguard is, we can make this thing come to LIFE, and once SOE sees that this thing has a pulse I'm certain they're gonna take a fresh interest.
Comments
Ok well sir since you want some points. (I'm a nice guy so I'll go easy)
So you might want to not be so sensitive when someone who posts about VG. I'm not a troll who didn't play the game. Trust me, I did my time so I have a bit of merit. Things I say may sound harsh but when you read it, it might just help you.
Mr rogue. Hehe jaded? I wouldn't say that so much. Disappointed would probably fit me a bit better. Upset because the game I worked with for 3.5 years is going down the drain? Very
At the same time it all going down the drain because of one individual Silius? It makes me even more upset lol.
When I read posts about VG, it strikes a nerve in me. Why? Because SOE has basically shitted on the customers of VG into making them pour our these desperation "OMG VG IS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD" kind of posts. I'm not blaming the individuals at all, they are playing a game that they want to see flourish. I blame SOE because they have literally put its consumers in a state of panic with the upcoming server merge. That's my biggest pet peeve. I'm all for individuals coming out trying to get the game some rep, that's fine. I just folks to push out the 100% truth. Tell people exactly what they are getting themselves into so you won't see these "Well I left because I couldn't find a group at 20".
The insight I offer is you go into the game with your guard up. Don't go in expecting lollipops n shit (that these "omg VG is raining PVE heaven). Vanguard right now is a very strong PVE game, I've said that for years. At the same time it is the only real PVE focused game that has launched after EQ2. Right now its going uncontested for sometime as alot of the games recently have been PVP focused.
So for me, I'll be direct, my posts may sound harsh (with reason), but they are far from trolling. You don't see me whining because I can't run it on my packard bell...
My post wasn't necessarily a negative one, it was more of a challenge. And, while you answered each point, a majority of your points are either "it is fine" or "it was bad but now is not as bad" which is what most people have been trying to say.
That being said, population tends to be the biggest problem.
-Computer specs no one cares about: check.
-MMOs played no one cares about: check.
-Xfire stats no one cares about: check.
-Signature no one cares about: check.
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-Narcissism: check.
Population has always been the biggest issue. But what is VG's biggest seller is also its biggest downfall as to NOW it backfires. I'm wondering how will Silius find a way to market a 1 server game...
Ive always thought that VG was the REAL EQ2..
I enjoyed the game,enjoyed my bard,even through all the bugs and the rough start.
like so many have already said..wish the pop was higher,but regardless,I may i have to give it another shot.
Its awesome to think that the game has so many races with their own starting areas,not to mention so many classes for deeper variety,which is usully sorely lacking in every other mmo to date.
vanguard is one of the best MMOs by design. it simply lags too much. i don't know where this is originated but it feels like being hosted on 56k modem.
Maybe it all starts with this "progress report". The game has made much progress, even since you left game. You did great on Seradon leading your guild, I'm sure you will do well in Rift: Planes of Telara. I don't understand why you have to try and bring a good thing down. It is almost as if you want Vanguard to fail and your posting here just trying to ensure that. Look, this game may not have been your cup of tea, but many others have a different opinion and they are just as entitled to post here as you. Please don't nit pick every post cause your stay in Telon didn't satisfy you. I have things I wish were fixed, I wish there were a bigger population, but despite all that I still choose to play as do many others posting in this thread.
It is a good progress report, let Vanguard have it's moment.
I loved the game, but low population has kept me from coming back. While there are many friendly guilds out there, u will be hard pressed to find one that will stop raiding end game so they can help the noobs level up through the non-solo content. If SoE where to even seem like they care, I would re-sub, but they don't .
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
theres a few of us in the process of setting up a mmorpg.com guild on one of the VG servers if your interested, a few people downloading the game etc, theres a thread in the VG section.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/277467/New-who-wants-to-start-with-me.html
theres also the server thread where you list your char names
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/277565/MMORPG-Guild-SERVER-Seradon-.html
hope this helps and we see people in game
Currently playing : Darkfall
Character name : Aeola Anara
Played: Almost every P2P MMO you can get your hands on, notably:
Daoc, SWG, LOTRO, WAR, AoC + Dozens more
If its a long term thing i would like to join. I have tried VG in past but lvling is activity of frustration with no one around. game depends so much on other players that its really sad that more people are not playing. I have quit the game 3 times already i don't mind trying it for fourth time.
i think everyone is in the same boat, many people have wanted to keep this game going but have not had a group to play with after the mid 20's, i dont know how long this will go on for but if we all want to play then it should go well
Currently playing : Darkfall
Character name : Aeola Anara
Played: Almost every P2P MMO you can get your hands on, notably:
Daoc, SWG, LOTRO, WAR, AoC + Dozens more
What makes you think that? Again like I posted before, just because I don't sound like an ad newspaper for Vanguard doesn't mean I'm spewing evil about it. That's what shocked me because com'on man, you know your tone of posts on the boards, seeing you post like this is a shocker to me in itself. My posts are no way in direct towards VG, if you saw my post prior. My anger is more directed at Silius/SoE because they are the reasons I left (I'm not so sure how my guild ties to my decision as it was personal).
Again I don't sugar coat my posts with the "flashy boards and epic landscape*, but more realism which has helped some individuals make hard decisions. Even since I've left I've leaned players towards VG with amazingly high retention because I had them go in with their "guard up" and not thinking it'll be a fantasyland.
VG has attracted enough players to keep the upcoming merge away, but attracting isn't the problem its retaining them. Shouldn't it be fair for incoming players to know that so they can prepare themselfes? If they went in prepared, you'd have less backlash posts about population, and more posts from folks who came in and knew how to handle it.
Personally I played the game at launch hated the bugs and how the game was unfinished. My hopes were high and they were dashed by poor execution. I left the game.
I tried the game almost a year later to find that nothing had changed, except that the place was a ghost town.
Not going back to the game regardless of how many people say the turd has been polished to a lovely glow.
I'll pick this response to respond to a few questions as it shows me that I did not make one of my points.
I don't mean defeat WOW, steal all of it's players and turn it into a desert. What I meant was that the current Vanguard would be a decent game for WOW players who are looking for a HUGE experience. Vanguard is not shallow. It compares well to WOW in the "fun" category, I personally think the graphics are better but (shrug), that's a personal opinion. The Guild set up is nice, and many things require the same devotion in Vanguard as it does in WOW to be successful at.
"Give WOW a run for its money," to me, means that Vanguard would compare well, play well, and be almost as fun to WOW players as WOW is. Nothing negative, no doom slinging, no bad mouthing... I'm just saying that people would probably enjoy it and spend their money on it and not be disappointed.
But as other posters have suggested, bring a friend or two.
Now, Crafting, which I love, is not for everyone as another poster responded. I approach each game with the mentality that on some days I do not want to be a great explorer or killer... so I tackle the mini-game of inventory control. hahaha. Ok, there's no official mini-game in Vanguard but there are enough components to keep you very busy deciding what to keep, what to sell, how much to sell it for, where to store it until it's needed and all of those other wonderful things that force anal retentive collectors to consider mule character storage.
As to the question about the Unique Quests that someone didn't understand, let me expound. Vanguard was the first game I have every played, and I've played many of them, that required me through a quest to confront a NPC, lead him back to a mill, and then force him into the griss mill to grind up his body into a food additive. Frankly, I was shocked at where this quest led me. Did I miss some clue that this was an evil mission? Where the heck did this come from?? What was my characters response going to be? Would I continue this quest line to see where it led or would I abandon it because of where I thought it was leading me?? Now THAT's unique. I usually don't think about quests much at all.
There was a comment about the ships being useless and I can definately see that point of view. Water travel to for it's own sake has to be something that you like. It can be used as a roleplaying prop, or it can be used to get somewhere fast, or it can be used to travel to your island home without having to pay for a flying mount ride, or it can be used to scout the coast line or it can be used to find a secluded beach for romantic getaways with a fellow player. I enjoyed boat travel, plus it helped me find some great areas for harvesting that were off the beaten track.
Ok, i've typed enough. I'm a fan of the game but I am not unrealistic. I think there are many people out there who would be fans of the game if they gave it a try.
Hmm weird my quote didn't work right. Anyway to elocke there are places to lvl solo all the way up in lvls. I soloed most of the way on 2 dif characters for the most part esp in the lvls you mention. Its just a matter of finding where the places are with quests for those lvls. Kinda forget offhand now where those spots are for 22-25 but I remember there being more then 1 so just a matter of finding them and moving just look for teleporters to areas that say there for that lvl and you will find quests with solo ones etc. In fact I don't really remember that many that really needed a group unless you were after hunters league rewards and such.
What people don't seem to realize is that the only ones saying Vanguard has a chance to compete with games like WoW, AION, LoTRO, and EQ2 are already playing Vanguard or are Vanguard fans who have been driven away by a lack of content. Of course they're going to say Vanguard can compete with the best in the genre.
The real oppinions of worth are those trying out Vanguard for the first time or those who tried Vanguard at launch but gave up on simply because they didn't find it much fun for reasons other than bugs and glitches and have recently come back to see what all has changed.
as for inventory management you do know there are 2 or is it 3 separate banks you get to use right? One for each continent? There separate storage ie if one is full others can be used on other continents separately and yes you can still mule stuff if needed:)
Hmm never got that quest on the grinding for feed will have to find it someday hehe
VG was fun to me for a bit. Then I look around at all the group content, and no groups. I think "Man, that'd be nice if I could experience all that content going to waste." I got depressed, and quit. Same thing with EQ2. These games need to realize they have cool group content while leveling up, but no groups. Just make it so one can solo those dungeons that no one goes to. What's the harm? You may actually entice people to stay.
Only reason i am not playing it atm is friends are playing something else so i went to play what they are now. always liked vangaurd and yes it had problems at release but name one mmo that didn't. Wow included in fact if you played wow at release it was probably buggier then vanguard was. Plus i don't think he meant it the way your saying it. I think he meant if you like wow etc you would like vangaurd to is all but would not know it as are afraid to try it etc. Not that hard to find out i guess buy trying the trial although classes just start to shape up by time you leave island really so hard to tell. classes in vg are great lots of variety etc and you have to work at playing somewhat. Most of the healing classed for instance you need to actually attack in one form or other (ie one healer needs to do melee and other magic dmg) to heal effectively although if built different they can heal like normal healers to i guess now.
Mounts are cool from ants to wolves to lots of others.
Tons of quests and with 3 continents means 3 dif areas to quest for dif lvls don't like ones here move to other area do them there.
LoL. Yea, that's true and you have gotten me out of the closet. Yes. I am a pack rat. hahaha.
As to the quest, it's at Silverlake... I hope that's the name. Go down the road and you'll find some NPCs standing around. It's part of one of the armor quest lines.
I hate the idea of spoiling it for you more but I'm very tempted. The quests they give are pretty simple... go down the road and (a) find a magic stick from stealthed creatures, (b) kill "x" number of demon spawn... then it gets better. They want you to go further down the road to a farm and .... well, I'll stop there. It's actually quite entertaining... well, I was entertained. Your satisfaction by be different.
Oh, and if you are playing a low level stealth character then the stealthed creatures are a great place to level up your stealth.
Just one more comment in a long list of comments:
The article reads like a feature bulletin, and doesn't actually analyze or describe in-depth any particular gameplay feature. I'm looking for something to tide me over while waiting on FF14 but this wasn't informative at all.
-a
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I, like so many others, started playing Vanguard at release with high expectations only to be greeted with an unfinished product and subsequently stopped playing. Like so many others, I too, loved Vanguard despite the bugs and share sentiments with virtually everyone in this comment thread. Although I'm starting to see therein lies the issue. I currently subscribe to Vanguard and play a few times a week despite the low population.
I don't see anything wrong with the UI, it's ten times better than the WoW default UI. The only reason anyone thinks the WoW UI is polished is because virtually everyone uses third party MODS like Dominos / XPERL. The animations for character abilities and mobs in Vanguard are not clunky or stiff. I've played and beta'd a plethora of MMO's like: EQ / EQII / Diablo I - II LOD / WoW / SWG / Eve / Anarchy Online / FFXI / LOTRO / Maple Story / Runes of Magic / Jade Dynasty / City of Heroes / AION / Champions Online / Darkfall / Planetside / BF2 / StarCraft / League of Legends ( yes I realize a few of these fall into FPS - RTS categories ) the point is I've tried many games, and not one of them has ever made me swoon like Vanguard has ( except EQ when I first started ).
I know that nearly all of you reading this post feel the same way. You love the game. You LOVE what Vanguard has to offer. YOU LOVE THE POTENTIAL you see in Vanguard. The issue is that you feel like you're playing on the world's most fantastic jungle gym ever created, completely ALONE......
So, if scores of people, and trust me I see this every day I play Vanguard, come trickling back in to " checkup " on the game, Like what they see, except when they type /who all. If all of these people that were trickling back in came all on the same day we'd have a real population started there. But everyone comes in one by one, sees no one else, and eventually leaves for lack of the second M in MMO. What is the solution to this problem ?
One solution would be for SOE to burn to the ground. wait. no. I mean fund a marketing campaign for Vanguard. I see lots of adds for the likes of EQII and ZERO for Vanguard. Why is this when VG SOH is a far superior game?! It makes me sick to see all that potential and effort go to waste. VG is the ugly duckling of SOE and I truly believe if they would just show it a little love and throw some money at it, we'd have something to do besides sit around in Dalaran and reminisce about the good ol' days before Blizzard ruined WoW, or try every new F2P MMO listed on this website, or get hyped up about every other beautiful disaster like AION.
Anywho, long story long, I want all of you to play Vanguard and talk your friends / family into doing the same. We can grassroots this thing into existence. If Sony sees a growing population in subcribers they're not just gonna say " no we don't vant your monies we're trashing Vanguard ne-vay " but then again, they are SOE.... But really, if everyone on here would put their money where their heart is, because I know that's where Vanguard is, we can make this thing come to LIFE, and once SOE sees that this thing has a pulse I'm certain they're gonna take a fresh interest.
Server: Sartok FFA PvP
Character: Vanwilder
Guild: Malevolant
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Touch meh bod-E
Umm colourfully put! I do however agree
shoot ill be glad to toss in another 2$ on my station access bill to support VG.