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Things you wish you knew about VG b4.....
Teikk
Member Posts: 70
For those comming back to VG after years away or those just new to the hole older style of gameplay that VG offers in this post i wil give you some information to try and help you maxamize your fun for your romp in telon.
First and foremost when you start your game unless you are on the trial you will get a choice to start your character either on the Isle of Dawn ( a tutorial ) or the characters racial starter area. My suggestion is if your just returning or new, pick what race/class you want make your character start him up in the racial starting area and open your map. Mark this location what continent / area you are on the map ( remember there are 2 very large and 1 large continent) so you could write down thechunk name which is on the minimap or when you move the mouse over where you are on the map itll tell you what the chunk is called. Now that you know where you are log back out.
Next thing is delete this character and remake it, except this time start on the IOD tutorial area and learn the ropes of the game. Once you reach your desired lvl in what ever it is or all 3 of the spheres to lvl 10 exit the isle and go back to the location you marked in step 1 and start the racial starter area chains.
There are group dungeons to do as low as lvls 5-10 that are challenging and HUGE. VG is not and never was ment to be an end game raiding type game. Yes there are some end game raids i think thers 2 , ive never done either so im not sure, but the great thing about vg is that there are over 300 different GROUP dungons spread througout lvl 1-50 and you can group with ANYONE you want of any lvl with the mentour system.
My next suggestion is get into 1 of the well established guilds or make your own, Twilight song is a great starter guild with lots of lvl ranges / alts and new people to play with. This guild is good for finding groups for dungeons and later lvls hooking up as a tag along with 1 of the uberleet raiding guilds. You know the guys you will see scattered around with all the shiney stuff like burning shields and the like.
The next big shock to most of you if youve grown up with WoW and the like is the fact that yes you will loose XP when you die up to the point that you can gain a debt equil to the amount of xp it takes you to get to the next lvl ( ie your xp bar turns red and fills up ) You can summon your tomb at an alter to get all your items that stay on the tomb back , BUT if you go back to where you died and get it you get i think its something like 80% of the xp you lost BACK so its not so bad.
Next thing you have to realize is that not all but a majority of the content is either DUO or GROUP unless you are a few lvls above the content. Lots of classes also are group oriented meaning that they do not solo well at all. ( ie rogue, warrior) are the two prime examples of group classes. They can solo a bit but if your expecting to take on big bad mobs you had better have a healer handy.
Next is the way VG does difficulty in mobs. Mobs are not only marked by level but if you look at the target reticle where ever you have it placed on your screen( default is upper right corner) you will knotice a few little "DOTS" on the target that range from 1-6, now 1 dot is the easiest with 6 being toughest. 1 dots die like cattle to the slaughter for just about any class while 2 is solo range for the pre mentioned rogue/warrior, just about all other classes have little trouble with 2 dots some slaughter them aswell ( ie disc/ranger) now 3 dots are supposed to be DUO difficulty, meaning have a buddy with you. Now anything over 3 you get into 4 5 6, these are all group mobs. some of the OP classes can take out 4 and 5 dot mobs at same lvl but i have only ever seen 1 solo necro take out a 6 dot mob at lvl without dieing and this guy was decked out in raid gear so.
Now travel is next you can pretty much go anywhere at any level on telon. You will probably die if you hit the wrong spot but you can still get a flying mount for 25c and fly to anywhere but that island on the SW side of thestra and thats because well im not sure really you have to take a rift to that island for some reason they block boats and flying mounts, but anywhere else is free game and if your not paying attention you just might get blown out of the sky by a flying dragon so keep your eyes moving around not just on the scenery which is awsome from that altitude.
The next thing is HAVE FUN , if you go into VG rushing thinking to MAX lvl asap then your probably not gona enjoy it at all.
Comments
Wow, thanx for the advice. I just started back up and I get to about level 4 and decide to make a new toon. I'm not sure what may be the best solo race/class so I'm kind of experimenting.
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
Ya lots of people used to do this kinda thing back in the day, just trying to get everyone started with some basic useful information i was kind of hoping some other players would have expanded on it a bit.
So im sitting here in my chair trying to kill some time, figured id update the post with a bit of basic class information for each class so peoples get a decent idea of what they are getting into with a character they create instead of trying to level a class to 30 only to figure out they dont like it so here goes.
Healers First
Cleric - This is first character i took to max level in any MMO ive ever played simply because when i made my death cleric he was hell on wheels in PVP. The class back then was a bit OP so sue me but it sure was fun. The basics of this class are lots of buffs , and lots of heals with little off capability currently ( this got da bat). This class gets HP buffs , end regen buffs , a HOT spell and some mana regen ability as well as a decent AOE kind of Damage shield that hits for about 400 a tik depending on your INT. Several ways you can spec this class from just pure healin to some dot/snare abilities with death to a kind of melee tank with war spec. Basics is if you want to be the last 1 standing in just about any cituation ( and i mean the last) pick a cleric because they are a pain to kill. Odds are itll take you 10 minutes to knock out a 3 dot mob but the up side is you wont die even if surrounded by several mobs at the same time if you play your abilities right.
Shaman- This is the first character i ever made waaay back on launch day took him to lvl 37 and decided to make mu cleric. This class if specd right can either off tank, some melee dps, or casting dps depending on which affinity you choose. You get Bear ( tank) , wolf ( melee dps) , and Phoenix ( casting). Now DPS in the sense of what your thinking isnt really what you will do with this toon. When i say DPS in reguards to a healing class i mean just a bit more than normal healer so dont get excited. IF specd right i have seen bear shaman tank 5 dot mobs, wolf shaman do dps comparable to a warrior, and a bird dps comparable to say a PSI. These guys have good survivability and about MED off capability. Decent standard buffs , and some decent utility buffs ( ie levi ).
Disciple- Currently the Disc is the class to beat on almost everything, if you wana solo everything in the game make 1 of these guys. They lack any multiple mob abilities but youd be hard pressed to die against almost anything unless your just on auto pilot. They can wipe out almost anything if they can get close to it. They hit hard and fast with some end regens to go with it. They have combat ability heals which mean they trigger as you fight by doing differnt combinations of moves. ( ie of you hit abilities in different orders they give you different effects). They have very few non combat abilities, some basic buffs etc but thats generaly it. This is for all you soloers out there but they are good in a group aswell.
BloodMage- This guy is a big of an oddity , you would be hard pressed to see another healing class like it anywhere in any other game. This guy is like a necro/healer thing combination. they use Lifetaps to heal not only themselves but there groups. There buffs come in combos of HPs and Mana instead of the usual ac and str or stats. They also suck out organs of mobs to make cool symbiotes that attatch to themselvs or others for differnt buff abilities. A little tip with this class is dont EVER expect to be at full HP with this toon because they use HP FOR EVERYTHING just about. If specd right though this class is 1 hell of a lifesucking , healin, awsomeness.
Next onto Casting DPS
Casting DPS
Druid- This class is the UTILITY god of VG, they have buffs for HP AC LEVI RUN and just about anything else you can think of as well as some nice POINT or BURST DPS. As with all casting DPS they dont take hits well but that is to be expected. These guys do get some basic healer abiities though like AOE heals and ST heals aswell. Lots of there abilities are dependant on a pool of points called Phenom that go up as you level. These are usualy your HIGH burst damage abilities or high healing abilities. They also get some minor summon abilities for minnions ( think temp pet) the basic of which is the earth elementals that summon for 3 minutes or so. The higher level the more you can summon at once.
Psionosist- If your familar with the old EQ enchanter , thing Enchanter.... ON SPEED!! These guys are CC gods. Starting at about level 8 i think they get there first CC ability Similakrim or something like that its called, but the general idea is that when you cast it what ever mob you have targeted gets cloned and the clone starts attacking your target. Now that may not seem great as the clone does no damage at all , but wher the good stuff comes in is that the clone builds HATE or as all you new guys know it as AGGRO. Let this baby hit the thing a couple of times and you could drop an A bomb on it without it paying you a second glance. Now as they level they get even more abilities like lul and timetrick. and some aoe stuns. I have personaly seen 1 lvl 55 psi lock up 7 different mobs in a rotation for at least 5 minutes. If you like to screw with peoples brains this is the class for you. not to mention all the mind candy and buffs they get.
Sorcerer- Not much to say about this guy, standard fair i have a lvl 50 when they say glass cannon.. in this case they really really reallly really mean it. This guy does ubsurd casting DPS, but he cant take a hit for anything. Ive been beat up farming lvl 15 mobs with my 50 sorc simply because they repoped right on top of where i was aoe nuking a current group. Indoors dont even try without a group if you dont have space to kite dont try it without a group almost any mob in the game will tear you to shreds in CQB. On the upside at lvl 50 with max SDF and about 700 intel ive managed to get Fire bolt to hit for about 20+K in 1 shot so......
Necromancer- Not your standard necro your all thinking of i can tell you right now. This necro is how a necro should have been done a LONGGGG time ago. This guy is the pet master. He has a primary tankish type pet and then he gets all these other cool skelly "MINNIONS" that he can summon. I am not sure what the total number he gets later on is but i saw a necro solo a 6 dot raid mob at lvl 55. All the guy did was stand there and let his pets wipe the floor with this thing it was crazy. Every now and again recasting a pet or something. Also very easty to kill if they get in melee range but the pets usualy dont let that happen what with the snare and dots and all.
next melee DPS
Melee DPS
Monk- This is the classic melee KUNG FU guy we all know and love. They did add a few twists here with differnt um styles like errm Drunken , Dragon, etc maybe someone can help add to that im not very familar with them all. They get some basic mend type of ability , as well as a fein death that works really well. Depending on which spec you choose you can tank pretty good , but solo is not much of an option for this character unless you wana stick to 2 dot mobs with long downtimes ( unless you eat alot of FOOD) so take that into consideration.
Rogue- This guy is basicaly a melee version of a sorcerer. Thig guy does crazy burst DPS but he gets chewd up if the mob turns to face him. Ive leveld one to about 25 before and he sometimes even had trouble taking out 2 dot mobs same lvl if the backstab abilities missed. Used to be able to make your own posion WAAY back at launch but theyve taken that out now you just buy it all from a vendor. Pretty fun class to play in a group but not much other than basic DPS. Hoping they add some cool stuff to this class.
Ranger- Another very solo type class. Lots of range burst DPS with there bow and self made arrows that hits for CRAZY amonts later on. these guys are on par with Sorcerer DPS with the right gear and the upside is they dont die in 2 hits like a sorc. They get some AOE range abilities as well as some AOE melee abilities. They used to be split into 2 types, melee spec and Range spec but they merged them sometime back so now you have both in 1 toon which is a bit OP but meh..
Bard- These guys are pretty fun group class. They get abilities in the form of parts of a song. You can compose a song with these parts that does all kinds of crazy shit from HP regen to Mana regen to adding stats, and end. They solo ok if you have decent gear but definatly more group oriented type of style. All in all if you like to run REALLY REALLY fast make a bard.
Last but not least we have Tanks
Now there are only 3 tank classes in VG ( original there were supposed to be 4) but blah
Dread Knight- This is your standard Shadowknight for those of you that played EQ, They get some lifetap abilities tied to there attacks aswell as a nice sythe ability later that sucks HP from all mobs in front. It used to hit an unlimited number of mobs in front of the caster but then they found out that DKs were um..... pawning face on upto 50 + mobs at once so they cut the number down to i think the max is now what 10? all in all other than that pretty standard fair some basic snares dots, and the standard hate aggro type taunts etc. This is the Standard 2hs Type toon as lots of there abilites require 2h weapons.
Paladin- Everyone knows the paly the standard sword/board combat with some heals thrown in this guy requires little introduction though they do have a few twists to them in VG. Some of there abilities require a Shield and sword.
Warrior- These guys are a bit differnt in VG as they are not the standard warrior your all used to. They get some decent dps along with hate aggro, BUT they get short term buffs called SHOUTS that if used correctly can really turn the tide of battle for a group. They dont solo very well but they really shine in a group crawl atmosphere. Quite gear dependant though and some of there abilities require duel wield weapons.
Well thats all of the classes in VG now you just gota figure out which race you wana make so that should be fun. If anyone has anything to add to these descriptions please do so as i have not played EVERY class to cap and do not know much about the end game of ALL the classes other than what i have observed so please add any info you have.
Theres quite a lot endgame content in VG now.
About soloing information, this has been posted over and over in various threads in this forum, I dont feel like repeating myself, just some notes:
- Avoid Warrior and Monk if you want to solo anything harder than 3dot.
- Tanks are very gear dependent. For example, you wont feel very happy on a highlevel DK with a blue weapon. Having a good red twohander and good armor: a world of difference. Unless the mobs are of the high MIT type, an AoE lifetap (scythe of doom) can then heal you from almost dead to almost full, so meh on the "can only hit 6 mobs" part.
- Paladin starts with good healing no matter what gear, and with good defense thanks to shield and defense buffs, but it wont get much better with better gear either, and the defense caps are of course the same for DK and War.
- Healers are usually pretty awesome solists. Cleric, Bear Shaman and Disciple border to unkillable. Phoenix Shaman however is not much of an exciting solist, because they cant even kite well, their DPS isnt actually better than the Wolf Shaman, and their defenses are as "good" as a mage, even when wearing medium. They still can use a shield and they still have a bit more hipoints than a real mage, but they cant combine healing and damage like a Blood Mage. So yeah, Phoenix Shaman is a good group character, but for soloing - rather go Bear or at least Wolf.
- Bard can kite, but not well, thanks to low ranged output. Rogue can kite thanks to a selfbuff on runspeed, but have the same low damage output problem.
- Ranger and all Mages can kite well, in the case of the Necromancer: fearkite. Not all mobs are snareable, though.
- Soloing races: There is only one tip of actual importance: Qaliathari for Pal or DK is highly recommented, because a racial invul 10s that even works if OOM = absolutely kickass for raids and can decide if the raid wipes or not.
- Goblins have a nice racial for raids, too.
- Lesser Giant ability is much less useful than it sounds, since it seems to be computed exclusively on the character hitpoints only (resulting in only an extra 1-2k hitpoints).
- Orcs get a nice selfheal for soloing.
- Wood Elf gets a nice run away ability for soloing (especially including immunity against movement impairment).
- And so on.
MM add to the compendium of knowledge