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asyndetonasyndeton Member UncommonPosts: 87

So I am in a time of life where I have more time than I want to have. This is good and bad, but one good thing is I can try games that I previously didn't.

Now enters the real problem, finding a game.

I've been looking forward to Archage and such, EQNext seems to look interesting.

I started with EQ1, played EQ2 for a long time.

 

I guess the point I am trying to get at, is Vanguard worth looking in to? I dont really know much about what seems to be a muddled history of the game. However, it has some features that I really like, Player Housing, large class options, crafting, etc.

 

Well, I will probably try it out anyway, any suggestions for a beginner? Or anyone want to play with? (PS I am pretty casual when it comes to gameplay)

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Comments

  • meadmoonmeadmoon Member UncommonPosts: 1,344
    I don't know about Vanguard. I just received a mail today that they are shutting down one of their servers. I'd check it out first. They don't have many left running. 
  • DavisFlightDavisFlight Member CommonPosts: 2,556

    This is not an incredibly casual friendly game. The dungeons are HARD, and non instanced. The quests are more akin to oldschool quests, with subtle storytelling and puzzle solving. You aren't the hero, you are A hero in the world.

    There is more content and explorable areas than you could ever hope to see all of, give it a go.

  • TribeofOneTribeofOne Member UncommonPosts: 1,006
    Originally posted by topographic
    I don't know about Vanguard. I just received a mail today that they are shutting down one of their servers. I'd check it out first. They don't have many left running. 

    after the merge there will be 1 server left, Telon. In all honesty the EU server has needed this for a long time now after the merge hopefully they will implement the fabled "lag fix" that we've been hearing about for a while.

  • asyndetonasyndeton Member UncommonPosts: 87

    I guess when I said casual I meant "slower pace" I don't mind things being difficult or taking a long time, in fact that is what I prefer, I will probably download the game and check it out later on tonight.

     

    Thanks for the responses guys!

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  • GoldknyghtGoldknyght Member UncommonPosts: 1,519

    Vanguard is easy to play casual. Just some classes are easier then others when it comes to playing casual. Dungeons are only hard if you are trying to solo them. Its a dungeon so obviously you will need a group. Its not to hard to find people to play with if you play at certain times. I have a 41 disciple, 33 dk, 30 bard, 21 necro, 23 monk. Running a sorc and a ranger next on my agenda. Out of the classes ive played Disciple is the most easiest to solo with. The other classes it was a little bit harder. I have people i play with and have did a few dungeons.

    Crafting is pretty much a grind and you should follow the crafting skill up guide on telonproject. It will keep your skills at certain levels so when you level your skill ups arn't out of wack and your having to many complications.

    Diplomacy has a story line until lvl 20 or lower depending on how much you grind parleys for certain quests throughout the story line. Ive been told there is another line of quests that starts at 30ish but i havent done them myself so i cant comment on them.

    Vanguard is fun if you don't mind the grind. And they have actually cut the grind back some because it used to be alot worse, but they haven't killed it totally where you feel your not grinding for your rewards. Because you will feel it LOL

  • EverketEverket Member UncommonPosts: 244
    Maybe I don't know what grind means, but playing the game doing quests and instances is grinding?
  • GoldknyghtGoldknyght Member UncommonPosts: 1,519
    Originally posted by Everket
    Maybe I don't know what grind means, but playing the game doing quests and instances is grinding?

    You will have to keep doing something to acheive your goal repeatedly over and over again. One example is the quest for Wardship Armor , you will need to farm out runes, armor peices, and candles. Well the items you need wont drop on every mob you kill, they drop on every 10th mob you kill or even 20th. On top of that its random for which peice you will even receive. So you will just be killing the same mob over and over again till you get all the peices you need. On top of that, in order to even get the armor you will need 2000 for the first 3 peices and they start you at -2000 faction and each mob you kill gives you only +6. There is a repeatable quest u can grab that will give you 1000 a turn in but it requires you to kill 50 of the requested mobs each time.

    So in other words when you start to do this armor quest line you will have to grind your faction to get the armor.

  • EverketEverket Member UncommonPosts: 244
    Okay? but that is just one quest, how can you say the whole game is a grind? And I'm pretty sure you don't have to do that quest. But maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning.
  • VesaviusVesavius Member RarePosts: 7,908
    Originally posted by asyndeton

    So I am in a time of life where I have more time than I want to have. This is good and bad, but one good thing is I can try games that I previously didn't.

    Now enters the real problem, finding a game.

    I've been looking forward to Archage and such, EQNext seems to look interesting.

    I started with EQ1, played EQ2 for a long time.

     

    I guess the point I am trying to get at, is Vanguard worth looking in to? I dont really know much about what seems to be a muddled history of the game. However, it has some features that I really like, Player Housing, large class options, crafting, etc.

     

    Well, I will probably try it out anyway, any suggestions for a beginner? Or anyone want to play with? (PS I am pretty casual when it comes to gameplay)

     

    Wait for FFXIV: ARR is my advice. It will offer player housing etc and still is a slower pace game.

    Vanguard... everytime I talk about this game I get a little sad. SOE's 'committed' support for it has dried up again (once they got the cash shop in) and I honestly do not think it's worth playing at this point more then out of a morbid curiosity for what could have been.

  • GoldknyghtGoldknyght Member UncommonPosts: 1,519
    Originally posted by Everket
    Okay? but that is just one quest, how can you say the whole game is a grind? And I'm pretty sure you don't have to do that quest. But maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning.

    are you bleeping stupid?? that was an example!

  • EverketEverket Member UncommonPosts: 244
    Yes kinda. To make you understand how dumb it is to call something grindy based upon a couple of quests.
  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332

    Vanguard is a game i put on the top 5 of all time.This game could have been w/o doubt the best on the market,however Sigil [former SOE guys] ran out of money.So who knwos what this game could have become if not rushed out the door.

    Having said that,it is still as good as they come.The only real lacking feeatures are what i enjoy about FFXI ...sub class and more depth to combat.

    However if you like or liked Wow or EQ or EQ2,VG is right there.It has better view distances,graphics equal to EQ2,seamless maps,political mini game.You wont harvest a silly log node like you do in other games,yo uwill actually chop a tree down.There  is other stuff as well,it is a good game.

    Only thing i wish it didn't do was copy EQ so much,it is basically an EQ2 clone,with some improvements,additions.

     

     

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • BenediktBenedikt Member UncommonPosts: 1,406

    well that depends totally on your preferences, but unles you have only a little space on HDD or slow/limited Inet, i would say there is not a reason not to just try and see, since it is F2P.

    i see it this way:

    cons:

    bugs - there are still bugs, mostly just anoying than game breaking, but there are

    lags - i dont usually really experience it, but from time to time it comes and can hit hard

    graphics - well this one is pretty subjective, but a lot of people say characeter graphics and animations are really weak (i dont think so, but i am not the one to ask since i dont care about graphics and still play MUD :) )

    static combat - again i dont think so, but i actually dont like twitch combat, so ... :)

    crafting is grindy - this is true, but e.g. i do think that crafting process in vanguard is best out there so i dont mind :)

    no pvp at all

     

    pros:

    (imo) best crafting process out there, with pretty complex item system

    diplomacy - quite simple, but imo pretty funny card game ingeniously tied with quests, buffs and other things (like exchangign "bits of informations" you get from it for eq and consumables)

    great and really different selection of classes

    crafting, harvesting, diplomacy and adventuring are spheres of its own, leveled independently (except for harvesting you mostly need adventuring otherwise the mobs will slaughter you)

    fishing - fishing done as an interesting minigame, but cant be unfortunatelly greately affected by lag

    housing and ship building

    huge world where you can just ignore quests and simply walk around killing things

  • GoldknyghtGoldknyght Member UncommonPosts: 1,519
    Originally posted by Everket
    Yes kinda. To make you understand how dumb it is to call something grindy based upon a couple of quests.

    I understand what your trying to say but the game is grindy for most of the better items in the game. You grind to craft, you grind to diplo, and to say the game isnt grindy is a lie and you know it.

  • asyndetonasyndeton Member UncommonPosts: 87

    Well, I have been playing here and there for about a week now I guess. And let me say that I have been pleasantly surprised. The game has a really intriguing atmosphere about it that I enjoy. I really like exploring the three different spheres, the classes are pretty unique, and since I haven't spent a dime on the game it seems like an awesome deal to me. 

     

    Community is nice, I actually like the graphics, its not laggy, has housing (huge plus, but I havent been able to try that yet).

     

    The thought that keeps recurring to me, however is: If only.

     

    What sort of things could be in this game now, where could have some expansions taken it?

     

    However, the only thing I am truly missing is an AA system like what EQ2 has.

     

    But hey, overall, Vanguard seems pretty solid and fun to me.

     

    Also as a sidenote to  a post here: I was actually looking a little bit at FF14 today. I was trying to find out if it has housing, glad to hear that it will, I will maybe look at it in the future more when it comes out and I am ready for more than a passing game.

     

     

    *Edit: doesn't appear to be any more grindy than any other mmo in nature (Mind you my highest character is level 11, lol)

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  • itchmonitchmon Member RarePosts: 1,999

    i came back to vg recently for the Nth time, got pretty into it and then i hit that same wall concerning the animations.  after a couple months they really start to wear on me and i end up installing it.

     

    i really hope that the folks at sony look carefully at the systems of VG when working on EQnext and realize that these are great systems, they are just systems that are set up for failure by some very amateur-hour sounds and animations :  i know it is a little small of me to weigh so heavily on graphics and production value but those two are really immersion breakers for me.

     

    it is doubly a shame for me because i m a big fan of fantasy art and one of the very best ever lost his life while working on VG. 

    RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.

    Currently Playing EVE, ESO

    Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.

    Dwight D Eisenhower

    My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.

    Henry Rollins

  • VengeSunsoarVengeSunsoar Member EpicPosts: 6,601

    I've said it before, Vanguard is not a bad game.

    It has many things that I look for in a game but to me it's only an ok, game, not bad, not great, but ok.

    It seems for so many of it's systems they reached a point of good enough and left it before it became really good or great, which given it's history and funding issues may have been what actually happened.

    Housing, I love housing, and Vanguard has it, but only a few styles per continent, pretty limited.  I prefer EQ2 with, while instance, lets me build my own house brick and board style.  Or Istaria which gives me a plot and thousands of things to build on it (although few decorations)

    Flight, it's got it, but only a few mounts.

    Classes, mostly same classes as most other MMO's but each with a bit of a twist, can't fault them for that.  I'd rather have multi-classing or skill based myself though.

    Graphics, great environment, bad animations, and some pretty ugly characters IMO.

    Diplomacy, have to give them props for trying something different. Personally thought it was hugely boring but it was different.

    Quests - standard.

    So overall, not a bad game, just not enough to pull me away from the games I am playing.  It could have been great, it just needed a little something more for me, not quite sure what but just more.  Every time I've played I've lasted a week, then said "meh" and left.

    Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
  • nerovipus32nerovipus32 Member Posts: 2,735
    Originally posted by Vesavius
    Originally posted by asyndeton

    So I am in a time of life where I have more time than I want to have. This is good and bad, but one good thing is I can try games that I previously didn't.

    Now enters the real problem, finding a game.

    I've been looking forward to Archage and such, EQNext seems to look interesting.

    I started with EQ1, played EQ2 for a long time.

     

    I guess the point I am trying to get at, is Vanguard worth looking in to? I dont really know much about what seems to be a muddled history of the game. However, it has some features that I really like, Player Housing, large class options, crafting, etc.

     

    Well, I will probably try it out anyway, any suggestions for a beginner? Or anyone want to play with? (PS I am pretty casual when it comes to gameplay)

     

    Wait for FFXIV: ARR is my advice. It will offer player housing etc and still is a slower pace game.

    Vanguard... everytime I talk about this game I get a little sad. SOE's 'committed' support for it has dried up again (once they got the cash shop in) and I honestly do not think it's worth playing at this point more then out of a morbid curiosity for what could have been.

    FFXIV a realm reborn is nothing like vanguard, the charm with vanguard is the freedom ffxiv a realm reborn is a traditional wow style mmo.

  • nerovipus32nerovipus32 Member Posts: 2,735
    Originally posted by Wizardry

    Vanguard is a game i put on the top 5 of all time.This game could have been w/o doubt the best on the market,however Sigil [former SOE guys] ran out of money.So who knwos what this game could have become if not rushed out the door.

    Having said that,it is still as good as they come.The only real lacking feeatures are what i enjoy about FFXI ...sub class and more depth to combat.

    However if you like or liked Wow or EQ or EQ2,VG is right there.It has better view distances,graphics equal to EQ2,seamless maps,political mini game.You wont harvest a silly log node like you do in other games,yo uwill actually chop a tree down.There  is other stuff as well,it is a good game.

    Only thing i wish it didn't do was copy EQ so much,it is basically an EQ2 clone,with some improvements,additions.

     

     

    Without SOE this game would never have been released, it was originally microsoft who were publishing the game but they pulled out mid way through development.

  • VengeSunsoarVengeSunsoar Member EpicPosts: 6,601
    Other than open dungeons what freedom does Vanguard have that WoW doesn't?
    Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
  • mrbungle419mrbungle419 Member UncommonPosts: 47
    Originally posted by Goldknyght
    Originally posted by Everket
    Maybe I don't know what grind means, but playing the game doing quests and instances is grinding?

    You will have to keep doing something to acheive your goal repeatedly over and over again. One example is the quest for Wardship Armor , you will need to farm out runes, armor peices, and candles. Well the items you need wont drop on every mob you kill, they drop on every 10th mob you kill or even 20th. On top of that its random for which peice you will even receive. So you will just be killing the same mob over and over again till you get all the peices you need. On top of that, in order to even get the armor you will need 2000 for the first 3 peices and they start you at -2000 faction and each mob you kill gives you only +6. There is a repeatable quest u can grab that will give you 1000 a turn in but it requires you to kill 50 of the requested mobs each time.

    So in other words when you start to do this armor quest line you will have to grind your faction to get the armor.

    And if you attempt to do all the wardship quests you will out level the rewards before you get them unless you turn off your XP.  I know that most of the armot pieces were completely useless to me by the time I got them (on my later toons, not when the game first released and XP rates were slower and XP penalties were bigger).

     

    The game just isn't tuned very well, but the leveling dungeons are fantastic so long as you find groups that don't want to cheese them (carry your tombstone to nameds, fly to specific points in the dungeon, etc).

  • DavisFlightDavisFlight Member CommonPosts: 2,556
    Originally posted by VengeSunsoar
    Other than open dungeons what freedom does Vanguard have that WoW doesn't?

    The class system, the quest system, the auxillary class systems, the crafting system, the sailing system, the diplomacy system, they're all a lot more open, and deeper, than WoW.

  • ketzerei84ketzerei84 Member UncommonPosts: 81

    Vanguard IS very worthwhile, however, its a bit of a time sink to level up as the low level population is still a bit low. And doing solo content wont give you the top notch group gear from leveling or let you see the content that makes vanguard really shine: namely its non-instanced group content. I do have some lower level toons there, if you want to give it a go I could probably re-install it to help ya level a bit.

    EQ2 is horrid to start fresh in these days. There's nobody under 90 that isnt an alt, and you wont be doing much but solo until 90.

    EQ1, on fippy darkpaw, is in darkhollow at the moment. PoR vote is open, so it'll be at LEAST 2 weeks before PoR launch. If you want a funtastic game to play raid and group in THIS is the era in which to restart in EQ1. Fippy requires a sub however, whereas on EQ2 and VG I would recommend playing f2p until you near level cap and then subbing.

    Playing: Secret World: Legends

    Waiting for: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen

  • koboldfodderkoboldfodder Member UncommonPosts: 447

    Vanguard was supposed to be an upgraded version of EQ, but obviously it tanked from day one because of massive technical problems....most of which are gone and have been gone for a couple of years.  There are some problems that are inherent with the graphical engine.  World objects pop into view from much shorter distances that you would expect, and the chunking issues still remain.  No way to avoid those two things.

     

    But the fixed a ton, added a fair amount and it is a better than average game.  It is not a solo game.  If that is what you want, try EQ2.  Vanguard is still very much a game that takes time and is difficult or almost impossible to solo some areas/levels.  Also, not many people play the game.  Obviously, that is a major issue when playing a game that requires grouping for many areas and many levels. 

     

    The graphics are totally outdated.  They were excellent at one point, but that day has long since past.  The guy in charge of the game was Brad McQuiad (of EQ fame) and if you read about his time with Vanguard there were some pretty bad stuff going on behind the scenes.  SOE bought it, didn't really know what to do with it, then began looking under the hood of the game and tried to fix things as they went along trying to revive a dead game.  The failed for the most part not because the stuff they put it didn't work, it certainly did, people just stopped playing or went to other games.

     

    What you find in Vanguard is three distinct things that are not in any fantasy MMO that is still alive.  One, is the crafting.  While it is not the best crafting system, it certainly ranks among the best.  You can just be a crafter and your stuff is wanted at any level....provided that there are people playing at all levels (which there is not..lol).  Two, the classes are all stellar classes.  This game ranks up there with LOTRO in terms of class fun-ness.  The healer classes are the best in any fantasy MMO.  They are all excellent, and the disciple is one of the great MMO classes of all time.  Three is the diplomacy system.  It is not as in depth as the other two systems, but if you like to read and like to play dress up this is the class for you.  Now, the actual lore of the game is a total joke and it takes a big grind to do the class, but I had a lot of fun just doing the Diplomacy web quests.  No other MMO has this.

     

    Would I reccomend Vanguard?  Nope.  It's day is done and has been.  Yes, it is free to play but honestly there are a few games on the horizon that might be worth waiting for in terms of early Beta access.  Besides if you liked Vanguard, that means you loved EQ1 and that means you are totally looking forward to EQ Next....and we will get some type of huge update in August.

     

    However, if you have a groupf of three or more firends that are looking for a game I would pick this one as your filler game.  But it soulds like you are looking for a solo type of game, this is not the game you are looking for, there are better out there.

  • AdamantineAdamantine Member RarePosts: 5,085

    > "Vanguard was supposed to be an upgraded version of EQ"

    [mod edit] Vanguard is not an "upgraded version of EQ". They are the same kind of game, but so is WoW, and there are just as many differences between Vanguard and EQ as are between Vanguard and WoW and EQ and WoW. WoW isnt an upgraded version of EQ, either.

     

    [mod edit]
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