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VG: should I stay or should I go?
Elikal
Member UncommonPosts: 7,912
I can't for the love of the Great Maker decide. Some things in VG are really great and others piss me off. I am still subscribed since launch, always I hop in, play 4-6 weeks or so, first enjoying, then my enjoyment dwindles and I cease to play it. I have some good friends there which keeps me, but always when I make a character into late 20ies I loose interest.
Partially I realized that every class I played stops getting something really new in skills above mid20ies. Its all Fireball 12, Swordswing 8 ad nauseam. I mean ok, all MMO levels are a bit like that, but if I recally my WOW Druid, I remember working for the high level shapechangs forms for instance, or the interesting things my EQ2 pally gets in the higher levels with his AA tree. In VG, when I study the high level skills... its all boring as watching laundry dry.
And then quests. Its all the same. The first 20-25 levels are fun and then I get FAR too many Fedex missions "gather 20 this and 30 that", only that the numbers of things to collect greatly rise in late 20ies. What is "gather 20" suddenly becomes "gather 120"!
With the great freedom comes the unfun factor that with mid-20 I usually have seen most of the world. Its not as in WOW or EQ2 where with mid 20 I didnt have seen much of the world, in VG I feel always "been there done that". BIG part of the problem is the always open map. I really would prefer a blackened map which only reveals those parts you really have been. It would greatly heighten my sense of exploration. Also some small dicovery XP for being at some place the first time, like in EQ2 would help to make exploring more fun.
Its somehing weird to say about VG, but it feels like a fast food game. I can play it a short time, much like it was for me with LOTRO, and then I have enough. It's always this mid 20 barrier where I wonder, what more should I play for? Ship and House dont really feel desirable to me as they are implemented, and always at that step I feel "ok, seen enough lets reroll. Some day." I cant exactly put my finger on it, but always at this level range I loose interest because I dont see really new, exciting things that catch me enough to play on. Its like all that comes after 25 is the same old as before. I know its to a degree in all MMOs, but in VG the entire things to do and new things to attain in 25+ look especially dull.
I belong to those who think VG is a good game but needs BIG work to add A LOT of things to be really worth to stay. I still think it deserves to be worked on, but when I see the amount of work SOE does, I feel its WAY too slow and WAY too little. I always hope this the big mircale patch. Unlike others I dont mind the lag or other things, but I just feel it sorely lacks content, things to do, diversity in things, mid and long term goals, fun loot asf. Just the small and big things to keep me entertained abover lv 20-25 or so.
Opinions??
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Comments
Your gonna let us decide what to do with your money?You know how i tell if i should continue to play agme anymore?If im not laughing and having a good ol' time playing then that means im not having fun and that means theres no reason to waste my time and money.It all boils down to if your having fun or not rite?thats what games are for....
Darkfall - Sick
Earthrise - Sick
It is an issue I have experienced in all of these games from WoW to Vanguard. In WoW, I just did not have the motivation to level-up with TBC because the "end-game" content did not excite me. In Vanguard, I do not have the motivation to hit 50 --I am level 49-- because the "end-game" content does not excite me.
The only game in which I had a motivation to level-up in was Everquest:
I do not have the incentive to max level in LotR, WoW, EQ 2, Vanguard, et al. because the "end-game" in all of these games are lacking.
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WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
It's down to what YOU want to do. Myself, i wouldnt even bother, played at release and it was bad and very poor. Have installed and taken a couple of hrs during this free month (try to get the players to come back) offer, but i will not be doing so. People say it isnt as laggy as it used to be, but is still laggy. My opinion is it is just as laggy, its just nobody else is there that makes it less so.
As someone stated the game is 20% solo play, 60% group play and 20% raid play. For new players thats 20% gameplay only till you hit lvl 45+. Untill then expect to see hardly anyone at all. I can see the 3 servers that are not PvP all becomming merged into 1 as all servers are LOW populated at all times.
Yes sony has tried, but i think its just a sinking ship, the launch killed the game, had some good idea's which should be taken into any new mmo's but done properly and also include even newer stuff too.
BUT it is all down to YOURSELF and what you want out of a game that you are paying a monthly fee to play. I don't pay for Beta testing a game and thats what this game is having you do.
I've just recently started playing VSoH, but I can say that I hit that wall in every mmo I've played.
WoW has great end game content, but it's a massive time sink to experience any of it.
I go into every MMO expecting to get bored of it for two reasons. One so I don't end up dissapointed when I do grow tired of it. Two so when a game finally doesn't bore me I'll be suprised even more so.
Really, I can decide for you? Gosh I feel so special deciding if you should go or stay. Hmm, well with that put upon me I would say do what you want. I don't feel like telling someone to leave a game they clearly love but hate certain things. Many have a MMO they love about and still hate things about it.
So make your own decision.
You know, it's normal in any MMO to churn in and out. It's really the only way to play without feeling a burn out. If you've run out of content, or the present content isn't satisfactory enough, then stop until you suspect there's reason to play again.
Well as to the OP... I play Vanguard very casually..
You know why I enjoy it?
Well after I get dragged into playing EQ2 and its nerfed to crap classes. I actually find the classes in Vanguard VERY enjoyable.
I'm glad SOE doesn't turn more attention to Vanguard. Because instead of adding to it.. they would tell us they needed to nerf every to balance it... Then add in some system that gives us back rough HALF of what our class was.. by doing some grind fest that is even slower than leveling.
I'm not saying it takes to long to level in vanguard.. its just a general rant at how SOE does things.
With the small staff they have actually focursed on "adding" and "improving"... rather than gutting classes and then having a knee jerk reaction to the cancellation of accounts.
Like all MMOs VG only shines with group play. Solo play is extremely boring. You can deal with solo up until about level 20 and then that is the place people will quit. VG has very unique classes and playing with other people in a full group would make you overlook the problems. Unfortunately, VG has a dying population so full groups are not an option. There are some diehard fans of the game at level 40 and above but it does not have any new Players joining.
Level 20 or so in VG is really bad because there is no where to solo easily. Everyone will say "Go to TK.". Yea right. With what group?
I think VG could come back if they made instanced LDoN content just so people could see how well the classes were designed. The VG community is so old school they would not like that type of content. It is a matter of the VG players cutting off their nose to spite their face.
maybe you started playing everquest late, because when it first came out, there was no end game either, but then again, no one cared then. there were a couple places to go, solusek and lower guk if i remember correct those were the only lvl 50 places to go.
if you are not playing this game to have FUN, then you are not going to have fun.
if you buy a game, race to 50, go to the high dungeons every day and get all the armor, you ARE going to be bored in a month, because the creaters dont make this game for YOU, they make it for the casual players who will take weeks and months to get where you go in a single month. that's how they make money, believe it or not, they are in this for the money first and foremost.
the race is what kills you, you ever figure out how to slow down, do it right, and ENJOY the game, you won't have anything to complain about.
the games you mention fail mostly because there are no fun factor, it's all about the grind and grind.
everquest was fun because it was focused around a single 5-6 person group, you felt part of a team, and you had a specific function, it was fun and you didn't need 20-40 people to get a piece of awesome armor, you just needed a single group.
now you have consumer games like WoW, where each land mass has what, 1 low level dungeon, 1 mid level dungeon, and a lvl 60 dungeon that doesn't feel like a dungeon crawl but work?
vanguard is *THE* closest game out right now that feels like the true everquest sequel, not everquest 2, but vanguard.
it is still rough around the edges, and it does need work.. but they have shown that they are working on it and they are trying to improve it.
INTRO
I played Everquest at its release, and prior to that I would play for hundreds of dollars each month Warcraft II on AOL. I also would play WC II on other providers as well, some were free such as Microsoft, I think. Great fun. Still love and regularly play WC III Frozen Throne
FUN
My purpose for playing MMORPGs is to have fun. I have fun with
RACE TO 50?
I am still 49. I never raced to max level in Vanguard or any game. The game has been out for a year and I have not reached the max level.
EVERQUEST
EQ 1 was successful and fun for varied reasons. Graphics, audio, visuals, sense of danger, world immersion, community, sense of progress, feel of the game, etc. Raiding ruined Everquest.
WOW
I agree with you on WoW, overall. I liked WoW, not as much as EQ 1 or DAoC, for the first few months doing the pre-Molten Core small-raid content. Great fun with the guild, friends, family, etc. Then it became tedious, predictable, and repetitive doing it over-and-over again.
CONCLUSION
I am not in this segment of gamers that 1) race to max level or 2) like WoW. I am "out-of-touch" because I want to feel as if my character is a part of a novel. World immersion = you feel as if you are playing inside of a novel with a story and character (yours) developing. You are a part of that story. You are a part of that world and make a difference through deep Questing, etc.
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WoW and fast food = commercial successes.
I neither play WoW nor eat fast food.
I had the same problem. I played a rogue at release (talk about crappy class) got him up to about 25 and was just to bored to go on. I did try diplomacy up to level 30 and crafting into the high teens but both were just too boring and I never tried either with any other character.
I rerolled a Bard and stuck to adventuring. The bard is the best class in my mind simply because you continue to get new abilities almost every level. If it's not a new ability you get a new song component. Creating songs was something interesting to do and you had to redo them every few levels. I started playing this character pre merge so he was pretty much played solo up until the 30's or so. The mid 20's was a drag and I almost quit there again. I made it past the deadzone and got to southwatch, which was pretty mindless and repetitive but it was actually kind of fun. I eventually made it up to level 43 or 44 but the whole levelling process was annoying. Even grouping was getting annoying by the end, Tricksters was so easy but frustrating due to the quests that forced you to leave and then fight all the way back to where you already were, repeatedly.
I never found anything that really kept me wanting to play the game. I had one friend who was also playing the game and we had fun chatting over vent while we played, the chatting was much more entertaining than the game. If I could get on at the same times as he was on then the game was fine but if not then the game was a waste of time for me. Nothing to do solo and groups were often not worth the hassle of finding or putting together.
At level 20 class roles are becoming more develped and groups start to learn more about how other classes can help them. It is true that you have the basis of your role defing skills at 20. However, you will receive a few "situational" abilities as you progress, as well as a few you will find you can't live without (literally).
VG is a group-centric game and I would imagine it would get very redundant as a solo player. A stable static group could be what you need to better define your experiences.
Of course, I'm a dungeon crawler at heart, and good groups are the air that I breathe. If I wanted to solo I'd play a RPG. VG does a great job on dungeons and that's one of it's best features, and one of the few ramining intact.
Elikal,
Sometimes in life, my son, you just have to make decisions for yourself.
Now here's a poster from the past, welcome back Healz, long time no see.
But OP, he's right, only you can decide what is ultimately fun for you. All of these games are basically pointless, we play them because we enjoy the experience. If you're not having fun, probably shouldn't keep playing it.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
lol.. this is one of those "stir up drama" topics..
there is NO way, that someone can base something like this on the sole opinions of others.. lol.. This is like pretty much saying that you and your opinion doesn't matter.. I HOPE for the love of god that you don't use this "system" in the real world..
make your own decision and stop giving people the power to control your situation.. we ALL have made that same decision at one time ourselves, and if its one that you find "too hard" to make then umm, you have other issues at work here.. heh..
As for if you should stay or go.. I'm gonna say GO! err.. stay... No I meant go... crap, dont go man.. stay.. we love you here.... or... you could go? Perhaps staying is the best idea... well, if ya don't go... But if you go... Its not really that big of an impact, but.. i dunno.. If you stay, it could mean world peace finally? hmm.. but im leaning towards go.. but stay DOES sound good.. decisions decisions decisions..
Simply put, if you're not having fun, or you find yourself only sticking around because of friends that play the game, I say get out.
Pick up a different hobby for a while, play some single player games, read some good books, learn to speak a foreign language, whatever floats your boat. But don't continue on doing something that you don't like because of some other people. You can always email them, or get some chat program to stay in touch.
At first you'll miss the games, but after a bit you begin to notice you're actually having fun doing other things, and you have an epiphany of sorts, where you see MMO's for the wastes of time they are.
Spend some time away from MMOs, and if, or when, you do come back, you'll enjoy the game more, and likely play it a lot more casually, which seems to extend the life of the game a lot these days.
At least that was my experience. Turned off the internet, and spent ~6 months getting back into shape, and otherwise getting me act together. Since coming back, I find I can only stomach playing an hour or two a night, if I play anything at all. Which is why Eve is working so well at the moment.
Edit: 3 points for referencing the Violent Femmes, whether it was intentional or not.