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How to get the most out of Vanguard !
delete5230
Member EpicPosts: 7,081
Vanguard is so alive it's unbelievable !.....Let me explain.
First thing I would like to discuss are posters here on mmorpg.com about Vanguard. It seems as if most will not let go about the bad launch, SOE, Sigil, Brad McQueid and Smedley. Yes, things happened and things are going on. That's a given, it's over with, and we are left with how things are now. Bottom line !
Next I would like to discuss Common Myths that are not always true about many MMo's and especially Vanguard :
1) " Find your self a good Guild " ... Sorry, I say NO and yes. With Vanguard and many lower populated games, this may not be the best answer. Using Vanguard as an example we have 600 +/- players at any given time, yet there are aprox. 40 or so Guilds. Now lets do some math. 600/40=15 Of coarse this is not accurate some have more, some have less. BUT knowing that Vanguard like many mmo's there are many top heavy Guilds. So this leaves a low to no player base for the middle game. And in turn no one to play with.
I've belonged to many Guilds in my short time playing and this is not the answer. Guilds are good for one thing. Asking game related questions using Ventrilo voice chat, and Max level content.
2) Asking in Region chat " Level 20 Rogue LFG ".... Spamming like this usually does not work, it may, but a very poor way to find groups.
3) " Don't spam others IT'S RUDE "... NO it's not !...... IT'S THE FOUNDATION TO A GOOD PERSONAL POPULATION.
How can I say that Vanguard is so alive it's Unbelievable ?.......Well for me it is, and it can be for you too...... How ?
IT'S ALL ABOUT USING THE SOCIAL PANEL > FIND > ADVANCED FIND PANEL. This is the Holy Grail for me. It's why I don't see a population problem. It's why I don't have to quit !!!
I have a personal friend that plays with me, but his time is limited, and he is not on very often. So my alt character has no one. So I use the social panel to send a personal Tell's to others " Hay I'm kind of new, can I come and help you ? ". I always go to them, and do THERE STUFF NOT MY OWN, because no one ever gives a rats ass about what I'm doing. I've found so many friends this way that my friends list is twice as large as my guild. I now log on to find two or three Tell's asking me to play with them before I even load the game.
Same with Dungeons. I'm a healer, so first choice is to find a tank to do Khregers End. I asked two people in the SOCIAL PANEL and Bam I have my tank. The first words in group chat is " You will not get any others " well, Bam full group in less than 5 minutes, using the SOCIAL PANEL.
Now about the state of the game itself :
I have a good desk top, and an old gaming Laptop that I payed $800 two years ago. My Friend has a good Desktop and he is teaching his girlfriend on the trial Isle and she has a cheap Laptop. She has to turn the settings down, but it's playable even in the Temple at the end of the trial......All these computers can play Vanguard !!....Infact better than EQ2 !!!... For me and it's only my opinion but EverQuest 2 is a mess !
Bugs- Well not many, so far after just a few weeks of playing, I found that you get some minor hitching when you move your character into a another chunk ( The world is divided into large squares called chunks ) These areas are large, and nothing game breaking. Twice I got stuck and could not move ( Twice in a few weeks is not bad). A few times I would strike a mob with no reaction from it, No big deal, just move on to the next. ONE quest had me kill ten spiders, and could only find nine with no respwns. THATS MY FULL BUG REPORT nothing else.
My hint's :
Start in the Trial Isle. You leave at level 10 with the best loot, a good tutorial of crafting. Don't forget to find the Temple quest given near the flying trainer. My first time around I did not even know their was a Temple Dungeon at the end. Also don't expect many to group in the trial until the Temple, everyone is still learning, or burning thru it with their alt.
Here is a good web map. About as good as the one in the game :
http://vanguard.gamepressure.com/world_of_telon_map.asp
Here is a down loadable in game map, my friend likes it a lot, I don't have it yet :
http://www.vginterface.com/downloads/fileinfo.php?id=96
Do the Hunters League Quest starting at level 16 ( find a group using the social panel ) or hang out near the quest giver, it's very popular, you should find a group their. Here is a walk-through site for the quest:
http://www.vgwalkthroughs.com/page/parts/34
Get a group for Khregers End, it's a Dungeon near Three Rivers. Very Popular. It's to be done at level 13-19, but that's too low, be at least level 15 minimum, and a group levels 15 and up. Use the SOCIAL PANEL to find others. BUT scout the location first, and find ALL the quest at the large bridge,so you know what your talking about. Don't know what your doing or anything about Khregers End ? No prob. Someone will, just know where it is first 
To sum it all up :
Ignore the negativity, you would read here about the population, it's much better since the server merge MOST ARE GOING OFF PAST EXPERIENCE. Trials full, very healthy population from 10-30 at least ( unsure after that ).
USE THE SOCIAL PANEL, and do their stuff, NOT YOUR'S. The Rift system gets you to where you have to go instantly.
And have fun..... It's unbelievable, and alive, if you play Vanguard right !
Comments
I want to try this game, but as far as I understand, Vanguard has higher system requirements than EQ2. My laptop can run EQ2 satisfactorily (with all the settings on super low), so I just assumed that I wouldn't be able to run Vanguard in any meaningful way.
I'm not a computer expert. On purpose I did not list my specs, to start a spec war.
BUT having played both, I find Vanguard plays the same if not Better. From what I understand it's ALL about coding and programming of the game, I don't understand much about it but. I would guess it may be the same, regardless of what the EQ2 people will try and bash me !
The test would be the free 14 day trial. If it runs good at the Temple around level 10, I would guess you can play the entire game.
THIS GAME IS FIXED BETTER THAN MANY WILL ADMIT, there going off past experiences.
I appreciate the reply. I have been hesitant to download the game and try it for the reasons stated above, but I will try it now. I've been really wanting to give the game a shot. Thanks for the info.
I was in game today and no sooner was I 20 seconds loogged in, someone whispered me to join a group. Quite frankly I think like many games it is what YOU make of it.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Nice post and thanks for writing it though I will say one thing.
As far as the Hunter's Leauge quests, esp towards teh end they are designed in to limit (rather than encourage) grouping due to annoyingly large amounts of drops and mobs that dont want to drop em that often (e.g. evil turtles). Now the HL quests if you are a melee class (esp a tank) very good though casters can scrape by not doing them as much. As these quests are a huge bottleneck it can be tough getting them all done, and most of the quests post HL encourage the more the merrier style of grouping. I have seen more players end up leaving or ending up with a bad taste in their mouse (sic) after teh HL quests.
Guess all I am saying is dont give up and dont focus on them too much
I can max out the graphics in Vanguard but not in EQ2, for some strange reason EQ2 is much more recourse hog than VG and VG looks alot better.
I suggest you download VG freetrial and run around on the Isle of Dawn to see how it works out.
If it's not broken, you are not innovating.
Actually a suprisding number of people I know have better performace with high quality settings over medium.. odd really
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Game is EPIC. Those who don't play, don't know.
I miss the good ol' days when nerds were actually intelligent.
Wha? I heard the don't know don't play policy was going to be revoked .
Yes that was bad.. I apologize
So far I can't seem to find a Guild that has a good amount of Noob players. All so far have high levels and a few scattered ranging from 11-54.
Like if i'm say a level 24, and there is one level 21 and a 25, most likely that will not give me a population to play with. I understand that others can mentor down to our level.......I'm not playing Vanugard as a shy person, but I can't see my self asking others to do this for me. Even so, what do I do tomorrow ? Expect them to do it again ?
Next, I used to resort to spamming in /ooc chat " Level 24 Monk LFG ". This never worked in Vanguard or any other mmo, it also yields close to nothing.
So what I'm trying to stress is that Guilds, and spamming in chat LFG are not the answer !..........AND THAT IS WHY PEOPLE QUIT VANGUARD. The population is MUCH BETTER THAN IT HAD BEEN IN A LONG TIME. Yet I could understand how the common player using the traditional method feels lonely. The traditional methods never ever worked for me if I think about it, in any MMO with the exception of WoW in its early days.
What works :
Spamming others in Social > Find > Advanced search. Ask others if I can help them with their stuff, and go to them. YES, I'm repeating my self...........BUT it works well....... very well.
I had to start over because my friends girl friend is now playing. And I'm finding many more friends all over again !
OK, here's the story :
I'm still only a level 23 Shaman ( long story, several alt's, playing slow when I have time, sometime my friend is on and play with him ).
Anyway I have 34 ppl on my friends list. When I make a friend and we click, I ask for their alt names, and add them too. I'm finding that most times they are on with their higher level alt's, and If I ask if they would like to play, they are more than happy to switch over to their lower level character to play.
MOST EVERYONE in Vanguard is starving to find friends. BUT I have the key to finding them. I like to spread the word, so we can all come together.
I was just on the game, I found a " level 28 Sorcer LFG please ". I spammed him and told him about the Social>Find>advanced search, and how to really find others. He was a happy camper, and found that he also has a level 13 toon ( I was on with my 14 ). So now I have another friend to play with !
This game is not dead. GUILDS DO NOT WORK IN VANGUARD AND MOST OTHER MMO'S......only if your max level.
A lot of people play with region chat turned off. Also noticed that the default chat window doesn't include every different chats like help, crafting, diplo, etc., you have to turn them all on. Lot of people, especially new ones might not know this.
Have to agree, traditional methods don't work in VG. You just have to get out there, if you see someone chat with them. Use the search, help people out and they will help you out. Make friends and you will enjoy the game. Don't go into it thinking guild=group or spamming chat is how you find groups though. It's a great game if you play it right.
I leveled my Druid to 25, then lack of solo quests hit me. I traveled the entire map, asked in channels in game, went looking on the internet and apparently it's a reported issue. Soloing from level 25-29 may be challenging.
Of course some people will reply stating that in this case I just should group. Well, while I understand and respect this suggestion, I just love wandering in Vanguard at my own pace. I would stumble accross something that would catch my interest and just have a look around, doing nothing in particular but just observe the scenery, as I never felt such immersive feeling in any other game. It's just amazingly beautiful.
Therefore, I would rather continue my little adventure while soloing if at all possible. So in case anyone has some info on how to solo towards level 30 (without just grinding mobs of course) as I may have missed a few crucial areas or steps (i.e. there might be some areas marked as higher level but soloable at lower and we don't know about), I would be more than happy to wander around in Telon again.
Best advice? Play a single player game.
Playing: Eve, LoL
Played: EQ, SWG, EQII, MxO,DDO CoX, WoW, & LoTRO
Awaiting: GW2, Rift, Earthrise, TOR
The great thing about the Druid is that they can solo very well...so those small group quest that you might come across in the 20's on up, your Druid can handle quite a few of them. I ran solo (despite being in a huge guild) for quite a bit of my Druids adventuring XP. As long as you have room to move around, the Druid can take on quite a bit.
I did the unicorn and shadowhound quests starting at lvl 24 and it took me to 31. I mainly soloed them on my ranger, but there were a few parts I did need help with. Was a simple question in the local chat or guild (strongly recommend) and got help very quickly.
I am now finding I am bored to tears of soloing (My ranger is lvl 35). I wish the game did have a bigger base of people around my level to just hang out and group with. It is a top heavy game. But I have yet to find a boring class to play.