Long shot but... Vanguard Trial anyone?

[climbjtree]

I didn't play it at launch, and only ever heard terrible things about it. I figure there's a chance they've gotten their act together and why not play a few days for free?

I've gotten a ranger to level 8 so far, and I'm enjoying myself. Chose ranger thinking they might be decent soloers, and one of the animal races for the 10% constant run speed buff.

Anyone want to give it a go? I'm on Serradon as Toha.

[waffel]

I remember playing this maybe a year or two ago. I recall it being kinda alright for PvE, but the server was completely empty (was a PvP server)

I played for a few days, saw nobody, ran around town and saw a few people, then got ganked on my way out of town. I then attempted to see how far into a dungeon I could get solo and got pretty pissed when things kept spawning on me.

Yes I know, super cool story bro. However, I wonder if the game is still the same...

[climbjtree]

The server population says medium, for whatever that's worth. The newbie are is has a bunch of newbies running around. I figure if we get a couple of people in at the same time, who cares how populated it is? We can just play in a small group.

[WindupAtheist]

vanguard

[UnSub]

I played the trial recently. Vanguard probably has the best trial experience I've seen - it's in a separate area and has been developed to show off the game as best is possible. The mission where you fly around on a Pegasus and get a scenic tour of the area while finding magical storms stood out as original and impressive to look at.

... and then comes the final mission where you have to get into a temple and defeat the evil priest inside. Enclosed spaces plus wandering enemies plus the ability of more than two mobs to kick your ass quickly = a quick death to the idea that Vanguard had gotten over its launch issues.

[Falconeer]

Sucks that they basically stopped adding stuff to it. So you get a 3 years old game with... launch content pretty much. When you go back playing old MMORPGs the coolets thing is that you get lots of stuff and fixes. EQ2 is the perfect example, Age of Conan too. With Vanguard you don't exactly get that feeling at all.

[Cadaverine]

Yeah, the starter area is really well done, and the loot falls like rain, and shit.  Then you finish it, and go out into the world, and once you recover from the whiplash caused by the abrupt 180 the game does, you realize that you're gonna be getting punched in the dick for the next 40 levels.

They have added some new quests, which will gear you up for each tier should you be so inclined to grind it out.  It's pretty much a necessity as there really wasn't anyone around to run dungeons with the last time I played.  I suppose if you had a dedicated group, though, it might make it somewhat easier.  

[Cadaverine]

Sucks that they basically stopped adding stuff to it. So you get a 3 years old game with... launch content pretty much. When you go back playing old MMORPGs the coolets thing is that you get lots of stuff and fixes. EQ2 is the perfect example, Age of Conan too. With Vanguard you don't exactly get that feeling at all.

Supposedly, they put out an expansion middle-ish last year, I think.  I've read about it here and there, and my station launcher says 0/1 add-ons for Vanguard.  I can't find squat about it on the main web site, and the one bit I read about it on some fan site or other was indicating that it was somehow unlocked by beating some dungeon, or completing some quest, or the like.

[Stabs]

I played it last year and loved the trial.

I subbed and tried levelling.

It seems designed to occasionally break the monotony of solo questing by doing group instances. Except no one is available to do them with.

I got a couple of characters up to about 25 then crumpled at the thought of levelling in a diku solo to max.

I also found it quite hard to solo without dying as compared to the standard diku.

Pretty sure I would have stayed had it felt busy.

[Shatter]

My understanding is because VG isn't working on future content/development that the game has real population problems.  Of course in the newbie areas you will see people running around playing the free trials but apparently the game has real issues later.  I guess if you want to enjoy X days for free and waste time playing it then have at 'er.

[Ghambit]

Why dont they just code in some NPC bots to group with the players and call it a day?

[Falconeer]

That's what they did in EQ (mercenaries) and it's working pretty good.

[Draegan]

Heh you said 'Vanguard' and 'code' seriously in the same sentence.

[Nebu]

Why dont they just code in some NPC bots to group with the players and call it a day?

If they did that in WoW, I'd never quit that game.  Hell, I'd pay extra for that feature.

[HaemishM]

Why dont they just code in some NPC bots to group with the players and call it a day?

VANGUARD. 'Nuff. Said.

[Nija]

It's actually really fun if you have a static group to play with. Even post-newbie island.

You absolutely cannot rely on pubbie groups to accomplish anything, and quite a few areas worth seeing can only be done in a group.

[Draegan]

I have to give Vanguard some credit though.  I still think the class design is the best in all fantasy DIKUs.

[Nebu]

I have to give Vanguard some credit though.  I still think the class design is the best in all fantasy DIKUs.

I really enjoyed the many of the classes and the first few levels.  I have to say that, to some degree, I agree with you.  The healers were pretty fun to play, but I think WAR did a better job with class development (minus thier stupid addition of too much cc and overpowered AE).

Beyond the classes, diplomacy, and the first few levels, Vanguard was terrible. 

[Draegan]

Yeah the game was terrible all-around.  Though I have to disagree with WAR's classes.  I thought they were rather bland with the one exception of the Warrior Priest.

[Shatter]

Yeah the game was terrible all-around.  Though I have to disagree with WAR's classes.  I thought they were rather bland with the one exception of the Warrior Priest.

I dunno, I really liked the Witch Hunter, looked pretty cool and was fun class to play once you got crit capped since you could basically Burn Away Lies any class and just run away laughing :)

[Nebu]

Shaman did it for me in WAR, at least early on before the changes.  My healing ability was directly affected by the amount of dps I did.  I found that an engaging mechanic. 

[Kovacs]

Yeah ok.  I liked Vanguard for a long time.  I loved the offensive and defensive targetting.  Consensus opinion has all 4 healer classes and the Bard as (some of) the best classes in an MMO.  Dungeon crawls in Vanguard are vastly more rewarding than questing and not just because quests still have some pretty ridiculous bugs.  The strength of the game really is the dungeons.  They really are well done and what you'd expect from a professional MMO development team, which is obviously a nice change from a lot of the rest of the game.  so good in fact that once the levelling curve was (mal)adjusted downward there was actually a call to add level locking so that players could actually see more of them, YMMV.  With the clock running out on this game it would probably be something I'd look into as the option to roll alts and come back later may not be available.  You will however want to recruit a regular group before getting started though because the dugeons are group oriented and the population has thinned so dramatically that PUG's have pretty much gone the way of the dodo.  Raiding has suffered the same problem.  Low population means that you probably won't be able to experience the game's only raid dungeon (APW).   It was actually really well done and managed to hold the attention of some pretty serious raiders for about a year'ish.

Solo'ing in the 1-50 game is not terrifically difficult but ymmv as there is a huge difference in solo levelling time for certain classes (think EQ for a list of likely candidates) that you may want to consider before rolling.  You're going to have to do vastly more grinding in Vanguard than in any, or likely the combined total of all the recently released smattering of MMO titles.  As quest hubs are pretty rudimentary and very obviously a tacked on 'feature' in Vanguard you will definately have to be able to find the fun in finding a decent place to camp and just grind out levels.   

The Vanguard world itself is pretty unique and it will almost certainly draw you in.  The three continents do have their own unique ambience and are different enough that everybody seems to have a favorite.  The art itself is above average and it's hard to find somebody who hasn't been impressed just by looking around at max resolution.  But as with everything Vanguard you'll eventually learn to hate it for the performance issues it creates.
 
Unfortunately, even if you were so inclined the population at this point won't allow you to explore the single Raid dungeon (APW) which was also particularly well done, holding the attention of some pretty serious raiders for a year'ish and it was 3 months before the final boss was killed.  

I would absolutely not recommend you stick around for the game after level 50.  The "expansion" that rasied the level cap is a complete fucking disaster and will inevitably ruin any goodwill you may still have left for the game at this point.  Seriously, even compared to the rest of the game it's afuckingtrocious.  

Performance issues are still around in Vanguard but I was actually raiding with a P4/nvidia 8800gt, so for grouping anythng => that and you'll see noticable but relatively minor performance issues (hitching), mostly when crossing zones.  CTD's are (very) rare in anything but a raid environment but you play for any amount of time you're going to end up with some ridiculous and annoying UI, loot and grouping bugs.  So you'll have to have at least some small tolerance for those or you'll end up getting pretty stabby after awhile.  Oh and don't get into the game thinking anything wil be different in X months.  the game has been put on farm status as of Jan. this year (http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?topic_id=51939) and there's nobody left really working on the game, so it is what it is and that's all what it is.

So if you have 3 or 4 people who play regularly at the same time and like dungeons more than questing and don't mind missing out on raiding then I really really can't se any reason not to recommend it to anyone.  For awhile anyway but again ymmv.

[Kovacs]

ok.

[Nerf]

Did they ever fix the instant respawn mobs that made camping in one place and killing the same thing for 10 hours straight the most efficient way to level?

[waffel]

I'm kinda playing this.

Got a level 3 Monk. I get 1 level before I log out of boredom. I think I've seen 3 other people the whole time I've been playing (which isn't too long)

I can't shake the feeling that if I'm going to playing a strictly PvE game, I might as well play LOTRO. 

[Falconeer]

Or EQ2 after disabling stupid autofacing enemies.

[trias_e]

I have to give Vanguard some credit though.  I still think the class design is the best in all fantasy DIKUs.

This.  I actually almost got my money's worth out of Vanguard just by playing 6-7 classes up to level 10.  Blood Mage and Disciple I still remember for being brilliant class designs.  And Pscionist was really cool too.

I actually didn't mind the world design either, as it gave a genuine sense of distance that I liked.  I don't think the world needs to be filled with content every 30 seconds of travel.  I guess even in my ripe old mid-twenties I still want some worldliness in my games.  I think tolerance for this sort of thing really correlates with ones status in life...the more responsibilities one has, the more they just want to get in and have fun quickly.  Since I still have almost no responsibilities to speak of, I still am infatuated with the concept of the big world MMORPG, with distinct regional differences and tough-to-cross distances.

The rest of the game was total balls.  Primarily because grouping was a miserable buggy experience, getting groups was awful, soloing became awful, and thus the game became instantly unfun around level 10.  

[Cheddar]

Signed up.  Logged in.  2 minutes of my life that I will never get back.  Asshole.

[Draegan]

Signed up.  Logged in.  2 minutes of my life that I will never get back.  Asshole.

I mean really, at this point you only have yourself to blame.

[Pringles]

I'm actually playing vanguard again since some friends decided to sub with me.

Game is way better with people you can count on to group with since populations are abysmal (sorry no merges because of veterans who would rather jerk themselves off in their houses than lose their plots).  We play on Seradon, even though I doubt anyone here will seriously play,  if you want to try and play with me and friends, anyone is welcome, we play a lot though. (so be able to keep up)

We're only playing for the dungeon crawls, the dungeons are the best, especially without instancing, I love traveling all the way across the continent with no zones (except chunks) and then going way underground into some dwarf fortress.  

This week we just got some characters to end game and did some APW, other raids, and started post 50 content, and I definitely agree with what was said, post 50 game sucks big time.  That's probably why my friends and I have 3 level 48-50 characters we quit, and each have like 5 level 1-30 characters that we are still playing or just starting.  The group adventuring 1-50 is just awesome.

Shame really, love the engine and (mostly) seamless world, reminds me of Asheron's Call.

Also FWIW the Isle of Dawn, while rich in awesome gear for starting out and really helpful for getting started at Adventuring/Diplomacy/Crafting levels 10, it just doesn't do the world of Telon justice in the least bit.  The graphics and environment on the island are mish-mashed and rushed and look so unpolished compared to the rest of the game, and the content is so weak.  If you really like it and want to give it a try I would suggest getting a copy of amazon or somewhere for like $5 and using it for the free 30 days.

[March]

I have to give Vanguard some credit though.  I still think the class design is the best in all fantasy DIKUs.

Agreed.  Most interesting classes to date.

The WaR Shaman/Archmage were actually broken versions of Vanguard's Blood Priest... because Mythic never really understood the Dual Targeting thing they added in Beta (after they designed the classes).

[UnSub]

I think Vanguard is worth trialling just to see how the Diplomacy system works. Combat is dull and crafting, although better than some other titles, gets very repetitive.

[Draegan]

Diplomacy was dumb.  I was just a second rate card game.  I didn't get it.

[Falconeer]

Diplomacy was dumb.  I was just a second rate card game.  I didn't get it.

Second rate card game is the Free Realms one. Vanguard Diplomacy was a third rate card game.

[CharlieMopps]

I was in beta since the very early stages of the game... I often ran dungeons with some of the devs and they'd take live feedback from the groups. The game was awesome back then... But then I remember the day they announced they were starting to sell pre-orders. I logged in and my character was, quite literally a mile high in the air. Now, one of the few good things about Vanguard was the graphics engine... you could actually see really far, specially when your character is magically transported a mile high in the air. Unfortunately this fantastic view I was enjoying began to change rather quickly as I realized I was plummeting to my death.

Oh well I said, it's beta, I'll just respawn and... oh... I'm up in the air again. Nice view... AAAAAAaaaaaawwwhaaaaaaa... Splat!.

I had better log out, log back in and... nope... Splat!.  I had better submit a bug report. Oh wait, I can't do that from the death screen. Ok, lets see if I can get this filled out before I hit the... SPLAT!

It took 3 days for them to fix that... mean while they were selling preorders left and right. My illusions shattered I eventually stumbled upon F13.