Ramblings of a depraved gaming madman or pure genius? You decide.

Author: Torak

Vanguard Player Profile

Character Name: Hartlis Bloodletter

Race: High Elf
Class: Sorcerer
Adventure Level: 50
Diplomacy Level: 9
Crafting Level: 17
Harvesting Level: 500+ Reaping / 500+ Skinning

Guild: Collegium

Server: Seradon

Tell us a bit about yourself (the RL person):

I currently live in Scottsdale, AZ. From WI and grew up in OR. Some of my hobbies are riding 4 wheelers, going to concerts, collecting DVD's (especially anime). When younger, I was hooked on AD&D, until the Apple IIE came out and played Wizardy and Ultima for the first time. Since that point, I have never looked back. I built my first computer, which was a AMD 386 (40 MHz), 4 Mbs of Ram and a ATI vid card (cant remember which one). One of my favorite games, including Castle Wolfenstein and Doom, was Ultima Underworld, The Stygian Abyss. It had one of the first interactive 3D enviroments (not just picking up ammo and health), great story and so many other great features. A real mind blower for its time. Years later, I became addicted to Ever-crack, EQ1. Since then, I have played numerous MMO's, but currently playing Vanguard and loving it.

Given Vanguards huge variety of races and classes, tell us how you picked your particular character & class and why:

To be honest, I remember in EQ1 how uber wizards were, even though I never played one, and decided to go that route in Vanguard. I use the same character names in most all the MMO's I have played, as long as they are available.

What is it that drew you to Vanguard and how long have you been playing? 

I have been playing Vanguard since its pre-release, not beta. I got a buddy key that allowed me to play a few days before the game went live to the general public and have been playing since. I could see immediately that this game was a diamond in the rough, regardless of its many faults at release. I knew that if the negative issues could be fixed, that this game was going to be one of the best MMO's available.

What sphere do you enjoy the most in Vanguard?

(Adventure, Diplomacy, Crafting): As you can tell by my profile, I am not a big crafter or diplomacy person. I do think that VG has one of the best crafting systems and Diplomacy is something so new and fresh to the MMO world, I have to give it credit as well.

Vanguard leaves a lot of room for different play styles, every thing from soloers to raiders, what is your preferred play style and why?

I like to solo, as I enjoy trying to prove prove my strengths and skills to myself. But, I have had friends playing right along side me from day one as well, who I met in EQ1 and have been playing with since.

What do you enjoy most about your class?

I enjoy being able to kite mobs to their deaths, but still find the class challenging as Sorcerers are made of paper it seems. Taking on more than two mobs at a time, usually spells death. Two mobs is the sweet spot for a good challenge.

What would you change about your class if you could?

Until high levels, a Sorcerer doesn't really have much to add in the way of group buffs, but plenty of other classes make up for this. The only useful ability we have is our evac. I do wish we had some more unique utilies, whether levitating, invising or teleporting group members (all of which we can do to ourselves, but no one else). I'm sure there are some more unique ideas than those, but sometimes I do feel I am there for nothing more than the nukeage.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in trying your class?

Make friends and/or join a guild. There is so much awesome group content to this game that I assure you, you will not be disappointed to have some help along the way.

Of the places / areas you have visited in Vanguard what are your favorite? 

At the early levels, I thought that Pantheon of the Ancients was an awsomely huge looking dungeon. Mid level my favorite was the Xennu City. From above it looked like an ancient egyptian city had sunk into the sea coast line. Once you acquire a key, you can be teleported to its insides with unique and challenging quests. Being in a guild that is raiding now, APW is nothing short of spectacular in its size, grandeur and challenge.

Are there any particular favorite adventure sessions or quests you would like to share?

My first favorite, was Lord Tsangs Tomb (awesome low level weapons can be acquired). Hunters League and CIS are equally rewarding. Wardship of the Sleeping Moon is great as its very challenging and tests the tenacity of the most dedicated adventures. Greystone Castle is a superb example of a group dungeon with excellent rewards. But, APW tops them all, testing the true strength and skill of an adventurer and its raid force. The mobs require specific strategies that must be learned and practiced before success can be yours.

Do you own a house? If so, where is it and what type is it? What do you enjoy about it and what would you change about housing if you could?

I have built a Tier 5 house on Qalia contenent. I like the fact that you can add chests to store more of your personal goods. I do wish they would add the option to change / customize the exterior of the house and make interior decorating items that resemble gear in the game, such as swords, axes, armor and such, if not allow you to place gear that has dropped as decorating items.

Do you own a Ship? If so what kind is it? What do you use it for?

I own a Thestran Sloop. It gets me and my friends around, but not much to look at.

What sort of mount do you own?

I currently own a level 30 horse and due to my lack of in game funds, am working on the griffon quest. My favorite mount was Randall the flying reindeer. Flying in the game is unbeatable. The screenshots and areas I have explored are second to none. FLYING ROCKS!!!

What would you most like to see added or changed in Vanguard?

I could go with the same old stuff like increase performance, content (more quests, dungeons, continents...), but I wont. I would love to see an unbelievable underwater adventuring area and places that would look from out of this world (alien, extradimensional, planar...). And as stated earlier, flying rock. I would like to see a flying capability added that does not require the use of a mount. The mechanics are there, mounts can do it, why cant I. We are magical races with extraordinary powers after all.


Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be involved in your survey and blog. I look forward to seeing it and others. I also hope that my experiences in the game help show others the depth, complexity, challenges and beauty of Vanguard.

Best of luck and Peace!!

James