I have played both and am now trying to evaluate how these 2 stack up against one-another.

EQ2 has improved greatly since its launch and has had a few expansions now, having been out for around 2 years.  Vanguard has improved a great deal since SOE took over. 

Please discuss below and compare/contrast both games' strengths and weaknesses.

Oh dear, I can see the future of this thread clearly in my eyes, another flame VG until there's only ashes left.

I'll try to start it in the other direction though.

I've played both EQ2 and VG for aorund 3-4 months each so I'm no hardcore in either of them but my unbiasad opinions is that I had much more fun with VG than I did with EQ2, believe it or not.

EQ2 beats VG when it comes to content 100 times over, it beats VG when it comes to population 10 times over and it beats VG with stability issues.. hmm, I'm not sure it beats VG with stability issues.. I play VG much more smothly than I ever did EQ2, strange.

Either way VG has something I never felt in EQ2, it has a world that feels like it's an open and true exciting fantasy environment with you being it's inhabitant. In EQ2, and many other games, the world is there for you only and it's purpose is to give you the exp and materials you need. The freedom in VG I felt was much more visual, you can travel to remote places and explore new ways of getting that hard sought experience and loot, you can go on an exploration trip with the goal to find those rare nodes of resources that everyone wants or you can visit all the different towns and work with your diplomatic skill convincing them to help you or at least not kill you on sight.

In EQ2 it was much more, do this, do that, when you're done go to this town and continue doing this and that. Eventually all you're doing is going from town 1 to outpost 2 to village 3 doing quest after quest after quest that where always perfectly suited for your level.

VG has one more thing that I loved, community. Yes I know it's small (I play on the Florendyl server) but the one that's there is amazing, so friendly and willing to immerse themselves in the world that it adds even more to the liveliness of the environment.

Well, that was my 5 copper.

Comparing both at this point is just silly.   EQ2 is not even in the same league as Vanguard.  I played EQ2 for about a year and i agree with the previous posters.  EQ2 is a wonderful game, bug free, tons and tons of content, thousand of quests, a great crafting system, good population.  

Vanguard, well is bugged like hell, runs like crap, have limited content, fill with bugs and you can play for hours without seing another player.  Comparing the 2 right now, is like comparing a 2 wheeled tricyle with a formula one, maybe in a few years it will be worth the comparaison, but right now it's just silly.

Actually I don't think a comparission between these games is silly at all, VG and EQ2 are two games that are similar in many ways and the choice between them in many peoples mind these days.

Sure, EQ2 have had a lot more time to evolve and add content but I'm sure most people are smart enough to see through that and compare the two on a leveled basis. For example, what has VG that EQ2 doesn't have even when they've had much more time in develoment? What does EQ2 have that VG seemingly will never have no matter how many years from now? How was the EQ2 release compared to the VG one? Etc, etc.

I think it's healthy to compare games in the same category and style (not Wow and Ryzom for example, but sure Wow and LOTRO) since it gives people the chance to see what features draw them most and what style of game one really wants to play.

I found Vanguard a lot more to my liking out of the two. 

Vanguard has a lot of quests, but they are spread out and not always easy to find.  A lot of them are group only as well.

The defensive target/offensive target system is really neat.  I'm surprised one of the other games hasn't riped it off.  It takes away the need to switch targets to heal someone so you can concentrate on both offense and healing/buffing at the same time.

The class/races are much better done in Vanguard IMO.  Each has a nice variety of skill similar to EQ1.  The character customization is also really nice.  You can do a lot with how you character looks.  There are three races of human which is different from most fantasy games.  The different tiers of classes is generally well done IMO.  The only thing I didn't like was making the Druid an offensive caster.

I didn't like main pet class in this game.  The Necromancer pet walks all over the place, despawns, and has had taunting issues since launch.  EQ1 had a lot better pet classes to play if you like that kind of thing.  EQ2 probably even has better pet classes though I don't recall liking them much either.

Vanguard is oldschool and is a large time sink.  It requires a lot of time consuming exploration and grouping.  If you don't group the content isn't all the interesting past around level 10 or so.  This game is the spiritual predecessor to EQ1.  Aside from it being a bit buggy "which I believe a lot of games are" and requiring a good computer to play, I feel a lot of people just don't want to put the time in that this game requires.  I know thats why I stopped playing.  It was just taking to much time to get around and do things.

i dont know much about VG..only one of my kids plays it...and he is silent heh.

what is ".....defensive target/offensive target system...."?

is this anything like eq1....where..if your fighting a mob/boss or named, in a myriad of players and YOUR the cleric and cannot target the player ( presently dying and running low on hp) thru a group minipanel( for some unknown reason or bug) or any other such way because there is 50+ players blocking your targetting view or whatnot - but you can click on the MOB and hit /assist and reverse the targeting to actually target the tank/mage or other player the boss/mob is killing so you, as a cleric , can heal him/her?

or not?

I use to Looove this playing a healer type in eq1..whether it be a cleric or druid....highyly useful in games...but i only remember eq1 only having that option.

is that what you mean by defensive/offensive targetting?

Your defensive target is the last friendly player you clicked.  You offensive target is the last aggressive mob you clicked.  One is on the top left of the screen.  The other is on the top right of the screen.  They do this so you don't have to switch back and forth to both fight and heal.  This is great for classes like the Cleric and Disciple which are melee healers, but it helps everyone.  Switching between the player you want to heal and the mob you are attacking can be very tricky at times.

I guess I should add that all healing and buffs will go to your defensive target.  All the offensive abilities and attacks you click on will go to your offensive target.

Originally posted by Flyte27

Your defensive target is the last friendly player you clicked.  You offensive target is the last aggressive mob you clicked.  One is on the top left of the screen.  The other is on the top right of the screen.  They do this so you don't have to switch back and forth to both fight and heal.  This is great for classes like the Cleric and Disciple which are melee healers, but it helps everyone.  Switching between the player you want to heal and the mob you are attacking can be very tricky at times.

I guess I should add that all healing and buffs will go to your defensive target.  All the offensive abilities and attacks you click on will go to your offensive target.

Well, its hard to compare in a way, because they are somewhat different. VG has a big, free world, which feels MUCH more like a world than EQ2 with it zones. However, EQ2 since EoF has the superior gameplay, by far. Both have those wee bit sterile graphics and the miser reward system, and take endless monthly schedules to get anything done, so both are killers for spontaneous fun.

Since VG was supposed to be attractive for EQ1 vet I just want to give this tidbid: in the two quite big EQ2 guild I am in are MANY EQ1 vets, and NONE of them wanted to play VG. About half tried it, and found it - due to their word - more like EQ 1.5, since many of them said the graphics of EQ1 were even better in some places, or they did not want the hardcore gameplay of the old days back. I just made the EQ1 trial a year ago to see it, so I cant say myself. But thats what I heared A LOT when talking to EQ1 vets why they stay in EQ2 and not went to VG.

Originally posted by lomiller

Originally posted by Flyte27

Your defensive target is the last friendly player you clicked.  You offensive target is the last aggressive mob you clicked.  One is on the top left of the screen.  The other is on the top right of the screen.  They do this so you don't have to switch back and forth to both fight and heal.  This is great for classes like the Cleric and Disciple which are melee healers, but it helps everyone.  Switching between the player you want to heal and the mob you are attacking can be very tricky at times.

I guess I should add that all healing and buffs will go to your defensive target.  All the offensive abilities and attacks you click on will go to your offensive target.

 

In EQ2 you have implied targeting.  If you have a mob targeted your beneficial spells land on whatever the mob as targeted, while your offensive spells still hit the mob. If you have the tank targeted your offensive spells land on whatever the tank has targeted, and your defensive spells land on the tank. It’s completely intuitive and covers 99.9% of the situations in the game.  IMO it's much better then the offensive/defensive target system in Vanguard.

I'm not sure why that is much better.  The defensive/offensive target system allows you to always choose who you want as one or the other.  Maybe you don't want the tank as you defensive target for instance.  Perhaps you want to heal the off tank or one of the range characters.  This system would work out better in such an instance.