Hey, finally decided to join the website since i've been reading it for a good few months and figured the readers here could help me out with my dilema. I've played EQ2, UO, FF11, Vanguard, AoC, LOTRO, Neocron, Guild Wars etc and find myself completely lost at what to play.

I played EQ2 since launch and quit around Christmas time having taken some time away from the game. Playing EQ2 and raiding in a hardcore raid guild unfortunately put me in a "hardcore" mentality, where I had to play a certain type of class, be the best, do 4-5 instances a day on top of raiding 3-4x a week until 5am.

I picked up Lord of the Rings and can say I'm enjoying it.. but even with the layed back approach, friendly people and large world.. I can't help but feel like something is missing..

I don't have that feeling for Lord of the Rings that I had when i was following Vanguard pre-release... or when i first awoke on the beaches of Tortage (Age of Conan). I had considered going back to Vanguard, but from what I hear the game has died a death and only those really committed to the game still play. Plus, correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems as if they've really taken a back seat to development on the game.

I still have Age of Conan sat here next to me.. and I was on the verge of re-installing the game. The one thing that puts me off majorly though, was that I could have sworn that the new "saviour" of Funcom had resigned according to a post I read 2-3 days ago.. It makes me wonder about the future of the game. Sure, a game won't ever last forever.. but it would be nice to know you're not joining a game that's already going downhill.

Long story cut short, I like Lord of the Rings, I really do.. but it doesn't excite me like Vanguard or AoC used to.. and I feel like i'm merely playing it to feel comfortable rather than take a leap into what some people deam as "failing" games.

Any advice on Vanguard, AoC etc would be appreciated. Would be nice to put my mind at rest and just pick a game already.. I just don't know if I have the time to read up on both to make a learned decision.. so that's where you guys come in..
 

P.S. I posted this on the AoC boards as well, would be nice to get info about V:SoH before making a decision

Vanguard has been steadily growing in population for some months now.  It has a free trial, so you really can't go wrong trying it out.

I would recommend Vanguard over AoC hands down. AoC has the worst community of any MMO I've ever been a part of.

Vanguard is an excellent game, the only thing it's lacking is the population. Such a gigantic beautifuly crafted world is almost wasted on such a small population of players :(

But yeah, give the free trial ago.

Originally posted by anakinsella

I would recommend Vanguard over AoC hands down. AoC has the worst community of any MMO I've ever been a part of.

Vanguard is an excellent game, the only thing it's lacking is the population. Such a gigantic beautifuly crafted world is almost wasted on such a small population of players :(

But yeah, give the free trial ago.

Seradon and Xeth have strong populations.  Sometimes the game will feel like it's lacking population because the world is so huge and vast.  But tonight, when I log onto Seradon there will be around 1200+ online.  But many of them are high level and are clustered in the higher end adventuring and raiding zones.

AoC is a bad joke compared to Vanguard. VG has much more content, MUCH larger world with no instancing or zoning, better loot and items, more challenging PvE, housing, fishing, etc, etc.

The only thing AoC has slightly going for it is it's crappy, pointless PvP.

Don't let these fanbois snowball you... Vantard has bugs in it that have been there since beta. there are still huge tracts of unpopulated areas, and their community is self involved hardcore EQ fanbois from back in the day... oh they are fine as long as you toe the party line, but make one complaint and you are a philistine to be burned... Oh and apparently "ways to grind" = content...

If you like EQ2 you might like Vantard, but warning: its pretty much the same game. Or at least the same prinicples of gear grind till your eyes bleed.

All the features the above poster listed all just mean more ways to grind... Fishing? Grind... etc. Sure VG had "better loot" [WTF does that mean really?] if you mean that your character is a total gimp till you grind out the leet gearz, whereas with AoC gear has a minimal effect... some trapped in the EQ mentality of making your character nothing more than a paperdoll or epeen expression, but I preffer to have a char that can still function buck ass naked if I use him right.

The AoC community is great on PvE servers, its tight knit on PvP servers, but its a PvP server, so epeen gankbois are common, of course...

Graphically they are fairly comperable, though AoC is more atmospheric, and the character models are where AoC absolutely CRUSHED VG... I mean if you are a furry, and like pez heads swapped around on the same human body model, thats fine... customization is a joke compared to AoC as well.

Vantard also has the distinction as starting as nothing more than a shell of a game used at presentations to sucker more money out of Microsoft to fuel Brad McQuaids drug habit, and SOE has recreat it from essentially the ground up when they bought it -though some inherent engine flaws still plague.

Why do I bring that up? Because anyone who gives one dollar to this game is contributing to everything that is wrong with this genre, and it tells future devs that lying to your customers AND financial backers is OK, cause Sony will just buy your game out and put it on the pass... it contributes to the medioctiry of gaming.

I posted this here, because AoC's forum is still pretty alive with interest so it got knocked down, whereas here... "steadily growing subs" HHAHAHA

Steadily growing from the hundreds? LOL

Even at its darkest day AoC had more subs than Vantard...

Originally posted by Sturmrabe

Don't let these fanbois snowball you... Vantard has bugs in it that have been there since beta. there are still huge tracts of unpopulated areas, and their community is self involved hardcore EQ fanbois from back in the day... oh they are fine as long as you toe the party line, but make one complaint and you are a philistine to be burned... Oh and apparently "ways to grind" = content...

 

If you like EQ2 you might like Vantard, but warning: its pretty much the same game. Or at least the same prinicples of gear grind till your eyes bleed.

 

All the features the above poster listed all just mean more ways to grind... Fishing? Grind... etc. Sure VG had "better loot" [WTF does that mean really?] if you mean that your character is a total gimp till you grind out the leet gearz, whereas with AoC gear has a minimal effect... some trapped in the EQ mentality of making your character nothing more than a paperdoll or epeen expression, but I preffer to have a char that can still function buck ass naked if I use him right.

 

The AoC community is great on PvE servers, its tight knit on PvP servers, but its a PvP server, so epeen gankbois are common, of course...

Graphically they are fairly comperable, though AoC is more atmospheric, and the character models are where AoC absolutely CRUSHED VG... I mean if you are a furry, and like pez heads swapped around on the same human body model, thats fine... customization is a joke compared to AoC as well.

 

Vantard also has the distinction as starting as nothing more than a shell of a game used at presentations to sucker more money out of Microsoft to fuel Brad McQuaids drug habit, and SOE has recreat it from essentially the ground up when they bought it -though some inherent engine flaws still plague.

Why do I bring that up? Because anyone who gives one dollar to this game is contributing to everything that is wrong with this genre, and it tells future devs that lying to your customers AND financial backers is OK, cause Sony will just buy your game out and put it on the pass... it contributes to the medioctiry of gaming.

 

I posted this here, because AoC's forum is still pretty alive with interest so it got knocked down, whereas here... "steadily growing subs" HHAHAHA

 

Steadily growing from the hundreds? LOL

 

Even at its darkest day AoC had more subs than Vantard...

 

 

Ah the only issue with AoC is that the subs are steadily heading down and funcom is in financial trouble and looks like it might implode before too long...

AoC is also a very simplistic game with a boring combat system that involved hitting buttons repetatively to even do one specal combat ability. 

But if PvP is your desire then you would certainly want to give AoC a look although I'd say War is a better game hands down.  But thats just me. 

I'd give AoC a try if for nothing else then the story line in the first 20 levels which is quite good.

But for long term PvE oriented game play VG is very good.  Most of what this poster says is pure BS that might have had some validity a couple years ago.

But hey both games have trials and both games can be fun for awhile :) 

Try both and im gonna say your gonna like Vanguard alot more then AOC. If so come back and let us know.

Sturmrabe's post is so off-base it's not even worth responding to.  Except for the 'if you like EQ2 you'll like Vanguard'.

EQ2 is a heavily instanced and linear game.  Typically, those that really like EQ2 are not going to like Vanguard.  But for those that like(d) EQ1 they will probably really enjoy Vanguard.

Originally posted by Sturmrabe Why do I bring that up? Because anyone who gives one dollar to this game is contributing to everything that is wrong with this genre, and it tells future devs that lying to your customers AND financial backers is OK, cause Sony will just buy your game out and put it on the pass... it contributes to the medioctiry of gaming. 

Don't let these fanbois snowball you... Vantard has bugs in it that have been there since beta. there are still huge tracts of unpopulated areas, and their community is self involved hardcore EQ fanbois from back in the day... oh they are fine as long as you toe the party line, but make one complaint and you are a philistine to be burned... Oh and apparently "ways to grind" = content...

 

The AoC community is great on PvE servers, its tight knit on PvP servers, but its a PvP server, so epeen gankbois are common, of course...

Graphically they are fairly comperable, though AoC is more atmospheric, and the character models are where AoC absolutely CRUSHED VG... I mean if you are a furry, and like pez heads swapped around on the same human body model, thats fine... customization is a joke compared to AoC as well.

 

Even at its darkest day AoC had more subs than Vantard... 

Agree

Took another month because can't play War (boring), don't want to pay 50euros for DFO (joke no thx) so took 1 month in VG and i actually TRY to play on Martok / Halgar . Saw 1 OTHER player on the area. Only 1 . I'm always ALONE. Found a lot of players in the Isle of Dawn (free accounts) but I'm alone in the world. 
 

This game is one of the greatest I played BUT

- has a VERY small pop in Europe

- Vg is still buggy (lot of bugs, broken quests, NPC with only 1 head, no legs etc)

- very very low FPS: I have 18/25 FPS in Vg sometimes less ( I mean <8 FPS ) in AOC last month played with 30/40 FPS at med/high settings

- a lot of areas are empty, I mean you'll find ZERO mobs. ZERO. Nothing to see to discover to fight. NO THING. Even in noob areas. No mobs, no players.

VG is always a beta.

Can't play EQ2 because i'ts too linear and instanced for me. Polished and professional product but found it BORING. Tried to do the trial last week and stopped 2H after.  So  I'm going to try to play VG 1 month  (i have no choice) if I can because i like this game, but how can I do the dungeons alone ? i'ts going to be VERY hard. Saw some people in tursh (2/4 players, crafters), 1 in Martok  (low level)... Not enough to play.

Even I prefer seamless worlds, i suggest to the OP to take AOC and forget VG in Europe. In US you'll find more players. 

I saw more players in AOC, Lotro, EQ2, War than in Vanguard.

I am going ask a question real quick. Can you wear Helmates in Vangaurd yet??

Originally posted by fuzzi1983

I am going ask a question real quick. Can you wear Helmates in Vangaurd yet??

yes

Originally posted by ethion

Originally posted by fuzzi1983

I am going ask a question real quick. Can you wear Helmates in Vangaurd yet??

 

yes

 

 

Woo its about time!

I am actually coming back right now, I just resubbed and I am downloading all updates now. Almost done too!

There are positive and negative facts about every mmo out there. Sadly there is no perfect or near perfect game.

VG does have both. I guess when you weigh the good and bad, one or the other will come out on top and help you make your decision.

I personally like VG for the open world, but as others have said that world also has many gaping holes just taking up space.

I personally love VG for giving me the ability to just go out and kill stuff and get exp in order to level, giving me the option to quest if i want to, not because i have to. On the flip side, when you grind, you do find yourself on a never ending treadmill of upgrading and to some people that is a big minus.

I personally despise VG for its horrid character customization. It is one of the worst. Yes, i know they are working on fixing customization, but in my opinion it would be better off being rebuilt from the ground up instead of tweaked. Yes i know, never gonna happen.

One ugly thing that VG has going for it is this stupid eq2 system of mob cons. With all the dots and what not, seperating between weak and strong, solo and group. If Brad would have stuck to the ORIGINAL eq1 system where most mobs are created equal, it would have been much more attractive. (in eq1, the way they designed it was that mobs were all on a relative even par with one another. With the exception being "named" mobs and the occasional over or under con mob. The system made grouping viable by giving players extra incentive to kill while grouped. The more in your group, the better the exp bonus. Beyond that, there is safety in numbers and the flow of killing is greatly increased)

VG still has great potential to be a really fun game. I think if it were owned by a different company and relaunched as a primary mmo, it could in fact survive.  Sadly, it is owned by soe, and they are led by the moron known as smedly. Therefore, they are somewhat doomed.

Man,  I love for this game to be the stuff that dreams are made of...

The truth is something different, I'm affaraid.

If  you'r in for a lonesome experience till you reach high lvl, then this is your game. If you want a seamless world, with lots of quests, if you want a beautiful world and helpful community, then this is your game. But if you want a world, with players, the same low lvls as you, go somewhere else.

I would love for this game to be more populated. I would love for this game to be realised as it should have been, but (Im sorry, Vanguard community) it's a empty world, with sometimes, no one around for  (in game) miles.

Im currently in AoC, PvP-RP server, and it's gankfest galore, but at least it has something of a live comunity.

I hope I didn't offend to many with this post, but thats how I see it!

To OP: The fact that you posted on this forum, makes me think that you already decided.

 Well I will sit on the fence here,I think between VG and AoC somewhere there is the greatest game ever,shame it doesnt work that way.

VG has some great points like the massive open world,some of the best quest text ever and ofc things like housing etc,although it also has some nasty things still lurking like the fact you still have to set fog command when you login to make the game look nice,some terrible lag at times(no it aint pc related)but also the guys you will mostly meet at lower lvls are ppl that are rolling there 10th alt,it can get very lonely in VG,if anyone denies this then they do have blinkers on.

As for AoC I prefer the graphics here and the fact there is a larger crowd playing it(server merges helped there ofc)the only place I ever seemed to lag was OT,the quests are pretty basic,only the destiny quests are really good fun,someone said they had the pvp,well maybe they do but if you dont want the terrible ganking that goes on in a pvp server and roll pve the pvp hasnt taken off really and is basically around mini games with the pvp calender showing maybe 1 or 2 guilds fighting every week(1 or 2 days).

This is just a broad overview,both games have there merits and there flaws,if they merged the games I would be hooked :P

I would say try both games for a decant amount of time and not just 4 or 5 days,they both need more time than that,for different reasons that is.

I know this isnt much help but just too show that niether game is a total let down but then again niether is the greatest,I guess this really is a case of "what ever floats your boat"

Originally posted by watto112

Man,  I love for this game to be the stuff that dreams are made of...

The truth is something different, I'm affaraid.

If  you'r in for a lonesome experience till you reach high lvl, then this is your game. If you want a seamless world, with lots of quests, if you want a beautiful world and helpful community, then this is your game. But if you want a world, with players, the same low lvls as you, go somewhere else.

I would love for this game to be more populated. I would love for this game to be realised as it should have been, but (Im sorry, Vanguard community) it's a empty world, with sometimes, no one around for  (in game) miles.

Im currently in AoC, PvP-RP server, and it's gankfest galore, but at least it has something of a live comunity.

I hope I didn't offend to many with this post, but thats how I see it!

To OP: The fact that you posted on this forum, makes me think that you already decided.

 

The population is there, it just becomes spreadout quickly because Telon is so big and the adventuring areas grow exponentially after level 10.  Last friday I had an alt on Isle of Dawn.  At 5:30pm CST there were 109 people on the Isle alone.   You couldn't move without bumping into someone and regionchat was alive with people forming groups, questions, duel tournaments etc.   Next step is the handful of places you can go after Isle of Dawn, those are still crowded... Veksals and the like.  The next step after that, maybe around 15-20 the population spreads out dramaticly.  At that point, region chat and the LFG tool become instrumental in grouping.

Up to level 20 it is pretty much a solo game.  After that you really need groups to get the most out of the content.  My advice is follow the Rift stones and they will lead you to the most popular areas/best content.  This is pretty much why the riftway was implemented.

Originally posted by fuzzi1983

Originally posted by ethion

Originally posted by fuzzi1983

I am going ask a question real quick. Can you wear Helmates in Vangaurd yet??

 

yes

 

 

Woo its about time!

 

About time! where have you been for the last 10 months.

Originally posted by warpp

Originally posted by fuzzi1983

Originally posted by ethion

Originally posted by fuzzi1983

I am going ask a question real quick. Can you wear Helmates in Vangaurd yet??

 

yes

 

 

Woo its about time!

 

About time! where have you been for the last 10 months.

If concerned about fashion, you can really go wild with appearance slots.  Hell, every damn monk and disciple things they should be running around bare-chested.  But it does add to the ability that you can recognize people in Vanguard simply by looking at them and never needing to see their name.