Originally posted by Kiersten

 Out of the two is one preferable?

Seradon probably has a bit more population. I'd pick that if anything.

 I started trying out a few classes on Seradon and i'm having a lot of fun with it.  But i'm not sure how these classes perform later in the game.  I find myself doing an equal amount of soloing and grouping.  So i would like to play something that can solo well.  The classes i've enjoyed so far are the druid, monk, and Psi.  I hear people say the druid is a great soloer, but no one can tell me how the monk or Psi are later in the game.

Originally posted by Kiersten

 I started trying out a few classes on Seradon and i'm having a lot of fun with it.  But i'm not sure how these classes perform later in the game.  I find myself doing an equal amount of soloing and grouping.  So i would like to play something that can solo well.  The classes i've enjoyed so far are the druid, monk, and Psi.  I hear people say the druid is a great soloer, but no one can tell me how the monk or Psi are later in the game.

I think every class can solo well, unless they can't kite or heal themselves. Just so you know, warrior and rogue are the worst soloers, I believe.

Every class is useful endgame, however. I play a paladin and a psi. The psi can solo everything it can kite, but if the monster is immunte to kiting then you will have a problem. My paladin can literally solo most 4 dot mobs. When it comes to grouping, just play what you want. I think tanks are the least populated class during leveling, but at endgame there is an overabundance.

Healers are common because of how they designed healers in this game. Every healer can DD, especially the blood mage since that is what they are SUPPOSED to do. The Cleric can tank if I remember correctly. The shaman can dd as well. Seriously, play what you want. Psi has the coolest spells in my opinion, then again, the highest DD is a sorcerer. Psi have amazing CC spells, though.

I feel like I'm rambling on, so just play what you find the most interesting class. This is one of the rare games where no matter what you play you will be needed. I've had groups with multiple tanks and multiple healers and we were unstoppable. Kills didn't take long either.

Have a couple of quick questions about Vanguard. Firstly, is the leveling like WoW and EQ2 where you just keep doing quests over and over again or is it like FFXI where you get into groups and kill things/progress through areas for exp? I'd prefer if it was like FFXI. Imo, there shouldn't be a lot of quests, they should be really long and only be for storyline/items/skills, etc., not exp. Secondly, I was told that the game developers don't work on the game anymore. Is there really no development at all or is it just slow/rare?

Originally posted by LotosSlayer

Have a couple of quick questions about Vanguard. Firstly, is the leveling like WoW and EQ2 where you just keep doing quests over and over again or is it like FFXI where you get into groups and kill things/progress through areas for exp? I'd prefer if it was like FFXI. Imo, there shouldn't be a lot of quests, they should be really long and only be for storyline/items/skills, etc., not exp. Secondly, I was told that the game developers don't work on the game anymore. Is there really no development at all or is it just slow/rare?

Its a mix of both. There are TONS of quests, but if you want, you can get a dedicated group and as long as no one leaves, take the epic quests that last many hours and levels and span an entire 6 hr dungeon. Perfect example, there is a dungeon (can't remember the name) that has multiple parts. You set up a group and progress through it together. The only tough part is you need to all do it together, because catching someone else up is a pain in the ass. So, what I did was get a group with guild members, and say "we will finish after quest X" then pick up the next day. Really fun to do that, since you end up even forgetting you're XPing and start talking about random crap.

Thats what I loved about FFXI and what WoW lacked. You can go and do all solo quests if you want too.

I played VG for a bit a long while ago (before this summer I believe) and stopped playing mainly due to lack of direction. However I saw this thread and loved the first video and really turned me on to give the trial a shot so I am downloading that now.

I think the reason for my lack of direction was probably the fact that I wasn't really in touch with other players and that is a big thing for me in games. So how easy is joining a guild in Vanguard? I think the highest level I got to was around 16 so not sure if that will make it harder. I played on Seradon btw.

Originally posted by Murdus

I played VG for a bit a long while ago (before this summer I believe) and stopped playing mainly due to lack of direction. However I saw this thread and loved the first video and really turned me on to give the trial a shot so I am downloading that now.

I think the reason for my lack of direction was probably the fact that I wasn't really in touch with other players and that is a big thing for me in games. So how easy is joining a guild in Vanguard? I think the highest level I got to was around 16 so not sure if that will make it harder. I played on Seradon btw.

Send Empire, Volition, Grithok, or anyone in Authoritarian Empire a tell, we will get you in a well populated guild. Mature language, immature minds... you gotta be up for that. We try and group all the time too. I'm taking a break to play some AoC (just to get it out of my system) but I'll continue playing VG, its the only game that holds my interest for a long time.

 I read the OP only.. didn't read anything else.. downloading the game now.

I am one of the people that heard horrible things about the game on release so I never tried it. Looking forward to playing in appx 12 minutes!

*Edit* Geez.. am I the ultimate lurker or what? Member since '06 and this is only post #4 .. haha .. I read the open beta forums weekly.

 Good luck with AoC, I played it to max level.  Was really fun up till you maxed out.  Then i realized it was just another "you've seen everything, now just raid till your fingers bleed"  MMO.  But the leveling part was really a lot of fun, I played it before the mass exodus though, not sure how the pops are now.

 Well, two questions then:

Is it an open or closed UI?

Can you jump in the game (like over things)?

This is a great game. I am not playing it anymore due to my one game at a time mentality. Right now Fallen earth is my game of choice. But there isnt a deeper high fantasy game out there. I hope it stays alive as i will be back once im sick of fallen earth.

The devs have flat out said that the more people start playing, the more funding they get. If you love the game but are turned off by the lack of players, join and get your friends to play. Get them to tell a few people, and them to tell a few people, etc. Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. In all honesty, this game is the best MMO on the market in my opinion, its the lack of players that detract from what it could be.

Originally posted by GPrestige

The devs have flat out said that the more people start playing, the more funding they get. If you love the game but are turned off by the lack of players, join and get your friends to play. Get them to tell a few people, and them to tell a few people, etc. Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. In all honesty, this game is the best MMO on the market in my opinion, its the lack of players that detract from what it could be.

You mind giving us an url to prove that statement?

Originally posted by zeowyrm

Originally posted by GPrestige

The devs have flat out said that the more people start playing, the more funding they get. If you love the game but are turned off by the lack of players, join and get your friends to play. Get them to tell a few people, and them to tell a few people, etc. Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. In all honesty, this game is the best MMO on the market in my opinion, its the lack of players that detract from what it could be.

 

You mind giving us an url to prove that statement?

He's actually correct.

I read the same interview and what they said was their funding is based on the amount of players they have. If the players increase they get more funding.

Silius said in an interview at fan faire that Vanguard has a budget relative to vanguards size.  He actually made several comments along those lines.  Mostly in response to why doesn't vanguard have this or that type questions. 

It wasn't a comment that stated vanguard will get more money if more people play, but rather why vanguard isn't getting certain things.  Advertising, expansions, etc.
 

It is possible that vanguards budget would increase if more players joined, but it is also possible that soe would just divert those funds to other projects.  Those other projects are far more likely to have a return on the investment and a potentially much larger return.  That may sound mean, but I think it is the truth.

What he said at the fan faire, and http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?start=100&topic_id=49831  6th post down

Originally posted by GPrestige

What he said at the fan faire, and http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?start=100&topic_id=49831  6th post down

Cool, thanks.  Didn't want to sound like a Doubting Thomas, but you know the whole "he said, she said" crap on the net.  May give the game a third shot then.

I hate crafting. I hate side games in mmorpgs. Started playing vanguard after quitting from two years ago, since it was very buggy then. Needless to say, this game is proving worth my time. I actually like crafting in this game, and it makes me feel important like I used to feel in SWG, selling stuff that people need.

On top of that, the game has virtually no bugs from what I remember 2 years ago, and the only problem it has is the lack of players.

The story is AWESOME, and really fun to follow along. In fact, if you pick up diplomacy (one of the side games), you have an interesting perspective on the storyline, from EVERY NPC you play the game with....you get a piece of the story from everyone.

I think I'm sticking with this game for a long time, probably even after the big launches come out.

Originally posted by GPrestige

Originally posted by tro44_1

OP tell us What Improved from the release

 

As I said, I never played at release. However, going from what others have said it was like, it is nothing now like the way they describe. They have gotten rid of a lot of bugs for one.

 

Better question, what do you remember from release?

I remember the forums. Or rather, the lack of forums. After a few days they opened a tech support forum, which got flooded with complaints and removed shortly after. When all the forums came up, the threads speaking negatively of the game mysteriously disappeared.

Still, I'm considering giving the game another shot, I played trough the trial island when it was released, but I haven't played after that.

Originally posted by GPrestige

The devs have flat out said that the more people start playing, the more funding they get. If you love the game but are turned off by the lack of players, join and get your friends to play. Get them to tell a few people, and them to tell a few people, etc. Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. In all honesty, this game is the best MMO on the market in my opinion, its the lack of players that detract from what it could be.

That's the one big problem as to why VG will never get out of the hole its in currently. Its a "player provide" then "SOE provide" type situation, while it may be true for all games. SOE needs to prove itself to players first and not the other way around. I can almost guarantee that's why alot of players aren't touching VG who left previously or are new. They don't have faith in SOE and SOE is saying "Give us enough of your money and we will show faith".

*shrugs* Its an endless cycle but I mean for myself, I've recruited over 200 players in my 3 years of playing, none of them are left. There's simply too much out there to make people think otherwise that VG will rise up and overcome. It is what iti s and its either you accept it  that it will always be out of the spotlight or continue making these posts and just bringing up the same arguements.