I'm glad they did the F2P, there are a lot more people around now. There's even some competition for common quest mobs, like the Hunter's League armor questline.

I never played WoW, so I am not burned out on the "quest giver with a ! over their heads" type of play. I did play a lot of DAOC, and so "WoW clone" to me means "DAOC/EQ clone".

Excellent crafting, interesting Diplomacy, wide open virtual world, TONS of content (you could level 3 characters to 50 and almost never repeat anything), flying mounts, no instancing. It's a great game.

And, no gold spammers, great community, no l33t kiddies (at least not many), and the game is NOT in easy mode.

Originally posted by TheScavenger

When I last played (before it was converted to free), I got a Bear Shaman to level 55 in adventuring. 

 

Didn't miss much to be honest, lots of solo content. Bear Shamans are the 2nd best solo class (Disciples are first), and was able to take on a lot (not all, but a lot) group content and even some dungeons.

 

If Bear Shamans can do that...and Disciples are far better...well...

I have a bear shamam and 3 other 55s, been playing since beta, six years. Yeah you can level to 55 but you will miss prime content and some great dungeons.

I also have a disciple as well, in fact that was was first character and hardly anyone played them. You can do certain little dungeons but their are many dungeons that no class can solo if they are within your level range.

I think Vanguard is best played Duo if you don't want to group, i two boxed most of my time if i wasn't doing any major dungeons.

Originally posted by MMOdad72

Originally posted by Rimmersman

Originally posted by MMOdad72

Originally posted by malrats
that's pretty dope. I want to give the game a try, but everyone says there's virtually no solo content, especially not past level 20, and I just don't have the time and such to be finding a group for everything. sucks, because this game has always sounded really promising to me and I heard that they're gonna be or already have released new stuff for it after a long development hiatus and maybe even changed the game. I dunno.

Honestly from the research I've done on the forums so far you can solo to 55 , some classes they say easier than others , but apparently they've added solo content/abillity to go along with the group heavy bit.

 

Soloing to 55 will take you months, soloing in Vanguard is not like soloing in GW2, Rift or WOW. Vanguard is a vast game and you will miss alot of prime content, infact you will come unstuck very quickly.

No , I wont you see , I want a game it would take months to solo to cap. Thats the point , I think borderline forced grouping is great for a community overall.

My point was it is completely possible ,as others have stated in this thread , and many on the official forums say that any class can solo to cap , so its an option when needed.

Sure grouping is faster , and thats a GOOD thing for a mmorpg.

I dont want WoW or GW2 crap anymore , I want something like Vanguard.

Okay let me puy it another way, yes you can solo to 55 and yes i like soling but Vanguard has some great dungeons. If you are intending to not group then you will miss some great content.

Vanguard has over 90 dungeons, some are small and solo friendly but some will need to be done with a group or even three of you.

Their is not a mmo on the market where you can't solo to top level.

If you really wont to take months to level then turn your xp bar off.

As for weather, i always thought this vid sums Vanguard weather up nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV8WRqTaEe8

If you want to progress more slowly, then do it right: do Diplomacy, Harvesting, and Crafting as you level up.

If you kill something, skin it. Use the skins to make leather armor.

When you visit a new area, talk to the guards and NPC's for Diplomacy. Go to major cities and help contribute to the global buffs that Diplomacy gives.

Spend some time fishing, exploring. You can spend a lot of time just "living" in Telon. That is why I like it so much.

Plus, for those of us with "altitis", there are a lot of nice classes. And, as befitting an older, fully-fleshed out game, many classes have sub-lines. For example, the Shaman is a great healer, and debuffer, who also gets a pet.

But, there are 3 pets to choose from, and each one brings with it different abilities, different powers for the owner, and different playstyles.

Originally posted by Rimmersman

 

Okay let me puy it another way, yes you can solo to 55 and yes i like soling but Vanguard has some great dungeons. If you are intending to not group then you will miss some great content.

Vanguard has over 90 dungeons, some are small and solo friendly but some will need to be done with a group or even three of you.

Their is not a mmo on the market where you can't solo to top level.

If you really wont to take months to level then turn your xp bar off.

Well, that's an interesting last sentence but I think that's more about your own distaste of soloing than anything else? That's just a little dig there isnt' it?

So what if he keeps his xp bar on? A slow xp crawl is still a gain?

And though I don't have a complete Vanguard experience in that I don't know how every dungeon works, I have gone through dungeons when I was much higher than the dungeon just to see it. In some cases some of those 4 dot mobs still took me to task even though I didn't get much experience (or any) in many cases.

Of course, at level cap your point will stand as some of those dungeons might just require a group and one will obviously not be able to barrel through on superior stats and levels alone.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Rimmersman

 

Okay let me puy it another way, yes you can solo to 55 and yes i like soling but Vanguard has some great dungeons. If you are intending to not group then you will miss some great content.

Vanguard has over 90 dungeons, some are small and solo friendly but some will need to be done with a group or even three of you.

Their is not a mmo on the market where you can't solo to top level.

If you really wont to take months to level then turn your xp bar off.

Well, that's an interesting last sentence but I think that's more about your own distaste of soloing than anything else? That's just a little dig there isnt' it?

Nope it's not a dig it's an option lol, who said i don't like soloing?

So what if he keeps his xp bar on? A slow xp crawl is still a gain?

And though I don't have a complete Vanguard experience in that I don't know how every dungeon works, I have gone through dungeons when I was much higher than the dungeon just to see it. In some cases some of those 4 dot mobs still took me to task even though I didn't get much experience (or any) in many cases.

That's my point LOL, unless your doing those dungeons 5+ levels higher your not going to see them if you don't want to group. I remember running my Tuurgin shamy through Dargun's Tomb at level 34 with my 55 Dread Knight leading the way two boxing.

I managed to do it but the last part in that hall was very hard but i manged it. How the hell would you do Dargun's Tomb if you didn't want to group lol.

That's what i mean by missing content.

Of course, at level cap your point will stand as some of those dungeons might just require a group and one will obviously not be able to barrel through on superior stats and levels alone.

As a Monk or Disciple try doing the staff quest Shrine Of The Wind in Craywind Ridge solo. That staff is the staff you can get at that level but unless you group your never going to get it.

Are you telling me that you can solo that quest withing the level range?

See my point?

Originally posted by malrats
that's pretty dope. I want to give the game a try, but everyone says there's virtually no solo content, especially not past level 20, and I just don't have the time and such to be finding a group for everything. sucks, because this game has always sounded really promising to me and I heard that they're gonna be or already have released new stuff for it after a long development hiatus and maybe even changed the game. I dunno.

wrong on so many lvls..i agree with your assesment before it went f2p but not now..the severs are bouncing and its great to see..this game deserves a decent population..it is a fantastic game..there is about 3 yrs of content in this game without even an expansion.hard to believe this game is still going but it is.i dont think i will ever come across another game has good as this in my lifetime thats for sure..i would love to see a company do something like this again..about 15 races and 19 classes .no game has as much depth has this game that i know of..maybe eq1 or Daoc.i dont think eqnext will get close to this but from all accounts its going to be a sandbox which imo is probably gonna be good.

 Weather and a sunset and stars do not a game make....

Don't get me wrong but they do not make vanguard a virtual world which it is not. The characters walk around like they have a stick up their ase the npc's occasonially motor around backword the games so buggy, and then of course theres the time your legs don't move at all and you just float along. monsters frequently walk on water, and the game has serieous instancing (chunking) issue where when you ifinally load into the other side of a zone you find the monsters there have already killed you. Haha so much for seemless.

   Now no doubt this will turn into another "Players are running back to vanguard, and the severers are all filling up again" just like whats been posted everytime SoE has consolidated servers (how many are they down to now 3?) But the one full time dev they have as the team for the games developement just isn't gonna able to fix the huge amount of problems the games had ever since launch.

  i am probably being harsh though, the game is a ok way to waste about a month and won't cost you much to play till your bored of the bugs and static/lifeless if beautifull world. YMMV, and opinions do differ

Originally posted by Rimmersman

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Rimmersman

 

Okay let me puy it another way, yes you can solo to 55 and yes i like soling but Vanguard has some great dungeons. If you are intending to not group then you will miss some great content.

Vanguard has over 90 dungeons, some are small and solo friendly but some will need to be done with a group or even three of you.

Their is not a mmo on the market where you can't solo to top level.

If you really wont to take months to level then turn your xp bar off.

Well, that's an interesting last sentence but I think that's more about your own distaste of soloing than anything else? That's just a little dig there isnt' it?

Nope it's not a dig it's an option lol, who said i don't like soloing?

So what if he keeps his xp bar on? A slow xp crawl is still a gain?

And though I don't have a complete Vanguard experience in that I don't know how every dungeon works, I have gone through dungeons when I was much higher than the dungeon just to see it. In some cases some of those 4 dot mobs still took me to task even though I didn't get much experience (or any) in many cases.

That's my point LOL, unless your doing those dungeons 5+ levels higher your not going to see them if you don't want to group. I remember running my Tuurgin shamy through Dargun's Tomb at level 34 with my 55 Dread Knight leading the way two boxing.

I managed to do it but the last part in that hall was very hard but i manged it. How the hell would you do Dargun's Tomb if you didn't want to group lol.

That's what i mean by missing content.

Of course, at level cap your point will stand as some of those dungeons might just require a group and one will obviously not be able to barrel through on superior stats and levels alone.

 

As a Monk or Disciple try doing the staff quest Shrine Of The Wind in Craywind Ridge solo. That staff is the staff you can get at that level but unless you group your never going to get it.

Are you telling me that you can solo that quest withing the level range?

See my point?

Well, it seemed liike a dig at soloing but I suppose I was misreading that.

I don't generally do quests in VAnguard, or very few so I can't say. I have done some content that was clearly group content where it would have gone a lot smoother if I had another but I enjoyed the danger of trying to down some of these things on my own.

I suppose it's why I enjoy taking down BAMS in Tera as a lancer, solo.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Rimmersman

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Rimmersman

 

Okay let me puy it another way, yes you can solo to 55 and yes i like soling but Vanguard has some great dungeons. If you are intending to not group then you will miss some great content.

Vanguard has over 90 dungeons, some are small and solo friendly but some will need to be done with a group or even three of you.

Their is not a mmo on the market where you can't solo to top level.

If you really wont to take months to level then turn your xp bar off.

Well, that's an interesting last sentence but I think that's more about your own distaste of soloing than anything else? That's just a little dig there isnt' it?

Nope it's not a dig it's an option lol, who said i don't like soloing?

So what if he keeps his xp bar on? A slow xp crawl is still a gain?

And though I don't have a complete Vanguard experience in that I don't know how every dungeon works, I have gone through dungeons when I was much higher than the dungeon just to see it. In some cases some of those 4 dot mobs still took me to task even though I didn't get much experience (or any) in many cases.

That's my point LOL, unless your doing those dungeons 5+ levels higher your not going to see them if you don't want to group. I remember running my Tuurgin shamy through Dargun's Tomb at level 34 with my 55 Dread Knight leading the way two boxing.

I managed to do it but the last part in that hall was very hard but i manged it. How the hell would you do Dargun's Tomb if you didn't want to group lol.

That's what i mean by missing content.

Of course, at level cap your point will stand as some of those dungeons might just require a group and one will obviously not be able to barrel through on superior stats and levels alone.

 

As a Monk or Disciple try doing the staff quest Shrine Of The Wind in Craywind Ridge solo. That staff is the staff you can get at that level but unless you group your never going to get it.

Are you telling me that you can solo that quest withing the level range?

See my point?

Well, it seemed liike a dig at soloing but I suppose I was misreading that.

I don't generally do quests in VAnguard, or very few so I can't say. I have done some content that was clearly group content where it would have gone a lot smoother if I had another but I enjoyed the danger of trying to down some of these things on my own.

I suppose it's why I enjoy taking down BAMS in Tera as a lancer, solo.

Yeah and i enjoyed taking down BAMs in Tera with my Warrior but we are talking about Vanguard.

Originally posted by makii
Vanguard is a good game. The problem for me, it felt more like a home then a game. And for me a game must be a game, nothing more. This game was to serious for me. I liked the community though.

This is understandable and I agree with you that VG is a "home" more than a "game" but that's what I personally want.  There are a lot of "games" on the market but luckily there are still some MMOs worth sticking around for.  IMO Vanguard is the MMO some people complain they wish was on the market.

• Huge open world that you can't possibly see leveling one character.
• Leveling that takes some time.
• Many open group areas through every level range per continent but you can also solo through.
• Questing that is more "satellite" than linear and will take you in different directions.  Not to mention there are various areas in each continent to level at one time.
• Crafting that is unmatched and can produce higher than quested/grouped gear through every level range.
• A close community with GMs that will take care of trolls.
• House/boat building (sub only).
• Has a mentoring system to play with others and see missed content.

Originally posted by Rimmersman

Well, it seemed liike a dig at soloing but I suppose I was misreading that.

I don't generally do quests in VAnguard, or very few so I can't say. I have done some content that was clearly group content where it would have gone a lot smoother if I had another but I enjoyed the danger of trying to down some of these things on my own.

I suppose it's why I enjoy taking down BAMS in Tera as a lancer, solo.

Yeah and i enjoyed taking down BAMs in Tera with my Warrior but we are talking about Vanguard.

And my point stays.

One can challenge themselves with higher level content. I do it in Vanguard all the time. Or... one can approach the dungeons at a higher level just to experience them. Of course, you don't get the same xp or any xp but as a tourist or as a role player, one can enjoy them.

of course, your point stands in that once one gets higher level, closer to cap, then one won't be able to steamroll through that content as you won't be able to approach it as a superior level.

but then again, it depends on whether one is a completist and wants to do all the content or if one is content at just "being" in the world.