me  and a friend are looking for a new mmo i have a few questions

1/  i noticed in my local game shop the retail box going cheap if i buy this can i activae the  acount with it

2/is it worth playing and what are the main features of this game which make it stand out from other games

its  either this or rift  but i was looing for somthing new and i played rift before  so i was thinking of this

1) yes you can.

2) vast and open world, one of the best crafting systems out there (executed as a mini-game with its own inventory, attributes and builds), non-instanced housing, ships!, fabulous classes with interesting mechanics, over 50 non-instanced long dungeons that can be done in 2-4 people (depending on classes) and diplomacy system (also executed as a mini-game+inventory+attributes) to name a few.

Vanguard is worth checking out, on of my top 5 mmos of all time, and  that goes back to the launch of Ultima Online.

Great crafting, harvesting, classes, pve...If you can get it cheap, and get the free month, its worth it imo.

Originally posted by Thillianover 50 non-instanced long dungeons that can be done in 2-4 people (depending on classes) and diplomacy system (also executed as a mini-game+inventory+attributes) to name a few.

any idea of which combo of  classes  we should  look  at

I was disappointed by it's lack of storyline and crummy graphics.  I understand they fixed the graphics issues.  As for trying it out, all I can say is give it a shot, you don't realy have anything to lose as you can always cancel when the sub comes due.

Originally posted by kzaske

I was disappointed by it's lack of storyline and crummy graphics.  I understand they fixed the graphics issues.  As for trying it out, all I can say is give it a shot, you don't realy have anything to lose as you can always cancel when the sub comes due.

 Hmm, I know they toned down the polygons a long time ago, when I was playing, but I thought it was still the nicest looking MMO that I have played graphics wise...Which is style also...Never heard anyone say tha about Vanguard, unless they did something since I left a couple years ago.

Originally posted by zimboy69

Originally posted by Thillianover 50 non-instanced long dungeons that can be done in 2-4 people (depending on classes) and diplomacy system (also executed as a mini-game+inventory+attributes) to name a few.

any idea of which combo of  classes  we should  look  at

1. You don't have to buy the box ( ever ) just download the trial and try it out for free 

http://vanguard.station.sony.com/isleofdawn/

2. Classes they are all VERY VERY good i can give you brief info on those i have played

1. Bloodmage - clothie lifetap healer - healing through damage you do ( my first char and favorite class in any MMO ever ) - good for soloing and grp play and very good if you like to be a mage, but heal also but through DMG ! ( never use standard heals when i play this char, always attacking mob, lifetap = heal grp )

2. psionist - Crowd control mage, difficult to master but very rewarding - can be ok solo, but hard

3. Bard - many people called vanguard vanBard back in the day, bards are fantastic, not great solo tho. Comes complete with a song book where you bascially build your own buff combinations, there are something like thousands of combos you can make, then it gets "converted" into an icon for your hotbar and there is your buff. Also, instruments in game will make your buffs stronger... ( for example percussion instruments which u find while adventuring increase your runspeed buffs, mine is currently at 265% ) hehe

4. Disciple - monk healer, medium armor exceptional soloist and tons of fun a little button spammy, but it is very fun and again your damage = your heals ( i rarely tap a classic  heal spell )

5. Necromancer - Necros rock in vg, great solo. also you "modify your summons" by adding enhancements ( drops ) to your pet which are bascially abilities or buffs for your pet.

6. Ranger - kiting master yet a bit squishy.. Rangers are super fun in vanguard although mine is a baby ( lvl 14 )

If you are playing with a friend, some kind of offensive healer ( pheonix shaman / bmg / disciple ) and a DK/pally can duo quite a bit of content.. 

If you are going after group content I'd would go with Vangaurd. You can duo a good bit as a tank/healer combo but some dungeons will need more people or will take very long to do. Disciples can also feign death which makes the really useful for avoiding a wipe after getting far into a dungeon. Druids are very fun mages with a lot of tools to use, can spot heal, ward, go invulnerable, can spam a snare and kite really well.

But if you want easy and straight forward mostly solo content get Rift.

Originally posted by zimboy69

Originally posted by Thillianover 50 non-instanced long dungeons that can be done in 2-4 people (depending on classes) and diplomacy system (also executed as a mini-game+inventory+attributes) to name a few.

any idea of which combo of  classes  we should  look  at

Tank + healer is generally a powerful combination for duo groups. Disciple as a healer is arguably the best class for small parties, plus DK, Paladin or Warrior and you're set.

VG: imho one of the best mmo's (leaning more to the sandbox genre) out there.

The crafting just awesome, the diplomacy is also alot of funn (these are just solo-mini games that can hold you for hours in a row of playtime).

Grouping up might be a bit of a problem as long as you are not in a guild in VG tough......its a very nice and friendly community but kinda small.....servers are a bit thin on people.

I played the pala, necro, ranger and disciple.......this last one is one of the most amazing classes i have ever seen in any mmo.

A melee healer (moves kinda like kung-fu monk).

And also you get "hidden" combo skills......when you use 2 or 3 skills in a particular order you will automaticly kick of a extra heal or a dmg burst just because you made a combo of skills.....alot of fun figure those out too.

i would say....try it.

Originally posted by zimboy69

any idea of which combo of  classes  we should  look  at

I) For DUO groups: This is always some sort of tank + healer deal, as that is the only way to manage dungeons in Vanguard. There is a lot of great kiting classes in Vanguard (Sorcerer, Druid, Psionicist, Ranger, with limited ranged dps also Bard and Rogue), but in dungeons you have to be able to stay at a fixed spot and really tank the mob.

a) the true tanks (I played them all into the 20s): These are all very gear dependent in their performance, but even a badly equipped tank is much better than no tank.

* Warrior: Probably worst solist of the game. Surprisingly complicated but not very effective class. Many of "specific situation" skills. All in all quite icky to play. Good dps and good defense, though, and best aggro generation, so in group they are fine

* Paladin: Probably most easiest to play class in the game, also a great solist, specifically against Undead. Good defense, aggro not much worse than Warrior (in fact at lower levels better than Warrior). Lowest dps of all tanks, except on lowlevel.

* Dread Knight: Definitely the most fun to play tank class with many possibilities both solo and group. Great solist, in many situations better than the Paladin, for example against groups of opponents, thanks to an area lifetap (no recast, but massive endurance requirements). Gets a number of lifetaps (Attack, Attack Finisher, Spell ...). Gets a lot of nice features (invisibility+runspeed, snare, fear, ...) and has some really good area stuff to handle large group of attackers. The main issue is the low aggro generation compared to the other two tanks. Mitigation is also rather behind the other tanks, but the evasion is probably better than any other class in the game, once you managed to get your dynamic combat buffs up. The main feature for raids is actually their Dreadful Counterance, a massive debuff that builds up over time. Their DPS is actually not much behind Warrior, and unlike the later, they only need ONE weapon (twohander).

b) the secondary tanks: Not as good as pure tanks, but getting close to them and can definitely take over for small groups

* Monk, Drunken: Not a real tank, but thanks to aggro and mitigation abilities they can work as those in a small group. I havent played this class myself, though.

* Shaman, Bear: Also not a real tank, but gets Aggro and Mitigation abilities, and is also a full featured healer. As a healer, they can be combined with a pure DPS class (most famously Bard) for a still effective duo group. Further information see below in the healer section.

c) the pure healers (I played all but Disciple to the high 30s):

* Cleric: The easiest to play healer. Great for dualboxing. Unkillable, but a very slow solist. DPS features against undead. Strong direct heals and easy to use healing over time spells. Very good defense (kinda tank-ish in that respect). Good general buffs. There are 5 Affinities which change the class around a lot - War for improved melee dps, Death for magic dps and some CC etc, Preservation for improved defenses, Peace for Deaggro, CC and "Invisibility" on Self (that works against everyone), and Purity in case you want to level on Undead opponents only (in other words, avoid Purity).

* Shaman: Second easiest healer with a ***load of buffs and debuffs, and three Totems which change the class around drastically in their solo performance; Bear Shaman is extremely unkillable solo, while Phoenix is the most fragile of all healers. Wolf Shaman is noteable for being the only healer with Stealth.

* Disciple: The "godmode" in respect to soloing in Vanguard. Extreme ability to heal without mana. Very good defenses against magic spells. Fake Death. Also gets some mana heals but those are quite costy. Very low on buffs but can put up dynamic buffs with sequences of attacks. Great DPS. Only Healer with Fake Death. Noteworthy is also the low dependence on gear.

* Blood Mage: Best DPS healer. Gets invisibility on self (standard invisibility, not what the Peace Cleric gets). Solo experience is mixed - has trouble with multiple opponents because of almost zero evasion. The class is based on redirected lifetaps. Direct heals are also available, but they are very mana expensive. Buffs are a mixed deal - one out of two classes that can buff Vitality (the other is Druid). Very high gear dependence; a full equipped BM is extremely much more powerful than a poorly equipped one.

d) the offhealer

* Druid: The only nonhealer that gets healing abilities that are noteworthy is in fact the Druid. Paladin and Ranger get healing spells as well, but both arent very endurant at it. In fact the healing spells of ranger border to purely decorative. The Paladin at least gets a special healing stance and, at level 40, they can ressurect people out of battle.

II) For Tripple Group: Real Tank, Real Healer, DPS is highly preferable over any alternative.

III) For four people group: Make the second DPS a Bard. Bard can massively boost DPS of everyone. With taking the highest DPS option for the three other classes (Warrior, Blood Mage, Sorcerer), the group shouldnt have problems even with timed dps quests like the Cragwind Ridge legendary weapon.

so i buy a box set and it turns up today  thinking i will add it  to my free 14 day trial  i put the  key code in 

and now i need to do a subscription to play

even though i should have  13 days  of my freee trial left and a 30 day sub   before i  need to sub i need to do a subscription

and guess what the subscription button isnt working so now what

before i could play without subbing  and as soon as i buy the game i cant play .............nice

at least it only cost me £3

on a side note why are games so hard to buy subs for not only this but warhammer is a nigtmare to buy a subscription for

Originally posted by zimboy69

so i buy a box set and it turns up today  thinking i will add it  to my free 14 day trial  i put the  key code in 

 

and now i need to do a subscription to play

 

 

even though i should have  13 days  of my freee trial left and a 30 day sub   before i  need to sub i need to do a subscription

 

and guess what the subscription button isnt working so now what

 

before i could play without subbing  and as soon as i buy the game i cant play .............nice

 

 

at least it only cost me £3

 

 

on a side note why are games so hard to buy subs for not only this but warhammer is a nigtmare to buy a subscription for

sorry to hear that m8, i never had problems with subbing to VG.......war on the other hand always tryd to sub me for DAOC strange enough.

I played this at Launch, but the population seemed to drop so fast and i couldn't get a group or guild for anything. Plus there were so many bugs and content seemed lacking at the time.

Would love to resub and have been watching this and Conan recently to retry (i assure you, no MMOs on the horizon that aren't basic this year), but both seem to be waiting to die. Vanguard doesn't even have a dev team now since last year i heard.

i was playing the trial yesterday 

it was ok and me and a friend were just about to enter a cave  it was quite good fun as we  like to explore new worlds ectra   so its all new for us 

but since i put my code in  it just stoped  so i guess ill have to wait till usa wakes up and get on to customer support

Originally posted by zimboy69

i was playing the trial yesterday 

 

it was ok and me and a friend were just about to enter a cave  it was quite good fun as we  like to explore new worlds ectra   so its all new for us 

 

 

but since i put my code in  it just stoped  so i guess ill have to wait till usa wakes up and get on to customer support

 

Look up Twilight song guild in game, always looking for new folks. Have quite a few euros as well.

cool me and a friend are both looking for a guild so   we will look you up

btw  i fixed the problem if anyone else has it  all you need to do is delete the caches folder and  start the game i do this and it works all the time now

I got bored of SWTOR very quickly, so found myself going back to try out Vanguard after years away from it....and what a great game it is!

I love the graphics style, the variety and depth of gameplay, the music, the amount of stuff there is to do....ridiculous amounts of content.

It's noticeable for the lack of players roaming around at the lower levels, which isn't an issue for me as I'm a mostly soloer anyway, but I can see how it would bug some people.
The silly thing is, if this was to launch tomorrow it would go down a storm...as it is, the initial crappy launch and issues when it came on the scene soured people to a great game. Come on SOE, give it some publicity and get the player numbers up :)

Originally posted by bigfoots

I got bored of SWTOR very quickly, so found myself going back to try out Vanguard after years away from it....and what a great game it is!

I love the graphics style, the variety and depth of gameplay, the music, the amount of stuff there is to do....ridiculous amounts of content.

It's noticeable for the lack of players roaming around at the lower levels, which isn't an issue for me as I'm a mostly soloer anyway, but I can see how it would bug some people.
The silly thing is, if this was to launch tomorrow it would go down a storm...as it is, the initial crappy launch and issues when it came on the scene soured people to a great game. Come on SOE, give it some publicity and get the player numbers up :)

I still hold out hope that VG will go F2p, it is the only thing big enough to get an influx of players returning... 

Best thing you can do is play alts, many alts and get involved with crafting and/or diplo this way you have many ways to play the game and don't get stuck in one character / path so you can adapt to population etc.

I also played at launch but went back to eq2 after a few months.I resubed for a month recently and made new toons but the lack of low level players to group with has put me off :(  . I also agree if it was released like it is today it would do really well.

I had lots of fun but I can only solo for so long and when I got quests in Khegor's End it took me so long to solo a 4 dot spider I ended up deleting all my quests for there.