Both games are good-  Lotro has the Lore, story line, you can run it on a low level computer and the graphics still look good, it has a bigger community than Vanguard, the combat is a bit laggy but so is Vanguard, community is good in both games.

Vanguard has better crafting, it has a intersting card game that actually affects the whole area called Diplomacy, it has a ton of classes Lotro does not, it has pure wizzard classes lotro really does not, Graphics not as good as Lotro yet it does not run as well. Vanguard has a huge seemless world and is more challenging than Lotro.  In both games in order to play it to the fullest you have to spend money.

   Both are F2P so you can get a feel for which one you like better

If it's a choice between only those 2, I say LOTRO. It has a ton of content, very pretty graphics, nice unique classes and is a LOT more user friendly.

Vanguard is a wonderful game, but we have to face the fact that it's dead. It is still very buggy (I can't even run it on my new PC and SOE support can't tell me why), it has no dev support so is never going to develop, it's not very user friendly. And most of all you can't really play it free. SOE F2P in any of their games is just a glorified free trial. LOTRO on the other hand has a very good F2P system where you can pay for what you want when you want it, and even grind stuff to earn points rather than spend money.

It depends on what you value...

If you like linear storybased experiences that are more or less WoW reskinned (some do) LotRO.

If you like massive seamless worlds that prioritize immersion, exploration, and group gameplay over singleplayer questing, Vanguard.

When you compare the two side by side, Vanguard has more going for it than LotRO.

What makes LOtRO Stand out from the normal WoW clones is the PvP aaand... the music system. That's about it.

Vanguard though, is something wholly unique, and has a LOT more depth, challenge, social game world, and much more interesting classes and quests.

Originally posted by Vonatar

 

 but we have to face the fact that it's dead. It is still very buggy (I can't even run it on my new PC and SOE support can't tell me why), it has no dev support so is never going to develop

This is why you have to take advice with a grain of salt, you get people spouting information that is 3 years out of date.

Vanguard has a full team of devs behind it again and is getting regular patches. It isn't that buggy (bugs do exist).

If you are more worried about it being "free" to play then I would agree LOTRO.  LOTRO is also a bit easier to learn and to come back to after an absense.  I found Vanguard gave me more of that epic open world old school feel that I loved.  You control more about what you do. . where as LOTRO is more pulling you by the nose rignt.

If you are going to try Vanguard. . give it a good 10 hours at least of play time or you might bail before you get the feel for it.  This is similar to EVE.  If you just want to walk into something that is familiar go with LOTRO.

Originally posted by DSWBeef
YOu also gotta look at which is more restrictive in terms of F2P. VG is far more restrictive.

Uh... no it's not. LotRO locks you out of classes, zones, quests, and dungeons.

Vanguard locks you out of epic items. You can play any class to level 20, and play 6 classes all the way to level cap.

You can go to every place, every dungeon, and do every quest.

LotRO is insanely gated and hits you over the head to pay every couple of seconds. I suppose the only big difference is you can spend hours and hours and hours a week grinding to pay with in game Turbine Points instead of money, but that's really not much of a pro.

Originally posted by asmkm22
I tried Vanguard, but couldn't deal with the crappy animations.  LotRO is by no means an animating beast, but Vanguard was just horrible.

It's animations are average, not horrible, I'd say. But the gameplay more than makes up for it, considering it is far and away better than just about every other PvE MMO currently on the market, except for maybe GW2. It easily has the best dungeons and game world of any MMO.

Originally posted by DavisFlight

Originally posted by asmkm22
I tried Vanguard, but couldn't deal with the crappy animations.  LotRO is by no means an animating beast, but Vanguard was just horrible.

It's animations are average, not horrible, I'd say. But the gameplay more than makes up for it, considering it is far and away better than just about every other PvE MMO currently on the market, except for maybe GW2. It easily has the best dungeons and game world of any MMO.

 This ^. I have high end graphics cards ( always updated , newest and best ever 2 to 3 years ) and honestly , this game is still one of the most visually stunning games you can log into. The only games that awed me more were GW and GW 2.

LOTRO or Vanguard? 

LOTRO hands down.  Game is still releasing updates with steady development and a strong community. 

Vanguard died really quickly for a reason and they have't done anything to fix it.  They abandoned that game long ago.  Some very select hard-core players enjoy it still.

Originally posted by Ferrium
Im pretty much looking to play the more solid game with a better community (in the sense that everyone knows eachother, not player base), motivation to play, content. I dont mind paying, even if there is another MMO someone plays that they wanna mention, I am mostly looking for motivation to progress and community. None of my friends play MMOs anymore so i have no one to play with, and when i have people to play with and progress with that makes me stay. Used to play Conquer Online back in 07/08 and it had the best community of any MMO i've played. High levels all knew eachother, all guilds had allies/rivalries, Guild war was intense because of it.

ZERO pvp in VGSoH and not one mention by developers to even reapply it - they killed off their 2 faction server and put a free for all over it - which in turn killed off most of the remaining pvp.  This right here is a sure sign of the broken management at yet another Sony hacked title.  The world is massive - but it's still bugged down - sadly.  SO much promise is the mantra for this title - yet so little development know how or concern because of Sony recruitment practices and limitations (they just don't know how to make an mmo RPG).

LOTRO is a pve game as well - because even the PVM (Player v Monster) is just an aside since you can talk to Bilko Barkins the hobbit after you own his Warg in the Ettinmoors and he logs into his real toon once more.  But, that aside, the story stuff in LOTRO is off the charts - beautifully done. 

Originally posted by Painlezz

LOTRO or Vanguard? 

 

LOTRO hands down.  Game is still releasing updates with steady development and a strong community. 

Vanguard died really quickly for a reason and they have't done anything to fix it.  They abandoned that game long ago.  Some very select hard-core players enjoy it still.

 

 

This is what happens when people talk without having any clue about what they're saying...

As I've said before, Vanguard is getting weekly updates, has a full team, and recently went FTP, as you know. This guy apparently doesn't.

Putting aside mechanics and graphics.

Vanguard for me hands down. I played both a lot but Vanguard is still the best game I have played for housing, crafting (its insane), open world and sense of community.  Of course it comes down to you and how you want to play with a guild etc.

Thing is with Vanguard is that housing is in the open so anyone can see your house perched up on the hill.  If you are in a guild people help each other out and for example I would travel the world to find different styled furniture etc. Then make for the guild.  Plus the game is insanely heavy on grouping.  My friend still plays since launch because of community. 

I had to leave as I couldn't get involved due to the grouping in it and my RL commitments. 

I enjoyed LoTR's but it was more of a place filler.  The instanced housing freaked me out after playing Vanguard as well.