All Posts by JamLD

Originally posted by Goldknyght

Originally posted by OBK1

You do understand that SOE saved VG not once but twice, right?

The second time is quite easy to grasp, when they simply bought out SIGIL, but there is a good chance this game would never have launched had it not been for SOE. This is because about a year before release Microsoft backed out as publishers and SOE came in and saved the project, in fact giving the devs almost another year to work on it.

Please spare us this SOE is evil crap, they run a business so does EA, MS, NC-Soft, Turbine and all other gaming companies. They all make mistakes and they all make people angry.

If you don't like a game, don't play it. I like VG I play it, I also happen to like EQ2 and LOTRO and play those as well. I don't like Tabula rasa so I don't play that (talk about premature launch there is NO content in that game). I'm happy with VG, not angry. Why would I be angry with a game btw? If it does not make me have fun I will quit and play something else!

I dont care what they saved once but twice the point is you dont release crap PERIOD.  you noobs just keep letting publishers steal your coin just because you love the game a few months after.  Its like me selling you a car with no engine and telling you i will put the engine in when i get the bugs out 8 months later. come off your i love vanguard bandwagon.

I love this argument.

There's nothing more arrogant than some net crusader telling other people what they should and should not do with their own damn money. SOE is not some evil empire. They are not the great Satan. They're just a company trying to make money. It's a friggin' game. Get over it already.

I hate what WoW's success has done to other developers in that they all just try to make a prettier WoW instead of something new and exciting. Treadmill gaming FTW!

It's an interesting idea but I don't know how it could ever be done.

Seeing as how even the best of players takes their share of dirt naps, all you'd see on a permadeath server is a metric ton of level 1 toons starting from scratch after their latest adventure ended in a wooden coat.

Originally posted by Sevenwind

See I want to know where these gear quest lines are? I know TK is about all and it had its good and bad days in that place. But I made a dark elf DK and I hear in chat about CIS quests which I know nothing about.

Is there a good website that you can look up quests for gear and such?

 

 

Try vg.curse.com for quest info about any area in the game. There's a ton of info on that site. CIS is a fun quest line to do and starts at around level 20 if I remember right. It's not far from the dark elf starting area either.

Don't buy any gear at all unless you just have to have it. Kenze's right about level 1-20 gear on the broker, it's way too high for the level of stuff it is. You can outfit yourself entirely by questing if you wish.

Originally posted by truenorthbg

 

Originally posted by Kenze

the community seems to be fighting any changes like these. Just read the responses to the Producers Letter recently posted. the VG community is still its on worst enemy in regards to VG's growth,.

Thanks, Kenze.

 

 

Can you please send me a link?  I would like to check it out. I think "old-school" players that would fight changes such as 1) meaningful, deep, and fun solo content; 2) enhanced character customization; and 3) fun features such as fishing oppose them to look macho. 

 

I think the purist attitude is misleading themselves.  In other words, I think they would enjoy and take advantage of solo content, enhanced character customization, and additional fun features.  You need a world of high immersion through visuals and audio but also varied options.  Solo content, e.g., is but one additional option to play the game.  Enhanced character customization is a given.  I think people love fishing, and I would be shocked if someone opposed it.

This is flat out wrong.

The ONLY things the community (at least the ones who post) are against is removing the death penalty (it can hardly be called a penalty now) and increasing the experience gain. Nobody has a problem with adding more solo content or fishing. The latter two things would add more to do and enhance the game.

Instant travel is another point of contention but it can easily be fixed if they simply link all of the riftways so that any one riftway will take you to any other riftway of your choice. Provided you've unlocked whatever rift you wish to use.

Everyone wants more character customizations.

Everyone wants more content. Solo, grouped and end game.

Nobody has opposed fishing.

It's mainly just the experience gain increase, reduced death penalty and instant travel that most are disagreeing with. There are some posters who are a bit too belligerent in their opposition to the proposed changes but mostly, the community has been able to stay civil while opposing those three major changes.

Just don't make the game easier is what most of the uproar is about.

Of the classes you mentioned I found the disciple the most interesting to play. They won't dish out as much damage as the monk but they can stay alive a very long time.

Bear shaman are fun to play. It's like having you're own personal duo.

DKs are a lot of fun as well.

My overall favorite would be the ranger though simply because I love bow classes.

Originally posted by Orphes

 

Originally posted by JamLD

I don't have a problem with most of what he said but the hint of removing or lessening the death penalty AND increasing exp gain bothers me more than a little.

 

We already outlevel the best mid-game content long before we ever get close to completing it all and the rest we don't bother with because it's already grey level content. It's a shame because most of the best content in the game is in the 20-40 range. Make levelling any faster and it'll only create more problems.

 

That could also be seen as a sign that there is to much content if you look on it from a different perspective. But it is fun to follow quest and do them although they are alot easier when you outleveled them, not speaking to the kill x-y-z mobs grind quests here.

I understand the point you're getting at but think of it from another angle..

I'm not talking about open ended quests but the long quest lines like Wardship of the Sleeping Moon, Graystone and the Cragwind weapon quest. All are very long quests requiring you to grind for the drops you need.

Just using Wardship as an example:

1. It's a very long grind to get faction, then the quests, then the drops.

2. 90% of the mobs will go grey to you before you ever get the full set of armor drops and the legendary weapons.

3. Those who stick around just to finish the line will have a very hard time getting a group because of the level limit among group members.

If they remove the death penalty or nerf it anymore and increase exp gain yet again, the game will be full of areas with tons of content that most won't ever see because they zoomed right past it. We zoom right past it now.

I don't have a problem with most of what he said but the hint of removing or lessening the death penalty AND increasing exp gain bothers me more than a little.

We already outlevel the best mid-game content long before we ever get close to completing it all and the rest we don't bother with because it's already grey level content. It's a shame because most of the best content in the game is in the 20-40 range. Make levelling any faster and it'll only create more problems.

Sartok is the PVP server for both US and EU players.

I don't play there much so I can't speak personally about the lag but Sartok players are complaining about lag in large battles with 15-20 plus people involved. Most seem to think the hacks are causing the lag but again, I don't know if it's true or not.

And I agree with you about the free trial. With every other pay to play game having a free trial, SOE really needs to get that out ASAP so people can try it out risk free.

Depends on what your play style is really.

If you mean raids, then no, not yet. The first overland raid mobs are due to go in next week or the week after. Then a few weeks after that, the first raid zone is due to go in. All that could get delayed of course but that's the current plan now.

If you already have a character at the cap and are thinking of coming back then wait a few weeks. On the other hand, if you're starting a brand new toon then you'll have more than enough to do and probably won't get it all done before the raid stuff gets put in.

Originally posted by Dreamion

I'm European, but i'm not sure if want to play as a spellcaster. I know i wanna play on a pvp server but the difference in VG with PvP/PvE is still only that you can kill people from other factions? and if i dont choose  a pvp server will i never be able to join a battleground or a event where you can fight amongst the others? If so, i guess i "need" to make a char at Sartok. I have my other char at Dhaknarg wich i have around 500ms more or less, not so happy about that.

When they merged the servers, they merged the Team PVP and FFA PVP together so now there's just one PVP server and it's FFA. You can kill anyone at anytime pretty much anywhere.

Right now, the only PVP on the other servers are duels. I have no clue if they'll ever put in a battlegrounds type situation on the PVE servers but I highly doubt it. Nothing like that has been mentioned by a dev that I've seen.

If PVP is what you're after, then Sartok is the only choice.

Population is good. There are plenty of groups to be found now.

They are getting the bugs out but there are still bugs in the game though it's been a long time since I ran across a bug that stopped me from completing a quest. It's a lot more fun with a lot more content but I won't go so far as to say it's bug free.

There are plenty of people crafting. A lot of the best gear in the game can only be gotten from a crafter so if it's crafting you're most interested in, you'll find plenty of buyers.

VG is all class based so it's not what you're looking for.

You could try Rubies of Eventide if it's still up and running. It's all skill based and you can train any skill for any character. I haven't played it in years but I thought it was a lot of fun at the time. It's very dated but it's free and unless you need a game with outstanding graphics you might enjoy it.

Last I heard of the 'zerker was that it was put on hold with no ETA due to being too hard to balance right. Dunno if that means scrapped totally or if the class could still be put in in the future.

The inquisitor is definately still in the works though but it probably won't be in the game until the first expansion and who knows when that will be.

VG got bad reviews at release because it deserved them for the state the game was released in. It's much better now, but it was an unstable bug fest at release.

I love VG. It's the only game out right now that I would play. No, I'm not flaming anyone else's game of choice, I just prefer VG to anything else. But it did deserve bad reviews at release.

Xeth and Seradon are the 2 US PVE servers and both have good populations on 'em so either will do. I play on Seradon and it has a nice community of folks on it. I'm sure Xeth does as well.

Sartok is the FFA PVP server and it has a core loyal population on it but not nearly as big as the PVE servers. I'll let someone who plays on FFA speak for what it's like there since I've haven't played much on that server.

There's still a grind for most of the nicer dropped items in the game but you can avoid it if you want to. There's a lot more to do since you played to keep you busy all the way to 50. My advice though is don't be in too much of a hurry to rush to max level.

I'm on a third alt now just to do content I blew by on the first 2 characters. Levels come way too fast now with the reduction in the exp curve and rest experience to ever see most of the stuff in game on 1 character.

APW is still on the test server and the guilds helping test the content are either under an NDA, or they're keeping the info to themselves so as to have an advantage when it goes live. The only things that have been reported is that it's pretty hard and that it's not a simple tank 'n spank type raid.

As far as solo content, you can solo all the way to 50 if you want to. You probably remember when content dried up at 40 but a lot has been put in since then. There's still plenty of bugs that need sorted out though. It's getting there but it's not there yet.

Originally posted by Lidane

 

Originally posted by JamLD

I fully understand if people don't like the game. Everyone has different tastes so to each their own.

However, the game is far from dead.

 

Vanguard isn't dead. Yet.  But it's not exactly setting the world on fire either.

And VG also has two big strikes working against it-- the poor launch they had, and time. They've already got a dodgy reputation because of the wankery and drama of their launch, the server merges, Sigil's implosion, Brad McQuaid's overhype of the game in comparison to what they actually delivered, and performance issues that still seem to plague many of the folks that still play this game. And they can't afford to let any of that endure for much longer. They've really got to get things together, and they have to bend over backwards to satisfy the folks they've got playing now, because those are the hardest of the hardcore faithful who've stuck with this game out of loyalty and through all of the nonsense that has plagued it so far.

Sure, they've fixed some things. And the server merges have given the illusion of more players in Vanguard  by consolidating the playerbase, but they've still got a long, long way to go before the game will be up to par.

EQ2, which I'm currently playing, had the luxury of the EverQuest name and lore to keep it afloat despite its tepid launch, allowing the game to become the much stronger, much better MMO it is now. Vanguard doesn't have that same luxury. That means they can't afford to sit back and coast along.

I wish them luck at resurrecting this game. VG's going to need it.

There's still a ton of things the devs need to fix to get VG up to par. Yet for all it's flaws, I still find a lot of fun in the game. I hope SOE can turn it into the game that a lot of people were hoping it would be.