I do think that the game was released prematurely as well, but is significantly improved since release and only getting better. Had the release of the game been scheduled for next week, I think that this could be a different discussion. The game runs well, with few hitches and bugs FOR ME. I've played since pre-release and do not plan on leaving any time soon. Good luck to those who are still searching for a game they like to play.

I think that it may depend on the game and the vision of the developers and where they want to take it. But I think it is an undisputed fact that PC's drive the MMO industry and until maybe the next generation of console, most MMO's would not port well due to the capabilities of the consoles hardware. Even the PS3 and XBox 360's hardware will seem very obsolete in a matter of a year or two, compared to the latest quad core machines, with duel or quad video cards, loads of ram and whatever else that comes our way. Consoles are invading the the home market as standard equipment for the home electronics efficienado at a record pace and it may only be a matter of time before we see a lot more games that are cross platform.

I simply cant agree with you. This game is not going in the direction of WoW. And since you have not played since last July, I think you have missed some of the best updates yet released for the game. Sony was placed in a very difficult situation by taking this game over, but had they not, the game would not be here at all. They have had to hire new developers and programmers that had nothing to do with the game from the beginning.  This can not be an easy thing to do, when the game took over 4 years to make and they had only a few months to get up to speed. I am not an SOE fan myself, but I have to give the dev team credit for coming in and sifting thru the wants and what seemed like demands at times from the whiners, criers, hard core players, roleplayers, pvpers and so on. Try not to tell me what I do not see, because I've been playing since pre-release and still going strong. The game is great and getting better too. Good luck to you though.

Very well done..../clap. I have heard that roleplaying in Vanguard has become a recent interest to some. I cant remember where I read it, but there are a couple guilds that support this. Best of luck.

I dont think anyone mentioned that they wished everyone had to play this way. It was HIS preferred way of gameplay. I could certainly appreciate his style, but wouldn't subject myself to it .

Very sweet dragon pic. I cant wait to take him down. But I have to point out that none of the item links were craftable items, but actual item drops. Unless it was made thru a quest line? Someone know?

Originally posted by declaredemer

 

• Were Clerics nerfed?  Yes.
• Were Clerics a fun class pre-nerf?  Absolutely.

The cleric has been made into an awesome class. They now have the option to follow different "affinities" which either increase their melee, casting, healing and / or other aspects of the cleric.

I really wish people would stop saying this game has a lot of problems, IT DOESN'T. The problem lies with SOE not dedicating themselves to the game more than they have.

Potential is a good word for the game, but has tons to offer anyone right now. This game is very enjoyable in many aspects. And will only get better.

The rogue is a specialist in sneaking, backstabs are his specialty, but require help for maximum efficiency. They do wear medium armor with fewer HP's as they should not be taking the damage. Not a good solo class option in my opinion.

Rangers on the other hand do make a better solo class, but still have their weaknesses too. They specialize in ranged attack, can duel wield, wear medium armor too and have some unique buff / debuffs. Obviously with the ranged attacks, they can kite a bit, but if engaging a mob with ranged attacks as well, good luck.

Shamans, Paladins, Disciples and Necros are probably the better solo classes in the game in my opinion. But you will need to group with others if you really want to see and acquire the cooler stuff in the game.

Originally posted by Furor

Tell me how is vg different then aoc?

O because aoc has player skills then just numbers?

 

Do you like chess or checkers? And why?

Originally posted by Furor

noone cares about vanguard, aoc puts vanguard to shame on all front including the innovative combat system.

Good luck with AoC (or whatever game you play), I truely hope you enjoy it.

End game content can be a complicated matter in my opinion. End game content is all in the way an individual player perceives it. Its kinda like a joke, some may find a joke completely hilarious, some may find it mildly humerous, while others may think think that it completely sucked. I remember playing City of Hero's before City of Villians came out. There was end game content there and yet still a lot of people thought that the end game content was lacking, even though it was a completely epic battle and very cool in my opinion. It gave, those that were willing,  something to shoot for, but was no easy accomplishment.

Again, in my opinion, its something that the game designers from the very beginning need to decide on to have or not have. Make the game a continuously evolving environment or make it so once they make that final expansion, the job is done, close shop and start working on a new title. Games like Battlefront, Doom or whatever are perfect examples of games with built in end game content. But Vanguard is not this type of game, nor will it ever be (thank goodness, or i wouldn't have started playing it because I don't want an end game). In VG, players that are dedicated to the game are typically only anxious for the next expansion, continued optimizations and the cool little things that add what I call "flavor" to the game. I dont want a standard cheese pizza, because thats what pizza is, but I want various meats and vegetables to top it off so I can enjoy the different flavors and combinations.

Like I mentioned before, you could say APW is the end game content atm. But as time goes by, more content will be added and my adventures will continue, with the people I have met and have known for years, for continued good times.

I guess I will comment on this post as i hope not to start a rant or bashing.

1. Has plenty of solo, group and raid content. This point may not be true if you plan on playing this game for 12 hours plus on a daily basis. But leveling is at a pace that most casual gamers are comfortable with.

A. Class Items: If a person spends any time finishing quests, such as Hunters League, CIS, Swamp Armor to name a few, you will find no lack of class specific gear at all level ranges to acquire. And the gear is very uber and rewarding.

B. Class Development: Here is an opportunity for SOE to make this game really shine. But atm game developers have their hands full with bug fixes, game optimization and some more content to add some  value and longevity to the game. But I do believe this is not something they are ignoring and I am confident we will see something in the future. That being said, there is some class paths available to some of the classes, such as Clerics, Shamans, Paladins to name a few. Most are based on a classes belief system, skills granted from the gods of Telon. I'm not sure how effective these are until in a group or raid situation.

C. Other Items: Plenty of them... houses (which you can decorate to your hearts contents. Some ppl get very creative), horses (with optional colored barding), boats (various sizes, colors and sail designs), flying mounts (Griffons or Wyverns, very difficult quest line to acquire, but rewarding), Guild Halls (massive castles that dwarf the standard house, multiple rooms and levels, very cool). All of these things and many, many more can require more than just a high level adventurer, but high level crafting and diplomacy skills as well.

2. This goes back to #1. There is quite a few extensive quest lines with various objectives, as well as, single raid mobs that can be found wandering the lands waiting to claim their next victims.

3. Group Dungeons: Read #2.

A. "Fun Items" would be nice and I'm sure they will come. But there are already things such as sparklers, fireworks, smoke bombs, throwable snow balls, candy with illusions, holiday items and many more items... I guess there is a lot already.

B. Activities: There are plenty of these too. GM events such as Best of Class dueling is currently going on every week. There has been plenty of other events as well, but Best of Class is the current event atm.

3. PVP has its own server, but dueling is an option with consent on PVE servers. Not sure how they could incorporate large scale seiges as this game is not designed to support this type of gaming style, like Warhammer and others.

4. AA points are a topic of discussion among designers and programmers, as they have stated, if they introduce such a system, they want to make sure that is functional, manageable and adds value to the game, but not become an overbearing feature as to upset the balance of the game and it mechanics.

I am curious as to why an "end game" is so important to you with this type of game. The game is designed to be played for many months, if not years. If they added an "end game" scenario, it would comletely deflate the value of this game as a producer, investor and developer. If you want end game content, wait for games such as Mythos (a new version of Diablo) and others. I and many others play with the intention to make a game as a home, an escape,  or whatever you want to call it. You could easily say there is end game content already in the game by completing the APW quest lines, killing all the named, acquiring the top gear available for your class.... but would find that it would take some time and dedication to accomplish. But by that time, new content will be added and the game goes on ( which I personally appreciate ).

If your statement of "End Game" is refering to the general experience of the game and it as a whole, then here is my 2 cents worth on that... For some reason SOE has not realized the games full potential as one of the genera's top games on the market and has failed to dedicate more resources, such as programmers, developers and marketing initiatives to blow the competition out of the water. Maybe they are protecting, so to speak, their other investments. I can only speculate what corporate desk jockies intend to do with this kind of game as it could be viewed as a money pit with no light at the end of the tunnel (only reducing their bonuses because of payroll expenses).

I personally love the game since day one, enduring the hardships, but feeling glad I stuck with it to experience the high end content finally available and looking forward to much much more.

Good luck to you all and I hope you find enjoyment in whatever game you play. Because if you don't, you might as well call it work.... yuck!

I play in 3rd person as well and find that some animations can be a bit dull, but find some others to be awesome. Monk with Drunken Master expertise to be fun to watch. But combat chains are pretty cool too. Some casters are about to get there spell animations revamped. haven't heard how they look yet from the test server, but the existing aren't bad. I can only hope they add a bit more distinctiveness to them.

I play on Seradon as well.

As mentioned in another post, Seradon is fairly active. Unfortunately, with AoC release, a lot of peeps are giving it a swing.

As far as a free trial, not at this time. The developers are working on a "Trial Island" for 3 reasons. 1st: To support a free trial without hindering server resources. 2nd: An attempt to all but eliminate gold spammers and sellers that use key code generators for spam purposes. 3rd: They are considering using as a start point for all classes. Something similiar to EQ2 I imagine.

My main is a Sorcerer, max level and raiding in Ancient Port Warehouse. The Sorcerer is a pure DPS class with nothing much to offer a group other than some resist buffs. At the moment, I have seen Druids produce a bit more damage at max levels and they do have an elemental pet (similiar to Mages in EQ1) and a very small heal capabilty. Psionists are awesome for their energy buffs and their charm capabilities. Necromancers the last caster type with having 3 different types of pets that are equipable with drops from mobs (called graphs) and various buffs and debuffs.

The game has a group finding tool which works well, just not sure how much it is used as I am in an active guild with allies as well.

Cloaks are visible. With the option to turn them on or off. Hoods and Helms are an option in settings as well. Helms are a recent addition to the game, but we had to sacrifice facial customization for the time being to have them. 

I would agree with Malivius, but add Necro's and Bards to the list as well. Necros can have multiple pets up at a time, one is an offensive, one is defensive and the other something else, cant remember. Bards have the ability to twist different abilities into an individual song, very customizable, the only thing they cant do is rez it seems (lol).

Good luck

I recently purchased the 22" Gateway. Would have gone with the 24", but financially not possible at the time. It has received good reviews, except from the professionals that claim that the colors are slightly off, but I use mine for gaming mostly. It offers HDMI, DVI, VGA, Component and USB connections, PiP, an optional speaker bar that mounts to the bottom of screen if your desktop space is limited and conforms to standard wall mount brackets available from most retailers.

I looked at the Acer seriously, but went with the Gateway instead. Good luck.

Oh yeah, the screen rotates if your working with long text documents, too.

I commend you, Malivius, on your play style. It takes true patience and a love for the game to endure your style. I hope your not missing out on some  great quest lines, such as Lord Tsangs Tomb, Hunters League, Wardship, CIS and many, many more. These quests produce some awesome gear (armor and weapons) and some reward you with titles for bragging rights. I would assume you are aware of at least some of these. If not, please use the riftways to travel to some new areas and explore. Lets face it, spending a half hour or more traveling across a continent can be a bit boring, but traveling to and across another continent is down right crazy (the boats do help... ).

I do agree with your view though. I have taken some extremely gorgeous screenshots from my horse and boat. Had I used the riftways like I do now, I would never have had the the enjoyment of the visual splendor this game does provide. You have to hand it to Sigil for their vision of beauty in this game. From sunrises to sunsets, seashores to mountain tops, deserts to forests, cities to dungeons, the game looks great.

I have played the game from day 1 and plan to continue playing the game. I play on the Seradon server and currently raiding in APW with my main (Sorcerer), but have a few alts (Bard, Blood Mage, Dread Knight, Ranger) at various levels that I am doing a lot of the things I missed.

For those of you reading this reply and curious about the game, I will say this; The game is not for the impatient or short tempered. I currently have found very few (<dozen) quests broken. There is still some hitching issues, but general performance of the game is very good and very stable. I run an older dual core processor, 2Gb Mem and a 7900 Nvidia card (AGP) and run with medium details and get 25-50 FPS (except cities). The frequency of my crashes are months in between (currently don't remember the last CTD). This game has a lot to offer for those willing to experiment with the different play styles available to classes. Boss mobs at the higher levels require strategies and sometimes specific skills only available to certain classes, which in my opinion, helps encourage grouping with others. There is plenty of solo content, but if you want to see and acquire the good stuff, grouping is a must and raiding is always an option. You can build houses and decorate them to your hearts content (which our guild leader is obsessed with in our guild hall). They have boats for travel, which you can hall all your friends around on. Recently added flying mount quests to acquire either a griffon or wyvern (these quests are very challenging and time consuming, but reward is second to none). Crafting is hugely popular. Diplomacy has very distinct advantages to the game as well. I could go on and on, but wont. I often refer to VG as a "diamond in the rough", but really isn't giving the game it due credit. Other than some of the older established MMORPG's out there, you will have a hard time finding a really good one to stick with, if that is your intention.

Good luck to you all and hope you find enjoyment in any game you play.