It looks and feels like EQ to me, and its overpriced for its monthly subscription, and it mandates you be in a group, in a low pop game.

Please tell me, as I might give it a try again.

Imho a very good balance between a sandbox and a theme park. It's a great game if your looking for more complexity then your average fantasy mmo.

I believe if Vanguard launched as it is today, it would not have flopped.

It has a huge, emersive, non instanced world.

It has huge non instanced dungeons, that some would argue are some of the best in the industry.

There are alot of things to do in the game other than questing.

Vanguard is all about the journey, not about rushing to level cap. It was intended to be a true mmoRPG

Lots of it's good points could be considered bad points, depending on your style of play.

It is a tougher game but not too tough. They are striking a good balance now. Dying means something but they lightened it up from where it was at release so that it is tolerable but enough that you seek to avoid it.

The world is big. I mean freaking huge. There is so much to explore.

Non-instanced housing and player made ships.

15 classes and it is really hard to pick just one. So many of them are so very compelling. I have more than 2/3rds of them on my mental list of "got to try it someday."

Crafting that is significant to the economy.

Crafting minigame that is fun and makes you think but not overwhelming and puts quality on an item.

Crafting that is a whole sphere in the sense that there are crafting quests that reward you with crafting gear and are in depth enough that they actually tell the story of the world from an artisan's perspective.

Diplomacy  mini game that also includes its own sphere of story telling quests and rewards.

19 races each with there own starting area. (max replayability)

Dozens of factions that can open opportunities for questing and getting items such as racial mounts.

Most importantly, It is structured as a sandbox game with quest lines in it. You go where you want, do what you want, choose where and how to level up. The riftway will now point you in the general direction to go for your level but otherwise it is more freeform.

It is a big world, built for exploring with lots of stuff to find and do.

As for the population. Right now it is surging but even without. it is very friendly to begin with and because the game is group oriented people are much more willing to do so. I have already in just the last few days been invited to more groups than I got on either my warrior or priest in wow leveling them up pre-60 during TBC. It is a very social game. But you do need to be willing to stick it out there and ask around. Seek out a guild also, there are several dedicated to helping new folks.

Even so, most classes can do a reasonable amount of soloing. Soloing is not impossible in this game. But it is not ideal as opposed to most other games.

ON grouping.

1. YOu can solo through 50 ( i solo about 3/4 of the time )

2. Groups are easy, just join a guild. My guild, Twilight Song has 40ish ppl on 24/7 doing things all over the place.

3. Everyone has alts, all over the place because of the huge world and great classes, which makes gropuing even easier.

Try it, its different than the rest right now.

I have a few questions about this game...

I have played the beta, but because of RL and being out od town, I only hit lvl 4 or 5 I beleive on my Blood Mage.

I will probably be purchasing TOR for shits and giggles, but really just waiting for BF3/GW2 to come out.  Will this game suit me til then?

Again, I solo alot, and don't have time for all the raids and dungeons all the time that take 90 minutes to complete,

Just wondering if I can play this game casually like I do with lotro right now?

Suggestions if I do reroll and start fresh with a BM? Starting area? ect...

If anyone is going to start playing.. or coming back from a break the starting place i would pick is the Island you get nice gear for when you end up going over to the 'real world'

The Isle is the worst starting area and a terrible representation of the Vanguards world and lore.... And honeslty you will out grow almost all the gear as soon as you hit the URT quests at 15 or so ...

   All of the racial areas give a much better experience....imo

The starting racial area are indeed a wonderful experience, I like them better than the trial isle as well.

However, for someones first character I highly recommend the starting isle. Especially if they play a Warrior or Rogue, which are even harder to play when you start out if you don't have the trial isle gear to help.

Having more than one character is fun in Vanguard, you can also start the next one off the isle for an even better experience the next time around!

Originally posted by schertzt

I have a few questions about this game...

I have played the beta, but because of RL and being out od town, I only hit lvl 4 or 5 I beleive on my Blood Mage.

 

I will probably be purchasing TOR for shits and giggles, but really just waiting for BF3/GW2 to come out.  Will this game suit me til then?

Again, I solo alot, and don't have time for all the raids and dungeons all the time that take 90 minutes to complete,

Just wondering if I can play this game casually like I do with lotro right now?

 

Suggestions if I do reroll and start fresh with a BM? Starting area? ect...

I also started early on, just two weeks after release and then gave it up. Have been back for just a few days now and am rather enjoying it. I am also looking forward to GW2. And likewise I also preordered TOR and while I expect it to be good I don't expect it to be great and only be a diversion for so long.

Blood Mages can be hard to play from what I read because they have a lot to juggle at once so be prepared for that. The Disciple is supposed to be one of the best solo classes if you want a good solo healer. Most classes (short of warrior and rogue) can solo just fine but some are better than others of course and soloing is not the ideal. It is an option but when you can get a group you should. even if you have limited time, you will enjoy the game much better grouping at least some of the time. Join a laid back newbie friendly guild like Twylyght Song. It will at least give you the opportunity to group when you feel like it. Even if you can only play for shorter periods of time, people understand. People come and go from groups all the time. You can definitly play casually and the grouping is not just about dungeons. Also keep in mind that exploring a dungeon is not like it is in many other games. limited space, trash,trash,trash, boss, rince, repeat. The dungeons are mostly non instanced and more like exploring the outdoors with a group only, often not outdoors. You will see, it is pretty cool.

I started fresh on returning. just to get the hang of it from the beginning.  I would also suggest the island because the tutorials are good and it is worth seeing at least once. You also don't need to miss your racial starting area because you can always go to your starter town after the island and still get all your starting lore, even if you do outlevel it for a time. Besides, you don't want to miss out on Slappy's whistle.

VG is lacking character customization, thats its biggest downfall

Originally posted by Myrdynn

VG is lacking character customization, thats its biggest downfall

Considering you can alocate your stat points at will as you level up, and reset them later on, that many of the 15 classes have specialitazions (you can play 4 different kinds of cleric, for example) and that you can modify your crafted gear in hundreds (literally) of different ways, I have to disagree.

You have to play this game to see what's good about it and it will not be for everyone either. You either Love it or Hate it...

Originally posted by Myrdynn

VG is lacking character customization, thats its biggest downfall

 Don't mean to be rude but you kidding right? If this is the only reason you dislike this game then boy you lack a bit of the good stuff up top!!

Originally posted by Scorchien

The Isle is the worst starting area and a terrible representation of the Vanguards world and lore.... And honeslty you will out grow almost all the gear as soon as you hit the URT quests at 15 or so ...

 

   All of the racial areas give a much better experience....imo

I have to concur with this. The starting isle is really pretty horrible. I mean, try it out just to "see what's going on" there... But the racial starting areas *really* start you off with the "flavor" of your chosen race. It is not representative of the overall theme and "feel" of Telon.

Starting in your racial city also gives you a feeling of just how vast and huge the game world actually is. The starting island can leave you feeling the world is rather small overall.

I would never start on the starting island again.

the quests and items i got when i didnt start on the island sucked compared to what i got on the island.. yea it might give you/show you how big the world is and all that but someone new/or has not played in along time i think the island is the better starting place. its a nice intro into the game teaches you the ropes alitte better also imo
and one you leave the island its a ghost world anyways least the island has people on it that you can see im sure this changes once you get into the higher lvls but low lvls pfft huge world and your all by yourself.

Originally posted by Myrdynn

VG is lacking character customization, thats its biggest downfall

I don't really see that being the case at all.

If anything no two character's are going to be exactly alike.

As far as the grouping from earlier in the thread, I mostly solo. I relly enjoy Vanguard as a "world".

I make my own fun and avoid the things that I don't like.

The game is definitely not for everyone.

@op: my thought is that if you are the type of person who can make your own fun and are rather laid back the "sure" try it. If you are a person who is hyper critical and approach a game in a 'what can you do for me" way then I wouldn't recommend Vanguard.

The people I've met in game love the game despite its flaws.

I personally love the game for its open world and exploration.

A game that requires you to be grouped up with 100% of the time as you level.

This could be a negative or a positive depending on what you want in a mmo.

Personally I dont have the time for it.

But dont let that stop you. it has a trial.

This game does not require you to group 100% of the time.   The only time you have to group is to do the end game dungeons.

Originally posted by Krandalarian

This game does not require you to group 100% of the time.   The only time you have to group is to do the end game dungeons.

Great so when i get bored of my current crop of games let me know what i did wrong.

Once i got about 1/3 of the way through i struggled and honestly with my demanding lifestyle i have no time for such an annoying time sink as looking for people to level with during my sessions.

sure just message me, there are only three massive continents to explore along with all of the solo quests on them.  WHen I find time in my hectic life I'll help you out.