Installing Vanguard, are my expectations listed here going to be met..

Zerly

Hi all,

You might remember me from such posts as "How big is the patch"...well here I am, about to play the game (after installation finishes" Id appreciate some feedback from my expectations..thanks..

1. Age of Conan isnt doing it for me. World feels small and linear. I want a big world to explore. Ive heard Vanguard is a thumbs up in this regard.

2. Is the death penalty meaningful? I dislike the current trend of MMOs that make death trivial. In some games, its even a useful way to quickly travel....just feels wrong.

3. Is the combat fun? I find Wow, Age of conan and LOTRO nice fluid combat...EQ2 felt clunky in comparison. Clunky as in lots of buttons to press, but it felt disconnected from what was happening on screen. I know this is an 'x;' factor question. How does Vanguard shape up?

4. Im an old school MMO'r going back to Ultima Online and EQ1. I dont like too much hand-holding. I want a dangerous world, that requires exploration. Relates to question 1 by the sounds.

5. A large variety of monsters and enemies? Are the environments also varied? Im a bit tired of endless grassfields

 

Thanks, any feedback appreciated. Ive heard Vanguards community is small and vocal.so looking forward to something a bit out of the mainstream. Conan let me down a bit, I was expecting a vast MMO and it feels more like Oblivion on rails.

 

 

 

Kayless

Hey

1. Yes, lots to explore and alot of variation.

2. Not sure about that one tbh.

3. More EQ2 than WoW, LoTR and AoC I'm afraid.

4. There are dots on the map for the quests, you can choose not to show them if you want.

5. See 1.

 

Originally posted by Zerly


Conan let me down a bit, I was expecting a vast MMO and it feels more like Oblivion on rails.

I agree totally...

DailyBuzz

Originally posted by Zerly


Hi all,
You might remember me from such posts as "How big is the patch"...well here I am, about to play the game (after installation finishes" Id appreciate some feedback from my expectations..thanks..
1. Age of Conan isnt doing it for me. World feels small and linear. I want a big world to explore. Ive heard Vanguard is a thumbs up in this regard.
VG is larger than AoC, but smaller than EQ1 (maybe the size of WoW 3 years ago -dunno about it now).
2. Is the death penalty meaningful? I dislike the current trend of MMOs that make death trivial. In some games, its even a useful way to quickly travel....just feels wrong.
Not particularly. When you die you leave a tombstone, with your 'non-bound' belongings on it, that you can retrieve to gain back some lost XP and your spoils from battle. It's not much XP loss, and if you choose not to get your tombstone, there is an alter where you can summon your loots.
3. Is the combat fun? I find Wow, Age of conan and LOTRO nice fluid combat...EQ2 felt clunky in comparison. Clunky as in lots of buttons to press, but it felt disconnected from what was happening on screen. I know this is an 'x;' factor question. How does Vanguard shape up?
I really enjoyed the combat in VG. There are reactions, chain abilities, and a weakness system that makes co-operative combat possible. With that said, macros can be made to drastically reduce the amount of hotkeys you will be using. The combat is much slower paced than AoC. It's more methodical and less chaotic. AoC is more or less a balls to the wall rush and see who's left standing when the dust clears.
4. Im an old school MMO'r going back to Ultima Online and EQ1. I dont like too much hand-holding. I want a dangerous world, that requires exploration. Relates to question 1 by the sounds.
Dungeons in VG are dangerous, and there is definitely a sense of risk involved when you consider dying deep into a crawl. With that said, mobs have been trivialised through many buffs to player power. A side effect of VG's style of class balance was that some group situations became soloable.
5. A large variety of monsters and enemies? Are the environments also varied? Im a bit tired of endless grassfields
There are 3 continents (Kojan-Asian theme, Qualia-Mid-Eastern theme, and Thestra-European theme) with diverse scenery. You will find the same 14 spider models you find in other games, plenty of boars and wolves as well. However, there are some unique mobs in VG that will turn your head from time to time.
Thanks, any feedback appreciated. Ive heard Vanguards community is small and vocal.so looking forward to something a bit out of the mainstream. Conan let me down a bit, I was expecting a vast MMO and it feels more like Oblivion on rails.
Small, vocal, and out of the mainstream is what they do well. I haven't played VG in several months, but I doubt any of this has changed since I was last around. If it has, I'm sure there's someone around here willing to flag me for it  
 

 

bobdog

Originally posted by Zerly

Hi all,

You might remember me from such posts as "How big is the patch"...well here I am, about to play the game (after installation finishes" Id appreciate some feedback from my expectations..thanks..

1. Age of Conan isnt doing it for me. World feels small and linear. I want a big world to explore. Ive heard Vanguard is a thumbs up in this regard.

I keep getting lost and distracted at everything there is to see and do.  I fail at leveling...there is always something to "oohhh!  look at that!"

 

2. Is the death penalty meaningful? I dislike the current trend of MMOs that make death trivial. In some games, its even a useful way to quickly travel....just feels wrong.

Meh, they softened it up.  There is one, but it's easy to get back.  At worst, you will have to summon your corpse to a GY and take about a 10-15mob xp hit.  Otherwise, it's about 3-5 mob xp hit.

3. Is the combat fun? I find Wow, Age of conan and LOTRO nice fluid combat...EQ2 felt clunky in comparison. Clunky as in lots of buttons to press, but it felt disconnected from what was happening on screen. I know this is an 'x;' factor question. How does Vanguard shape up?

I think this depends more on the class,  there are some class animations that are, and some that are more 'connected'.  I find that the more you progress, and learn about the abilities, you feel more connected.

4. Im an old school MMO'r going back to Ultima Online and EQ1. I dont like too much hand-holding. I want a dangerous world, that requires exploration. Relates to question 1 by the sounds.

I hate the hand-holding as well.  The slogan for this game is "set yourself free", and it's the truth.  You can get help when and where you need/want it however.

5. A large variety of monsters and enemies? Are the environments also varied? Im a bit tired of endless grassfields

The world is huge.  At times in low levels you will get the impression of endless environments.  However, now you can just take the "riftway" to another location for a different feel.  Right now, I'm lost in a jungle, on the desert island.

 

Thanks, any feedback appreciated. Ive heard Vanguards community is small and vocal.so looking forward to something a bit out of the mainstream. Conan let me down a bit, I was expecting a vast MMO and it feels more like Oblivion on rails.

 Here are a few facts that you will face: 

1. There are still some buggy quests, corpse placements, occasional graphics doodles.  However, for most everything, there is a simple 'work-around'.  The community channel is lively and helpful.

2. Dongeons are HUGE.  If you get a group for say a level 17 one, make sure you have the time and others have time for what you want to do.  I spent 3 hours working through one and still did not kill every boss, and complete every quest.  Some are shorter, but even the simple ones are amazing.

3. Compared to other games, you will feel lonely at times because of how massive the world is.  If this is the type of thing that gets to you, try more populated areas or seek out a guild sooner rather than later.

 

Good luck, and have fun!