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Bored of your MMO? Play Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
Have you heard of Vanguard? To you, is Vanguard that game that had a terrible launch? It seems a majority of people in the MMO community either don't know what Vanguard is, or are still jaded by the terrible launch it had. While to some the game may not be their thing, to others it is the most amazing MMO on the market.
After being on these forums for a while, I've realized that a LOT of people are sick of their current MMO and are looking for a new one. The only problem is, nothing good is coming out for a while. Now, I'm sure I'm going to get responses like, "LOL Vanguard is terrible!" These people either have NOT played it in a long time, or are still disgruntled about release.
About Vanguard
Anyone who loves high-fantasy games, with massive worlds, amazing sceneries, an inordinate amount of races and classes, and an amazing community would love Vanguard. There are no instances, the world is massive. There are hidden dungeons around the world that are widely unknown. There are some dungeons that appear so small on the outside, like a little cave entrance, that turn into a massive cave underground the size of a city.
You can own your own house in Vanguard. There is no "housing instance". You can build boats and ships, and sail them around the world. You can discover islands that no one has been to before. The music is amazing. The views are breathtaking. The game is at the state it should be when it was released - simple as that.
I'm sure that someone is going to say something like, "oh you must work for Sony, who the hell would want to play Vanguard?" Let me assure you, I don't work for Sony lol. This is the downfall of the game; it is backed by a company that doesn't advertise - it is as simple as that. They have this gem of a game in their grip, that could become so popular if only they allowed it to. I don't think people are aware of the size of the game and the feeling you get while playing it.
I have never played EQ1, but from what I've heard from those who have, Vanguard is what EQ 2 should have been. People say they get the feeling they did playing Vanguard that they did the first time playing Everquest. I assume this is a good thing.
A Quick Word About the Population
It is true, Vanguard has a low population. The game holds around 50,000 players at most, according to http://www.mmodata.net/ If you want a populated server, play on Seradon. The server is like playing on a WoW's medium-high pop server if you play at prime time. What does the game's population matter if your server population is more than enough? Also, the worst thing that is happening to this game is people quitting because of a low population. That just worsens the problem, instead get the word out there like I am!
Just editing this in 11/10/09: If you are hesitant on returning, they have stated many times at places such as Fan Faire that if more people start playing, they will get more funding for the game, which would most definitely lead to more promoting of the game. What he said at the fan faire, and http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?start=100&topic_id=49831 6th post down are examples.
A Simple Warning
I am 100% aware that some people responding here will berate the game, or even me. As I said earlier, these people are probably either burned from launch, and have not played it in a long time, or just don't find this type of game to their liking. I am asking those who have never played it, or haven't played in a long time to ignore these naysayers, and give it a chance yourself. Don't be sheeple, people, make your own mind up. All I'm asking is if you like the game, get the word out.
I know someone will say something like, "this game must be in bad condition if the players are the ones trying to get people into the game". This is because its Sony behind the game. While Sony isn't the best company, the devs who are running VG have a HUGE passion towards the game. They choose to work on this game, and they love doing so. Think of it this way, the more people who start playing this game, the more updates it will get. While the game still has some bugs, thousands and thousands have been ironed out over time, and more are in the process of being worked out. With a game this HUGE it is common to have bugs stick around.
Get the trial http://vanguard.station.sony.com/isleofdawn/
Or buy the game for 5 dollars! http://www.gogamer.com/Vanguard--Saga-of-Heroes-for-PC-Front-Page_stcVVproductId8319544VVcatId444710VVviewprod.htm
If you want to get a custom UI go to http://www.vginterface.com/
Recommended Videos
**Set Yourself Free** Unofficial VG Trailer
Some views and scenes of friend who play together
More views of the game
Someone flying on a dragon
Showing some blank-slate player housing, sailing, views, etc.
Showing a dungeon
Another scenery video
-Computer specs no one cares about: check.
-MMOs played no one cares about: check.
-Xfire stats no one cares about: check.
-Signature no one cares about: check.
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-Narcissism: check.
Comments
I agree. I've been kind of bouncing from MMO to MMO after 8 years of playing UO and EQ. Vanguard is a great game you should give it a try.
The game IS one of the better ones out there currently. I love the the fact your character is not confined to doing just 1 or 2 things.
The housing, ships, flying mounts, crafting(best system out), Diplomacy.....just too name a few of the positive aspects of the game.
Alot of the bugs have been fixed so gameplay is no where near the nightmare it was at release.
All that being said........................it still lacks Something.....could never figure what it was for me that it lacked.
Would definitly suggest it tho.......
The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about..anon
When ignorance gets started it knows no bounds..Will Rogers
I agree.. If you are looking for a "traditional" fantasy game with more choices then you can shake a stick at, then give this game a month, you will stay for more. I started last year when the Isle of Dawn came out and still find it more intertaining then Aion. I enjoyed Aion, just found it to be more of the same with the annoyance of waiting in line to play.
Vangard and SOE lost my money forever (I will never buy an SOE product again- Hell never even a Sony Product again) as dealing with them has left a really bad taste in my mouth.
Vangard had the potential to be the best MMO BAR NONE ever created... I imagine its pretty awesome right now (I wont ever find out because its an SOE product) but how long did you have to pay to play (Alpha Test) that broken disaster of a Game? I preordered the "Special Edition" and stuck it out for 6 months just praying it would get some sort of attention... How many obvious bugs were never fixed? How many Forum threads removed or locked?
Wow, Vangard was a complete nightmare- And it should have been great- It COULD have killed WOW- But SOE killed Vangard instead.
It may be better now, but after the way SOE treated its paying Customers, NEVER will they get a dime of my money even if they somehow create the best game in the History of LIFE Itself.
No thanks.
It's NOT a SOE product, they just purchased the game othervise it would have been closed now. What would you have suggested instead ?
It IS an SOE product. I played since launch and SOE was running the show.
Who then markets, distributes, services, promotes (or doesnt), develops and profits from Vangard? Who runs billing and customer service?
SOE- Its an SOE product. Period.
I agree, if players don't mind a tradtional game Vanguard is the game to play.
I have a vanguard account and always maintain it as it definitely suits my play style.
What I love about vanguard is that you can die in Vanguard. I recently made a new paladin and forgot how incredible some of the low lvl areas could be. Like the Spider Den outside of Veskal's exchange. wow, it's just incredible. And I died. twice.
It's like doing a regular dungeon crawl and you know there is danger there.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
player housing and guild housing got me sold kinda..but hows the PVP? are there factions? any endgame content ?
I wish Vanguard would have had more success, because the world was large, looked good, and the game had many nice features. However, there has been two common things in the game every time I returned to try it out. The last time I tried the game out was Jan. '09.
This was soon after the trial island released, which was a lot of fun. The problems I had was the game had some obvious bugs that the developers didn't care to fix, such as horses being stacked on top of each other. The second problem was the community was a bunch of jaded assholes. I mentioned, not complained, about the bugs I was finding in the game, and before I could even ask when they'd be fixed, I was having my ass chewed by many people over chat for even mentioning bugs. So basically, you had an obiously buggy game with a community full of Vanguard Defenders, that would much rather chew your ass than act like a consumer should. They forgot they were consumers, who deserve a polished and finished product, and drove any person who was trying to get into the game out by not allowing them to voice their concerns without getting flamed to death.
Of course, there's also the population problem. I'd like to see people everywhere I go, because it lets me know others are playing the game and are possibly available for group content around my level in that area. But the last time I played, it wasn't like that. The veterans of Vanguard already had hotspots chosen, so you wouldn't really find many people around unless you went to those hotspots.
So while I agree that Vanguard was a great looking game, and it had some fun elements and features, the game suffers or suffered from some pretty serious problems; at least they were serious for me: Overly defensive community, obvious bugs that were getting no attention, and low population.
I understand where your coming from with that. SOE ruined SWG for me, however i have been playing it recently and altho it means im giving money to SOE, yet they took away from me somethin that was great. Im enjoying this now and for the lil money i give them per month i feel i get my moneys worth.
I feel i waste more money buying a single player game for my ps3/360 for £40 and complete it in about 8 hrs
Its a risk holding a grudge and missing out on something over something that you have no control over.
Yes. There were entire questlines that were bugged for at least 6 months (the entire time I played) which should have been simple fixed issues but if you commented on the message board you got "we are aware and addresing the problem" THREAD LOCKED. But nothing ever got fixed.
The (if I remember correctly) we lost Devs to EQ2 and absoulutly nothing got done- Yet SOE kept announcing new games. It was completly ridiculous. Then SOE had the attitude that if we dont like , leave- No complaining allowed... But many of us who really loved the game and wanted it succeed were just fed up- And left.
Really, SOE is a company you dont want to get involved in- VG could have been awesome, had more potential than anything else and was ignored by $OE so long as they were making a few bucks on people sticking it out.
I have never stopped playing it,it's been on my PC since beta. Four level 50+ toons later and i am still loving it,i even two box with two accounts. For the people that have jumped on the VG/SOE hate wagon and have not actually played this game,i feel sorry for them.
VG is a great mmorpg waiting for the player who are willing to look beyond the bad release and see for themselves what a great PVE game VG is.
All this game needs is subs and it wouild seriously rock even more,with more players comes more resorces and content.I really think SOE should make VG free to play for a three month period,this would boost the population ten fold.
VG is the best PVE mmorpg out their,it really is beautiful in everyway.
www.youtube.com/watch
www.youtube.com/watch
www.youtube.com/watch
Nothing comes close IMO...
It's NOT a SOE product, they just purchased the game othervise it would have been closed now. What would you have suggested instead ?
I know,some people are just jaded and can't see beyond the hate for SOE who didn't make VG,they saved it.
so it's a PVE based game without pvp late game??
Ha, what a lovely topic!
I've been always Vanguard fan and will be. Really tempted going back and maybe start a new character. Now that mentoring is coming.. Anyway its really great game in its own unique way. Only thing it really lacks is players, nothing more. And with posts like this, i think we could fix that! 
Gonna install it and head back next week.
the best way to kill a troll is to FLAME ON! ...or with acid...
2 Words
SoE
Smedley
After their little cash shop idea SoE will never get a single dime from me regardless of its product.
Yes Vanguard is a very solid fantasy mmorpg. I did enjoy it for a few months last year. Anyone who does not have a massive hate for SoE and likes Fantasy games should give it a go.
Their is a PVP arena that they put on the PVE servers,their is also a FFA pvp server where anyone is a target after level 7.
There is a free-for-all PVP server, but not many people play it because classes are very unbalanced in PVP. Right now the devs are focusing only on PVE, but you CAN pvp on that server if you want.
Mentoring is already out now. Also, I just noticed that ALL the servers are marked at Medium population and its not even prime time, which is actually nice to see. Who knows, maybe the population is rising afterall.
-Computer specs no one cares about: check.
-MMOs played no one cares about: check.
-Xfire stats no one cares about: check.
-Signature no one cares about: check.
------------------------------------------------------------
-Narcissism: check.
In my several attempts to get into vanguard. I played for about a month at launch and gave up due to bugs. Since then I have come back on every "winback" month they have offered and even subbed for an extra month after some of them. I have found the community to be the worst thing about the game. They have fixed most of the glaring bugs and added a bunch of new content to fill out the world but the playerbase is the biggest bunch of snobs that I have ever encountered in a mmo.
People get flamed for misspelling a word in chat or daring to actually try to recruit for a guild and as others have said god forbid you should dare point out an unfixed bug or other problem with the game that will get you at least a half hour of flaming tells and public berrating on the open chat channels.
If the game actually had casual guilds dedicated to helping new players actually play through the game's content they might be able to retain a lot more subs but the elitism of the playerbase kills off all but the most diehard soloers because unless you are one of the "in" crowd you are not getting any help.
A real shame as the game is quite playable now and has quite a bit of content to it.
This is a fair comment and i can understand if that's your conviction.I don't know anyone that uses the shop so it really is not a game breaker for me or my guild.
Really! what server is that because it's very rare that i hear this,i am on halgar,the European server.VG along with lotro has the best community of any mmorpg out there.
It's NOT a SOE product, they just purchased the game othervise it would have been closed now. What would you have suggested instead ?
I know,some people are just jaded and can't see beyond the hate for SOE who didn't make VG,they saved it.
Yes, thanks to stellar support and customer sevice- SOE has really proven themselves to be synanomous with clusterfuck. I AM jaded by the two SOE games I played. Yes, when a company has no regard for its customers- I vote with my dollar.
I know $OE wasnt the original developer of VG (which is one of the reasons I gave it a chance) but again, my issues werent with the "game" per-se (I thought the idea and freedom were astonishing) but with $OE's handling of the Game after THEY aquired it.
I am sure that they have FINALLY got some of the bugs fixed (after what, 3 years?) and I am sure the game is probably getting closer to the game we were supposed to get at launch... I (as stated) will never buy another SOE product after my personal experience with them on 2 games- I have been playing MMOs since UO launch (and MUD's prior to that) and have never had such bad tidings with a company as I have with $OE.
Take it for what its worth...
EDIT: As someone stated above- I found the Community to be great (Same with LOTRO) and helpful.
honestly i dont know how anyone can play this game. Ive jumped in and out of it every few months or so and everytime i log in it the same thing. My system is great but for some reason vangaurd is impossible to play at any decent setting. Random Fps drops, improperly displayed graphics, and a myriad of bugs still plauge the game. Its has great concepts but they are done so piss poorly that there arnt worth anything. You can build your own house sure... but it looks like crap, the bricks have little lines between them you can see through when you are running. Doors sometimes dont open when you run into them you have to back up and try again and sometimes again to get them to open. Its just... not smooth at all
"Don't mistake a fun game for a good game... Checkers is fun to play but its not exactly the highest point of gaming design... and definatly not worth $60 plus $15 a month"
If i am honest this is one of my only gripes with SOE,if you don't want the game SOE then sell it to a dev team who can move this beautiful game forward.SOE know that selling VG to another dev team and perhaps renaming it would seriously get in the way of their EQ1-2 subs.