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Vanguard is the best here is why
delete5230
Member EpicPosts: 7,081
Ok, Vanguard is the best mmo on the market.
I only play mmo's to play in groups, I'm never alone in any of them. There is no other mmo available that is so group orientated that I know of. Maybe EQ2 but I find the population is rude, silent to the noob and flat out disappointing. All other mmo's are 95% solo based. With that people play solo.
Vanguard has a low population.....HOWEVER very close to everyone is nice. Noobs, vets, everyone !.....Almost everyone will play with you, if you know how to find them. The problem is that everyone uses the traditional method of finding others. Spamming in open chat does not work, never did in any mmo. Find a good guild ?......Wrong, that never worked either, unless it's a top end Raiding Guild. Spam so called noob guilds to play with you in Guild chat ? Not much response there either. Vanguard has a noob Guild called Twighlyte Song. I would recommend joining it, however expecting to get a full group by spamming Guild chat does not work there either. You may get one, you may get two but that's about it.
People respond to personal Tell's.
1) Spam your guild. ( don't expect much )
2) Spam open chat. ( don't expect anything )
3) Use the social Panel. Type the levels and class your looking for and send a personal tell. Be nice, explain how and why you found them, even chat a little. Ask if you can come over and help them with there stuff or ask if they would like to do a five man.
4) If your looking for a five man I would suggest finding a tank first as they are in short supply. Healers are easy in Vanguard, many people play healers. But get a healer next. DPS's are easy.
USING THE ABOVE I CAN GET A FULL GROUP IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES EVERY TIME !!!!!
I CAN GET A FRIEND TO PLAY WITH IN 2 MINUTES EVERY TIME !!!!!!
If you new to Vanguard........No problem.
I would recommend making your home at "Veskals Exchange". it's like the center hub of Vanguard. Most everyone calls it home from level 11 on up to max. Next don't be shy in sending personal tells even if your new, chat and make a friend explain that your new. Search out the Spider Cave in Veskals its a level 13 mini dungeon made for two or three people. Perfect way to make a friend, get your feet wet and b build your confidence in being new. Most important get used to sending personal tells to others. It takes some guts at first being a noob, but it get comfortable afrer you do it a few times and realize the success you will get.
Here is a list of Dungeons. If your new and have some guts, take charge. Scout the entrances, find the local quest givers and go nuts finding a group using the social panel and send out tells. Everyone will come running if you do this Vet's noob's everyone. Don't forget, get your tank first. Disciples and Monks can tank also in a pinch.
http://www.vanguardmmorpg.com/vanguard_dungeon_finder.php
I would recommend " Khegor`s End " for your first large dungeon. It starts at level 13 but it also starts out easy and gets real hard. So have some guts and ask a few level 18's or 19's to come along. Just remember that not many know about using the social panel to find others, so higher end players are usually happy just to group, as they don't know how to find groups effectively. REMEMBER YOUR THE MAN TO GET GROUPS TOGETHER. Once you get people don't worry someone can lead the group. Your just the man to get people together 
Hunters League Quest Line - This was made by SOE a few years after Vanguard was released. It was designed to give players better armor and weapons in a hard to play game. Start this quest line around level 17 on up to the mid 20's.
Finding others is easy. If you go to the first quest giver, just hang around and others will pick you up to start or use the social panel and find someone. here is a link :
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/60036
Remember the Social Panel is your best Friend, search out others, make friends, and have fun......It works for any mmo. Say good buy to spamming open chat, and dead Guilds.......TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR MMO !!!
Last I would like to say.........Make it more of a priority to have Friends and be social other than leveling. You will have more fun that way. I gage a fun night in making a few good friends more so than leveling. That's my secret for having a good time in any mmo.
Comments
Glad you're enjoying it. Vanguard is a good game and its nice to see a thread about someone actually having a good time.
I self identify as a monkey.
Thanks,
I must say I'm taking a few months off. But will be back to the best mmo ever, Vanguard !!!
This is really good information and I think every newbie joining the game will get help from it.
Um.
I'm now utterly confused what a "five man" is supposed to be... ?
If that refers to the five man limit for groups I heard about from WoW, well - groups in Vanguard can have six people in them.
That SW:TOR can only have four people in group is one of the main reasons I am doubtful I should play it.
The other reason of course is being back in Vanguard and being totally happy there, so why should I play another MMO ?
P.s.: Oh, and only drunken Monks can tank. If you get a Dragon or harmonious, they probably wont be able to reliably keep aggro against other dps classes.
P.p.s.: That dungeon list is outdated ... there is a dungeon finder ingame in the social tool. Use it for an up to date list of dungeon options to go. There is plenty of level 50 content on Qalia today, like Rhazz Inkur.
Ive been having fun for the first time in a long while. The story on The Isle is awesome, especially the way it plays out through diplomacy. The depth Ive enjoyed so far has already surpassed the other games I have played. The graphics are nice and even the ambient sounds are refreshing. Im on Telon, my name is Jillliian.
To the caterpillar it is the end of the world, to the master, it is a butterfly.
Well Adamantine,
I make post here because the game is the best mmo out there. Believe me I played them all.
Vanguard has a low population. Do you know what the biggest reason for this is ?
- Not because of a bad release.
-Not because of no updates.
-Not because it's several years old.
BUT BECAUSE NO ONE STAYS LONG ENOUGH FOR THE POPULATION TO GROW. 20 people start in June and quit because they don't have others to play with. 20 people start and quit in July, then August and so on.
1) Can't you see that I'm offering a head start. An alternative to cop with a low population ?
2) I can have a full group in less than 10 minuits...... To do do anything !!.... I'm not kidding !!
3) I always have at least 10 very active players on my friends list at all times !! ....I'm not kidding !!!.... I'm taking a few months off, when I come back I'll make 10 more friends very quickly. And never notice a low population.
Why am I doing this ?...Not to get recognition or any kind of greatness. BUT because I care. People are more important than leveling. When I get a group together and EVERYONE has a good time, that's the best feeling in the world. I'm not even that good. But you know what, I have so many people that teach me stuff every night that I play Vanguard, and in return I'll help them with that quest that they cant do alone.
So what if the list is old. It's still a binding list of what others know and play everyday. It tells a new player where a dungeon is. I have at least three more web sites, Should I list them all ?
I'm not sure how your confused ?... Is it the Social Panel ?.... Maybe you don't understand it your self ?...Use the Advanced Find feature and type what level and class your looking for. Then ask nicely if they would like to do a Dungeon or to simply play as a DUO.
I would like everyone to know how to make friends. I would like everyone to have a good time, and maybe even stay !!...I'm not sure if your still confused. If so I'll rearrange my words around again, and see if you understand. Let me know on this !
[Mod Edit]
page i admire vg too and i agree with most of your post but there are plenty of other group-oriented MMOs.
ff11 comes to mind
you NEED to group in ff11 unless you are one of 2 or 3 job-sub combos that can solo, and even then things are reallty mch more focused on groups.
RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.
Currently Playing EVE, ESO
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
Dwight D Eisenhower
My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.
Henry Rollins
The game is fun alright but I always get annoyed everytime ive returned to the game, no matter if I start on the Isle or at a home town, and also no matter what class ive choosen, I always get to level 8 or 9 and run into a dead end. White quests are too hard to do solo and the beginning areas are void of life. While I do like a challenge every now and then I really do not want to randomly grind on mobs until I get to a level I can do a quest.
On a high note, however, the shammy had to have been the most enjoyable class ive played until ive hit that quest roadblock.
Any chance they will lower their subscription rate or go F2P?
I bet alot of people would play and stay longer if that was the case.
IMHO, many players are getting worn out by monthly subscription costs...its why I will be leaving EVE, dont play WoW, but do play AoC and LOTRO which are both F2P.
I am currently playing free trial of WAR, even though I have a Level 80 from my former subscription account. Thus, as much as I love WAR, I refuse to sub to it. The same probably goes for Vanguard with some players as well as myself.
.,
I totally understand Cyrussphere,
Vanguard is unique in the fact that it's very hard at time's, often the mobs gang up on you. Often there are not enough solo quest. It's really is a DUO or more game.
As someone just stated there are a few games like Vanguard ( group based ), Such as FF11, and even EQ1 & EQ2.
WHAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ABOUT VANGUARD....Is that it's more like a life, a fight for survival. There are times that I feel scared, I know it sounds crazy, but thats how intense it can be. I'll get a group together and have no clue what i'm doing, yet I know it's gonna be extremely hard. I have to pray that others know what there doing. I've done a few Dungeons that took several hours with no one quiting ( un like Wow ) and when it's over, and I turn my computer off, I don't even know where I'm at.
Very few games can do this.
- Vanilla WoW did this for me to some extent years ago.
- Finial fantasy 11, I understand is this intense, but I could never get past the controls.
-EQ1, I understand is like this, but I don't think I could step that far back in time to give it a try. ( just too old of a game to start )
-EQ2, Is intense, but I don't like the player base, i'll just leave it at that !
Vanguard players are unique. Everyone is nice. Why ?.....Because it's a fight for survival. Everyone needs each other.
Cyrussphere,
If your still active, and somewhat social, try and make a friend using the Social Panel Advanced find. Find someone your level. Ask if you can run around with them. EVEN IF THEY CAN'T SHARE THERE QUEST. Chat with them a little, add them to your friends list. Then maybe tomorrow you can both start another quest line together. So many people have the mind set, that if they can't get exp. then screw it !.........Play for fun, This holds true for any mmo.
There is a reason people who try the free trial and don't stick around. VG offers one of the best group experiences available today, but it is also the MMO in the worst shape as far as bugs and optimization. Very few people will tolerate a game that is riddled with bugs and glitches when they know they will never be fixed (still has bugs that we found in beta back in 2005).
VG has a low population because SOE has done very little to show their potential subscribers that they are willing to bring VG up to par in quality that most people expect out of an MMO.
Page you are obviously an extremely tolertant person, but most people don't have that much tolerance especially when newer prettier games launch in better shape.
you are being overly harsh on the game based on its history. I trialled a few months back and enjoyed the game a lot and subscribed (only had 1 graphical glitch that I came across while maxed out, no bugs to date). However Age of Conan went free to Play about a month later, and thats free to play until level 80, so hard to justify the cost. Decided to go for subbing to eve online, and AOC as a fantasy mmorg so I get 2 different styles of mmorg for the price of one.
I have tried various mmorgs and Vanguard is great value for money for a newcommer to the game if you do not fancy AOC imo.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
A lot of what you say is true.
BUT and I stress the word BUT. One thing I see as fact from playing for quite along time. Hanging out in the 10-20 level ranges, talking to people, taking note of the Social panel and seeing who is on line and who quit, I find that Many start and give up because of the population problem. I see many people popping into Vaskle's Exchange as a Noob ( Every night more and more ).
This game gets new players every night. Not too often I see people in open chat complaining about bugs, or un able to run, BUT I do see people trying desperately shouting for help. In my OP I'm trying to get a point across that open chat does not work. That's my point.
Optimization- yes it's bad. But people are trying to run this mmo on $400 laptops from Best Buy. And you know what ? It runs fine on cheap computers. I know I have Vanguard installed on my cheap one I use for travel. I found that if you change from " Balanced " to " High Performance ". it looks kind of crappy, but players great.
Bugs- i'm sorry I don't find many, very few broken quest, and elevaters, Vanguard loves to use elevaters to bring you to lower levels, and for some reason they make people hang up or crash. Thats it as far a my findings with bugs.
I know what your saying about other, newer mmo's play better. But most really suck. i just played the Aion Trial. I can't believe how bad that game really is. People say great graphics. I see super intense water color paintings. The game pl ayes on rails, as you have to do your campaign quest, and can't stray far from it. Very few dungeons, very few reasons to group unless your very PvP oriantated........This is only one example of the garbage we are getting as of late.....I could go on all night !
I am sure you mean well but do not try and fool people and say that the game runs well on cheap computers unless you have a solid state drive than maybe, but there is lag and hitching but I find the game very playable despite that. Vanguard Is the best MMO out there it was not optimized well and the hard drive is always looking to catch up, besides that it is a great game
I'm just trying to be honest. I love the core of the game, non-instanced dungeons, the unique classes, being able to visit all the places you can see in the distance, boats, non-instanced housing, and mainly that it encourages grouping.
Because I love VG so much, I go back and reroll a new toon every few months. The last time I played was less than 90 days ago so my view of the game isn't that old. I bet I found more bugs on the trial isle in less than a week than I did the entire time I was alpha testing Rift. I'm not saying I like Rift (did NOT buy it), but MMO companies have learned that most gamers are very intolerant to low performing games and lots of bugs.
I have two computers. One is a good gaming computer, the other is my travel computer. I have Vanguard on both.
My Laptop is a HP Pavilion DV5 ( look it up )....I payed $400 for it during Black Friday. I lowered a few sliders, and changed from Balanced to High Performance. It looks like crap, the world is bland, the ground looks like a green carpet. And Vanguard Pl ayes perfect. Infact wayyyy better than my good gaming computer.
I have a friend that has a better computer than me. He absolutely refused to lower any settings from max. Well he is young and stupid. Any way he eventually lowered his settings and vanguard played good.
I don't know about anyone else but I'm in if fun. Screw graphics especially if I think I could use a $400 computer for anything else but surfing the net, and using note pad.....yet every one thinks they have a super computer.
Im playing right now, and I experience 3 different bugs.
1. swimming, diving out of the water
2. unable to click on one thing, because the collision mechanics for another thing seem larger than the actual thing
3. Not being able to see rain. Yes, some people can, yes it is a 7/vista issue. So what. some cant
In comparison to what the game offers. That is not to bad, especially considering it is now being actively worked on.
To the caterpillar it is the end of the world, to the master, it is a butterfly.
Meh...I tried it. I really, really wanted to like it. I didn't. Just couldn't get into it. Just didn't like the gameplay and didn't like the fact that it was low population. That's a shame too, because I know it has a lot of content.
It's definitely NOT the best MMO going right now, in my opinion. If an MMO doesn't have great gameplay, and doesn't have enough people playing, I'm not sure how you can say that it's a great game for grouping. Would seem to me that's counterintuitive.
And the sad thing is, if anyone other than SOE was in charge of this game, it might be a damn good MMO. SoE hasn't done shit for it beyond bug fixes.
Sometimes after I defeat a monster I cannot click on anything else which is frustrating because other mobs than kill me, I did notice that you can hit escape and than tab and hopefully be able to click on mob, but it is annoying
Hay, here is a perfect example of someone playing an mmo using traditional methods of playing an mmo.
Somewhere along the lines, someone decided that the norm would be /shout in open chat to find others to play with or I'll just join this guild that offers noob friendly, but no one will play with me because I'm now and only level 12.
THIS IS TYPICAL OF ANY MMO. You will never find friends this way. However Vanguard does have a low population I'll give you that. So it would be more apparent.
Traditional methods don't work !
What I see here is someone that popped into the Vanguard Forums. Read the headlines, gave his two cents and moved on without reading the post.
Page you seem to really enjoy the game I can understand why. I'm a new player (about 2weeks in) and I can honestly say VG is probly the most fun I've had in a MMO...and I've played at least a dozen different MMO in the past 5-6 years. Thers something about VG that just feels epic, unlike just about every other MMO I've played with the exception of maybe EvE and DFO. Both games decent sandbox pvp MMOs. VG is a different breed of MMO imo, and can't be compared to these games though.
I log in each night usually about 9pm after finishing up around the house I have a blast playing. I never know what the night will bring when I log in because theres soooo much to do ingame. Last night I had hoped to adventure and possibly do a dungeon but I ended up gathering and getting a 1.5 levels in crafting.
The best part of VG is that it feels like a living breathing world, unlike so many other MMOs out right now (RIFT *cough*). I plan to stay subbed for awhile yet unless SOE does something stupid to try to tone down the game to bring in the kiddies. If they do I'll cancel my sub and never look back. The reason VG is fun for me is because it challenging, unique, and the community is great. Hopefully it stays that way. :-)
"I play Tera for the gameplay"
You forgot to add getting stuck trying to walk on stairs all the damn time, and you still fall through the earth/get stuck frequently as well. Buggy quest lines that leaves you having to contact ingame support.
The game is still a bug ridden mess regardless of how much they have fixed already. It's playable. That's the standard it has aimed at. Not polish
Never had a single one of those problems and have played on a variety of machines. Not saying Vanguard is amazing or the best thing since sliced bread, but you make it sound like no one can play it with all the bugs and that's simply not my experience.