I am all with you here. I love my EQ2 Rnager, who is really a ranged fighter in the sense of the word. The VG ranger is a good class, just he is no Ranger IMO.
I didnt leave VG for bugs or tech probs at all, and I guess A LOT of players who left had MANY other reasons to quit, like the overall boredom and sterile world. Much work to do.
Traditionally a Ranger is not a ranged fighter, they are woodsmen who “Range” far and wide in their defense of the frontiers.
The first fantasy “Ranger” was Aragorn in Lord of the Rings and he fought primarily with a sword. The ranged fighter in LoTR was Legolas, who was certainly not a ranger in LoTR lore.
D&D followed up on this them by making them a fighter with some spells tracking and stealth abilities. They could wear the same armor as any other fighter but were encouraged to use slightly lighter stuff. Later on D&D added the option for them to specialize in either 2h fighting or bows.
Well, I really dont want to start a debate on MMO or fantasy history or the etymology of the word Ranger, but a primarily ranged fighter is just a niche VG has not filled, which I miss. If you call that Ranger, Man-with-Arrows or whatever is not concerning me really.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I'm willing to give some games the benefit of the doubt, however my over all experience coupled with my first impressions of Vanguard has caused me to put this game on the far back burner. Even if SOE were to overhaul this game, I'm not sure I'd play it.
The Old Timers Guild Laid back, not so serious, no drama. All about the fun!
www.oldtimersguild.com An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. - Jef Mallett
The models and actual game mechanics still aren't good or fun though, so this really doesn't change much unless you want the same slow grinding game you could get with EQII, WoW, etc; except in VG you can be a wolfman instead of a cowman. Oh yeah, and the sky is nicer.
The models and actual game mechanics still aren't good or fun though, so this really doesn't change much unless you want the same slow grinding game you could get with EQII, WoW, etc; except in VG you can be a wolfman instead of a cowman. Oh yeah, and the sky is nicer.
That right there perfectly sums it up... eq2.5
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche
I'm not sure why people complain about the graphics so much. Graphics are a personal thing and differnt for each person. I like the Vanguard graphics. It has so many ways to customize you character. There are far more options then most games will give you. The face alone has many differnt things you can alter. On top of that there are many differnt races to choose from including the cool Rakki. I may give it a try again at some point. I just felt the game was too much of a grind for me at this point.
If the game has improved then the best thing SOE can do is release a trial. I for one aren't forking out on a subscription since the debacle the game was last time I played. If there was a trial I would probably consider giving it a go to see what had changed.
The models and actual game mechanics still aren't good or fun though, so this really doesn't change much unless you want the same slow grinding game you could get with EQII, WoW, etc; except in VG you can be a wolfman instead of a cowman. Oh yeah, and the sky is nicer.
That right there perfectly sums it up... eq2.5
No, more like EQ 0.4. Its a big step backwards. Not that EQ2 was a positive step forward.
Guys some of you are trying to make it sound like I said the game was fantastic. It is not. I am not recommending it to everyone either. Unless you tried it and performance was the issue as it was for me. I have read all the comments on post lvl 30 play I am no where near close to that lvl. Some bring up EQ2 as if I compared it to EQ2 I did not. I LOVE EQ2 I think it is the best mmo out now and next to pre-nge SWG the best mmo ever (for me). Vanguard is no EQ2, Saga of Ryzom, WoW, or LOTRO. What I was saying is that the last patch made the game technically playable now (but they still have more work). Prior to the patch I could not play it to even judge it. What I mean by changes everything, is that pre patch comments on Vanguard based on performance mean nothing anymore since SOE has made that so much better. I believe if game performed this well at launch (still has a long wat to go) many people who left might have stayed. All I said about the game play, up to lvl 8, was that I am really enjoying myself. What I am saying is I can now at least give the game a try. Game play for me so far, it is better then I have read or experienced in beta.
People keep talking about shelling out all this money to try it. I shelled out a whopping $15 to subscribe for a month (2 drinks on a friday night) since I already had it. I am directing this to people who bought the game already and left. Many many people did this so they already have the game. I never recommended running out and buying the game. The only people who would do that are the hardcore mmo players who have to try every game. For some of us mmos are a hobby and while 50 bucks for a game is a lot of money for most of us it will not break the bank. If you have played as many mmos as I have you realize once and awhile you bite 50 bucks to try a game and it is a loser. Vanguard is one of those border line games that make you want to look at it for yourself (not a clear cut loser like Dark and Light). So if you are curious to try Vanguard and do not mind spending the money give it a try. You may find you do not like the game but this time it will not be due to performance issues.
Vanguard may be better performancewise, but it's still a gameplay-killer.
And this view stems from an experience 2 days ago. A friend of mine still plays it, god knows why, but after having - again - played it for some time it hit me again.
Like "hey, WTF am I doing here?"... I wanna group... my friend "oh its 5 pm, you might want to wait a little more, pretty hard to get groups at 5 pm"... I'm like "ok", let's do some quest then... Quest: Go to city XY talk to Y nice story sounds cool "oh well, you might wanna take another quest, going there is a pretty long ride"... I'm like Ooookaaay, how bout crafting... "oh, like, you can't just craft here in the wilderness"... me: "SO WHAT THE HECK CAN I DO HERE?"... And he's like "you can kill stuff and gain experience?"...
Totally pissed me off; what IF I don't want to kill stuff for experience.... that's the essential failure of Vanguard. It's stepped in the very same trap DnL did.
God, if you make a wide-open-do-what-you-want world, make small things easily achievable. That's what keeps you hooked to EvE for example. If EvE told you "yay, there you go, rookie ship, in 4 weeks you can have your first turret" it would be as much of a disaster as vanguard is
Vanguard may be better performancewise, but it's still a gameplay-killer. And this view stems from an experience 2 days ago. A friend of mine still plays it, god knows why, but after having - again - played it for some time it hit me again. Like "hey, WTF am I doing here?"... I wanna group... my friend "oh its 5 pm, you might want to wait a little more, pretty hard to get groups at 5 pm"... I'm like "ok", let's do some quest then... Quest: Go to city XY talk to Y nice story sounds cool "oh well, you might wanna take another quest, going there is a pretty long ride"... I'm like Ooookaaay, how bout crafting... "oh, like, you can't just craft here in the wilderness"... me: "SO WHAT THE HECK CAN I DO HERE?"... And he's like "you can kill stuff and gain experience?"... Totally pissed me off; what IF I don't want to kill stuff for experience.... that's the essential failure of Vanguard. It's stepped in the very same trap DnL did. God, if you make a wide-open-do-what-you-want world, make small things easily achievable. That's what keeps you hooked to EvE for example. If EvE told you "yay, there you go, rookie ship, in 4 weeks you can have your first turret" it would be as much of a disaster as vanguard is Meridion
Very well said. VG is so devoid of little things to do and see, and all things you may gain are endless work and preparation. It follows the EQ/EQ2 tradition in this way far too much. You just cant go in and have some fun, just so. Oh no. You have to PREPARE, make week-schedules, read walkthroughs asf. Quite a fun killer. I mean, ok, sometimes I want those epic, longwinded things too, but often I just want to log in and the fun begins. In VG you can FORGET that, because Brad-Mr-knew-all had placed a giant park of obstacles before the fun. The obstacle in called Vanguard.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Vanguard may be better performancewise, but it's still a gameplay-killer. And this view stems from an experience 2 days ago. A friend of mine still plays it, god knows why, but after having - again - played it for some time it hit me again. Like "hey, WTF am I doing here?"... I wanna group... my friend "oh its 5 pm, you might want to wait a little more, pretty hard to get groups at 5 pm"... I'm like "ok", let's do some quest then... Quest: Go to city XY talk to Y nice story sounds cool "oh well, you might wanna take another quest, going there is a pretty long ride"... I'm like Ooookaaay, how bout crafting... "oh, like, you can't just craft here in the wilderness"... me: "SO WHAT THE HECK CAN I DO HERE?"... And he's like "you can kill stuff and gain experience?"... Totally pissed me off; what IF I don't want to kill stuff for experience.... that's the essential failure of Vanguard. It's stepped in the very same trap DnL did. God, if you make a wide-open-do-what-you-want world, make small things easily achievable. That's what keeps you hooked to EvE for example. If EvE told you "yay, there you go, rookie ship, in 4 weeks you can have your first turret" it would be as much of a disaster as vanguard is Meridion
Meridion, whether I agree or disagree with you I alway appreciate your responses. You are an experienced mmo player who responds in a smart way. You're always a good read whether I am on board or not. keep it up. People like you are the reason I post here. Off topic a bit but wanted you to know.
I too am going to wait at least another six months to see which direction SOE is going to take with this game, and to allow its performance woes to decline.
MMO games played or tested: EQ, DAoC, Archlord, Auto Assault, CoH, CoV, EQ2, EVE, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, Linneage II, LOTRO, MxO, Planetside, SWG, Sword of the New World, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, WWIIOL, WOW, Age of Conan
Comments
Well, I really dont want to start a debate on MMO or fantasy history or the etymology of the word Ranger, but a primarily ranged fighter is just a niche VG has not filled, which I miss. If you call that Ranger, Man-with-Arrows or whatever is not concerning me really.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
This is a start by Sony, but tbh, if they want to recover from the abysmal game launch, they're going to have to do quite a lot more.
I have no real intention of playing VG, but I suppose that if Sony really do do something right, I might have to check it out.
_______
"Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate"
Looking forward to: Aion
Played: WoW, Guild Wars
I'm willing to give some games the benefit of the doubt, however my over all experience coupled with my first impressions of Vanguard has caused me to put this game on the far back burner. Even if SOE were to overhaul this game, I'm not sure I'd play it.
The Old Timers Guild
Laid back, not so serious, no drama.
All about the fun!
www.oldtimersguild.com
An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. - Jef Mallett
and he only got 4, so he loses
The models and actual game mechanics still aren't good or fun though, so this really doesn't change much unless you want the same slow grinding game you could get with EQII, WoW, etc; except in VG you can be a wolfman instead of a cowman. Oh yeah, and the sky is nicer.
That right there perfectly sums it up... eq2.5
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche
I'll stare at screen shots to admire the art rather than pay $15/month for a grind.
I'm not sure why people complain about the graphics so much. Graphics are a personal thing and differnt for each person. I like the Vanguard graphics. It has so many ways to customize you character. There are far more options then most games will give you. The face alone has many differnt things you can alter. On top of that there are many differnt races to choose from including the cool Rakki.
I may give it a try again at some point. I just felt the game was too much of a grind for me at this point.
If the game has improved then the best thing SOE can do is release a trial. I for one aren't forking out on a subscription since the debacle the game was last time I played. If there was a trial I would probably consider giving it a go to see what had changed.
That right there perfectly sums it up... eq2.5
No, more like EQ 0.4. Its a big step backwards. Not that EQ2 was a positive step forward.
Guys some of you are trying to make it sound like I said the game was fantastic. It is not. I am not recommending it to everyone either. Unless you tried it and performance was the issue as it was for me. I have read all the comments on post lvl 30 play I am no where near close to that lvl. Some bring up EQ2 as if I compared it to EQ2 I did not. I LOVE EQ2 I think it is the best mmo out now and next to pre-nge SWG the best mmo ever (for me). Vanguard is no EQ2, Saga of Ryzom, WoW, or LOTRO. What I was saying is that the last patch made the game technically playable now (but they still have more work). Prior to the patch I could not play it to even judge it. What I mean by changes everything, is that pre patch comments on Vanguard based on performance mean nothing anymore since SOE has made that so much better. I believe if game performed this well at launch (still has a long wat to go) many people who left might have stayed. All I said about the game play, up to lvl 8, was that I am really enjoying myself. What I am saying is I can now at least give the game a try. Game play for me so far, it is better then I have read or experienced in beta.
People keep talking about shelling out all this money to try it. I shelled out a whopping $15 to subscribe for a month (2 drinks on a friday night) since I already had it. I am directing this to people who bought the game already and left. Many many people did this so they already have the game. I never recommended running out and buying the game. The only people who would do that are the hardcore mmo players who have to try every game. For some of us mmos are a hobby and while 50 bucks for a game is a lot of money for most of us it will not break the bank. If you have played as many mmos as I have you realize once and awhile you bite 50 bucks to try a game and it is a loser. Vanguard is one of those border line games that make you want to look at it for yourself (not a clear cut loser like Dark and Light). So if you are curious to try Vanguard and do not mind spending the money give it a try. You may find you do not like the game but this time it will not be due to performance issues.
Vanguard may be better performancewise, but it's still a gameplay-killer.
And this view stems from an experience 2 days ago. A friend of mine still plays it, god knows why, but after having - again - played it for some time it hit me again.
Like "hey, WTF am I doing here?"... I wanna group... my friend "oh its 5 pm, you might want to wait a little more, pretty hard to get groups at 5 pm"... I'm like "ok", let's do some quest then... Quest: Go to city XY talk to Y nice story sounds cool "oh well, you might wanna take another quest, going there is a pretty long ride"... I'm like Ooookaaay, how bout crafting... "oh, like, you can't just craft here in the wilderness"... me: "SO WHAT THE HECK CAN I DO HERE?"... And he's like "you can kill stuff and gain experience?"...
Totally pissed me off; what IF I don't want to kill stuff for experience.... that's the essential failure of Vanguard. It's stepped in the very same trap DnL did.
God, if you make a wide-open-do-what-you-want world, make small things easily achievable. That's what keeps you hooked to EvE for example. If EvE told you "yay, there you go, rookie ship, in 4 weeks you can have your first turret" it would be as much of a disaster as vanguard is
Meridion
Very well said. VG is so devoid of little things to do and see, and all things you may gain are endless work and preparation. It follows the EQ/EQ2 tradition in this way far too much. You just cant go in and have some fun, just so. Oh no. You have to PREPARE, make week-schedules, read walkthroughs asf. Quite a fun killer. I mean, ok, sometimes I want those epic, longwinded things too, but often I just want to log in and the fun begins. In VG you can FORGET that, because Brad-Mr-knew-all had placed a giant park of obstacles before the fun. The obstacle in called Vanguard.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Ecco
I too am going to wait at least another six months to see which direction SOE is going to take with this game, and to allow its performance woes to decline.
MMO games played or tested: EQ, DAoC, Archlord, Auto Assault, CoH, CoV, EQ2, EVE, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, Linneage II, LOTRO, MxO, Planetside, SWG, Sword of the New World, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, WWIIOL, WOW, Age of Conan