Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
DAoC vs. Vanguard vs. Lineage II
Krimzen
Member Posts: 28
Ok, I've narrowed my next MMO down to one of these 3 and can't make up my mind. I'm interested mostly in a good PvE experience, and want to be a caster. I also enjoy customizable options and believe that all casters should be capable of wearing a robe. I like gameplay based on leveling, NOT a campaign with a storyline that is beatable a 'la GW.
I'm leaning towards Vanguard right now. I've heard that Lineage II's bread and butter is PVP, which Im not big on, and from what I can tell, characters don't wear robes. Dark Age of Camelot seems cool, but if I play that, I'm going to be Albion Wizard, which to my knowledge only have fire spells and I don't know if I want to struggle against fire-based enemies with no other spell to deal damage with. Also, with WAR coming out, who knows if its going to stay alive much longer.
Basically, I'm looking for opinions or reassurance that Vanguard is the way to go based on what I've said above.
Any help is appreciated.
Comments
Don't go with lineage 2. Too many bots, you're most likely going to have to ebay. Character customization is asymptotically close to zero. it is based on leveling, the grind is terrible. The community is made up of mature ebayers who will deny it like US baseball players deny steroid accusations. The company is terrible. The bots are everywhere and in your face PREVENTING you from leveling. I liked Lineage 2 in the beginning but the bots and the community turned me off. More so the bots and the fact that all characters looked the same. I am ashamed to say i got to level 70 and actually earned my A grade legitimately. The PvP they are talking about is overrated because of the huge cost of losing xp.
I think casters wear robes of some sort.
About the other games, they have to be better than LIneage 2.
Cryomatrix
Note: I'm heavily biased against Lineage 2 and NCshit however I still remain factual
.
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
Being a player of all those above mentioned games i would have to say get vanguard.
DAoC is a good game but its also pvp based.
Vanguard does have a pvp server that is completely free for all i would sugest staying away from that as there is absolutly no SAFE ZONES. So pick a pve Server
Now honestly alot of people will say vanguard is a bad game blah blah blah because the game was released before it was ready becasue the game had run out of funding and they needed the subscription money to fix it. Now the game is awesome. So give it a try! another game that has come along way since its fall is SWG (Star wars Galaxies) i will get flamed for that. I will say SWG isnt what it used to be but Bounty Hunting is funner than it used to be!
To note: You will enjoy Blood Mage or Cleric in vanguard. Only down side is Cleric where plate armor since they are meant to be the main healers and live forever lol!
Vanguard is really a good looking game and it's fun. People can say what they want about it but since it got fixed, it's really one of the best out there. I've been thinking of playing again myself
Lineage 2's casters do wear robes. They are not the stupid (in my opinion) bathrobes that for some reason people desire to have their casters wear.
They are extremely stylish garments that hit and miss, often at the same time when it comes to looks.
However, Lineage 2 is not your game. The PvE is only a mechanism to get higher so you can participate in PvP (also it mostly consists of grinding), there aren't a huge amount of customization options (though quite frankly I wasn't very impressed with Vanguard's options) And I agree with your assessment (to a point) about DAoC. It will still run but I have a feeling it will lose players to Warhammer.
Also, Lineage 2 has a hard economy and a very hard grind when you get to higher lvls. Of course you can go to the unofficial roleplay server if that is your thing, find a group and enjoy yourself. There are also clans that do mostly pve but with members who like to pvp.
But again, unless you like grinding you are going to be very dissapointed.
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
Lineage 2 has an absurd grind and the game is really only good because of the pvp, and you need to be high level to pvp, which will take you over a year probably.the game is way too inaccessable(is that a word?).
DAOC was a pretty good game and I had fun playing briefly, but its way past its prime.The graphics update make the game look decent, altho the dungeons still look bad.A lot of the game is just outdated now like the UI,combat, and how mobs behaive.Also, the lower levels are very dead.It doenst take too long to level tho and there are solo dungeons and stuff to help you level up by yourself.There's tons of classes and races and 3 diff realms, and you can dye your armor.You can also spec your class in diffeant ways so I guess theres decent customization.If the game was newer and had higher pop, I would still play it, but I'll just wait for WAR now.
I definately think Vanguard is the way to go.Has what you want and has really improved since launch.The server merges really helped the population.The classes and combat are some of the best in any mmo.If you want a leveling based game with lots of options, give vanguard a try.
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
Oh I'm aware of that. The difference between art design and the technical rendering of the material, that is.
I just didn't see that Vanguard was "all that" and a bag of chips. But if others agree then so be it.
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
Lucky for you, I've played all 3. I played DAoC for 3 years before I quit and then off and on for 3 more years. I played Lineage II for only a month and Vanguard for 2 months.
While DAoC has a lot of PvE content to take part of, the majority of the community prefers RvR, which is the bread and butter of DAoC. RvR is another name for faction v. faction v. faction PvP. Most people rush through the leveling process to jump into RvR, but there are some who like to just PvE. Wizards in DAoC have 3 different ways they can specialize: Fire, Earth, and Ice. Fire is the route you go if you want to be the best ranged DPS caster and want to solo quickly through the leveling process. Earth is more of a utility spec. in that it offers tools to give the Wizard diversity and something else to offer other than damage. Most notibale is the near sight spell and the ground target AOE spells. Meaning they can target a location through coordinates (so to speak) and nuke it, without having to be in the line of sight of the location. Ice has a few strengths, which are to slow and root enemies, DPS, and point blank AOE. Their DPS is more reliable in PvP, because the best fire spells cannot be casted on those in combat. Point blank AOE is where the wizard can cast a spell that hurts all enemies around him. It is the best group damaging spell there is and is highly sought after for group PvE. So as you can see, you don't have to worry about not having other spells to take advantage of.
Lineage II as you say is focused on FFA PvP. A lot of ganking goes on and you will see more bots and gold farmers than you thought possible. While PvP is a big part of the game, most people spend more time leveling. Leveling will take you FOREVER and is very dull. You will literally be grinding on the same mobs for days or weeks depending on your dedication to the game.
Vanguard has/had a lot of potential. I most recently played this during the vet free month we had over December - January. The casters in this game are well created and can even move while they are casting. I liked this game a lot, but didn't resubscribe due to population levels and the likely-hood that this MMORPG will never pull in enough subscribers to make this game fun at all times of the day. I also didn't take SOE's dedication to the game seriously due to bugs that are obvious and have been there since release. The game is definitely playable on medium and better machines, but there are still performance problems, graphical anomalies, and bugs ranging from harmless to game-breaking (depending on your tolerance for low-quality coding).
If you absolutely hate PvP, I wouldn't suggest Lineage II or DAoC. I wouldn't suggest Vanguard under any circumstances until I see SOE has fixed Vanguard to the point where most wouldn't say it is a "pay to play beta." If you did like good PvP, I would suggest DAoC. I think DAoC is one of the best games over made, for PvE and PvP. The only thing is their PvE is looked over due to their great PvP side of the game. Most PvEers have left to other more PvE centric games, such as WoW or EQ2. In fact, I would recommend WoW or EQ2 over Vanguard any day of the week. While there are things I loved about Vanguard that WoW or EQ2 don't have, the overall package sucks compared to WoW and EQ2. I would recommend WoW over EQ2 due to population levels, bad business practice of SOE with EQ2, and the overall fakeness I fealt in EQ2. I am not a WoW fanboi and prefer the old SWG and DAoC game over anything on the market, but WoW provides a overall great experience and something for everyone. It has an Epic feel to it.
Personally, I am playing WOW and will continue playing it once WoTLK is released. But I will also be playing AoC and WAR when it is released. I''ve learned that once you've done it all in the genre, it is best to rotate in and out of a few games, which is what I will "probably" be doing with WoW, WAR, and AoC (unless one of those brings back the community and fun I had in DAoC Pre-WoW).
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
Actually, Albion Wizards in DAOC have a choice of Fire, Ice and Earth specs. You have the option of specializing in one almost exclusively or training up a more balanced spec that utilizes some of the abilities of the alternate spec lines.
The PVE is pretty much grinding, and the ultimate goal of almost all players is the PVP. (though they do have a cooperative PVE only server, but its pretty dead now)
But based on what you said, VG might be a good choice for you at this time.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
i would recommend VG. It seems to me that so far it's been almost 99% PVE (been playing about a month).
As to the robe thing, yeah you can wear your big ol'dress (just kidding *wink*). I was leary of playing based on all the past history but I'm certainly wowed by the graphics and I think that they have fixed or made dramatic improvements. I'm certainly having fun so far.
A word of caution, VG is one hell of a resource pig so keep that in mind also. If you have an older system you might lean a bit to the others.
Good luck to ya know matter wich one you go with.
Pooks
im gonna have to say go with vanguard krimzen. as others have said, lineage 2 is a grind fest (i quit after level 57 b/c it just wasnt worth it to me anymore) and their really arn't any fun quests or pve content IMO. DAoC used to be alot of fun, even in PvE, but the game is still based around RvR (large scale PvP). the nice thing is that their are battlegrounds that you can visit so you can pvp players around your level, the only problem is since the game doesnt have the population that it used to, BGs are mostly dead except 3-4 of them (20-24, 30-34, 35-39, 45-48 if i remember correctly) If your gonna pick up DAoC i recommend starting on classic servers since their arnt any buffbots to worry about in PvP (except the occasional tower camper). However since you said u want good PvE i would have to say this isn't your type of game. also just a side note: Wizards can go Earth, Fire, or Ice its just that most PvP wizzies go fire for the 2x bolt range spells and fire has higher single target direct dmg.
For vanguard its completely PvE (with the exception of the PvP server) and can be fun for someone who is really into PvE i would imagine. I quit after 2 months tho cuz im just the type of person that needs meaningful PvP (a la DAoC and WAR) The only real problem i can see is that you need a high end computer to play the game with the higher end graphics and high FPS. ( i was pushin 30 FPS max on my comp at medium settings and my comp was fairly top of the line 3 yrs ago) besides that you probably will enjoy it.
Protip: If someone does NOT list at least one positive and one negative about the game they are critiquing, its best to ignore the post.
Factual? Please. Lineage 2 is not a game where you have to ebay nor is the community made up of mature ebayers. I'm willing to bet my right hand that you're a person that screams "Ebay!" the moment you see someone wear better equipment then you do.
thats been my experience with mmos too
EQ2 fan sites
Thanks so much guys. This helped me ALOT.
I've been playing WoW already for 1 year. I have a 70 Priest, 29 Twink Mage, 16 Pally, 21 Druid, 24 Warlock. So, I'm pretty tired of WoW, but I feel the need to be playing an MMO. lol.
I will definitely be picking up Vanguard. Though you guys are scaring me with the computer needing to be high end. I don't think it will be an issue though because I just bought an $800 dollar laptop 2 weeks ago labeled as an "entertainment" laptop. Hopefully I can run it no problem.
If you've already played WoW and liked the gameplay, I would recommend EQ2. I think EQ2 is the natural progression from WoW to another game, because the gameplay is familiar enough to get into, but offers enough different to interest a WoW player. Vanguard is more of an EQ1 players progression to another game due to its death penalty and open world design with grinding being a real option. Vanguard is a good game, it just isn't forgiving in technical aspects and it is still in a beta state. I would recommend playing the trial for EQ2 AND Vanguard before running off and spending the money.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
gameloading,
You've been a tool ever since I've seen you on these boards. Have you even played Lineage yourself? I had the best gear possible via legitimate means and I spent 3-4 hours every day playing the market for 4+ months. Don't give me this crap about "screaming ebay". The funny thing is, Lineage's gear goes like this.
S grade = highest levels
A grade = next highest
B grade = etc
C grade = etc
D grade = etc
non-grade = etc
Each subset of classes had a certain armor set available at each grade. I had A grade, it cost circa 150 million adena for that. Don't give me this crap about better gear or not. Most people had on the same exact gear. Any gladiator who could wear A grade had on a certain set with certain weapons. I had that gear because i played the market. The game is setup in such a ridiculous way that by playing through the game a person wouldn't even be able to afford D grade when they hit level 20. You wouldn't even be close. The botters and the ebayers caused massive inflation that normal playing through the game wouldn't even get close. I know, i played the game. Anyway who said otherwise is flat out lying.
If you want, i'll bet you $1,000 USD that you couldn't even afford D grade at average market price if you played from 1-20 straight through normally.
To give you an idea of how stupid the developers are and/or how retarded NCsoft is. The game has a natural money sink in soulshots. It allows you to do extra damage. Soulshots on average were pretty expensive to the point where all the gold that dropped from mobs barely gave you any margin over the cost of soulshots. So by playing 1-20, you'd be lucky if you had 200,000 adena at the end. I don't think you'd come close. D grade costs a lot more than that
.
So Gameloading, i've seen many of your posts you're one of those guys who makes unproven claims "You scream ebay at anyone who had better gear than you", you don't even understand the mechanism of the game "lineage 2" because if you did you'd realize that i'm 100% factual.
If anyone played lineage 2 legitimately it was me. I know what it takes to afford gear and to do it without ebay. Affording gear in Lineage 2 is like you trying to afford a new BMW working for minimum wage (reward from killing mobs) and paying $500 in rent a month (soulshot cost).
Now that I think of it, you really don't need to ebay, you can run around without using soulshots and trying to afford better gear until you realize it'll take you like 40 hours a level. Or you could be like me and spend more time trying to play the market than actually leveling. I used to check market prices in the morning, afternoon, evening, i set up an in-game business to try to make money as well and I eventually earned everything i owned.
Cryomatrix
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
The only way to make enough money to outfit your characters was to spend far more time playing the economy rather than fighting or leveling. (I'd venture to say 3:1 wouldn't be far off). For everyone else there was RMT or botting themselves.
Was it possible, sure, lots of folks did it, but there certainly was a sizable group who took shortcuts to success so they could focus strictly on leveling (which was a full time job in itself)
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I agree with you. I played only for a month, but in that month I learned that I would not level at a reasonable pace for Lineage II or even be competitive in PvP if I didn't have SS. SS was so expensive that a person had to choose over armor/weapons and SS. Armor and Weapons were so expensive that you would never be able to afford it when you needed it. I seen all of this before the 30 days were up on my account and never resubbed.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
I agree with you. I played only for a month, but in that month I learned that I would not level at a reasonable pace for Lineage II or even be competitive in PvP if I didn't have SS. SS was so expensive that a person had to choose over armor/weapons and SS. Armor and Weapons were so expensive that you would never be able to afford it when you needed it. I seen all of this before the 30 days were up on my account and never resubbed.
Was exactly the same for me, I agree with everything Cryomatrix just said and this guys reply as I played for 30 days also, and knew before the time was up exactly what he stated. So I also canceled and never resubbed.
Vanguard offers the most opportunities by far. It's a blast to play, many classes, races, vast world, flying mounts, crafting elite system, lore-filled diplomacy, etc. Always stick with your gut! You'll have a blast!
Ok my question would be.. what do you want your PVE experience to be?
Do you want to solo, group or raid... do you want to be able to kill mass amounts of things.. aka farm things once you hit end game or... basicly beyond playing a caster in a robe in pve what do you want to do?
I can't comment on L2.. I have never played it, so I wouldn't feel able to comment.
DAoC is NOT pvp based. In DAoC unless you play Mordred with the other 28 people that play there.. You have battlegrounds or the frontier... You never have to go there. You do get realm points.. which let you buy realm abilities if you RvR tho. These can offer a great deal to your character (increased crit chance as an example or increased base dmg etc etc).
Albion wizard is NOT fire based only. Ice Spec is the pbae spec but would be hard to solo with.. Earth Spec would be very viable and has more utility than Fire. Fire perhaps has more direct dmg.. but I preferred earth myself.
The game doesn't exactly have a huge player base now.. and yes one would wonder once WAR comes out.. what happens to DAoC.
Vanguard... You have some definite choices and some unique choices in that game. I'm not one that would label Vanguard as "Fixed". Its MUCH improved over its release.. in some ways a different game. However, its not up to the standard of some other games.
Can it be fun? Yes very. Also as I said you have some very unique choices in Vanguard.
Druids in Vanguard are nukers... with minor heals.. and blood mage.. is just a cool idea. Sorcs are pretty much what you'd expect .. just some examples. (blood mage is actually a healer but they can do good damage and just have really unique spells imho)
Did you ever consider EQ2? Tho if you played that the cost of Master spells or casters would make you cry.. so probably a good enough reason to skip it. Anyway...
Then again to be honest if I was going to play DAoC to PvE now.. I would just use my archer. I don't think any solo caster in the game can kill as fast, non stop .. zero down time as Archers can with the current archery system... altho I can't stand trying to RvR on my Ranger anymore.
Lineage 2 loses. Point and click PvP with very little key customization. DAOC is top on the list. Everyclass had to exercise skill to win. Fighters had to perform position based combos. Rogues are your typical predator style players. Hunters were snipers. And casters had to manage their spells and buffs well.
Sounds like you should give EQ2 some consideration if you havnt already.
Lineage2=I can judge, looked at the pics but I really dont think I like the style. The FFXI game looks similar and I couldnt stand the controls and style.
DAoC= Played this for awhile. The strength is the 3 distinctive realms and RvR stuff as well as alot of classes and races. Dont know if the game is up to date these days though. I havnt played in 2 years so i cant judge on that either.
Vanguard= Gets a bad rap because of the early realease disaster. I got a druid to mid-high level and was actually fun. Lots of strategy in combat. Has some unique and creative stuff. The "environment" graphics are the best ever I think. The character models are 'ok' unless they fixed that. I havnt playe in almost a year, might check it out again, I hear they fixed it up.
Good luck!
"The community is made up of mature ebayers who will deny it like US baseball players deny steroid accusations."
Keep your allegations out of my peanut butter...
That Guild Wars 2 login screen knocked up my wife. Must be the second coming!