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So gimmie a Lowdown on this game
Psycosis
Member Posts: 362
This game just came on buy one get one free at my local blockbuster... for £15 i thought it would something fun for my girlfriend and I to do in our free time, which is very limited with 2 kids but its nice to have something to do other than watching a movie in the evenings when they are in bed.
Now I personally loved everquest.. played it for 2 years, loved it up to and including luclin... my favorite characters were the Druid, because i loved wolf form, its benifits, and how well I could solo... quad kiting wyrvens was fun, and taking down hill and ice giants with ease whilst whole group had trouble was funny too.
I also loved the Shadowknights ability to be a damage dealer in a group as well as fear kyte.
Anyway after just over 2 years my account got wiped... no clue why it just dispeared.. couldn't even log into the site with my account, and sony never answered.
I tried a few other MMORPGS.. I liked FF11 but it was far to group based, couldnt even solo stuff the same level as you, and geting a group could be a bitch at times... I played a beta of EQ2 and just couldn't deal with how different it seemed from EQ... and I betaed a few other bits and peaces
and then my girlfriend got me to play WOW she had played for a couple of years and it was the only one she had ever played... I played for 6 months but i hated it.. it was SOOO crap, watered down, generic, boring... go here do this.. go here do this... the only thing good about it were the battle grounds... so i quit.
I looked at vanguard and it looked like EQ with a bit of WOW thrown in.. but how good is it really? Any of you love EQ and think this is good too? is it worth getting?
Was that a thought I just had, or and echo of a thought I was thinking of having?
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http://www.soundclick.com/wizard-sleeve
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I produce music, DnB, Trance, Metal Fusion, RaP and whatever i feel like. You might like it
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http://www.nexusradio.co.uk - Online radio promoting unsigned artists
Comments
one thing i would like to add....
I loved in EQ how that if you got a conjuration spell, but you were not good at conjuring, you got regular fizzles, and untill your conjuration raised you risked regular fizzling, but the higher ur conjuration the faster the spell would cast and the less mana it would use
Was that a thought I just had, or and echo of a thought I was thinking of having?
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http://www.soundclick.com/wizard-sleeve
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I produce music, DnB, Trance, Metal Fusion, RaP and whatever i feel like. You might like it
--------------------------------------------
http://www.nexusradio.co.uk - Online radio promoting unsigned artists
I haven't played EQ2 but I do play Vanguard and since I noticed you said you have very limited playing time I can just say that I also play very casually and it's possible to have lots of fun in this game still. Especially if you're into exploring and harvesting like me
If you loved EQ1 you'll love this game. It's what EQ2 should have been to be a worthy successor to EQ1. Since Vanguard was released SOE really have turned it around. GU4, and GU5 did a great job in taking the game in the direction it needed to go. You wont find a more visually stunning next gen sand box MMO. VG is very casual friendly, I say go for it, I grantee you'll be pleasantly surprised and fall in love with the VG if you loved EQ1. If you don't like the default UI when you log there are some great mods that make it 10x better. Those being Drox 2.5 UI or Core UI. The advanced map mod is also highly recommended. C'mon in the water fine!
http://www.vginterface.com/
I'm still looking for a buddy key so I cqan't talk firsthand, however, I have played EQ and from what I've seen and heard on this game I think it looks a lot like it. Also from what I've heard it does seem to be solo friendly. On top of that most classes can solo very easily unlike FF11.
However I saw in your post that you liked WoW because of the BGs, from what I've heard the PvP server is not doing as well as the others. If what you really enjoy in a game is PvP then you may not enjoy this game as much since it is a PvE game. Just a heads up.
Well, I havent played EQ, WoW or FF, but to my best knowledge, Vanguard sounds very ideal for you.
Its not a true solist game, so for some content you will really need a group. But you can definitely level from 1 to 50 solo, if you want to. And with harvest and/or crafting, which can be done solo as well, you will definitely be able to afford best crafted gear (which isnt the best of all possible gear, but very close to it).
The Dread Knight seems to be very much what you describe about the Shadowknight. DKs are one of the kings in soloing in Vanguard. You will be able to solo many places in a relaxed way where others will have big problems. Plus the DK, being one of the three full featured tanks, has it relatively easy to find groups.
If you liked EQ this is the game that comes closest to that gameplay in many years. It has some elements of WoW type gameplay thrown in like soloing and quest grinding and some stuff not in EQ like housing/boats and diplomacy. The dungeons are very EQ like. Big with lots of roamers and camping place holders for named mobs. There are lots of classes to play as well. You can't really customize your character with AA's or anything like that and there are still some balance issues, but each class is really set apart from the next. That is to say they aren't just watered down copies of healer/tank/dps. There is lots of flavor in each class.
A big game world to romp around in too. Just don't expect to get anywhere near the content additions that EQ got. It is very unlikely that the game will get an expansion and if it does it will most likely be very slow. My guess would be content patches the size/speed of SWG once they get done working on the nuts and bolts of the game engine.
Like someone else said, this game is what EQ2 should have been.
Played EQ2 for about 2 1/2 years and played Vanguard for about 5 months and got a Shaman maxed and am now playing AoC. Vanguard really is the game that should have been the "next" EQ2 imo. You will definitely enjoy it...period. BTW, I felt that I got more than my money's worth for both games.
However, some things were obvious to me.
Either way, it's a fun game, great graphics and if your girlfriend likes crafting, it is very well done. I may come back but frankly been enjoying AoC for the time beeing. Good luck to ya.
Pooks
<DISCLAIMER>
<The following are my thoughts on Vanguard. I am neither an employee of Sony nor a WoW hater... I am just a guy who has played a LOT of MMOs>
I get enthusiastic talking about Vanguard. I have only been subscribed for a little over 3 weeks now and I am sure I am just feeling that 'new game afterglow' but I do get enthusiastic talking and thinking about the game. I have played every North American released MMO and can only recall the 'new game afterglow' from a couple different games:
I remember severe game afterglow creating my first Ultima Online character. I believe it was my first graphical representation of the MUDs I used to play as a kid. I remember the feeling of exploring the massive world and running into a group of ettins while being barely able to hold a knife. I remember getting PKed hundreds of times and the constant fear of running into a grandmaster while exploring. I remember loving the feeling of being truly afraid in -game of getting robbed.
I remember feeling this way playing EQ1 through 4 expansions. All day at school I would think about what my guild was going to do that night where I would go to farm gear for my bazaar toon and what website I would visit for boss tips and strategy. For me, EQ1 will always be the ultimate in keeping your head in the game even when you're not playing.
I remember the gameglow while playing pre-cu SWG. Searching for resources was always an exciting blast as was wondering when the next Imperial raid would sweep through your Rebel player city. SWG had my mind working overtime when I should have been thinking about my job.
I remember the glameglow playing City of Heroes. I couldn't get enough of the character creation and would spend hours thinking about a good hero build when I should have been worried about securing financing so I could start my own business. The CoH gameglow ended far too quickly.
I remember the gameglow thinking about what type of character I would roll when AoC released. I would think about what websites to visit for info, what grand battles I would take part in and how my decapitation count would pile up. The gameglow died 2 days after installing my copy and registering all my bonus codes that, in retrospect, I should have sold on ebay. I cancelled AoC after 3 weeks due to the small feel of the game.
Regarding WoW... I played it for over a year and a half. I can't say I ever got gameglow from it. Not even once. I started WoW becuase my old EQ1 guild was all joining together. We raced through the original game in about 3 months and played waaaay too long on alts while waiting for an expansion that seemed like it would never come. After the expansion, it took one member of my guild a little over a week and a half to get lvl 70 and we were all soon to follow. We played way too long as a bunch of lvl 70s waiting waaaay too long for a second expansion and decided to leave. WoW felt like a job... always did to me even before daily quests. I found there was something missing from WoW.. it polished up a lot of ideas found in other already released games but it still seemed to miss something.
I guess this all leads me up to Vanguard. I jumped into Vanguard after getting my EQ1 and EQ2 re-invites for the living legacy. I subscribed to the station access account and figured I should add Vanguard onto that as well (seeing as my local store was selling it for $10). I loved being back in everquest again, and I have been having fun in EQ2 with the sarnaks but while I'm running my business or doing some mundane house chore, Vanguard is the game I am constantly thinking about now. I need Vanguard.
So that is why I like Vanguard. I didn't make the decision myself.. I blame endorphins and other chemical reactions created in my head.
Now for the quick of it all, I will provide my highlights of why I think Vanguard is good:
1. One character - 3 ways to play. You can adventure, craft and sweet talk with each character you create so you don't need to worry about a crafter toon, farming toon, etc.
2. Tons of gear. Up to level 20 at least (on 3 different class types) I have had no problem in finding something to wear or use.
3. Meaningful quests. If you bother reading quest text, you find most of these quests all chain together to form a bigger picture of things. There are some 'go kill 10 of these' quests but even they seem to serve a purpose. When an NPC sends you off on a quest and they are 10 levels above you, you actually get the feeling that they have more important matters to attend to (and are not just being lazy).
4. Open world. One world... one zone. This is definately a big selling point for me. I like things on a grand scale and Vanguard does not disapoint.
5. Mount ownership at level 10. Sure it's not a fast mount but at least you don't feel rushed to farm treasure so you can afford one some day in your career. You can become a horse owner for cheap very quickly.
6. 4 complete sets of gear. You don't need to switch out armor for your crafting or diplomacy gear because you can wear it all at the same time.
7. Graphics. If your rig can handle it, Vanguard has some amazing graphics and critters running around. Sure player characters look constipated but they are getting reworked before the end of summer. Your characters look normal once yoe get some gear on em too... it's only the first 5 levels or so that they look like they need a box of suppositories.
8. Owning houses and boats. Ok so I am not there yet, but non instanced houses always seem to add a special something to a game.
9. Community. On Seradon I can get any question answered about 5 times in about a minute with little to no dumbass remarks.
10. Price of box. It's not really a 'why I like the game' point but I wanted 10 reasons
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/28371832@N02/2648951313/[/url]
My gf cant get enough of crafting, I guess it evens out since I cant get her to a pvp server hehheh ahh well.
thank you all for your responses, sorry for my delayed reply...
sounds just like what I need, I best buy it
Was that a thought I just had, or and echo of a thought I was thinking of having?
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http://www.soundclick.com/wizard-sleeve
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I produce music, DnB, Trance, Metal Fusion, RaP and whatever i feel like. You might like it
--------------------------------------------
http://www.nexusradio.co.uk - Online radio promoting unsigned artists
Hmm okay I am going to reserve my full judgement of this game for once i've got past lvl 10 and started having actual fun... but my initial thoughts on this game are a bit strained...
graphically I expected it to be a bit stronger... I am running it at full graphics atm witha res of 1680 x 1050 - and i think EQ looked better 6 or 8 years ago when i was playing that... with a much worse gfx card, moniter, etc etc...
The character customisation... well there wasn't much was there? 3 faces for each race that didn't really change all that much.. and when your changing the colours of stuff its super over sensitive...
The user interface... was like WOW, i wasn't a fan of the WOW interface, infact the game seems to be very much like a WOW clone with colours and other information about items.. I miss the EQ interface...
also started a druid and the first spells you get are very similar to that of a WOW druid (once again I hated wow, other than the battle grounds)
Don't get me wrong i wasn't expecting Everquest from this game.. nothing will ever be the 2 years and 4 expansions I played everquest again... but.. I expected more from this game.. if nothing else other than the graphics.
Anyway as I said I am still going to give it a chance... but initially.. disapointed.. I bought 2 copies of the game, my girlfriend has decided she doesn't even want to start playing it.
Was that a thought I just had, or and echo of a thought I was thinking of having?
--------------------------------------------
http://www.soundclick.com/wizard-sleeve
--------------------------------------------
I produce music, DnB, Trance, Metal Fusion, RaP and whatever i feel like. You might like it
--------------------------------------------
http://www.nexusradio.co.uk - Online radio promoting unsigned artists
Or what do you mean exactly? Well, you get root and a nuke and such things. Im not sure whats wrong with that? I never played EQ, I played EQ2, so I cant judge about that. But a lot of people I met and tried VG said that there wasnt the EQ feeling they were seeking. Whatever that means. Listening to those guys (camping for hours, rather forced grouping...) I have to say that personally Im not missing THAT EQ flair
What I want to say... There will never be again a game like EQ (or RO, or Ultima or ), its the time of WoW or AoC. Show her a raki sitting on a fox. Maybe the cute factor of it softens her heart
Graphically this game is a lot better then eq... I still log into eq and there really isn't any comparison so I'm thinking you must be remembering eq fondly which I can certainly agree with as I played eq for 5 years.
Character customizations could be better but keep in mind there are also a ton of races that are all different. So you got 3 faces, 5 or so hair styles, and something like 16 races. That adds up to a lot of variety in game. As you play you won't see a lot of people that actually look like clones. And in GU6 they are brinking back a ton of facial customizations they took out to bring in helmets.
The interface is functional and I'm not sure I would complain about it. You can customize it some. I don't know that I see it as a huge diff from eq since wow actually evolved from eq and this game they wanted to be familiar for people who were from wow so I don't see it as a bad thing. Functionally it has all the capabilities needed and look and feel are customizable to your liking.
I think this game gives me the closest feeling to eq of any game out. Closer then eq2 I'd add. EQ when you first played was kinda awesome. It was overwhelming and there was a sense that you were small and insignificant at the start. You had to make a name for yourself. I feel that same sense of awe in VG and I really can't express what makes it feel similar to me but it does. I mean functionally it is quite different.
The druid in the game is really not like eq or like wow. I would say it is closer to eq but the druid in vg is not a healer but a dps class with some pets. You might think of them more as a mage/druid hybrid from eq. But maybe at lvl 1 it seems like wow but really it is nothing like wow.
Anyway good luck. One thing that I'd also say about this game is that it is very group friendly. Once you hit lvl 12-14 make sure you hit up a group and do some of the dungeons. That might give you more of an eq feel although unlike eq you don't camp you will spend your time more roving though the dungeon working on quests. More like eq2 but the dungeons feel more like eq....
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Ethion
get the ltest coreui, droxui is ugly. make sure you get the latest version with info map 1.8 (i think). anyway the game is nice. some things that i hate are the empty enviroments (some areas) and the performance issues. i can run cyrsis on high with a playable framerate. some areas on vanguard makes my computer choke. those are really my only 2 gripes about the games, a few bugs i have encountered also. but it is ok. make sure you roll your toon on seradon server, it is the most populted. sometimes you feel like your are in a barren wastelnd but it picks up once you get to higher levels. overall it's a good time killer. i wish conan would have been like vanguard. plus vanguard is cheap in price, cant beat that. go for it.