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Vanguard: SoH, Dead or not?
mastersomrat
Member UncommonPosts: 373
I would like to play this game as it seems vary nice (now after many updates) though, I keep hearing that is dead thus will be shut down. (Don't want to get started only for it to get term'd). Also, it seems to alway rank pretty high score wise on this site. So whats up? Does this game bite? Will it be shut down? Why ranked so high? Does anyone really know what the H*** is going on?
Comments
Not sure about being 'shut down' only an official release from SOE would be proof positive. This game is awesome, I played it off and on for the past few years and wish that it's release had been different and the population were bigger. If you have not played, I'd say give it a spin at least...you won't be disappointed.
Vanguard is most certainly not dead! It's actually seen a recent influx of new and returning players for some reason. However, it's no where near as populated as it was in the beginning. Luckily that doesn't seem to affect how fun the game is to play at all as there's still plenty of active guilds, newbies, alts, and content to go around.
I recently returned to the game after being one of the many players who quit after the horrible launch. I loved the game then, but just couldn't stand the bugs and dwindling player base since groups were incredibly important back then (They still are, but you can level without them now). I was absolutely delighted when I first logged back in and actually regret not returning a little sooner. A few of my old friends have been convinced to come back as well and the feedback has been very positive so far.
Basically, all of the game breaking bugs that I knew have been fixed. Solo content is very easy to find and if you find just one or two other players to group up with leveling becomes a breeze and even more enjoyable.
The customer service is outstanding now. I can not stress this enough! I've made 10 petitions since coming back, for reasons ranging from accidental soulbound item looting to removing my surname, and every one has been answered between 10 and 30 minutes. In addition to the speedy service the GMs have been very socialiable, friendly, and even playful when they aren't busy and just hanging out in the major cities. It's a thrill to interact with the guardians of your sandbox.
Combat, crafting, and diplomacy are all fully incorporated as much as I can tell. All of them feel fluid and stable unlike how they were at launch. They just feel "right" now, and all 3 spheres are much more intense and enthralling than any action was in my last major MMO played, WoW.
Here's the downside, there hasn't been any new content for a while. SOE has put VG on the back burner and turned the heat down real low. That being said, there's so much content in the game already that it will take you a VERY long time to get to the end of it.
The good news is that SOE hasn't shown any signs of axing Vanguard. Judging by SOEs usual money grubbing tactics, I seriously doubt that they would terminate Vanguard so long as it's making more money than it costs to run, ESPECIALLY after so much was invested into it in the first place. It makes sense to keep it pulling in cash to mend some of the wounds, right?
I'll have to find the source, but there is actually some new content going to be released at the end of this year/early next year. A long time to wait for content, aye, but I doubt that anyone who starts up again now will be bored or left without content to still explore and master until then.
Bottom line, give it a try man. The Isle of Dawn ( http://vanguard.station.sony.com/isleofdawn/ ) is free, and you can get a feel for how all of the classes and spheres feel (Adventuring, Crafting, Diplomacy). You'll be able to see for yourself how well the game has improved. It took me about 5 minutes of combat before I completely fell in love with how well it flowed as compared to how clunky it was at release.
A few things to note though if you or anyone actually read all of this and does give it another go:
1. Do not try playing your old character right away. Roll a new one. You will be completely lost and overwhelmed with the amount of abilities you have and your gear is most likely seriously outdated so you're just going to get yourself killed a lot.
2. Do not start out and roll a Warrior. Just don't. Pretty much any other class has an "Oh Shit" ability or some sort of heal. Warriors are better left to those with healing friends or as alts.
3. Don't hesitate to ask for help in general chat. The channel is /1 whateveryouwannasay and there's always someone around to lend some aid. Just don't beg or whine.
Hope you come back and give it a try! When you find it enjoyable again then please help spread the word as well! Safe hunting to you.
Uh, my main is in complete APW raid gear plus some overland drops, and I have 5 tier 5 crafters ... I think I could manage.
Start a poll, I say DEAD
If you have any questions please ask. I have moved on to WoW from eq and no longer have any desire to play a dead game. Thank you. (posted by another selling his account in EQ1)
I hope not im ready to reinstall this game!!!
It's not dead but it's a crying shame that SOE got hold of it. There have been no updates since July 2010 and although there is nothing gamebreaking (that I've encountered), issues like not being able to see the rain in Windows 7 remain several years later.
After several days of reading threads on the game, it seems to me that is a solid conclusion. The game is update limbo, with a world its players love adamantly and almost creepily - but in the end SOE seems to just not care and soak up any subscription money it can
Vanguard is a truly awesome MMO. Playing the Rift Beta events made me realize how incredible Vanguard really is.
I agree with you,I dont think we will see any game awesome as Vanguard the next years,I also play rift find it fun to play but I dont think it will last long for me.Imo there are 2 amzasing games on the market now both with some years on their neck I revisit those games regulary I would fulltime subscribe to either of those if those had stronger playerbase.Those two favorite games of mine are: Vanguard and Asherons Call.
People still play the game, but do some research, and find out when the last bit of new content was developed for this game. The game has almost no dev support, and the playerbase keeps dwindling away because of a lack of new content.
A lot of people, both new players and those who played at launch, come to Vanguard and love it, but I'd like to see some numbers on how many of those people actually stay in the game long enough to reach the cap and to play through the endgame content.
How expensive is an ingame world like Vanguard today?
how many subscriptions would you need in its polished state?
OP, my 2 cents is to definitely give it a shot. I say this because I was in the exact same boat as you not too long ago. I had never played VG but was always interested. I'm now lvl 41 and still having a lot of fun. Yes, the population is fairly low, but I never have too much trouble finding a group, or at least a duo, especially if you join an active guild. And as someone else said, there's a lot of solo content as well. And no, there haven't been very recent updates, but there's so much to do that it doesn't really matter if you're just looking to start a fun game to keep you busy for a while. Bottom line, give it a shot.
Even though there is no new content for Vanguard, I think that if a person joined, and found a good guild that they'd have the best year or two of their MMO life.
Better yet, if some guild leader brough an entire guild into Vanguard and the guild leveled up together it would be an amazing ride.
I think the only downside right now is that it might be difficult to find good groups or others to PUG with as I'm not sure how strong the population is.
The game has the best PVE I have ever experienced. The best crafting I have ever experienced.A great community.Unfortunately for me..that isn't enough. I need faction vs faction conflict and that(pvp) has been eliminated from the game.
I logged on last month just to toy around and see what has been done. The game runs very smooth compared to the last time I played which was several months after its release. But the population seems to be low. When I asked how the population was in game-chat, people said there is about 400ish around prime time hours and that they seem to be spread out thin through the game making it hard to find groups. I didnt play but for a few weeks off and on, but it seemed they were correct as it was rare to see many people in one area.
I wouldn't know about it being dead and all that, but to me, a game that does not receive content updates is not a viable game to play simply for the prospect that the next step after killing off content updates is shutting down the game.
SOE has never put any effort into VG and, in my opinion, probably only acquired its license to avoid it affecting the EQ2 player base (because, at the time, VG was seen as the 'true' successor to EQ1, rather than EQ2, which is a bit more of a theme park MMO). This lack of effort shows. Yes, there have been many bug fixes, and yes, the game is extensive and runs smooth, but no, it is not faultless and therefore still begs more modifications be made. The fact that SOE is not putting in any effort to fix the few broken elements in the game means that glaring mistakes remain, such as a lack of content on one of the three continents (i.e. Kojan), an unfinished Diplomacy sphere, load times between areas, an overly accessible travel system, and continuity errors.
On those glaring errors:
Kojan pretty much lacks content from level 20 upwards. There's enough content on the other isles, but you will have to travel there on your own accord and without any direction whatsoever; at 20, Kojan just ends. What's more, you won't find out you've just wasted your time leveling a toon to 20 until you actually run out of quests.
The Diplomacy sphere is awesome, but past level 15 or so, you will find actual quests within the sphere rather hard to come by. Rather, you will be levelling your Diplomacy by re-running old conversations you have already had, effectively making progress in that sphere akin to mindlessly grinding mobs to level up. Sure, it's more than you get in another game, but I would rather have them do away with Diplomacy rather than tricking me into thinking it's an awesome system before finding that it runs out of steam before the train has rolled out of the station.
Vanguard is advertised as a "huge, seamless world". While it is huge, it is far from seamless. In fact, the entire world is made up of seams. Unlike other games that have obvious portals between areas, such as EQ2, LotRO, and WoW to a certain extent, Vanguard does not have obvious portals. Instead, there is an invisible grid of squares laid over the entire world map and crossing over from one square into another usually means your screen freezes for a few seconds because the system is loading the next area. What's worse, if you're walking along one of those borders between map squares, the game will keep freezing up every time you take one step sideways because you have just crossed into another area. What's worse, still, is that mobs avoid grid lines like the plague. If you find a sudden void between groups of roaming mobs, you're probably gonna lag a few seconds when trying to cross that void because it is in fact an area border. This is by far the most game breaking element I have ever seen in a game and the fact that it still remains after all those years is laughable at best.
Originally, Vanguard was advertised as a huge world in which travelling actually reflected the real world; there were no instant travel spots and if you wanted to get to the other side of the map, it would take you a while. SOE has done away with the hassle by introducing portals from which you can warp to other portal locations at a mouse click. Although this solved the issue of excessive travel times, it also removed the sense of a huge world.
In line with the previous bullet point, the instant travel portals made normal modes of travel more or less redundant. Therefore, SOE chose to do away with such useless transportation as ships from harbours. However, quests, signposts and other in-world clues directing players to these ships still exist. Although it only took me a bit of asking around to find out that my quest in fact pointed me to a non-existent ship and that I should instead just use the portals, such continuity errors make me realise how badly this game has been updated.
Sure, if you take the narrow definition of the word "bug" as "anything that breaks the game unintendedly", SOE has removed the bugs. If you adhere to a more broad definition of the term, the game is riddled with bugs. Do not hope SOE will solve them. They will not. You either like the game in its current state and wish to pay a monthly subscription for it or you do not. There is no "I'll try it out and see how it develops over time". The community is there and their will and reluctance to give up the awesome potential of the game remains, but its development has long grinded to a halt and you can bet your arse nobody is ever going to attempt to raise a dead enterprise.
@ Haggis:
Finally someone who gets it. And it's too bad, too...I've tried VG to a much less extent than you, but in the end, I was faced with the same conclusion. I saw longstanding guilds leaving VG and no reason to believe SOE would not pull the plug in the next year or two.
What could of, should of, but will never be.... what a shame.
Waiting for archeage which may be just like vanguard could of been until then.....
Ex. myth of soma, legend of mir, mu online and eudemons online player.
Current game : Runescape (until pc build is complete)
Well, to put my 2 cents in, I found a great guild but after two weeks and the free trial I have cancelled my sub. I might re up it, but some of the more exciting features are missing from this game -- players, economy, pvp. The game itself is awesome, and yes there are bugs if you adhere to a broader sense of the term bug. (misleading quest info) The main thing I can't accept though is the entire lack of an economy. I sold two things in a week, and put up dozens and dozens of items for sale in the global exchange. Likewise, there aren't a lot of items to choose from either. One of my favorite elements to these types of games are shopping on an auction house, or broker and finding some legendary item cheaper than usual and buying it. I love seeing the new item on my character when I leave to quest, and enjoy the added power. If this game had an economy I could ignore the missing PvP and would more than likely pay quarterly. I wish this game had/has a future. If there was something I could do about it I would.
You might want to check out ArcheAge.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/308839/ArcheAge-CBT2-Review-Aaportalnet.html