Remember Vanguard?

[Lyion]

I've paid for Vanguard, EQ2, SWG, PS, EQ, and a sundry of expansions. I don't feel bad not giving SOE any sub money for a game I'm playing 12 hours a year.

I honestly to this point do not feel I've even gotten my box fees out of this game. If I'm still playing this two months from now, I might consider something from the cash shop but given the current state of the game it's not worth my 15/mo in my humble opinion.

[Tossica]

Sure. If I'm not playing a game enough, I let my sub expire. No sense paying for something I'm not using.

[Lyion]

It might just be me, but when I'm paying a sub I almost feel 'obligated' to play so as to not waste my money. This wasn't a problem 10 years ago when I was an addict, but now I try and limit my game time and it's much easier when there's no dollar sign attached.

I also don't feel really hooked on any game. I get what you are saying and if I was putting in a ton of time I wouldn't mind paying a sub fee, but that hasn't been the case. I think I'm at a point in my life where I'm a complete dirty casual.

If a new game blew me away I'd have no problems paying a sub fee, but not for mediocre games or ones who have the same levelquest faction grind of every other MMO currently out.

[Tossica]

I haven't put any significant time in to an MMO since I "retired" from EQ over 10 years ago. Vanguard is the first one to make me want to keep leveling to see more of the game. I've bought and played most of them at this point but not more than a month or so of casual play before I go "meh". VG has a lot of the same spark that kept me interested in EQ.

[Lyion]

After watching the Fire Imps respawn every 20 secs on the Isle of Dawn, I'm even less inclined to want to pay for this game, btw.

I like the classes and the fantasy feel. It seems pretty raw and untuned, however.

[Tossica]

After watching the Fire Imps respawn every 20 secs on the Isle of Dawn, I'm even less inclined to want to pay for this game, btw.

I like the classes and the fantasy feel. It seems pretty raw and untuned, however.

That changes when you leave the Isle. Spawn times are long enough to allow for a true dungeon crawl experience. They spawn so fast on the newbie isle because EVERYONE needs to go through that mini dungeon in order to progress.

[Tossica]

Once you leave the isle, the size of the game world is staggering. You have the options of following long quest lines that take you all over the globe or just exploring and doing your own thing. I understand the appeal isn't there for everyone but if you enjoyed EQ, I think it's about the closest thing to that experience that I've had while minimizing a lot of the things that really frustrated me about EQ.

[Zanchief]

I'm enjoying my character a lot more this time. I like that everyone can solo a bit. An enchanter would never be able to solo in EQ, so that's fun. I'm still trying to understand diplomacy. I lvled it up to 4 last night, but I don't really see the purpose. Quests just give me gear to be better at diplomacy. Couldn't I just ignore the quests completely and avoid doing any of it? I assume there will be some synergy?

I don't really want to craft but I might just to get the full experience. Any suggestions onm crafting harvesting skills? I'm assuming you can only have one of each?

[Tossica]

Diplomacy and crafting are both alternate ways to develop your character. I haven't dug in to diplomacy much since I left the newbie isle but on the isle there was a really great quest line involving a war with the hobgoblins, spies, and traitors. I assume there are similar lines available and I think there are things you just can't do later in the game unless you're of a high enough level in diplomacy.

Crafting is time consuming yet satisfying. Again, I haven't done a whole lot with it. I think I'm lvl 11 or 12 in both Diplo and crafting but I know you can make boats, houses, etc. I think you pick what kind of craftsman you want to be and then pick your harvesting based on that. I'm an artificer and the logical choices for that were quarrying and lumberjack.

[Lyion]

I did Diplomacy pretty heavy before when I was playing, and it was pretty cool but not really well developed. Doesn't seem any different.

It's a shame they didn't move this to EQ2's game engine. The game itself is neat, but the engine and bugs are holding it back.

[Tossica]

There are rare cards that drop off dungeon mobs that make your hand more powerful for diplomacy. I'd think with your interest in card games, it would be appealing. There's great strategy involved in putting together your deck and playing what card, when.

[Tossica]

I did Diplomacy pretty heavy before when I was playing, and it was pretty cool but not really well developed. Doesn't seem any different.

It's a shame they didn't move this to EQ2's game engine. The game itself is neat, but the engine and bugs are holding it back.

They're overhauling the whole network layer sometime in the near future. The game was built on Unreal 3 I think and they're moving to the Planetside 2, EQ2, etc network layer. That should improve things.

[Lyion]

Firing up my L13 Orc Warrior Hedley too, since my Rogue is super squishy.

Ping me if anyone wants to group.

[Tossica]

Firing up my L13 Orc Warrior Hedley too, since my Rogue is super squishy.

Ping me if anyone wants to group.

I think the "squishiness" comes from not being a high enough level. You should be level 6 when you hit that Hobgoblin cave. It makes it much easier.

I have a bard around that level, a lvl 20 Disc, a 27 Shaman, 51 Disc and started up a warrior last night. Lvl 8 I think. Not sure I'll be on tonight or not but I'll try. Still at work now.

[Tikker]

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[Tossica]

The game is 6yrs old. I dig the graphic style but it's certainly not cutting edge. With all the bells and whistles turned up, it looks quite good.

[Tossica]

I'd say, play the game to lvl 20, get some grouping and dungeon crawling in before you give up on it. Do some exploring as well. When you leave the newbie island, you have a choice of 3 different locations to travel to, each very different. Once you hit 20, all kinds of other "rifts" open to you for travelling to other locations or you can always just get on your horse and hit the road.

[Lyion]

I'm somewhat the same way, Tikker. Most of what I play just doesn't hold my interest. I think we're turning into geezers.

I did have fun grouping in Vanguard, but the quests so far are pretty boring. The graphics compared to GW2 are really poor, too. The design and classes are fun, and the world is interesting.

I think the best way to play Vanguard is to setup a set group a few hours a week. You definitely need a Psionicist, Tank, and healer to really do well just like EQ. I'd be game for that. There are a lot of solo quests now, but this game is built around a good, strong group. Two critters can lay a world of hurt on someone pretty quick.

[Tossica]

I'm somewhat the same way, Tikker. Most of what I play just doesn't hold my interest. I think we're turning into geezers.

I did have fun grouping in Vanguard, but the quests so far are pretty boring. The graphics compared to GW2 are really poor, too. The design and classes are fun, and the world is interesting.

I think the best way to play Vanguard is to setup a set group a few hours a week. You definitely need a Psionicist, Tank, and healer to really do well just like EQ. I'd be game for that. There are a lot of solo quests now, but this game is built around a good, strong group. Two critters can lay a world of hurt on someone pretty quick.

I've never grouped with a Psi. I'm sure they're helpful but not necessary. I think they are the hardest class to play well so they are rare. The guidelines for grouping are not that strict really. A tank isn't even necessary until some of the higher level dungeons but DPS can substitute for crowd control in most situations. My core leveling group through my low 30's was myself a disciple, a ranger and a druid and we did a lot of challenging content.

I'd be up for a set gaming schedule. You can do something called a "brotherhood" where everyone shares the same XP pool so if someone wants to play while the others are offline, the XP they earn is split among the brotherhood so everyone stays the same level.

[Lyion]

Just realized my Blood Mage and Orc Warrior each have about 20 experience potions. Now I just need to figure out the best way to level and explore with my limited time.

[Zanchief]

I'm playing a Psi and I've read the guides about needing to be good and all that. Granted I'm only lvl 11 right now, but there isn't that much to know. I think boneheads could play them badly, but it's pretty standard enchanter stuff. A few tools to CC and Charm. I've done pretty well soloing even on pulls of 3. I killed two 3 dot mobs at the same time yesterday without much trouble. Enemies do a lot of dmg though. I think thats one thing that seperates this game from WoW and EQ. Things go south really quick because of the high dmg output, but smart playing ends fights quick for the same reason.

[Tossica]

Just realized my Blood Mage and Orc Warrior each have about 20 experience potions. Now I just need to figure out the best way to level and explore with my limited time.

Get in a group and hit a dungeon. Pop an XP potion and you can level pretty quickly.

[Tossica]

I'm playing a Psi and I've read the guides about needing to be good and all that. Granted I'm only lvl 11 right now, but there isn't that much to know. I think boneheads could play them badly, but it's pretty standard enchanter stuff. A few tools to CC and Charm. I've done pretty well soloing even on pulls of 3. I killed two 3 dot mobs at the same time yesterday without much trouble. Enemies do a lot of dmg though. I think thats one thing that seperates this game from WoW and EQ. Things go south really quick because of the high dmg output, but smart playing ends fights quick for the same reason.

The difficulty comes in a group setting, I think. Old pros like us shouldn't have too much of a problem with it but targeting can be an issue in dungeons. When a caster draws aggro, they can be dead instantly because of the high damage output from the baddies.

[Lyion]

I actually was duoing with a L11 Psi yesterday, Zan. The guy was mowing through critters pretty well and could take two at a time. I couldn't do two on my Warrior.

I'll be on my Goblin Blood Mage today. His name is Vun15. Hoping for a rename.

[Tossica]

We gotta get in sync. I usually can't get on until later in the eve. Got company in town this weekend so probably not much playing if any. Give you guys some time to catch up. I have a 13 warrior, 14 bard, 20 disc, 27 shaman and then the 51 disc.