July 2010

My First Vanguard Raid (Sort Of)

stargrace July 31, 2010 0Comment

My new(ish) little shaman inched her way to level 11, joined a brotherhood with my 16 bard, and then promptly set out to the Tomb of Lord Tsang for no other reason then I absolutely love that particular area of quests. Especially once they get to the group versions. During the evening myself and a guild mate could not help but grow frustrated at the enormous amounts of lag we were experiencing. This one island seemed to have more lag then anywhere else we had been, and we couldn’t understand why.

Now, back when I was first playing this cave was filled with level 12-14 ‘small group’ mobs (three dot) – and as we discovered last night, it is no longer the case. All of that lag we were running into was a direct result of a giant raid force that was inside the cave, with a whole lot of six dot level 57 mobs (raid encounters) that I have never seen before. Forged Souls (I believe was the guild) were working on some encounter that I couldn’t quite see, and I didn’t want to get any closer for fear of 1. getting agro (I was level 13 by that time after all) and 2. interrupting a raid. Remember, nothing in Vanguard is instanced, even the Ancient Port Warehouse has ‘shards’ which multiple guilds can enter but is not instanced in the traditional sense. It was really neat to see, and certainly cleared things up.

Questing for the evening meant I was 50% to level 14, and new spells (every two levels in Vanguard). The bard also got a level (offline) in the brotherhood, and is now 17. I’m debating whether or not I want to make some gear and weapons, or just continue on as I have been. I imagine since it takes me a little longer then normal to level (due to the brotherhood) I may just make a few bits.

Don’t forget this weekend is bonus xp weekend, and it lasts until Tuesday. This goes for all three spheres, so take advantage of it! I know I will be. Happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Telon!

Exploring Brotherhoods in Vanguard

stargrace July 30, 2010 0Comment

Brotherhoods are a fantastic feature in Vanguard that I’ve taken advantage of off and on during the times I’ve played and this round is no different. Basically you set it up with 2+ people and any experience you earn on any character gets split between however many people are in the brotherhood. This may sound like a negative, but it ensures a few things. First of all, while Vanguard DOES have mentoring the system is a little.. lacking. It doesn’t work like EQ2 where you can access all your skills and spells and they simply level down. In Vanguard you have access to only the spells and skills you would have at the new mentored level. A brotherhood is great if you play with friends or a significant other and want to stay within level range. Do you play more often then your friend and are concerned about out leveling them? Then put together a brotherhood.

I also use it for another reason. I use it to level up an alt at the same time as my ‘main’. I am playing my shaman, but my bard is in the brotherhood and earns experience at the same time. The person earning the xp gets a slightly increased amount compared to the person who is off line, but it’s better then nothing. When I get bored of the shaman I can switch to the bard and earn xp that way. In order to invite my own alts to the brotherhood I have to use a second person. Me and them form a brotherhood, then I relog to an alt, and they invite the alt – remember you must be within 5 levels of all members in the brotherhood and be in line of sight.

One other handy ‘feature’ of a brotherhood is that through this method it will take you longer to level (since experience is being split). I’ve always found myself out leveling the content in Vanguard. There’s just so many places to go, especially at the lower levels. When I reach the 40’s I may want to leave the brotherhood but in the mean time there is a LOT of content (solo content) for me to explore, and if I can level up two characters at the same time while exploring everything I want, why not!

It probably comes as no surprise but I’ve started up a guild, as well. There are a few bloggers who have expressed interest as well as a few non blogging friends and I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve set up my personal home as the guild hall (the upkeep and building of an actual guild hall is a massive undertaking that we’re simply not prepared for at this time) and I’ve placed one of the three trophies that come from the collector’s edition in the make shift hall. Of course I picked the crafting trophy, which offers all our guild members a passive buff. I don’t expect the guild to amount to too much but it gives friends of mine a place to call ‘home’ while they explore the world of Telon. It’s always nice having one extra gate.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, no matter where you find yourself. I’ll see you in Telon!

Visiting the Isle of Dawn (Again)

stargrace July 30, 2010 0Comment

There are two main reasons I know of for starting over in a game. One, you’ve been away for so dang long you just don’t remember what you were doing or how to play any more, and two, you’ve got a friend who is going to start playing the game and instead of leaving them to wander on their own you decide to jump in and make sure the experience is at least a memorable one.My reasons for being on the Isle of Dawn last night happened to be the later, as a friend decided to return to Vanguard – though their reasons for starting on the Isle were because of the first one I mentioned, they had no idea how to play or what they were doing any more.

The Isle of Dawn had over 100 players on it, and it was really hard not to notice that. The entire game went down once for a few minutes (not long) and then for the rest of the evening we spent more time combating the lag then the mobs. If you happen to be leveling your way through the Isle of Dawn I implore you to stick it out through the lag. There is some lag once you get off the Island but it’s not nearly as bad as what you’ll experience while you’re there. Yes, Vanguard has bugs – but if you’re willing to see PAST those, you’ll be able to see the game for the gem it is. Don’t let them discourage you from playing.

I created a shaman, one of two healer classes that I’ve never played before (the second one being a cleric). Teamed with a monk (which is a dps class in Vanguard and not a tank class) we battled our way through every encounter and then finally made it to level 10 where we’re allowed to leave. I decided to stick around for a little while longer to work on my harvesting skills as well as crafting and diplomacy. The gear you get from these quests is really quite nice, not to mention there’s that mount I’d like from diplomacy.

Over all it was an alright evening. Pretty frustrating but I’ve played for long enough now that these things don’t actually phase me. I still enjoy Vanguard as much as I always have and I’m glad to add (yet another) alt to my army. I think I’m up to 8 characters now.

• 50 Psionicist – Leatherworker
• 51 Rogue – Armorer
• 50 Disciple – Tailor
• 47 Blood Mage – Mineralogist
• 16 Bard – Carpenter
• 18 Warrior – Weaponsmith
• 15 Paladin
• 10 Shaman

The psionicist is still my favorite character by far, and as you can see I have 1 of each crafter, though I’m debating also leveling up the paladin and the shaman as crafters, we’ll just have to see. There’s really no need for any more but I do love my crafting!

Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself. I’ll see you in Telon!

The Comfort Factor

stargrace July 29, 2010 4Comments

It doesn’t matter which continent my characters are created on, or what race I play, eventually they all end up being ‘bound’ to Ahgram (which means when I gate I end up just on the outskirts of the city). This is a comfort thing to me – I know the city pretty well. I know where to find the banks and broker, and the crafting areas (including the npc’s I may need) and the general merchant who will let me repair my gear.

Vanguard isn’t the only game where I’ve developed this, in EQ2 I tend to bind all of my evil characters to Big Bend – because I know the little city outpost better then any other. On the Qeynos side it’s Willow Wood, or some times Baubleshire. It carries over into other games, where in LotRo I bind my characters to Bree, in EQ it was PoK and then when that changed it was the guild lobby. In WoW it’s always undercity, though lately that has branched into Dalaran for my higher level characters. It’s not always where the largest population of players is, but they are places where I spend a lot of time and thus feel quite comfortable knowing my way around.

I think it’s quite important that players develop a ‘comfort factor’ in games. That they get to know the cities and feel like a location is ‘home’ in a manor of speaking. After a rough adventure or two it’s nice to find yourself in a familiar location.

I’ve been working on a number of alts in Vanguard all at the same time. I’m trying to get my blacksmith up in levels so that I can create sheets to use for upgrades on the artificer. After that I’d like to work my outfitter to 41+ so that I can create cloth to use for upgrades. Having one of each crafter at level 41+ is going to be incredibly handy. Then I can start working on the subclasses, eventually my long term goal (more like a dream) is to have all 6 crafters at level 41+. Whether that will pan out or not we’ll just have to see.

Adventure wise I spend my time split between all of my alts. I have a new psionicist that’s joined the alt army, and I enjoy her quite a bit (even if she is a gnome). I’ve also got my warrior, paladin, disciple, blood mage, bard, and rogue. I love all of the character classes in Vanguard which is something I can’t say for a lot of other games I play.

Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, I’ll see you in Telon!

Ca’ial Brael – Now THAT is a City

stargrace July 28, 2010 5Comments

This is always how I pictured a city in the trees. Ca’ial Brael is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen in Vanguard, and it’s not hard to see why.