VG

The Blinding Sands of Razad

stargrace November 28, 2008 3 Comments

Having fun in Vanguard yesterday, I have been trying to decide where I should be for my level. I checked my quest journal and found a lot of old grey quests in there. Cleared those out, and at the bottom were some ‘heros are needed’ type quests. Basically these quests just send you to the Rift Seekers, who port you to the appropriate level area. Then you can wander around the quest hubs picking up new things to do. 

I had a quest that sent me to Razad, in Qalia. I’ve never been overly fond of this continent because the bright blinding snow er, sand, looks horrible for some reason on my screen. Everything else looks just fine, but the sand is literally blinding. Walking through Aghram during the day I have to wear sunglasses. Since I really do have no idea where I should be, that’s where I headed to. I’m not sure how everyone else in Vanguard levels so fast, there’s people talking about having multiple level 50’s while I seem to trudge along. Not complaining in the least bit, Telon is a very beautiful and large world that I enjoy exploring. I was 70% through level 41, and by the end of my adventures (and a LOT of deaths) I finally hit 42.

There was only one ‘incident’ to speak of, and it’s one I know happens on every game. I was killing level 43 three dot (small group but can be solo’d by most) beetles outside of a cave when a 45 paladin happened to wander by. Noting that he was killing the same mobs as I, I asked if he’d like to join up. He sent me a tell back saying no thanks, that he wasn’t sure when he’d be leaving and didn’t want to. I told him it didn’t matter if he had to leave soon, I’d be ok with that, just thought maybe it would be easier then competing for the same creatures. 

10 minutes later he brought a 45 druid (remember these are nukers in VG, not healers) with him, and they proceeded to clear out all of the mobs that I was killing. They made their way into the caves, and I decided for safety sake I’d stay outside. 41 vs. 43 tripple dot is still a challenge, and I didn’t want to get killed (again, some stray crazed wandering men had already killed me a few times). 

Turns out I shouldn’t have worried so much about dying, because it was in the cards for me no matter what. The paladin came rushing out of the caves with at least 20-30 massive beetles trailing after him. Now, if you’re not aware of how combat in VG works – the instant a mob PASSES within proximity of you, while you are in combat with another mob, you instantly also incur agro from that new mob (if they’re not dealt with by whoever is running from them). You don’t even have to look at the mob, and the instant their target vanishes from their sight, they’ll come after you. Thus was my untimely death. Again. 

Thank you Mr. Paladin, what holy ways you have!

I was frustrated, having already died of my own accord and decided to move on to an easier quest that didn’t require me hanging around ungrateful plate wearers. Searching through my quest journal I had a few solo quests that required me to kill creatures wandering around the desert, place some clues and frame someone, and other random sand-y things. It was actually a lot of fun and once I stopped dying I managed to ding level 42.

Level 42 means one step closer to the current cap of 50. It’s also a level where I obtained a bunch of new spells. I’m still searching for an active guild, and I’ve heard a few recruitment messages now, so I’m hoping to get into one before too long. My 42 bloodmage is also a 45 artificer (mineralogist to be specific) and I’m close to 46. I’d like to finish that up and then decide who I’ll be leveling next. I’m torn between leveling my psionicist (fun class, much like the enchanters of EQ1/EQ2) or my disciple (melee healer) and then deciding which crafter to level (which will probably be a combination, or at least a heavy focus on the crafter who makes house items and boats). 

Speaking of houses. My T5 home is still standing! I was worried after my absense that I may have forgotten to put any coin into escrow, but it’s there. I added another 36 weeks worth of payments, and that should take care of it for a bit. I do need to get decorating it some more! The christmas tree, bed, and fire place are starting to look dreary with my harvest boxes.

Meet Spit

stargrace November 25, 2008 1 Comment

I decided yesterday to get station access. I seem to switch my subscriptions around every month, so I wasn’t surprised when I began feeling the twinge to play Vanguard (not to mention EQ1) again. I wish SoE offered some sort of family plan along with station access. In my house there are three EQ2 accounts, although now it’s two EQ2 accounts and one station access account. It would be nice to see more variety for billing options. Anyhow, Kasul and Gozad were both in game as well. I wasn’t feeling all that social (hey, it happens, I like to talk but don’t always like to group) and so I hung around trying to get used to my keys again. I’ve always enjoyed Vanguard to quite a large degree, but the population coupled with lack of a guild to call home prevents me from making it my ‘main’ game (that and sinking 4+ years into EQ2 now). Anyhow. I noticed I had a new /claim item. Opened it up excitedly, and found resting inside a new camel mount for each of my characters. I named this one Spit, pictured above with my Raki paladin sitting proudly. It’s 30% speed, which is pretty good for a low level mount. My level 41 blood mage is riding the quested mount that gives 70% speed. Of course when you add horse shoes it’s faster, but I’m not complaining. I also got 25 experience potions (in Vanguard potions count for tradeskill, adventure, and diplomacy as well as quest experience. I’d love to see this implemented into EQ2) for a 50% bonus (for an hour) to all spheres. 

Nestled deep into the package was also a wand that let me changed my shape into something ‘cool’. Randomly. Always being an avid lover of clickies, I transformed into the wyvern in the screen shot. Giggling, because they’re very tiny, I ran around Khal causing issues for guards. The raki turned into a pile of ooze. Figures.

A LOT has changed and been added to Vanguard since the last time I played, and I played not all that long ago. In fact as I browsed through the patch notes trying to see what had been added since I played last, it was practically enough content to count as an expansion. There have been pages upon pages of fixes for everything in every sphere, there have been quest areas opened up with over 700 items added, new camps, new factions, new raids. 

I also got an email about the new harvest quests added to Telon. An explanation on the thanksgiving holiday (more or less). While the forums didn’t speak very highly of the quests, it’s nice to see that the game is still going strong with added content.

The channels were busy as always. Again I always stress to join the /craft channel (on Seradon at least, it may be called something else on the other servers) and /dip. I also highly suggest getting the very simple to install map mod at Sorsha. 

Kasul and I explored around the Three Rivers area with our level 11’s before calling it a night. For anyone out there reading who does play Vanguard, if you know of a friendly family type guild on Seradon (active of course) let me know! I’ll more then likely add more Vanguard posts (along with EQ1) over the next little bit, though EQ2 is of course still my main game of choice.

Lets talk about what games DO have, Instead

stargrace October 2, 2008 2 Comments

Lots of people spend time writing about what games don’t have. What’s wrong with them, what doesn’t work for them, I do it myself too. Before WAR released, most of my posts were about what games DO have, as opposed to what they do not have and I’d like to pick up on that again. There’s lots of negative vibes out there and like a bad accident, it’s hard to look away as you’re driving past. 

There’s one aspect to Vanguard that is probably key in keeping me coming back for more since release and that is the feeling that Telon is a world. An entire world. 

If you’re not used to the world, or you’re unsure of where to go I can see how the shear size of Telon would seem daunting – but. Is that not how it works in real life as well? The rifts allow for easier movement between hubs and quest areas, but a mount is really needed to get from point A to point B. Each ‘chunk’ covers a significant amount of land, and I absolutely love that you can explore every inch of it. 

In so many worlds it feels like the scenery is tacked on, that if you saw a glimmer off in the distance you’d be unable to reach it because it’s not really there, it’s just part of the background. However, enter Telon and when you see something way off in the distance, it’s actually there. I realize I’m doing a pretty poor job of explaining this concept and just how profoundly it affects me and my game play, but I’m trying. 

Each one of the three continents has a distinct feeling to it. Each one (minus Kojani which lacks content) lets adventurers travel from 1-50 with no trouble. Whether you’re battling undead in Thestra, or taking on tribes of cyclops in Qalia, it feels like you are a part of an entire world. The fact that Vanguard has ‘seamless’ zoning is fantastic. I realize it’s not quite as seamless as we’d all like. You still tend to hiccup as you cross over into another chunk, but it doesn’t distort the feeling of a world quite so much as having ‘zones’ to go everywhere does. I truly hope this is a feature that Vanguard is going to keep up with in the future, I’d hate for the game to lose that feeling. 

Owning an actual house, a plot of land that I pay ‘rent’ on in game is fantastic. I can see how it would not exactly be practical for popular games, after all you’d run out of land (maybe). Since plots of land are limited by account and not character, it makes things a little easier. Each character has a global ‘recall to house’ button if you own a home. Being able to walk down the hill from my house on Kojani and into the backyard of someone else’ house is just neat. Looking across little towns and collections of homes (remember, if you don’t pay your rent on your house it WILL get repossessed and you’ll lose the plot) and finding other people wandering through these areas is something I really enjoy. 

Kanad and I finally waved goodbye to the Isle of Dawn and took our adventurers elsewhere. I’m not sure what’s next, There are chains of quests for armor in both Thestra and Qalia, but I’ve done them a few times now so I’m thinking perhaps a change of pace may be nice. Then there’s working on crafting and getting faction up for recipes… and diplomacy.

The craft channel and dip(lomacy) channel are typically filled with chatter and people helping one another, while the continental channels are filled with.. well, what every other game has on their channels. The subjects don’t differ between games. It’s still a shame that the launch was absolutely horrible, and then spiraled for a time before finally at least slowly rising. The changes that have been implemented over the past few months have been fantastic. Character models, flying mounts, racial mounts, broken quests fixed, etc. At least there’s progress being made and for me, that’s enough.

Diplomatic Ramblings

stargrace September 25, 2008 3 Comments

How many people these days actually end up reading the story lines that cross their screens when they play. I do know of a few, they write about their adventures in depth so that the reader feels almost a part of the adventure, and it’s a great thing to be a part of. They make their games seem exciting – not only because of the player content (ie: pvp, instances, dungeons) but because of the actual base story behind the game.

When we play these games we all like feeling as though our characters are some how making a difference. That we’re affecting (and perhaps changing) the world. That we’re heroes. For myself it depends on who I’m playing with and what game I’m playing. Obviously if I’m by myself (which happens quite a bit, I’ll admit now I like my alone time) I have a lot more time to read the text, to enjoy the story and appreciate what work the developers must have put into it. If I’m in a group, I don’t exactly have the time – though I do try to go back later and read what I’ve missed if possible, or go through my logs to read it. I don’t enjoy being dragged through a game because even though the quests may not differ from one I’ve already played – the story typically does. It’s so easy to just clicklclickclick your way through the speech bubbles or text windows or whatever and get to the end of the game realizing that you know NOTHING about the world you’re playing in. 

There are an incredible amount of books that players can read in EQ2 as house items. Over 300 actually, I believe the last count was some where over or just under 400. Each one has a story, that someone took the time to write. Some are of course better then others, that can’t really be helped. 

So what was the point of that long ramble? I’ve been doing diplomacy in Vanguard off and on, trying to reach level 10 in the last sphere so that Kasul and I can head to greener pastures (and perhaps meet up with Tipa for some adventures). Each quest is filled with a story line that I actually feel a part of. That the actions I take through the quests actually mean something to the little village. Of course, I realize the story doesn’t really change and that every player out there is experiencing the exact same story – but it’s still very involving for me and I love it.

I love the diplomacy game in Vanguard. Sure, it could have been implimented better, but I think this sphere is often over looked because at times it can be quite a grind. If you’re working on presence you some times need to parle with a particular faction for hours on end just to raise it. Their stories don’t change, so it becomes a random clicking of cards, you already know what you need to play to win, just like the time before that and the time before that. 

When you’re working on the quest lines however and progressing down them, the stories are always changing, your interaction with the npc is changing, the rewards are changing. You see progress, not only in the story being revealed to you but in your experience, gear, and little trinkets to sell along the way. 

I love these ideas, the little bits of ‘busy work’ that players are offered in between whatever their ‘main’ goal for a game is. I think they’re also important. Very few people want to do ONE thing ALL of the time that they game. Especially if they’re serious about that game and invest a lot of hours into it. I don’t want to quest ALL the time, I don’t want to pvp ALL the time, I don’t want to craft ALL the time. So enabling your players to have alternative means of progressing their characters – even if it’s just through a story line card game – is really nice to have and something that I think is at times not given enough credit. Not that I want to have to progress my character in 50 ways just to be considered ‘end game’ or consider the game ‘compelted’ for me, but one or two alternative things to do is great.