Vanguard Saga Of Heroes - Player made screenshots released

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Qilue
When I played EQ2 for a month, I tried two characters.

Dark elf monk (24)
Dark elf templar (22)

The game system is really quite good in some areas, yet very amaturish in other areas. Unfortunately, the parts with poor design ruined the game as a whole for me.

One example is a quest in the 10-20 area outside freeport. You have to kill these 3 lvl 10 guys (normals), but you must first fight through linked groups of 4 x lvl 12^^ heroic skeletons to reach them.

That must be really long ago. There has been a complete combat revamp, including a revamp of all zones and quests, in September 2005. You're hard pressed to find group mobs now in outdoor areas at all. Most things outdoors are now soloable content, while stuff in dungeons and instanced zones are group content (with some raidable bosses).

[Qilue]

Are you sure it was september and not november (or later)? I did a check and it was october when I was playing EQ2.

However, if this being the case, I might have another look at the game.

[Harovan]

The revamp of combat rules was released with Desert of Flames (September), but the revamp of the whole other content may have taken a while. I can't say how much, because I left EQ2 with DoF (for Guild Wars and then Civ4), but last time I checked EQ2 was this February/March (3 weeks), where I leveled a Fury in Freeport up to 33 mainly soloing (occasional grouping, though).

You can't solo all quests, but most of the type "kill x of y" or "deliver x to y" you can. Most of the "better" quests (like the armor quests in the Commonlands) you can solo until you face the end mob, who usually is either a tough solo mob (one-up), sometimes with 1-2 minions, or an easy group mob (two-up).

The system of "arrows up and down" has been revamped too. 2 and 3 arrows down are usually mass linked mobs (like groups of beetles or deer and alike). 1 down, no arrow and 1 up are solo mobs of increasing difficulty. 2 up and 3 up are group mobs. You can solo green and sometimes blue 2-ups, but usually not 3-ups (well, some classes like conjurors can, but it's a gamble).

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
They made a significant error, but unbanned me when they realised (at my prompting).

You mean you covered your haxing tracks well enough? Well played.

[Skanky Burns]

Cheers.

[DrSpike]

No Mr GM, I earnt this 17 Billion isk!

[Unspeakable Horror]

Skanky, why didn´t you update us? You have abandoned us

Where´s your new ED&D character?

[Harovan]

You can send Skanky Burns a private message using this link. It's so easy.

[Skanky Burns]

But just not as much fun. Besides, how else am I supposed to have my name associated with Vanguard so as to get into the beta?

[Unspeakable Horror]

And of course you will let us play with your account

OT, looks like a nice game (so Sir Ralph doesn´t get angry )

[DrSpike]

Don't worry about that - he's always grumpy anyway.

[Harovan]

What's with everyone calling me grumpy?

My EQ2 guild called me the grumpy old dwarf. Well dwarf was my character, and I'm most certainly older than most of them, but grumpy?

I'm such a peaceful and friendly guy, as long as nobody contradicts me.

[DrSpike]

That's just wrong.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph

In this state (early x packs) of EQ you'll find a lot of the design decisions for VG. Slow and challenging travel (in EQ travel was made completely meaningless with Planes of Power).

I feel the need to return to this. "Slow and challenging travel" is touted by Ralphie as a hardcore feature. We have many MMO players here, anything from a few hours a week to many hours a week. Who amongst you wants to spend your time travelling to the next area?

Slow travel was never a hardcore feature, if anything it is a role play feature because there is an argument it makes the world seem bigger and more real and adds to immersion

But let's face it - it's a game and I want to develop my character by doing fun things, not walk, ride or otherwise travel for hours on end. I do that in real life.

It's not hardcore and it's not challenge - it's just boring, and I sincerely hope the VG devs realise this.

[Qilue]

From reading the FAQ and such, I've kind of reached the conclusion that the devs of VG are of the "make players miserable" philosophy.

Slow travel
Harsh death penality
No soloing
No fun
Items rule all