I recently stumbled across this online game while browsing the Everquest 2 website.At first I thought what harm could it do right?Might as well try it out!After having played through the tutorial area called "Isle of Dawn" and some of the first few quests I was instantly hooked and was amazed at the amount of depth in such a game!Many games lack depth and rely on spoon feeding the players but Vanguard knows better!Leveling is no longer limited to simply your basic level and gear is no longer limited to pvp/pve gear!You can level diplomacy by interacting with npcs,crafting by...well crafting,harvesting,and can equip gear to give a boost to each profession!I haven't delved deeper into the different professions but Diplomacy is by far my favorite!Vanguard is a freemium game but the restrictions aren't so bad.You have access to all the content the game has to offer as a free player with four character slots and you gain regular exp from mobs as well as access to mobs obtainable in game.As a premium player you get 50% more exp,12 character slots,max vault space,and some other perks.At first this wasn't such a big deal having played Lord of The Rings Online I was used to this system...but then I saw something that just made me question the intelligence of the developers:You can't equip orange gear unless you are a premium player...WTF?!For more info visit this link: https://www.vanguardthegame.com/free.vm
The difficulty in Vanguard is pretty high compared to most mmos...and I like it!I actually feel like every skill I cast is meaningful and as a Necromancer fan I take pride in crushing my opponents souls with my DoTs and debuffs while torturing them with my minions until they draw their last breath!This game requires you to use your brain a bit and to know your class of choices weaknesses and strengths.Running solo might work for a bit but it is NOT recommended!You will reach points where you just can't complete a quest because mobs gank you or they just hit to damn hard!Sometimes you'll even have a quest for a boss that is labeled "Soloable" but healers and some mages will have a tough time with these quests...I should know I have died a few times from such a quest.To make things easier for you and your buddies there are brotherhoods and caravans.Go here to get some more info on those: https://www.vanguardthegame.com/game-guide.vmI was told by some players that their is a PvP arena later on at level 48 that you can go to to test your skills against fellow players and for those of you that just want to have a friendly duel that is also available starting at level 8.I have not gotten into the PvP aspect so I can't really comment on the class balance and stuff but I will update this whenever I get the chance.
I have encountered many players that did not know that Vanguard was still up and running.This amazed me because if I hadn't decided to be nosy I would never have found it in the first place!As I continue to play I have discovered that I am indeed a fan of exploring and Vanguard has given me the best sense of exploration by far from the many mmorpgs I have played.It is no longer that you are limited to linear gameplay where you go to a town do quests go to a dungeon kill the boss and move on to the next town.Vanguard breaks free of this linear path that games have taken and gives you an open world to explore!Using riftways you can explore different areas filled with different monsters!You can get on a mount and go out into the world KNOWING that you will find something such as a dungeon or sidequests.The map however is very poor in quality and shows only a few dots representing the different npcs or dungeons that are available.I am glad that it is this way though as it helps you feel like you are an actual adventurer with a crappy map and a world full of unknown adventure before you!
Community wise the player base is healthy on the Telon server and there are always people online to help or are in need of help so finding a party or a few questing buddies shouldn't be a problem!I haven't bumped into any role playing groups yet so for those of you out there that like to RP keep an eye on this as I will be updating it soon.
As I continued my adventures I reached a dungeon called Khregors End.Not knowing this was a dungeon I ventured in only to be stopped at the entrance by an arachnid that made mince meat of my creature and myself.I went back a second time but this time I asked for a group and was amazed at how quickly I got a full party with a healer and tank plus a bunch of dps!We ventured in working our way through the spiders and down the winding pathway until we reached the bottom floor.Dwarves and Bugbears were busy mining and we began the full on massacre of each and every one of them!I asked how long this dungeon took to do.I was thinking five maybe twenty minutes tops...but boy was I wrong..an hour and thirty minutes later we resurfaced leveled and with all our quests finished and ready to turn in!This aspect,though long and gruesome,was extremely rewarding!I jumped from level thirteen to level nineteen and managed to get some equipment to bolster me for the next round where we face off against the KING!Dungeons are a nice way to explore the world while meeting new comrades and creating ties with them for future adventures!
Races: https://www.vanguardthegame.com/races.vm
Classes: https://www.vanguardthegame.com/classes.vm
Best Race for a class: http://vanguard.wikia.com/wiki/Races
