Vanguard Now Going F2P

They must have gotten a big boost from EQ going F2P recently.

I mean, duh! This should have been a no brainer years ago.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03...

Now if only Warhammer Online would go F2P, my vision will be complete. Muahahaha! (Ok I don't know why I just did that)

Wow... I just kind of assumed it had been shut down ages ago. Maybe Elysium will give it another review.

Best Bard ever... I pretty much played this crappy game for a month just to mess around with the Bard mechanics... Game was a ghost town though...I don't even think F2P saves it...it's just to much like everything else and not enough there to get anyone away from the 50+ other choices...

Its been a while since I have been drawn back into this game. The thing that it does have that is exceptional to me is the classes. The bard is a good example of the best of that archetype in any mmo.

One thing that tickles me is if they follow typical SOE f2p suit. They offer the "base" classes of warrior, wizard (sorceror), cleric and rogue and sell the others for extra. The reason that tickles me is that those classes are anything but basic. And so the draw to pay for the other more "fun" classes or to get a less generic experience will be lessened.

After spending a lot of time with EQ over the last weeks, I have come to the conclusion that Vanguard really is the true sequel to EQ. They tried to improve upon the formula by adding more complexity to EQ's systems with mixed and more extreme results.

The class changes and improvements are a win all across the board. They took the generic and made them unique. They improved upon the already proven popular and powerful. And they sprinkled in some unique classes that really shined.

The crafting changes were even more laborious than EQ. I know that there is a very vocal sect that thinks that Vanguard's crafting is the premier example. The problem is that outside of them, there is no "its decent" middle ground. You either love it or are going to steer as clear as you can from it.

The zones got bigger with higher polycounts and nicer textures. The problem with that is, in somewhat 20/20 hindsight, its not what mmo players wanted. Even with improvements to AI, more majestic and prettier virtual "buckets" filled with aggressive and persistent monsters is a less fun experience than its dated predecessor. The key is the zone designer's control of the experience. The more control the designer uses over the zone's experience the sooner and easier it develops an identity or reputation. So the zones got bigger but the designer used the same amount of control so the effect is a net loss. This is the key social draw as it is the foundation of shared stories. I don't think there is the Vanguard equivalent of: killing sand giants in Ro, running your newb through kithicor forest at night, getting your newb barbarian out of halas through blackburrow blind, field of bone and kurn's tower, highpass hold, falling off the treehouse city kelethin, karnor's castle, any dozen of the planes (hate, fear, mischief, etc.).

After spending a lot of time with EQ over the last weeks, I have come to the conclusion that Vanguard really is the true sequel to EQ. They tried to improve upon the formula by adding more complexity to EQ's systems with mixed and more extreme results.

Clearly it was the extension of the vision of EQ with a bigger budget and new technology. Some of the class mechanics are fabulous as well as really thought out well and would certainly in a perfect world have provided the most significant challenge at end game type levels (given current MMORPG mechanics) to the "hardcore" EQ MMORPG'er

It was just developed in a world of chaos and change.. as well as swept by the Juggernaut that was WoW.

If I could take Vanguard's classes and play them in another world I'd do it in a heartbeat. As has already been said, Vanguard's world, at least what I saw of it in a month's play, was just bland and empty. It had no personality aside from some interesting Japanese architecture in one zone. I may just be saying that due to years of hindsight and not having anything memorable to latch onto but that's my impression. I did, however, love several of the classes in that game including the bard and disciple.

I always saw a lot of promise in Vanguard, a lot to offer that other MMOs didn't, not the popular ones anyway. Unique classes and combat mechanics, crafting, non-instancing, and player ownership (boats!). Shame that by the time it came out I was done with the idea of MMOs.

I'll probably give it another go once it's free to play, though.

As one of the many EQ/WoW type MMOs in the market, Vanguard is at least average based on its systems. I recently subbed to the "SOE All Access" plan to get a proper taste of all their games. Vanguard really stands out to me thanks to the wonderful community that has grown in the world of Telon. No, the population is not currently large and F2P likely will not put it in the hundreds of thousands of players for long. Vanguard just is not a mass market game. Never really was I suppose.

They severely nerfed the impact of "corpse runs" and patched in a waypoint fast travel system, but it is still a difficult game you will not likely blow through solo. It is old-school with modern combat systems. The Isle of Dawn that SOE crafted specifically for trial users is actually a great hunk of content worth playing even if you choose not to sub. After leveling my Adventure, Crafting, and Diplomacy to level 10 on the isle, I had more than 24 hours played on that character.

My experience in the early game was probably only as positive as it was because I consistently made efforts to talk to people in the game and help other newbies appreciate the community that welcomed me so warmly.

Am I preaching? Sorry. I genuinely think there are great MMO experiences to be found in Vanguard, but I doubt most people will have the stars align the way they did for me to enjoy the game.

Wew. First post. How many does it take for me to be able to call myself a Goodger?

One =)

I really wanted it to be great back in the day. I still think they have the best classes in any game though. Also, friendly targeting made healing while dpsing interesting and fun.

I don't understand how all MMO's don't add the ability to target a friendly and non-friendly target. It is incredibly useful!