Tag: VG

You may remember that I posted not that long ago on where to level from 10-15 (right after you leave the Isle of Dawn). Well, now my shaman is inching closer to 19, and I’ve got a whole selection of new areas to quest in. For those who are concerned, there is LOTS of solo content in Vanguard. Plus, the population really is doing quite well right now, and there are groups everywhere. The two main quest chains people always seem to be are URT (United Races of Thestra) and HL (Hunter’s League) which I also mentioned in the previous post. These quests will give you amazing armor upgrades, and URT can be done mostly solo. HL requires a group. I have decided this time around to stay away from these two quests, as I always do them. Even though I’m in a brotherhood with a total of four characters, my shaman has still been leveling at a nice steady rate. I expect this to decrease after today with the bonus experience wrapping up, but it sure has been nice.

Where do you go from here? Once again the Rift Keepers show me a plethora of options:

• Kaon’s Rush – In Thestra
• Evendusk Fortress – (Never been here, no idea where it is)
• Ksaravi Gulch – (Again never been here)
• Misthaven Crossing – (In Thestra, this area is full of vampires, and dark spooky forests, I love this area)
• Renton Keep – (Thestra, where you’ll find URT missions)
• Silverlake – (Thestra, and around the area where you will find a mount quest for a unicorn)
• Skrawla Point – (Qalia, this is where HL quests can be found)

Not to mention the fact that I’m still w0rking on quests from the previous mentioned areas. In specific the Jin’Ka Forest, which is where the Tomb of Lord Tsang is located. There’s a few awesome quests in this area and one rewards a really neat weapon. I’m not sure if I’ll actually manage to finish it, but I hope so. Tomb of Lord Tsang is the first open dungeon I ever did in Vanguard, way back at release. I obviously have some pretty nostalgic views of it and can’t wait to go back.

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

This weekend has been bonus experience weekend and WOW what a great time in Vanguard I’ve had. First of all, the guild is growing quite a bit more then I had thought it would – which is great. For those who are reading and may be interested, the guild is recruiting but you should be aware that we are more of a social gathering place then a guild that actually does anything together. Chatter? Yes, lots of it. But as far as grouping and organizing things, I’ll leave it to other guilds. If that still doesn’t scared you away then by all means feel free to track me down in game and talk about an invite. We don’t bite. Well, most of us.

I managed to inch my shaman to level 18, the bard level 20. Since I haven’t actively been playing the bard in order for her to level (she’s just been off line leveling with the brotherhood) their gear is incredibly poor. Something I’ll need to work on. I also wanted to be able to level the blacksmith, and I got her from 25 to 31 in a few hours. Thankfully Vanguard crafting doesn’t require a whole lot of attention devoted to it, so I watched movies on the laptop while I grinded away at work orders. Level 31 means I begin working on initiate level recipes, something I’ve really been looking forward to. Once the blacksmith hits level 45 or so I’ll switch over to the outfitter and hopefully make my way to 45 on that character. Once all three ‘main’ classes are at 45 they can at least all make parts for one another which means I open up a lot more options as far as crafting rares. I do still have big plans of eventually having all 6 crafting classes at 45+ but whether or not that will actually happen, I’m not sure.

How did everyone else spend their weekend? I hope it was a lot of fun. Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, and I’ll see you in Telon!

This weekend (until Tuesday in fact) Vanguard has a bonus experience going on for all three spheres. The game has been incredibly busy, with people everywhere. Most of my experiences with this have been positive, after all Nomadic Gamers (the guild) is now 15 strong, with only 8 of those being my own characters (that’s a feat, trust me). There have been a few negative experiences as well. The lag, for one. Then yesterday there was a player who decided to tell me I should “log off and hang myself” because I politely asked them to please not kill my mobs from outside of my group.

I suppose that may have been a petty thing to request them to stop doing (and I worded it as such, I said please and everything there was no malice intended) but I have a little pet peeve with people who just suddenly jump into my encounter and start “helping” me when I’ve not requested any help. I don’t know if anyone else feels that way, but I certainly do and I have since EQ days. First of course they decided to call me an “ungrateful lout” which amused me more then anything. However, telling a person they should commit suicide outside of the game is not an idea that rests well with me, even if it was in some sort of sick humor.

The encounter was only one of two negative experiences I can remember (from players that is) in the month since I have returned. It’s a reminder that it does not matter what game you play, some times there are still “those” people out there who are bent on making your experience a bad one. I didn’t let it ruin my day after all what would be the point.

With the bonus experience in full swing I managed to get a lot (and I do mean a lot) done. My weaponsmith is sitting mid way through level 27, after grinding out a few levels while I watched LOST last night (I just finished watching season three. This is the first time I’ve ever watched any of the episodes and I find it quite confusing but also interesting to watch). Players are always asking channels if crafting is profitable, if the gear is worth it. To this I have to say yes, yes, yes. I make the majority of my money through crafting. Last night was no different as I put a few weapons up for sale to see how they’d do. The characters in the brotherhood also did incredibly well. My bard managed to hit level 19 without me playing her. The shaman is 16. I chose bear as my ‘spec’ and obtained new spells that align myself towards a ‘tank’ spec. It also helps out my group, so I was pretty excited about that.

I hope everyone else has also had an enjoyable weekend so far. Monday is a holiday here in Canada, and I’m looking forward to doing nothing but riding my bike, and gaming. Tuesday I’ll be off to the newly revamped Museum of Nature, which I’m very excited about. Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, I’ll see you in Telon!

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!

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!