Tag: VG

I love the graphics of Vanguard, and always have. Sure, it can bug some times. There’s a /flush command for when you experience graphic glitches. There’s a /flush all command to re-set all of the graphic engines too when you’re having a lot of bugs. There’s also a /reloadui command, if you’re having UI issues. One of my favorite commands is /setfog 99999   this takes away the murky cloudy look to the game, and gives you nothing but clear skies. Ok, so it may remove some of the atmosphere from the game, being able to see through a dark forest, but it’s still a personal preference.

Last night I joined a new guild. For those who may not be familiar, I’ve been in Safe Haven for almost three years now, and I’ve never been in any other Vanguard guild. The leader, Joodah, is an amazing person and I really respect him. Over the years the goals of the guild has changed some what, and where I used to see a lot of friendly chatter and help for fellow guild mates, has been replaced with a more end game goal. There are cliques (they happen) and a little more complaints about other players then I had the stomach to listen to. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic guild, but the differences between what I want from the game and what they want are two very different things.

I applied to a guild called Impact. Their motto is to help make an impact on new and returning players. They run events such as newbie nights and a yearly faire. Their players make it their goal to help others both in and out of guild. To say I’m excited about this new prospective home is an understatement. I really hope I fit in, and that I make a few friends along the way.

I’m on a 30 day probation period, where I get to know the members and they get to know me. I was on a little late last night, but I still met a few people and got to know my surroundings. We’ll see where it goes from there.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself. I’ll see you in Telon!

Just off the island, maybe you’ve gained a few levels and you’re wondering where to go. Well, Telon is HUGE. A few tips. Number one, Qalia and Thestra are far more populated then Kojan. The third continent was never really finished and it lacks content. It’s one of my favorite places so I still hang out there quite a bit. You can level from 1-20 on the content that is there, but it runs out and isn’t nearly as reward heavy as some of the other areas. There is the URT (united races of thestra) quest chain in Thestra, which starts at Veskal’s Exchange (more about that later) and then a slightly higher / better version called Hunter’s League that starts in Qalia.

At level 15 I have a huge selection of zones listed to me by the rift keeper. There is:

• Blighted Lands – in Kojan, this area gives you the 5 brothers cloak quest, and you spend a lot of time fighting the evil Ulvari.
• Jalen’s Crossing – never really quested here, but it’s also in Kojan
• Kaon’s Rush – in Thestra, some great group quests here, this is one of the lower level open dungeons
• Qa Riverbank – in Qalia, this area is where you begin working on Hunter’s League quests
• Renton Keep – a fantastic quest hub, URT leads you here, it’s also in Thestra
• Sundering – never been here, and no idea where it is, but it’s on my list!
• Temple of Dailuk – never been here either, but temples are always neat
• Wildgrowth Forest – also in kojan, this leads you towards the eventual Tomb of Lord Tsang quests (group quests)

Each of these locations was marked to me by the rift keeper in game. They’re easy to get to, and each one is a low level quest hub. I of course also highly recommend Veskal’s Exchange. In fact if you’re a new player in Telon there are “newbie nights” that take place in Veskals, one is this Wednesday at 8pm EST. The guild Impact will be handing out buffs, low level gear, and bags (always a must have).

Most hubs do include a fair number of group quests later on in their chains but there’s more then enough solo content. With the recent merges there’s also a high population of mid level characters roaming Telon, and I hear people LFG often. Don’t be afraid to form a group, even if you’re new. Chances are so is everyone else in the group and you just need to explore together.

Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, I’ll see you in Telon.

Why is it that one of the shortest races in all of Telon (or everywhere for that matter) require one of the most elaborate and over the top homes I have ever seen? Pictured above is Bordinar’s Cleft, the mountain home of the Dwarves. I had to go here to learn my amateur Thestra  crafting style last night. After doing a good amount of crafting my Outfitter (tailor) reached level 18, and is now mid way through. As I’ve mentioned in previous crafting posts, there are three styles, one per continent. To unlock recipes you need to complete a different quest on each continent. For each tier. Yes, it’s quite involved. You also need faction to unlock all of these though you don’t need nearly as much as is required for crafting boat and house parts.

Unlike a lot of games these days, crafting in Vanguard still requires a material or two from a school outside of your own. That is to say if you wish to upgrade a common piece of gear you require one rare (or ultra rare) from within your craft, and one processed rare from outside. For the tailor this happens to be gems from the artificer. Artificers in turn use a number of rares, for stone foci it’s a rare sheet from a blacksmith. That’s why I have three ‘main’ crafters. Although each main class subclasses into two archtypes, each one can craft the basics. I have a blacksmith, outfitter, and artificer in order for them to craft for one another. Granted, my blacksmith and outfitter are not that high of level yet, but they’ll get there eventually.

I was also lucky enough to be out exploring with the blood mage when I stumbled across a named. This was a four dot mob, made for groups. I was two levels higher, but in Vanguard that doesn’t automatically mean you can defeat the encounter. I decided to give it a go. I decided to give up trying to kite the mob or trying to root it (root breaks far too easily) so I tanked it with my cloth healer outright. Much to my surprise, I defeated the named and managed to get my swamp armor shoulders to drop.

If this were the only piece I needed to complete the set I would have been happy, but alas I still require three storm particles which also drop from random three and four dot named in the Deadbogs. I could purchase them from the broker, but at 15g+ a piece, it’s a little out of my range. Still, I’m incredibly happy to have the base, and even happier that I managed to defeat the encounter.

I imagine most of this weekend will be spent working on crafting and diplomacy, as always I tend to hop from alt to alt, never really too certain where I’ll land. If you’re in Vanguard let me know your character name and I’ll be sure you look you up and say hello.

In the mean time, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, I’ll see you in Telon!

Oh, also. Be sure to check out the handy links section I’ve added to the site. Some time early next week I’ll also be adding a page of Vanguard commands for people to make use of. If you have a suggestion for a link please let me know!

The time has come. You’re level 10 in adventuring, crafting, and diplomacy – and it’s time to leave the comforts of the Isle of Dawn and head out into the “real” world of Telon. If you’re not used to the incredible size of the land this can be quite daunting. The game does pretty well to lead you to this point and then the hand holding suddenly stops, and players are left thinking ‘what happens next?’

A few changes have occurred to help with the process. First of all the riftway system was changed some time ago to add more rifts, especially to populated areas and quest hubs. This made traveling a lot easier though you will still have to do quite a bit of running, Telon is just that big. Second of all they added a “heroes needed” quest to each rift keeper. These small quests give players a direction to head to each time they level. You’re granted a little coin (enough to use the riftway) and a piece of food that grants a 10% bonus in experience for an hour. The most important part of course is that they point you in a direction for your level.

My Raki paladin (pictured above) headed to the Tomb of Lord Tsang – which is a very popular quest hub for 10-20. It’s on Kojan and it starts out with a solo chain and progresses from there. The Diplomacy Saga also has components there, as well as the Artisan’s Saga. My paladin wasn’t sporting a mount yet, but the very first diplomacy quest I did granted me a young courier horse – much nicer then having to pay for one.

Eventually these quests will change to group quests, as the Tomb of Lord Tsang is an open dungeon where players can quest for some amazing gear (most notably a weapon). There’s also a cloak quest not too far away called the five brothers. Cloaks at lower levels are difficult to get, especially if you didn’t complete the Isle of Dawn. After a handful of orcs fell to my sword the paladin inched her way to level 15. I’m hoping to do a few posts a week about the lower experiences in the game for those who may be new and returning. Since the Isle of Dawn takes care of everything 1-10 with very little trouble I’ll try to focus on places higher then that.

I’ll also be putting together a post of useful Vanguard links, or at least a page or two for this site for people to use. Please let me know if there’s a link you’d like to see added to the page.

As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself! I’ll see you in Telon.

Yes, that’s my rogue, and yes, she is a halfling riding a giant ant.

In almost all MMOs the first ‘trinity’ type character I make is a healer. You know, the holy trinity? Healer, tank, dps? Right. That one. Well I’m most comfortable playing healers, so that’s what I stick with at least the first time around. Healers are pretty boring. You spend all of your time watching other peoples health bars and making sure you’re not stepping on something you shouldn’t be. It’s rare that you get to move from that role, even when EQ2 added dps stances through alternate advancement it was still pretty boring.

Vanguard took a different approach to healing; at least for two of its classes. I can’t confirm on the other two because I don’t play them. First, the blood mage. This is my main character and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The blood mage is a cloth wearing healer who acts more like a necromancer then a healer. That is to say that unless you’re doing damage to the mob, you’re not doing a lot of healing. Your heals are tied directly to your nukes. The more damage you’re doing, the more you’re healing. This presents some good things and some bad. One bad would be that if the mob is too high level for you chances are you’re being resisted and there for having a difficult time healing. On the plus side, you’re having a lot of fun ganking agro from your tank with your uber dps, and it makes things a lot more fun in the long run. Blood mages are also the only healer class who gets counter, which is a reaction that can cancel the mobs spell casting. An amazing thing when you’re fighting mobs that silence, stun, or heal. Blood mages also create hand crafted items called symbiots (may have spelled that wrong). These little creatures are created from live body parts that you rip out of mobs, a different body part depending on which dot you’ve placed on it. They’re used to create ‘attachments’ to players with a timer. Basically a temporary buff. There are a lot of them and they’re all useful. Some are hastes, some give levitate, some allow you to cast spells with reduced energy (mana) consumption. Not only that, but blood mages have a huge amount of buffs, at level 47 I’ve got at least 10. The down sides, being cloth, they’re squishy.

Then there’s the disciple. This is a monk healer class. They get feign death, and stuns and do their healing through dps combos on the mob. Again if you’re getting resisted a lot you may find yourself having a hard time healing but it’s a lot of fun to play. That doesn’t mean that you’re not still watching health bars, but at least you’re also doing something else at the same time.

I love Vanguards approach to healer classes. It’s nice to know there’s more for me to do, and that I’m not restricted to dps OR healing, that they’re both tied together. What game has your favorite class? Is this something that would appeal to you?

Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, I’ll see you in Telon!