Sigil Entertainment’s Vanguard has been out for a few months now and as some players race to hit the level cap, others are taking their time enjoying the world that’s been presented them. I’m one such player. And, while I’m not a Vanguard expert by any stretch of the imagination, there is some sage advice I’ve picked up along the way from other players and a bit I’ve gleaned myself.

Starting out in the world of Vanguard can be a bit overwhelming. The world of Telon is made up of three known continents right now: Thestra, Qalia and Kojan. While this might not seem like much, Thestra can be such a pain to travel the old days of getting across West Karana in Ever Quest 1 seem like a picnic. At any rate, players start out on one of these three continents and begin their quest in the world with very little gear or money.

Getting started, players will find is pretty easy if they do a few things:

Quest: As it is with EverQuest and the other similar fantasy MMOs games, questing is the surefire way to fast experience and item upgrades. Get as many quests as possible and do them.

Stick to the roads: The roads in Vanguard aren’t “safe” by any means, but they are safer than trying to take shortcuts, no matter how appealing they might be. When possible, stick to the roads for travel from one town to the next.

Value money: Money is hard to come by, very hard. At level 27, I’ve barely broken the gold mark and since I’m not a big tradeskiller, it’s not looking like wealth will be in my future. Fortunately, upgrades for the most part come cheap right now on my server, but this will likely change as more wealth is gained and moved about the world.

Pay attention to player crafted gear: Unlike other games where player made items are generally topped by a lot of drop items, this isn’t the case in Vanguard. This isn’t to say the stuff that drops is all junk, but the fact is tradeskillers have a real niche here.

Tradeskill: I know I said I’m not a big tradeskiller, but this is the road to wealth. Players who tradeskill might not have their coffers overflowing, but they tend to do better than those who don’t. Plus, tradeskilling is a game in and of itself, which has made it a whole lot of fun for those who have the time and inclination to get into a craft. The tradeskilling set up in Vanguard is very well done and infuriating to a point, but it’s hooked many a person more than even adventuring.

Diplomacy: This offers another game in a game that I haven’t personally experimented with all that much. It’s fun, I can tell you that much and pretty complex, as well.

Soloing advice: Soloing is pretty easy for most classes to achieve and the fact is there are a ton of solo quests available. Just take care to con mobs. They’re set up on the old fashion green to red system with purple thrown in for good measure. The dots on the targeting device indicate the complexity. Solo mobs are typically two dots or less, but many a class can take on a three or four dotter with relative ease.

Have fun: This is the biggest bit of advice I can offer anyone starting out. Take your time, make friends, ask questions and explore what Telon has to offer. There’s a lot more than meets the eye.

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Labels: sigil, sony, vanguard, vanguard advice, vanguard tips

It’s hard to believe eight years has passed since Sigil and Sony Online Entertainment unleashed EverQuest on the world. The MMORPG took the gaming world by storm, redefining the fantasy genre in a big way.

With multiple expansions and tons of new content added over the years, EverQuest has lived up to its name. Although considered an “old game” by gaming standards, EQ has a strong and loyal following that has stuck with the title from the beginning. It’s even managing to pull in new users as the expansions keep making the world of Norrath fresh and exciting.

While I no longer personally play this title, its expansive world, rich stories and incredible design will long serve as the measuring stick by which I judge other MMORPGs.

To celebrate the milestone anniversary, SOE has kicked off an array of anniversary promotions, including the release of an Anniversary Edition box set. Here is some of what’s going on in Norrath:

In-game events: Fabled Luclin NPCs have been brought back and there’s even a scavenger hunt going on. The promotions run through April 16.

Video contest: Players can have an item named after them if they manage to win The Fabled Adventurer Video Contest.

Festival of Time: This runs through March 26 and has NPCs traveling the world to “spread timeless tales of ancient history.”

For a full run down of the festivities, visit Sony’s site.

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Labels: eq, everquest, norrath, sigil, soe, sony

If you’re among the thousands that have already signed up for Vanguard, or you hope to be, there are a few things players of the latest entry on the MMORPG market need to watch out for.

While the game is a whole lot of fun, these particular bugs can really take the wind out of an adventurer’s sails. Some of them can be avoided, others cannot. On the upside, based on GM conversations in game, it sounds like many of them are being worked on currently.

Confirmed bugs GMs are aware of include:

Mail not working
Be very careful what you send through the mail in Vanguard right now. The system works, but not all the time. Getting this one fixed on a player-by-player basis can be a mess, too. Players need to /bug report the issue and it’s best to have both the sender and the receiver do so. I have a set of enhanced horseshoes lost in the ether somewhere, so I’m speaking from first-hand experience here.

Harvesting skills not advancing
This one is really irritating and what’s worse, some of the GMs don’t seem to be aware of it. The harvesting primary and secondary skills on some characters refuse to go up, no matter what’s done. Keep in mind, you do have to have the right tools and training to harvest, but even when all that’s in order, some players are seeing no advancements. I understand from a GM conversation today that this is being addressed.

Other irritations:

Seamless seams
Vanguard is a “seamless” game, but watch out, when you hit what would normally be a zone, it appears as if your computer has locked up. This is a very minor irritation, especially when you get used to it, but the first few times the lack of a “Loading … please wait” message is very noticeable.

Missing mobs
Some of the mobs in this game ghost during battle. To reset them, move away. Otherwise, you might not be able to get a spell off to your detriment. Oh yes, ghosting mobs can still get you!

Customer service
It seems anything that has Sony Online Entertainment attached to it has this problem. The customer service overall is pretty darn slow. It took a few days to get answers about the harvesting issue. I had messages from two GMs. One was clueless. The other, thank goodness, seemed to have a handle on the situation.

Vanguard’s a very new MMORPG and bugs are to be expected. Overall the game play is great, the world is beautiful and the quests are mostly fun.

I’ll post up a starter guide in the next few days to help newbies get their feet wet. As much as SOE drives me nuts, I’ll have to admit, they tend to back very fun games.

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Labels: mmorpg, sigil, soe, vanguard