midgetman99
10-23-2006, 12:54 AM
Vanguard is a third generation MMORPG coming from the same team that made the original EQ, as well as some who made EQ2. The company making the game is Sigil, however SoE is co-publishing.
The game itself has lots of really cool, very innovative features, with very few setbacks as far as what I've read/seen. I guess I'll start with the basics:
The World:
The world is called Telon, and has 4 continents, of which only 3 are initially playable, because the 4th is for high-end content and is a mystery atm. Each continent houses its own unique races, creatures, and history. The continents are: Thestra, Qalia, and Kojan, and Lothenland (however there is very little known about Lothenland and it is for high-end content only). Thestra has varied terrain, containing savanna, forest, mountainous, and wetland terrain, with a High-Fantasy/medieval theme. Qalia has a Desert, mountainous, oasis, savanna, and volcanic terrain, with an "Arabian Nights" theme. Kojan is a jungle archipelago and has an Asian/Far Eastern theme. Lothenland has a tundra terrain and a cold, rugged theme.
Races:
Like every other game made by this team (EQ and EQII), there are tons of races, all of which have their own unique culture and help create variety in the game. From Thestra the races are: Thestran humans, High Elves, Dwarves, Lesser Giants, Varanjar (thestra barbarians), Halflings, and Vulmane (a wolf-humanoid race).
From Qalia the races are: Qaliathari humans, Mordebi humans, Dark Elves, Gnomes, Kurashasa (cat-humanoid race), and Varathari (Qalia barbarians).
From Kojan the races are: Kojani humans, Half-Elves, Wood Elves, Raki (fox-humanoid race), Goblins, and Orcs.
Classes:
Similarly to EQ and EQII, Vanguard also has a lot of classes in their "adventuring" sphere. Each class is varied and falls into one of 4 categories:
Protective Fighters - Dread Knight, Inquisitor, Paladin, and Warrior
Offensive Fighters - Bard, Berserker, Monk, Ranger, Rogue
Healers - Blood Mage, Cleric, Disciple, Shaman
Arcane Casters - Druid, Necromancer, Pscionicist, Sorceror
However, for release, Inquisitor and Berserker will not be in the game. They will be added later, and it is unknown as to when they will be put in, but there are plans to reinstate them.
On to the more innovative features. Vanguard, unlike any MMO out there, has a very different type of combat structure. There are tons and tons of options that one can do, including chain up various skills to make more devastating combos, or have other effects. In addition, there are other "reaction" skills which come up only at certain times during combat. Also, there is no auto-attack, so you, as the player, must be constantly picking skills if you want your character to attack.
Another unique feature is that there are three different "spheres" to level up in. There is the traditional MMO way, which is fighting and killing things, doing adventure quests, etc., which is hte "Adventure" sphere. The next, which some MMOs have, although not nearly to the extent that Vanguard does, is a "Crafter" sphere, where there will be entire quests devoted to lvling up a crafting class. The third is the "diplomacy" sphere.
In Vanguard, there is no such thing as an instance. The entire game is in the seamless world. "Dungeons" will be in various areas throughout the world, and groups will have to compete to get to it first so to speak, however this isn't much of an issue due to the size of the world. There are "dungeons" and "raid bosses" in Vanguard, just everything is outdoor, which encourages player competition, as well as making the game itself more difficult. The way Sigil puts it, a dungeon might be "your group runs over a hill and there's an orc encampment below, which you must then fight through to get to the base underground." Overall, a very neat idea.
PvP in Vanguard is going to be very similar to the PvP in EQ, and there will be no faction wars so to speak.
Players will be able to get mounts at lvl 10 to help explore the world, and there will be mounted combat.
Character Customization in Vanguard is probably the most allowed in any game ever. There are pages of different options, each with about 10-15 "sliders" which allow you to change various things on your character. Examples include height and weight, nose length, pointiness, and shape, hairstyle, eyes, chin, jaw, (for women) boob size, hair style, haircolor, skin color, and a whole bunch of other options that I don't know. It's pretty safe to say that in Vanguard, there will never be someone that looks like you.
The game itself has lots of really cool, very innovative features, with very few setbacks as far as what I've read/seen. I guess I'll start with the basics:
The World:
The world is called Telon, and has 4 continents, of which only 3 are initially playable, because the 4th is for high-end content and is a mystery atm. Each continent houses its own unique races, creatures, and history. The continents are: Thestra, Qalia, and Kojan, and Lothenland (however there is very little known about Lothenland and it is for high-end content only). Thestra has varied terrain, containing savanna, forest, mountainous, and wetland terrain, with a High-Fantasy/medieval theme. Qalia has a Desert, mountainous, oasis, savanna, and volcanic terrain, with an "Arabian Nights" theme. Kojan is a jungle archipelago and has an Asian/Far Eastern theme. Lothenland has a tundra terrain and a cold, rugged theme.
Races:
Like every other game made by this team (EQ and EQII), there are tons of races, all of which have their own unique culture and help create variety in the game. From Thestra the races are: Thestran humans, High Elves, Dwarves, Lesser Giants, Varanjar (thestra barbarians), Halflings, and Vulmane (a wolf-humanoid race).
From Qalia the races are: Qaliathari humans, Mordebi humans, Dark Elves, Gnomes, Kurashasa (cat-humanoid race), and Varathari (Qalia barbarians).
From Kojan the races are: Kojani humans, Half-Elves, Wood Elves, Raki (fox-humanoid race), Goblins, and Orcs.
Classes:
Similarly to EQ and EQII, Vanguard also has a lot of classes in their "adventuring" sphere. Each class is varied and falls into one of 4 categories:
Protective Fighters - Dread Knight, Inquisitor, Paladin, and Warrior
Offensive Fighters - Bard, Berserker, Monk, Ranger, Rogue
Healers - Blood Mage, Cleric, Disciple, Shaman
Arcane Casters - Druid, Necromancer, Pscionicist, Sorceror
However, for release, Inquisitor and Berserker will not be in the game. They will be added later, and it is unknown as to when they will be put in, but there are plans to reinstate them.
On to the more innovative features. Vanguard, unlike any MMO out there, has a very different type of combat structure. There are tons and tons of options that one can do, including chain up various skills to make more devastating combos, or have other effects. In addition, there are other "reaction" skills which come up only at certain times during combat. Also, there is no auto-attack, so you, as the player, must be constantly picking skills if you want your character to attack.
Another unique feature is that there are three different "spheres" to level up in. There is the traditional MMO way, which is fighting and killing things, doing adventure quests, etc., which is hte "Adventure" sphere. The next, which some MMOs have, although not nearly to the extent that Vanguard does, is a "Crafter" sphere, where there will be entire quests devoted to lvling up a crafting class. The third is the "diplomacy" sphere.
In Vanguard, there is no such thing as an instance. The entire game is in the seamless world. "Dungeons" will be in various areas throughout the world, and groups will have to compete to get to it first so to speak, however this isn't much of an issue due to the size of the world. There are "dungeons" and "raid bosses" in Vanguard, just everything is outdoor, which encourages player competition, as well as making the game itself more difficult. The way Sigil puts it, a dungeon might be "your group runs over a hill and there's an orc encampment below, which you must then fight through to get to the base underground." Overall, a very neat idea.
PvP in Vanguard is going to be very similar to the PvP in EQ, and there will be no faction wars so to speak.
Players will be able to get mounts at lvl 10 to help explore the world, and there will be mounted combat.
Character Customization in Vanguard is probably the most allowed in any game ever. There are pages of different options, each with about 10-15 "sliders" which allow you to change various things on your character. Examples include height and weight, nose length, pointiness, and shape, hairstyle, eyes, chin, jaw, (for women) boob size, hair style, haircolor, skin color, and a whole bunch of other options that I don't know. It's pretty safe to say that in Vanguard, there will never be someone that looks like you.