Holy smokes, it's a Vanguard content update! No, really. Sony Online Entertainment has just delighted fans of its long-neglected fantasy themepark with a post on the official boards that outlines some nifty changes coming in the near future.
In addition to a new thirteen-boss dungeon called the City of Brass, the devs are also cranking out overland raid bosses, removing the game's corpse recovery mechanics, and easing the leveling experience. There's also a blurb about increased drop rates and a "golden path" via the game's riftways that will guide players to the ideal adventuring areas for their level.
There's no date on all the goodies as of yet, but the post says that SOE is "getting close" to migrating the patch to Vanguard's test server. Head to the official forums to see for yourself.
Reader Comments (18)
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 1:33PM gamebynight said
Wow. And here I was thinking the next big announcement would be F2P.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 2:29PM Yellowdancer said
@gamebynight
Well, usually a new player experience revamp comes before a F2P announcement. The VG players are begging for f2p. Maybe they are testing the waters. Probably needed to get new coders up to snuff on VG systems before they dove into the hardcore stuff.
Reply
Well, usually a new player experience revamp comes before a F2P announcement. The VG players are begging for f2p. Maybe they are testing the waters. Probably needed to get new coders up to snuff on VG systems before they dove into the hardcore stuff.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 1:46PM jimr9999us said
Great news! I thought SOE announced some time ago that they had ceased all Vanguard development...This patch shows just what a strong community can accomplish.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 7:16PM Space Cobra said
@jimr9999us
Well, as they say, "another game's loss is another game's gain", although I am paraphrasing to fit it in.
Basically, with SWG eventually going away, they can turn devs to Vanguard and focus more on that game.
(Off-side comment: If you think about that, that does mean SWG was doing well in player numbers to warrant attention/spanning over Vanguard, who probably had lower player numbers. Makes business sense.)
Reply
Well, as they say, "another game's loss is another game's gain", although I am paraphrasing to fit it in.
Basically, with SWG eventually going away, they can turn devs to Vanguard and focus more on that game.
(Off-side comment: If you think about that, that does mean SWG was doing well in player numbers to warrant attention/spanning over Vanguard, who probably had lower player numbers. Makes business sense.)
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 1:49PM Boojum said
EQ2 going fully F2P and Vanguard still charging subs is an odd thing.
Still congrats to Vanguard loyalists for hanging in there, looks like your patience is going to be rewarded.
Still congrats to Vanguard loyalists for hanging in there, looks like your patience is going to be rewarded.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 2:10PM Softserve said
I liked Vanguard... It had a lot of great ideas that I'm surprised haven't been capitalized on more. One thing that comes to mind is its outside-the-game social options. People would have profiles that could automatically share in-game images, profile images of your character, events (such as if you're the first person on the server to find an item, etc.).
I really haven't seen another game handle that stuff nearly as well.
I just only have so much money. I wouldn't mind if it went F2P personally, I think it'd be a good candidate and it deserves more attention.
I really haven't seen another game handle that stuff nearly as well.
I just only have so much money. I wouldn't mind if it went F2P personally, I think it'd be a good candidate and it deserves more attention.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 2:18PM DancingCow said
I took another look at Vanguard about a month ago. I didn't go beyond the free trial but it was quite decent.
Ultimately the only thing that kept me from subscribing to see more was my own prejudices. I strongly prefer races without any 'real' differences so I can play whichever one I feel like without having to worry about whether it's optimal for my class choice.
Not the case for Vanguard.
But this update is good news for its players :)
Ultimately the only thing that kept me from subscribing to see more was my own prejudices. I strongly prefer races without any 'real' differences so I can play whichever one I feel like without having to worry about whether it's optimal for my class choice.
Not the case for Vanguard.
But this update is good news for its players :)
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 2:26PM Ardra Diva said
Did they ever improve the avatars? That was pretty much what kept me from playing the game. Just couldn't stand how ugly they were.
No offense intended to those who enjoy the game. I'm shallow like that LOL.
No offense intended to those who enjoy the game. I'm shallow like that LOL.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 2:50PM DancingCow said
@Ardra Diva
I know what you mean. One of the things I hated about LOTRO when I tried it was that I couldn't make a male elf that didn't look deformed.
Vanguard's character models didn't look the greatest when I tried it recently but I was playing on a non-gaming computer with a fairly average video card so I didn't judge it too harshly.
*wanders off singing "I feel pretty, oh so pretty....."*
Reply
I know what you mean. One of the things I hated about LOTRO when I tried it was that I couldn't make a male elf that didn't look deformed.
Vanguard's character models didn't look the greatest when I tried it recently but I was playing on a non-gaming computer with a fairly average video card so I didn't judge it too harshly.
*wanders off singing "I feel pretty, oh so pretty....."*
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 2:40PM Ziltod said
Was hoping for a freemium announcement, but the news is cool, since the game needs some attention. It would be a good reason to go back there for a while.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 4:07PM Hipster said
Ive got to be the only one thats disappointed of the removing the game's corpse recovery mechanics and easing the leveling experience.
Not surprised at all though by this given the industry now though.
Not surprised at all though by this given the industry now though.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 5:25PM DancingCow said
@Hipster
I don't have strong feelings on either, but Vanguard has always been a bit niche in it's 'difficulty' level with things like this, limiting its appeal to many players.
What this change says to me is that SOE haven't given up on it (I honestly thought they had) and are trying to grow the population. That's good news because Vanguard has some great features.
But such changes are always unfortunate for existing players who prefer things exactly as they are.
Reply
I don't have strong feelings on either, but Vanguard has always been a bit niche in it's 'difficulty' level with things like this, limiting its appeal to many players.
What this change says to me is that SOE haven't given up on it (I honestly thought they had) and are trying to grow the population. That's good news because Vanguard has some great features.
But such changes are always unfortunate for existing players who prefer things exactly as they are.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 7:14PM Tizmah said
Oh, So soon? You'd think they would have done the Free 2 Play experiment on Vanguard rather than EQII in the first place.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 9:12PM EndDream said
Vanguard is the great game that no one plays. I cant get invested in dead games. I tried 3 times and I love the game but it's too lonely.
Posted: Nov 18th 2011 10:06PM (Unverified) said
Very cool and unexpected news. I'll be sure to log in once the update goes live. Like many others, I think Vanguard is woefully under-appreciated.
Posted: Nov 20th 2011 6:18AM Snookers said
I'm genuinely going to miss the death mechanics. I've become bored of VG anyways since there's so few people to actually play with.
I'll come back when it's F2P, Sony.
I'll come back when it's F2P, Sony.
Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 1:37PM (Unverified) said
I will come back too if F2P, make it happen sony!
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