MMORPG.com: Can you explain how raiding will work in Vanguard, given that there is no instancing? Would it be fair to assume that there is a very large amount of raid content?
Brad McQuaid:
The majority of content in Vanguard will be group-oriented, with the minority being aimed at either more casual gameplay or the opposite, raiding. I don’t have exact numbers, but perhaps 60% or more of the content is targeted at the grouping audience, with another 20% or so at the more casual and then another 20% at raiding. The way to get around the need for “instancing” is simply to have enough content. There needs to be a lot to do, and a large world in which to do it. We plan to achieve this by creating a huge, seamless world, with every square foot filled with points of interest, quest content, and a myriad of dungeons.
By having both a large world and a lot of content, including huge dungeons designed to support multiple groups at the same time, we are confident that instancing those areas won’t be necessary. We feel that instancing removes the opportunity to socialize with other people, or to just stand back as an observer and watch a large group in an intense battle. We do appreciate though that people don’t want senseless downtime and we have a trick up our sleeves on this very point that we feel large groups will love.
NewsTue, Jan 24, 2006Awenyddion
