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Fantasy Made Real:

EQ Memories & Vanguard Dreams

 

By Shayalyn

 

 

 

LOADING,
PLEASE WAIT…

 

The
stirring EverQuest theme music faded away and there I was, a little wood elf,
standing in a room amidst a bunch of other wood elves, all of them stationary,
staring at me and breathing. (Breathing? Were they really breathing?) I
was told to begin my training by finding the Heartwood Master, and there he was,
dressed in finery, at least in comparison to my humble rags. I approached him,
spoke respectfully, and received guidance. I knew that my next step was to go
explore the area, and so I turned and made my way outside where I found myself
on a platform nestled high in the trees.

 

The mist
of the Greater Faydark forest surrounded me on all sides. So thick were the
trees that sunlight couldn’t find the city of Kelethin. On the platform with me
were other elves and half elves, each going about his business; some were
visiting food and clothing vendors or purchasing spells to scribe, others were
seeking training. I moved cautiously along the platform, looking for a way down.
I found a wooden ramp, unguarded by railings to prevent a fall, and proceeded
gingerly to the next platform. I followed a map printed in the guidebook before
me, and I tried to make my way down into the forest. I navigated still another
ramp (again, no railings) with ease. I was beginning to feel nimble now,
trusting my elfin reflexes to help me make my way through the treacherous city.
But then, seemingly in defiance of my newfound confidence, I zigged when I
should have zagged to avoid an approaching guard and plummeted to the hard
ground below.

 

My goal
had indeed been to reach the forest floor, but not quite like this. I wandered
through the mist searching for my mangled body, longing to rejoin my spirit with
my corporeal form. The corpse was nowhere to be found. I sat beside a mechanical
lift and whimpered, cold and frustrated.

 

“What’s
wrong, m’lady?” said a gruff voice. I looked up, red-eyed. Before me stood a
stout little man with flame-red hair and a bushy red beard to match. A dwarf! I
had heard tales of the men and women who lived under the mountain in the nearby
Butcherblock range, but I had never seen one before.

 

“I’ve lost
my corpse!” I cried.

 

“There,
there,” the dwarf grumbled, “No sense in bellowing about it. Come, now—we’ll
find a bard to help you track it down.”

 

Once I’d
retrieved my corpse and its meager belongings my adventure truly began. I knew
that in order to earn money I had to hunt. I knew, as any druid does, that the
black wolves wandering about the forest were my friends, but that the spiders
and bats were vermin I could destroy. I tackled cackling skeletons and scurvy
orc pawns. I began a brisk batwing trade, selling them to druids who, unlike me,
had learned the art of levitation and used the wings as a spell component. I
gained experience, I bought new clothing and weaponry, and I slowly became more
skilled and prosperous. I went on to the Butcherblock Mountains where I
discovered a giant chess board inhabited by enormous skeletons, and I helped a
group of adventurers take them down. I invaded camps of dwarven bandits and
brought them to justice.

 

From there
I progressed to more dangerous regions, moving farther and farther from my home.
I ran from specters in the Oasis of Marr, vowing that I would return one day and
reap vengeance. I battled the lizard-like Sarnaks along the shores of the

Lake of Ill Omen, and slaughtered massive giants in the
Frontier Mountains. I joined a
guild, and in the Dreadlands I helped them slay my first dragon, one of many we
would encounter in the days ahead. I formed enduring friendships with my fellow
adventurers. One dear friend aided me in an epic quest to earn a powerful weapon
of which I had only heard stories, and I soon found myself holding the Nature
Walker’s Scimitar proudly in my small hand.

 

Sixty-five
seasons later I returned to Kelethin for the last time. I was no longer a
tremulous youngling but an accomplished veteran. There were far fewer young ones
in Kelethin than there had been when I began my adventure, but still, I sat
beside the city lift and cast beneficial spells upon them, giving them my
blessings. I looked around my ancestral home one last time, the great wooden
city with its beautiful spires and gold gilt trim rising out of the mists of the
Faydark, and smiled. Today I would lay down my scimitar for the last time. I had
reached all of my goals, and accomplished all that I had set out to accomplish,
and the time for my retirement had come.

 

It’s been
about a year since I officially left Norrath and retired from EverQuest,
although I’ve gone back for a couple brief stints to hang out with my guildmates
and friends. My time in EQ was nothing short of magical, and no other game has
come close to comparing since. Is it because EQ was my first MMO that I feel
such deep nostalgia, or is it that EQ was, in its prime, such a good MMO that
I’ll never forget my adventures there and I’m still drawn back from time to
time? Perhaps it’s a little of both. But now the question on my mind is whether
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be able to recapture the old magic of EQ in a
brand new next-generation game.

 

At the
risk of sounding like a complete geek, I have to admit that I’ve had dreams of
Vanguard. (Yes, I know—sad, isn’t it?) For me, the beginning is much like I
described above—stirring theme music plays, and I see those familiar words:

 

LOADING,
PLEASE WAIT…

 

And then
there I am, in Telon, a new world that I’ve never before seen, with new
adventures awaiting me. I imagine a tree city rising out of the mists (oh,
please, let there be a tree city). Ethereal strains of harp and flute music
soothe me as I explore my new home. And soon enough I’m out adventuring, beating
down vermin once again as a young adventurer. I once thought that if I ever had
to lay the smack-down on another rat I’d go insane, but somehow in Telon it
won’t matter because this will be a fresh experience—no familiar names or
well-known cities, just a blank slate of a world for me to explore.

 

I’ve been
pondering what my previous MMO experience will bring to the table once I’m
finally playing Vanguard, adventuring as a denizen of Telon. I hope the
experience will make me feel like a newb again, with much to learn before I
actually excel…at least for a little while. I’m reminded of a scene from the
movie Men in Black. Agent Jay (Will Smith) has just gone through some grueling
testing to see if he’ll qualify to become one of the Men in Black, although he
has no idea what he’s in for yet. During an elevator ride with the older,
seasoned, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), Jay tells him, “…there's one thing you
gotta remember: you chose me, so you recognized the skills, so I don't
want you to call me sport, kid, or anything like that. You got me?”

 

Kay looks
at Jay and says dryly, “Okay, slick. But let me tell you something about all
your skills. As of right now, they mean precisely...dick.” And with that the
elevator door slides open revealing a vast room filled with alien creatures and
advanced technological devices. Jay’s jaw drops as he realizes he’s,
figuratively speaking, not in Kansas anymore, and is about to experience things
he’s never known were possible.

 

That’s how
I want to feel when I enter Telon for the first time. While I don’t expect to be
able to capture the nostalgia of my first MMO, EverQuest, I want Vanguard to be
an experience full of surprises and unique adventures. I’m not looking for a
game that will recapture the magic of EQ, but rather a game that will reinvent
it.

 

And what
sorts of things will make the game fresh for this EQ veteran? I have a bit of a
laundry list, and it’s clear from what I’ve read in the Official Forums and in
the Vanguard FAQs that many of the items on my wish list are already on Sigil’s
to-do list. For instance, what always amazed me about Norrath was its sheer
size; there are still zones in EQ that I haven’t visited, so one if my wishes if
for a huge sprawling world that feels truly epic. Vanguard’s world of Telon will
be vast, just as I would expect any good virtual world to be. And, on top of
that, the world will also be seamless—you might be able to see for miles, and
what you can see you can essentially get to without having to deal with
artificial boundaries or waiting for a zone to load.

 

Another of
my hopes is for an advanced combat system and smarter mobs—no more mashing
hotkeys in a certain repetitive order while guzzling Mountain Dew to stay awake.
Again, Vanguard promises to deliver. “‘Easy to learn, hard to master’ sums up
our concept of combat in Vanguard,” So sayeth the Official FAQs. “You will have
to think about the results you want to achieve in combat, as well as how you’re
going to achieve them. You will need to counter and respond to tactics and
strategies your opponents might employ.” Sounds like a step (or two, or three…)
in the right direction to me.

 

And with
the ramped up combat system comes another ingredient I find key in a good MMO:
Challenge. I’ve found many of the MMOs I’ve tried since the early days of
EverQuest lacking in challenge. NPCs have huge exclamation points dangling over
their heads to indicate that they have a quest to offer. Golden light trails or
compass pointers lead us from point to point on our newbie quests so that we can
forego exploration in favor of a foolproof route that’s been marked for us.
Travel is instantaneous via player teleports, teleport stones, or ships’ bells
that we ring on the docks. MMOs have begun to offer players instant
gratification instead of a challenge, but the problem with instant gratification
is that it makes our accomplishments far less satisfying, since everyone else is
able to accomplish the same things with the same ease.

 

There’s
going to be something magical about logging into Vanguard for the first time,
because by the time the game is released we will all have been anticipating it
for so long. I’m certain the first thing I’ll do is play endlessly with the
character creator. Others will slap a character together and head into the game,
but for me part of the fun is creating an avatar that will most likely represent
my online persona for many levels to come. Sigil has promised advanced character
customization tools, and I’m going to put them to good use creating a stunningly
beautiful wood elf druid—named Shayalyn, of course. I can hardly wait to see her
materialize in pixel form, ready to take her place in my heart just as the
Shayalyn of EverQuest once did.

 

And, in
time, I’ll excel at Vanguard—no longer a youngling but a seasoned veteran. And
while the newness will have worn off, the adventure will be far from over. At
least that’s what I hope. I want another game with the staying power and the
lure of EverQuest, and I’m convinced that Vanguard will deliver.

 

What are your hopes for Vanguard? With Beta 1 firing up now
seems like a good time to dream. If you follow Vanguard fansites like Vanguard @
Ten Ton Hammer closely, and keep an eye on the Official Vanguard Forums, you’ll
have the information you need to keep your expectations realistic. And if you
check back here next Tuesday, you’ll see yet another editorial by Lady Sirse
featuring her reflections on her first MMO experience, and her hopes and dreams
for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Until then, dream on…and dream big!

 

Tell us
your memories and dreams......

 


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Karen is H.D.i.C. (Head Druid in Charge) at EQHammer. She likes chocolate chip pancakes, warm hugs, gaming so late that it's early, and rooting things and covering them with bees. Don't read her Ten Ton Hammer column every Tuesday. Or the EQHammer one every Thursday, either.

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