September 21st, 2007

Weekly Hot Topics

Collected by Dalmarus

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It's that time of the week again everyone, where I bring you the Weekly Hot Topics featuring both the TTH Vanguard forums and the official Vanguard forums. This week brings a number of different topics ranging from nerf concerns to the debate of DPK systems with the new raid content coming in Game Update #3. To top everything off, a player throws down the gauntlet and makes a list in order of class usefulness.Considering the fact that I love my necromancer, I disagree with the order of his list. Of course, I could be biased, so rather than continue to ramble on, let the Weekly Hot Topics begin!

Have you come across a thread you'd like to see featured? Send it off (with a subject of "Weekly Hot Topics"). Or if you want to be featured, start an engaging thread on our forums here.

TTH Vanguard Forums

Camp and Mob stealing Guilds-Seradon- By Redroostah

It seems I just can't help listing topics in which I've either had to remind everyone to play nice, or lock out of necessity. I think this thread is a perfect example of why. Although there is some turmoil in the beginning, it quickly becomes a genuine discussion on group/camp etiquette and suggestions on how to improve (or live with) the current system. Now compare the discussion on our forums with the same topic (also by Redroostah) that has become a flame fest on the official forums at VGPlayers here. I think this is a great example of why we moderate when we need to. I think the TTH Forums have a nice balance of letting people speak their mind, yet moderating as necessary to help promote these discussions.

Will there ever be AAs in VG? - By Enscheff

Even though this thread was started in the Dreadknight portion of our forums, I thought it important enough to mention in here as I feel it affects all players. What kind of system (if any) do you think would be implemented? Rather than thinking strictly of specific class AA's (Advanced Abilities), what types would you like to see for all players? Would you have specific abilities based on race? The possibilities for discussion on this are endless!

Healing cost changes - By cas (SOE Shaman Class Lead)

Before I say anything about this topic, let me stress one thing. This information is coming from partial notes on the TEST server. That's right, I said Test. The cost of healing has gone up for all healers, apparently to be more in line with the original plan for healers. It's been suggested that this may also have been done to get healers to concentrate more on WIS/VIT rather than the various STR/CON/DEX builds that we've been seeing. It may also be a way to make healers more inclined to seek out healer gear, rather than tank gear. Others are screaming that this has broken their chosen class.

Like I did with the post by Roostah further above, I could link a number of threads like this from the official forums. Unfortunately, even I'm not willing to put my fire resist gear through a test like that. If you're truly interested, simply head over there and take a look. They're not hard to find.

Since you're reading this, here are a couple things I want to point out to the community. This is coming (or may be now) on the Test server. First off, if you feel strongly about how this affects you, get over on the Test server and help them test. Making your voice be heard during testing will be far easier than it will be to get something changed after it's gone live. Secondly, while I'm not in favor of class nerfing, they may have the right idea in general, but need your help to tweak it correctly. If you don't go over to test it, there will be little sympathy from many to the cries of "Nerf!” so get over there and get testing!

Official Vanguard Forums

To DKP... or not to DKP.... by Azzix

Mention DKP to any MMO gamer and you instantly get mixed results. Some love it and think it's the greatest thing since MMO's themselves. Mention it to others and you may get a pretty blasé attitude, topped off with a meager, "Eh." Still others will begin frothing at the mouth in a fit of rage at even hinting that DKP is a good system for all guilds to use when handling their raid loot rules. What system will you be using when raid content goes live in Vanguard?

All 15 classes ranked in terms of useful to useless - By Thaldor

Anyone that thinks a necromancer falls so low on a chart as Thaldor here, hasn't played with a good necromancer (or at least that's my opinion). As I mentioned above though, it's entirely possible that I'm a bit biased. I loved playing a necro in both EQ1 and EQ2. I think my Vanguard necro wipes the snot out of both of them though, so yeah... biased? Could be. What about you though? Where does your favorite class land on the list. By the way, I think Disciples might have a bit of an issue with being rated dead last, so get over there and defend yourselves!

WORST GAME EVER!, and I am never leaving. - By Mames1701

Not only do I love the title Mames chose for his thread, I love the content of it as well. The numerous pages of content confirm what I've heard from almost every VG player I know. Yes, the game has a lot of issues. Yes, the game can get you a bit irritated. Yes, the game even has the ability to have you screaming and cursing at the gods in anger over how "X" has just screwed you or your computer. Despite any periods of irritation and/or ranting though, the game has "something" that draws you in. Some comments in the thread state that it's the realism feel of the world. Others claim it's the diverse amount of classes and landmasses to explore. Still more state that there are so many different things to work on between Adventuring, Crafting, and Diplomacy, that it's impossible to truly get bored. Personally, I think it's because I've been playing since a couple weeks before launch and there's still a lot of Telon I have left to explore. It may be irritating as heck sometimes, but Vanguard certainly has something magical about it!

Conclusion

While sifting through the numerous available threads this week, I was delighted to see there are still a number of the "returning (or possible returning) player" posts. While this gives me a certain level of hope for the game's future, I think it's important to note that the newness of the server merges may be finally wearing off. A number of posts asking about why we aren't getting any timeline updates for GU#3 or when the Trial Isle will become available are also starting to creep up in growing numbers. All of them have one underlying thread in common... Vanguard has a bit of momentum going for it right now, so don't let that die. While I think things may be waning on that front, I believe that the introduction of the Ancient Port Warehouse will have the same effect GU#2 and the server merges did - they'll revitalize the community and draw more new players. So what do you think? Let us know here!

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