Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

One recent item that has caused quite a stir was the announcement that RMT services would be coming to Vanguard. There hasn't been any official statement on whether or not the service would get its own server or be moved to all live servers. Neither plan seems viable from my perspective. Even though it's continuing to slowly grow, Vanguard (in my opinion) doesn't have the population to support another server, no matter what the rule set. This announcement also enraged a large number of current players and I'd like to believe that the SOE gurus learned their lesson with Star Wars Galaxies and wouldn't disregard the wishes of their current paying customer base by forcing an unwanted service on their servers, thus completely disrupting the current economy. A third (though probably just as unpopular) solution would be to open a new server with the understanding that once the transfers had completed, the remaining non-RMT servers would be merged into one. Oh yeah… and the PvP server would finally be put out of its misery. That’s just my personal speculation on the subject though. Not everything in the land of Telon is fodder for the Doom and Gloom Patrol.

Who are you calling stoned?

I've mentioned before that I spent a significant amount of time fishing on the beaches of the Plane of Tranquility in EverQuest and I loved it. It wasn't exciting, it wasn't very interactive, yet I enjoyed the relaxation of it immensely. When I hopped on for the purpose of making a brief fishing guide to add to the site, I discovered two things. 1) The thirty minutes or so I had originally intended to spend to get a brief overview turned into almost four hours, thus making me late for work. 2) The guide was going to be longer than a few words. The fishing in Vanguard proved to be far more engaging than I ever expected it to be, so I had a lot of fun with the guide in turn. It should be posted for your use (and enjoyment) next week.

Combat is still as fun and exciting as ever in Vanguard. Counter-spells are my favorite aspect of Vanguard’s combat. Being able to counteract an enemy’s spell may not sound like much, but when you’re battling a healer designed for a full group and you miss countering a spell she casts that brings her back up to full health right before your group finishes her off, you’ve just allowed a serious world of hurt to rain down upon your party. Never underestimate the benefits of a well timed counter-spell. I literally can’t count the amount of times that single act has completely changed the tide of battle, for better or for worse. It’s that kind of interactive combat that makes things so much fun and it seems I’m not the only one to notice.

It's been slow going, but the population appears to be growing. To me, that's for one reason and one reason only; even though it's not perfect, Vanguard is still one of the best online games out there. It's not flashy, and it's not meant to be devoured like that caramel cheesecake your mother-in-law just scarfed down. If you're looking for a game with some serious depth, a truly unbelievable amount of content to explore, and one of the most helpful communities that exists, you can't go wrong with Vanguard. It may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you'd be hard pressed to find something better.

What makes it so great you ask? Let me finish this with a brief tale. There's a city that hangs over the edge of a cliff in between a dark elf outpost (Evendusk) and a major city, Ahgram. As I was out hunting, I could see it off in the mist of clouds, always tantalizing me with its secrets. For almost a week, I slowly made my way closer and closer to that city until one day, I finally managed to make my way to it without being slaughtered by the marauding terrors that had previously barricaded my approach. When I finally set foot in that city, I felt a sense of accomplishment that can’t be described. Those are the moments that brought back that magic feeling of the “good old days” in gaming.