by Karen Hertzberg on Nov 01, 2006
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Got
Class?
Naturally,
your first choice when it comes to creating a character and getting
into the game will be choosing a class and race. During my time with
the Vanguard so far, not all of the races have been enabled and
playable, but all of the classes that will be in the game at launch are
currently in. (And for those folks who’ve been following
Vanguard
closely, the list of playable classes no longer includes the Berserker
or the Inquisitor, although they will be brought into the game either
in an update or expansion after launch.)
Vanguard’s classes
were built on an archetype system, which means that each class fits one
of four categories: protective fighters, offensive fighters, arcane
casters, and healers. Let’s take a look at the 15 available
classes:
Protective Fighters
Dread Knight
Paladin
Warrior
Offensive Fighters
Bard
Monk
Ranger
Rogue
Arcane Casters
Druid
Necromancer
Psionicist
Sorcerer
Healers
Blood Mage
Cleric
Disciple
Shaman
Of
those classes, a few break the classic MMOG mold. The Disciple, for
instance, is a martial expert and healer whose healing and offensive
capabilities draw on the power of chi. The Blood Mage forms blood
unions with his offensive and defensive targets--it’s a
powerful class
with a positive beta buzz. Of the other classes, each seems to
have a
few twists to make them unique while remaining true to their classic
roots. No, I haven’t played them all, but I’ve
experimented with a good
number of classes at low levels...enough to get a sampling of how
they’ll play as they level up.
When I first heard that
Vanguard would use an archetype system I got EQ2 flashbacks. I worried
that every class within a given archetype might play the same, watering
down the class's uniqueness. But rejoice my gaming brothers and
sisters, for Vanguard laid my fears to rest. Class uniqueness was well
done in the original EverQuest, and classes in Vanguard are similarly
unique. Each one brings something different to a group dynamic. Variety
lives!
Put
on a Happy Race
Once
you’ve settled on a class, you’ll need to decide on
a race. Unlike
EverQuest II, there are race/class restrictions in Vanguard. Not every
class can play every race, although you may be surprised by a few of
the choices that are available. (More on this later when all the
class/race combinations are announced.)
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album04&id=Mordebi_diversity&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php">
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alt="Mordebi diversity"
title="Mordebi diversity (click to enlarge)"
src="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album04/Mordebi_diversity.thumb.jpg"
hspace="4" vspace="2">There are an
impressive
number of races to choose from. You’ll find different human
races (from
the dark-skinned Mordebi to the Asian-inspired Kojani) on each
continent, different barbarian races, and a number of interesting
humanoid races such as the Kurashasa (cat people), Raki (fox people),
and Vulmane (wolf people). Want to be an Orc or a Goblin? You can do
that, too. And, of course, no fantasy MMOG would be complete without
elves, and Vanguard offers dark elves, high elves, and wood elves.
Races
vary significantly by continent, but each offers a human and barbarian
variety as well as an animal-type race and a distinctly evil race.
Still, the plethora of choices might make for a struggle when it comes
time for friends and guilds to decide on a starting continent. (It
won’t be easy to travel from continent to continent at lower
levels, so
players who want to play together as newbies will want to consider
selecting a common starting locale.)
Making
Faces
When
it comes to character customization, Vanguard shines. Those to whom
character creation is important will likely be spending a significant
amount of time tweaking. I took a good half hour tuning mine, despite
the fact that not all of the game’s available hairstyles have
been
implemented. Vanguard allows for a deep level of customization that
goes far beyond the typical pick-a-face, pick-an-eye-color,
pick-a-hairstyle scenario. You’ll be able to adjust your
body’s height,
weight, and muscle mass. You can change things like the size of your
hands and feet to the size of your character’s cranium. Got
breasts?
You can augment those puppies from (relatively) flat and sassy to full
and voluptuous. You can even adjust their lift.
When it comes to
facial customization, only customization superstars like Star Wars
Galaxies and EQ2 come close to the level of tweakage you can expect
from Vanguard...and Vanguard surpasses them. That said, if
you’re going
to be making a beautiful person, be prepared to perhaps encounter a
doppelganger in Telon. (Don’t most beautiful people look
alike,
anyhow?) Perhaps the only real downfall to customization is the lack of
hairstyle choices. At the publication of this article not all
hairstyles are implemented in beta, but I was told at the Sigil/SOE
press event that there will be 8 per character. In my opinion,
that’s
too few, and it doesn’t do the extensive customization in
other areas
justice. Let’s hope this changes before release.
The
User Interface
Vanguard
has a highly customizable XML-based UI, which is good because some
players are going to be looking for mods to make it more appealing and
functional. It’s not the worst UI I’ve encountered
in a MMOG, but it’s
not the most intuitive, either. I often see people asking in chat
channels where to find this or that, and I’m sure that sort
of thing
will continue once the game launches (especially for those people for
whom RTFM, or Read the Freakin’ Manual, means absolutely
nothing).
In
fairness, there’s a lot going on in Vanguard, so the UI has a
lot of
features. For instance, you have a different set of clothing/armor and
weapons/tools depending on whether you’re adventuring,
crafting,
harvesting, or practicing diplomacy. Fortunately, your character will
change clothing/armor sets instantly when you switch from one sphere to
another. But you still have to know where to look within the UI when
you need information about your gear.
One of the better
features of the UI assists in adventuring. My primary character is a
Psionicist--Vanguard’s quintessential mezzing class. As a
Psionicist, I
need to know when my group aggros adds. Vanguard’s UI
displays a list
of the NPCs aggroed on a group (or a solo adventurer), so the minute I
see a new NPC pop up on the display I know that I have to quickly
target and mez. The interface will also instantly tell me the
mob’s
strength and which party member has aggro.
It’s difficult to
comment on some UI features only because their functionality will
change as Vanguard presses toward release. Guild and LFG tools are an
example of things that (hopefully) are subject to change by the time
Vanguard goes live.
Con(nect)
the Dots
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Vanguard
uses a two-pronged system to help players consider the strength of an
opponent. When you target a monster, you’ll see a button with
the mob’s
name, and a circle of colored dots. The colors indicate the
mob’s level
range, while the dots indicate its strength for its level. The con
colors should be familiar to all:
Gray - significantly below the player’s level (no experience)
Green - below the player’s level (minimal experience)
Blue - slightly below the player’s level
White - same level as the player
Yellow - above the player’s level
Red - significantly above the player’s level
Purple - run away!
The dot system ranges from 1-6 dot cons. It helps you determine a
monster’s strength like this:
1 Dot - weak for its level
2 Dot - average difficulty for its level
3 Dot - Slightly stronger for its level; usually requires a group
4 Dot - Strong for its level; requires a group
5 Dot - Very strong for its level; requires a solid group
6 Dot - Raid mob; might be difficult but possible for a single skilled
group
The
dot system offers a more in-depth way for single players and groups to
determine whether a mob is killable, or will leave them as a messy
stain on the landscape.