by Dalmarus on Mar 30, 2008
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March 31st, 2008 - By
Dalmarus
I think it's fairly reasonable to
assume that most, if not
all, people have an obsession of some sort or another in their lives.
If they
don't currently have one, then they've at least had one at some point
in the
past. My current obsession with Trickster's Haven is nearly complete.
Now that
style="font-weight: bold;"
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=901">the
map is finished, I can continue posting quest
guides. I'm happy with the
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=877">previous
guides, but the ones now coming are of far greater interest.
Unlocking the
secrets of the Summoning Circle, solving the riddle to gain entrance to
the
Room of Dreams, and the battle with
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=858">Nayib
Al'Kalee, are all items of interest
for the upcoming Trickster's guides.
I know there are quite a few players
out there that have
completed the battle with
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=858">Nayib
Al'Kalee and are stuck at the "Beyond the
Painting" quest due to a lack of a group. Whether you're a member of
the
Ten Ton Hammer guild or not, if you're interested in getting a run
together for
this, feel free to drop by our forums and post a message with a date
and time.
href="http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?topic_id=28739">Rumor
has it that beyond the painting lays a Cyclops
palace and I for one want to pry the secrets of that palace from its
cold dead
hands.
Now
for a tiny bit of controversy - the new riftway system.
I
know there are quite a few people that are pretty upset
with the new system, feeling it makes the game even easier than the
first of
the system's implementation. With the first system, players had to at
least
physically get to any particular riftway before being able to attune
themselves
to it for future use. Even though the riftways could then be used, the
player
in question would at least understand the layout of the land since they
had to
travel it by foot (or hoof) first.
I
can understand the concern that the new system was going to
be too much like a system within Everquest (the books within the Plane
of
Knowledge). I can attest to the fact that in EQ (after the Planes of
Power
expansion) there were a number of first time players (some real life
friends of
mine) that even at level 45 had no concept of how the land was laid
out. They
literally had no idea about how many continents there were, what zones
connected to each, etc. In my eyes, it not only took away a lot of the
game's
enjoyment for them, but it also annoyed the heck out of other players
when they
had to continually ask how to get to "Zone X" if there wasn't a PoK
book with that specific name.
I
think the situation in Vanguard is different though. With
a map of the lands displayed within the game, it's relatively easy for
everyone
to see how things are spread out, and what is located near what. The
addition
of certain riftways being unlocked at various level ranges also makes a
large
difference.
While
some may think this makes the game too easy, I think
it simply makes people's time more enjoyable. Rather than having to
wait 20
minutes for that group to gather before hitting a dungeon, now
you’re waiting
an average of less than 5 minutes. Waiting for people to gather for 20
minutes
is not fun. Getting right into the action is fun.
Even
through all this, I'll admit that I myself was also a
little nervous about the new system being implemented before I saw it
in
action. What can I say? We're all human.
Amazingly
though, not only do I think the new change has
made the game more accessible to new players (especially friends that
get the
game at the same time but want to start different races on different
continents), I think it also had an unexpected side effect for current
players.
What might that be, you ask? Exploration, and as many people know,
exploration
is the name of the game for players like me.
Since
the introduction of the new riftway system, I've
started a couple of new alts, and have been having a blast just
randomly
choosing a riftway within my level range, for no other reason than to
see
what's there. Even if it's in an area that I've been to before while
running by
with another character, there are more quests than I can count that I
never did
in these areas because they were too far below my level range. Just
this past
Thursday, I brought my necromancer into a new area I had never
explored, simply
because the riftway system let me know it was in my level and had a
blast.
For
those that want to keep the game "hardcore"
there are plenty of methods you can choose to adopt in this pursuit,
one of
which includes the boycotting of all riftways. Feel free to do so and
more
power to you for making that choice. If we want Vanguard to not only
survive,
but to thrive and get the resources we all think it deserves though, we
need
more players (translation: subscriptions) and it's as simple as that.
One of
the best ways to accomplish this is to make the game world itself more
accessible to new players.
As I mentioned earlier, I was a bit
nervous of this change
myself. As I've taken more time to think about it though, I have to say
that
the developers have once again proved that they have a pretty good idea
of what
they're doing. More proof for the majority of us to have a little faith
and
give things a chance.
style="font-weight: bold;">What do you think?
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