Vendolyn - A Community Spotlight
Recently I had a chance to chat with a Vanguard player who was not only not ashamed of playing a game whose name makes many of us cringe, but who's actually really excited and involved in the community that she shares. Many of you may find her enthusiasm misplaced. The rest of us understand finding an MMO home that few relate to! It is to those people I say: "Embrace a fellow crazy person! She's here to stay!"
Vendolyn plays solely on the Seradon server, though she freely admits she has alt-itis. She plays a different character depending on what she's looking to do in game. Grouping and soloing bring out her different characters, and therefore different appeals for her, though she notes that Vanguard's skill system does not require this for succeeding in the world, it's just a personal preference. This was a shock to me because I'd always heard (and believed without merit apparently) that Vanguard was looking for the "hard core" player who would have to group to succeed. Apparently this was true back at the beginning of the design cycle and while it turned many players away from paying more attention to the game as development progressed, it quickly became clear to the designers that such a system was not being embraced well throughout the community. If only that were their only mistake. So I asked how the game responded now, to such accusations. "I don't think it's overly difficult. I played EQ for 6 or 7 years. That was hard! Vanguard's difficulty, I'd rate slightly above EQ2. It's still super easy to level and there's so much content that you can solo to 50 if you chose. You can also choose to level to 50 in one of the other spheres without killing anything. There are also nice quest lines that offer pretty good rewards set at group-level difficulty."
Vendolyn plays solely on the Seradon server, though she freely admits she has alt-itis. She plays a different character depending on what she's looking to do in game. Grouping and soloing bring out her different characters, and therefore different appeals for her, though she notes that Vanguard's skill system does not require this for succeeding in the world, it's just a personal preference. This was a shock to me because I'd always heard (and believed without merit apparently) that Vanguard was looking for the "hard core" player who would have to group to succeed. Apparently this was true back at the beginning of the design cycle and while it turned many players away from paying more attention to the game as development progressed, it quickly became clear to the designers that such a system was not being embraced well throughout the community. If only that were their only mistake. So I asked how the game responded now, to such accusations. "I don't think it's overly difficult. I played EQ for 6 or 7 years. That was hard! Vanguard's difficulty, I'd rate slightly above EQ2. It's still super easy to level and there's so much content that you can solo to 50 if you chose. You can also choose to level to 50 in one of the other spheres without killing anything. There are also nice quest lines that offer pretty good rewards set at group-level difficulty."
 | An ex-EverQuest player, she joined Vanguard only recently, and so missed the horrific experience that most of us heard no end of. Few of us have the heart to put any faith in Vanguard after the disaster that was launch. Let's call a badly launched, unfinished game a spade shall we? Most of us saw potential, and incredible frustration on the part of the devs that it didn't work out as it had been planned and stories abound about mismanagement and poor direction affected the team. But any game that holds a community long enough to stay afloat can't have something seriously wrong with it. Even defunct games such as EA's Earth and Beyond, NCSoft's Auto Assault, and EA's The Sims Online (now EA-Land) had (in the case of EA-Land, have) communities that were devastated by the loss of their game of choice. So what happened to bring Vanguard back to a place where it could fight for viability? Sony Online Entertainment bought the rights to Vanguard from development company Sigil Games and immediately began making improvements. They must have done something right, to create such passionate players as Vendolyn. I asked her what the game offers now that many players might be surprised about. She said performance was on par with or better than similar settings in EQ2, where she played a while before coming over. She notes that class differences are amazing as well. Four healers are used as an example. "Take the 4 healers: bloodmages heal from doing spell damage; disciples heal from melee dps; clerics *can* tank; shaman have DOTs, melee damage and heals. Each one is completely different from the other and not one of them is better at the job." What else is there? "Oh, and that's just for the adventuring sphere! Vanguard also has crafting and diplomacy. Diplomacy is this intricate game where you win favor with different townspeople. It's only complicated until you get an idea of what you're doing (and I hear the trial will have an amazing tutorial for it). And the crafting? One of the best systems I've seen." |
What caught my eye about Vendolyn was that she's been working diligently on getting our Vanguard wikibase updated so that players looking for information about the game would have a great resource, and she submitted a story asking for assistance.
Rather than posting the uniquely worded story, I decided to talk to her myself! What a good thing that was! She is really dedicated to her game, community, and to getting the word out that, while Vanguard may have once been the armpit of the MMO launch world, steps have been and are being taken to remedy the situation. And there are a lot of players who agree with her.
Her work on the Allakhazam Vanguard Wikibase has been steadily increasing the amount of information there. Often players on the Official Vanguard Forums agree to have their posts re-worked and entered into the wiki, referencing the source of course. The community has embraced her passion, and we at Allakhazam have enjoyed her enthusiasm and dedication! How frustrating it must be to tell people you play Vanguard and have them make faces at you!
I asked her how she responded to such people and her response was more chipper then violent (which would be my first reaction). She says she offers buddy keys and trial accounts and encourages players to check it out for themselves, even if once upon a horrible time they tried it and didn't like it. She says she knows that the game isn't for everyone, but if you're going to criticize the game now versus what the game was, one should at least have an idea of what it's like. "Initially, I'd say something along the lines of, "Don't knock it until you try it," but I realize it's not a game for everyone. If you want immersion, a huge non-instanced open world, great scenery, unique classes and a great story, then try Vanguard. If you want to farm badges or have amazing PVP rewards (other than just killing!) maybe it's not the game for you, and I'd understand why"
Okay, so I happen to be guilty of that fault. Having logged into Vanguard in late beta and being unable to move without either crashing or falling through the world or having my video card freak out at me, I never looked back. So Ven is hooking me up with a buddy key so I can try it for myself and really see what it's like. She is excited about a new trial of the isle (EQ2 type, I'm assuming) which is launching soon(tm) to give people a look at the game. Of course once that launches we'll let you all know!
In the end players with the motivation and true community spirit is what drives the games we all love. Vendolyn's work with our wiki base could use some assistance, if you have the free time and knowledge. Any of Vanguard's servers could use some open minded players who are looking for an incredibly huge non-instanced world with some passionate gamers.
I'd like to thank Vendolyn for her work on the wikibase, and for taking the time to talk to me today. To Vanguard's current and future players - congrats on finding a world you love. To the naysayers who are still talking about situations that happened years ago - check it out. You may find yourself enjoying something that 2 years ago wasn't what it is today, and a new perspective just might be gained.
Rather than posting the uniquely worded story, I decided to talk to her myself! What a good thing that was! She is really dedicated to her game, community, and to getting the word out that, while Vanguard may have once been the armpit of the MMO launch world, steps have been and are being taken to remedy the situation. And there are a lot of players who agree with her.
Her work on the Allakhazam Vanguard Wikibase has been steadily increasing the amount of information there. Often players on the Official Vanguard Forums agree to have their posts re-worked and entered into the wiki, referencing the source of course. The community has embraced her passion, and we at Allakhazam have enjoyed her enthusiasm and dedication! How frustrating it must be to tell people you play Vanguard and have them make faces at you!
I asked her how she responded to such people and her response was more chipper then violent (which would be my first reaction). She says she offers buddy keys and trial accounts and encourages players to check it out for themselves, even if once upon a horrible time they tried it and didn't like it. She says she knows that the game isn't for everyone, but if you're going to criticize the game now versus what the game was, one should at least have an idea of what it's like. "Initially, I'd say something along the lines of, "Don't knock it until you try it," but I realize it's not a game for everyone. If you want immersion, a huge non-instanced open world, great scenery, unique classes and a great story, then try Vanguard. If you want to farm badges or have amazing PVP rewards (other than just killing!) maybe it's not the game for you, and I'd understand why"
Okay, so I happen to be guilty of that fault. Having logged into Vanguard in late beta and being unable to move without either crashing or falling through the world or having my video card freak out at me, I never looked back. So Ven is hooking me up with a buddy key so I can try it for myself and really see what it's like. She is excited about a new trial of the isle (EQ2 type, I'm assuming) which is launching soon(tm) to give people a look at the game. Of course once that launches we'll let you all know!
In the end players with the motivation and true community spirit is what drives the games we all love. Vendolyn's work with our wiki base could use some assistance, if you have the free time and knowledge. Any of Vanguard's servers could use some open minded players who are looking for an incredibly huge non-instanced world with some passionate gamers.
I'd like to thank Vendolyn for her work on the wikibase, and for taking the time to talk to me today. To Vanguard's current and future players - congrats on finding a world you love. To the naysayers who are still talking about situations that happened years ago - check it out. You may find yourself enjoying something that 2 years ago wasn't what it is today, and a new perspective just might be gained.
By: Becky "Tovin" Simpson
News/Editorialist, ZAM Network
Tags: Editorial, VanguardSagaofHeroes
