I decided to begin with a new character, so my human started life in the town of Archet. I ran every quest that was available to me in that area and I did not notice any new quests at all. It is true that my memory could be a bit hazy due to my long absence from the game, but I noticed nothing different in the quests or the rewards. That was a disappointment to me, but starting areas rarely get big overhauls.

I did notice that the experience gained from killing NPC’s and from quests has been increased. I sailed through to level 10 with the greatest of ease. This is good for old-timers like myself who have gone through these areas before and just want to get through them as quickly as possible. I have no complaints with experience gained so far.

Even though I had done the quests several times in the past, I still found them to be interesting and enjoyable. There are a few of the “kill 10 foozle’s” quests, but overall, the stories pull you in and set the mood. I particularly enjoyed the spider-themed quest line that lead me into the tunnels beneath a farm to kill a spider queen.

The biggest change that I noticed is in how the difficulty of the quests has been lowered. I breezed through all the quests without even the remote chance of dying. This also includes the spider queen battle that was certainly more difficult back  during the launch days. Turbine, in my opinion, has completely removed the fear of dying from the first 10 levels of the game. I think this is a bad idea, as I find the accomplishment of surviving most exhilarating. A dose of fear makes things fun, and I was never in fear of dying.

Going forward, I am interested in seeing if this trend continues. Does the leveling speed continue apace? Will I be able to continue my solo career (none of my friends play the game anymore) and find meaningful advancement? Will I have to find someone who needs the exact same portion of the quest I do in order to get things done? Time will tell.

–Wolfen

Even though I consider my first night playing the game smoother than anticipated, the game does have some glaring flaws and glitches. The first of which is unless you have a decent gaming computer with a good video card, you will not get the best gaming experience out of Vanguard. The game has been greatly optimized since beta, but it still has a long way to go.

The game still stutters and hitches, even with my Nvidia 8800GT card with 512mb of video RAM. It is very smooth when I’m out in the country by myself, but it really slows down when you get nearer the cities. This is with the base options set to High. Vanguard’s graphic design is based on realism, and you pay a heavy price for making things look as real as possible. I prefer this style of graphics, so the occasional hitch or stutter doesn’t bother me at all. There is a wide range of graphical options, so it would be easy to lower the settings to make it play better on slower machines.

My half-elf druid started on the Kojan continent, which is a series of islands. The culture is Asian-based and leans heavily towards a Samurai style. The inhabitants worship a way of life known as “Jin” that permeates everything they do. There is a “good” Jin known as Lao’Jin, and an “evil” Jin known as Ra’jin. The two Jins are at war with one another, each trying to become the dominant way of life.

Most quests during these early levels almost always have something to do with Jin. In fact, as I continued to gain levels, the Jin quest line became more and more heavy-handed. I am now level 11 and I can say that I am completely tired of the subject of Jin. I hope a new type of quest line starts soon, because I need a new subject to keep my attention.

With that said about the long Jin quest line, the bad also comes with some good. There is a wealth of quests and I never lacked for something to do. I still have many quests in my quest log at level 11. I just wish they all didn’t have something to do with Jin.

My druid plays like a cross between a wizard and a standard druid. I have big nukes and powerful damage over time spells. I can root and snare, which allows for solo kiting. Small heals help if I get beat on. So far, I really enjoy this style of character. It seems to have the best of both worlds. Time will tell if it stays this way as I level up.

The world is massive, beautiful, and fun. It is also very under-populated. Even with just four servers, it is obvious that most players gave this game a wide berth. I also average two crashes to the desktop each night, so the developers still have much to do.

My next postings will get back to my gaming adventures. I will detail the good along with the bad, of which I have encountered plenty of both. You will get the true opinion of a so-called “veteran noob,” so that the average player can get an idea of what to expect when playing this game.

–Wolfen