Okay: lore. See, back in my fond days of Sony Online Entertainment's
EverQuest Online Adventures,
one of the popular sayings went, "I don't need [insert whatever here].
I've got LORE!" The origin of the saying is legendary among hardcore
EQOA fans.
See, this player who was very new (and no, it's not me) received an
item as a quest reward marked as LORE. The LORE tag is EQOA's way of
identifying unique items, which meant a player could not own more than
one of that item.
Now this new player, who was playing a tank (I forget which), got a
group and headed out to a camp of red mobs. After the first few pulls
of the healer having to work overtime to keep the tank healed, the
healer suggested, "You should consider equipping a shield to lower the
damage you take from these mobs."
The tank assured the healer, "I don't need a shield. I've got LORE!"
Much conversation followed, and the healer had a great opportunity to
be a mentor to a new player. But that didn't stop the healer from
coming to the forums to tell us all about it!
And so it came to pass that people competed for the most ludicrous way
of using the phrase. On raids, a tank might shout, "I don't need a MH.
I've got LORE!" So it went.
What does all of that have to do with
Vanguard?
Well, I am telling you right here and now that Game Update #3 is about
to become as famous as the "I've got LORE!" saying for us die hard
Vanguard fans.
Why am I so jazzed? Just look at the freaking
preview
of GU#3! Extra content in Ksaravi Gulch, Guildhall trophies, a SPAM
FILTER (!!1!!SHIFT), and one other little thing in Phase 1. The
other little thing? Why, optimization of course.
I am ecstatic to hear phrases like "over a dozen high-profile client
crash fixes" and "fixed a major memory leak." Now, look, I understand
that SOE's continuous optimization fixes haven't made all of our
problems disappear yet. I'm trying not to overreact here, but I
am very optimistic about this. I personally have not had many CTD
problems since SOE took the reigns, but the persistence and prevalence
of the problem has been the major factor that has made me hesitant to
recommend my favorite MMOG to other players.
In the wake of other upcoming MMOGs being canceled or delayed, GU#3
could be the turning point for
Vanguard.
SOE could very well get it running smoothly enough to start the
"relaunch" promised soon. I can't wait for GU#3! It will be the patch
of LORE. I
Told You So.
)