Vanguard

In case you missed it last week, Ten Ton Hammer published or revised 13 articles about Vanguard. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say no other site came close to 13 articles last week. Hell, you're lucky if you got one out of them. So, if you're not stopping by our site every weekday to see new content, you should be. No one else is bringing you as much Vanguard content as we are.

Self-promotion aside, I'm talking about lore today. I'll get right to that after I present a picture of the Vanguard Content Scoreboard.

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.

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Poll

Better Reason to PIck a Race?

Quest Guides

Class Content

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InfoMap Advanced now hosted at Ten Ton Hammer

Armor & Monster Projects

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Oct. 12, 2007

Last Week's Newsletter

(Knee) Jerk!

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Mon, 08 Oct 2007 03:51:00 GMT

Vanguard News - Ten Ton Hammer

			Home � News � Topics � Features � Gallery

Ask a Dev!
Friday, 5 October 2007 - 9:22 EDT

Weekly Hot Topics - 10/05/07
Friday, 5 October 2007 - 4:05 EDT

Game Update #3 News
Thursday, 4 October 2007 - 22:40 EDT

Continental Flavor
Wednesday, 3 October 2007 - 19:39 EDT

Interview: Avarem on Ancient Port Warehouse
Wednesday, 3 October 2007 - 15:29 EDT

CIS Guide #2
Wednesday, 3 October 2007 - 0:38 EDT

Adventuring Stats Guide Updated
Tuesday, 2 October 2007 - 19:08 EDT

Silas "Cylus" Morse Leaves Vanguard
Tuesday, 2 October 2007 - 9:10 EDT

Upcoming Content Pass: Community Feedback
Tuesday, 2 October 2007 - 8:58 EDT

Necromancer: 21-30 Progression Guide
Tuesday, 2 October 2007 - 4:37 EDT

Disciple Spells List Updated
Monday, 1 October 2007 - 20:01 EDT

Armor Project: Steel Chain and Leather Armor
Monday, 1 October 2007 - 1:07 EDT

Drox UI Updated
Sunday, 30 September 2007 - 17:03 EDT

(Knee) Jerk!

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Doesn't it seem like everybody just shouts at each other nowadays?

I think it is because conflict is drama, drama is entertaining, and entertainment is marketable.

Finding consensus and common ground is dull! Nobody wants to watch a civilized discussion that acknowledges ambiguity and complexity. We want to see fireworks!

We want the sense of solidarity and identity that comes from having our interests narrowed and exploited by like-minded zealots!

Talk show hosts. Political candidates, news programs, special interest groups...They all become successful by reducing debates to the level of shouted rage. Nothing gets solved, but we're all entertained.

-Calvin to Hobbes (Watterson, 1996)

For a young child, Calvin is really on to something there.

Our society has conditioned us so that our knee-jerk response is to be a jerk! When we play Vanguard, we expect every group that rolls into our area to try to steal a mob or a resource. We're conditioned to look for the drama.

I mean, which story gets you more attention and sympathy in /gu?
A. "This group just came into my dungeon and stole the mob I've been camping for 3 hours."
B. "This group just came into my dungeon looking for the same mob I've been camping for 3 hours. We talked about it and decided to team up to kill it. They helped me, and now I am going to stay here with them and help them."

Dalmarus has started a conversation over in our forums. He wants to know if etiquette on contested mobs is a thing of the past. Check Saoraid's response for a glimpse of the golden days of 5-7 years ago. Illusive says it still happens on Seradon. What about your experiences? Feel free to join the conversation. You can bet Darmus will feature this thread in the Weekly Hot Topics later this week.

Speaking of this week, I have an idea. Remember the craze of niceness that swept the nation for a month or so after Pay It Forward hit the theaters? Let's try to recreate that this week in Vanguard. Just one week is all I am asking. Let's ask questions first. "Are you harvesting here?" "Are you waiting on mob x?" Let's eschew drama for just one week and see if our playing experience are any less stressful.

Try it for one week. If you don't like the results, you can always go back to a "survival of the fittest" mentality. I Told You So.

References
Watterson, Bill. It's A Magical World. Kansas City: Universal Press Syndicate, 1996.

Comments? Thoughts? Criticisms? Share them here.

HOT NEW CONTENT

Interview

Avarem on Ancient Port Warehouse

UI Updates

Drox UI 2.2.1
InfoMap (hosted at Ten Ton Hammer soon!)

Poll

Continental Flavor

Quest Guides

Class Content

Armor & Monster Projects

Steel Chain and Leather Armor

Weekly Forum Roundup

Oct. 5, 2007

Last Week's Newsletter

Non Sequiturs

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Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:51:00 GMT

Vanguard News - Ten Ton Hammer

			Home � News � Topics � Features � Gallery

InfoMap Updated
Sunday, 30 September 2007 - 15:30 EDT

CIS Guide #1
Sunday, 30 September 2007 - 11:46 EDT

Weekly Hot Topics - 9/28/07
Friday, 28 September 2007 - 6:05 EDT

Shade of the Great Wyrm
Wednesday, 26 September 2007 - 19:07 EDT

Pantheon Guide Finale: Guide #17
Wednesday, 26 September 2007 - 0:11 EDT

Choose Your Own Adventure
Tuesday, 25 September 2007 - 19:50 EDT

Tuesday's Tips: Guide to Using Weaknesses
Tuesday, 25 September 2007 - 6:19 EDT

Disciple Creation Guide Updated
Monday, 24 September 2007 - 20:15 EDT

Armor Project: Iron Chain and Leather Armor
Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 23:21 EDT

Pantheon Guide #16
Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 16:33 EDT

Newsletter: Performance Enhancement
Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 14:43 EDT

A Sneak Peak at Ancient Port Warehouse
Friday, 21 September 2007 - 17:21 EDT

Weekly Hot Topics - 9/21/07
Friday, 21 September 2007 - 4:47 EDT

Non Sequiturs

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I'm going to be short and to the point this week. No extended metaphors. No 19th century diction. I have a lot of work to do involving Vanguard, and I want to get cracking on it. So, I'll say what I need to say and be done.

This Just in: Ralsu Likes Vanguard

I want to make this very clear: despite the fact that I rated Vanguard at 2/5 hammers, I like the game. It is the only MMOG I play, and I would continue to play it even if I got fired tomorrow. It has the features I care about (raids and PvP are the two categories that lowered my overall review of the game, and I really don't care about either game play aspect).

Content Changes

Dalmarus, Machail, and I are still discussing the results of our two polls on content and how to best make ourselves useful. Stay tuned. Machail has already started the CIS quest line this week, and he will set his sights on some end-game content after that. Dalmarus and I will cover some middle-level stuff soon.

Keeping the Game Fun

Folks, starting a new class every month and leveling to 20 just to get progression guides and spells updates was really making Vanguard no fun for me. I am staying with one character from here on out. It just so happened that I have landed on an orc Disciple.

Orc Racial Ability

Speaking of orcs, I noticed that the racial ability, Fury of Ghalnn has changed slightly so I went ahead and updated all of the class creation guides for the classes orc can pick. You didn't see a news announcement about this because I felt the changes were not significant enough to publicize.

Humbled

If you want to read a good blog, go read Coyote's spoiler-free review of Resident Evil: Extinction (in theaters now). His blog, which is typically full of witty banter also seems to feature a lot of pictures of scantily-clad women. It's quite popular.

If you want a blog that mostly discusses Vanguard, please keep reading this one.

I Give Up. I Do Want a DS

After months of telling me I wanted a Nintendo DS and just didn't know it, I am ready to admit to Xerin that he was right. The Gamespot preview of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 wasn't the thing that turned the tide (I was already convinced when I read it), but it would have convinced me if I hadn't already made the decision that I want one.

One line in the preview says a member of the player-controlled team is "a platypus in aviator goggles wielding a bazooka." Sold!

Enough with the Non Sequiturs!

I really can't waste another minute telling you what's going on in my addled brain this week. I've got work to do. Vanguard is a good game, and I think we can keep people interested in it. I Told You So.

Comments? Thoughts? Criticisms? Share them here.

HOT NEW CONTENT

Tuesday's Tip

Guide to Weaknesses

Poll

Choose Your Own Adventure

Quest Guides

Class Content

Updated: Disciple Creation Guide

Armor & Monster Projects

Weekly Forum Roundup

Sept. 28, 2007

Last Week's Newsletter

Performance Enhancement

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