musings on advancement.

[Greymain]

How many like me keep mulling over the approach to character creation in Vanguard? not looks but classes skills and the like.

The problem is time. Ideally you are a master craftsman skillful Harvester and a wily diplomat who can dish out the damage when needed. but taking this approach you will advance at a snails pace.

Until the spoiler sites spill the beans we won't know what quests need what classes/skills to complete. If I become a powerful diplomat will I find enough guild mates wanting to do my class quests or will I be like the healer in demand. As a dedicated crafter will I be able to reach the anvil of death 15 levels down in the deadly dungeon even with bodyguards? Or will I need 40 levels in adventuring to have a hope of surviving the trip?

If I mess about will the determined adventure sphere only members in the guild advance so fast that we cannot play together? what if it takes months to build a ship then months to build a house? If they are group projects I will be committed !!

I must admit musing over this makes the morning dog walk fly by.

what are your thoughts?

[Taronn Anvilmarr]

I myself find myself considering the crafting sphere details, all those that have been parcelled out, filtered through, and all that i hope for. I enjoy the crafter sphere in eq2 at least equal - probly more - than the adventuring i so enjoy.

When the game is released - i can tell u i will read all the booklets they give out with it and then Still tear my hair out cause they dont say enough!! lol

but really - i so hope that the crafter sphere is detailed and challenging for those that accept that challenge - because i worry that the devs dont realize that ppl dont HAVE TO do crafting - we do it cause we love it - so PLEASE make it challenging and rewarding - not as an afterthought.....

[Pirotess]

I think it really comes down to them making the other spheres worth while. In EQ2 for example they failed to do that with armor for example. At least during the time I played, there was no crafted armor that was useful by the time I was able to make it since I either couldnt get the resources themselves or the recipes until I had outleveled the gear. Even at max level in both crafting and adventuring, crafted armor couldnt compare with heritage items and gear drops from even minor named mobs.

SWG on the other hand got it right. They made crafting and house building worth while and an integral part of the game, not something added later when they had time. I hope Vanguard pulls that off because I really miss how engaging the SWG crafting and harvesting system was.

[Greymain]

But the problem is the levels. if two friends or husband and wife join Vanguard at the same time in order to play together and one takes time to do a bit of house/ship building while the other adventures will they stll be able to play together after the house is built?

If one sticks to a single Sphere and the other spreads their time on all three will they drift apart due to level difference?


An aspect of Horizons I really appreciated was that my level 1 new character could go hunting with a group of level 100's and it was good fun. I got a little exp to reward my ability to stay alive in the badlands but best of all everyone in our guild could play together.

[Persious]

That situation should have been resolved with the signing of the prenuptial agreement. A clause should have been added to the document that stated both parties entering into this contract agree to progress at the same rate in all spheres to alleviate grouping disparities.


P.S. Dear Piro I spell checked this.

[Jaeth]

Originally Posted by Persious

That situation should have been resolved with the signing of the prenuptial agreement. A clause should have been added to the document that stated both parties entering into this contract agree to progress at the same rate in all spheres to alleviate grouping disparities.


P.S. Dear Piro I spell checked this.

That just made my day. Or, well, the 16 minutes that's left of it.

[froma]

Originally Posted by Greymain

If one sticks to a single Sphere and the other spreads their time on all three will they drift apart due to level difference?

That's an issue that I've had in the past when playing with girlfriends. I think that City of Heroes had the best fix for this with their sidekick system. If you were greater than five levels apart from someone, you could group with them as a sidekick. Your skills would be temporarily boosted (increasing the damage/accuracy of your attacks to that level) and you would receive XP at the same rate you would as if you were the level of your hero.

[Greymain]

Sorry to hear of your problems Froma you will just have to find one that will wait for you to catch up with her

[froma]

Haha! Low blow, man, low blow. Though, now that you mention it, I suppose "seeking patient leveler" should be added to my personal add...

[Pirotess]

Originally Posted by Greymain

If one sticks to a single Sphere and the other spreads their time on all three will they drift apart due to level difference?

Sure thats what the fellowship system is supposed to provide for. Its similar to CoH's sidekick system mentioned below.