So... is Adventuring required to explore the lands?

[Veral]

As the title suggests, I'm wondering if it's going to be possible to explore the world of Vanguard with a level of 1 in Adventuring, with your character focused in Diplomacy or Crafting instead. I'm guessing you would need a group at the very least, to protect you, since your fighting skills will be terrible?

The thing is, if that's true, will there be anyone who doesn't do adventuring primarily and choose one of the others to do in their "spare time"? I know you can take all three, but I think most people will end up wanting to focus on one. Exploring sounds infinitely more fun than being stuck in a city. Not to mention fighting is the "classic" thing to do in a MMORPG, wouldn't a lot of people have trouble getting used to a playstyle where they don't fight anything at all?

Of course, it sounds like the game is designed to require people experienced in all three spheres, so that would mean the few people who focus on things besides the Adventuring skill will be in high demand... right?

I'd love to hear what people's thoughts on this are.

[Greymain]

Exploring is my thing. I expect to be active in all three spheres. I think that there is supposed to be enough content in the big cities to allow crafters and diplomats to play without killing mobs though I suspect few will be able to resist adventuring.

I find it hard to believe that you could successfully get a crafter with level 0 adventure down to a forge at the bottom of a high level dungeon where a single hit from any of the inhabitants will be fatal!!

[Taronn Anvilmarr]

I expect to be active in all spheres as well, but i will probly concentrate on crafting (my fav) over the other two.

I am excited to learn about the diplomacy sphere and how it works.

Since my play style is basically solo, i dont have a LOT of expectation for the adventuring sphere - but the other two have possibilities.

....and maybe the diplomacy angle will help my adventuring chances for finding groups and raids and all that....

[froma]

It would be neat if diplomacy lowered your aggro generation (to a degree). That way diplomats could be escorted by an adventuring party to help them on their quest, whatever that may be. It would be a win-win situation.

[Greymain]

Well diplomats will be required to pursuade mobs in a range of quests, so we are told, so lowering agro would make sense. A diplomat would have problems with dumb creatures such as bears and spiders though.

[Pirotess]

Hopefully the concept of aggro radius's shrinking and expanding based on level has been modernized and improved upon. At the very least I'd hope that if they actually still use it that they also allow for artifically modifying it so a low level adventurer actually could make it to the bottom of that dungeon to use their high level crafting skills.

[TheKnight]

*lacks true understanding of the sphere system*

[Pirotess]

The sphere system is really just a more logical grouping of various features of the game. Adventuring encompasses most of what we've come to expect from MMOs. Hacking and slashing, magic use, traveling, dungeon running, etc. Crafting encompasses an entirely different part of your characters skills and uses its own set of clothing and statistics (Not Str, Int, Sta, etc) to do its calculations. Basically it adds another dimension to your character that you have to level and gear up. Diplomacy is the third sphere and adds a third dimension to your character complete with its own levels, stats and gear needs as well.

Thats what excites me about Vanguard so much, the apparent or potential depth of the game. That depth allows for individuals to really shine in the area they choose to focus on and make a name for themselves since it will be damn near impossible for anyone to get all their skills maxed in all three spheres let alone everyone like many games without those extra spheres allow for. I dont want to be a cookie cutter [insert class here], I want to standout and I think most other people do too. Heres to hoping Vanguard allows for that.

[Korinth]

I could not remember which dev was doing the interview but I do recall an interview saying that some adventuring area will require a diplomat to be with them in order to gain access, maybe someone else can link it to confirm/clear it up.

I would assume it is in theory, possible to explore all the lands at level 1 but then the person would need a good group to protect him/her. Would be realistic if you are in a good static group/guild, but I have a hard time seeing that work in PuG’s as they will just want an appropriate adventurer who is also at the required level in the diplomatic field.

If there is very few diplomats or crafters then I would assume there would be a high demand for them as there wont be many around to fill out work orders/diplomatic orders such as getting land rights etc.

[TheKnight]

Hey I like this...

You say gear can boost crafting and the like? In this do you mean I can have like "Blacksmithing Apron of Skill" or something and have it lend me something to my blacksmithing skill?