This month is the last month we'll be able to log in and play Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. It will fasde away forever, off into the sunset this summer. Which is sad for me, I do intend to, I still want to say my goodbye! I keep wanting to play but the thought of it going away just makes me not want to get even more attached to the game, so I am putting it off. Which makes me appreciate older games that are still running and updated, such as EQ and WoW. Even though WoW is still such a major influence on the genre and still highly popular.
So in our return, I try to look at things differently. I don't complain so often about the things that bother me but I enjoy the things I like about the game and focus on those. For instance, my son is visiting little Easter eggs in the game while I write this, showing me the game's little special places you can visit and chuckle at. Right now he's visiting an area in the Jade Forest which is a recreation from the movie Up. Little things that make you smile. You can find a whole lot of neat things on this list
here.
We (Nelf and I) pre-ordered the expansion. Yes, we want to play with garrisons, new models and just new content in general. We boosted two characters to 90 with our boost. I went with my 75 priest, I've been so lazy with her! I wanted maxed professions, which requires a character over level 60. He went with a fresh and new rogue. We've had fun with them and I've had some decent luck at upgrading gear. LFR is pretty much the same, not much new from the last time we played.
It feels like stepping back into comfortable old shoes in some ways. I have the worst luck with my hunter, who is a beast. I love her, she is so much fun with her shiny epics, a long way from the struggle I had when she was still sporting blues and greens. I just hate long queues which seem to always throw me in the worst group possible. The priest has the best luck. I already have a strong hold on healing again, I just can't not heal. Falling back into it was so easy. Then again blowing away things as DPS is great too, just not the queues.
In being back we've been pretty active, a little leveling of lowbie alts, transmog runs, LFR, faction grinding, exploring, just a lot of stuff to do. Oh, and the isle. Not much has changed there, it is still a nice change of pace when we feel like doing it. Dire hasn't returned, he looks over and watches me play at times. I think he'd like to return, but he just has so little free time. Diablo 3 is enough to keep him busy when he wants to play something.
I will say this, I do wish the company would set more of an example, stick more to a schedule for content releases. I feel like nothing much has really changed, which feels sad considering this is WoW. It isn't a game I played ten years ago that is still hanging on in maintenance mode. I look over at Wildstar and hope they can keep up with their steady pace, it sure does look inviting. But, we take it or leave it, love it or hate it. I'm glad to be back playing, the new content just seems so far off! That is really my biggest beef these days.
I've been wanting to do more with the Living Story in GW2 but I just haven't felt like playing. The nice thing is that it will be there whenever I am ready to tackle it, which is awesome. I have been playing more Rift, in the events when I can. I just love the look and feel of the game. I love the dimensions, the events and the choice of things to do. I have been trying to play every day for the summer event. I've gotten a few interesting pets, a new cape, some titles.
I also managed to get to Storm Legion content with my alt. Finally! It has been slow going but because I do so many crafting dailys, hunt for events, search for artifacts, dimension decorating and just general things to detour me from strictly leveling. I'm a smidgen from 50, can't wait to hit it again. I have not felt like playing the main as much, two levels from the cap at that!
Pictures of some of my chars in WoW and Rift. Have a great weekend!
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| I love the changes in the sky in Rift, especially how you can change them in your personal dimension too! |
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| Climbing. |
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| Tiny and cute! |
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| Scavenger hunt, stopping for a picture! |
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| Summer event questing and corgis! |
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| A dimension I'm working on. |
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| Fishing! |
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| World event. |
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| I don't have this mount yet, I want it though! Cool thing is you can try it with the hitching post, which many like to throw down in LFR. |
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| Sunwell. |
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| Panda land. |
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| Sparring with the King of Stormwind! |
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| Hit you?! |
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| ...... |
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| ...... |
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| Hanging out in Stormwind |
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Another alt, heh.
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I feel just the same about Vanguard. I had all kinds of plans on playing and especially making videos this last month but really it's too upsetting to be there.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand there is a VG Emulator in the works from a bunch of people who have been involved in other successful similar projects in the past and that has cheered me up a lot . I don't normally touch grey-market MMO servers but when games close down my moral compass spins to point in an entirely different direction.
My ideal would be to be able to set up a working version of VG that I could run on a machine at home so I could visit whenever I wanted to. I don't at all mind never being able to play Vanguard again, it's not being able to visit Telon that disturbs me. I've always wished MMO companies would produce some kind of offline memorial/tourist version when they close game down - I bet they could make good money doing it too.
It really is. I have been wanting to play so much lately but I know it will just make me all the more angry if I do. SOE can kiss it, I hope someone emulates the game. I've been looking on and off since hearing word and didn't see much on a real emulator in the works, but maybe it was a bit ago. I hope they pull it off! SOE is just churning out crap these days. I don't know, I'm feeling rather bitter today on companies being so full of themselves, all about money. Why not just go sell manure? That's what we're being handed these days. I hate to see good, decent games just get shelved, sunset, or put on maintenance.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted an offline version since I started EverQuest. I wanted to keep my character forever! I loved her so much, until my ex deleted her and lazy SOE support wouldn't help me restore her. A week later, at that. But yeah, I think it would be something that could pull in a lot of money, an offline world, toned down or maybe with different modes to solo with. Something! We just throw money at these companies. I threw a lot into Vanguard in the short time I played. It isn't the money that I will miss, it is the world I wanted to support, the characters I grew to love. I didn't make many friends, most guilds kept falling apart every time I came back. But I did meet some very nice folks.
Meh, I better cut this off before my next post ends up in this comment, haha!
Still having fun with Champions here. Thank you for nudging me back into it! I know I don't jump around as much as you do, but sometimes it feels like it. I've got my main and two alts that I'm serious about, and I'm in a supergroup now. Doomsday Brigade. I was a lil worried because their costume colors are black and yellow and all of Rakhar's powers are blue, but since they're complimentary colors the SG uniform I made ended up looking pretty nice. Here's me being all awesome.
ReplyDeletehttp://i.imgur.com/Pbz6Acb.jpg
Come play more! I'll help with anything.
Games having a 'severance service', an offline version-lite that basically consists of your favorite character(s) in an in-game settlement/favorite Zone would be great, especially given the reality of games shutting down.
ReplyDeleteMuch like with PnP games you can keep your character sheet around years after you've stopped actually playing the game.
Don't see it happening though, companies fully realize certain people do come back/stay subscribed primarily because they grow attached to their characters.
Share the thoughts on Vanguard btw, part of me wants to do nothing more than play it but whenever I do, while I have fun, it also makes me sad to realize it will all be gone soon - and while that may be life, I'm the first to admit that I play games for escapism. Why should virtual worlds share the worst aspects of the real world?
Came here by Inventory Full.
Hey Rak, glad to hear you are having so much fun! I know I hop around wayyy too much. Been wanting to stop, for about five years now, haha!! Colors look pretty nifty on the set you designed :) I bet my sub has expired, I suppose I can always unlock a freeb character to play too! I miss playing, I need to log in soon. I get distracted so easily these days!
ReplyDelete@Netherlands- Hey, thanks for stopping by! Yes, it would never float with companies to do something like that but it has always been a wish of mine.
I need to get on the ball and download Vanguard (new machine, still need to), I'll have a post on it by the end of the month. I will be on for the last week, I'd like to be there filming/ and getting some last pictures when the servers go down, it just depends on what time they take them offline. It breaks my heart that the game is shutting down because I'd be playing it now if it were not. I play for the same reasons, I live in a big crowded city and games like Vanguard are my escape for a short while! Vanguard has such beauty, it was always so peaceful and comforting to log in!