A Post Full of FUN!

Lots to talk about today:

STALKER: 

Not word yet, expecting it to go out next week.

Granado Espada:  

Having problems getting it running, so I am yet to play it.

Dungeon Runners: 

Just got into the beta, yet to play it.

ALEX:

I made an entery for a  Gaming World event called ALEX. Its a short rpg featurning the works of 29 extremely talented individuals. Well, words from the event organizer himself:

ALEX : A Two Days Collaborative Game, ALEX, or A.L.E.X for short from now on, since the full title is a hell of a mouthful, is a lot of things. (download at the bottom)

It is the final part of a collaborative epic that at its’ conclusion will be at least 2 days in the making. It is GW’s magnum opus, our greatest achievement as game makers and is a farewell letter to the game making community. It is the product of the hard work of not just myself, but a team of 29 extremely talented individuals. It will also, I hope, be the first truly great RM2K3 game, the first ‘killer app’ for the engine. My hopes for the project are obscenely high, my ambitions huge. It is the culmination of all what we’ve been working for in 2 days. And with any luck, it’ll be a lot of fun!

Check it out:

http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=57929.0 

NOTE: In my entry I had a small math error, use 8648 insted of what it really is.

WoW:

I’ve been enjoying my time back with WoW. Currently a level 22 BE mage on the Blood Furnace server.

Haha, I’m an Idiot (And Other Things)

I decided to write this article for the sole purpose of showing off my stupidity. It’s a bit of a long story I’ll start from the top!

I was talking to my mother yesterday about money, my lack of it actually. I was trying to come up with ways to earn some fast cash without getting a job (Trying to focus 100% on school at the moment.) We got to talking and then my mom said “Wait, what about all that money you inherited?”….. Yeah. You see, a few years ago my grandmother passes away. I, being her only grandson, got a little something left for me. I came to visit her quite a lot and she always gave me little gifts, but this was a reasonably large amount of cash, and I totally forgot I had it. I don’t actually have my own personal bank account, every time I think of getting one my mother talks me out of it, as any money I make is generally pissed away within the week, it’d be a waste. She kept the money in her bank account until I really need a bank account. So naturally I forgot about it being there. So now I have cash, and life is good.

My first purchase was an Xbox 360, I’ve been thinking about purchasing one for quite some time, and not that I have I can safely say they are worth the money if you plan on splurging for a Live gold account. I also plan on getting back on the World of WarCrack. Yeah, I know I sold my account but that also have a very interesting story attached to it.

My buddy who bought the account’s grades have been dropping as of late. He obsesses over WoW, its just not healthy. After a bit of an intervention with his parents he decided to give it all up. His parents said they wanted him to get rid of the game, so he passes the game back to me, expansion and all. I did give him the money he payed for the account back, plus what he paid for the expansion, I’m a good person =).

Ayup… that’s about it. on to Beta News!

Recently Granado Espada closed beta invites recently went out, I’d guess to anyone who signed up. I mean, I never really posed on the site and I only registered in like, December. So I don’t think they were all that picky.

for those who don’t know Granado Espada is…. some Korean game with alot of hype. It’s one of the top hyped games at mmorpg.com, which is no easy task for any game! It looks a bit like Final Fantasy 12, and you play as 3 characters or something… I don’t really remember. It you want to know check out their site:

www.granadoespada.sg

Anyways, no word on the stalker beta, I’m guessing it’ll start next week, no official word though.

-Radical

Yep… Nothing

Well, it’s been awhile guys. No, I haven’t been getting lazy; I just have nothing to talk about. Currently, I’m not participating in any betas, so yeah, nothing much for me to report on.

There is going to be a S.T.A.L.K.E.R beta later this month, seeing as I am a Fileplanet member, I’ll be participating and reporting on that.

-Radical

Vanguard: Still Going

All the patches since launch:

Game Updates January 30,2007Vanguard Patch Notes 1/30/2007

Welcome to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes!

Congratulations! You are now one of the first to witness the exciting, dangerous, and ever-changing world of Telon. Telon is a living world, and like any world its early days is going to be fraught with turbulence. Expect us to have to “patch” any cracks as they appear for the first days.

We know you are excited to explore the world we created for you, and we are equally excited to have you here. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the landscape… enjoy the freedom… of Vanguard.

GAMEPLAY NOTES

– Abilities with a harmful component will no longer put other group members in a PvP contest.

– Spells that change form will no longer allow you to switch PvP teams.

– Quest items can no longer be sold to a merchant

ADVENTURING

– Shaman – Fixed an issue where you could receive your Patron Spirit quests too early causing you to not learn your Spirit Walk ability if completed before level 15. Those shaman who have finished the quests before level 15 should visit any shaman trainer to get their Spirit Walk ability upon reaching level 15. Followers of Tuurgin who have completed the quest line will need to speak to any Shaman Instructor and say “patronfix” to receive the Spirit Walk ability. NOTE: This only applies to those shaman who have completed the Patron Spirit questlines prior to this patch OR who were not yet level 15 when completed.

CRAFTING NOTES

– The Thestran amateur blacksmith quest now requires only three pairs of sabatons, not four.

– The quest the Artist’s Supplies will now ask for a specific type of quartz jewel.

DIPLOMACY NOTES

– The travel journal for “Stop the Calamity” has been updated with the correct location for Norrie Bilstro.

– Fixed issue with “Obtaining the Documents” in which you could speak with the quest targets in the wrong order, requiring you to start over again.

– Telyn Boarmaul will no longer try to kill orcs and goblins who try to take the horse quest from him. Caution in Ca’ail Brael is still advised for greenskin visitors…

– Martok now has Civic Diplomacy for Soldiers and Crafters. Greenskins rejoice!

– Mekalia now has Civic Diplomacy for Crafters. Bring Low the Underking!

– Martok and Mekalia’s Civic Diplomacy Trainers are now turned on and ready to train YOU!

– Graag has been made to heel quite a bit more in the newbie varanthari line. He should be easier to beat.

– The Spiritragers got the hint from Graag and have fallen in line with the others. They should be easier to beat.

– Hubert Ringsworth is no longer a terrifying opponent for young halfling diplomats. And he tells me he loves pumpkin and potato compote.

– Other decks here and there were also altered to make them a little more reasonable to play against. This will be an ongoing process.

– Kev Wematmani has remembered he is of noble blood, and not just a bookworm. He is now a Noble and you can proceed with the Civic Diplomacy Training quest in Khal.

– Increase the Watch now gives out the proper Accuracy buff.

– You should no longer receive double credit for Civic Diplomacy in Hathor Zhi.

– C’estari Erenai as well as many other NPCs have had their decks altered to make them more appropriate opponents. This will be an ongoing process.

– Civic Diplomacy Domestic levers removed from Ca’ail Brael. No Domestics in the city means no need for Domestic levers!

– Greatly decreased the decay rate of Civic Diplomacy levers in all Civic Diplomacy locations. Buffs will remain for a longer period of time as a result.

– There is now a Blackmail, Plots, Trends, and Arcana Informant in Three Rivers/Themnwar’s Shield and Veskal’s Exchange for your information trading needs!

– Apprentice Dalenax no longer does whatever it is gnomes do to not be in line of sight when you are looking right at them.

WORLD POPULATION NOTES

– Niyuturr’s Scaled Greaves should now be appropriately named.

– Added a bindstone just outside of Tanvu city (PvP’ers rejoice!).

– Moved the altar in Jalen’s Crossing to an area with no NPC’s (and so ended the era of infinite death loops).

GUI NOTES

– Updated the trade window to color item names and a few other minor fixes.

– Items in a player trade will now show the correct stats and other data.

CODING

– Your characters’ server names are now shown in the character select list.

– Items in a bank will now show the correct stats.

– The market brokers will now give proper information about why you can’t place an item on the market.

~The Vanguard Team

Game Updates January 31,2007

Vanguard Patch Notes 1/31/2007

Welcome to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes!

You are now one of the first to witness the exciting, dangerous, and ever-changing world of Telon. Telon is a living world, and like any world its early days are going to be fraught with turbulence. Expect us to have to “patch” any cracks as they appear for the first days.

We know you are excited to explore the world we created for you, and we are equally excited to have you here. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the landscape… enjoy the freedom… of Vanguard.

GAMEPLAY NOTES

– A level component has been added to your chance to stealth, sneak and hide. This makes gaining skill much easier.

– The stealth, sneak and hide skill gain rate has been significantly increased.

– Melee AE attacks have had their costs slightly increase.

ADVENTURING

– The Druid, Necromancer and Psionicist have had there nuke damage increased.

– Bard – Invisibility song components are no longer maintained.

– Bard – Slightly lowered the movement increase for Tynen’s Components.

– Psionicist – Thought Pulse now has a 4 second refresh timer.

– Psionicist – Mirage is no longer a maintained ability.

– Shaman – Removed two abilities from the Rakurr (wolf) pet that were not intended.

– Shaman – Skin of Rakurr now grants 8% chance to crit instead of 108%.

– Shaman – Skin of Rakurr should now modify chance to crit for auto attack, too.

– Shaman – Skin of Rakurr’s movement speed bonus should no longer stack with other movement speed buffs.

– Shaman – Skin of Tuurgin now properly raises auto attack damage.

– Shaman – You should no longer be able to be in patron form while you have a summoned attendant.

– Shaman – Removed the + spell damage from Skin of Rakurr and lowered the melee damage mod by 2%.

CRAFTING NOTES

– Added harvesting tools to the General Goods Vendors.

– The outpost locations for the level ten crafting outpost quests have been changed for most starting cities.

– A few artificer and outfitter recipes that were missing from certain Thestran basic trainers have been added.

– Attuning dusts have been added to utility vendors.

– Outposts now give double the continental artisans faction of regular cities and towns.

– Outposts now give artisan faction for the city they trade heavily with (if any).

– Outposts now give normal city faction for doing work orders in an outpost that city trades heavily with. If you do enough work orders and gain enough faction with them, hostile cities may become more tolerant of you, allowing access to content inside the city.

– The outpost quest in each city now has directions to get there safely in addition to the already present waypoint.

– Some obsolete recipes have been removed from game.

– Erron in Leth Nurae will now properly switch your trade if asked.

DIPLOMACY NOTES

– Players should find much less frustration parleying with Sylwen, Prince Dargand, Keyvan Minoo, Getzin the Gnome, and Hubert Ringsworth.

– “Dreamspeaker” now fails correctly when the timer runs out.

– Deck transmogrification continues.

– Some alterations to the Civic Diplomacy levers in many cities.

– There is now an alternate source of Diplomacy experience in the form of a group of soldiers that need your diplomatic skills! Speak with your local racial trainer to get the lowdown. This content is available only for players below 40 skill.

WORLD POPULATION

– Uvela should now properly direct players to the various shrines.

– Altered a roaming (potentially) KOS npc who would sometimes path near the corpse altar in Qa Riverbank.

– Fixed several NPCs that erroneously had Khal faction assigned to them

– Added increase to Upside Alliance for slaying Ksaravi Rat Men

– Decreased the amount of faction required to gain to become “Not Killed On Sight” in various starting areas and the few outposts that are hostile

– NPCs that drop coin will no longer do so at a 100% rate its still quite a high rate, but it was out of whack with other forms of money making

– Many outpost NPCs in Jalen’s Crossing are now on the Students of Lao’Jin faction, the students are much more understanding than other inhabitants of the continent

– Challenge Rating on many NPCs in the Ksaravi Gulch dungeon have been modified allowing more diverse groups of players to experience the content

– Entrepreneur Nargix setup his General Goods shop at the Tracker Camp within the Wildgrowth Forest.

– Increased the number of spawn points of Pod Tree Sprouts within the Wildgrowth Forest associated with the quest “What’s in the Pods?”

– Uvela now knows about how many wisp corpses are needed to repair the shrines

– Foruil Gladesworn now knows the location of the Imperial Poacher

– wildlife in the northern plains of Thestra is generaly slightly less dangerous now

– Verdant Lurkers are less likely to notice when their friends are being killed

– Verdant Lurkers are generally less dangerous people than they used to be

– the quest “Breaking The Mindbreaker” is now properly listed as Group

– Mihdi Khadim is now (appropriately) female.

– Martok – Put dot on the map for Port of Martok.

– Rindol Field – Some quests in Rindol Field were incorrectly marked as ‘Solo.’ They are now correctly marked as ‘Group.’

– The Ksaravi Hostage should no longer aggro surrounding mobs.

– Rindol Field – In the quest, “Take Back the Mill,” the waypoint to the Storehouse Mill has been updated.

– Tursh – Added a waypoint to Shimmerleaf Lake for the quest, “No Fish for Tursh.”

– Bind Stone Additions

– Additional bindstones added to the continent of Martok.

– Additional bindstones added to areas surrounding the Village of Three Rivers

– Bindstone added in the general vicinity of the Upside Defense Garrison on Skrilien Point

– Atlar added in the general vicinity of the Upside Defense Garrison on Skrilien Point

– The entrance to Kalendra’s Coven should no longer have bunched up mobs.

– Bindstones added to

– Hathor Zhi

– Tanvu

– outpost on side of island

– blighted land outpost

– Leth Nurae

– Northern Plains

– Hilsbury/Misthaven

– River Valley

– camp/tents outside the valley

– small village inside the valley

– Kurashasa area

– arena

– Qa Riverbank

CODING

– Fixed a bug causing the value of max expertise from one item to not show up in the Equipment Expertise tooltip.

~The Vanguard Team

Game Updates Febuary 01,2007

Welcome to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes!

You are now one of the first to witness the exciting, dangerous, and ever-changing world of Telon. Telon is a living world, and like any world its early days are going to be fraught with turbulence. Expect us to have to “patch” any cracks as they appear for the first days.

We know you are excited to explore the world we created for you, and we are equally excited to have you here. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the landscape… enjoy the freedom… of Vanguard.

Vanguard Patch Notes 2/1//2007 for build 1728

GAMEPLAY NOTES

– The automatic defensive target self setting now saves.

– After death you will be immune to aggro. A 30 second timer will begin once you have moved. Beneficial skills will not cancel this effect.

– Updated multiple travel journal entries for Tursh.

– The Tursh bindstone has been moved to a more convenient location.

– Raian Vases no longer occur in mysterious pairs.

– A new quest is available at the north Neamsog bunker.

– The beginning of the Infineum quest line has seen significant alterations and polish; this should not break the quest for anyone that is currently on it.

– The runic consoles in the Ark of Harmony now port the group of the person that uses them, as originally intended.

– Numerous items have had their icon and descriptions corrected.

– Several Vendors that did not have their merchant list now have their items for sale!

– Bindstones have been added near: Tahean’s Vengeance; Veskal’s Exchange; Arlinora’s Retreat; Dark Horse Track; The Beacon of Hafeez al’Azzimat; and the Refugee Camp in Jharru Flats.

– Camels can now be purchased form the camel merchant starting at rank 2

ADVENTURING

– Bard – Song components will no longer automatically be added to the hotbar when you learn them, as you can’t use them from there anyway.

– Bard – The Bard Trainer in Tursh should now sell instruments like other bard trainers

– Bard – Swirl of the Tempest (all ranks) now display their floating damage numbers correctly.

– Dread Knight – Increased the aggro modifiers of your special attacks. They are now similar to the other tanks.

– Druid – Increased the damage of the earthen brute’s attacks.

– Druid-“Lighting Strike” (rank 3-5) and “Call Lighting” (all ranks) no longer display “Resisted” when they are actually hitting and doing damage. The abilities were functioning correctly, just the over the head combat text was incorrect.

– Rogue – You can no longer pickpocket any race.

– Sorcerer – Summoned rings are now unique, no drop, and no rent as intended

– Warrior – Fixed an issue with the Defensive Form quest in Lomshir. You should now be able to complete the quest and get your defensive form.

– Counter spells have had their refresh times reduced.

– Hit points have been increased for the Sorcerer, Druid, Necromancer, Psioncist and Bloodmage.

– Upper damage melee attacks and percent attacks have had their endurance costs reduced.

– Upper damage ranged (bow) attacks, percent attacks and AE attacks have had their endurance costs reduced.

CRAFTING NOTES

– The outpost quest and outpost horse renting have been moved to crafting level 11 to match the changes to the tier quests and specialization quests.

– The amateur tier-directing quest now is granted at 11, not 10, to reflect the updated amateur tier quest.

– You now need to actually assemble the needle to finish the Ca’ial Brael outfitter training.

– Kef Jortul has been moved to a more accessible spot in the general area of Martok.

– Updated descriptions on 1 and 3 item work orders that said they gave a chance at a rare item.

– Made all crafted items bindable

– Fixed equip issues with crafted rings

– Fixed unrecognizable tool issues

– Ornate crossbow can no longer be equipped

– Work order supply pack reward values have been adjusted to give a little less cash items

– Repair Tools and the remedies that love them have finally decided on a name

– Modified XP progression some

– Mangled Tool is fixed

– Uneven Modification is fixed

– Weak Product’s description is fixed

– Stretched Fabric description is fixed

– Skipped Detail description is fixed

– Loose clamp description is fixed

– Odd shape description is fixed

– Careful Sculpting description is fixed

– Rindol Field Medal has been removed from work order reward tables

DIPLOMACY NOTES

– Quest “Thinkers of the Thinkery” is available from Wizard Malkavar in Three River’s.

– There are now more brokers available who will accept crude and significant information. Arcana, Blackmail, Trends, and Plots brokers have been added to Namsoong and Dark Horse Down’s Racetrack. Arcana, Blackmail, and Trends brokers have been added to Tawar Galan. And a Blackmail Broker has been added to Tursh.

WORLD POPULATION

– Several NPCs in the Tainted Lands have had their spawn rate corrected.

CODING

-You will no longer need to confirm looting No Drop items on your own corpse.

GUI

– Rarities in the “Random for Magical” group loot option will now be colored and the names will match usage everywhere else.

– Item stats now display properly in the Loot Roll window.

– NPC attacks and spells will now display descriptions.

~The Vanguard Team

Game Updates Febuary 02,2007

Welcome to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes!

You are now one of the first to witness the exciting, dangerous, and ever-changing world of Telon. Telon is a living world, and like any world its early days are going to be fraught with turbulence. Expect us to have to “patch” any cracks as they appear for the first days.

We know you are excited to explore the world we created for you, and we are equally excited to have you here. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the landscape… enjoy the freedom… of Vanguard.

Vanguard Patch Notes 2/2/2007 for build 1733

GAMEPLAY NOTES

– Enemies will no longer be tagged by damage over time spells and attacks after you have died.

– Enemies will no longer show as “aggro” as the result of damage over time spells and attacks after you have died.

– You will no longer gain or lose faction from an NPC your group killed if you’re not involved in the kill.

– You now receive an alert message each time you progress in ability learning for an ability, instead of only at the start and the end.

– Fixed a bug that was causing inflated PvP spell damage.

– Reenabled coin storage for banks. You can now drag and drop coin from your inventory into your bank. Note: Coin storage in banks is global, you may access your banked coin from any bank, not just the bank you deposited it in.

ADVENTURING

– Bard – Increased the movement modifier on Tynen’s Melody of Acceleration to 28%

– Bard – Decreased the movement modifier on Tynen’s Coda of Velocity to 3% from 5%

– Bard – Decreased the movement modifier on Tynen’s Strain of the Swift to 2% from 3%

– Druid – Star Mantle should now last three hits.

– Druid – Summon Ancient Colossus is now obtained at level 50

– Druid – Retooled the abilities on the Ancient and Elder Colossi.

– Necromancer – Adjusted the level at which Necromancers can obtain the Art of Death quest (Rest of the Dead) from Level 16 to Level 20. If you have previously completed this quest line and did not automatically learn Rest of the Dead, check your trainer and it should be available at level 20.

– Necromancer – Removed Claw of Stunning, Face of Fright and Face of Cowering from the game. If you had these items they will now show up as red circles with red strikes through them. Please delete these from your inventories. Sorry for the inconvenience.

– Necromancer – Renamed Poison Claw to be Poisonous Claw.

– Necromancer – Poisonous Claw should now be functioning

– Necromancer – Adjusted Poisonous Claw to the correct levels.

– Necromancer – Renamed Gouging Claw to Diseased Claw.

– Necromancer – Adjusted Diseased Claw to the correct levels.

– Necromancer – Diseased Claw should now be functioning

– Necromancer – Adjusted Sapping Claw to the correct levels.

– Necromancer – Sapping Claw should now be functioning

– Warrior – Most commands now have seconds durations rather than number of attacks or hits.

CRAFTING NOTES

– Crafting Advisors have more information! If you need information on crafting, visit your local crafting advisor.

– Fixed issue with tin rune of strength that was preventing it from working properly

– Updated etching knives to be flagged as the proper tool type

– Updated improved saws to be flagged as proper tool type

– Fixed issue with some bags that were not allowing you to put certain items in them

– Reduced drop rate on orbs drastically

– Removed Ladle from tables as it is not used

– Fixed issue with some repair tools not being recognized

– Updated all adventuring light armor base AC values

– Improved saw now acts like a saw, not a chisel.

– Khal trainers should now have the novice grip recipe.

– Kojan and Ahgram now also have merchants that sell unusual or special crafting items.

– Sharon Whelson will now properly change your trade if you are not an outfitter.

– Increased crafting skill gain.

– Added crafting gear upgrade recipes to Outfitter instructors.

– Adding raw resources to work orders now give quality increase.

– Leth Nurae taskmasters now pause much longer in their routes around the crafting area.

– Boosted faction rewards for the following crafting quests: Arming the Shaletooth Tower, Shaletooth Armor, and Shaletooth Weaponry.

DIPLOMACY NOTES

– “Sidestepping” is now a timed quest of ten minutes.

– Increase the Watch now gives an even better correct Accuracy buff.

– There are now Blackmail, Plots, Trends, and Arcana Informants in Tawar Galan, Qa Riverbank, and Dark Horse Downs for your Information trading needs!

– Ongoing deck fixes.

– Graag, Sassti, and Cassus now have a short leash – they want to kill varanthari, but not to the point that they’ll actually chase you across Lomshir.

– New Diplomacy quests added to Three Rivers.

– Janus Thunderaxe no longer thinks he has anything to do with newbie diplomats and should no longer offer any quests.

– The comedic troop, Three and a Half Fools, has made a stop in Three Rivers and has a few quests for curious diplomats.

– The Messenger Boots will now give the card “Well-Traveled Wisdom.” To get this card, right click the boots to put them on, and then right click them again to get the card. From then on, you can drag the item to and from your bag and retain the card. The card “Well-Traveled Wisdom” can only be played if you are wearing the boots.

– Coin values of Diplomacy clothing adjusted.

– Rarity values of Diplomacy clothing adjusted.

– There is now a safe path from the docks of New Targonor to the continent of Thestra. King Targonor Furth has agreed to open a corridor from the docks to the bridge to the mainland. Watchmen and Enforcers will allow ALL players to proceed. All House guards, and the King’s guard, will attack KOS races on sight.

– Martok – The bar fights and war drums have faded just enough for people to start talking again in the city of Martok. The civic diplomacy trainer is hooked up and ready to go in Martok as are the soldiers and crafters in the city. This will hit the Friday morning patch.

– Mekalia – The Gnomes have finally figured out what the upsiders call “Diplomacy” and have readily adopted the custom of doing what other people tell them to do. On Friday’s patch Civic Diplomacy will be ready in Mekalia for soldiers and crafters.

– Consequently, some gnome constables have grown confused as to what they should be doing: practicing swordplay, or talking about their feelings. The Downside is getting almost as confusing as the Upside these days.

– Information Brokers should now be asking for, and taking, the correct amount of information.

– The Civic Diplomacy Benefit “Right of Way” now is giving the right percentage of benefit.

– Clergy Civic Diplomacy now active in Tanvu.

– Academic Civic Diplomacy now active in Tanvu.

– Info loot drop rates adjusted.

WORLD POPULATION NOTES

– Rendjaw should now have the correct model

– Ants in the quest “Ants Underfoot” should correctly assist each other

– Luc Beou should now have a body (everyone needs one, after all)

– Dracosnap Hunters should now have the correct model

– Faction changes in the Coast of Ahgramun should now show the correct names

– Death text has been fixed for all Cult of Tauth supporters

– The Angoer Bunkers have had a speed tunnel installed.

– Pyromaw Cubs should now release their spiritual essence when defeated

– Bordinar’s Cleft – The Ridge Prowlers of Bordinar’s Cleft have had population adjustment to be much more in-line with player progression.

– Bordinar’s Cleft – Miner Youngsteel no longer speaks as if he is Miner Yulas in the quest “Ale For Grandir”

– Dahknarg – Adjusted aggro radii for several mobs on the road between Dahknarg and Halgarad.

– Dahknarg – Modified the Blood Howler Runner in Dahknarg. He’s now more focused on getting his messages to the Bloodhowler camp and less focused on chasing people down–that is unless you have lots of negative faction with the Bloodhowlers!

– Evendusk Fortress – Moved the death location for the area around Evendusk Fortress closer to Evendusk Fortress itself.

– House of Fallen Leaves – Mailbox added to House of Fallen Leaves

– Mekalia – Ranged Weapon Vendor added within the gates of Mekalia

– Mekalia – Quests missing coin reward have been corrected to award appropriate amounts of coin

– Missive Boards – Missives are now selectable by the player and players are able to accept multiple missives at a time for the level range

– Missive Boards – Missives are now affected by a minimum level and a maximum level, players outside the scope in either direction are inable to partake in them

– Missive Boards – The Missive Task, “Task for Three Rivers: Road to Bordinar’s Cleft” now completes in the field upon meeting the requirements

– Missive Boards – The Missive Task, “Task for Three Rivers: Greater Stonesmashers” is now working as intended

– New Targonor – The New Targonor guard plowed the road from their great castle through to Three Rivers… much, much safer to travel on now for players of all levels!

– Temple of Dailuk – Overland population layout has been redone and thinned out some to make it easier to take more than two steps.

– Temple of Dailuk – The missive boards now lets you choose which and how many missives you want, according to your level. This change will soon be coming to all missive boards.

– Temple of Dailuk – The Caverns of Noztgha population has been adjusted to be more suitable for trio groups, rather than requiring a full group.

– Temple of Dailuk – Several quests have been added to the residents of the beacons. Look for those quest bangs!

– Temple of Dailuk – Quest: Deciphering the Journal no longer requires you to return to Archaeologist Palpe Rengoa and now only requires one writing sample. Once you have the sample, you must right-click it in your inventory to complete the quest for further progression. If you are currently on this quest, you will need to abandon it and accept it again from Archaeologist Palpe Rengoa at the Beacon of Hafeez al’Azzimat.

– Temple of Dailuk – Adjusted the loot rewards for finishing quest line in Caverns of Noztgha.

– Temple of Dailuk – Nerksawl has even less depth perception with his one eye and will aggro players at a much lesser distance.

– Themnwar’s Shield – Greatly reduced the spawn rate of “Stonebane” at Themnwar’s Shield

– Tursh – Additional delivery quest added in Tursh to help direct solo players.

– Three Rivers – Signs added to the path from Three Rivers to New Targonor

– Three Rivers – Removed grotesque means of accomplishing the “Arms” quests in Three Rivers

– Three Rivers – The quest “Outlaws: Rewarding Our Heroes” has been fixed

– Three Rivers – Saps associated with Barsagal’s quest lines now stack in amounts equivalent (or greater) to amount required for completion

– Three Rivers – Chickens and Sheep no longer appear with white names within Three Rivers

– Three Rivers – Clusters of Draven’s Outlaws have been adjusted to be more solo / duo friendly

– Quests – “Corrupt Cyclopes” has had some minor changes primarily to help lead players to the correct completion NPC

– Quests – Minor text changes and Travel Journal Entries added to the following quests:

– Talons of Telon

– Dissention

– Stifling Supply Lines

– Assist the Primalist

– Prisoners of the Coven

– A Solemn Request

– What Are They Looking For

Bind Stones

– Added a bind stone near Jalen’s Crossing

– Added a bind stone near Autumnglow Outpost

GUI NOTES

– You will now be able to abandon a timed quest.

CODING

– You will now see a message when a VanguardPlayers image is taken.

– 22 new socials have been added. Type “/listcommands emote” for a list of all socials.

– Half Elf NPCs will now play half elf sounds instead of Kojani human sounds.

– Item links should now always show the correct stats and equipment expertise for the person viewing the item.

– Auto Coin Split now defaults to on for groups.

– You should now no longer be able to mail items and coin to yourself. This was always the intent. You can still mail items and coin to alts.

– Items can now be sent as cash on delivery through the mail system. On the receiving end, players will get a confirmation for the total amount to take the item that includes the cash on delivery cost and the shipping cost.

~The Vanguard Team-Radical

LotR Online vs. Vanguard: SoH

Well, it’s been coming for a long time, and here it is. Vanguard vs. LotR the final showdown. Which one should you buy, well; they both have their merits, let me break it down:

Sound:

Sound has never mattered that much to me in an mmo, I usually play with the radio on and never really experience the sound, but I played with natural sound for the time I spent testing.

Vanguard:

Vanguard has my personal preference for music. The music in Vanguard was well done. The music fit the region you were in, and fit very well. Sound really isn’t my area of expertise, but Vanguard, in my opinion, had the upper hand.

LotR:

Not much I can say about LotR online. The music just wasn’t that strong, though I think it had a slight advantage in the combat effects but overall I wasn’t as impressed with LotR’s sound.

OVERALL:

Overall I have to say that Vanguard pulls out a win here, LotR just didn’t feel all that strong in the sound department.

Graphics:

Both of these games went in completely different directions in terms of graphics.

Vanguard:

Vanguard went big. With perhaps the best graphics ever seen in an mmo Vanguard did stand out, though without a good computer you may never see them. Vanguard did lack a bit of the visual punch and style that games like WoW has, but I still found the environments to be detailed and beautiful. The animations for the graphics all fall apart here unfortunately. The animations felt very 1.0 in terms of mmos. They didn’t feel as realistic as I had hoped for, the animations arn’t BAD, just not GOOD.

LotR:

When people said LotR would be just like WoW, it actually was pretty spot on. Not exactly, but still there is resemblance, with just enough changed to feel new, yet still familiar. The graphics are a step up from WoW and I did find the regions to have a fair amount of personality. When I visited the hobbit starting town, the world did have a feeling of life. The animations were also a lot more charming then in Vangaurd. LotR can be played on less then top of the line pc’s, unlike Vanguard.

Overall:

Its a tie. Vanguard is realistic yet stiff, while LotR is charming but perhaps a bit too WoW like graphics wise. If its down to graphics and you need to pick a game, unless you have a good graphics card (I think a GeForce 7800GT would be able to handle the game no problem, maybe something a little lower then that) I’d say go for LotR. If you care about game play, read on.

Game Play:

Game play is the last category, and the most important:

Vanguard:

Vanguard has a lot of thing to do, not to mention see. Want to explore a vast world? Go for it. Want to build boats or something stupid like that? Whatever! The deep crafting, fun combat, fast-paced and challenging group experiences and the simple yet engaging diplomacy card game, Vanguard just has it all.

LotR:

LotR lacks a lot of things. I don’t believe crafting is in, nor is monster play (monster play sounds interesting, but I don’t have high hopes) the combat is pretty much WoW’s combat, but the classes didn’t feel all that different at lower levels, that may have just been me. Regardless, LotR is average at best.

Vanguard wins. I just had a better experience overall with Vanguard, theres nothing else to be said.

Summary:

If you like WoW but have just grown tired of it’s setting LotR is for you. It enhances many of WoW’s features, but still has a ways to go to offer anywhere near the content, I’d say just wait for a trial and see if its the game for you.

If you want something familiar, but loads of fun, Vanguard may just be for you. You need a good pc, but it is a fun game, and worth playing. I’d expect to see a trial of this soon, so you may want to wait for that to see if your pc will be up to the challenge. In a couple months the game should be polished, I plan on waiting till then.

-Radical