Ardwulf has written a great little post over on his blog about Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, so head on over there and check it out!

Vanguard:  A Swan Song or a Call to Arms?

I couldn’t agree with him more on the fact that Vanguard is a fantastic (albeit rough around the edges) MMO that deserves so much more than what it has received.  Sure, we all know the morbid tale of Sigil Games Online by now.  We all know that Sigil assembled a massive/all-star team to work on it.  We know that renowned fantasy artist Keith Parkinson helped Sigil with the artwork and world building a few years before he passed away.  We also know how poor leadership, loss of their original publisher (Microsoft), and lack of funding even when SOE bailed them out and agreed to publish, caused Vanguard to release in an unfinished and bug-ridden state.

But all of you must be informed of the following, and this is particulary aimed at those of you who have never tried the game before.  Even with the issues that Vanguard had during its launch, you could still see what heights the game could reach if given the proper resources.  Vanguard has greatness and ambition coursing through its veins.  But what might surprise some of you is that not all of it is unrealized.  Vanguard is a damn fine MMO by many accounts, even though playing it requires you to put up with a few oddities, such as stilted character animations or the occasional bug.

But what I’m here to tell you is that Vanguard has so many elements that if given the choice, I would port many of them over to my “ultimate” MMO without thinking twice.  In a day and age when the MMO industry appears to be siphoning itself into the chasm of endless nerfs to difficulty and complexity, Vanguard is a welcome breath of fresh air.  Here is an MMO that was not made to cater to the lowest common denominator.  If you want to get something in Vanguard then be prepared to work a little for it.

So I have been granted 45 free days to many of SOE’s titles with their recent Welcome Back promotion.  This got me to thinking about whether or not I wanted to take advantage and poke my head back in to see how a few games were doing.  In the end I decided to conduct a littler experiment instead.  I loaded up EQ2, Star Wars Galaxies, and Vanguard with the intention of trying to figure out which one appealed to me most.  Of course, it’s no secret that the Everquest franshise gets most of the money at SOE.  I’m not entirely unsure that most of the sub-funds made from the other games languishing on the Station Pass all gets spent on EQ and EQ2 anyway.

But that’s getting way off the point here.

What I discovered after pouring an equal amount of time into all three games, was that I found Vanguard to be the most compelling and rewarding of the three…by a very wide margin I might add.  To begin, Vanguard has a deep and robust crafting system that just might be among the finest in the industry.  It also has a huge, epic world rife for exploration and discovery, with many wonderful dungeons built so multiple groups can fight through them at the same time.  Yes indeed, no instances here.

Vanguard has some terrific classes as well, some of the best I’ve ever seen to be honest.  (Disciple and Blood Mage come to mind)  It’s combat also possesses a bit more depth than the typical whack-a-mole style we see in MMOs today.  You have access to both finishing moves and chain reactions, along with counters that allow you to send a foe’s spell right back at them.  You can also cast spells while on the move in Vanguard, something that felt so liberating when I first experienced it that I still weep a little when I play other games…games where if I even dare let out a fart while casting then my spell gets interrupted.

The offensive/defensive targeting system in Vanguard is thing of genius as well, seamlessly allowing you to control the flow of your spells.  The game also boasts another unique feature called Diplomacy, a strategy-filled card game that allows you to interact with NPCs and become a diplomat for various causes.  This unearths much of the lore and really helps to make you feel involved in the world around you as you play.  Vanguard’s complex housing system exists right there in the world too.  You don’t zone in to your house or a special housing community.  Once you buy your lot and build your home it is their for all to see.  I always loved housing like that, as it’s the only proper way to do it in my opinion.

Vanguard even has ships that you can build to sail the high seas with, fishing and exploring to your heart’s content.  And you get all this while appreciating three vast continents that form one of my Top-5 MMO worlds, despite the unfinished nature of a few places.  The graphics in Vanguard are still second to none on many levels, providing the player with an environment that begs you to hop on your horse and find out what’s over yonder hill.

Truly, I could go on for hours talking about how Vanguard is this amazing gem that must be given the chance to shine.  But there is something else you need to know first.  I’m sure many people are thinking, “Why would I pay money for a game that no longer receives content updates?”  This is a good question and not without merit.  But allow me to take a stab at answering it.  Vanguard has so much content that you could play it consistently for the next couple of years and not accomplish everything there is to accomplish.

Yes, that’s a fact.

What Vanguard needs is more people.  More people = more resources devoted to it.  So I’m throwing my hat in with Ardwulf here.  Vanguard is more than worth your time.  It is a deep and immersive MMO experience in a time when most games seem to be moving with rapid feet away from those two qualities.  So do something for me.  If you are one of the people who now has 45 days of Vanguard added to your account, then what are you waiting for?  Get back in here!

If you aren’t one of those people then pick this game up ASAP and give it a chance.  Find a good guild and let the world of Telon grow on you.  I highly doubt you will be sorry for that decision.  Vanguard is a beautiful place filled with some of the best vistas in the MMO industry.  Nothing beats a sunset in Vanguard.  :)   So let’s make this a Call to Arms.  If you are sick of the current MMO offerings out there then come visit the wondrous land of Telon.

Set Yourself Free.

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