Pre-Newbie VG Tips (VG)  

I posted these on the SOE forums today, but thought it's something that should be set here as well.

Since there are a lot of new folks with buddy keys (and this will probably still be relevant for when the trial comes out), I figure it's time for one of "these" posts ;p

Downloading, Installing and Patching

• Join Vanguard

• Your Patcher and You. Rule 1, ignore the time. Really. It only causes heartache. This is a long known issue. There are two bars, a gold and a blue one. The gold one is overall progress and blue is single file progress. If the blue one slows down or stops all together, click that little button beneath your progress bars that says Cancel. Now it'll say Download, click again. You won't lose anything you've already downloaded. It starts where it left off.

• There is also the Station Launcher. I highly recommend this to anyone who plays more than one SOE game. This will allow you to update multiple SOE titles at once. It's pretty handy. While the initial file scanning takes a little longer than the individual installers, the download (to me anyway) seems a bit faster.

• The other way is by downloading a few chunks and then running the patcher to top it off. If you happen to have severe issues pipelining to SOE, this is a good option for you:
• This is the .exe you'll need to open the .cab files
• .cab #1
• .cab #2
• .cab #3
• .cab #4

Choosing a Class

• Vanguard is now installed on your computer. What race and class are you going to play? If you ask on the forums, everyone will give you a different answer. I recommend looking at what classes are available on the main site. There, you'll get a brief overview of who does what. You probably want to try a few out. Also, keep in mind: most classes do not start to "shine" until they're mid to late teens. If something sounds appealing, but it's just not what you thought it should be, play that class until level 18 or 20. You might end up getting just what you wanted. In addition, all classes can solo. Some might be better than others, some have less downtime and some kill slower. Pick what you like (I can't stress this enough, play what you enjoy!).

Race Selection

• Then, there's the race decision. Not all races can be all classes. The differences between the races isn't groundbreaking. If you like vanguard_race03 because that one just looks neat, you're not going to be impaired from gameplay later on. Equipment and attributes will make up for that. Basically, choose the one you think is neat! Choose a few and try out the different starter towns and explore different continents!

Server Choice

• Finally, there's the server choice to make. What server will you play on? There are 4. If you play during PVE EU primetime, I suggest Halgar. It's the Euro server. If you prefer to fight your fellow players in addition to monsters, choose Sartok. It's FFA-PVP. For PVE US primetime, there are two servers: Xeth and Seradon. For choosing between the two of them, I recommend rolling a character and seeing what they're like and possibly reading the forums a bit to get a "feel." However, since the RP server merged into Seradon, if you're more RP inclined, this is the only time I would recommend one over the other. Both are filled with great people.

Starting Out Ingame

• Once ingame, don't be afraid to explore! If you get stuck, regional chat is default to /1. Ask questions. Vanguard has a great community. Many will be happy to answer what's asked. If you happen to have friends who have started the game with you, but you each wanted different races, no worry, you'll be together quickly. I suggest doing 1 - 10 separately, with level 10 being usually when you're guided to a Riftway. Using this system, you and your friends can pick a destination within your level range to meet up. If one of you plays less often than the rest, I suggest creating a Brotherhood, to split up XP so your friend doesn't stay behind while offline.

• Vanguard is a massive, seemless world. Nothing is instanced, including dungeons. Occasionally you will run into crowded spaces, but with so much content to choose from, this is hardly an issue.

• While out fighting, you might get a piece of gear you feel like selling to another player. Each continent has not only its own banking system, but its own broker as well. Brokers are Vanguard's way of hands-free selling to other players. If you prefer the hands-on approach, each continent has an auction channel, which is defaulted to /2. There are many ways of obtaining gear, as well. You can kill for it, quest for it or craft it.

• During your beginning levels you may or may not be guided towards instructors for harvesting, crafting and diplomacy.

• Harvesting and crafting are tied together for the crafting sphere. You may choose one path of crafting: Artificer, Outfitter or Blacksmithing. For harvesting, you may choose two of five choices: mining (metal), quarrying (stone and gems), reaping (cloth), skinning (leather) and lumberjacking (wood). You do not have to be a crafter to harvest, but I recommend to at least go through the tutorials for both. If you choose something you find out later you do not want, you can always change and have your skills reset to zero. If you cannot find where to start your tutorials, ask a guard by right clicking and asking for the instructors.

• Diplomacy also has tutorials for each starting area. It's a great tool for not only gaining items for use in game, but also for learning lore and history of the land you're in. Like crafting, harvesting and adventuring, diplomacy also has its own gear to obtain. The tutorial (again, ask a guard if you're not pointed towards it) will assist you with beginning gear.

• As for housing, plots and boats: plots can be found around the world of Telon, but you have to look. For example, with Kojan, plots can be found on islands just outside of the main Kojani Archipelago. You'll find an empty space with a wooden stump and a sign saying it's for sale. For Thestra and Qalia, plots start at 2.5g and 10g. In Kojan, you'll only find the 10g. After buying a plot, you can then start adding in construction items to begin building your house. If you are not a crafter, you can always buy these items from other players. Ships are also player made and run a little more in price. Again, if you do not craft or choose a different crafting profession, ask around to find out who can build a ship for you. As someone starting out, I recommend holding off on big-ticket items such as housing and boats.

Additional Information

• Forth: For other info on the web, bookmark Slyde's Vanguard Links. It's a great resource.

• VG Tact Wiki is the main resource for diplomacy in Vanguard.

• Vanguard Crafters Wiki is the most used crafting resource for Vanguard.

• New! Isle of Dawn complete guide!

More importantly than anything: have fun in Telon!

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