SAFEHOUSE NEWS: A Day in The Life of a Vanguard Beta Rogue

[SHStaff]

SUMMARY: <p>Hello rogues. Just wanted to let you all know that the rogue is alive and well in Vanguard:Saga of Heroes. Under <a href="http://vanguardsoh.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73463" target=_blank>Brad McQuaid's nod of approval</a>, I offer up a quick glimpse at the Vanguard rogue. Hopefully with more to follow.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thesafehouse.org/articles/article_55.php" target=_blank>A Day in the Life of a Vanguard Rogue</a></p>

View full article (http://www.thesafehouse.org/news/Vanguard/news_307.php)
What do you think about this story? post your comments below.

[Nocte]

Heyo! Now that I'm "outed" I want to clarify I AM UNDER NDA. No PMs, emails, or lewd offers, will break me! :evil

The rogue is fun and that's about all I'm gonna say unless I can get more info approved. :)

Rest assured you have a great group of testers spanning different playstyles and gaming backgrounds representing the rogues on the inside. Now let's start some Vanguard rogue discussion around here.

[Lenilya]

So, upon release; if the rogue sucks, blame you?

Gotcha. :thumb

[Nymm]

Brad's mellowed in his old age...this thread is chock full of articles by current beta testers which he's stamped as OK for public consumption.

http://www.vanguardsoh.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73463

Including this little gem:

The Good, The Bad, and the Roguely

Before I get started I should probably provide a little info about myself and my gaming background. I've been role-playing rogues since table top games in the mid 80s. I've played a rogue in EQ 1, DAOC, WoW (beta), Horizons (beta), and EQ 2, along with any first person game that had a rogue class available. It's safe to say that my primary focus in online gaming has been the sneaky classes (highest CoV character is a stalker, of course) that hover around the edge of combat waiting for their chance to make things bleed.

The Good

Vanguard has a solid, well implemented rogue. Many of the things you expect are there and working pretty well at this time. A few are there and still need work. An even smaller number aren't there yet, but are being talked about by people who have the ability to put them there if they think they can be done well. Without spilling too much secret sauce, I will say that the things that I require to be in place to make me play a rogue are already there. Stealth? Check! Positional Attacks? Check! Poison? Check! Petty Larceny? Check!

In addition to the basics, there is a general feel to the rogue that is pulled off very well. The animations fit the abilities being used, and the abilities make sense. For the true rogue, I think there will be a lot of enjoyment in a class that bides it's time, choosing big damage, bleeding wounds, or even stunning blows depending on how the fight is going. The Vanguard rogue, is in my opinion a step forward from days gone by in playability and utility.

The Bad

After all that praise, I bet you're wondering what I could possibly call bad? Well there are a few nits to pick, once again without dumping the secret sauce too much. As I said above, the Vanguard rogue is definitely a step forward. Unfortunately early on there was a lot of talk that led many of us to expect a leap forward. Some things that sound fantastic on paper just don't work in game, and others may just not be technically feasible in a MMOG. Brad has said more than once that this is an evolutionary increase in gaming rather than a revolutionary one. With that I can agree, there is nothing here that is fantastically shockingly new game play. There are a lot of tweaks to things that have been done before that come together well to make a solid class.

The Roguely

One of my favorite quests in game thus far has two very different ways to accomplish the same goal. I don't want to spoil it, because I think a lot of you will also enjoy it when you stumble upon it. In broad strokes, there are quests in game that let you actually effect the game world. Over the course of an evening of play you might happen upon a plot, assist in unveiling the guilty parties, steal some explosive, talk a mage into showing you how to use them, and then plant them in a mine causing a cave in that actually closes part of the mine until someone with the proper skills comes along and clears the cave in. I can guarantee that the highpoint of beta 2 for me was shortly after completing this quest line when someone asked where the cave in came from. At that point it dawned on me that I wasn't just seeing an animation for my benefit, I was actually changing the game world and affecting everyone else. That is the kind of dynamic, yet still hand created, content that is going to make Vanguard my game of choice.

[Nocte]

I'm glad you did this Nymm. :) Now I have someone to toss ideas off of for a "NDA safe" updated rogue outline. Hopefully Brad and Talisker will still be be in a giving mood for awhile. :pray

[Aroidan]

I realize that NDA still applies, but I was wondering if there was any information that has been released that applies to stealth and AoE (Area of Effect) spells?

From what I understand, rogues are intended to be stealthed the entire fight for the most part, serving to cherry pick on weaknesses and cause mischief and mayhem from the shadows, which is wonderful. However, what are the chances of AoEs taking effect and breaking our stealth? EQ1, EQ2, WoW, CoV, and probably several other games have had versions of this, (those are just the few I have tried), and one of the most annoying facts about them was to wait for stealth timer to run down, then wait for ability timer to repop, and, just as one is about to hit an attack, Paff! there goes an AoE attack from which you are unable to evade, and down goes the lowly rogue.

This is less of a problem if there is a single mob being fought by a group with a tank able to maintain aggro. However, that will surely be a rarity, and, in raiding, which I certainly intend to do, AoE's can spell the splotch of the rogue very quickly.

I did do a search, and missed any previous statement over this, for which I apologize if it already exists. I would appreciate a link to, or comment on this.

Ty much!

Cattburglar 65 rogue torv server EQ1
Ryven 50 assassin EQ2 Befallen
Zafira 60 rogue WoW
Po 40 stalker CoV.

[Tivia]

That is a spectacular question that I would be very much interested in hearing the answer to. As since what I derive from the information released thus far, a rogues DPS really comes from them being able to remain stealthed.

It has been a very very long time since I raided, but I do recall quite clearly that AOE's in POT for example where unavoidable back when we were first breaking in, and unresistable, thus stealth would be impossible in a fight. While I do not know the current state of the game I imagine it is much the same, so it makes me curious as to if there are some key differences in vanguard concerning this.

[Aroidan]

I guess noone has an answer. i will just have to wait for NDA to drop. Ah well,

cattburglar 65 rogue Torv
ryven 50 assassin Befallen
etc etc

[Sabatini Scratch]

So all I want to know is (if this doesnt violate NDA)...can I really own a ship and sail it around? Because frankly I've been a pirate without a boat in one game too many and if this is true I may never leave Vanguard once I'm in. :)

[Nymm]

Yes you can own and pilot your own boat.

[Sabatini Scratch]

*gives Nymm a big manly, yet completely hetrosexual hug*

Just made my day. And good to see youre still around old chum

[Aroidan]

from what I have understood, smaller boats are accessible pretty early on, and increase in size until it seems it takes a guild to man some of the larger ships. As of release there will not be ship-to-ship combat, but that is something they would like to add in later on. As it is, much of the world will require ships to reach apparently. Sigil has planned about 6-7 years worth of expansions (vaguely of course) with islands and where they intend to place them.

cattburglar 65 rogue Torv.
Ryven 50 assassin EQ2

[Lenilya]

Let's just hope the gods aren't expansion 5, followed by expansion #6 featuring small blue beings in red jumpsuits that are twice as hard.