Read the full Vanguard classes article at GameSpot

Check out our information on the various Vanguard classes

Check out our Vanguard Image gallery to check out Vanguard classes screenshots

“The world of Vanguard is going to be very huge, but perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that the game is able to render its landmasses seamlessly, so they’re not separated in different sections. You could easily walk from one end of a continent to the other without encountering a level load… we found ourselves standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down upon the huge city in the valley below… We could actually walk down and into that city.. if you can see it in the game, odds are there’s a way to get there, either by walking, flying, or sailing…”

So not only HUGE, but accessible! Mapping the entire environment will be quite the feat for those explorer/adventurers out there. GameSpot goes on to explain the fact that Vanguard has some unique transportation elements to it as well. In addition to walking, and riding mounts, Vanguard also allows you to take to the seas aboard boats, and not only for the purpose of transportation, but adventure awaits you on the water as well since characters on boats can engage in battle and such. Good news for pirating-types.

“..You’ll be able to buy or construct (if you have the know-how and the resources) any number of ships to go sailing on the huge ocean…You’ll also be able to battle other ships, though at launch this will be limited to fighting atop the decks….”

“…you’ll be able to quickly gain a basic mount, such as a horse, at level 10…cooler mounts, such as unicorns, will have to be earned by advancing to higher levels. Flying mounts will come at around level 40 (the top level cap is 50), and the cool thing about these is that you can control the mount directly and fly wherever you want, unlike the flying mounts in World of Warcraft, which fly along predetermined flight paths…”

GameSpot writers go on to describe the character creation interface and the massively customizable features you are free to set for your Vanguard characters.

“…The number of different races and classes to choose from is impressive, as are the customization features that let you tweak your character’s appearance right down to the eye spacing. We chose to play as a human paladin, but we could have chosen from up to 15 different classes. The classes are roughly divided into categories, so “protective fighters” include the warrior, paladin, dread knight, and the inquisitor; while “offensive fighters” include the ranger, rogue, and monk. Then there are “healer” and “caster” class categories…”

Then they delve into the actual game-play starting with general questing information & moving on to discuss how your character interacts with creatures & characters in battle.

“…plenty of quests to pursue …many of these involved going out into the wilderness and killing X number of a certain beast, or going out and recovering Y number of a certain material …While some of the low-level foes are easy prey for a beginning character, the danger is getting caught up against multiple foes at the same time, or taking on a monster that’s a couple of levels higher than your character’s experience level …if you die and you can resurrect for free with all your stuff, at least until you get to level 7. After that, you’ll have to start being a lot more careful about dying, because there will be a price to be paid.”

“…there should plenty of stuff to do whether you like to play solo or with a group. …One neat feature that aids team play is the ability to easily rescue fellow teammates in trouble… It’s like taking a sword blow for the team. Other features allow the easy chaining of attacks to create special “combos” as well as making it easier for teammates to work together. For instance, a rogue may knock down an opponent, giving your warrior an opening to stomp on them.”

True team-work, plenty of interesting solo & team quests, fantastic character creation/customization, unique modes of travel, and so much more. I’m not sure about you, but I can’t wait!!

 Read the entire article about their Vanguard experience at GameSpot.com >>

We sat down for another look at this upcoming massively multiplayer game from publisher Microsoft and developer Sigil Games (whose studio includes several alumni from the original EverQuest team). This time around, we were able to watch what’s scheduled for display at E3–a dungeon crawl and a player-created town–and get briefed on some of the character-specific abilities in the game.

The dungeon we explored was on the continent of Qalia, a realm inspired by the lore of The Arabian Nights, where giant scorpions lurk in the desert sands and djinni guard fabulous treasures in dungeons. A dank dungeon’s ruined walls and sandy floors provided as good a spot as any to demonstrate some of the game’s new systems, such as perception. Perception will be a multifaceted group of skills that characters of different professions may use. For instance, scout characters may be able to use their perception skills to detect traps or hidden enemies waiting in ambush.

Sorcerers may be able to use their perception skills to identify enemy magics and attempt to counter them based on the level of their skills. As we saw, if sorcerers make a somewhat successful identification check, they may be able to counter the spell; a moderately successful identification check may let them transmute the incoming spell into a beneficial effect; and a critical success may let sorcerers turn an incoming spell right back onto its user. These abilities will be governed by particular combat “stances,” which characters of all classes will be able to take.

By taking an offensive stance, warriors can dish out more damage and have access to offensive skills; similarly, by taking a stance that focuses on a specific school of magic, sorcerers will have access to those particular spells. Higher-level characters may be able to keep more than one stance active, which should add even more tactical depth to combat.

Read the rest of this Vanguard SOH article/interview at GameSpot.com >>

For years, massively multiplayer online games have featured heroic quests in fantasy worlds, where players created characters to battle with dragons and ogres, as well as sought fabulous treasures in persistent realms. The popularity of high fantasy in these games is due in no small part to the groundbreaking EverQuest, which was one of the first 3D graphical massively multiplayer games that offered colorful graphics, addictive hack-and-slash gameplay, and a remarkably stiff challenge. Some of the original creators of EverQuest, including Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, moved on after the original game to found an all-new studio, Sigil Games. The new studio is hard at work on an all-new project, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. We took an updated look at this upcoming game, and we have new info on its character customization options and skills.

Andrew Park of GameSpot goes on to outline some more exciting details about character creation in Vanguard.

Read the full Vanguard Character creation article/interview at GameSpot.com! >>

EverQuest was a blockbuster success, and it remains one to this day. More than five years after its launch, it continues to be the most successful online RPG in North America. But McQuaid made industry shockwaves when he left SOE in late 2001.

The following year, he, along with former EverQuest producer Jeff Butler, cofounded Sigil Games Online. Now Sigil’s developers are finally taking the wraps off of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the project they’ve been working on the past two years for publisher Microsoft.

Not surprisingly, McQuaid and company are sticking to their roots; Vanguard is an online role-playing game that will allow you to explore and adventure in a virtual world with hundreds, and even thousands, of other players at the same time. GameSpot had the opportunity to catch up with McQuaid to get the details on Vanguard.

See the rest of this Vanguard SOH interview at GameSpot.com >>

The new game is currently in a pre-alpha stage, but it already features a number of built-out environments, including an expansive dry swampland lined with short grass and dotted with towering pillars of rock. We then moved to a huge town with cobblestone streets lined with crowded villas, past which townspeople bustled and across which the citizenry had hung its laundry out to dry. The team at Sigil will attempt to make the world of Vanguard completely seamless and continuous–that is, there will not only be no load times, but also, every single visual feature on the landscape will be a real 3D object you can reach.

According to Sigil’s Jeff Butler, the development team will attempt to make each part of the world of Vanguard contextually relevant. For instance, towns won’t just be places to sell the loot you’ve recovered from monsters; in fact, the game will have a crafting profession that thrives within towns and can advance in experience levels by completing quests and tasks within town, in much the same way that a typical adventurer finds experience and rewards by hunting in dungeons. In addition, the team clearly intends to make the world of Vanguard huge, and as Butler explained, Sigil also intends to make travel “meaningful.”

Check out the rest of this Vanguard SOH article/interview at GamepSpot.com! >>

Microsoft Game Studios and Sigil Games Online have today announced the development of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from renowned designer and cocreator of EverQuest Brad McQuaid. No release date for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes has been announced at this time, but an official Web site for the game is already open for business.

“Sigil’s unparalleled expertise and experience in the field will bring groundbreaking advances to the genre,” said McQuaid, president and CEO of Sigil Games Online. “In recent years, we’ve become concerned with a growing trend to water down gameplay in an attempt to appeal to a broader audience. At Sigil, we’re designing our game for the existing MMORPG gamer who is looking for both new challenges and new rewards. On one level, Vanguard combines everything we’ve learned from MMORPGs–their strengths, their deficiencies, and how to address them. Even more important, we plan to introduce a whole new level of gameplay that represents, in our opinion, the logical evolution of the MMORPG genre.”

Check out GameSpot’s exclusive interview with Brad McQuaid! >>