Vanguard: Saga of Heroes E3 Previews

A half dozen hands-on previews of Sigil Games’ Vanguard: Saga of Heroes have been published to the web, all of which are based on the demo available at E3. The first is at IGN PC:

One of the many other things that sets Vanguard apart is transportation. Your first mount will be available at level 10. It’s not a very fast mount, but you’ll get gradual upgrades to level 40, where you can earn a flying mount. What’s more is the sheer variety. Anything that looks rideable can be implemented as a mount. Skeleton horses, dead horses, live horses, hellhounds, dogs, cats, wolves, foxes, reindeer — pretty much anything with four legs, apparently. Flying mounts have an equal level of variety — pegasi, phoenixes, rocs — and many of those can be ridden underwater as well, in combination with an enchantment or spell that allows you to breathe beneath the waves.

The second is at GameSpy:

The Reaction System is basically a means by which you’ll link your character’s own abilities into multi-step combos, as well as play off of those of your team members. There are also some elements in place that let you respond to enemy attacks. Its most basic manifestation is the attack chain. This is where you’ll link together your own moves sequentially, for a big pay off at the end. If you remember FFXI’s skill chains, then these are very much like it. When party members come into the equation, though, you’ll be able to execute “sympathetics.” These are very much like attack chains, except they’ll involve multiple party members for, logically, more dramatic effects. There’s even talk of “epic” sympathetics that would involve entire raid parties. As you can imagine, these will be reserved for similarly epic situations.

The third is at GameSpot:

Much more development time has apparently been invested into developing player housing and character customization. According to Butler, the beta version of the game already contains more housing-related content and options than Star Wars Galaxies, including a total of more than 8,000 different craftable items, which can all be placed in a player-owned house with an easy-to-use mouse-driven interface that lets players quickly place objects on tables, on walls, or on the floor. Housing will also have a highly customizable permissions system for entry, so you’ll be able to, for instance, turn your home into a public shop that’s open during certain hours of the day, then automatically converts to a private dwelling in off-hours.

The fourth is at Ten Ton Hammer:

The game in motion is entirely different from what one sees in a screenshot. Of course there are always differences; however, the screenshots do not come close portraying the depth, shading, light effects or the vibrancy of the terrain. I have to admit that I was starting to feel that there weren’t enough color differences to give me that “other world” feeling. Seeing the game in action put those doubts to rest. I sat in awe at the level of detail.

The fifth is at GamersInfo:

Vanguard’s class and combat system revolves around 4 traditional archetypes. You have the Protective Fighters, which are the Warrior, Paladin, Dread Knight and Inquisitor. These guys are your typical tanks. They exist to let other things beat on them and not the rest of the party. The Offensive fighter classes are the Ranger, Rogue, Monk and Bard. They wearer lighter armor than the other fighter archetype, but deal considerably more damage. The casting classes are broken down into the Healers with the Cleric, Shaman, Disciple, and Blood Mage and the Arcane Casters who are the Sorcerers, Druids, Necromancers, and Psionicists. Each member of the archetype will be just as effect as any other member in doing their respective class job, but the different members will do it differently. Dread Knights will instill fear into their opponents to do less damage, while a Paladin will rely on auras to lessen damage. Druids will call down storms and affect the weather for their damage, while Psionicists will focus on crowd control and mental damage.

And the sixth is at Games Radar:

Next, we’re flying on an enormous mount – a Swamp Dragon – where we can just barely make out the rider. Yes, he’s already thought about mounted aerial combat engagements that will be implemented sometime after release (damn). Winging over to a massive dungeon, we swoop down and actually fly underground inside the first level. We get it: big.