April Game Play Updates

Diplomacy

• The diplomacy system is undergoing some tweaking and improvements. Until these are fully implemented though, users are likely to experience many problems when attempting to test diplomacy. For the time being, please focus your testing in other areas – there will be an announcement when we are ready to restart extensive diplomacy testing.

Crafting

• Several crafting additions and updates specific to Brennan’s Stead include: more work orders added, work order rewards updated and the Brennan’s Stead introduction quest is now complete.

• The beginnings of the new crafting UI are in. The form is the same but much prettier now with some handy bells and whistles in place.

Ranged Combat

• We've made some additions to ranged weapons this month in an effort to make them a more viable option. Changes include lowering aim time, reuse timer and adding more weapons and ammunition. Please talk to Sherlan Tinderfield in the Tursh weapon shop and let us know what you think on the beta forums.

Bordinar’s Cleft

• The latest patch introduced a number of art changes, including a new bridge, guard tower, cave systems and starting location. We expect this to cause many instances of strangeness (i.e. mobs stuck in walls, broken quests, dwarves and kobolds living together)

• Shaletooth Tower, by the waters of Delmerin Tarn is the new starting location.

• A new adventuring location, Coppermend's Delving, is ready for testing. In this network of tunnels, kobolds and dwarves fight for control. Speak with Miner Barbrand to start the quests leading through Coppermend’s Delving into Gwartak Junction.

• Check out the rest of Bordinar’s Cleft for more new content!

Other New Stuff

• Interior World Lighting is now lighting both Exile's Cave and Bordinar's Cleft. We request that users with lower end video cards please visit these areas and provide feedback on the beta forums.

• There is a new soloable quest functional in Landsview (Coastal Graveyard). Talk to Guard Kiben on the road between Adynn’s Watch and Tursh for more information.

• Road signs have been placed throughout the northern plains of Thestra. This should make travel in that region somewhat less confusing. As always, feedback on the beta forums is much appreciated.

April Class of the Month

The Warrior
While the Rogues are sneaky, the Sorcerers command the elements, and the Druids call down lightning from the skies, the Warriors of Vanguard could not care any less about such grand displays. Leave all that skulking about and finger waggling to others. A warrior prefers the simplistic existence of taking a heavy object, and bashing the life out of things with it. Among the heavy fighters, the Warrior is unmatched in their ability to deliver damage.

The warrior of old, with the myriad of openers, bridges, and finishing attacks is no more, with combat now streamlined into fewer, more useful attacks, with additional flavor depending on the role being played. The wide disparity in the combat stances allows the warrior to adapt to the combat situation around them, giving defined strategic reasons for using one stance over another.

Offensive Stance
+ accuracy, - mitigation, - agro
When playing in an offensive (non-tanking) role, the new warrior is granted bonuses to combat, and has a variety of attacks available to them. These attacks have specific uses in and of themselves, which then expand and grow when combined into chains. For the most part, attack chains are only available in the Offensive stance. More on this later.

Defensive Stance
+mitigation, +agro, +block chance, - damage
When playing in a defensive role, the warrior becomes much more able to take incoming damage, and all attacks generate more hate. New counter-attacks become available only in the defensive stance, and then only when equipping a shield.

Attacks
These attacks are usable from either combat stance.

Brutal Strike – Basic melee damage attack. Chain opener. 5% chance to stun enemy for 3 seconds.
Furious Blow – Basic melee agro attack. Adds hate. 15% chance to daze enemy for 15 seconds.
Kick – 20% chance to interrupt enemy. Adds hate.
Waylay – This attack does moderate damage, but has bonuses when used in conjunction with another in the group or when from behind the enemy. These bonuses are not exclusive and can be combined.
Rend Armor – Slightly reduced damage. Target mitigation reduced by 30% for 12 seconds.
Whirlwind – Hits all targets within a 7 meter radius. Damage reduced slightly.

Defensive Attacks
These attacks are usable only in the defensive stance.

Taunting Strike – This moderate damage attack generates a great deal of hate in your enemy.
Adamant Foeman – This ability requires a shield. Blocks the next 2 incoming attacks, and increases your mitigation by 50% for 10 seconds.
Shield Bash – This ability requires a shield. This ability does no damage, but has a 65% chance to stun the enemy for 3 seconds, and adds a large amount of hate.

Attack Chains
Attack chains work much differently in the warrior now. The warrior now has a variety of specialized attacks, which when used within a chain take on different characteristics. These attacks can then chain to several new ‘chain only’ finishing moves. Warriors begin learning 2-step attack chains at level 4, and continue up to level 30, when finishing moves become available creating 3-step chains.

Openers
Brutal Strike – This attack does moderate damage on its own, but as an opening attack, influences the chain towards doing more damage.

Furious Blow – This attack also does moderate damage, but as an opening attack, this influences the chain towards generating more hate.


Bridges
Whirlwind – This attack adds an AoE component to the chain. Any finishing moves that trigger from this bridge will be AoE finishing moves.

Waylay – This attack carries positional bonuses such as backstab, and true flanking. Any finishing moves triggered by this bridge with also have positional bonuses.

Rend Armor – This attack damages the armor and mitigation of your enemy. Any finishing moves triggered by this bridge will have additional debuff effects.


Finishes
Flurry – This finishing move is available after a successful Whirlwind bridge attack.

Savage Fury – This finishing move is available after a successful Whirlwind bridge attack.

Betrayal – This finishing move is available after a successful Waylay bridge attack.

Vehemence - This finishing move is available after a successful Waylay bridge attack.

Brutality - This finishing move is available after a successful Waylay bridge attack.

Exposure – This finishing move is available after a successful Rend Armor bridge attack.

Shock – This finishing move is available after a successful Rend Armor bridge attack.


Tactical Maneuvers
These are special use abilities which generally do no damage but have other strategic uses in combat. Some of these have upgraded versions you can learn.

Taunt – adds a small amount of hate but can only be used on a single target every 15 seconds. This ability adds a larger amount of hate when used from defensive stance.

Power Attack – Toggled ability. Adds a significant power cost per swing but adds raw damage to your attacks. This ability increases in power every 10 levels.

Enrage – Toggled ability. Only usable when you are below 50% health, this ability drives you into a rage. The more damage you take, the higher the rage. At 50% health, and each 10% thereafter, you gain 10 strength, and lose 5% mitigation. At higher levels, these benefits and costs increase, and below 20% health, you may enter an intense rage which cannot be calmed for 30 seconds giving 200 strength, at a cost of 60% reduced mitigation.

Roar of Anger – You roar, dazing all enemies within 10 meters for 18 seconds. This also has a 5% chance to stun your enemy, but should any enemy be hit, the stun will break.

Barrier of Steel – This ability forces your current target to focus upon you and attack no other for 15 seconds. During this time both you and your target will be unable to run.

Primal Rage - This ability causes you to enter a rage for a short time granting increased damage, as well as immunity to stun and fear effects. This rage takes a great toll on your body leaving you weakened for upwards of a minute.

Vanguard Media Coverage

Online:
1up.com
Gamespot
Gamespy
GameZone
IGN
Yahoo!

In case You Missed It...

New to beta? Well here are links to the previous newsletters.
-February Newsletter
-March Newsletter