[Vanguard] Questions on starting again - class, race, group size, starting areas etc.

[pox67]

After some reading of forums I found that Sli doesn't do anything for Vanguard and that it likes fast CPU cores rather than multis.
I plan on overclocking my CPU but I don't think my current pc is set up well for Vanguard - I would need a fast single card like your 6990, maybe the 7990 if it is ever released.

I did try 3 characters all on a separate 1920x1200 screen but it was only using one graphics card. I have gotten ISBoxer to use a GPU per screen before but it wasn't working for Vanguard.

At this point I'll go back to SWToR and wait for some updates to Vanguard (possible with the new F2P interest) or until my PC config changes to a fast single graphics card.

[MiRai]

Sli doesn't do anything for Vanguard

I would need a fast single card like your 6990

From AMD:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt...-overview.aspx

Harnessing the incredible power of dual second-generation DirectX® 11-capable GPUs, the AMD Radeon HD™ 6990 is quite simply the fastest graphics card in the world.

Harnessing the incredible power of dual second-generation DirectX® 11-capable GPUs

dual second-generation DirectX® 11-capable GPUs

dual

If you're trying to avoid SLI and CF, you should not buy a video card with it built-in.

[pox67]

From AMD:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt...-overview.aspx
If you're trying to avoid SLI and CF, you should not buy a video card with it built-in.

Cheers Mirai, I am aware that the 6990 has two graphics processors on board. But cards that have trouble with Crossfire often don't have trouble with the dual GPU cards as the system sees them as a single card. In effect the crossfiring is done on the card and then presented to the computer as a single card solution.

That is why I said I was looking at the fastest single card and not single GPU.

[MiRai]

Cheers Mirai, I am aware that the 6990 has two graphics processors on board. But cards that have trouble with Crossfire often don't have trouble with the dual GPU cards as the system sees them as a single card. In effect the crossfiring is done on the card and then presented to the computer as a single card solution.

That is why I said I was looking at the fastest single card and not single GPU.

Crossfire is Crossfire whether you're using 2 physical GPUs or whether it's a dual-GPU card... it's all the same.

[pox67]

Crossfire is Crossfire whether you're using 2 physical GPUs or whether it's a dual-GPU card... it's all the same.

I just did some research and you are right MiRai. Although there are a lot of people on a lot of forums saying different which is probably where I got the idea.
There are a lot of people saying that games that have trouble with crossfired cards don't have the same issues with the dual GPU cards. Odd, maybe they just aren't checking the individual GPUs to see if both are working.

I guess if Alge was bored he could test Vanguard on his computer with crossfire enabled and disabled on his 6990 to see if there is a difference...

As the GTX 670 isn't far off a GTX 680 and my factory overclocked Gigabyte ones are pretty speedy I am out of luck unless the Vanguard devs/maintenance crew get SLi working.

[Alge]

The 6990 is an over-priced piece of shit. I didn't do enough research before buying it and regret doing so. Next time I will ask MiRai's advice before buying a video card.

With 6 Vanguards running at 1920x1200, 1 on Ultra High and the rest on Low, I'm using 30-40% of my RAM on GPU 1 and GPU 2 is idle. I'm also using 10MB of 16MB system RAM

[pox67]

Thanks for testing Alge. It is a shame to have a GPU core sitting there doing nothing!

I did some more fiddling last night and now have an acceptable outcome.

First though a couple of questions:
1. Characters don't autoface targets in this game? I was having trouble getting my melee group to attack a target as they were mostly standing on it. Follow seems quite close in this game which doesn't help. How do you deal with this Alge?
2. I know there was another mechanics type question but I can't remember now...

I made a few changes last night which helped performance:
1. I disabled HyperThreading so that each game instance would have a single fast core.
2. I enabled SLi and set my desktop as a Surround mode 5760x1200. Then in ISBoxer I set the Windows Layout to run the games at 1920x1200 and spread them out over the physical monitors. Three game instances on very low settings getting a constant 30FPS in the background and one game instance on High getting around 45FPS in the starter Island town. I can live with that.

Now I'll start a team of 3 to get used to boxing this game.

[Alge]

Characters don't autoface targets in this game? I was having trouble getting my melee group to attack a target as they were mostly standing on it. Follow seems quite close in this game which doesn't help. How do you deal with this Alge?

There is no auto-facing towards targets. However, combat does not break follow either. Maximum follow range is large and the minimum follow range (how close your slaves come to your main when your main stops moving) is quite small.

Generally I will run my tank through the mob slightly and then turn 180 degrees. However, if you go too far past, your slaves can end up following you through the mob and with their back to it. One way to avoid/correct this is to make a Mapped Key that moves all your slaves backwards while held down. It's not a big issue once you get used to the distances involved and the fact that follow is always on (unless you deliberately break it) means you can reposition easily at any time.

[pox67]

Played with three characters (Warrior, Disciple, bard) last night and quickly got the hang of positioning. It is quite handy not having follow break. It is also great to box a game with macros again, makes life much easier!

So far so good and seems like fun

[heffner]

I've been messing around with boxing Vanguard for a few months now. At first I tried most of the classes solo doing IoD for free and eventually subscribed to three accounts. I started with a DK, Bard and Shaman on IoD. Got them to 20. I started a second trio of Paladin, Ranger and Cleric and got them to level 17 on Qalia. I missed the bard a lot just for running around. After F2P started I figured I would give six a try and have been playing around with various combos since then. Some days it's good, others is laggy and I've crashed quite a bit on my computer that runs four of my toons (I run three computers- 1 with healer, 1 with tank and 1 with the other 4). For some reason it doesn't like to load up 4 clients. Once I get loaded up things seem OK - but again, some days are frustrating due to different kinds of lag (e.g., sometimes my 4/5 slave toons lag and sometimes my main stutters causing my slaves to run past me which really sucks).



My current toons are Paladin, Bard, Shaman, Disciple, Sorcerer and Necro. I only have three paid accounts so my other three are obviously limited. Ultimately I don't think it matters too much as long as you have a tank and a healer. Bard is such a great utility class it would also be a mistake not to include one. I chose a Disciple just for some extra healing to help me out and I will spec it more for DPS than healing. Sorcerer is just good damage and has that nice port spell. Necro gives some buffs and decent DPS as well. Originally I had two sorcerers, but decided to switch and think it was a good idea for the extra buffs and the pet the Necro adds.

As for race, well, there are some slight advantages for some race/class combinations but ultimately you can make up for any deficiency later on with gear. My last group of six I just went all Qali humans since I wanted them all in the same starting area and they have one of the best racial abilities - a 10 sec invulnerability that resets after 30 minutes. For me it's an extra "OH CRAP" button for when I neglect to notice one of my slaves is getting beat on. Otherwise you go with the races with bonuses to the key stats like:

VIT/WIS for healers (Goblin, Raki, Wood Elf, Half Elf or [High Elf for WIS]) [for Disc or Blood Mage, VIT may be less important to YOU so races with STR/DEX bonuses (and hopefully WIS or VIT) for Disc (Varanjar, Vulmane, Half Elf, Varanthari) or INT bonuses for BM (High Elf, Dark Elf, Goblin) might be a good choice]

STR/CON for tanks (Lesser Giant, Dwarf, Varanjar, Orc, Varanthari, Kurashasa)

INT/WIS for DPS casters (High Elf, Gnome, Dark Elf, Kurashasa).

STR/DEX for melee DPS (Halfing, Vulmane, Wood Elf, Raki).

Humans are more well rounded and I think still a good choice. I am sure you can still reach the stat caps at end game.



Anyway, as far as group composition, I liked both Paladin and DK as tank. I've been waffling between these two for a while but decided to go with a Paladin because it's a safe bet. Warrior might be OK now too, but I haven't seen much information on how it compares since the adjustments to the class a few weeks back.

So, that being said, I'd suggest a DK or Pally tank. DK has some advantages for multiple targets, while Paladin has more group friendly buffs and heals.

Healer - Cleric or Shaman. The Disc and BM are likely to be more difficult to box as main healers since they are non-traditional healers, but you may like them and find they fit your playstyle just fine. CLE and SHM have nice group buffs. If you go SHM, I think bear or wolf shaman would be good, but bear has the nice melee buffs if you go for more melee toons. It's probably a good idea to try the healers you're interested int on IoD first [actually, that can be said for all classes]. You can get to Level 10 pretty fast and get some idea of how they each function.

DPS - You can pretty much pick any class here. The one I am not 100% sure on is a rogue - basically, I can't remember if you have to be behind the mob or not to do your awesome rogue DPS (sounds silly, but I recall that was changed but it might be another game). Bard speed and buffs are really nice to have.

If you can do a group of 4, you should. I think Pal/DK, SHM/CLE, BRD and a DPS of your choice.

Where to start - well, I like IoD. It's definitely more streamlined than Qalia. I haven't done much on the other two continents though. I would defnitely go to IoD if you want to level more than the Adventuring Sphere and as Alge said, if you want a big mix of races. Also, I found Qalia to be way more laggy than IoD. They made IoD easier as well, you don't even have to do complete the final dungeon now - although, I found it fun the first couple of times.

Good luck!