23.1. Is the game level or skill-based, or both?
Vanguard is more of a traditional level-based game than it is a traditional skill-based game. That said, levels are really a way to group skills and abilities (as are different classes and races). These defined roles are used to foster interdependence and community building.
We feel it’s important for players to understand where their exp is going, how it is being applied and how they are advancing in order to avoid frustration; using traditional terms helps that.
Source: Official FAQ
23.2. How do Markets (Auction Houses) Work?
Markets are in the game right now, and will be upon release.
Markets are specific to a continent.
You may only put 10 items up on a market at any given time.
A consignment fee is charged for every item sold on the market.
Source: Tagad, Jan. 17, 2007
23.3. How many levels will there be?
It's too early to say, although we are currently planning level 'caps' out beyond Vanguard’s initial release, into expansions to avoid shoe-horning in new levels or inventing alternate advancement mechanisms. We're still tweaking the advancement curve, but 1-10 will be relatively easy and then it will go up from there
Note: We are aware that an initial level cap of 100 at launch was quoted in an article. This is neither officially confirmed nor denied.
Source: Official FAQ
As for levels, look at them like carrots. There are other carrots too, mostly smaller ones. Skill ups, getting a new item, in Vanguard's case attribute increases, finding new quests. Anything that makes you feel you are advancing your character = good.
Levels are just a, hopefully somewhat logical, divider. A bigger carrot.
How many should a game have at launch? Really depends on the pace of the game, how much content you feel you are going to launch with, and how many other things you can reward the player with as smaller carrots. If you can, space at the levels so they are not frustrating, but also not trivial, because you are leveling all of the time.
We changed from 100 levels at launch to 50. Was this a major change? Not really... we designed things pretty well. Just changed some formulae here and there.
Why did we do it? We began to feel we had enough smaller advances, yet still meaningful ones, to fill the time period in-between leveling.
So we do plan on going past this level 50 cap, but post launch, with an expansion, when we feel it's needed. But the plan is there -- we're not going into this blinded by sucess as in EQ. Hopefully this time success meets wide open and anxious eyes. - 27 October 2005
Source: Aradune Mithara
We didn't make the time it would take to max_level any shorter. We just cut the levels in half because we felt there were enough other rewards that occur during your leveling up that 50 was dilineating enough.
And before you ask how long it takes to max_level, we are tweaking it in beta. - late October 2005
Source: Aradune Mithara
23.4. How quickly can I Level?
We're still tweaking the advancement curve, but 1-10 will be relatively easy and then it will go up from there.
Source: Aradune Mithara
Yes, and this is also tied into our tenet of 'more smaller carrots, more often' -- whatever you're doing, you should get relatively frequent notices, etc. that you are advancing in some way, and the ways you are advancing may not be your ultimate goal at all.
Source: Aradune Mithara
23.5. How has the game been designed so both new players can enjoy the game, but the older, more powerful characters will still find it challenging?
Experienced players will find themselves returning to their villages and cities of birth from time to time, but not nearly so much as some players might be used to. Vanguard's large, seamless world allows us to steer the more powerful players into faraway places where they won't be interfering with content meant to support younger characters or newer players. We can promise you that those distant lands will provide the most adept player with ample challenge.
Players who don't wish to risk their lives around every corner will also be able to find their comfort zones as they advance through the world. There will not be a point in the game where in order to progress, a player must adopt a specific play style. We are including things like the Travel Journal , which will guide you to places –it will include things like a location to your guildmaster, or where to buy food so that some basic knowledge will come with your character. You won’t be dropped in the world and left to figure out things on your own, unless you’d prefer that method of playing. Then you don’t need to use things like the Travel Journal, and are able to explore and discover on your own without this assistance.
Source: Official FAQ
23.6. Will there be different pathways to improve my character?
Definitely.
Source: Official FAQ
23.7. Will I Learn my Skills from a Trainer? I heard that some skills will be regionalized
Certain advanced abilities may only be taught by trainers in certain areas, even in exotic far off areas for special abilities.
We really like the idea of being rewarded in a distant land, or deep in a dungeon, not just by combat and loot, but also by occasionally finding special merchants, trainers, quest mobs that impart rare information into your travel journal, etc. -
Source: Aradune Mithara
23.8. Does Experience get split between my group? What happens if a group kills a casual mob?
An NPC that is designated as "Casual" will have a different target number of players. What does this mean? This means that for example we say the target number is 3, for 500 exp, if you bring more than 3 people you are going to get greatly diminished returns - i.e. splitting / downscaling will occur.
This is why we believe you will not see roaming death squads in casual areas destroying the solo/small group oriented NPCs. We expect to see small roaming death squads and soloers in these areas
Source: Tagad
Our current implementation for alpha is actually to /NOT/ split exp for NPC kills. This is obviously subject to change.
So currently if you kill an NPC solo, and its worth lets say 500 exp for the solo player, its also worth 500 exp per player in a group of X size.
Source: Tagad
23.9. Will there be EQ style Alternate Advancement?
Alternate Advancement (AA's) were introduced into EQ so we woudn't have to increase the level range as often. This was because in the beginning EQ was never intended to grow beyond level 50.
With Vanguard, we've planned from the beginning to support more levels than we'll launch with so we wouldn't need to use AAs or some other system for that reason. That doesn't mean alternative advancement couldn't exist just to accentuate the game and give players more options. It's not in the plans right now, but who knows?
Source: Aradune Mithara - May 2005