"Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" Trivia Quiz

Answer: "EverQuest"

"EverQuest" was originally designed by Verant Interactive, an offshoot of EA Games' 989 Studio. In 2000 (between the releases of the "Scars of Velious" and "Shadows of Luclin" expansions) Verant was bought out by Sony Online Entertainment, and "EverQuest" became its signature title. McQuaid then formed Sigil and announced developed of a then undisclosed title, which became "Vanguard."

History came full circle for McQuaid and those who follow his games in May 2007 when he sold his interest in Sigil Games to Sony. The launch of "Vanguard" was less successful than expected, and financial pressures left McQuaid with a choice between shutting the game down or finding a suitable buyer with the financial means to keep it alive.

"World of Warcraft" was developed by Blizzard, an entirely separate company. "Star Wars: Galaxies" was developed by SOE, however McQuaid had no involvmenet in that project as he had already left to form Sigil by the time it entered development. "Tanarus" is an online tank combat game developed by SOE, which McQuaid also had nothing to do with.

Answer: Berserker and Inquisitor

The berserker was intended to be an offensive fighter that relied on raw power to inflict damage, while the inquisitor was described as a defensive fighter ("tank") with a specialization in defending against magical attacks. The classes had not made it into the game at the date of this quiz's creation, and it is unclear if they will in the future.

The most commonly cited reason for the classes' absence is that they simply duplicated the offerings of other similar classes.

Answer: player housing areas

The player housing areas are plots of land that players can purchase and build structures, which they can then decorate and use for storage of items. The designers did not want to allow players to build houses everywhere, as this would lead to a glutted landscape, so the housing areas were created with organized plots in places where they fit into the landscape.

Answer: Harvesting

Players can advance their characters through all four skill sets, however, in order to harvest one must venture into the areas where harvesting nodes are located, and these are almost always in proximity to hostile creatures. Due to the fact that one must advance far enough into the adventuring sphere to survive encounters with these creatures, harvesting is not considered to stand on its own in the way that crafting and diplomacy do.

Although there are a few quests in those spheres that bring one into contact with dangerous creatures, the vast majority of time spent in the crafting and diplomacy spheres takes place in cities and outposts where there is minimal risk of being attacked.

Answer: In the form of a card game

Diplomacy is probably one of "Vanguard's" most innovative concepts. Each diplomacy encounter (referred to as 'parleys') consists of a card game in which the player selects a deck of five cards to play against the five cards the computer opponent possesses, in which one wins by reducing their own points to zero. Diplomacy includes its own realm of items and attributes that grant a player higher power in parleys. Through diplomacy players can unlock quests, activate beneficial effects in cities, and gain items.

Answer: Thestran, Qaliathari, Kojani, and Mordebi

Three of the human races are named for their continents of origin: Thestrans come from Thestra, Kojanis come from Kojan, and Qaliathari come from Qalia. Mordebi humans also come from Qalia, however they are distinct from the Qaliathari. Raki, Vulmane, and Kurashasa are anthropomorphic races derived, respectively, from foxes, wolves, and big cats. Varanjar and Varathari are barbarian races coming from Thestra and Qalia. Dark, wood, and high are the three varieties of elves.

Answer: Artificers, Blacksmiths, and Outfitters

Each crafting archetype has two classes, which players must choose between at level ten. These classes are Carpentery and Minerology for Artificing, Weaponsmithing and Armorsmithing for Blacksmithing, and Tailoring and Leatherworking for Outfitting. Carpenters primarily make ships, Minerologists primarily make houses, Armorsmiths primarily make heavy armor, Weaponsmiths primarily make weapons, Leatherworkers primarily make medium armor, and Tailors primarily make light armor. Each class also has the capability to make a variety of utility items.

Answer: Offensive Fighters, Defensive Fighters, Priests, and Casters

Offensive fighters consist of Rangers, Bards, Rogues, and Monks. Their role is to deal damage via the use of weapons and other physical attacks. Defensive fighters are usually referred to as 'tanks' and consist of Warriors, Paladins, and Dreadknights.

They are capable of dealing a moderate degree of physical damage, however their primary role is to occupy enemy creatures and absorb damage from them so their weaker allies can survive. Casters include Wizards, Necromancers, Psionicists, and Druids.

Their role is to deal magical damage at range. Priests' primary role is healing and curing their allies, and they include Clerics, Blood Mages, Shaman, and Disciples. Most classes have some degree of special or utility ability beyond the primary role of their archetype.

Answer: Metal, Stone, Hide, Cloth, and Wood

Each resource type has multiple tiers. For instance one can quarry basalt, slate, sandstone, limestone, and granite. In order to harvest higher tiers, one must increase their skill in harvesting. Additionally, higher tiers of resources tend to be located in areas with increasingly difficult creatures, i.e. basalt is found near starting areas while granite is found in high level areas. Resources are harvested for the purpose of using them to make various items through crafting.

Answer: False

"Vanguard" is what is known as a "seamless world." This means that unlike games such as "EverQuest," the world is continuous and one can traverse it without encountering a loading screen while an area loads from the hard drive. This has certain implications for the way the world is designed. Namely, the designer has to put meaningful landscape between points of interest. When designing a world with zones, the designer is free to make areas of interest in whatever arrangement they desire, and limit the ability to move to separate zones to specific points, thus eliminating the need to make the world flow smoothly. However, the higher difficulty in designing a seamless world pays off in that it has a higher potential for realism and immersion.

I hope you enjoyed this quiz, please feel free to rate it, and if you think anything is amiss, please send me a note.