Below, we’ve released our free-to-play feature matrix and FAQ including answers to some of your previous questions, along with information about the upcoming free-to-play transition. The Game What is Vanguard? Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is a fantasy, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the vast world of Telon, an ancient world of magic, intrigue and adventure. Join a community of thousands of players online as you traverse breathtaking and seamless lands. Battle fierce opponents with a groundbreaking, dynamic combat system that forces you to react to your opponents as you tie together devastating combinations of attacks. The challenge awaits the boldest of heroes. Will development efforts continue to be focused on Vanguard? Yes! Development efforts will continue to be focused on Vanguard. It is a vibrant and evolving world. As a Free player, how many character slots do I start with and how many can I buy? As a Free player, you start with four character slots. If you purchase a Gold membership, you’ll have12 slots available. What chat, in-game mail and Broker restrictions do Free players have? Free players can only use /say, /tell, /group, and /guild. Gold members have access to all chat channels. Free players can receive in-game mail, but only Gold members can send mail. Selling items via the Broker system is limited to Gold members. Free players are also able to purchase items via the Broker system. How many levels are in the game? Both Gold and Free players can achieve up to level 55 in Vanguard. Can I form my own guild? Forming new guilds is reserved for Gold members. However, any Vanguard player can join a guild. What items can Free players equip? Free players can equip items that are designated as common. Gold members can equip items with any rarity designation. What kind of housing is available in the game? Vanguard’s robust player housing system is available for Gold members. Free players can visit housing, but cannot acquire their own homes. Free players have character coin limitations. What happens to the coin I earn once I reach that limit? Once a Free player reaches the currency cap they can no longer earn coin until they have spent enough to go below the limit. Once they do they will start to earn currency again as normal. Account I used to play as a Vanguard subscriber before it became free-to-play. What does this change mean for me? If you have an active subscription when the free-to-play conversion takes place you will automatically be converted to Gold membership status, with full perks and privileges. This conversion will be seamless and you will not need to do anything for the conversion to take place. Your Gold Membership will continue as long as your subscription remains active. If you cancel your Gold Membership you will be converted to Free when your Gold Membership expires. Previous Vanguard subscribers who did not have an active subscription at the time of the free-to-play conversion will automatically be converted to the Free membership. As a special thank you to players who have ever had a subscription to Vanguard, characters created before the Free-to-Play conversion will all be available regardless of your membership type. In addition, these players will have 12 character slots available on their account regardless of their membership type. I don’t currently play Vanguard or any other SOE games, but I do have a Station account. Can I try Vanguard using my old Station name and password? Yes, you can! Click here to download the game now. What is happening to the trial? The ability to create trial accounts has ended. All current and previous trial members will be converted to Free Player status. Even if you had a free trial months ago, your characters will still be waiting for you (subject to restrictions based on your membership level). Cost How much does Vanguard cost to play? Basic access in Vanguard is free. Gold membership costs $14.99 per month. (See below for more details on memberships and pricing.) Both membership levels give you the ability to create a character and experience the huge and exciting world of Telon! Will I need a credit card to play the game? A credit card is not required to play Vanguard as a Free Player. You can log into the game without entering any payment information. If you do decide to purchase a Gold membership or buy items from the Marketplace, you will need to use one of the available methods of payment (including credit card, a Station Cash card, PayPal, or SMS). What are Station Cash and the in-game Marketplace? Station Cash is Sony Online Entertainment's virtual currency. It's simple and easy to use. All of your Station Cash is stored in a digital wallet. Once your wallet has been funded, you can use Station Cash to make purchases through the in-game Marketplace. The in-game Marketplace is an integrated store where you can purchase an assortment of premium in-game items, services, content and features to enhance your gameplay experience. You can purchase mounts and more. For more information on Station Cash, view the FAQ here. Is it necessary to purchase Station Cash in order to play Vanguard? No, purchasing Station Cash is completely optional. However, if you would like to buy additional in-game items from the Marketplace, you will need to use Station Cash. How do I purchase Station Cash and what is my wallet? Your Station Wallet is your digital wallet where you store Station Cash. Station Cash can be used across a wide variety of SOE games. You can fund your wallet within Vanguard. Click on the Station Cash button to reach the Marketplace. The Marketplace is the destination for in-game purchases and where you can fund your wallet. Once in the Marketplace, click "Add Funds" and follow the on-screen instructions. There are several denominations to choose from. The system will automatically verify your credit card on file or you can add a different credit card. You can also use Station Cash cards, Pay Pal and SMS to fund your wallet. What items are available in the Vanguard Marketplace? There are a variety of items available in the Vanguard Marketplace. You can purchase everything from mounts, illusions, house items, bags, armor, experience potions, and more. These are all optional items and are not required for a great gaming experience. Does the Station Wallet work between Vanguard and other SOE games? Yes! The Station Wallet works between Vanguard and many other SOE games. For more information on the games that accept Station Cash, click here. Memberships What are the differences between Free and Gold memberships? The features and benefits of Free and Gold memberships are detailed on the Vanguard membership matrix page. What is included for free? When you begin playing Vanguard, you default to the Free level of play. That means you have access to most of the content in the world of Telon. You can create characters in seven classes, from six different races, and you have tons of gameplay at your fingertips. However, there are certain content, feature and service limitations that are only unlocked through a la carte item purchases or by upgrading your membership to another tier (view matrix). What is included with the Gold membership? A Gold membership is $14.99 (view matrix). There are also three, six and 12-month memberships available. - Twelve character slots (instead of four included with the Free membership level) - Ability to equip any items (subject to normal game play restrictions)- Four bags slots for your inventory (instead of only two) - The character coin limits of Free Players are restricted whereas Gold members can hold unlimited coin - Access to the huge in-game player-to-player marketplace feature called the "Broker" system so that you can buy and trade with other players - Actively hold up to 50 quests - Access to 15 classes and 19 races Why should I upgrade my account to a Gold membership? Quite simply, better features! Upgrading to the monthly Gold membership lets you fully utilize all the systems in the game like Caravans, Brotherhoods, Fishing and Housing! Gold membership also gives you access to all 15 classes in the game (up from the original seven offered for Free), 12 character slots per server, access to 4 bag slots, no per-character coin limit, access to the player-controlled Broker system, in-game mailing privileges, and more! I have an All Access membership. What does this mean for Vanguard? As a SOE All Access Member you will receive the equivalent of the Gold membership. However, this Gold access is only available while you have an active SOE All Access Membership. If I decide to downgrade from the Gold Membership to Free, what will happen to the Gold perks I had with that membership? You don't lose anything permanently, but Gold membership content will become inaccessible to you until you repurchase a Gold membership. Letting a membership lapse is similar to allowing a subscription on the regular Vanguard subscription service to lapse, where you become unable to access the features of that service until you renew your subscription. - Character Coin Limits: the amount of coin you have is unaltered when you lapse your Gold membership. However, you'll be unable to gain any more coin until you reduce your current coin total below the Free per character limit. - Backpack and Bank limits: Any bags or items that are in bag slots that are no longer available in Free will be unavailable to you until you return to Gold status. - Quest Limits: If you already have more quests than are allowed at Free, those quests still exist, but you'll be unable to add new ones until you reduce your quest count to below those limits. - Character Slots: When you downgrade from Gold, all characters that are on the account will still be visible to you. Only your top four Characters will be available for play. For players who subscribed previous to Vanguard going free-to-play, you will still have 12 character slots available even if your membership is at a Free level. - Items: Items currently equipped will remain usable, but will not be equippable again if you unequip them for any reason. You will not be able to equip any new items beyond those normally equippable by Free players. - Caravans and Brotherhoods: Upon downgrading your membership, you will be removed from any Caravans and Brotherhoods you are currently a member of. - Housing: Upon reverting to Free status you will no longer be able to pay upkeep costs. Results of normal housing decay will still apply. - Races and Classes: Characters created with Gold Membership Race/Class options will be inaccessible until your Gold Membership is reinstated. Characters that were created by a former Vanguard subscriber before the Free-to-Play Conversion will still be accessible on those accounts. - Brokered Items: New items will not be able to be listed, but existing items will not be delisted from the Broker system. Technical How can I download and play Vanguard? Vanguard is going free-to-play! Download the game to your PC from here. Click here for details on our different levels of membership. What if I need customer service help but I am a Free player? All users will have access to our Knowledge Base where they can find answers to commonly asked questions. Players who have purchased Station Cash or Gold Membership may contact Customer Support for assistance with gameplay or performance issues. On what platforms is Vanguard available? Vanguard is available exclusively on PC. What are the PC specs for running Vanguard? Minimum Windows® 7, Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or Windows® Vista Pentium® 4 equivalent or greater 1 GB RAM NVidia GeForce 7800/ATI Radeon X800 Pro DirectX compatible Sound Card 56.6K + Internet Connection 20.0+ GB Available Hard Drive Space DirectX 9.0c
