Interview
with : Interview
with :
Mithoron
Name: Mithoron
Level: As of 03/24/02 level 91
Server: Harvestgain
Message board name : COD: Mithoron of Harvestgain
ACVault: Mithoron
Favorite message board : Depends on what I'm looking for:
Informational: COD
Up-to-date Game problems: ACVault General Board
Trades: ACVault Harvestgain Board
How long have you been playing AC?
Mithoron answered the Call on November 12, 1999
How much do/did you play every week?
The first year I started, I literally averaged 60 hours a week...then I got
married and developed a family and it cut down drastically and I average maybe
10-20 hours a week depending on work and family-related activities...sometimes
less.
What template of mage do you currently Play?
I have always played a four-schooled, non-spec'd Archmage with Arcane, Missile,
and Melee.
Is AC your first MMORPG? Yes; however, I have always been a big AD&D
nut and have played several on-line-based AD&D campaigns through both e-mail
and conference sessions.
What was your first mage character? Do you still play it?
Mithoron is the second reiteration of Mithoron. The original Mithoron was
created without Mana Conversion (don't ask...it
was the second week of AC and who knew!). After level 7, I rerolled (the
ONLY time) and have been playing him ever since...
How do you play AC? Are you in it to power-level, Dungeon Dwelling,
adventuring, friends, etc.
I am strictly against power levelling. Though I know many people who have
done it here and there, my version of power levelling is buffing to the max and
killing anything and everything in site. I have only been to the OHN and
BSD each twice...and those were on body recovery missions. I have twinked
my secondary characters to their respective levels; however, I am proud to say
that Mithoron has made level 91 without an XP Chain or Power leveling (not
counting a couple eviserator turn-ins before the fellowship nerf came, hehehe).
I enjoy hunting and questing...sometimes with a group, sometimes alone. I
play to relieve tension and to "escape" the woes of real life and to
just chill out. There are times I'll log in for hours and do nothing but
chat with followers and friends.
What gear do you normally hunt in?
Mithoron is identified by running around in the wild by full purple platemail,
minimum AL 220. Recently I have come across
some MAJOR War bracers so though still in purple, I now have scalemail pauldrons
for upper arm ornamentation. While relaxing in safe zones and towns, I
wear a Canescent Mattie Robe (Ichor-created).
What do you feel was the best thing to happen to mages in the
game?
The best thing to ever happen to mages is and always will be the lowering of
component burden. Very few mages remember what it was like to run around
without peas and having components weigh their original weight. Peas were
the second best thing to assist mages. Though I only use peas as emergency
reserves, many new mages would be lost without them. Finally, level VII
spells were a big boon to high-level mages, though their implementation and ease
of obtainment in the end have hurt us (see next topic)...
What do you think is the worst thing that affects mages?
The worst thing to hit mages concerns the spell economy. I believe the
Devs were on the right track with an actual fluctuating spell economy; however,
with the advent of SplitPea, Arcane Knowledge, Spilt Beans and the discovery of
the taper system, it has made researching spells a thing of the past.
Nowadays mages learn their VI's and VII's ASAP leading to the entire server
community having a flood of mages casting high-level spells which, with the
spell economy, leads to very little benefit from the spell. Having Level
VII spells requiring only the blind luck of obtaining a scroll from an SIK chest
has really hurt mages. It is too bad the technology of restricting items
based upon level was not around then. The Devs have stated that level VIII
spells would never be introduced; however, it is my hope that they change their
mind and at least put level and skill requirements on obtaining and learning the
spells above and beyond the skill to cast them.
Are mages overpowered?
Define overpowered! The ability to kill quickly at the cost of a creature
ALWAYS hitting you? The ability to evade most
creatures and kill them over time? It's a give and take. With the
boost to weapons in the March Persuasion patch and future updates to weapons, I
believe that melee'rs will have little to complain in the future. The
introduction of Crystal Golems, a predominantly melee-only creature, should lead
to future boosts to melee hunting as similar creatures rear their heads. I
think with the future changes, a predominantly BM or Og mage may have problems
with some creatures whereas an all-trained Archmage will be better to adapt...
What are your thoughts on Drain Health I?
Overpowered for the level of spell it actually is. As a Life spell, it is
a life-saver for a mage while fighting...as is stamina drain and to a lesser
degree mana drain. The spell originally should have only deducted a base
number of health points instead of a percentage (simila to Harm)...high lever
spells deducting a lot more health. With taking a set percentage of health
off, yes, it's overpowered. The introduciton of
"drain-resistant" creatures is a band-aide that really doesn't help
the mage community, but does lower the effectiveness of the spells.
What template do you advocate for a starting mages?
Depends on the definition of "starting" mages. If you are
talking about a newb to the game, I recommend to all people I've introduced to
the game interested in playing a mage of creating a War/Life/Mana conversion
trained mage and then other skills they might be interested including Creature
and Item ASAP just getting a "feel" of the character and the game.
Play that mage to level 5-7, then reroll and use what you have learned and have
enjoyed playing to create your "main." For somebody who has
played a melee and the game a while and is now creating a mage and wants power
and can level quickly, a Battlemage or Og Mage are the best bets, as they are
familiar with where to hunt, how to hunt, and how to maximize their
buffing/power levelling capabilities.
What do you feel turbine needs to do with mages, if anything?
The overall constraints of Dereth make this a tough question, as magic is
basically REQUIRED to have a character in Dereth...especially Item and Life;
therefore, it depends on your definition of mage. I feel a mage is a
character who has or plans on having at least three schools (War and Life, then
a variant of Item and/or Creature) and uses those skills as their primary means
of hunting and questing. An archer with Life and Creature who uses those
skills to mainly buff or in rare instances to drain or vuln a creature is always
going to be an archer. That clarified, I think the best thing to help
mages are to reward mages, especially high level mages with mage-specific items
and spells that are worthwhile to them. The War Mage Armor is quite a
boon; however, is not usefull after level 65 or so...the protections it provides
are just not
useful for high-level hunting. So I would feel protection for a mage...especailly
a high level one similar to the WMA would
be a definite boon. Secondly, Level VIII spells that have both a SKILL and
MAGE requirement (make it Mana Conversion-based and a specific Focus + Self
score and you pretty much are excluding anybody but a mage!) to obtain and use
would also help. I have always hated the theory of making everything
obtainable by everybody...there should not be equality in the game...some things
should be melee-specific, some things should be mage-specific...that's
diversity!
After the primary skills have been obtained what skill do you think a mage
should take? Arcane, Healing, Lockpicking, or MeleeD?
Oh all that's holy to Asheron, you have to open this can of worms?!
Depends on what you want in the life of your character. The age-old
argument of obtaining Healing holds some merits. Mithoron never has had,
nor ever will have healing. I have
secondary characters where it is a must...any melee'r who does not train healing
is going to reroll...you just cannot fight
without it! On a mage, it's of less importance. You need a quick
heal, drain...you need to heal in a non-combat situation,
cast Heal. To me, the extra weight of carrying kits compared to more
components or loot is not worth it. Healing is beneficial to mages below
level 40-ish, but once you get to high levels and have life...drains are much
better. I obtained Melee Defense at level 85 and have never regretted it;
however, a mage has to realize they will never obtain the bonuses weapons give
melee'rs' melee defense; if you have reasonable expectations, it is well worth
it. Mithoron also has Missile Defense...and there are some sweet items
that have missile req's that he wears (anybody wanna see my MAJOR war bracers,
hehehe). I will get Lockpick at level 105, so hopefully that will help
with my money situation and give me a bit more tradability for items in the
future, especially since my luck at finding anything worthwhile is next to zero.
I also have Arcane trained from day 1 and have never regretted it.
At low levels, it definitely allows protections you may not be able to cast.
At high levels, it helps you utilize some very sweet items! All-in-all, as
I've stated, it's how you want to play your toon...
Care to reminisce? What has been the best patch or moment or epiphany that
you have had in AC.
Three things come to mind...First and foremost I have enjoyed playing a monarch.
Our Guild has always been small, but the
friends I have obtained through it weigh more than any large monarchy could ever
bring me. We have no XP chains and are just a close-knit group of friends.
We only take people who we have gotten to know in-game and pretty much the
friends I've made have become my in-game family...we take care of each other!
Second major memory is the day our entire Guild went PK and held a PK event in Mayoi...the Defense of Mayoi. It was my first...and who knows probably last...time I ever went PK and even though the lag was incredible, and good time was had by all.
Finally, my most memorable patch was the Shadow Invasion. I
participated in two of the attacks and though I never got the
kill of a world-wide broadcast, just participating in the defeat of the Shadow
Armies was well worth it!
Comments? Shot outs?
The Eternal Watch!
Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Dizzarian