Interview with : 

Og the One Eye

----Name, level, server, message board name :

I won't give out my character names.  I'm not really anti-social, I just had a bad experience with out of
game stuff carrying over into the game in the first couple months from AC.  It sucked, so I'm determined to not repeat it.

I have two mages that I mainly play, levels 121(life/creature) and 107(war/life), on HG and LC.

Message board name is Og the One Eye.

----Favorite message board :

CoD 

----How long have you been playing AC?

I've played AC since the first day of retail.  I don't think I've gone more than 3-4 days since that day without logging on at least once.
 
----How much do/did you play every week?

I've always played about 15-20 hours per week.  I
didn't want to go all out ever and burn out, so I've
tried to stay away from anything more than a couple
hours a day.  

----What template of mage do you currently Play?

Specialized Life/Creature
 
----Is AC your first MMORPG? in not what others have you played and did you play a mage?

AC is my first computer game of any kind. 
 
----What was your first mage character? Do you still play it?

First mage was all trained.  I haven't played him in a long time, he doesn't even exist anymore,  I deleted
him sometime in the summer of 2000 at level 60 something.
 
----How do you play AC? Are you in it to power-level, Dungeon Dwelling, adventuring, friends, etc.

I like wandering around killing stuff! 

I can and have done a lot of power leveling, but it is more of a means to an end with me, not a style of
play.  I enjoy dungeons more than most mages I think.  There is a lot of good dungeon hunting that goes
unused.   As for friends and questing.  I don't quest in big groups, it drives me crazy, two to four people
is it for me.  I don't like using AC as a chat client either.  I have close friends that I talk a lot with, but I'm not a chit chat kind of guy when it comes to AC, that's isn't why I log in.  That's why a couple months into AC I dropped my allegiance.. too many @tells!
 
----What gear do you normally hunt in?

I take advantage of all my slots. I have items for all the Life protects.

I also wear armor all over.  It is all mismatched and stupid looking, I'm constantly swapping pieces in and out as I find better stuff, so I don't bother dyeing it.

My buff cycles are very short for the most part, buff my magic skills, cast armor VI, and that is usually about it.

----What do you feel was the best thing to happen to mages in the game?

Turbine was too afraid to nerf them!
Besides that, it would be level VII spells.
 
----What do you think is the worst thing that affects mages?

The coming melee/archer love.  I think there is going to be a lot of mage hatin' going on before too long. 

----Are mages overpowered?

Yes, very much so.  Turbine should have broken out the nerf club on Creature, Life, and Item shortly after release.
 
----What are your thoughts on Drain Health I?

Should be line of sight only and range should be the same as a melee weapon.   I don't have that big of a problem with the spell however.   I've always thought creature/item + imperil were worse in terms being a game breaker.  25% is a bit much, it should be more like half of that.
 
----What template do you advocate for a starting mages?

All trained for about 20-25 levels, then reroll.  That gives a player a chance to learn the basics before starting a more advanced template. 

----What do you feel turbine needs to do with mages, if anything?

At this point, I don't think they should do much of anything.  Mages have been top dog since release.  A few tweaks could be made here and there, I would love to see longer buff durations, but I don't think mages should gain any more power.
 
----After the primary skills have been obtained what skill do you think a mage should take?  Arcane, Healing, Lockpicking, or MeleeD?

I would first take Arcane for the stackable spells, then lockpick or healing.  I would say lockpick, unless you plan on doing a lot of melee fighting, then grab healing.   Melee d would be my last pick.  It isn't useless, but it comes close.  

----Care to reminisce?  What has been the best patch or moment or epiphany that you have had in AC.

AC's finest moment was when Aerlinthe rolled out. That patch brought so much to the game.  It wasn't
perfect, it was too mage friendly, but I think it was head and shoulders above any other patch and was even
better than the expansion pack for me.  I'll never forget running around Aerlinthe trying to solve that quest.  Plus it was the best hunting grounds ever introduced into the game.  Some are better now, but for many months, it was the place to go.  It could also support a huge number of players, which can't be said about many other places. 
 
Comments? Shot outs?

Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Dizzarian