Interview with : 

Roch the Aged

Hello Dizzarian -

An honor and pleasure to be able to do this for you.

1) Name, level server, message board name:

I'm a resident of Frostfell although I do have characters on other servers.
°Roch the Aged (monarch, level 89, life mage)
°Taiya (main, level 87, battlemage)

I write only on the ACVault Mage Shop Message board as RTA_FF.

2) Favorite Message Board:

ACVault – because it's the only one I can get to from work

3) How long have you been playing AC?

I played the open beta ... so October of 1999

4) How much do/did you play every week?

Unless business takes me out of town, I play one to four hours every day.

5) What template of mage do you currently play?

100/10 strength/endurance Battlemage (Taiya)

6) Is AC your first MMORPG? If not, what others have you played and did you play a mage?

AC is my first MMORPG

7) What was your first mage character? Do you still play it?

Roch the Aged, a life mage, was my first. She remains in-game as the allegiance monarch. She suffers from an 80/80 focus/self start.

I started my present main character in February 2001. She's a battlemage because specializing the two biggest elements of the game really appealed to me.

8) Why do I play AC? Are you in it to power-level, Dungeon dwelling, adventuring, friends, etc.

The people. I've met people from around the world through this game. I've also been fortunate enough to have met a few of them in real life.

It should also be said that the sophistication of AC is something that remains intriguing. The open ended character building and monthly updates are far ahead of their time. I've tried other games since starting AC and none have held my interest.

9) What gear do you normally hunt in?

Uh hmm. I have a kithless feather dress, canescent mattekar robe (blue), and ppgsc. I use which ever the situation demands, but mostly the dress. I'm told it suits me better :-)

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

The adjustment of the duration for creature attribute spells. In the first months of retail, attribute spells had one-half the duration of skill enhancing spells so one would be buffing focus/self every 7 minutes or so. It was painful.

11) What do you think is the worst thing that affects mages?

This is a toss up. Broadly, over time, my chief complaint concerns spell economy. At higher level, it's very discouraging to work for hours to earn xp to raise a skill one point only to have it's net effect diminished by the spell economy. The secondary effect of part of this is the spell economy effect on spell duration. I see no logic behind the necessity for higher skill required to cast a level VI spell that doesn't last as long as a level V spell, or even a level IV spell for that matter.

My other complaint is the same as everyone's: lag/packet loss. Lag essentially takes away any enjoyment of playing, but especially so for a mage since success in spell casting is dependent on the timely return of packet information.

12) Are mages overpowered?

Yes, and no.

If the comparison is level 65+ characters, optimally designed, each type in their favorite environment, archers, mages and melees compare favorably.

Should a mage be capable of one-hit killing any creature that a melee or archer cannot also kill? No. Turbine is aware that there were far too many monsters that were mage-only kills. The oft requested balance is finally beginning to show.

13) What are your thoughts on Drain Health I?

I miss the across radar range ;p

I have to admit that I wasn't happy when the range for this spell was shortened. I felt it forced mages to play just like melees -- up close and personal -- without the benefit of a shield. I fully understand the need for the change because of Drain I's effect on PK play, but those first weeks after the change were painful.

14) What template do you recommend for starting mages?

I usually suggest a 4-school everything trained mage for people new to the game. This allows them to explore whether being a mage is something they can stay with.

For former melees who are resigned to starting mages because they're tired of being out-killed by some robe wearing wimp, it's either Opal or Battlemage. They have the patience to complete at 45/50. They also understand boredom and tortured souls.

For the power-leveling-I'm gonna be a bad-a** type player, I suggest life archers :-) Much easier to send them off with *just point and shoot*

15) What do you feel Turbine needs to do with mages, if anything?

I would be happy if success of a spell was based on skill rather than the equation presently used which is more all-or-nothing based. But over all, with the current state of the game, AC is a better product than it was when it went retail.

I enjoy the better balance among the different player types that has evolved over time.

The one "roleplaying" aspect that might add something to the game would be an ability to combine magic with other mages or perhaps even the magic that melees have, perhaps for a quest?

16) After the primary skills have been obtained, what skill do you think a mage should take? Arcane, Healing, Lockpicking or Melee D?

If speaking of the *perfect* mage, I suspect I'd take Arcane Lore because it is the most related to mage-type skills. It's based on focus – something a mage is likely to add xp to and develop.

The other skills offer *fun*. If you don't ever develop your racial skill, and I haven't, healing and melee D are not particularly useful, even at high level.

If, in the end, I have all these skill credits left over, it might be really fun if you could pool all the skill in your magic and be able to cast one really amazing spell. I'd go for that over any of the other skills.

17) What has been the best patch or moment or epiphany that you have had in AC?

Best Patch has to the Asheron/BaelZahron story arc. I found it amazing that several hundred people would actually cooperate to do anything on one server. It had all the elements that feed fantasy: a protagonist who "still had some good in him;" powerful magic, a heartbreakingly hard quest, a chance to participate in an epic battle. The hardware issues aside, it was great fun.

Best Quest in the game is still Lady Aerfalle's Quest. In its original incarnation, this has to be one of the best designed quests of any game. It requires cooperation – not something easily achieved among today's population; It can be heartbreaking – I once died at the feet of Lady Aerfalle while helping another with the quest .... lost all my trophies; It requires preparation ... you can't just decide to up and do the quest ... you have to have a character capable of traveling Aerlinthe ... and also questmates who will travel with you and cooperate in an endeavor which is not all that easy.

18) Comments.

Asheron's Call has established the standard by which all MMORPGs will be measured. It was groundbreaking when it came out, and it continues to improve over time. It's dynamic.

It's a big psychology experiment with a sense of humor. Dancing drudges, disco lighting, butt scratching monkeys, three story tall hyperactive acid-tripping scarecrows, cockroaches on growth hormones and female characters with rocket-launcher boobs.

The Devs need to get out more often.

Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Dizzarian