Interview with : 

Sol Chen

Name, level, server, message board name : Orange Monk, 61, Solclaim, -Sol_Chen :
Favorit message board : Archers Stop

How long have you been playing AC?
Sep 2000

How much do/did you play every week?
20 hr/wk

What template of mage do you currently Play?
Exarch Archer (war spec, item, creature, bow trained, no Life magic)

Is AC your first MMORPG? in not what others have you played and did you play a mage?
Yes, first and only MMORPG

What was your first mage character? Do you still play it? Orange Monk. Rarely

How do you play AC? Are you in it to power-level, Dungeon Dwelling, adventuring, friends, etc.
Adventuring, questing, exploration. Leveling is done to get into new places. I like the trading aspects and "brag rights" aspects too.

What gear do you normally hunt in?
Mage armor, 8 life prots on jewelry/hat, sollies. Focus stone for serious stuff, other wands for pre-buffing or fooling around.

What do you feel was the best thing to happen to mages in the game?
War 7 bolts. Made more mages act like mages
not drain/debuff machines.

What do you think is the worst thing that affects mages?
The discrepancy between buffed power and unbuffed power. Buffs should have been either more tactical (very powerful but very short-lived) or long lasting but weak.

Are mages overpowered?

Yes, entirely because of the fact that they are the only class to ignore armor AND Turbine has emphasised thick armor in the last year.

What are your thoughts on Drain Health I?
I'd like it better if it removed only what a mage needed to heal, making it a defensive spell, not a crippling offensive spell as well. Likewise the other drains. This would also help with the inability to defend against mob draining when the mob is unhurt.

What template do you advocate for a starting mages?
probably life-spec 4-school. Solid but teaches them how to be a mage at low levels, keeps them out of skimming/begging habits.

What do you feel turbine needs to do with mages, if anything?
Balance them with respect to physical weapons. Until that is done, interclass hate will poison a lot of things. Once that is done, probably continue to reduce downtime, perhaps by automating buff routines similar to what Nerfus Buffus does.

After the primary skills have been obtained what skill do you think a mage should take? Arcane, Healing, Lockpicking, or MeleeD?
Depends. Lockpick for exploration/loot, arcane to reduce buff cycles, healing for extra durability. Melee D if they want to operate sometimes behind a shield using racial weapon...it's pretty ineffective without Defender.

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

At level 30 I joined what I thought was going
to be a suicidal attack on BZ in his lair.
It turned out to be 'lets camp the chest', a very well organized cooperative effort involving the biggest names on the server. That experience made me want to see everything and do every quest in the game. The fact that WMA quest required war, lead me to create an Exarch Archer.

Comments? Shot outs?

I actually dislike magic in AC, the way it was done. I still refuse to pick any template that uses offensive debuffing as a normal strategy. So take my comments with a grain of salt.