Profile

  • Real life first name: Doug
  • Main Character name: Artemiz
  • Server: The Bazaar
  • Guild: Blood Bath & Beyond

Where in the real life world do you live? Houston, Texas.

What type of work do you do? Technology Consultant/Litigation Software Development

What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most? I find gaming to be a good escape for a while from real life. Games are a good way to immerse yourself in something vastly different from reality which can be a good thing for giving you something different to think about and do. I enjoy the fantasy games the most as they offer that which is the most different then would could be considered every day life in the real world. Obviously somethings are similar but the environments and many actions different. A friend of mine I have played other games with introduced me to EQ2 over a year ago and said she thought I would like this one.

What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other then playing EQII? I develop various types of software with friends, construct potential content for game play, love puzzles, travel, read and love to debate just about anything but politics.

What other MMOs have you played? The Sims Online was another that I played for a significant amount of time but for very different reasons. It was a great virtual reality chat tool in my opinion and gave an interesting variation to keeping in touch with remote friends. Others I have tried are World of Warcraft (most recently), City of Heros, Second Life and a few others that have also failed to keep my attention for very long.

How long have you played EQII? Over a year now.

How long is your typical gaming session when playing EQII? 6+ hours on average.

What does a typical EQII day consist of for you? Questing, questing and more questing. I am an achievement junkie. I am one of those people that enjoys creating "god" characters that can do it all. I am working towards completing all quests, collections, completing my gear sets, mastering all the zones and generally having a great time with the friends I am making in the game.

What was the race and class of your very first character? High Elf Conjuror

What is your highest level in EQII? 70 adventuring/70 Crafting/350 Tinkering/Transmuting/100AA

What race and class is your main character? High Elf Conjuror (did a little research before I created my first character at the suggestion of a friend that introduced EQ2 to me and apparently made the right choice for me)

What do you like the most about the class you have chosen for your main character? I just love being a pet class mage. I have tried many of the other classes in the game and find the pet class mages to be the most complex classes out there and also the most versatile.

Does your main character worship a deity? Yes, I went with Ro intially because as a caster, "it's the right thing to do" but most recently I denounced Ro and went to Bristlebane because I wanted to experience that also. I have now decided to do all the Good and Nuetral gods and figure out which one is actually the one I enjoy the most and will get the most use out of. I must admit I am really enjoying Bristlebane right now, it's entertaining.

How did you choose your main character's name? This was a combination of things. My friend that introduced me to EQ2 is both female and Persian. I have a love of history and mythology. Artemiz in Persian means "speaker of truth". In mythology Artemiz was worshipped as a goddess. Well, my friend thinks she is a goddess and we all know she doesnt hold her tongue for telling it like it is so....

Which classes in EQII have you NOT played? Coercer, Shadowknight, Illusionist, Paladin or Bruiser.

What is your favorite expansion? Desert of Flames - this expansion by far, in my opinion, has the most well thought out and interesting quest lines.

What is your favorite zone? Oh this changes depending on the week you ask me. My favorite city zone is Maj'Dul. A few changes there to housing (like letting us own a second house there without having to give up our primary housing), add tradeskill instances and make the arena more useful and it is the most well laid out functional city in the game. My favorite dungeon - Nek Castle. Its the puzzles I think. I spent an entire day in there last year completing all the quest and learning the zone. When I say an entire day, I was in there for about 18 hours straight if memory serves me right. I had a blast and have lead many groups through it subsequently in mentored states just to do it again. I had to go back and do Nek Castle: The Return when I got to mid 50's and most recently trekked back to Nektulos Forest to go through Nek Castle: The Tribulation (which I am looking forward to doing again a few times at least). As an instance - Estate of Unrest is pretty interesting. My first time in there was a 6-7 hour stretch with friends that hadnt been in the zone either. We were clearing the zone and running around trying to figure the place out. The surprise mail at the end of completing it the first time was a riot, nice surprise! We have it down to a couple of hours now and its still fun, come on Conjuror chest piece :)

What is your favorite npc? Cant really say that I have one. I love to watch them change as you level and complete various quests how some of the dead end dialog all the sudden becomes quest offerings since you have proven your worth. Fun stuff!

Which expansion do you like the least? Echoes of Fawder. Sorry but so many of the zones are difficult to move around in I find myself getting frustrated more than entertained (these zones need flight - maybe thats why the faes are there, moving on the ground just makes me want a good axe and a torch for a lot of those forrest zones). At this point, I know how to get to the instances I play in there with friends in my search for my class gear AND I am certain that like all other zones I will master these at some point but they arent high on my list. In all probability, I will do RoK and then come back to EoF zones for quest completion and mastery.

Which zone do you like the least? Lavastorm and Everfrost tie for first place on this one. Lavastorm is beautifully done but must like Greater Faydark is difficult to move around in and really has little to offer which makes moving around there worth the while (needs more quest and more engaging content). There are only 2 quests in this game which I absolutely hated, Saving Soles and Lost Legend of Lavastorm, both HQ's take place in Lavastorm and were the biggest pains to get done. The rewards were useless by the time I got the quests completed and were no where near being inline with Risk vs. Reward for time and effort to complete.

Which npc do you like the least? Director Jasmine in Antonica, still havent figured out what purpose if any she serves, but she taunts me. Her dialog changes based on the character I encounter her with and that makes me wonder if there is more there than meets the eye. Great job devs on this one, with my luck she is nothing more than meets the eye but still something makes me wonder.

What is the most platinum you have ever spent on purchasing a single item for one of your characters? I spent around 75p getting my Igneous Savant Master I.

Do you have an item you no longer use but keep around for nostalgic reasons? If so what is it and why do you keep it? If so what is it and why do you keep it? Well, I am a packrat. I have every robe and main weapons I have ever used. Most of the robes and such I kept because I thought some were nice looking, others as a reminder of the progression of this toon. With the introduction of the appearance tab in LU38 I am really glad I did. While everyone else was pouncing the broker I raided my house vault. I am getting some use out of the ceremonial plate I bought after finishing Bloodlines and the other sets I bought from achieving high faction levels with the Qeynos Fighter Faction. Battle Mage!

What do you like best about EQII? The variety. There are many different things to do in this game and many play styles offered. I can quest and exercise my puzzle solving, grind kills for stress relief, work on titles, adventure and discover new places and people throughout the world of Norrath, chat with friends, debate in channels, decorate my house (happens every few months, I keep acquiring "stuff" until it looks a mess and then have to straighten it all up) and the list goes on.

What do you get out of playing EQII? Lots of entertainment and stress relief. I have also met some really fun and interesting people in game.

Describe your best experience from playing EQII? There have been too many to list. I get immense satisfaction from achieving things in the game. That satisfaction is increased when others are amazed at those achievements either by speed of completion or completion in and of itself. The most fun I have typically comes from not doing the right thing. For instance, the other day I was in a group and we were having a hard time finding a tank for Kaladim. We decided to go anyway and see how far we would get. This was 3 mages and a healer. We just went master blaster in the place with the wiz tanking. It was hilarious. The dialog along the way was so funny from everyone in the group my jaw was hurting by the time we finished the last named and all stood in awe that we actually made it through alive. As we retrieved the class drop we got wiped by respawns. We were all in complete awe we got through the whole zone without a tank and only a few deaths along the way. We had a great time. It was an experience that probably could not be repeated because you normally wouldn't do it and we weren't taking it seriously. We were having those OMG moments after every encounter. "Ok, lets do this....LEEEEEEEROOOOYYYYY JENKINNNNNSSSS!!!!!"

Do you run or work for an EQII Fan Site? No but I visit the EQ2 forums quite frequently.