Community
Member Interview

Balor Rone

By Martuk

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style="font-style: italic;">I recently had the chance to
Interview one of our Vanguard community members by the forum name of
Balor Rone. It is our intention here at Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer to use
these interviews to highlight our members, and hopefully improve on our
already growing and strong community.

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MartukVTTH style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">: style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Can you tell us a little bit
about yourself?



Balor Rone:
I'm 24; soon to be 25 in October. I graduated from college with a BA in
Studio Art and a minor is Sociology. I'm an avid gamer, sometimes
called “The Machine” by some of my guild mates,
which can be taken a couple different ways. /chuckle



I've been playing MMO's since I was a freshman in College, but since I
was a kid I played DnD, Shadowrun, and other RPG's.



MartukVTTH style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">: style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Can you tell us about your
experiences with guilds? What kind do you usually prefer, and why?



Balor Rone:
Back when I was playing Ultima Online in 2000, I joined a guild on the
Catskills server named Lost Order of Talamasce or L.O.T. for short. We
were just a group of people who liked to gang around and do stuff. No
creed, or curses; no one hated us--we were just a bunch of gamers who
did what we liked to do. We weren't that big and had a real
sense of family. That was my first experience in a guild and one of the
best I've ever had. It was a real heart breaker when I left Ultima in
search of a game that had better graphics. Since then my preferences in
guilds has always had a strong emphasis on Family. Since my first guild
I've been in several in many different games, from Dark Age of Camelot
to Star Wars Galaxies. I would often become the “Big
Brother” to a lot of the members giving them an ear to talk
to and whatever objective advice I could offer.



href="http://admin.vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=article-illustrations&id=ultima_online_lord_blackthorns_revenge&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 150px; height: 101px; float: left;"
alt="Ultima Online screenshot" title="Ultima Online screenshot"
src="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/article-illustrations/ultima_online_lord_blackthorns_revenge.thumb.jpg"
hspace="4" vspace="2">I like the feeling of
family in a guild for several reasons. People are more inclined to
forgive drama, and offer understanding and support for in game issues,
as well as life issues. The guild I'm in now, The Seraphim, is a lot
like that. We may be several hundred members strong and I may feel a
connection to fewer than I'd like, but we are all there for one
another. We share our lives with one another and we genuinely care
about each other. That’s my kind of guild.





MartukVTTH:
What do you like about MMOs? What is it that got you hooked?



Balor Rone:
There are so many reasons. The anonymity that an MMO has makes it a
perfect place to observe people’s interactions with one
another regardless of who they are in real life. The fantastical world
of virtual existence makes anything possible. One month I'm swinging
around a two handed long sword in DaoC, then a few months later I'm
using a carbine in SWG. I could be riding across the Dune Sea on a
speeder one month, or riding a Pegasus through the clouds the next. I
suppose the real fascination for me is the unlimited potential to
create a world where reality merges with fantasy.





MartukVTTH:
What do you like/dislike about MMOs both old and new?



Balor Rone:
I highly dislike the commercialism that occurs to video games. In 2002
there were loads of video games on the market that were unique and they
would all cater to the specific tastes of the individual gamer. When
blizzard came out with World of Warcraft, there was an influx of
commercial competition between games, and the uniqueness of games
suddenly became a bad thing! So, you have companies out there trying to
make their games like the “Fresh Meat” on the
market. A lot of gamers found themselves dissatisfied with the
situation. Some stuck around just to play any MMO.



href="http://admin.vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album04&id=Qalia_horses&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 150px; height: 94px; float: right;"
alt="Horses in Qalia" title="Horses in Qalia"
src="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album04/Qalia_horses.thumb.jpg"
hspace="4" vspace="2">Another thing I
dislike about MMOs is the occasional lack of attention to little
details. Often times this can be overlooked, but sometimes, these
little details can make or break a game. Now, I'm not worried about
Vanguard because the devs have more or less stayed on top of all the
rumors flying around, and the little problems people seem to have with
the visual qualities of Vanguard. For example: the mount animations.
Brad has talked about this, as I recall, stating animations will be
improved some time before launch or shortly after. Now back to the
point, when you see in the mount video they made at E3 2006, you can
see a mount flying, flapping, galloping, what have you. So, when they
turn, at present time (as far as video is concerned) all we've seen is
the “turn on rails” or “turn on a
dime” animation where the mount just turns...it doesn't lean,
or tilt, or anything. Almost like gravity doesn't apply to them. This
little attention to detail is what I'm talking about.





MartukVTTH:
What is it that attracted you to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes?



Balor Rone:
Well, as I stated earlier, one of my pet peeves is the commercialism
that a lot of MMOs have suddenly exhibited. From what we've seen so
far, Sigil has made Vanguard into what seems to be a very complex game.
Three spheres of gaming style: diplomacy, combat, crafting (and the
hidden fourth sphere, harvesting). Telon is a seamless world. I can
hardly wait till launch when all has been said and done and the final
product is laid out before us. Then all us hungry gamers out there can
enjoy the buffet of unusual quality we have been seeing put into this
game.





MartukVTTH:
What is your favorite class? Why?



Balor Rone: I like to play the Paladin. I like Paladins because they do
more damage than a pure healer, but have more healing abilities than.
Say. a fighter class. It makes me an invaluable member of any group or
raid. Even soloing becomes easier.





MartukVTTH:
What sphere are you most looking forward to in Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes?



Balor Rone:
Crafting. From what I've heard, read, and seen, crafting seems like it
will be the most involving sphere of them all. I like that.





MartukVTTH:
What do you think of Vanguards stance on no instancing of content?



Balor Rone:
I love it. It just makes sense to me to make the system more accessible
for all players, instead of making it quest based, or level based.



MartukVTTH:
What was the first MMO that pulled you into this genre of gaming?



Balor Rone:
Ultima Online.



MartukVTTH:
Based on the screenshots and gaming videos that have been released,
what do you think of Vanguard so far? How does it look to you based on
what we have seen thus far?



Balor Rone:
It looks good so far, but I would be worried about a couple areas in
the graphics department. Otherwise I think Vanguard will definitely be
one of the best games on the market in 2007.

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style="font-style: italic;">Aside from being an avid gamer
and fellow Vanguardian, Balor Rone is also a talented fan fiction
writer on the Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer site. You can read
Balor’s stories on our forums style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=875">here style="font-style: italic;">. So make sure you give it a
read and offer a response.
style="font-style: italic;">


We would like to thank
Balor Rone and the entire Vanguard community for your continued
support. There will be many more community interviews with loyal
members in the future, so keep checking those PM inboxes. And
don’t forget that every month you can have a chance to style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=364">win
a beta key
here at Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer.



Want to discuss this interview and chat with other community members?
Head over to our href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=5146#5146">forum!