Meet the Community – 9/18/07

Every week we highlight EverQuest community members. If you are interested in being highlighted in a Meet the Community, look for instructions here!

Meet Aevax Ravenheart Server: The Seventh Hammer Guild: Forged Souls

Where in the real life world do you live?
Bergenfield, NJ

How long have you played EQ?
Since 1999 or thereabouts

What other MMOs have you played?
EQ2 and Final Fantasy XI ... but I still prefer the original EverQuest =)

What type of work do you do?
I'm a college student studying theatre, as well as a wannabe actor/model (going for auditions in NYC a LOT), and I work at a small game store nearby.

How long is your typical gaming session when playing EQ?
Depends on what I'm doing really. Sometimes only an hour, other times I'm up all night! Really, I'm around most of the time as long as I'm not working or at school, although I may not actually be playing.

What does a typical EQ day consist of for you?
Well, I login and say hello to all my guildies and people in my old guilds "friends and family" channel. Then I do a /who all friends and say hi to all my friends. (Can tell you one thing, saying hello to more than 5 people through tells can lead to lots of mistells!) Then I either go off in search of adventure (either by myself or with a group) or I sit in PoK working on Tradeskills and cast random cleric buffs on the players who need them. Forged Souls is a raiding guild, so I have my nightly raids too. Mainly, if I'm not raiding, I watch the General chat channel to see if anyone needs help with something. I'm always willing to help out other players where I can. It's fun!

What was the race and class of your very first character?
First character I ever played was a wood elf rogue named Srilynia on my best friend's account. He taught me how to play really, though I'd make him laugh at the many silly things I'd waste money on like a whole second set of armor to wear when I died in a dangerous place and had to go find my corpse. (I'm not sure if he laughed at the fact that I bought a second set of armor, or at the things I DID buy.)

What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most?
I've always been into games, for as long as I can remember actually. I started out playing "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" when I was younger and "Civilization." Eventually I found the fantasy roleplaying type games and fell in love with them! I loved the elves the most. Still my favorite race to play. =) I also like games like the Sims 2. There's something about building houses and trying to keep the sims from dying (or keep their pets from getting taken away by the animal shelter in my case) that is just so.... addicting!

What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other then playing EverQuest?
Well, I love to write! I write poetry and short stories and I'm working on a novel. There are seriously notebooks scattered all over my room with stuff I've written. I also love being on stage and acting or singing! Theatre amazes me and I get such a natural high when I'm giving a performance in front of an audience. I also sketch and paint, most of my drawings I give to my friends of family members at holiday times. =)

What is your highest level in EQ?
Aevax Ravenheart is 75 with a little over 900 AAs.

What race and class is your main character?
High Elf Cleric

What do you like the most about the class you have chosen for your main character?
I love being the "healer." It's such a rush knowing that the outcome of a fight depends on your ability to keep even the worst of tanks healed. If I mess up it could mean the entire group dies, including myself! I'm also one of those in the background. I'm not the hero fighting brilliant battles and leading the guild on to victory. I'm the one who can cast buffs and heals that ultimately help the heroes obtain their victory. I love helping out the little lower leveled players too. In general, I love helping people which is useful when your main is a cleric.

Does your main character worship a deity?
Yes, she worships Tunare.

How did you choose your main character's name?
Well, the "x" on Aevax was added when I transferred over from an alternate server. Originally I wanted the name Eva.. but names had to be more than three letters. So I Added the A to it. Eva was the name of a character I portrayed (my biggest part ever) in a play called "Kindertransport." When they added the "x" to the name, I kinda liked how Aevax sounded when I heard it said over Teamspeak, and I decided to keep it. Ravenheart came about when I was attempting to make a signature for my first guild's boards (A friend of mine actually ended up making it for me). I found a beautiful background that matched my clerics colors (pink and red at the time) with a heart on it and another of a raven. I sent those along with screenies of my cleric self to my friend, and she made my sig. I fell in love with how it looked. So thus, Lady Aevax Ravenheart I became.

Which classes in EQ have you NOT played?
Wizard, Mage, Enchanter, Berserker, Druid, Ranger

What is your favorite expansion?
Hrmm. It's possibly a tie between DoN and TSS. I loved DoN when it came out because of it's group content and also because it was my first experience with raiding! (I was a bit of a late comer to raiding really) There's something about working your butt off on the missions to obtain that "ally" status or drops you would use to get a new spell or new item that I find enjoyable. But I also liked TSS a lot too. TSS made it possible for a lot of players who don't like to raid to catch up a bit on gear drops. It also offered a large variety of quests for every level. I think my favorite quest there is the one where you deliver a potion to a council member, then back to this disgruntled guy and he turns into a huge bunny! It's a low leveled quest, but it's cute and it's fun.

What is your favorite zone?
Plane of Tranquility. I love watching the sun rise and the sun set there! It's quite peaceful.

What is your favorite NPC?
I'd have to say the dragons in Western Wastes. I have this love of dragons, and I love how each of the named dragons look different! I have a whole lot of screenshots of them sitting on my computer. =)

Which expansion do you like the least?
I think I'd have to go with LDoN. It got kind of boring after awhile doing the same missions over and over. I still go back and do some from time to time though on my lower leveled characters, cause they're still good places to go for experience and it's still challenging to find the "perfect group" in order to succeed on them.

Which zone do you like the least?
Plane of Mischief. Two words. Extremely confusing! I had never gone into the zone much, I believe helping a rogue with their epic was the first time, needless to say I got completely lost and died do to my invis wearing off! That zone gave me a headache, and while I was happy to help, I wouldn't go there on a day to day basis.

Which NPC do you like the least?
Undead Renux.. can't tell you how many times I've wiped on this one mob for the rogue 1.5 due to her Dot. Let's just say it's a lot.

What is the most platinum you have ever spent on purchasing a single item for one of your characters?
Hrmmm. 80k for one of my rank 2 cleric spells. I think it was single cast Tenacity.

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?
Anything fabled from when fableds were first introduced! I remember being to little to take down any of the fableds by myself or even with a group of players at or around my level. These higher leveled players would come into the zone and kill them for fun, and let us little ones loot the bodies. I remember admiring the players and thinking "someday I'll be like them!" My best friend who I played with and I were so happy about it! So many dead bodies just lying around with loot that we could sell for a few plat! I still run into a few of those players from time to time, and even while they may not remember the baby cleric or baby rogue they helped out back then, I still remember them and how fun it was to be able to loot the fabled items!

What do you like best about EverQuest?
I love how challenging it can be. I love how frustrating it can be. There are times when you want to cry from sheer frustration when you can't beat something you need to progress for certain keys or flags. But when you do finally beat it, you're just so overfilled with joy! Endless amounts of leveling and "camping" certain spots for that one item you just have to have. It's all about determination and facing a challenge and beating it. It's about not giving up. Here I can find people with similar goals as myself (at least within the game) and we work together. When you meet those people you start to talk and friendships across any amount of distance come into being. That's something that makes EverQuest better than any other game I've played.

What do you get out of playing EverQuest?
Well, entertainment is one factor I suppose. And also because I like a good challenge and EverQuest gives me that. But it's more than that. I'm a shy and quiet person by nature, and with the work I do, I always feel like I have to be at my best. In the world of Norrath, I can be myself without having to worry about what people think. I can be as silly as I want to or as serious and people take in what I say, and just accept it. yes, there are a few people who just don't like me, but that doesn't really matter so much. The game relaxes me. In the world of modeling, you always have to be just so. In acting, you have to be a character other than yourself. In EverQuest, I don't have to be those things, I can just be me. I love the friends I've made in game that I would never have met otherwise. I love logging in and saying hello and seeing both familiar and not so familiar people responding with cheerful greetings. It's a good feeling to have. =)

Describe your best experience from playing EverQuest?
I couldn't name just one! There have been so many great experiences over the years. I just hope to have many more great experiences in the future!

Do you run or work for an EverQuest Fan Site?
Nope. Although you'll probably find posts from me here and there on random sites trying to help people with Questions or providing additional information.