Every two weeks an Everquest player is interviewed from Kytherea, Community Relations Rep for the game. This is the turn of Loral Ciriclight, from the Quellious server.

In the interview you will also find the reason why I quit playing Everquest: "How long is your typical gaming session when playing EQ? About three to four hours a day, six days a week." 

Real life first name: Mike
Main Character name: Loral Ciriclight
Server: Quellious
Guild: Healers United

Where in the real life world do you live? Alexandria, Virginia but I'm originally from Chicago, Illinois.

How long have you played EQ? Six years.

What other MMOs have you played? I have a level 48 hunter in World of Warcraft (Sshhh, don't tell). I played Everquest 2, Everquest Online Adventures, a little bit of Guild Wars, and a little bit of Ultima Online.

What type of work do you do? I lead a team of web application developers for a non-profit company.

How long is your typical gaming session when playing EQ? About three to four hours a day, six days a week.

What does a typical EQ day consist of for you? I start off by saying hello to my guild and my favorite chat channels. Then I usually cast a mass virtue at the big bank in Knowledge.
After that I'll either sit on a hill and chat with some friends or I'll go off on an adventure. Lately I've been doing Depths of Darkhollow missions and telling myself that it's time to start my Epic 1.5 but I haven't quite gotten up the motivation yet. When Prophecy of Ro comes out, I want to do the Prophecy single-group progression quest to get to Theater of Blood. Keridon was telling me about it and it sounds awesome.

What was the race and class of your very first character? I played a long forgotten half-elf paladin. One time, when he was very young, he fell down the well in Befallen and lost a full suit of chainmail and bronze armor. A super powerful high elf cleric, I think he was of the high level of 32, came and fetched all of my gear (this was back when gear on corpses could be fetched). That day I decided to play a cleric.

What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most? I think I started with some of the early Console RPGs like Dragon Warrior, Zelda, and Final Fantasy. Then I switched to the gold box D&D games by SSI for my Apple IIc. In high school and college I played pen-and-paper D&D along with some other computer and console RPGs.
Today I still love good console RPGs. My fiance just got me Dragon Quest 7 for the PS2, I'm looking forward to digging into that one.
Also, I'm still hoping Santa brings me an Xbox 360 and a copy of Elder Scrolls IV. He stiffed me at Christmas...

What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other then playing EverQuest? I write short stories of all varieties. I just got a story published in an anthology called "Lycanthrope", now available on Amazon.com. I also have a self-published book of short stories called "Vrenna and the Red Stone and Other Tales". You can read the full text of the book at my website, mikeshea.net.
I'm also a pen and paper nut. I handwrite all of my stories with a fountain pen and I carry a Moleskine notebook on me at all times.

What is your highest level in EQ? Loral Ciriclight is level 70 with just over 700 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 like being a secondary character in the story. I don't want to be a hero, I just want to be one of the guys working to defeat a great evil. I love being able to save the lives of others and I love being able to cast powerful protective spells on younger hunters to make their lives easier.

Does your main character worship a deity? Loral is a very devout worshipper of Tunare.

How did you choose your main character's name? I wanted an anagram but Lorol sounded weird. I wanted something short, simple, easy to read, and easy to type.

Which classes in EQ have you NOT played? I don't think I've ever tried a beastlord, mage, monk, or necro (they're evil).

What is your favorite expansion? Lost Dungeons of Norrath. This was the best expansion for pickup grouping and offered some excellent rewards based on the time hunted. I love a lot of other expansions, but I think this one was still my favorite.

What is your favorite zone? Greater Faydark - I have many years worth of memories from this great zone.

What is your favorite npc? Yolarn Bronzeleaf in the Cleric guild of Felwithe. He's been a great character in some of my fan fiction and I still hang out with him in-game (I'm actually sitting next to him as I write this).

Which expansion do you like the least? This is going to be an unpopular answer but Planes of Power was my least favorite expansion. Planes of Power, with the heavy focus on raiding or raid-level encounters, gave people the message that the way of the high-end game is the way of the raider. I don't think this has to be true and Depths of Darkhollow shows how single-group gaming can be powerful and fun. Planes of Power drove a huge wedge between raiders and non-raiders. It took a wide open game and made it locked and linear. If you weren't flagged, you weren't anybody. This has been discussed ad infinitum on the forums and many of the reasons I don't like POP are the reasons other people like it. There's no pleasing everyone.

Which zone do you like the least? Plane of Sky. Summoning people by killing them, summoning their bodies, and ressing them on a higher island is a terrible game mechanic. I've wasted entire weekends with thirty minutes of fighting spread across eight hours of summoning bodies.

Which npc do you like the least? Xegony. I'm not even sure why I'm fighting her but man is she a pain in the arse.

What is the most platinum you have ever spent on purchasing a single item for one of your characters? The most I can remember is 60k on a Mantle of Rebirth a year or so ago. I still wear it and it was worth every penny. Most of the gear I get these days is no-drop.

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? I have many. I have my Trakanon Tooth from my first Trakanon hunt. I have my Warden Symbol of Tunare. I have a Tunarian idol my guild leader gave me (we're getting married IRL in September! Yay!). I have my green Robe of Living Fungis that I wear for special occasions. Everyone calls it my mumu =( I keep these things because they remind me of the adventures of the past with friends who have since moved on.

What do you like best about EverQuest? There are lots of great things in Everquest. I love meeting people with as much passion for this game as I have. I love going on adventures and being part of a small team facing challenges. I love setting my own path of adventure and my own goals. There is one thing I like best about Everquest far more than anything else, though… Meeting my fiance.

What do you get out of playing EverQuest? I get the greatest dollar-per-hour entertainment I have yet come across. I get to meet and chat with a lot of great folks. I get to go on adventures and have a lot of fun. I get to plant the seeds that lead to some fun stories.

Describe your best experience from playing EverQuest. It's too hard to pull up the BEST experience but I'll talk about a good one I had recently.
Recently, myself and a group of fellow adventurers, no one equipped in high-end raid gear, attempted the last mission for Jarzarrad the Prophet in Undershore. Our party fell into the Demiplane of Shadow and fought the shades of the Draygun the Lich King. There are about four or five bosses in this mission and all of them pushed us to the limits. At the end, we stood over the shade of the fallen Lich King with some great rewards and great stories to tell. This mission, "Into the Shadows", is the best single-group event in Everquest right now.

Do you run or work for an EverQuest Fan Site? I run three Everquest sites and write for one other including: MobHunter, EQWire, Loral Ciriclight & Caster's Realm.

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