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Interview with Hextorr and TiffanyKo

Blue - Stratics
Red - Visitors (Hextorr and TiffanyKo)

The Log
Nailz
Ok, first off I want to thank Hextorr for taking the time to meet us, and answer our questions. Representing AO Stratics today will be Greystar, Meister and myself.
Could you please introduce yourself for the one that doesn't know you?
Hextorr
Well, my character is Hextorr; I play in RK1, started on 20 July 2001. It was my First char and basically my only one. What else you want to know ;) Had to order via Internet
Meister
Heh you started about 1 month later than me ;)
Nailz
How come you stuck with the Fixer profession, even if is one of the hardest professions to level up?
Hextorr
Well, believe it or not, because after reading the descriptions I was left to believe "it is a great solo class", I like to be independent. The "underground" side implied to it was also very appealing. That was why I choose, it why I stick to it.
The game was new, no one new yet what worked and what not, it was only after you already put some time and effort into your char that you began to see the difficulties, but with other classes going to the same difficulties and getting fixed along the way, you hope and believe that you will soon be next to be fixed, although unfortunately for the Fixer class it seems to be more complicated
Nailz
And how satisfying has it been to you during these months of gameplay? The different patches etc?
Hextorr
That is a not easy to answer question. From the class itself, just taking the class in consideration, it has not been rewarding, I have put so much effort into this character, levelled it to 200 and yet I am left with a sense of lack in return, the Fixer is not a powerful class, its not an easy class, and definitely not a rewarding class. I am eagerly awaiting something that will bring the Fixer class up to par with the other strong and well-defined classes they (FC) have proven it possible to take a totally broken class and make it work and strong, so our day will come.
Meister
So what will you do now, at level 200?
You cant level anymore ;)
Hextorr
About being lvl 200. High lvl game content is almost non existent at this time I had hoped I could have some pvp fun but the pvp system is still not very good, will improve when we can capture territory etc. One thing that worries me is the game focus being totally on the missions.
* Meister agrees
Hextorr
With new items coming into the game as boss loot only it will force people back into the missions which is totally wrong. There is so much land that could be put to good use. I believe they should change the focus to the outside zones, they have too. One thing I've been doing more now, is plan events and participate in them with my Guild. Also I'm looking forward to story and GM events
Nailz
How do you feel about the balance of the professions now versus when the game was released?
Hextorr
Class balance is the most touchy aspect of the game, you have the pvm and the pvp to look at, and balance the classes for both aspects. What we see now is a huge class imbalance, but we also see some classes being lifted up and coming up to par with the strong classes, while other are still left down there. They have to be careful not to leave one class for too much time in the down side. And have to be careful about not having one class completely dominate other classes for too long also. It is hard to come with good class balances out of test server, but you can see well the impacts on the live server and things should be done faster when there are such imbalances, both to the too powerful and to the too weak. Fixer without Grid Armor is close to unplayable in solo. And in pvp if you give me a lvl 200 char of every class and let me tune them, then put them again each other I will kill my fixer with any other class :/
Meister
With a Crat too? ;)
Hextorr
Maybe not with an Engie they are not too good for pvp its true. Crats is close call ;) but can be done
* Hextorr feels he might have generalised a bit now hehe
Nailz
Tell us a bit of the Fixer community. They have been very vocal on the message boards, and have one of the strongest communities among the AO-professions
Hextorr
Fixer community is the best in AO. It seems that from our pain we have gathered together to help each other and to build good ideas as to what might help our class. But the word on ideas now is don't post them on the boards, it will be given away to other classes. I am really happy that other classes are getting good fixes, but in the Fixer community we feel like we are being neglected and having our ideas ripped off. The communication has improved no doubt, the past weeks, and might be a good sign for the future. We do get vocal at times, but then again we should something's are just too much to bear ;)
Nailz
Guilds in general. What have they meant to you in the game?
Hextorr
I joined Opposing Force in the end of august/beginning of September, cant recall the exact day, but I know I was lvl 37, was right after they had the news on all the sites about their raid on a omni Out Post, and I said to myself "hmm this is exactly what is missing, I want to be a part of this" so I joined them and have been with OpFor ever since ;)
Guilds are important as organised groups that you can mobilise, in our OpFor events we often call on other guilds to help us with more manpower and it works very well. Utildai is a Leader at heart, he doesn't care much about levelling, but he is truly a leader, he is very much into Story driven events and creating an impact on RK we need more people like him to make all this story start to boil :)
Nailz
Yes, regarding the story. How much have you seen from your point of view of that? Is it all guild-based, or have you been personally contacted to participate?
Hextorr
Regarding the story and FC participation in events they are "testing" out guilds I think they have good plans to let the players take a great role in the story we have been approached my GM characters giving us missions for us to do There have been some scattered small events. I believe everyone can participate, there are some events that affect whoever is passing by and then word gets out and everyone comes, like some attacks on Athens etc. Others affect more guilds, like being contacted by GM characters to participate in some events. I think the story is just starting to warm up, they are still testing the players and what they can do with us
Meister
I sure know that you hurt. Do you have any suggestions how to get the PvP system balanced a bit more?
Hextorr
Now about pvp very delicate subject.
Pvp balance is directed to class balance.You need to have your classes balanced in order to have pvp balance. With some exceptions to the Engie who is good at solo and bad at pvp and maybe the Crat too
Greystar_Euro
Ah well, pvp balance explanations will be long, so put this into the queue ;): What is the best ability of the fixer and what is their biggest weakness compared to other professions?
Hextorr

But for example the Trader without wanting to have a fun class have their fun removed and be "nerfed" the traders completely dominate everything.
Hehe, ill keep it short ;)
Basically you need to insure that no one class dominates over all the other and that no one class is dominated by all the others.
In pvp what ever your class, there should always be classes that kill you and classes that you kill, that is the true balance. And so far it has not been achieved. Then you also have some issues as the Specials and crits but that is a whole separate thing
Basically if you have enough specials you can insta kill we leave it at that. Now to Greystar question

Greystar_Euro
woot!
Hextorr
Big problem of the fixer, is it has its strengths in all the weak places ;) What work well dmg, hitpoints, absorb dmg, heal dmg, reduce your enemies combat capability.
Damage: we lack it, we need weapons which the primary attack skill is SMG, that do good dmg and have more specials, like fling which is much better than burst, I wouldn't mind investing in other skills like AR and RE if the primary skill was SMG. There is a new weapon on Test, the minor suppressor, SMG/RE and has burst, seems good, and might help in pvm, but for pvp is useless, not enough specials, if you invest in SMG/RE then you don't have any good weapon to use for pvp in that line of skills. You could go AR/SMG there are some weapons there you could use like the Heavy suppressor, but the primary skill is AR and the FA requirement too high so you are always left with very few options.
You can go AR/RE but then that's 2 dark blue skills, which brings to what I was saying, strong in the weak places.
Then we have hitpoints: Fixer does not have much base hitpoints and worst of all, no boost to that base hp. Absorb damage, we got nothing here, so we pretty much just count on our base HP, no shields no AC boosts.
Heal damage, our hot is expensive, short and weak, in a pvp fight it helps when you run away and let it heal but it's not effective. Reduce your enemies combat ability, we have an -85 evade debuff, that gets resisted very easy in pvm not so in pvp because resist is broken.
Our roots are only good if you have the area the size of a football field to fight in. Our area slows are nice and so is the single slow although this one cloud be stronger but again, we need a lot of room to use this effectively, and they are useless in pvp because people break them in under one second with a general debuff, and they break too easy when you shoot (not roots, roots would be over powering if they didn't break in pvp). So you see, we have little features and most of them are not helping us much. We also have some speed buffs but at the high players everyone is very fast, everyone gets the buff, and then something designed to give our class an advantage everyone has you should see a fixer fighting an enforcer with grid speed and their own runbuff not a pretty sight.
Nailz
How would you describe the economy of AO? Is it too hard to get money at lower level and too easy in the higher levels? Or do you see it balancing out in the end?
Hextorr
I think money is fairly easy. In the very first levels it's a bit tight, but all you need is to run a few missions, in the high lvl it's abundant.
Greystar_Euro
(unless you want to buy Grid Armor mk4) coughs
Hextorr
I did it ;) it hurts
Nailz
Nullity I say!!!!
Hextorr
But all it took me was 4 days of mission blitzing
Greystar_Euro
How much did you pay?
Hextorr
Triple digits I don't want to say the exact figure, I hope prices go down ;)
* Greystar_Euro grins
Nailz
How much have you /played on Hextorr? Compared to other MMORPGs, would you say AO is too easy to level in (not considering profession)?
Hextorr
To know the /played I have to log on ;) give me a sec
Nailz
The moment of truth...
Hextorr
75 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes, 12 seconds. now I wish I hadn't find out hehe. I think levelling could be made harder but you have to give players something else, other "rewards" for their time. Tradeskills could be a way if it were a separate system from levelling. Maybe you could do levelling harder but give something else for players to look forward to, not just the IP at the end of the lvl
Greystar_Euro
If you could strengthen one single ability of the Fixer, what would it be? Damage output? Speed? Evades? AC? HP? Healing strength? Or something else?
Hextorr
I agree that fixers should not be dealing as much dmg as soldiers I am wielding a Flashpoint a nova and something else for pvp ;)
I can do good damage, but I don't feel too Fixerish it's not the fixer way, and it's all based on dark blue skills, it just doesn't seem right. I think evades should work better, and I really hope the new additions to the Grid Armor make it good for pvp. Basically we need to avoid more dmg and to reduce the enemies' capability to fight. I have a few suggestions off the top of my mind:
1) ASMG with burst and fling make it SMG/pistol or SMG/AR etc etc, I don't care as long as its SMG in primary skill and there is a reason for the extra IP spent, it has to work, this should give us a little more dmg
2) Our evade debuff, make it top at -150 instead of -85
3) Snares this is an idea from the fixer forums, make it debuff the initiative of the target so they shoot slower, you could also add a small attck rate debuff
4) HoT I believe they are going to do something about this, they have said so we really need to regenerate faster right now, you shoot someone they heal it up immediately, you have to go through their nano pool to kill them, (unless you can kill very fast) but Fixers need to run away to heal and takes too long
5) Fixers are not faster than other on high lvl, everyone is running around with our buffs, there should be a team vs. of run buff and then a self only version with much better speed buff so we retain some advantage in speed
These few changes would help to start with, then after seeing the effects there could be further changes
Nailz
Hextorr, any tips for the up and coming Fixers today? Any tips in what to avoid from your experiences?
Hextorr
Nailz, lets see ;)
Max our HP keep your evades current, keep your equipment the best you can, and stay in teams if you want to lvl until FC fixes us ;) Get Grid Armor, its good for pvm, unless you get hit by the chain crit bug then you die fast
Nailz
Sounds very smart advice there
*** TiffanyKo has joined #ao200
TiffanyKo
Hiyas
Nailz
Heya TiffanyKo
Greystar_Euro
Hi tiff ;)
Hextorr
Hia Tiff :)
TiffanyKo
=))
TiffanyKo
So are you guys all from the Stratics network?
Greystar_Euro
You are among clanners, beware ;)
Hehe Hextorr is not, we are ;)
Hextorr
Good to see you tiff, and grats on 200 ;)
TiffanyKo
Oh Hextorr, I remember seeing u
Tehee
Sorry I'm late, just saw the email right now =P
Hextorr
Hehe np
TiffanyKo
Why are you here too? =P
Nailz
TiffanyKo, we originally wanted to do a double interview with the first lvl 200 Fixer and MP
Grey, do you have any more questions for Hextorr?
Greystar_Euro
Nope, that's it, and I got more than I asked for ;)
Thanks hex
Hextorr
You're welcome
TiffanyKo
Ooops Sorry =(
Nailz
It's ok Tiff, np :)
Hextorr
I have time, if you still want me to comment on some MP/Fixer comparisons as we go along, you can concentrate on tiff ;)
TiffanyKo
Where's Meister? =P
Nailz
He disconnected a while back
TiffanyKo
I c
Nailz
Could you please introduce yourself Tiff, for the ones that don't know you?
TiffanyKo
I am Michelle, 19 yrs old, Taiwanese, living in US etc like this? =P
Greystar_Euro
Hehe something like that
Nailz
Sure, and would you like to say something of your character TiffanyKo
TiffanyKo
And I've been playing AO for I don't know how long /played shows 74 days hmm
Nailz
That is 1 day less than Hextorr ;)
* Hextorr grins
Greystar_Euro
I got a pioneer backpack, must have started earlier ;)
TiffanyKo
I was originally planning on making a guide to levelling or something like that.
Greyster, /played shows the time character been logged in =)
Greystar_Euro
I know, have about 160 combined on all chars lol
Nailz
Tiff, as I understand, you don't PvP much why is that?
TiffanyKo
On the PVP issue, hex I don't think level & item based game can have any pvp
Hextorr
I agree on the item part, I think skill should be much more important
TiffanyKo
Skills = levels for the most part
Hextorr
But I disagree on the lvl part, being a fixer, lvl means nothing, I am actively chased by people many lvls below :/
TiffanyKo
I just do not think pvp system in this game is ANY good
Hextorr
But of course, better equipment = stronger character. Pvp needs a lot of work.
TiffanyKo
1st part is everyone gets buffs and then fight, there's never fairness
Hextorr
And there's no meaning either, just a silly title, no bonuses to your character
TiffanyKo
2nd is most players "pvp" in groups, so they should call it "pvg"
Hextorr
Can't take over territory. The existing pvp areas are a joke.
TiffanyKo
Don't really matter on the bonus part imho, as long as pvp is fun and fair, people will play. AO's pvp = Player Soldier press 3 keys and opponent dies
Hextorr
I like the team pvp aspect, its good, I want massive wars! True, specials and crits are out of hand. Specials should give an edge, not instakill
TiffanyKo
Although that's only 1 aspect of the pvp'ing issue, but pvp system as a whole is like that unfair and no fun
Nailz
Tiff, you have been grouping most of your time. What have guilds meant for you in this period?
TiffanyKo
Guilds didn't really mean anything to me. =P
My pet adds 2k dmg avg. to team avg. dmg output
hehe
I have about all the friends i enjoy grouping with on my Close-Friend list, they are from all different guilds. So guild to me is really a chat client
Nailz
I see. This i asked Hextorr too: How do you perceive the economy in AO?
TiffanyKo
Economy?
* Hextorr laughs
TiffanyKo
Money was never a problem to me and i think its really unimportant in a Level based game.
Greystar_Euro
I have my old questions stored up too...where were they...*starts searching*
What is the best ability of the MP and what is their biggest weakness compared to other professions?
TiffanyKo
Good one. Best ability in the area of leveling has to be Nano Skills Buffs. Weakness... compared to other proffs. has to be no specialized weapon skills
Greystar_Euro
That leads to my second question ;)
TiffanyKo
Go ahead =)
Greystar_Euro
If you could strengthen one single ability of the MP, what would it be? Damage output (pet/nukes)? Pet pathing? Debuffs? Evades? AC? HP? Healing strength? Or something else?
TiffanyKo
Damage Output, for its THE most important area in leveling
Greystar_Euro
How would you go about that ? strengthen pets somehow ? Better nukes ? New weapons ?
TiffanyKo
That's exactly the characteristic or difference between MP and a Crat. Crat has better pet, better nuke, and better pistols. It will be nice if MP can be like that also. At least the MP weapons (1h + 2h blunt) should be green.
Greystar_Euro
I agree, those are used with the creation nanos, it is a bit strange that MPs have no buffs nor less expensive skill costs in that area
TiffanyKo
Right
Greystar_Euro
But i guess Hextorr can tell about lack of buffs as well ;)
As in smg/burst buffs
Nailz
*cough* NTs *cough*
Hextorr
Well, put it this way, if i could only use, the general SMG buff or the class specific one, i go for the General
* Greystar_Euro smiles
Hextorr
I can buff a whoping 28 SMG, and thats 20 from general buff ;P Does wonders for my attk rating too *smirk*
Nailz
Ok, I was thinking we could have a small discussion on the different issues that MPs and Fixers face
TiffanyKo
Sure
  * Hextorr nods
Nailz
Hextorr has already answered the Fixer bit, so how about we skip along to talking regarding the MP/Fixer view of things. What they can bring into a group etc
Hextorr
Aah this should interesting ;)
TiffanyKo
Good point. Fixers imo is not required for a good group. Imho =P
Hextorr
I can agree ;)
TiffanyKo
This relates to the subject of a good well-balanced levelling team
Hextorr
You can replace a fixer with someone else, not to say that the fixer is a dead weight I never felt like this, but we are certainly not required
TiffanyKo
Yes
Hextorr
50ncu for +25dmg none wants
TiffanyKo
Fixers at most can do a 10k FA, and about 3k crits, which is possible by most soldiers
Nailz
They are too weak in their areas, as Hextorr has mentioned?
Hextorr
In missions, speed that reduces your dmg and cancels your evade buff none wants
TiffanyKo
Damage area is fine. Has no really beneficial buffs for the group
Hextorr
The cluster bullets (area burst) is useless. With ql199 cluster bullets I do 100dmg 80% of the time :/ And tops at 600ish very uncommon
TiffanyKo
As Hextorr just said, run buff not only lowers dmg and evades; a good team player should be able to follow a fast group's pace with or without a run buff. Good fixer with 10 FA possibility should be ranked #2 next to soldiers, for soldiers gets way better buffs
Hextorr
I read in the article by Dai-Galean (if I'm not mistaken) he had fixers as tertiary healers, this is simply not true our hot costs half the nano pool, last 3 minutes, takes too much NCU and does not heal enough, I can hardly keep it on myself let alone the rest of the team
TiffanyKo
Plus, imho HoT does not help in team mission levelling situations. Even the best doc HoT
Hextorr
Tiff, 10k from suppressor, but then the rest of the dmg is sub par, only good if you can switch to another SMG, like the MCS (impossible to self equip) or the Sol chironis with a scope, but again hard to self equip ql200 until 195
TiffanyKo
Yes. Fixer definitely needs improvement/balancing in many areas not only damage dealing
Hextorr
I do ok, with a flashpoint/nova combo even thou my attck rate is lower compared to wielding a SMG something is not right ;)
Nailz
Do any of you feel that the MP is too powerful?
TiffanyKo
Nope
Nailz
Hehe
TiffanyKo
Crat is #1 damage dealing class in the game, MP is #2
Greystar_Euro
(if the Crat can get the pets to the mob g)
Hextorr
I think until 160ish MP is very powerful, they can summon very high lvl pets compared to its own lvl, but as MP approaches lvl 200 the power evens out, it's still a good class, just not too powerful
TiffanyKo
I think trader and MP can be looked as being on the same level, people think its too powerful yet it's well balanced
Hextorr
Yes, I am comparing to the top classes. Compared to Fixer its too powerful hehe ;)
TiffanyKo
Hehe
Hextorr
But actually it's the fixer that is underpowered, not the MP too powerful
TiffanyKo
Right
Nailz
How about this, did you ever have trouble getting groups? I'm thinking about the MPs were gimp #1 at early stages, and many feel Fixers still are gimps
TiffanyKo
Yes.When I started playing, only MP on the server was Trivian
Hextorr
Greystar I saw something funny once, the Crat in our group charmed a mob, and the ninja pet was always getting stuck, while the mob pet had a fairly good pathing probably a fluke but nonetheless funny ;)
TiffanyKo
No one wanted to group with MPs. Emphasize on "wanted". For that period of time, finding group was hard, but luckily I always had good friends that can join my group.
Hextorr
I never had too much trouble teaming I am very active recruiting, and when I'm not forming my own team, people know me and know I am reliable to the team, I keep myself alive and stay for long hours ;)
TiffanyKo
Btw, I have never in my AO career, soloed anything, I teamed all the way =)
Nailz
And that changed along the way as we all know. What time/patch was that?
TiffanyKo
When our healing pet was fixed. I started seeing MPs. Forgot which patch
Nailz
Now "everybody" has a MP char, that isn't so with Fixers
TiffanyKo
Right
Nailz
You think they will have the same influx when they "get some love"?
Hextorr
Fixers suffered the reverse. Many people started fixers, based on the good description, and then most quit along the way.
TiffanyKo
I don't think MP was ever enhanced other than the Anima line, because the 2nd and 3rd pet was in the original game, they were just broken for the first period of time =P
Hextorr
I think when we get the "love patch" and if it really fix us, we will see an influx of new fixers, and people picking up their old fixers. Same as when Grid Armor came out, you saw an influx of fixers, but after everyone realised how rare it was, most quit again playing the fixer.
Nailz
The Fixers had a cool, mysterious description, and the MPs have QW. How much of an influence does it have on new players that MP get Quantum Wings? :P
Oh yeah, and NTs are the master of damage :P
TiffanyKo
I don't know.
I had Yalmaha way before I could use QW
* Hextorr grins at Nailz
Greystar_Euro
Hehe, I started my mp because of that and not an Engie
Nailz
See? It's true!
Hextorr
Some things don't add up like crats nuking harder than NTs ;)
TiffanyKo
Good Crat vs. noob NT =)
Nailz
Ok, getting back on track here.
Now that you have maxed the level cap, what new chars will you start?
Hextorr
Hmm
TiffanyKo
Most likely I won't play anything else other than RP my char, if not, a Crat
Hextorr
I don't think I will seriously start an alt until they make outdoors exping a reality
TiffanyKo
Tehee
Greyster do you use pet in missions?
Greystar_Euro
Yes. Well I try.With my Crat I have to, no weapon skills yet, with my Meta I use krutt special mostly alone
TiffanyKo
All the other MP except for Trivian do not use pets as part of their attack
Greystar_Euro
Pet pathing doesn't work, otherwise I would ;(
With my crat i have to, no weapon skills yet, with my meta i use krutt special mostly alone
TiffanyKo
All the other MP except for Trivian do not use pets as part of their attack.
Right
Hextorr
Pets tend to slow down a team in missions, it always gets stuck and abandoned in the early parts of a mission hehe
Nailz
Anyone has a comment on the buffs in this game? The MPs have several important nano buffs, should they charge lots of credits to buff others?
TiffanyKo
Well. I never charge anyone for anything, buffs/implants, etc.Cuz money was never an issue to me
Greystar_Euro
Yes Nailz, MPs should get a million credits for every buff we cast ;) (I'm not playing a level 163 MP, no no, that's a lie)
Hextorr
Hmm, it's weird what people value. I rarely get tipped for hacking a gun, yet people pay loads for implants, no one pays for a speed buff, yet wrangles and Mocham's get good tips ;)
Nailz
Yes, this is my point Hextorr
TiffanyKo
I think MP should not charge as much as traders do to Wrangles. Well because mochams and wrangles adds the maximum to one's skills. But wrangle for the least have a penalty on the trader, and all it requires from MP is one click.
Hextorr
Yep, it's all on what people value
TiffanyKo
That's y I think MP should charge less
Nailz
Anything else you guys want to add when it comes to AO? the company, the community as a whole, the game-world ?
Hextorr
Yes. Very important, change the play focus from mission to the outside. Missions/team missions are for single/teams to get items and fast cash
TiffanyKo
Right, more player interaction
Hextorr
I for one do not want to be forced into missions again, with the upcoming new items being boss loot only
TiffanyKo
Team mission I think is the best thing happened to AO =)
Hextorr
They should make those items available from outside spawns give it meaning, give the monster "families" a History and specific loot. If you want certain items go kill a certain type of mob whets the difference between medusas and Cyborgs? There should be more meaning to the things.
TiffanyKo
=P
Right
Hextorr
When you make a painting you have to be able to explain why you did it the way you did, there are reasons and meanings. The world of RK is vast and beautiful, give it life, it's all going to waste.
TiffanyKo
True. Give player owned vendors. So we can place them all over Rubi-Ka =)
Greystar_Euro
Hehe
TiffanyKo
Player owned houses
Hextorr
:)
TiffanyKo
Player owned store/shops
Player owned clubs
Etc
Hextorr
For the future that be awesome, but for more immediate fixes, they need to make outside hunting viable and have meaning
TiffanyKo
Indeed
Nailz
Ok, I think that about wraps it up
Hextorr
Was a pleasure Nailz
Nailz
Ee've seen lots of interesting answers today, I certainly enjoyed it
TiffanyKo
Me too =)
Nailz
On behalf of AO Stratics, I would again like to thank and congratulate Hextorr, the first level 200 Fixer, he is The Man! Also TiffanyKo, the first level 200 MP. Well done both of you. Best of luck in the future!
Hextorr
Thank you! :)
Greystar_Euro
Have fun ;)



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