Our next installment features a player who has been active since the UO Beta Test, and even beats out the [SPHS]'s own @Spiffykeen (Talia / Lupe) by a couple of months for oldest account age. Sir AJ is a dyed in the wool solo player, and proves you can thrive on Siege even without a large guild.
[SPHS]: What was your first experience with Ultima Online?
SirAJ: In the summer of 1997 my two sons told me about a new online game that was coming based on the role playing Ultima series. At the time I was playing an online game called The Realm and I was totally into role playing. Since Ultima 7 was one of my favorite games of all time I decided to try out and since it had not been released to the public at that point in time, I applied to join the beta and started logging in in August 1997. The game was terrible. So much lag (I was playing on a dial up modem at 2400 baud!) and all the things I thought were wrong, but I did see great promise!
[SPHS]: Do your sons still play?
SirAJ: No they no longer play, but I still pay for a few of their accounts! I am now working on 2 or 3 of my five grandchildren.
[SPHS]: What brought you to Siege? How long have you played here, and how frequently do you play now?
SirAJ: I played mainly Great Lakes in the early years from Oct 1997 to about August of 1999. One of my sons had made a character on Siege and was telling me about a “tough” shard and making fun of me for playing on Great Lakes. When we went to log in – his toon was gone! Either a wipe or a revert (which were very common on all shards) forced us to start again and since I liked the rules and limitations I decided that both of my accounts would have the character “Sir AJ”. I have been playing on Siege (mainly) ever since. I log in almost every day and try to keep a really low profile like I have done for the past 20+ years. Although I have also been playing on the Origin shard lately.
[SPHS]: What has kept you playing for 20 years?
SirAJ: I love role playing games. I don’t pvp much and I am not a pker (I see a big difference between these two btw) but I love training up characters, treasure hunting, fishing, mining and doing all the other possible things you can do in UO. I think housing is also the best of any game.
SirAJ: My account age is 248 months old and I hope before I quit or die to make it to 360 or more!
[SPHS]: What was the first few years of Siege like as a loner? Was it more difficult when the shard was much more crowded?
SirAJ: Actually my first year or two on Siege (before the big wipe) was spent on the isle of fire and I saw very few people. I wandered through a gate and could never figure out how to get off the island! If you need more info on that please read my post in the thread “Who are we on Siege, old, new and returning players”.
SirAJ: The most players I remember was from about 2004 till 2006 or 7. It was a much different game before that because items were not as important. We always remember the good things from the past and rarely remember the bad things but it was just as easy to find nice people whether they were good or evil in the game over all 20 years. I also liked it best when there was many many players.
[SPHS]: In the last month, what did you spend the majority of your game time doing?
SirAJ: I spend most of my free time doing treasure maps and animal taming. I have always been a loner and refused to join a guild, so most of my play is focused on things I can do alone or with my three accounts.
[SPHS]:What are your favorite pets? What builds do you prefer now?
SirAJ: My dread war horse is still my favorite pet but for spawns I love my Cu.
SirAJ: I normally play a stealth tamer but I have about 40 or 50 Soulstones with most skills so it depends what I am doing. I use a mystic mage for most other things.
[SPHS]: What is the most difficult thing you've soloed on Siege using one account? Using multiple accounts?
SirAJ: I have soloed Narvey and Medusa and others as a dexer samphire and also with my tamer. These are a lot easier if I bring another Sir AJ along that’s a bard!
[SPHS]: To date, what has been your best day on Siege?
SirAJ: Using my gargoyle thrower, Flint, to help set the Void Pool records for Siege!
[SPHS]: Which players do you interact with the most?
SirAJ: I really am a loner so I rarely spend much time with anyone, but I do interact with the Gil people quit a bit.
[SPHS]: Are you in a guild, and if so, how many other players are in it? What guilds were you in before this one?
SirAJ: I have my own guild “Alpha and Omega” that only contains my own toons. I have never really joined a guild since each had their rules and play style that made me feel like I had to join in on their group activities.
[SPHS]: Are you in the White Alliance with other GIL allies?
SirAJ: I am a guest of the white council in most activities and never fight against them but I am only loosely allied with them and have never officially asked to join them. I know lots of players on Siege give them a hard time, but they are almost all really great and honorable people.
[SPHS]: If you could pick one player who is no longer on the shard that you could return, who would it be and why?
SirAJ: Shalamar – I believe she did more for Siege over the years to get new players started than almost anyone. When she ran NEW I believe all the Guilds and most people on the shard tried to really help new people.
[SPHS]: If you could permanently REMOVE one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?
SirAJ: I am not a great fan of VvV but since I know others enjoy it, I would not try to eliminate it. But I would try to limit it to just 2 or 3 towns.
SirAJ: I am absolutely sure no one will agree with me, but I think tele tiles has really hurt the shard. People used to travel around a lot (or gate) but now you can go almost anywhere using the hubs. So I would eliminate tele tiles.
[SPHS]: If you could permanently ADD one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?
SirAJ: I really believe the one thing I would change is to vastly increase pet damage to players. The developers always go way too far when they bring out their nerf hammers!
[SPHS]: Who is your nemesis, and why is it Malloc?
SirAJ: Actually I like Malloc! I don’t really have a nemesis, I like all almost everybody that’s not an ass.
[SPHS]: You are dropped into an IDOC brawl and have time to grab one item. What item would you wish to grab above anything else?
SirAJ: A chest full of 120 power scrolls!
[SPHS]: What do you use your Siege bless on the most?
SirAJ: Whichever no penalty spell channeling mage weapon I am currently using!
[SPHS]: For players who generally prefer to go solo (and Siege has a lot of them) what are your best tips for building up gold, getting scrolls, and generally surviving? Any notable close escapes (or failed escapes, as the case may be)?
SirAJ: I almost always run 100 hide, 75 stealth and 75 Ninjitsu whenever I am farming monsters. Smoke bombs and lama form gets me deep into a good farming area without much trouble. These skills are also nice to reclaim your body if you die especially in high spawn areas.
SirAJ: I think treasure hunting is the quickest way to advance in the game both in terms of gold and experience. Years ago I sold almost anything I farmed at cheaper prices than other vendors. I wanted it to sell and not to pay large vendor fees. Over 20+ years you pick up a large amount of gold and I was never in a hurry to be rich. Scrolls can be obtained doing solo spawns but I have found that this is an area where a group of people is superior.
SirAJ: I have died many, many times both to monsters and pkers. I used to do a lot of idoc work where I grabbed and ran (stealthed). Normally I was naked while doing this. I also have about 20 or 30 junk suits I have made or picked up cheap which I wear so I don’t have to care if I lose a suit.
[SPHS]: Are you a doctor in real life, and if so, what is your specialty?
SirAJ: Not a MD but a PhD - I was a Professor of Chemical Engineering for almost 40 years and I am now mostly retired.
[SPHS]: As a solo player, what is the one item you'd love to see in the UO Store?
SirAJ: I’d like to see an item that allows the use of repair deeds in your home rather than an npc shop.
[SPHS]: If you could give one piece of advice to new or returning players to Siege, what would it be?
SirAJ: It’s a game, enjoy it for the good and the bad and don’t get too focused on items!
[SPHS]: What was your first experience with Ultima Online?
SirAJ: In the summer of 1997 my two sons told me about a new online game that was coming based on the role playing Ultima series. At the time I was playing an online game called The Realm and I was totally into role playing. Since Ultima 7 was one of my favorite games of all time I decided to try out and since it had not been released to the public at that point in time, I applied to join the beta and started logging in in August 1997. The game was terrible. So much lag (I was playing on a dial up modem at 2400 baud!) and all the things I thought were wrong, but I did see great promise!
[SPHS]: Do your sons still play?
SirAJ: No they no longer play, but I still pay for a few of their accounts! I am now working on 2 or 3 of my five grandchildren.
[SPHS]: What brought you to Siege? How long have you played here, and how frequently do you play now?
SirAJ: I played mainly Great Lakes in the early years from Oct 1997 to about August of 1999. One of my sons had made a character on Siege and was telling me about a “tough” shard and making fun of me for playing on Great Lakes. When we went to log in – his toon was gone! Either a wipe or a revert (which were very common on all shards) forced us to start again and since I liked the rules and limitations I decided that both of my accounts would have the character “Sir AJ”. I have been playing on Siege (mainly) ever since. I log in almost every day and try to keep a really low profile like I have done for the past 20+ years. Although I have also been playing on the Origin shard lately.
[SPHS]: What has kept you playing for 20 years?
SirAJ: I love role playing games. I don’t pvp much and I am not a pker (I see a big difference between these two btw) but I love training up characters, treasure hunting, fishing, mining and doing all the other possible things you can do in UO. I think housing is also the best of any game.
SirAJ: My account age is 248 months old and I hope before I quit or die to make it to 360 or more!
[SPHS]: What was the first few years of Siege like as a loner? Was it more difficult when the shard was much more crowded?
SirAJ: Actually my first year or two on Siege (before the big wipe) was spent on the isle of fire and I saw very few people. I wandered through a gate and could never figure out how to get off the island! If you need more info on that please read my post in the thread “Who are we on Siege, old, new and returning players”.
SirAJ: The most players I remember was from about 2004 till 2006 or 7. It was a much different game before that because items were not as important. We always remember the good things from the past and rarely remember the bad things but it was just as easy to find nice people whether they were good or evil in the game over all 20 years. I also liked it best when there was many many players.
[SPHS]: In the last month, what did you spend the majority of your game time doing?
SirAJ: I spend most of my free time doing treasure maps and animal taming. I have always been a loner and refused to join a guild, so most of my play is focused on things I can do alone or with my three accounts.
[SPHS]:What are your favorite pets? What builds do you prefer now?
SirAJ: My dread war horse is still my favorite pet but for spawns I love my Cu.
SirAJ: I normally play a stealth tamer but I have about 40 or 50 Soulstones with most skills so it depends what I am doing. I use a mystic mage for most other things.
[SPHS]: What is the most difficult thing you've soloed on Siege using one account? Using multiple accounts?
SirAJ: I have soloed Narvey and Medusa and others as a dexer samphire and also with my tamer. These are a lot easier if I bring another Sir AJ along that’s a bard!
[SPHS]: To date, what has been your best day on Siege?
SirAJ: Using my gargoyle thrower, Flint, to help set the Void Pool records for Siege!
[SPHS]: Which players do you interact with the most?
SirAJ: I really am a loner so I rarely spend much time with anyone, but I do interact with the Gil people quit a bit.
[SPHS]: Are you in a guild, and if so, how many other players are in it? What guilds were you in before this one?
SirAJ: I have my own guild “Alpha and Omega” that only contains my own toons. I have never really joined a guild since each had their rules and play style that made me feel like I had to join in on their group activities.
[SPHS]: Are you in the White Alliance with other GIL allies?
SirAJ: I am a guest of the white council in most activities and never fight against them but I am only loosely allied with them and have never officially asked to join them. I know lots of players on Siege give them a hard time, but they are almost all really great and honorable people.
[SPHS]: If you could pick one player who is no longer on the shard that you could return, who would it be and why?
SirAJ: Shalamar – I believe she did more for Siege over the years to get new players started than almost anyone. When she ran NEW I believe all the Guilds and most people on the shard tried to really help new people.
[SPHS]: If you could permanently REMOVE one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?
SirAJ: I am not a great fan of VvV but since I know others enjoy it, I would not try to eliminate it. But I would try to limit it to just 2 or 3 towns.
SirAJ: I am absolutely sure no one will agree with me, but I think tele tiles has really hurt the shard. People used to travel around a lot (or gate) but now you can go almost anywhere using the hubs. So I would eliminate tele tiles.
[SPHS]: If you could permanently ADD one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?
SirAJ: I really believe the one thing I would change is to vastly increase pet damage to players. The developers always go way too far when they bring out their nerf hammers!
[SPHS]: Who is your nemesis, and why is it Malloc?
SirAJ: Actually I like Malloc! I don’t really have a nemesis, I like all almost everybody that’s not an ass.
[SPHS]: You are dropped into an IDOC brawl and have time to grab one item. What item would you wish to grab above anything else?
SirAJ: A chest full of 120 power scrolls!
[SPHS]: What do you use your Siege bless on the most?
SirAJ: Whichever no penalty spell channeling mage weapon I am currently using!
[SPHS]: For players who generally prefer to go solo (and Siege has a lot of them) what are your best tips for building up gold, getting scrolls, and generally surviving? Any notable close escapes (or failed escapes, as the case may be)?
SirAJ: I almost always run 100 hide, 75 stealth and 75 Ninjitsu whenever I am farming monsters. Smoke bombs and lama form gets me deep into a good farming area without much trouble. These skills are also nice to reclaim your body if you die especially in high spawn areas.
SirAJ: I think treasure hunting is the quickest way to advance in the game both in terms of gold and experience. Years ago I sold almost anything I farmed at cheaper prices than other vendors. I wanted it to sell and not to pay large vendor fees. Over 20+ years you pick up a large amount of gold and I was never in a hurry to be rich. Scrolls can be obtained doing solo spawns but I have found that this is an area where a group of people is superior.
SirAJ: I have died many, many times both to monsters and pkers. I used to do a lot of idoc work where I grabbed and ran (stealthed). Normally I was naked while doing this. I also have about 20 or 30 junk suits I have made or picked up cheap which I wear so I don’t have to care if I lose a suit.
[SPHS]: Are you a doctor in real life, and if so, what is your specialty?
SirAJ: Not a MD but a PhD - I was a Professor of Chemical Engineering for almost 40 years and I am now mostly retired.
[SPHS]: As a solo player, what is the one item you'd love to see in the UO Store?
SirAJ: I’d like to see an item that allows the use of repair deeds in your home rather than an npc shop.
[SPHS]: If you could give one piece of advice to new or returning players to Siege, what would it be?
SirAJ: It’s a game, enjoy it for the good and the bad and don’t get too focused on items!
