Forum Interviews: An Audience with @Rook šŸ˜ø

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Team, itā€™s time to paws and reflect and enjoy the company of forum stalwart, veteran mod and self-proffessed feline - the incredible @rook.

Like many of you, @rook was one of my guiding lights during my first faltering steps into the social side of Empires and Puzzles and I remain very grateful to her.

Wash your hands :sweat_drops::palms_up_together:, wear a mask as appropriate :mask: and stay at home :house:.

Remember to #PlayApartTogether

If you missed them, you can find previous interviews below:

Interview Index

@littleKAF - Here

@guvnor - Here

@DaveCozy - Here

@Mr.Spock - Here

@Razor - Here

@ScottySG - Here

@NPNKY - Here

@NittanyLionRoar - Here

@Novo - Here

@MysterySpin - Here

@TheChef - Here

@Math4lyfe - Here

@Kikyo - Here

@BarryWuzHere -Here

@IvyTheTerrible - Here

@Pois1 - Here

@akionna - Here

We only have one moderator left on the list - who could it be?? Make sure to @ your guesses frequently below!

We will then be returning to some of our top contributors in the week to come.

22 Likes

How long have you been playing? :hourglass_flowing_sand:

since April 2017


Whatā€™s your current role in your alliance? :bar_chart:

Mascot, I think :grin:


Which hero are you currently levelling and how will you use them? :muscle:

I just finished Mist. I have a train of purples afterwards (Rigard#2, Obakan, Merlin), though I might drop them if I got an unexpected HOTM :wink:


Which is your favourite hero in your roster, and why? :heart:

Cyprian+18 is my old standby. Iā€™m pretty fond of a whole bunch of heroes, but he pulls a win out of a hat when Iā€™m losing. Love my Cyp!


Whatā€™s your favourite source for E&P play advice? :game_die:

Firstly The Forum. ā€œSearchā€ is your friend! But I love a bot on Line called Wise Goat by Oggiez. When I want something fast, I go there.


Do you have a particular memory of a great victory, a tragic defeat or a moment of madness? :exploding_head:

EVERY Victory is sweet, every defeat tragic. :wink: Iā€™m just grateful to my Misfits to make every war worth celebrating, win OR lose.


Which Season 1 hero would you most recommend to a new player? :man_student:

hmm, Iā€™m torn. Rigard is pure awesome sauce from every angle, but I found Boldtusk the most useful until I found WuKong. WuKong maybe, with a full booklet of instructions, caveats and explanations.


What can you see out of your window right now? :telescope:

Green grass, sunlight, and what the hail left of my roses :grin:


Whatā€™s something you enjoy about being a forum moderator? :policeman:

Helping players who are brand new to the game or Forum.


If the rest of the moderator team were stranded on a desert island for a week, what roles would they take on to survive?

hoards all the food hmm, what? :grin:


If you could make two changes to the forum , one realistic and one less so, what would they be? :crystal_ball:

Realistic: I would wave my magic cat wand and make everyone civil to each other. Totally realistic. :grin:
Less so: Iā€™d ask @Petri to update The List.


If I gave you $1000 to spend frivolously , what would you buy? :moneybag:

A trampoline for my kid, and probably an obscene number of iTunes cards (koff Diamonds! koff)


this is a really strange and challenging time for all of us across the whole player base and all our communities around the world. How has your alliance been supporting each other or those around them? :handshake:

I think we continue to be the same fun-loving folk weā€™ve always been. We try to emphasize the ā€œcasualā€ of our casual competitive ethic and not immediately whomp folks for no shows (as we have had a few affected by Covid, etc). We tend to be insular, with a few stepping out as ambassadors on the Forum, etc, but Misfits affect Misfits first. I think most alliance families take care of their own, then branch outward.

33 Likes

Cough cough whatā€™s thisā€¦?!? Typical cat :stuck_out_tongue:

I feel like you MIGHT have gotten these the wrong way aroundā€¦ But then it has almost been 2 years since The List was updateā€¦ :thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking:

Which event would you target with your gems? & Why?

P.s. Iā€™m somewhat disappointed that there is no kitty cat in the backyard picture!!!

18 Likes

We have two indoor cats (one of which is always trying to escape).

I put them in the correct order. I want everyone to get along. It drives me nuts when they donā€™t.

Diamondsā€¦hmmmm. I would prolly misspend them, but Iā€™m thinking Teltoc because I want Falcon, Jackal, Gazelle, Pantherā€¦

What USUALLY happens though is I see an HOTMā€¦ :joy:

16 Likes

Pics of the kitties?

6 Likes

Thank you another wonderful interview, @JonahTheBard.

@Rook has always been a light of positivity. Pair that with her fair hand and sense of humor and youā€™ve got the perfect makings for a moderator. Thank you, rook! I know itā€™s not always easy, but you sure do make it look that way. :slight_smile:

19 Likes

Tagging @zephyr1 for the gentle reminder.

9 Likes

This is Goldycat (the rogue, always into something)


This is Dulcimer (the sage, who washes her paws of all Goldycatā€™s misdeeds):


Youā€™ll note Goldycat is sulking, and Dulcimer is trying to get out of frame. :grin:

22 Likes

@Rook, what is your most feline trait?

In your opinion, what is the best song that has the word cat (or any form, including kitten) in the title?

Beorn

Good looking yard!

I have no idea what The List is - enlighten me?

6 Likes

Most Feline Trait

I have several. I sleep too much, I love to play, I get distracted at the drop of a hatā€¦ :grin:

Best song with ā€œCatā€ in the title?

Actually the only song I know with Cat in the title/Lyrics (by Harry Chapman) is ā€œā€¦and the catā€™s in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man on the moon, when ya comin home dad? I donā€™t know when, but weā€™ll get together thenā€¦ā€ Very sad song. :slight_smile:

Where is this [in]famous list?

9 Likes

Hmm :thinking::thinking:

Rook if you could have any hotm ever, which one and why?

If you were going to sing a song for the entire E&P community to hear, which one would it be and why?

Was your avatar originally chosen to give you a competitive edge by crossing the paths of your competition before they do summons or attacks?

7 Likes

Btw nice interview, sucks about the hail whackin your roses

Cool cats but i expected one to be black tbh

Curious about your thoughts on mist as Iā€™m considering leveling one myself

Why so focused on purples? Are you guys facing a lot of yellow tanks in wars?

This is so rookā€¦lol

And as is this lol

2 Likes

Answers for @Rigs:

The HOTM I most tried for is Vela. I loved her look. If I could spin a wheel and get one just on looks, Iā€™d choose her.

I have sung The Queen and the Soldier (Suzanne Vega) before, for various Line folks. If my voice would cooperate, Iā€™d do Slouching Toward Bethlehem (Joni Mitchell) because itā€™s so eerie and awesome at the same time.

My avatar is older than my gaming here. I think maybe 9 years?

The next cat will be black and has already been dubbed ā€œKiki Batman.ā€ (donā€™t ask) :joy:

I just finished Mist; havenā€™t actually used her yet. Iā€™ll let you know. :wink:

I have a bunch of purples because thatā€™s what the game seems to delight in giving me. But I get good things in purple, so Iā€™m not gonna complain too much!

9 Likes

Yea cause i follow directions so wellā€¦

Why kiki batman?

Never heard either of these songs and why in the hell wasnā€™t i invited to the Rook Concert?

Hmm did you play 9 games in those 9 years, with this bein the 9th? If so do you plan to retire the avatar if you retire from this game?

5 Likes

There is a Miyazaki movie called Kikiā€™s delivery service, with a little black talking cat called Jiji. My daughter likes the cat, but prefers the name Kiki to Jiji.

And Batman becauseā€¦Batman. :rofl:


Concerts happen at odd times, usually one on one, subject to my memory and voice cooperating. Usually they are tiny affairs. :wink:


Nope, that avatar is MINE.

4 Likes

Kiki is a better name, agree with the kid. Jiji reminds me of what some people call their grandma which is ok but not for a cat lol

batman makes sense lol

Hmm may have to suggest an idea to SG for their next contestā€¦

The eternal cat lol must be egyptian

2 Likes

Could not have said it better myself, completely agree 1000% with what @Math4lyfe said!

also @Rook, beautiful cats you have! and Iā€™m so sorry for your roses, hope they get better.

A trampoline for your kid, would be awesome!

And: Kikiā€™s Delivery Service! I havenā€™t watched it but have heard such good things about it.

Cyprian: I completely agree, though mine is only +3, but I recently discovered the joys and tactical applications of riposte. Now my Cyprian rotates into my mono Purple stack!

5 Likes

Thanks Sleepyhead! Actually that pic was taken after the last storm. They are almost recovered:

As you can see, the other roses have been blooming for awhile:

5 Likes

Iā€™ll chime in here since Rookā€™s isnā€™t ready! Sheā€™s fantastic. Iā€™ll go by game phases:

Titans

I actually think she has a place here, barring a surfeit of elite level options. Currently, I roll out (firing order): Mist, Jackal, Leonidas, Joon, and Wu Kong. Reasonable tiles, the mana slow is a desired effect and has good synergy with Leonidas (and this is critical, since I canā€™t really afford to have the titan fire their special much as I have no healing on the field), and making other specials hit harder isnā€™t nothing. Sure I would rather have 60-70 more tile damage, but thatā€™s not an option for my lineup.

I realize some feel sheā€™s a C grade at this task and I can understand why if you have Vivica for team survivability and, say, Musashi. But for less god-tier rosters sheā€™s very viable and a better option than Gretel or Onatel (which are my alternatives). B grade in my mind.

Defense

Hard to say as I donā€™t encounter her in that role much / at all. So obviously not super well suited to high level Diamond defense. I mean, what 4 star is? Iā€™m going to reserve judgment on this until thereā€™s a four start tournament sheā€™s likely to show up in.

Intuitively, Iā€™d venture sheā€™ll be good but not great. I mean, she strikes me as a better Little John. Desired effect, but one that wonā€™t get max value due to AI stupidity.

Offense

Iā€™ve used her a decent amount in Diamond raids and sheā€™s robust enough at +6 that she often fires before dying. And sheā€™s the right speed (her defense down vs. specials) to easily get synergy from the rest of your yellows or whatever else you brought. I havenā€™t really found I want to displace Jackal, Joon, Onatel from my anti-Kunchen team, but she excels against other purple tanks and in mionor stacks with Joon. Superb attacker, a lot of fun combinations possible.

War

When Iā€™m churning through my last flags with the lesser part of my roster it is really nice to know I can field Mist with, say, a Sonya or Caedmon type and have a reasonable shot at getting a snipe kill. Iā€™m sure YOU get this, but to make sure Iā€™m being clear for other readers - it is HARD to generate kills with your last flags and heroes that can do it are much more valuable. Which is why she fights in almost every war, where a hero like Costumed Skittleskull (slow + full AoE = more total damage but no kills, which is often an undesirable trade) often stays benched.

10 Likes

This was a good one. :slight_smile:

I donā€™t usually ask questions, but what food would it be?

5 Likes