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Grimiku
Fresh Meet N' Greet - Melkor#1521(1)Category: WizardJanuary-23-2015 11:41 AM PST (9 years ago) Go to Blizzard forum post
The world of Sanctuary is a BIG place, defended by hundreds of thousands of heroes each and every day. To help you get to know some of these fellow nephalem a little better, we've created the Fresh Meat N' Greet.

The Fresh Meet N' Greet is a recurring series of interviews featuring you, our community. A few times each month, we'll sit down and chat with six different community members, one for each class, and then post our Q&As right here in these forums.

Up this week for Wizards: Melkor#1521

Read on below to find out more about your fellow ally in battle!

General Info
I'm Just Warming Up
Who's Up Next?
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Grimiku
Fresh Meet N' Greet - Melkor#1521(2)January-23-2015 11:56 AM PST (9 years ago) Go to Blizzard forum post
[GENERAL INFO]

Grimiku: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Melkor#1521: ‘Yo my name is Melkor, I’m a Critical Mass tank, got a Mempo on my dome and a billy in the bank.’ Just kidding.

Let’s see – my name is Michael and I was born, raised, and still reside on Long Island, NY. I come from an interesting family. My father was a graduate of the USMMA, and my mother owns her own PR Firm. Between the two of them, I had quite an interesting upbringing. I consider myself…a unique individual. I’m passionate to a fault, and I typically have no issue speaking my mind. I joined the US Wizard Forums near the beginning.

Since then, I took an immense interest in the cultivation, maintenance, and expansion of the Wizard Class community. Some of the best people I’ve ever known are from this Forum and I cherish them dearly. I have a tendency to be more concerned with what “is” than what “should be” when it comes to understanding a person, and therefore find connecting with folks that are very different than me, relatively easy.


Grimiku: Got any cool hobbies or talents?

Melkor#1521: I have a knack for stringing together words in a way in which they end up rhyming. More on that later.

I also feel that I’m both a “people person” and a recluse in the same breath. I can connect with and understand many people’s personalities and I feel that I was blessed with a good fair deal of empathy. Many people who seldom enjoy the conversation or company of others may find they can “tolerate” both with me, and I have been lucky enough to meet some pretty amazing folks during my days because of it. I love to write, and I’ve written two books, though neither has been published. I’m also a gardener of sorts.


Grimiku: You put a lot of work into your music, and a lot of it is focused on the Diablo community, want to walk us through the process of creating this kind of awesome content?

Melkor#1521: The first time I discovered I could rap, I was 17 and I hated rap music. I really did not love the violent, misogynistic nature of much of the rap music of the 90’s, and the more recent rap of today I also tend to find to be distasteful and…obnoxious. Nevertheless, I played multiple instruments throughout my early years, and took to writing both short stories and poetry at a very young age. From the age of 7 through the age of 13, I wrote over 1,500 short stories and poems. Most of them were very short indeed – no more than a page or 2-3 verses, but they are all stockpiled in one of my father’s file cabinets in their Long Island home.

I suppose the blending of both music and writing was a natural evolution, or something that tends to happen naturally within me. It therefore doesn’t surprise me that I developed a desire to compose “Diablo-themed rap music”. I have always been passionate about Diabo 3 and the Community, so back in..March, 2013, I found myself humming, “Frost Nova is so OP and IMBA! Critical Mass will break ya’ fingas” one day while cleaning my apartment.

Before I knew it, I had bits and pieces of other humorous and clever word combos dancing around my head. I’ve never told anyone this, but the first line of Critical Mass: A Love Story, that I ever wrote was actually, “There is BDF and Boozor, eric and ChangBooster, SteelPhantom – for Unionizing Ubers.” That line ends up being in the last verse of the song. I write them out of order, sometimes.

I also know that many people, ESPECIALLY adults between the ages of 25-55, simply do not love rap. So I set out with a goal of capturing the hearts and attention of those as well. For this reason, the instrumentals I use seldom are “rap songs”. I try and utilize multiple genres of music in the making of my music. It’s a niche rap, and it doesn’t appeal to the other classes. It actually tends to appeal only to those who have read and live in the Wizard Forum.


Grimiku: What other games are you currently playing right now (if any)?

Melkor#1521: I’m also playing ROS on Xbox One, and I’ve been messing around with Assassin’s Creed Unity. I don’t know why I bother with Assassin’s Creed sometimes. It’s so repetitive and mind-numbing…climb this building, stab this dude, stab that dude, disappear. Rinse, Repeat.


Grimiku: Do you play any other classes?

Melkor#1521: Let’s get something straight. I have played every class…except the Barbarian. And…ok. Technically, that’s not true. I once made a Barbarian and named him, “Will Neveruse”. I made him as a mule/to mock the Barbarians. One day, while moving some items around on this mule, one of my friends joined my game and went into the Slaughter Calf Inn and spoke to Leah. My character leveled to “2”. I screamed at the screen, immediately moved all the stuff off the Barbarian into my Stash, and promptly deleted the character. So, ugh, yes, I’ve leveled a Barbarian. I don’t wanna talk about this anymore.


Grimiku: Are you in a great clan or community? If yes, tell us about them!

Melkor#1521: I’m an Officer in this small clan you may or may not have heard of called, The Vizjerei, Or Viz, for short. We’re comprised of Pillars of the Wizard Community. Our leader is Jaetch, a person that I’ve known for longer than I even realized…if that makes any sense. The Officers are Hub, Pensfan, Junger, Void, Dolynick, Boozor, PieHole, and myself.

Every one of those guys is a good friend…and I’ve actually met more than half of them IRL. They’re what I call OG Wizards, Original Gangsters who have been around for ages. We’ve been friends for years. Our members are also mostly comprised of “old timers”, such as ChangBooster, BDF, snickerers, Atanatar, Wharrgabl, lameboi, EmperorMao, JellzRoc, TekkZero, Yodatoy, etc. I love each and every one of them like family. Yes Yodatoy, even you.


Grimiku: What do you like to listen to when playing Diablo III?

Melkor#1521: Critical Mass: A Love Story 1-4, Diablo: A Love Story, Forum Warriors: A Love Story, Forum Warriors: Invasion. That’s it. Nah, I’m kidding.

Well, I don’t listen to music usually because when I’m playing Diablo, I’m usually on Mumble. But – if I’m not on Mumble, I’ll roll through my iTunes playlist, which jumps all over the place like a Winged Assassin…there’s hip-hop such as A Tribe Called Quest and there’s Dave Matthews Band. There’s Beethoven and there’s Dubstep. It’s like a Jackson Pollack canvas of music, really.


Grimiku: What's your most embarrassing moment while playing?

Melkor#1521: Ok…I don’t ever get embarrassed. I really don’t. HOWEVER, one time, I was running Stonefort with Dolynick and Jaetch…and my Wizard got killed and…and…and her body FLEW off the side of the fort. As soon as I espied this, I yelped out, “Oh NO!”, several, several octaves higher than I care to admit, and with a pain in my voice akin to a pet dying or worse. Word. I sounded like a 10 year-old girl. I don’t wanna talk about that, either.


Grimiku: Okay, what about your most AWESOME moment while playing?

Melkor#1521: Joining Mumble. At the time, I had formed friendships with many, many folks over the keyboard. To begin to hear the voices…it was a wonderful experience, and it strengthened our relationships ten-fold, overnight. It doesn’t surprise me that my clan now strongly requests that you come on to Mumble before joining. It really does bring that much value to the table. Also, meeting –dolynick. The guy is one of the better friends I’ve ever had. He’s honest, trustworthy, and he’s funny. He’s also Canadian. No one is perfect ;)


Grimiku: How long have you been playing Diablo games?

Melkor#1521: I played D2: LOD years ago, but honestly, didn’t love it the way I love D3. I’m not claiming one is better than the other! I’m just saying, I gravitated towards D3 more intensely. I started playing D3 in May 2012, and I’ve taken maybe 2-3 breaks…and never for more than a couple of weeks. This game just…works for me, in almost every capacity.
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Fresh Meet N' Greet - Melkor#1521(3)January-23-2015 1:12 PM PST (9 years ago) Go to Blizzard forum post
[I'M JUST WARMING UP]

Grimiku: What drew you to the Wizard?

Melkor#1521: The fantasy of the class really got me, and always has. During my brief D2:LOD days, I played a Sorc, and I have always enjoyed being a master of the elements. I don’t always play for efficiency when I solo. I’ve built lightning wizards and Cold Wizards and Arcane Wizards that are more thematic than mathematically proficient. I wish Sleet Storm was more viable for group play…that skill in and of itself has always appealed to me. It reminds me a little of Storm from X-men. Very cool, in theory. No pun intended.


Grimiku: In displaying your battle prowess, do you prefer to burn, electrocute, or freeze your foes? Or do you prefer a mixture of destructive elemental energies?

Melkor#1521: I enjoy Lightning the most, particularly the Electrocute skill, while uttering, “Gooooood” in Emperor Palpatine’s voice. I also enjoy repetitively uttering, “Chill, Chill” in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice while channeling Ray of Frost. It’s a toss-up.


Grimiku: What's your favorite skill (or skill rune), and why?

Melkor#1521: My favorite skill is Explosive Blast, and my favorite rune is Chain Reaction. It’s my favorite skill and rune because it’s the core of my build, Chainpocalypse and it was one of the core skills of SNS. My friend Boozor oftentimes asks me, “What is Chainpocalypse?” because he claims no one runs it anymore =(


Grimiku: What build are you running currently?

Melkor#1521: I currently run two builds, and both are 6-piece FireBird driven – Chainpocalypse and Blizz/Hydra. I don’t really love Blizz/Hydra, and I don’t know how many of the OG’s ever could, after most of us spent our days in melee range with SNS. Chainpocalypse is a Wand of Woh driven build that uses Explosive Blast as its primary damage dealers. Skill buffs to damage come from Audacity, Magic Weapon/Force Weapon, and Flame Blades. There are a lot of variations of this build, and it can be tweaked to “make it your own” with very little effort. It’s a lot of fun for running T6 and some have taken it to the upper 30’s of Greater Rifts, though admittedly, it’s not best suited for such gameplay. I love it, nonetheless.


Grimiku: If there was one thing you could change about the Wizard, what would it be?

Melkor#1521: I’d like to see Diamond Skin get some love. I feel that this skill empowers the Wizard to live a lot more dangerously, and take more chances. As it currently is implemented, it doesn’t really offer the level of protection that would warrant use, and its cooldown length is too long to take advantage of the skill. I’m not looking for invincibility; I understand that balance must be sought after, but as it stands now, the whole skill is non-viable. I’m not the only one who misses diamond shards, now am I? Also, the rune, ‘Prism’ could be awesome for a channeling wizard but 3-seconds is too short to matter. It would synergize with Unwavering Will nicely, as well.


Grimiku: Name one piece of advice that you think every Wizard should know.

Melkor#1521: There is “mathematical superiority” and there is “fun-superiority”. One of them tends to have an absolute value, and the other does not. Be honest with yourself in what you seek. Don’t try to pass off one as the other. It’s a losing proposition for all parties. They are not mutually inclusive, but for some, they are. The sooner you realize this, the sooner your discussion on any given subject can actually get somewhere.


Grimiku: If your old masters could see you now, what do you think they would say?

Melkor#1521: “You have amassed too many gems in your day, dude. It’s a sickness. And how is that island you purchased back in Vanilla treating you?”


Grimiku: Pick a Wizard quote!

Melkor#1521: “hmmm…ohhhhh...ahhhh..mhmmmm” - Boozor
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Fresh Meet N' Greet - Melkor#1521(4)January-23-2015 1:13 PM PST (9 years ago) Go to Blizzard forum post
[WHO'S NEXT?]

Grimiku: Which of your fellow Wizards should we also interview?

Melkor#1521: You should interview the build-master, Malakai#1265. That guy is likely to have very interesting answers for you, and he’s not a member of The Vizjerei, which I think would offer a nice change of pace.


Grimiku: Pick a question to ask in the next interview:

Melkor#1521: Do you know who I am?


Got any questions for Melkor#1521? Post them below!
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