Interview with Von_Kestleberg - Master of [R] and proud member of StoneHarthLegion

There are certain Gladiators that draw attention to themselves, and Von_Kestleberg is just such a glad.

He always seems instrumental when it comes to igniting wars, and those that know him swear by his  intentions of making the game fun for everyone involved. So well done to Von for catching the eye of the playing world. 

 

Personal Questions 

Q - Do you have any gladiatus mentors? If so, who is it and what do you admire most about them?    

A - Early on I had a couple of glads that helped me with the game. Their names were DOOMSOLDIER and DEATH. DS came in and out of the game a good bit, I actually think he would build Glads and sell them to people. I followed DEATH around until he quit three years ago. Xerxes19 was a big help to me also. He’d give you tips and advice continually.  

Q - How long have you been playing this game? 

A - I started sometime in 2006 or 2007. I pretty much slowed down to just logging in about 2011-2012.     

Q - What is your next personal goal in the game?   

A - I’m here to have fun, meet folks and try to keep this place active.  

Q - No secret that you have strong feeling about the Roger-Ceasar...Why? 

A - Actually, I do not know Roger...I think you are saying that because of some comments on the Forum from a conversation I had with Brich. So, no strong feelings there...

Q - Who do you wish they would suspend bashing rules on?...Even for one day!

A - Hmmmmm....there are so many. I would say every one of them. When I started this game there were no bashing rules....it was great! Even though I was a little guy then, the game was much better then...no soul-bound, no market limits, and much more..... I would love to have King Helimus come back with no bashing rules on.....you’d have to know him to understand.....check the archives in the forum. 

Guild Related 

Q - You are a vocal member of your guild and have shared strong opinions in the past. What are your thoughts on the state of the game? Has the merging helped or hurt the game? 

A - The merger just HAD to happen to make this game viable. I voiced my opinion for years on this subject. It was starting to get a little old hitting the same set of guys every day. So, the merger was something that was absolutely necessary. The people playing this game are why I play at all. You know I have beaten Ernestine over 1700 times......That gets a little old after a while. Now we have new personalities to get to know and to continue the game. I wish they would now go ahead and merge 16 & 9. 

Q - What guilds do you support and oppose and why? 

A - I support Legion! Other than that, I have friends in other guilds and I will respond to any calls for aid, on a personal level. As far as other guilds, I really don’t have a problem with any of them....

Q - How has the recent formation of the guerrilla warfare guild [Retribution] affected the guild StoneHarthLegion, and what is your opinion of those that left the guild following the war?  

A - Well, all you have to do is count the empty slots to see what effect that the war had on Legion. Am I sorry they left? Yes, very much! I am still friends with all of them and still speak with many. The people that left had multis in The DEN. No one had a problem with us hitting XIII....You forgot to ask if I would do it again.....I will do it again, not necessarily against the same guilds and not necessarily with the same people. Although, next time I am hoping for more participation so that the numbers are not so lopsided. Another question that you should have asked is “why did you do it?”  So, maybe we can get into that another time.... I do enjoy wars and personal contests. Wars were at one time going on continuously. In fact, wars (believe this or not!) We are actually a part of this game!!!! I am not here to only chat and click on things.  Alaskan and I had talked about setting up “temporary” guilds for the people that enjoyed wars so that we could fight each other...but there was not a lot of interest. So, if and when we do another. -R- war, it will probably consist of people like me, that like to fight and people that may have agendas from many guilds.  

Q - The rumours are SPQR & StoneHarthLegion are in strategic talks, Are they true? And can you give us a little insight into what we can expect? 

A - I can neither confirm nor deny that there are talks going on between four of the larger guilds. I also cannot confirm nor deny that many high-level Glads from four of the larger guilds (including DEN and XIII) are planning to form a brand new guild. But, any talks of this nature, as far as Legion goes, would need to be initiated by Legion’s Master - Hughie. Thus, I cannot say that I am aware of any talks at this time. I do chat with people in many guilds and we do bounce ideas off of each other, I even speak to members of DEN and XIII, with whom -R- fought.  As far as what to expect....I would definitely say that there will be wars and rumors of wars.     

         

Game Related 

Q - Were you ever a GO or MOD? Would you ever be? What do you believe you could offer if you were asked? 

A - No, I have never been anything other than a Glad. I think currently the GO and MOD guys are going by the rules, but they are forgetting that there needs to be some grey area in enforcement. Right now everything is black or white. They go strictly by the rules to the letter....and I mean to the letter.  Notice that not many people talk on the forums any longer. I got a warning yesterday for a little sarcasm in a post....I mean lighten up a little. I know that the job is done by volunteers and I have a lot of respect for them. I would consider the job, but we would have to have a long talk about the enforcement part before I did.  

Q - What do you think your greatest achievement in the game is? 

A - I would say that having a good number of friends in many guilds is good. I believe that I have, on the whole, kept my guy pretty honorable.  

Q - You are probably one of the most vocal forum members when it comes to GF, GO's and Mods. Give us your thoughts on what is wrong & what is right. 

A - Like I said before....GO and MODs need to lighten up and only warn people when there is a real problem. The constant beat down has made the forum like a police state....and there is no explaining to them or defence. There definitely needs to be more banter in the forum. 

GF.....what can I say???? It’s like a parent that rejects you. The Glads have done their part, we have spent money and time in their game and we are totally ignored. No feedback, updates usually are to restrict us more. The base for the game has not changed since it was rolled-out, same avatars for the beasts we fight, merchants, etc....  Most games have regular “good” updates and most companies want feedback from their customers so that they can keep their customers and attract more. I really would love to help GF with this game...and I have said that in the Forum (and I got a warning).  

Q - What would you do to, or believe you could do to generate additional activity in the game? 

A - I believe that I will continue to do what I do....stir things up every once in a while....I mean, this blog would not have been made if we didn’t stir it up a bit....right? I have made a few suggestions on the forum in the past (like merging the servers).... 

Q - What is your vision for the future of the new S9? How do you see this looking in 6 months?

A - I’m afraid that we will continue to lose Glads due to the game not being updated properly and making the game more fun for the players. Any game, such as this, loses people on a regular basis just through attrition. I am not seeing a lot of new people coming into the game. The few that do...don’t stay very long. I am a little concerned about the game in the area of multis. Some people had Glads in many guilds before the merge. I am wondering how loyal you could be to numerous guilds. I have given away most of my multis. I have one other on this server, along with 2 on S16. 

Q - Who, outside of guild mates would you want in your guild?

A - I’d just like to see some of the old players come back to the game....old guild mates from the past. There are a few guilds that I’d love to see merge with us. There are a great number of Glads that I would be happy to serve with.  

Q - What makes Legion special?

A - Other than the obvious, we are the only guild that has monkeys. Daisy runs Daisy’s Bar & Grill and Jojo is our general procurer of things that we need (GPoTWN). I’ll try to keep the server updated on Daisy’s specials. Today, for Mothers Day, she ran a 5 cent beer promotion for Moms. Very well attended and very few incidences....The Mothers had a great time.  

Q - What Guilds have you been a member of?

A - I started out in TEO, then HiT, EVO, BGH and now Legion. TEO was destroyed by BGH, HiT went away, EVO (that was a mean guild! I loved it!) And BGH just fell asleep. Legion is the best guild I have.