Player Spotlight: Sa’Belle

By popular demand, this month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Sa’Belle. We would like to extend a thank you to one of our positive and influential community members. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. 

GM Luna

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

It’s a pretty boring story, really. Work sent me to the middle of nowhere during a rotten and rainy winter to open a new office and I needed something to occupy me during the quiet times and while it bucketed down in the evenings, and Illy was being advertised in the chrome store. I’m a big fan of the “Why not?” method, so I gave it a shot. That was 2 years ago in August.

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

Ah, not really. I have previously moderated a forum focused on political, religious and current events discussions, and way back in the day, I wandered in and out of a few roleplay communities, but this is the first game and community that I’ve committed to properly, and now I don’t want to try anything else!

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

I can’t go giving away my hidden talents! That would make them much less hidden!

As for hobbies, when I can drag myself away from Illy, I spend a fair bit of time crafting (usually crocheting) and baking, and I am a big reader. Not particularly exciting perhaps, but it keeps me occupied. Oh, I suppose I could call working an interesting hobby 😉

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

Everyone says the people and the community, and that is definitely part of it. But I also love the challenge of trying to build up my towns to their best potential (with an awful lot of emphasis on trying!), and exploring all the things I can do with them. I also enjoy participating in the tournaments, and I’d love to see a return of the animal hunting one. I wasn’t around for it, and it sounds like fun.

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

I spend a lot of time on trading and crafting, and I quite enjoy fiddling with all of that, but I don’t think it will surprise many people that my favourite thing to do is help and explain things to new players. I enjoy being able to share my knowledge with them (as many shared theirs with me when I started) and being around them as they have those moments where it all falls into place and starts to make sense.

That said, after the tourney I’m going to dive into the military side a lot more, and I’m very excited about that. I have no doubts that my 20 trueshots will be the terror of all Illyriad!

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

Oh, this is going to be soppy, but really, it’s eCrow. There are fantastic people all around Illy, of course, but I remain convinced that the highest concentration is found in my alliance. Watching it grow over the past year from 10 players that barely knew each other to the 50-odd permanent members today has been a constant delight and I truly can’t imagine being anywhere else (even if some of them spend half their time yelling at me to go to bed!).

Assisting the crowfed to pull together into a more cohesive group over the past 18 months or so has also been a fun and challenging experience. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve compared (and seen others compare) herding crows to herding cats!

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

I am far too excited about the upcoming quest arcs and faction implementation, both there and in Broken Lands. Factions have been talked about since before I joined, and whacking their NPC camps on the map was a favourite pasttime of mine as a newb. The chance to do that, and have them fight back, has me wriggling with excitement.

I also look forward to the day GM Stormcrow doesn’t laugh at me, and creates an alt for eCrow. No one has ever accused me of not dreaming big. (It’s okay, SC, we won’t tell anyone it’s you!).

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

One thing I was told when I was young(er) and stupid(er) was that Illy should be played as it is now, not how you hope it will be in the future, so I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on the things that need improving or I want to change, to be honest.

That said – and I say this only because I was stupid enough to try and claim sovereignty for 5 towns at the same time earlier today – I wish there was an easier way to bulk claim sov, perhaps in the same vein as the update to sending harvesters (a special unit just for claiming sov perhaps).

And I guess it would also be nice to not have to go to an external site to chat with my confeds easier, but I have no idea how I’d fit a 3rd chat window on the screen!

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

Relax, have fun, and don’t give your alliance leader a heart attack by attacking saurians with your first army.

I’d also suggest keeping in mind that Illy will take as much time as you give it and not everything has to be completed right now. There is always tomorrow.