Kanudil, Working Toward the Common Good
For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of the community, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has a Community Council, a group of members tasked with helping keep the community connected with the team. One of these members, Kanudil, adds a fair but passionate voice to the group often sharing his knowledge with newcomers and his advice with the team. It is members like Kanudil that helps us keep our ears open where it matters. This month, we get to know one of our quieter, but always steadfast council members.
Welcome Kanudil and thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me. Let’s start with the basics, Tell us how you got into MMORPG gaming? Are you a general gamer or do you stick with the social format?
Thinking back on it I don’t think I ever stood a chance to not be into MMORPG gaming. At an early age I remember playing various games my brother had with the Sega Genesis (Battle City tanks in particular) and either wanting to play them with others or wanting to go beyond the borders or the linear path, let’s say. So it was natural that when we moved to the States in 97 and my brother bought us a PC and a PS1, we got into so many different games. This of course led to various info sites, community forums, so on and one in particular in 1999 happened to have an ad for EverQuest 1. I had no idea what it was or what even drew me into it but I remember just wanting to play it and asked my brother to buy it and set up a subscription (I was 11 at the time) and he did. The rest is history as they say. The game and the social interactions within it absolutely helped shape me into who I am today and I’d like to believe that there are more positives to that than negatives.
Today I’d say I’m a bit of both and play solo games with rich stories and paths but if it were life or death, I’d choose games I could play with my friends first. Between my brother and a couple friends that I’ve been playing various games with over the decades, the games change but the memories remain.
One of the coolest things about online interaction and online gaming has been the evolution of a world community. We meet so many people with so many different backgrounds! You mention moving to the US, where are you from and what is your native language?
Latvia! It’s a small country on the Baltic Sea (so think that horseshoe shape almost near Finland and Sweden. Latvian is the native language, but also know/speak Russian fluently.
I looked up pictures of Latvia, such a gorgeous country. So you have always been a gamer, do you have a favorite in-game memory?
This is a really tough one and one I’ve been pondering for a few days. I don’t think I could choose one. Some that have stuck with me are as follows:
Before there were raid windows you had single groups running together and whomever did the most damage got experience. Myself (a shaman) and a wizard (whose name I still remember today, Loguar) and one other decided to go all out on some mobs and try to get them and we did! Less numbers but stronger determination!
In general, spent weeks in City of Mist with my brother EXPing on the left side moat to the point where the guild we were in called my brother the mayor of City of Mist.
Raiding/breaking into PoFear so late into the night that at some point I fell asleep in my chair and my brother got up to use the restroom and forgot to come back. We had a heck of a time recovering our corpses the following day.
Had a great shaman friend in our guild in 2004 in EQ1 – in 2019 I was in Mistmoore on Mangler and I ran across her. We instantly recognized each other even 15 years later (yay for same names). My brother and I ended up joining the guild she was in and we’ve been a part of it for over four years now.
Leading that same guild to many successful raid and expansion clears. Often times it’s as much about handling people and their personalities, strengths and weaknesses as it is the content you’re fighting.
Not as much in-game, but a CS:S / TF2 clan I was in for several years had a LAN party at a camping place and spending a couple days with them outdoors and gaming inside was such a highlight for me.
Falling asleep while gaming. Classic gamer kid stuff there. How did you come to hear about Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen and what made you decide to support our endeavor?
Reddit! I was looking at various subreddits for EQ as Fippy Darkpaw server was ongoing but growing stale and someone mentioned the Kickstarter. I didn’t back at the time but it stayed in the back of my mind and in a break between TLPs I checked it out again in 2018/2019. Decided I wanted to be a part of the journey because of what it represented and what I was missing in my gaming life at the time. Later I learned there was a Discord where Champs were allowed in now and yearned for that sense of community, so I pledged and years down the road I’m still glad I did.
I’m glad you did too! We’ve talked about how much this community means to you as you are a part of our Community Council, a group that the Pantheon CM works with and who help the general posters around Discord and the official forums. How did that come about and have you liked being a part of this group?
When I begin to participate in things I’m always drawn to putting more into it than the basics so when there was a voting process for CCs as Champs were being integrated and VIPs expanded I thought what a better way to participate in the journey than take an active role in the community. This might be a tad personal but as someone who moved a few times at an early age, even across the ocean into a different language and culture, I’ve had to learn how to integrate well and I think it’s sort of an acquired skill, but my perspective as an outsider that is generally welcomed everywhere has helped me have an awareness for many of those that don’t get the same treatment and that is also a big part of why I wanted to join this team – make sure that everyone is heard and seen. That being said, if you feel like that’s you and you haven’t been heard or seen, please feel free to reach out to myself or our other CCs. Even if we’ve not seen eye to eye, we’re all in this together.
I’ve absolutely loved being a part of this group. It’s a time I will always cherish and think back to someday when we’re all playing Pantheon after its release. It is a group of wonderful people that even when we disagree, we have worked towards the common good of Pantheon as a game and its people in communicating within the community and VR.
Having the Community Council has been so helpful for me, as a CM, so I’m thankful that this group is here.
What are your top three features that you need to see in an MMORPG?
Grouping & Raiding – I greatly enjoy unique/detailed challenging content that I can overcome with my friends through skill and strategy. Loot is a nice reward but to me there will always be newer and better loot someday so I just see it as a tool to victory, but the content itself can be unique and fun. E.g., original Rathe Council raid was such a rewarding completion experience that, as an event, stood more interesting and better than the majority of content I’ve experienced in other MMOs.
Shinies – Collections are just so satisfying and a great chase item as long as it is implemented well. Tied into the lore so you can learn about the zones/areas, tied into dropping from mobs, being found on the ground and completing quests/tasks/whatever in the areas. Really make it a way to get the feel for where you are and being a part of it instead of a temporary pass through.
Fishing – Fishing is often a unique gathering/tradeskill system that can lend to the above mentioned in the Shinies section. Few games do it right but from the thoughts that Nephele has shared on it, I’m confident that Pantheon will do it right and I look forward to it if nothing else.
If anyone can do right by fishing (and trades in general) it’s Nephele.
Now that we know your gaming history, tell us about your real life self. What are your hobbies and interests?
Oh boy, this is going to sound like a dating advertisement – I unironically like long walks on the beach, traveling, hiking up mountains and traversing trails and taking pictures of them. You can go to the same spot a hundred times and see a hundred different things, there is much beauty in the small common details.
I enjoy reading stories about sprawling fantasy worlds (I credit reading for me picking up English as a language so quickly), sometimes writing about ones I make up in my own head and getting way too invested in my sports teams (real football, fake football, hockey, basketball and even motor racing). Music (listening to) is a big part of my life as well and I usually have something on when doing anything. In a way, music is just telling a story, perhaps they were the original audiobooks after all.
Future hobbies will include playing guitar, water color painting and some sort of coding. Life has so much to it, might as well experience as much as you can from both sides – creating and consuming. And of course, last but not least, gaming.
The world is a beautiful place, there is no reason to not stop and enjoy it…then quickly retreat back into the safe, warm den of gaming. One final question for you, do you have pets? Can I get pics of them? Are you a dog person or a cat person?
White Fang was really my first English book that I read and my dad regaled me with funny & wholesome stories about his dog of his youth so I never really stood a chance here either. Dogs all the way. Not to mention, I have been and am allergic to cats. Ironically, my allergy level is the same to dogs as it is to cats so a year ago and some, we got a kitten and I was able to acclimate to him and not have a reaction. Other cats that I meet – can’t breathe or see fairly quickly. He’s a jerk sometimes but he’s metaphorically burrowing his way further into my heart on a daily basis. Hedgehogs are pretty rad too, by the way.
Thankfully, Kanudil shared a pic of his cat, Ham, the real star of this show. Kanudil and a good portion of the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen community hang out on our official Discord server and the official forums. Please visit us there and thank you for getting to know another great part of the Pantheon family.