A Day in the Life

Jute is a popular member of the community, and players have enjoyed following her "A Day in the Life" stories on the official message board. She also provides quest guides for Lineage II Stratics and player-written guides for the official web site. Read more about Lineage II's storyteller, Jute!

1. How long have you been playing Lineage II?

I have been playing since the Open Beta here in the US. Though I've had two periods of time where I had to quit for personal reasons. I'd played several MMORGs previously and my boyfriend is also an avid gamer. He had gotten wind of the open beta in Taiwan and Japan and tried to get me interested in playing. I kept refusing to even look at it because I knew it was a PvP game and I was really against playing anything with PvP. I thought I'd hate it.

But, he was persistent and eventually got me to look at the game on his system. The beauty of it just took my breath away. So, after some negotiations with him about 'watching my back', I decided to try it and when Open Beta happened we both got accounts. I played with him for a couple of months, but then he quit and reluctantly so did I.

I couldn't forget the game though and eventually I was able to play again.

I had quit because I didn't think I could deal with the open PvP on my own. Now I think it's one of the best things about the game. Not that I like being killed mind you! Just that it adds an element of constant excitement that's not there in any other game I have played.

2. What is your character name and server? Which class do you play?

Erica is my home and I have a LOT of characters. The two that I've written the most about in my story thread are my Prophet, Siane and my Shillien Elder, Shaynae. I really love my Swordsinger as well, but right now I've been working on an Overlord and a Spellhowler.

As you can see I mostly play support classes, but I have this insane notion of wanting to have at least done the second class change quest for all 31 classes.

3. What do you enjoy the most about Lineage II?

Two things. The endlessness and openess of the game. There is always something for me to do. It's flexible enough that I can play for an hour or a whole day and it's got a little something for most everyone.

Also, nothing in the game mechanics forces you to be a 'good' person or behave. You have the ability to be as rotten as you wish. So, if you run into someone who treats you well it's not the game that's making them be nice. It's them. That occasionally frustrates me but mostly fascinates me.

4. What inspired you to begin writing the "A Day in the Life" journal on the official message board?

When I thought about coming back the first time, I posted a question on the boards basically asking if I was crazy for wanting to return. My boyfriend just couldn't understand why I wanted to come back and play because he knew I hated PvP. I got a nice response from the community and encouragement to let them know how I did if I came back. I don't know if they meant literally, but since I started all over again on a new server (I'd originally been on Sieghardt) it was all fresh. I posted about it and people liked it, so I just kept posting.

5. Which entry stands out as a personal favorite?

Probably the ones where I played with the little girl I call 'Anne'. It was a lot of fun playing with her, seeing the world of Lineage II through her eyes. Unfortunately, her father had to stop playing and so I won't get to play with her any more.

"I giggled out loud at her carefully removing her armor each time we swam a stream, stopping on the other side to re-dress. I am sure it made perfect sense to a child. I’d learned that she took swimming lessons and since she didn’t swim in armor, her character didn’t either."

6. You have written several game guides for the official web site and Lineage II Stratics. Which one was the most enjoyable to write?

That's a hard question to answer since I've liked doing so many of them. But I think maybe the New Player FAQ might be it, since it gave me an opportunity to give some information to brand new players and help them understand a little about the game.

7. What advice would you give other players who want to write about their adventures in Lineage II?

Write for yourself. Feedback is really nice, especially if you are trying to improve your writing, but ultimately you are the only one you need to please.

Thank you to Jute for answering our questions!