Juan Valdez - Update
From
slickwillytime19@gmail.com@21:1/5 to
All on Tue Apr 14 22:20:58 2020
It has been almost 22 years since my original ban from Ultima Online. The memories of that first of year of UO are still vivid in my mind. When UO came out in 1997, it was the most exciting time for me as a gamer. I had graduated from college the year
before, but did not yet have to work in the real world. I had the luxury of understanding parents that allowed me to develop skill sets in my chosen profession, before applying them at an actual company. When Ultima was released, it was literally all I
did, day in and day out. An average of 12 to 16 hours per day every day. I am going to tell you all as I told everyone that would listen back then, I never cheated in the game. I am and always have been a highly intelligent and proficient gamer, with
countless hours spent honing my craft. UO was my escape in life - and the character I played was everything that I wasn’t in real life. As has been said from those who played with me back then, I was one of the cruelest and psychologically tormenting
characters you could ever come across on the Atlantic shard. With my good friends in TB (Chrae, Bickmat, Lover, Satan, and many others that came after), we dominated the thieving world in UO. I have so many stories I could share from those days, and I
know Chrae has already shared a few which I enjoyed reading on the threads. TB really started when Chrae and I met just outside the Trinsic city entrance and on a whim started testing the snooping and stealing skills. When we saw how quickly we could
gain skill points stealing higher stone items from each other, we knew exactly what we had to do. Soon thereafter I ran into Bickmat (Cheese Taker), and he successfully killed me with a cheesy war fork block me in move in the town of Trinsic. I was so
distraught that I got killed like that, that I absolutely hated Bickmat. That hate lasted about 30 seconds, and I realized what I had to do next. The Trinsic Borrowers were formed, and man did we cause havoc over that next year. As I said earlier, I
spent basically every waking moment playing UO during that time. To other less experienced players that saw me in action, the things I could accomplish probably looked like cheating, but it was pure skill unleashed in the most evil ways possible. My
character was the ultimate mage/thief combo that could run circles around almost anyone that came in my path. I remember quite fondly one instance where I was at the Orc Fort in Cove all by myself. Another player saw me there and knew of my reputation.
They asked if they could just watch me in action as I took down my next victim. I happily obliged. What happened next was so entertaining for both myself and my new fan. A group of four well geared players arrived at the orc fort, and I knew what I had
to do. Snoop, steal, hide, get attacked, hide, kill, get attacked, hide, kill, get attacked, hide, kill, get attacked, hide, kill. Yes, it happened just about that fast. Four bodies of loot in a minute of action. I can’t remember if I shared the loot
with my onlooker, but I am sure I left him some scraps :). Stories like that were literally every day for me in UO. Now, expand that over a year and you can see why I was so hated. Before I was banned, I had keys to about 50 houses all over the Atlantic
shard - Castles, Keeps, Brick Houses, you name it. Of those 50 houses, I only paid gold for 3 small ones outside Trinsic. If you knew the value of real estate on that shard at that time, you can begin to understand why my banning was such a big loss. I
estimate that shortly after my ban, that real estate might have fetched anywhere from 15 to 30k on EBay. Yes, that was a time when auction for prime virtual housing on Atlantic were regularly going for $500 a piece. So losing what I worked so hard for
that past year hurt badly, but it was ultimately for the best. A month later I was off to work in the real world so I could dominate in a different type of game. So here I am 22 years later to say that Ultima Online between 1997 to 1998 was the time of
my gaming life. I played it again multiple times with other characters years later, but nothing will compare to what it was that first year. I miss my old guild mates and hope you all have lived a great post UO life. In closing, I would like to say to
the old GM’s/decision makers of that era - You absolutely suck and are inferior gamers/thinkers/doers in every way imaginable. You catered to your bosses and the pocket books of EA - How sad. But I forgive you, because without you there could be no me
or this story.
Juan Valdez - Trinsic Borrowers
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)