MAG Interviews: DocEroc

In the next of our Interview Series, we sit down with DocEroc one of MAG's real "community guys", to find out his views on MAG's future, EZ Mode and "touring" with English Snake.

So you get launched into MAG for the first time, what were your impressions?
The BETA? I hated it!  I came from Socom 1.  Got into FPS via COD WAW and liked it, then into MW2.  MAG was overwhelming at first, to say the least.

What is it about MAG that keeps you coming back?
Good friends.  Good game. Good developers.  Regardless of opinions of Zipper, they listen to us all.


Your clan is called EZ Mode....why?
Well, doing a World Tour of the other factions outside of Valor, SVER was our first.  We got under a lot of SVER skins calling them Easy Mode over prox chat and we just loved the E-Z Tag.

You're pretty popular for your SIGS, t-shirts and MAG All-Stars site, tell us a little about those...
I just love the game.  I love to support the game.  Doing sigs just helps ,upport the community.  I am all about doing that.  MAGAllstars.com has had 2 other homes before it became the site it is now.  It is for everyone, all PMCs, all clans.  Just my way to better the game and still have fun.  Everyone, join the site, by the way. http://MAGAllstars.com


How would you describe your journey through the PMCs with people like English Snake & Company?
It has been a blast.  A little bit of an eye-opener towards everyones aggression towards Valor.  Plus testing out all of the "OP" claims to SVER, for one.

If you could have one dream "game type" what would it be?

Hmm, I think some type of ambush type deal in mountain settings with the attackers having the high ground.  I think that would be awesome.  The defenders have to get from point A to point B. Somewhat linear, but it could be fun.  Either that, or some type of hostage/VIP/Escort thing, like Socom.

What do you think is responsible for the lower player numbers?
Easy, COD has set people up with a certain style of FPS.  You do what you want to triumph for yourself.  MAG, people can bust ass and still lose.  But, people have not adapted to teamwork yet, and before people can explain this, they drop the game.  If you play with a group or clan of good friends and have fun, the hours just go by and no matter what happens, you have fun.

What new MAG content would you like to see?
Hmmm, that is tough.  I think CLAN ALLIANCE under the COMMUNITY would be awesome.  We are going to end up with 3 uber clans, but with Clan Alliance, it just helps solve a lot of issues with overflowing friends lists and clans and such.

If there was one change you could make to MAG what would it be?
Changing loadouts via a bunker or APC withouth having to R3 ourselves.  I think that is dumb and it would not change the winning chances or losing chances of the game.  It would cause more teamwork and more things would get done, because, people care about their own personal stats, for themselves, not for others so people don't want to take a death to grab a repair kit.  They wait until they die and sometimes, you miss the spawn or spawn right away and never get the chance to grab something needed immediately.

In your opinion, what is MAG's greatest strength?
Teamwork. That is how the games are won the quickest.

What weakness hurt MAG the most?
People without MICs don't get to hear a lot of requests coming through their TVs that most hear.  I don't think you necessarily need a MIC to play the game, but it sure as heck helps and it is obvious as you start to play with one and learn what you were missing.

What's your favorite game mode and why?
DOM, all the way.  It is more involved and I enjoy the various tasks and the complexity, if you will, of it.  INTER is really awesome, but to most it is just organized chaos and they get lost and say screw it! I am not running 400 meters to an objective, so I will just go to the first one I come to and so parts of that mode get lost in the game and people just say forget it.

Are you looking forward to Escalation?
Something new, less confusing as INTER was.  INTER was a blast the first weekend.  I think ESC will be the same, but will carry over way longer than INTER and it revitalizes the game, which we all need!

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say LMG?
How do you people not get tired of holding R1 down for so long!

Is MAG Balanced?
No, heck no it is not. MAPs are not. Guns are not. Skill levels across PMCs are not.

What's your take on PMC loyalty?
I am all for it.  But, if they start making all modes neutral, there will be no need.  Same with Character Slots.  No reason to be loyal anymore.  Not a bad thing, at this point, I guess.

Predict MAG's future for us...what does your crystal ball tell you?
Hmm, that is tough.  People have been holding out for a long time for this and that to change.  So, I think ESCALATION will be a huge crystal ball for MAG.  I think MAG could go on for a while without ever needing a MAG 2.  But, it just depends on what all gets done and what all gets left behind and not implemented into the game.