MAG Interviews: V-C's Bodymore

Recently we had the opportunity to interview V-C's Bodymore. A long-time clan officer. He spoke pretty bluntly about MAG's future, what he likes about his clan and why appealing to the casual fan hurt MAG.


SVER Guy: Despite having alot of very good players, V-C has a reputation for "trash talk" why so mouthy?

We don’t necessarily talk trash we are just extremely confident in our body of work and become very vocal about it. As a clan we like to take ownership of any land that any V-C boots stand on whether it be Syr Darya, Darien, and you better know that Copper Hills is just off limits. So if you are up against us you will know that you are trespassing and for that we shoot you in the face and tell you to go home in many different ways.  

There was a game where your Leader Big Bishop (who had vetted apparently) came over to SVER and basically told SVER to "kiss off" before he vetted home to Valor, was that really necessary?

So you heard about that. Well Big Bishop is a Former Member of V-C and Kushmir is the leader, and I really don’t feel comfortable answering a question about Bishop but I will say this, I understand his actions. But for your answer maybe you should ask Bishop reasoning for that incident.

So what's the OSG .vs. V-C score now? (sorry..couldn't help it)

We are about tied when it comes to regular MAG but… We officially owned them in the New Beta not once but twice. And we did let them know.

What’s your opinion on the new system that gives us three player slots?

 Not a fan of the 3 slots it completely takes the true loyalist out of the game.  I never vetted to another PMC and have no intention of ever vetting. I chose my PMC in the beginning with the knowledge of battling other PMCs. Joining alliances forming small armies to help of take over the world. But just like in the real world you have players playing multiple sides. And  I am way to loyal for that. Truth be told our core player are strictly Valor loyalist and the rest are those who defected because they got tired of getting shot in the face and screamed at.  

I contacted V-C Officer Kushmir for an interview but he declined and recommended you, why so?

Kushmir is the face of V-C he is our leader and he keeps us grounded. But me, I am the mouth of V-C and I was told that I have the tact of a charging bull with red sunglasses. If you want answers ask me I’ll give it to you straight with no chaser

What’s your take on the new in-game economy and separating skills and weapons?

I think it starts to create identities within MAG making the true vision of MAG com alive. Soldiers start to become individuals with talents and now they will have duties and they will be expected to maintain those duties. We all become specialist in our chosen field. And what I like about it is that fact that now we are going to have a designated car thief. And as far as that economy is concerned I love that I can get rid of my heavy armor for money, I don’t use that crap anyway so why pack it  give me the elbow and knee pads and lets roll. Speed is key in this game. Raven, you really need to read that last line again to all your heavy armor toting noobs.

Tell us how the community is influencing MAG. “Depairing” was a “forum idea” after all.

 There have been a lot of changes that have been great for the game but some have set it back. But I love how Zipper is keeping the game as  a work in progress.

If i said Playstation Home would have MAG features like detailed overhead view of maps and other goodies, what would you say?

I would say that you all would think that we were cheating because if we had more than what we have already created for ourselves. 

What's are your thoughts on a MAG Clan practice/training area?

MAG really needs a training area specifically helping the noob understand his weapons, assets, and rezkits. Personally I would like a firing range to test the capabilities of your weapons with the way you have your own soldiers attributes setup. It should have moving and stationary targets. But that’s what I want.

Baclavas. Yes or NO?

Yeah why not?

One of our most popular suggestions is a water map with boats and water bases, what’s your opinion?

Maybe an amphibious assault where you come in by water and leave by water creating evac points for vital info. Whoever retrieves that info becomes vital cargo and everyone on the teams has to escort you out. That could be cool. But I just hope something like that does not take away from the game but I am all for the advancement of the game.

When I say Clan Wars what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Finally Proof that we are better than you. After this people are going to search my stats and see that they are crap but I have those stats that really matter and that is the wins, that is all we care about.  

How often would you like to see new MAG content? Are you willing to pay for it?

I will pay because I believe in the game and I believe we need new major content ever 45 days to keep us interested. The first 6 months were rough having to find new ways to entertain ourselves with the game that got boring to others and then having to deal with the things that were not fixed and then adapting to the things that were.

When did you first notice MAG?

 I was told about the game when I was searching for a game to play while in gamestop. I was told that I get a copy of the beta access just by reserving a copy. Paid my 5 bucks just to play a game where they had massive maps with massive wars. I thought it was great just from the concept.

How do we stop team-killing?

We cant stop team killing because it is a part of the game. While we are talking about it I want my friendly knife back because some people deserve to be knifed. Like those people who are charging a known hostile objective and come to a screeching halt on some stair creating a choke point  aka "a funnel of death." I don’t want to die with a bunch of people in a straight line like it’s a mass execution. So for that reason alone I need to knife those who want to stop on stairs. I'm willing to sacrifice one for the progression of many.

Did you play in the First Beta? What were your impressions of MAG after playing in the BETA?

Absolutely hated it! I got killed so much I stop playing after about a week. And would come back from time to time. Just to see if its still up. But I never played a FPS until then. Took a lot of getting use to it. Now I would not play another game.

Who's you're biggest MAG nemesis, and why?

Non V-C in other PMCs. If you are not my friend you are my enemy and I look forward to shooting you in the face.

Why are you still an active MAG player?

My name is Bodymore and I’m a MAG-aholic. There are few games that have kept my attention over a few months but I love to play the game just because of the competitive nature. Getting better over the months and learning how to conquer different objectives better than the standard ways. I know for a fact that we have created standards that many follow to this day in the game. And we in V-C look forward to creating more for others to follow. That last statement may sound a little arrogant but people copy what works. And we get a lot of victories.

Describe your singular MAG experience.

My first time capping all three objectives in sabotage. More trash talk… (I mean extreme confidence) than normal was flowing that day. I let everyone know that day.

What's your worst MAG shame?

 My worst shame is not learning how to call strike from the beginning. I wanted to finally learn how to call strikes in the other matches so I started applying for leadership in acq and dom. Well I was in a acq match on elk bay and we had the bunker by the triple A and I had the CNI open because there were a lot of red dots by the triple A and then I see the red dots shifting to the right so I shift my strike to the right and push the button. Next thing I know I see -5,-10, -10, and -15. I killed 8 friendlys next to my own bunker. All I heard in my headset was body what you do. I think I killed everyone of my clan mates because they killed everyon of the red dots that I saw. And they won’t let me forget it.

Vote-to-Demote? Yay or Nay?

Definite Yay. Platoon and Squad leaders should be able to demote the OIC.

Do the helicopter respawns need fixing?

Sure. It should not be a stationary target way to easy to take down but I believe that it should fixed maybe one day it will happen.

Should we be able to fire our weapons when we’re parachuting in?

I am a fan of the game but I would like other thing to be fixed before that. Just watch out for the bullets for now.

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

 Let's see my amphibious extraction idea in the earlier question, but just to go a bit deeper that person becomes the cargo and have a computer attached to there body which they would not be able to bleed out until the info is gone. So they will be able to be rezed until the download of the stolen info was taken back. So whole squads would have to move together to take care of the vital cargo and whole squad would have to move together to stage a setup area while they undownload the info in which they have to return it back to base. That may be cool.

People seem to be enamored with a Hostage/VIP/Escort game mode, what say you?

 I like those game modes but I don’t think that is for MAG I would rather have the ability to conquer territories and they become property of the PMC and if we have the contracts in our possession we rename it. I would love for SYR DARYA to be renamed Valor-topia and darien could be Copper Hills South. Just a thought.

How would you resolve the lower player numbers?

To be real I would just appeal to the hardcore fan. The hardcore fan loves MAG for what MAG is. That is a team-based FPS and its not COD and hopefully it will never be. Numbers will stay strong because there are plenty of hardcore fans that love the game and I believe the base will mixed with the potential of future updates with draw bigger crowds.

What new MAG content would you like to see?

 Better training modes, better clan support and sticking to the original thought of 3 PMCs fighting over contracts. Neutral maps look like they are moving from the third one. I think that would be a big mistake.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve heard over Proximity?

The best thing that I ever heard was "behind you!" it was said about 7 consecutive times when I was knifing my way through the resupply in copper hills. It’s the funniest thing when you knife a whole squad without them even knowing it.

If there was one change you could make to MAG what would it be?

The response time to our request or at least he acknowledgement or our request. We get excited when we hear that something we suggested so that there is something to look forward to.

In your opinion, what is MAG's greatest strength?

The concept itself is MAGs greatest strength. The fact that we had a shooter with 256 players in one game was the most interesting thing about the game which drew me to it.

What weakness hurt MAG the most?

 Catering to the noob to much. A lot of people have invested in Zippers dream. Most in our clan have a minimum of 400 hours played and we want to see progress when needed because we have put in the time and we want to be able to see the changes that we suggested.

Does MAG have cheaters?

 Every game has cheaters but that is something that we take pride in playing the game with integrity. When we found out about the glitching into the machine we always told our people to kill yourself because we will not be known as cheaters.

Ghillie suit for snipers, Yay or Nay?

 I would love to see them but that would take the stealth mode to a whole new level. And it should weigh more that the heavy armor but protect like the fiber mesh. It would be adaptable to any terrain but that would need to be worked out in different ways because I honestly can’t see a use for it in SYR DARYA but in the DARIEN it would be great. So I say YAY but its at the risk of the user.

What's the best thing about being in V-C?

The best thing about being V-C is that we started as a great group of players that came from different clans that made a united clan hence the name Valor Coalition. We are all friends from all walks of life with members in at least 6 different countries. Ireland, Scotland, England, Mexico, Canada, and US. We created our own personal UN in a video game. And we are looking to expand so if you speak English and you live in Japan trust and believe we will welcome you into the clan. We will properly give you a “ Arigato gozai mas “ every time you grace us with your presence and give you a “Na men nai yo” when ever you mess up. We take our clan very seriously but we love to have fun, but winning and making sure our name is known as being a hard out is all we care about.