Member Spotlight: Elysium

• Posted by Paul August 29, 2015 - 1,038 views

  This month we're going to shine a light on one of our resident CB hosts whom ShinJin has dubbed: The Builder’s Builder. Shin did an amazing job of showcasing her incredible array of builds and you should definitely check out his Spotlight for an in-depth look at, in Shin’s exact words, "phenomenal works of art." Our task is to pull back the curtain and find out more about one of the site's most prolific builders, active members, and CB host.  

  

  Elysium is a Canadian hailing from “the frigid wasteland known as Winnipeg.” Her real name is Kayla Schmid, though she confesses that she never cared much for her name. These days all friends call her “Ely,” only using Kayla when they want to get under her skin. In addition to being a gamer, Ely was recently accepted into culinary school, which is something she’s always wanted to do, and she’ll admit she has a bit of a knack for cooking and baking. She also has an interest in writing stories, but hasn’t published any of them on the site.

  

  Elysium initially stumbled on to the then Skyrim Blog back in 2012 and voraciously read through almost all of the builds on the site at the time. Like many of our members, she then proceeded to lurk on and off for over year.

  I never saw the homepage, the feeds/statuses, or the even fact that there was a forums section. I never had any builds to add, so I continued to lurk. I took a break from Skyrim (ironically, to play Morrowind) around 2013-ish and came back a year later, when I wanted to replay my Nerevarine character. I always loved telling stories and I found building characters was the best way to do that, since it didn't require writing so much filler.

  When Ely finally joined the site in the Spring of 2014, she did so in full force. As ShinJin mentioned, she submitted four rock-solid builds in her first month alone to the Character Building group. Since then she’s submitted 14 more builds and the list keeps growing. Her Shamans of Skyrim and Fang of the Dominion builds are currently both steadily creeping toward Legendary status while flying under the radar. With an impressive track record like that, there’s little wonder as to why she was tapped to help host CB.  One of her favorite aspects of being a CB host is that she can assist new builders who may need feedback and a leg up. But being a host isn’t the only reason she’s been so active in the CB group; she also loves talking with some of her favorite builders on the site:

  Henson and Ponty's builds were the ones I really stuck around for. Henson's Buoyant Armiger and his Ka Po' Tun were builds I kept coming back to. I was never really into builds that are very mechanics-focus and instead like builds with a heavy lore background, so you can see how the character fits into Skyrim.

  Anyone who’s looked through Ely’s builds can see her deep appreciation for Elder Scrolls lore. While she feels Bethesda’s quest-making, character development, and stability can be a little “hit and miss” at times, she cites the expansive and immersive worlds and extensive lore as her favorite aspects of the series.
  
  

  

  Outside of the Elder Scrolls series, Ely plays primarily RPGs, but is also partial to a well-designed FPS game. Currently she’s playing through Bioshock, Morrowind, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Fallout New Vegas. (Yet another impressive list!) She also admits to playing ESO “far too much.” She’s also excited for the upcoming Fallout release. She confesses that it’s the first game she’s ever pre-ordered, and if it lets her down she’ll never pre-order another game.

  That about wraps it up, folks. Show your support for our wonderful Kay--, uh, Elysium by not only checking out her builds and leaving a like while you’re there, but by commenting and letting us know your favorite things about Ely!

  Spotlight prepared by Edana