Last month, Square Enix’s two new community reps took to the forums to introduce themselves to the players of FFXI and FFXIV. We had the chance to ask them a few questions about their backgrounds and to see what their plans are going forward!

Check out the small Q&A below with Chenin “Luxpheras” Matthews and Aya “Sicycre” Montoya!

1. What were you doing before joining the community team?

Luxpheras: Before joining the community team, I was working here at Square Enix as a support agent for several titles since December of 2014. Essentially I was a support agent by day and a player by night, so my world was consumed by FINAL FANTASY long before I started this role. Before that, I studied English and Communications in college and most of my work experience was in the hospitality industry as a trainer, hostess and server. In between work and school, my hobby of choice has always been MMORPGs.

Sicycre: I was a full-time partnered broadcaster on Twitch as well as a casual fighting game player who wanted to go tournament level. I’d broadcast weekday nights and sometimes, the weekend. For me, FINAL FANTASY XIV raid nights with my free company are always great to broadcast since I get to include more than just myself. FINAL FANTASY XI, even though I primarily broadcast for story, is definitely great to expose to my viewers to so I can let them into a piece of my gaming history since streaming was not around during the time of FINAL FANTASY XI’s release. Since I enjoy these two titles in completely different manners, I was very eager to accept this position so I could assist to make these titles more appealing than they already are to their current and new audiences. Also, completing the entire FINAL FANTASY XI storyline has always been on my list since it was something I never finished after all these years, despite the game holding a tight grasp on me. I still continue to broadcast video game content at night with a new schedule, and these days it’s primarily FINAL FANTASY XI, FINAL FANTASY XIV, or the fighting games that I can never tear myself away from since it is pretty much a part of me.

2. Do you have any specific goals or tasks in mind that you would like to accomplish while on the community team?

Luxpheras: As the newest member of the team, I haven’t had the time and experience to really hammer out very specific goals and tasks. As I’m writing this, I’m just starting my third week! Nonetheless, I’m coming in with a general mindset of “FINAL FANTASY XIV is my favorite game of all time. What can I do to help make it better? How can I be the best possible representative of the North American player base?”. I’m incredibly honored to be able to work on a game that means so much to me, and that sets the bar high by way of standards I have for myself and my performance in this position. Anything that I can do to contribute towards making FFXIV an unforgettable experience for anyone who plays it, that’s what I want to be doing. Though I have a lot to learn, I know I have a lot to offer as well.

Sicycre: Personally, I want to help improve the streaming production we have for Duty Commenced and Culling Time. Zhexos does an amazing job with his production value and I usually like to take away lessons from what he puts into the broadcasts. My background as a caster always held that something could be improved and I sincerely hope I can contribute in a very impactful way in the future of this broadcasting production. On top of that, I want to be able to have strong enough standing to facilitate more interaction between the community team and the players of the FINAL FANTASY MMOs. I was a player before becoming a representative so I’m still getting into the swing of things honestly, but whether it be through potential new segments other than broadcasting on Duty Commenced/Culling Time or opening up some sort of way to check out feedback beyond forums and social media, I want to be able to figure out a new way to get players’ thoughts easily and more effectively to the development team.

3. You joined the community team just in time for PAX East, E3 shortly after and there’s a Fan Fest later this year. Has it been difficult getting into the swing of things with so much event planning going on?

Luxpheras: In all honesty, it hasn’t been nearly as difficult as I had expected it to be. While I had plenty of anxiety coming into the role, I discovered that as such an avid and active member of the FINAL FANTASY XIV community, a lot of what we’re doing and planning on a daily basis is very intuitive to me. Not to say that it isn’t hard work because trust me, it is– but it’s all incredibly enjoyable hard work.

Sicycre: Even though I’m still getting into the swing of things it has been amazing to put my creativity, that I usually put into my broadcasts, to work on certain projects, on stream and off, that you may see in the future (please look forward to it, hehehe)! Other than that, I’d like to think I’m understanding the way things work more and more each day and just hope they can rely on me for more difficult tasks for the future. My competitive side has me always looking forward to the next challenge!

4. What are some of your favorite things to do in-game?

Luxpheras: It’s hard to pick favorites when there’s so much to be done! I’m a bit of a collector, so I really enjoy farming for rare mounts and collecting minions, achievements and titles. My lanners are my pride and joy (I have Sephirot, Ravana and Thordan so far. Bismarck hates me.) I absolutely love PvP content and try to do several Feast matches a night, and will probably get even more bloodthirsty when the new *Frontlines map is released. As a Grandmaster of the Hand, crafting up a storm and making gil is a big part of my end-game. I’m also one of the leaders in my Free Company and take a lot of enjoyment in maintaining our FC, providing consumables for our raid teams, socializing with our linkshells, and helping new players get acclimated to Eorzea and clear content, old and new.

Sicycre: Honestly, glamour and home decorating are true end-game for me since I enjoy making things aesthetically pleasing and in turn enjoy seeing art and creativity at work from others as well. I always make sure I look good before a raid night and that the house is in tip top shape to be presented when I cast FINAL FANTASY XIV. On top all that though, I’ve been having an amazing experience with leading a Free Company that likes to have fun while we get the end-game content done. Yeah, we goof off and we’re not as hardcore as many amazing FCs and statics out there, but you can bet that we’ll get the job done… eventually, haha!

Thanks for taking the time to ask us about ourselves and we’ll see you in the world of FINAL FANTASY XIV and FINAL FANTASY XI!

*Interview was conducted prior to Patch 3.3