Featured CMDR “Iceman” Azzbo27
28 May 2021
What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?
I had followed the development of the game on and off ever since the Kickstarter days, but being a console player (and a PlayStation one at that) meant I had to wait a few years after release to finally get my hands on it.
I started playing at the same time as a friend, he quickly lost interest though, and I was about to give up on it for lack of people to play with, when I heard about The Fatherhood on Twitter.
It’s the squadron and the community around it that keeps me playing, even after nearly 1500 hours in game!
What drew you to join The Fatherhood?
I was drawn because at the time my wife was pregnant with our son, and the ethos of play when you want, how you want and connect with people in a similar situation really appealed to me. I Joined the PS4 original squadron, but made the switch to Foxtrot when we needed the second squadron because I tend to play closer to US East Coast prime time than the UK times.
Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.
It’s got to be from a mini expedition Gibby and I went on after the Enigma Expedition, We had decided to see how far down we could get near the centre of the galaxy and found an undiscovered black hole system (TRIENUIA TO-Q E5-7) we thought we could reach.
Jumping into that system while winged up, knowing no one else had seen it and that we would both get our names on it was a real buzz!
Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.
It was from a bet that Drazkul and Soantii had, something about FA off, that ended up spawning the Drazkul Challenge. I’m pretty competitive and fancied a go at it myself, but bigger and better! So I loaded up a Type 9 with biowaste and set course for Achenar 3.
Just as I was approaching the planet in Supercruise I noticed an incoming message from some pirates, but decided to press on, expecting them to give up the chase as I dropped down to the planet. They didn’t give up, and opened fire on my unshielded T9 as I was on final approach. I decided I wasn’t doing the whole thing again and just tried to keep calm while I was taking fire. Stuck the landing F/A Off in one piece and logged out.
I think it was Council who decided I should get ‘Iceman’ for staying calm under fire. It was definitely better than my previous one anyway.
Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.
Hard to say! Probably either my exploration Mamba TFS Impossible Dream or my Speedbowling Corvette Silver Bullet. The mamba has a great cockpit for exploration, but the compromise is having no shields/less range. The Corvette is just plain crazy, but the feeling of being less than 2km from the ground, traveling at 1000’s of m/s in FA Off is brilliant.
What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?
I’m not currently working, I was made redundant from my job as a planning analyst during the pandemic and am now studying full time as an engineer. My game time has taken quite a hit recently, with my son getting older and having to study a lot, I’m only online once or twice a week now. I’m online usually after 22:00 GMT.
How did you come up with the name of your Commander?
Its an old work nickname and my lucky number, PSN kinda forced it on me haha.
Invitation to Wing up
You can find me on PSN as: Azzbo27.
Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?
Take your time and enjoy the journey, it’s easy to get sucked into ‘the grind’ in this game and lose the sense of fun.
