Albion News: Hello Nomasti, thanks for having time! Let’s just jump into it, for anybody who doesn’t know you, tell us a bit about yourself

Nomasti: I’ve been playing Albion Online since release day, and I’ve been in a couple of guilds. ManUp, Team Casualty, Fricks, and now CIR. I’ve always preferred doing solo PVP to be perfectly honest and for one, I’m too damn antisocial to make friends. Also, I liked the challenge (and not having to share loot because I’m a greedy boi). I sort of got an early reputation while in CIR as being a Reddit Shitposter. Usually I’d make memes mocking TC and/or Sohrab (who has permanently blocked me from Twitch lol). TC back in those days were incredibly sensitive and I actually got the nickname African Warlord from them when TC found out I was Black and kept spamming racist messages to me both on Reddit and in-game. Usually something around the lines of “Spear Chucker” because I was famous for almost exclusively only playing Heron Spear (even when shotcalling).

I decided to just roll with it and decided that I might as well embrace the meme.

After a long hiatus I started playing again and people kept telling me I should upload clips from the kills I’ve gotten doing solo PVP because I’d have situations where I’d get amazing claps or outplays, but nobody to really share it with.

So I started doing that and I also very rarely stream.

Oh, and I was one of the people promoting how good the Heron Spear was before it became meta. People kept saying it was a shit weapon, and wouldn’t listen to me when I said it was S-tier, but it looks like I have been vindicated by history

AN: Most people have heard about you and that famous Heron spear+solidier armor build you run, but how did you come to it? were you looking for something specific or was it more like “oh this could be nice”

Nomasti: Well when I first started playing this game it was when I was just coming off from RuneScape 3 and at that time I was really big into using spears from RuneScape, because I thought they looked cool, so I decided to also use them in Albion Online. The first spear weapon I REALLY got into was Pike, I used it for something like, 3 months or so. Then when I started using Heron more often, I realized just how superior it was to the pike since a ranged stun is far better than a snare in my opinion. At that time, I was using it with the merc jacket, but when they made it so that your merc couldn’t use poison pots to heal anymore, I looked for different armor. That’s when I settled on using Soldier armor. When I played with it more, that’s when I realized how incredibly strong the combo was. This was BEFORE the various nerfs to soldier armor mind you

AN: Ah yes! it was recently nerved to have less CC-Duration-Increase per stack from 7% to 4% if i remember the patch notes correctly! How did this impact the performance of the build?

Nomasti: Max stack with soldier armor meant enemies were going to be stunned not only for the entire duration of a Forest of Spears, but also enough time for me to do a few auto attacks and lunging strikes. Now, at max stacks I only have enough time for forest of spears and maybe one lunging strike. This can be a bit of a game changer. I remember fighting a 1v3 against some guys in OOPS, they were a gatherer, a fire mage (I can’t remember which kind), and most importantly, a fire mage with 6.3 cultist robes and a 7.3 blazing staff. I did the combo and got the fire mage down to 100 hp, but he popped cultist robes and I was unable to finish him off. Now in the past, I would have killed him, scooped up the loot and skedaddled. So essentially the changes mean that once you do the stun, you must rely on the forest of spears. That’s why I equip a Keeper cape as well, so that way my Forest of Spears has the damage to finish off the enemy now that I can’t rely on the long stun.

AN: Interesting, so you had to Upgrade the build to keep it working, but more risk means more reward. I just watched one of your newest videos and I am curious as part of this how you do hellgates solo.

Nomasti: I remarkably have a lot of good luck doing them. I use the same build in the open world as I do in the hellgates. Soldier boots help me disengage from an enemy if I make a mistake or they’re too difficult to beat. My plan is typically the same strategy as I have in the open world: I kite them with lunging strike if they’re melee or build up stacks and try to burst them if they’re ranged. Of course, sometimes I come across difficult enemies, so I must get smart. What I do is I make it seem like I’m running away, they give chase and when they go past mobs, I throw my heron spear stun and forest of spears. This kills them WHILE they’re on the mobs, which explode. The exploding mobs are enough to literally kill them right there and then

AN: With how well known you are for killing people even when outnumbered has that affected your ability to get fights or has anyone tried to spring traps on you

Nomasti: You see, when people outnumber the enemy, they get overly confident and stupid, pardon the insult. People place far too much emphasis on numbers and not enough on builds, gear, and skill in this game. A lot of the time I tend to win mostly because the enemy thinks because I’m alone, I’m not that much of a threat. They’ll over commit, over chase, put themselves in bad positions, waste abilities, etc. Part of the skill in this game is knowing what the enemy can do and at what time they can do it. So, when I notice that they’ve burned abilities mindlessly, that’s when I turn it around.

For example, in one of my videos, that clip where I’m fighting Squad in a 1v3 in Cley Hill and their Black Hands guy gets overconfident. When his buddies come, he blows his E (which purges abilities) almost immediately on me. If he was playing smart and cautious, he’d use that when I had either my soldier armor or my wanderlust boots up, instead when he wasted it on me. I knew I had free reign to build up stacks now, which is how I turned it around

In terms of how it has affected my reputation, it’s been both bad and good. Some people just refuse to attack me when I’m traveling by myself in the black zones or they’ll say, “love your videos” and just leave me alone. Other times people are smart. I remember fighting some Russians and they immediately knew what to do when I turned on soldier armor. They spread out as much as possible and kept their distance, but not too far away that they’d let me escape. I remember one of the guys outright saying in say chat “Once he turns red, don’t attack him!”, I honestly love it when people in the game get better.

AN: yeah, improving upon each other is a great thing especially in a highly competitive yet flexible game like Albion! do you have anything to recommend a person with close to no PvP experience to do to get their toes wet (needs a better term I’d say) and also any specific tips?

Nomasti: You will die. A lot. I think that’s what people must accept when they get into the game, death is a learning experience. Furthermore, if you aren’t comfortable being by yourself, find a buddy or two and work with them. In terms of builds, the best builds in the open world are ones that make you mobile.

AN: what do you do to circumvent people from countering your build, do you change it? do you just try to outplay them with what you have or do you try other builds in general to mix it up?

Nomasti: The best counter to my build is purges. To counter purges, I know I must sacrifice some of my abilities to use my fury. For example, if I see they have purging hood, I’ll pop wanderlust early to make it seem like I’m running. They’ll purge the boots. If they have more purges, I’ll use my hunter hood, so they’ll purge the reflect. Part of the reason I like my build is that I’m not TOO dependent on just getting stacks since the Heron Spear with the attack speed passive is strong in of itself. Even if I don’t use my soldier armor or keeper cape, I do plenty of enough damage with just whacking people with my spear alone. Sometimes (if I’m say doing a duel), I’ll change stuff up a bit depending on what the other person is about to wear, for example, if facing a stealth dagger build. Instead of using forest of spears I’ll use the reflecting spin. I’ll use my build’s natural tankiness to outlast the enemy instead of just bursting them.

AN: Ah! so the heron spear is not a one-trick-pony then! But do you have other weapons you like besides the Heron or spears in General?

Nomasti: I like the great axe and I’m also getting into quarter staves. In the past I was also a fan of the wildfire staff with merc jacket combo, this build is in particular very strong, but I don’t have any more spec in artifact fire staves, so I haven’t used it in some time. Merc Jackets always combine well with weapon that use damage over time, like burning, bleeding, curses, poison, etc.

AN: Oh, so that’s why you can see quite a few people use it with a cursed staff, especially in hellgates. I’d say we could conclude! do you have anything you want to tell our readers?

Also, your opinion, is a hotdog a sandwich or not?

Nomasti: Don’t be afraid to die but at the same time don’t take stupid risks. Furthermore, if doing pvp with friends don’t be a greedy loot whore. Remember to share! Also always try to carry yourself with honor in the game. Respect 1v1s, don’t backstab people, etc, this is a relatively small game where everybody kind of knows each other. Don’t give yourself a bad reputation.

Also, a Hotdog is Taco.

AN: Thank you for your time and the good talk!

Here is Nomasti’s latest video enjoy!