This interview was done by Aaron 'Vigilante' Gilmore.

We sat down with our latest DotA 2 recruit, Saahil 'Universe' Arora﻿, to talk about his stay in the team so far. We continued talking about the state of some heroes, such as Treant Protector being underrated according to Universe. Read on below for the full interview.

Why did you choose to join Team Dignitas?

Universe: I was considering not playing pro dota at all when Team Dignitas asked me whether I wanted to play with them. After playing with them for a while it was a lot of fun, and I really liked their playstyle so I decided to join them.

Do you think it will be long before you sync with the other members of Team Dignitas?

Universe: I synergize well with my team, but the atmosphere is different from my previous ones because I’ve gotten used to being on a team with my comrade and close friend, Bulba. He has been a great inspiration to me and it feels strange not being on a team with him. #indiandota

On to the actual game now. Is there any hero that you think is underrated?

Universe: Treant protector because of his global armor. You can help your teammates from across the map.

Undying recently has become first ban material along with Nyx Assassin, what makes these 2 heroes so strong that they have to be banned instantly?

Universe: Undying makes teamfighting hard, which makes him very potent especially on dire where you can just force roshan and make the enemy team fight you early. Nyx assassin is the most annoying hero in dota, with his manaburn skill being the main reason he is picked. He can also put a ton of pressure on the enemy early without needing to farm much.

Wisp recently became a very popular pick with him meshing with so many heroes perfectly, what do you think is the best way to stop a wisp?

Universe: There are 2 ways to shut down a wisp. First you can shut down his lane and prevent him from getting a fast level 6, usually by aggressive tri laning. The other way is by ignoring his lane and picking a fast push lineup where all of your heroes are close to each other making it impossible for wisp to pick people off.

Templar Assassin has recently fallen out of favour a small bit, why do you think she is not 1st pick or ban material anymore?

Universe: I think Templar is still a strong hero. The reason she is not 1st pick anymore is because of the recent nerf to her refraction skill. Before the nerf she was the strongest mid solo in the game, but now she is easily countered by a number of heroes like Darkseer or Queen of pain.

Also, Weaver looks to be making a return to the pro scene. What advantage does he give over other heroes in the offlane?

Universe: I don’t think weaver is making a return to the pro scene. I think it is a situational pick when the enemy team does not have many stuns and lockdown. Also Weaver is often picked with NA because they combo well together (since they are both bugs)

How do you think Team Dignitas fair in The Defence? It’s still early on in the tournament, but do you think you can win it?

Universe: I think Team Dignitas has a good chance to win the Defense because we practice every day, and we even try hard in matchmaking to prove our skill to all of our spectators and fans.

Is there any team that you want to beat in particular?

Universe: No Tidehunter, because it would be a huge accomplishment to beat the team that invented creep stacking

Any shoutouts, or closing words?

Universe: Shoutout to my sister and my kid. Also thank you to Team Dignitas and all its sponsors.