posted by Vekus

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Photo from Photo from ESL

The Drafting system can be quite overwhelming for an absolute newcomer to the process, since you have to choose 10 out of 100 heroes to either pick or ban. Do you have any advice for them to not get completely lost?

In order to not get completely lost, my best advice would be to always go for what you think makes sense. Drafting is not a solo action, you need to always consider what your opponent is up to.

If drafting is always a collective decision it will lead to a lot of arguements and debates. How can an aspiring team go about choosing which player should draft for them team? Also using your own experiences from playing in teams, which kind of people are not suitable to be drafters?

It's actually quite hard to choose the right players, because it does not only depend on his ability to draft well, but his ability to draft what suits best to his team mates. I'd say it's a matter of time, and experience. Having a stable drafter is the most important though, but usually since the team drafts together, or at least several members do, it's okay not to have one.

In tournaments, often it is handled this way: deciding the side or getting firstpick.What do you think is better...getting first pick or not?

It depends of every version to be honest. It depends also on the team you face, and on the game plan you want to adopt. I don't really have an opinion on that topic, I guess it's always case dependent. Right now firstpick is rather strong, but it can change.

I'd say that if every player is able to play 4-5 heroes rather well, they can allow themselves to have solid drafts I'd say that if every player is able to play 4-5 heroes rather well, they can allow themselves to have solid drafts

As we see, the metagame is changing a lot at the moment with picks that never seem to be the same. What are in your opinion the Top Picks at the moment, which heroes are under- and which are overrated?

Every hero that's not picked is underrated in my opinion. All heroes are viable. For instance I think Omniknight is insanely strong, same goes for Lycanthrophe or even Troll Warlord! It's just about getting the right pick at the right moment. I think Slark is very overrated at the moment, so is Bristleback to a certain extent. My top 1 underrated hero is for sure Slardar, I think he deserves firstpick, but that's just me!

With so many heroes in the game its impossible to master them all. In order for new teams to stand a chance in competition, how many heroes do you think each player should be able to play well? How does it vary depending on their role? (carry, support etc..)

I'd say that if every player is able to play 4-5 heroes rather well, they can allow themselves to have solid drafts. Nevertheless, a team with more versatility will ALWAYS have the upper hand. But when you think about it, since they spam the same heroes, their execution might be better. That's the classic Alliance vs NaVi game, execution versus aggression and unpredictability.

7ckngMad at EMS ONE - Photo from 7ckngMad at EMS ONE - Photo from ESL

Is it good to have a strategy to begin with and what advice do you have for "planning“ a game?

It's good, sure, but sticking to it although the opponents understood you were going for it can be very dangerous, and often ends up with a huge outpick. I dont think you can ever plan a game from the get go. You need to adapt your draft to your enemy. The strategy is usually decided around the 3rd and 4th pick i'd say.

An important part of the drafting is the banning. Naturally you want to ban out heroes you don´t do well against or heroes that your enemy wants for his strategy. How do you spot the strategy of the enemy team?

It's really hard to describe in a few words. You have to analyze what they want to do, either with the lanes or the general game plan. The information you have about the team you face is also pretty crucial. You have to try to think as if it was you on the opposing team. The problem with that is also that if you commit too much on analyzing and assessing what they plan... you might end up 'over analyzing' their draft, and be completely wrong.

Some heroes "force“ you to react accordingly with the draft, also known as "counterpicking“. Do you have advices how to avoid getting counterpicked or counterpick on your own?

You can always counter pick, and always get counter picked, nothing you can do about it. You have the laning, and also the early rotation to avoid a disaster. It's not only about the line-up you draft, it's also how you use it. An Alchemist pick can represent a threat if you decide to put him mid, but maybe switching him to support puts you in a superb position. It's all case dependent.

How important is it to get a good support duo, that abilities interact with each other? Do you think you should rather get a second support or go for a carry hero if you have the choice?

I can't really answer that, as I said it always depends. Getting a good support duo is important, but they don't have to necessarily 'combo'. Getting Bane and Shadow Demon for example is awfully bad, because they both have defensive spells, but to be honest your supports won't stick together all game long. Too many things come into play.

Team Sigma at Raidcall EMS ONE in December - Photo from Team Sigma at Raidcall EMS ONE in December - Photo from ESL

An Alchemist pick can represent a threat if you decide to put him mid, but maybe switching him to support puts you in a superb position. It's all case dependent. An Alchemist pick can represent a threat if you decide to put him mid, but maybe switching him to support puts you in a superb position. It's all case dependent.

Sometimes you want to get two heroes to combine their abilities (f.e. Dark Seer and Enigma). How do you make sure you can get both of them without revealing your plans too early?

You don't. You can't draft to get a certain combo, you're gonna get outpicked. You hope to get it, or have a plan B.

There are various lane combinations that are possible right now. Dual midlanes, Triple offlanes, roaming supports, we have seen almost every combination. How can you figure out which lane combination the enemy will play and how can you try to disguise your own lanes?

You figure it out by looking at their full line-up, simple as that. But as I said earlier, there is always a chance you're wrong, so you have to put your lanes in a way that if you are indeed wrong, the game isn´t lost just because of that mistake.



Lone Druid, is it really worth

the ban against Admiral Bulldog? Lone Druid, is it really worththe ban against Admiral Bulldog?

What are your thoughts on respect banning some heroes against particular players (I am looking at you Admiral Bulldog)? Do you think it is always valid?

I don´t think banning some heroes always is valid, it's bad and puts you in a difficult position. But sometimes you don't really have the choice, that's why those players are so important for their teams.

Although this might be a little bit too much for a beginners guide...but can you give us a word about "baiting out" a ban? With that I mean forcing the enemy to ban a hero they otherwise wouldn´t have ?

To bait a ban ... hmm hard one! I guess scrims are important for that, or actually a best of 3 or 5 might be a good reason to bait a ban. It's hard though, you have to prove your enemy that giving you that hero means danger, and that's really hard to do!

Sometimes the draft makes it harder, that's true, but the game is never lost before it's played. Sometimes the draft makes it harder, that's true, but the game is never lost before it's played.

When watching competitive Dota you hear statements like:“They have won the draft.““This game was lost in the draft already.“. How can newer players determine if they lost the game due to their draft or if they just got outplayed?

I think the sentence 'game was lost in the draft' means nothing. It's a clear proof of a lack of game understanding. Any draft can win, I can tell you that for sure. Sometimes the draft makes it harder, that's true, but the game is never lost before it's played.

Thank you a lot for taking your time for the interview. Best of luck for your future with Sigma.int. Do you have any shoutouts?

Shoutout to SIGMA and all the sigma fans! Cheers

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