posted by Emeldavi

Dream Destroyers

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Hello Moon! It’s great that you have agreed to this interview with us. Can we start off with a bit about you personally for everyone out there who’s unaware who you are? How old are you?

I'm a 22 year old gamer from Vancouver BC, Canada!

Do you feel as though your HoN background has given you an advantage or somewhat unique set of experiences that non-HoN players might not have? What major differences have you noticed in the way that players react, play, and communicate in Dota 2?

I would say playing HoN gave me a huge edge in this game. The biggest difference is the communication of a Dota 2 player is far less than that of a HoN player. As a HoN player I'm used to talking all game to my teammates and having more teamwork since we're talking. Also bringing in the #honstrats into Dota 2 will surprise and throw a lot of Dota 2 players off.

Why do you think players tend to communicate less; does the game just simply require less communication or is it something to do with the greater culture of Dota 2?

Players communicate less or type rather than talking because in WC3 Dota there was no VOIP. Everyone typed to communicate. Thus it kind of carried over to Dota 2.

Considering the games’ common heritage in the distant MOBA past; how closely do HoN heroes such as Wildsoul, Valkyrie, and Succubus mirror their Dota 2 doppelgangers of Lone Druid, Mirana, and Bane?

The skill-set is pretty much the same, however Dota 2 has far superior game balance as the HoN heroes like Wildsoul, Valkyrie and Succubus don't have the buffs that Dota 2 had for those heroes. Pretty much Dogkaiser (head balancer for S2) ruined the Dota 2 heroes. So coming into Dota 2 and playing these heroes is fun!

When did you decide that you needed to pull out of the, arguably dying, HoN scene and begin to network and train your way into Dota 2?

After attending the last Dreamhack for HoN, there were rumors that it would be the last Dreamhack for HoN. That was the turning point. As great of a game HoN was, the balance was severely lacking and with so many old friends already in Dota 2, I thought to myself, why not?

How much have those, some relatively well known, old friends and teammates helped you network into the game so far? Does the saying ‘its who you know’ hold true in eSports in your experience?

Having old friends helps me out at the beginning because I would look to them for advice on heroes and stuff. I would play Team Matchmaking with them and they would teach me. Networking helps in all aspects of life, not just Dota 2. However I would rather rely on my own ability and build a name for myself rather than be known as someone else's ex-teammate. Kind of like Rocky's son was always known as Rocky's son because he always used it to climb his way up in that Rocky 5 movie.

Your transition from HoN to Dota 2, while not exactly unique, is certainly somewhat uncommon among eSports professionals. What was the single biggest hurdle for you to figure out when you first started out?

The single biggest hurdle was learning AND mastering the most popular heroes which were hard to play such as Invoker and Ember Spirit. These heroes are not in HoN so I had to learn every ability from scratch. I picked those 2 heroes for a week and got labelled an Invoker/Ember Spirit picker for a period of time by haters. Another hurdle which I've yet to accomplish is Meepo, let's hope it'll never be a common competitive pick because I don't want to learn it!

Were you scared to lose a large chunk of your streaming viewer base by changing games?

No, I don't stream for huge viewership numbers. I do it as a hobby. But hey if you like my stream do follow! Having huge numbers are great.

Can you say what your plans are for moving into major tournaments with large prize pools?

My plan is to start out scrimming the tier 2 teams, get a feel for the competitive scene. Once we feel we're strong enough we'll tackle the bigger better teams! As for now we're just playing in any amateur tournament we can get into.

Lets talk about the team you seem to be playing on lately. Bkidz and Bloody Nine are frequently featured there with you but the other two members are somewhat up in the air. How stable is the roster and do you plan to stick with it?

We always have 1~2 ringers because our team is busy irl. I'd say it's pretty stable and I do plan to stick with it as I feel we're a talented bunch!

How talented? You’ve been on top teams and know what it takes to truly make it; do you feel a run towards TI5 coming up in the future or are you thinking more long-term than just next year?

Of course I wish to be at TI5. I guess that every player would want to play there, but it takes a lot to reach this goal. All I can do is play the best I can and hope for the best, and then we will see. We definitely have the potential to get there, the question is if we're good enough to make it there by the time TI5 comes. We have a strong team and we will all work hard for it.

Evil Geniuses have done with Mason? The issues of standins and ringers something a lot of up-and-coming teams have to deal with, instability due to other commitments. Do you have plans to handle it such as go-to standins likehave done with

I think we have a solid team right now. At the moment we’re not playing with a full roster due to amateur cups and personal reasons. I’m sure every player in our team works their best to advance the team. As our competitions and tournaments become more important, the meaning of winning or losing gets more important. As we become more recognized we’ll for sure always try to play with our full team and I believe everyone will prioritize Dota 2 when its coming to that point. I don’t believe standin strategies will have a lot of future in eSports. Its unstable and will always have a kind of randomness that negatively affects the strength of a team. It is not worth planning for a standin strategy, because it is better to have a team that works itself up about this matter.

What do you think the role of community and semi-pro level tournaments should be going forward as you rise through the ranks? How have these events aided you in your growth as a professional in the Dota 2 scene?

Natus Vincere VS Alliance isn't as hyped today as it was a year ago. Casters don't hype for shit anymore unless it's LAN finals or LAN qualifier finals. I feel like semi-pro level tournaments should be given more attention. It's so hard for a team to break into the competitive scene because all these tournaments are invite only which sucks. The semi-pro tournaments are great. However I feel there's too many high profile tournaments going on every time. I mean I get that people want to see the top teams play the most but featuring the top teams all the time is bad in some ways.isn't as hyped today as it was a year ago. Casters don't hype for shit anymore unless it's LAN finals or LAN qualifier finals. I feel like semi-pro level tournaments should be given more attention. It's so hard for a team to break into the competitive scene because all these tournaments are invite only which sucks.

This is something that has been getting more attention recently. While it is great to see the influx of money and interest into Dota 2, and eSports in general, this summer has been convoluted enough to force one major tournament to cancel as it is. Would a possible fix be limiting the tier 1 tournaments somewhat and focusing more attention to the smaller events such as CEVO and SECS

I mean money has to be made. It's just business. Dota 2 is looked at as a game for some, but a gold mine for others. There's always going to be big tournaments and teams will be forced to participate because Pro-gamers don't earn much and any prize pool will put food on their table. I do think T1 tournaments are oversaturated, especially this summer with WPC -> Summit -> AsusRog Dreamleague -> TI4. Maybe a little planning between the competitors will be more helpful.

Alright thanks a bunch for chatting today! Any shoutouts or plugs before you go back to stomping pubs?

Shoutout to my team Dream Destroyers and my sponsors Cyberpowerpc and Ownaj Clothing!

Following the relative death of the Heroes of Newerth competitive scene,, along with many other professional players such asor even whole teams in the case of, moved over to Dota 2. He is currently streaming for his fanbase and training to once again reach the glory he had achieved while playing Heroes of Newerth. For this interview we’ll focus on his transition to Dota 2 and his plans moving into this coming year of professional Dota 2.This article was written byJessica Hunter, Freelance writer.Typical hipster, coffee fiend, English major. She has been playing Dota since the early Guinsoo days. Huge proponent of North American Dota and growing the eSports at the community level.Location: BC, CanadaFollow her on @Emeldavi_dota.