

When I sat down to talk with Reason Gaming’s midlane player, Tocketty, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’d never seen him stream and have never played with him, so my knowledge was limited. It turns out Tocketty is a fun guy with a great sense of humor.





Ashyko: So Tocketty, how old are you and do you have a real life name you’d like to share?



Tocketty: Josua Romroth, but you should all call me Tocketty "Fight me at pax prime, I'm 6'6". Oh, and 16.



You could hear the humor and smile in his voice.



Ashyko: 6’6”! So you’re incredibly tall. Does that mean you play sports for your school?



Tocketty: Actually, my mom wouldn’t let me (You can hear the slight embarrassment at this in his voice). She’s afraid I’ll get hurt, so Smite is my sport of choice, but really, how does a 6’6” 200 pound monster get hurt playing something like basketball.



Ashyo: So, you’re still in high school? Do you like school? Are you involved in any activities?



Tocketty: I was the treasurer for student government. I slacked a little bit this last year with all the Smite I was playing, but school is fun.



Ashyko: Student government, very impressive! Do you have a favorite subject?



Tocketty: I'm really big into this career pathing that's called PLTW. It got a ton of classes under one project and I'm really big into the engineering classes it offers.



Ashyko: All that math and science in engineering must be challenging,; so what do you do for fun when you’re not kicking ass on Smite?



Tocketty: (He laughs again) I live in the middle of Kansas so as you can imagine, there’s NOTHING to do here. I mostly just play video games with my friends.



Ashyko: Well that created two questions! So speaking of friends, got a girlfriend or boyfriend?



Tocketty: Umm (you can imagine the blush from the nervous laughter in his voice), no. Smite is my girl for now. With that and school I don’t have much time for anything else.



Ashyko: Tell us more about you. Do you have a favorite food?



Tockety: (decisively) Seafood!



Ashyko: A favorite color?



Tockety: Blue…wait I gotta say red because RG uses red! (We both laugh)



Ashyko: Do you drive? If so, what kind of car?



Tocketty: I drive a 2001 Lumina, and being 6'6, it's pretty hard.



Ashyko: Have you always loved video games? Do you have a favorite?



Tocketty: I didn't start gaming until I was like 11-12. I lay on the floor while my brother played cs1.6 every day. When I got Timesplitters, it was fun messing around, and it felt like such a big game because of the way things could happen in it. Age of Empires kept me entertained for hours. I remember always asking my brother how to write "Howdoyouturnthison?"



Ashyko: I guess that’s a good lead in to some Smite talk. How did you end up playing your role for Reason Gaming and what do you love and hate about it?



Tocketty: I was forced into the mid role during a casual game around 2012, played Ra and realized I don't actually have to depend on someone to support me to kill/carry. I like being the burst damager character for the team. The only thing I hate is when I lose to a mid player who I know I shouldn't. Mid requires a ton of thinking. Where is the jungler, where is my jungler, where is their mid going, when are the gold harpies up, where are the wards etc etc



Ashyko: So what advice would you give aspiring pro players, especially those who want to play mid?



Tocketty: Watch replays and ask pros some questions. For playing the role, learn by being overly-aggressive. Once you learn how much damage you can deal and take, move on to learning about rotations and learning jungle timers so you know when the jungler is coming around.



Ashyko: Since the splitting of the competitions in to NA and EU, there’s been a distinct difference in the play styles. What do you think the differences are and why?



Tocketty: I don't really watch the EU scene but there is still a big difference. There's a big time difference of game endings for the EU and NA. EU seems to end late late where 1 team fight decides the fight and NA depends on snowballing over small scrimmages. EU also has weird god favoritism. I feel like the EU players are good because they have good communication. I feel like NA has better players. In that sense, I feel like NA is better than EU at the moment



Ashyko: and what do you think needs to happen to start growing the competitive scene?



Tocketty: First of all, Hi-rez needs to change some things on how they run the eSports scene. There is favoritism for sure among the NA teams. I think Hi-rez should make something that makes the casual player want to become a pro. My old teammate Djpernicus made a great reddit post about how that could be done: https://www.reddit.com/r/Smite/comments/1gnbrr/developer_considerations_for_ranked/. He’s saying that having ranked where players actually want to play it will increase the player-size of smite. Ranked gives you way more practice than pooping on randoms in casuals, and playing ranked is what all the pros do in their off time.



Ashyko: Okay, last question! If you could build a fantasy Smite team, who would you pick and why?



Tocketty: That one’s hard! (You can almost hear him thinking) So much of what makes a pro team successful is good communication. But if I had to…

I don't like the skill level on the solo laners right now. I think it's a mix up between Jerbie and Anatoliy because they bring more to the table than just sitting in lane: theory crafting + reinforcing calls.



Shing for jungle because he is on another level that many casual people don't notice. Lassiz may be good but he gets into the soloq mentality and throws a lot of games because of that. I actually like Nexusangel more as a jungler than Ponpon, and I think Nexusangel is the closer to Shing than anyone else. Peccyz is going through a slump, and he has some things to work on but he will get there.



Thebest plays with zapman and crew and they melded him into what he is today, which is one of the best mids and he works well with my other picks. Mlcstealth is set up by his team and his skill level is the just a bit above mine and Mace I feel.

Macetodaface doesn’t have the confidence in his calls, and I feel like he sometimes overthinks what he’s going do in mid ; so I think he needs to improve too.



Allied because he’s been one of the longest supports in the game. He’s got way more experience than anyone else, and he meshes well with any carry he plays with.

Zapman for the carry because he changes a poor team into the best team. He plays safe but aggressive at the same time. I really like pain's Neith but that’s it. Kaeyoh's game style is very passive but very smart, and I don't like watching him because of that passiveness. I like Snoopyman's apollo/anhur. He just needs to mesh well with a support to surpass everyone else.



Ashyko: Anything else before you run?



Tocketty: Reason Gaming thanks Steelseries, Esports Clothing and ITRentals!



Ashyko: Thank you so much for your time, Tocketty. I’ve really enjoyed meeting you, and I’m sure the Smite community will too!



Tocketty: No problem (he laughs a bit again), time to go back to rank grinding.





So it turns out Tocketty is a funny and good humored player You can follow him on twitter @RG_tocketty. As of now, the team plans on attending Pax Prime, so be sure to follow me on twitter @denial_ashyko for pictures and articles about all of the excitement! When I sat down to talk with Reason Gaming’s midlane player, Tocketty, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’d never seen him stream and have never played with him, so my knowledge was limited. It turns out Tocketty is a fun guy with a great sense of humor.Ashyko: So Tocketty, how old are you and do you have a real life name you’d like to share?Tocketty: Josua Romroth, but you should all call me Tocketty "Fight me at pax prime, I'm 6'6". Oh, and 16.You could hear the humor and smile in his voice.Ashyko: 6’6”! So you’re incredibly tall. Does that mean you play sports for your school?Tocketty: Actually, my mom wouldn’t let me (You can hear the slight embarrassment at this in his voice). She’s afraid I’ll get hurt, so Smite is my sport of choice, but really, how does a 6’6” 200 pound monster get hurt playing something like basketball.Ashyo: So, you’re still in high school? Do you like school? Are you involved in any activities?Tocketty: I was the treasurer for student government. I slacked a little bit this last year with all the Smite I was playing, but school is fun.Ashyko: Student government, very impressive! Do you have a favorite subject?Tocketty: I'm really big into this career pathing that's called PLTW. It got a ton of classes under one project and I'm really big into the engineering classes it offers.Ashyko: All that math and science in engineering must be challenging,; so what do you do for fun when you’re not kicking ass on Smite?Tocketty: (He laughs again) I live in the middle of Kansas so as you can imagine, there’s NOTHING to do here. I mostly just play video games with my friends.Ashyko: Well that created two questions! So speaking of friends, got a girlfriend or boyfriend?Tocketty: Umm (you can imagine the blush from the nervous laughter in his voice), no. Smite is my girl for now. With that and school I don’t have much time for anything else.Ashyko: Tell us more about you. Do you have a favorite food?Tockety: (decisively) Seafood!Ashyko: A favorite color?Tockety: Blue…wait I gotta say red because RG uses red! (We both laugh)Ashyko: Do you drive? If so, what kind of car?Tocketty: I drive a 2001 Lumina, and being 6'6, it's pretty hard.Ashyko: Have you always loved video games? Do you have a favorite?Tocketty: I didn't start gaming until I was like 11-12. I lay on the floor while my brother played cs1.6 every day. When I got Timesplitters, it was fun messing around, and it felt like such a big game because of the way things could happen in it. Age of Empires kept me entertained for hours. I remember always asking my brother how to write "Howdoyouturnthison?"Ashyko: I guess that’s a good lead in to some Smite talk. How did you end up playing your role for Reason Gaming and what do you love and hate about it?Tocketty: I was forced into the mid role during a casual game around 2012, played Ra and realized I don't actually have to depend on someone to support me to kill/carry. I like being the burst damager character for the team. The only thing I hate is when I lose to a mid player who I know I shouldn't. Mid requires a ton of thinking. Where is the jungler, where is my jungler, where is their mid going, when are the gold harpies up, where are the wards etc etcAshyko: So what advice would you give aspiring pro players, especially those who want to play mid?Tocketty: Watch replays and ask pros some questions. For playing the role, learn by being overly-aggressive. Once you learn how much damage you can deal and take, move on to learning about rotations and learning jungle timers so you know when the jungler is coming around.Ashyko: Since the splitting of the competitions in to NA and EU, there’s been a distinct difference in the play styles. What do you think the differences are and why?Tocketty: I don't really watch the EU scene but there is still a big difference. There's a big time difference of game endings for the EU and NA. EU seems to end late late where 1 team fight decides the fight and NA depends on snowballing over small scrimmages. EU also has weird god favoritism. I feel like the EU players are good because they have good communication. I feel like NA has better players. In that sense, I feel like NA is better than EU at the momentAshyko: and what do you think needs to happen to start growing the competitive scene?Tocketty: First of all, Hi-rez needs to change some things on how they run the eSports scene. There is favoritism for sure among the NA teams. I think Hi-rez should make something that makes the casual player want to become a pro. My old teammate Djpernicus made a great reddit post about how that could be done: https://www.reddit.com/r/Smite/comments/1gnbrr/developer_considerations_for_ranked/. He’s saying that having ranked where players actually want to play it will increase the player-size of smite. Ranked gives you way more practice than pooping on randoms in casuals, and playing ranked is what all the pros do in their off time.Ashyko: Okay, last question! If you could build a fantasy Smite team, who would you pick and why?Tocketty: That one’s hard! (You can almost hear him thinking) So much of what makes a pro team successful is good communication. But if I had to…I don't like the skill level on the solo laners right now. I think it's a mix up between Jerbie and Anatoliy because they bring more to the table than just sitting in lane: theory crafting + reinforcing calls.Shing for jungle because he is on another level that many casual people don't notice. Lassiz may be good but he gets into the soloq mentality and throws a lot of games because of that. I actually like Nexusangel more as a jungler than Ponpon, and I think Nexusangel is the closer to Shing than anyone else. Peccyz is going through a slump, and he has some things to work on but he will get there.Thebest plays with zapman and crew and they melded him into what he is today, which is one of the best mids and he works well with my other picks. Mlcstealth is set up by his team and his skill level is the just a bit above mine and Mace I feel.Macetodaface doesn’t have the confidence in his calls, and I feel like he sometimes overthinks what he’s going do in mid ; so I think he needs to improve too.Allied because he’s been one of the longest supports in the game. He’s got way more experience than anyone else, and he meshes well with any carry he plays with.Zapman for the carry because he changes a poor team into the best team. He plays safe but aggressive at the same time. I really like pain's Neith but that’s it. Kaeyoh's game style is very passive but very smart, and I don't like watching him because of that passiveness. I like Snoopyman's apollo/anhur. He just needs to mesh well with a support to surpass everyone else.Ashyko: Anything else before you run?Tocketty: Reason Gaming thanks Steelseries, Esports Clothing and ITRentals!Ashyko: Thank you so much for your time, Tocketty. I’ve really enjoyed meeting you, and I’m sure the Smite community will too!Tocketty: No problem (he laughs a bit again), time to go back to rank grinding.So it turns out Tocketty is a funny and good humored player You can follow him on twitter @RG_tocketty. As of now, the team plans on attending Pax Prime, so be sure to follow me on twitter @denial_ashyko for pictures and articles about all of the excitement!