

This week I had the opportunity to interview caster and analyst, JHow. JHow has been in the Heroes scene for several years, and is currently casting the HGC NA region. I was able to pick his brain a bit about casting, the Western Clash, and the work that goes into what he does. Enjoy!

This is your first phase moving to main HGC casting from Open Division. What are the major differences, and how has that affected your mind set when casting?

The pacing of the game is different when it comes to macro play. At the top level you’ll see teams that are far more decisive in their calls. They are much quicker and flawless, and it’s something I think Open teams should learn from. Getting an advantage from your macro decisions and having early game team strategies can up your chances of succeeding immensely. The mid-to-late game decision making generally comes from experience in making the right calls, but HGC pro teams tend to give themselves more advantages earlier through macro play and makes the rest of the game easier.

It’s been quite a ride for both NA and EU in phase 1. Did you expect the rankings to work out like they did, and what were some of the standouts?

For NA it worked out a lot like I anticipated. Seeing HeroesHearth qualify for the Western Clash justified the faith I put in them before the season began. I had watched some scrims before the league started and there’s a lot that impressed me with that team. They have a high ceiling, but I think Part 2 of Phase 1 needs to address some of their macro decisions if they want to be at the top. I think international play will be incredibly valuable for their team. Dignitas I think surprised everyone with their record and just how hard they dominated everyone. The numbers they put up are rarely, if ever, seen in their dominance statistically. However, I went back and watched the replays of their last series vs Zealots and it didn’t seem Zealots did anything out of the ordinary other than just outplay them in key moments of the game, which was quite a shock to everyone.

With the Western Clash brackets now set, what should people be looking to watch as the games start next weekend?

Honestly, every series. Dignitas of course is a heavy favorite against HeroesHearth, but if HHE drafts an aggressive early game that can also counter-punch a Dignitas haymaker they like to throw in with a Tracer, then that’d be good. If they fall back to a Brightwing as a counter to play safe then it feels like it could go as most would expect. Outside of that, every series looks incredibly competitive. I feel like I could go on for hours about how each matchup could potentially play out and how both sides seemingly have advantages over their opponent. This Western Clash is wildly compelling for so many reasons. People are in for a treat and they don’t even know it yet.

Even though the Eastern Clash is a bit further out, can you give players who might not be as familiar with the Korea or China scenes a small primer on who they should be watching for?

The thing about Korea is that the top of their region has 3 global champions in Tempest, Ballistix, and KSV Black. They are all world-renowned players. You cannot sleep on any of these teams and when it comes to LAN environments they all match up with each other incredibly well. Add China into the mix who always brings a bit of flavor in drafts and it makes for some interesting series. Tempest appears to be the most dominant for now, and that’s pretty much how Korea has always worked. Three of the best teams that rival each other, but only one king stands out each phase.

You’re often framed as a much more analytical caster, trying to break down plays to help make them easier to understand. What are the main things players should be watching for in HGC pro games to help improve their own game?

During the slower times I tend to watch the mini-map a lot. Watching rotations is a big part of competitive and finding the smallest of openings and capitalizing on it. Watching the mini-map is something you should be doing in your own games. It gives you more information than anything else in the game and 1 player showing in one lane while a camp is picked up far across the map… rest assured someone is trying to counter that with their own camp or look for a pick or an advantageous fight. Guaranteed. Most everything that happens in the game is based off of vision, whether it’s obtained by you in a lane, someone hiding in a bush, or the mini map. That’s how opportunities are determined and created.

If you’re looking to learn more for micro decisions then you should find someone in a role you like. More than just when and how to press buttons, positioning is a major factor. We all know the combos, but not everyone has the mechanical skill of a pro player to anticipate and land every skillshot or with the same accuracy. You do, however, have the ability to control when and where to position your hero. Thinking about why Zaelia is at a 12 o'clock position in a fight as Lucio is dependent on him wall riding on a structure nearby with a level 1 talent that gives him movement speed and he can boop to save or setup. On the surface it may just look like him standing up and supporting the team, but the factor of having his movement speed up in ability form, wall riding, the level 1 speed talent, and the extra knockback on his boop, as well as enemy team positioning are some of many, many, many factors that go into WHY he’s there. Does he need to set up a play? Some people are going for the dream play, but they aren’t looking at the overall team impact. Positioning and understanding WHY a player is doing what they’re doing is something everyone can take into their own games.

For someone looking to get into the Heroes casting scene, what advice would you give?

Work. Work. And then work some more. Whether it’s casting or life or something you think you’re passionate about. Putting in work, regardless of the outcome, is exactly what you have to do. Saying you want to do something is fine. Obtaining it by saying you want it or feeling you want it is not enough, you have to work for it. You discover more about yourself and how far you’re willing to go for something by putting in the work. Do solo casting and record yourself. Go back and watch those videos. Hearing yourself in realtime is always better than having to listen to yourself after. No one starting out likes the way they sound. Maybe that’s necessary? Analyze yourself. What sounds good? What sounds bad? What pacing can you change? It’s an ever evolving task and I still find many things I can do better, but it started with a lot of never-before-seen videos of me just casting, and casting, and casting. Find your voice and make it better, and never stop working.

You’ve put together some pretty impressive spreadsheet and infographics on the state of play this first phase, and regularly stream replay reviews. Where can people go to find all of your content?

Most of what I do will be on www.twitch.tv/jhow4444 , but for all updates I can be found on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JHowGaming .

A big thanks to JHow for the interview. You can catch him casting the Western Clash starting this weekend, March 2nd!