We had a chance to sit down with the captain of our new SMITE team Aiman Youngbae Azmir. We disccussed the start of season 2 changes to SMITE, as well as the team's performance and expectations in the recent Spring Split Qualifyers.

How are you feeling about the brand new map for season two of SMITE?

Youngbae: I feel pretty confident with the new map, Hi-Rez made a lot of good changes . We are very excited with the new map coming into season 2 and feel that the meta change will benefit us with our playstyle.

Many of the more popular Hunters saw major changes. What are your thoughts on these recent changes?

Youngbae: These changes makes the duo lane a lot more interesting with the removal of blue buff and nerfs to the clear of some hunters. Because of this, you see a lot more mages and warriors played in the hunter role but I think most of the hunters are still viable. I can definitely say that there is more depth to what comps you can run in the duo lane.





One of the biggest item changes was to boots. Which would you recommend to hunter players?

Youngbae: I would recommend Ninja Tabi (Attack speed boots) for hunters, purely because of the fact that there's no more pen boots and the nerf to Qin's Sais means that you need the extra attack speed that you lose from it. In general attack speed is arguably one of the best stats for a hunter.

What advice would you give to those still adjusting to the new hunter changes?

Youngbae: Be sure to manage your mana properly in the early laning phase, Bluestone Pendant is a must buy because of the removal of the blue buff. You won't get the sustain from Death's Toll anymore so you have to be very careful if you want to go aggressive and how much mana you want to dump out. Bluestone Pendant is very good but it's not the blue buff.





SMITE was also introduced to a new item called The Crusher. Which allows for increased attack and movement speed when attacking towers and phoenixes. Do you think The Crusher will bring a significant change to SMITE game play?

Youngbae: At the moment it's not really a item that you would put into your core build, I feel that it needs a buff to become potentially viable. Maybe have the passive work on objectives like the Gold Fury and Fire Giant? But I can definitely see a change to how teams will position and fight around objectives with a hunter building this item.





How has your play style changed since you started playing with your new team mates?

Youngbae: Good thing for me is that I can adapt to any play style at any given moment whether it be very passive or very aggressive. I do prefer the current play style that my team plays which is somewhat aggressive.

How do you feel your team is ready to compete after week one of the spring split qualifiers?

Youngbae: After our performance in week one, we are very confident and motivated going into week two and further. Believe it or not a few months ago we didn't even look like a team that could contend for top 4 but after a lot of hard work and practice, I'm proud to say that we are a team that will contend for top 4.

Your team placed third in the first week of spring split qualifiers, how do you think you and your team could have performed better?

Youngbae: I think we just need to play more together and get the synergy flawless, communication is the most important thing in a team. We all have the mechanical skills individually.

Should qualifiers go well, Team Dignitas would be able to play in the SMITE Pro-League, are there any teams you would be concerned or excited about playing against?

Youngbae: I'm excited to play all the teams because most of the teams in Europe can easily take a game/series from each other. I'm not really concerned or "scared" to play against any team because if you want to be the best, you have to beat everyone.





What games do you play outside of SMITE?

Youngbae: I play a lot of CSGO outside of SMITE, yes I am a huge fan of CSGO and eSports in general. Aside from CSGO, I play games like Osu and Diablo 3 casually.



Do you have any hobbies outside of gaming? If so what are they?

Youngbae: I don't have any "interesting" hobbies outside of gaming but normal stuff like going out with friends, movies and so on.



Lastly is there anything you would like to say to the readers at Team Dignitas?

Youngbae: We are determined, motivated and most importantly very thankful for this opportunity to represent Team Dignitas in the world of SMITE. With all your support, I know we can become one of the best teams in the world. Thank you to Team Dignitas and their sponsors!