Interview with Myself

Hi Vance, great to see you, I wanted to do an interview with you since other interviews around here are quite sucketh, so let's get right to the questions:

What's your take on DK's right now? Too easy to play, scrub-friendly, high skill cap, overpowered?
Uhh, all of the above? DK's are a very easy to class to get into (which was obviously a good marketing decision by Blizzard) and the class also has the most leniency when it comes to making mistakes. A DK can often cover mistakes by use of a cooldown or by a "surprise" 6k crit. Although there are lots of finer details and strategies that advanced death knights will utilize, the current state of arena and PvP balance requires close to none of the most advanced tactics, just simply spamming more damage into your opponent than they can heal through.



Have you ever been on the receiving end of losing to bad DK teams?
All the time. There's little else more frustrating than completely outplaying some dk team only to watch them emerge victorious because they got 3 back-to-back killing machine procs and completely **** on someone even after making enormous mistakes such as getting their lichborne turned, strangulate cleansed, death grip grounded, etc etc. Although other classes also have a wide margin for error (read: paladins), none are as bad as the room DK's have for error. It's rather frustrating when you're on the receiving end of this, as well. Hopefully 3.1 fixes this as much as Blizzard thinks it will.



So who is the best DK you have played with or against?
Tough question. 99% of DK's are drooling idiots, but there are a couple that stand out from the crowd to me, from my experience. Memm from Ner'zhul and Handiiman from Blackrock. I've played with and against both of these guys and they're definitely top notch. They make mistakes, like anyone, but they also put out enormous pressure while also knowing how to protect their teammates with timely peels.



And the worst?
Well, the worst high-rated DK I have ever seen easily goes to Rngesus of Boulderfist. Kid talks so big yet is probably the biggest joke of a DK I have ever seen on TR. Beat him on so many different classes and comps that I lost track, really. Good luck on his endeavours for Dglad, though!



Do you think Shadowcleave will be viable in 3.1?
Viable? Yes. As dominant? No. Affliction and warlocks in general are taking several hits but shadowcleave didn't always rely on having a DoT'd healer chain feared to their death. Moreso usually fully DoT'd dps and pets with timely fears on the healer resulting in an overwhelming about of damage/pressure to heal through which would cause one interrupt or silence to lead to a kill. DK ranged burst is getting nerfed, as well as their spread damage a bit, but the core is still there. DK's are simply becoming a melee class that you can actually kite and effectively be relatively safe from at a distance, unlike now.



Is Jasi getting gladiator this season?
Not sure, is he working with Prince?



What are the best comps for each bracket right now?
2v2: paladin/dk
3v3: I honestly feel PHD is the strongest ladder comp right now due to melee cleave not having any chance against it unlike the ability to instagib a warlock on shadowcleave.
5v5: people still play this? anything with >1 dk I guess



Who do you think are the most overrated players in arena currently from EU and US?
EU: Icematikx from Stormscale. Everything I've heard about him from many EU players including his past and current partners point to the indication that he pretty much blows and is carried by OP comps and great partners like Bloodx.

US: Mewbert of Kel'Thuzad. Oh wait, I forgot you have to be recognized at least to be overrated somehow. In that case, I'd say Buddhist from Black Dragonflight. Don't get me wrong, because he makes some really entertaining videos and all, but his most recent video has 589 skill points voted on it from Warcraft Movies. Is this a joke or are people voting skill points for entertainment value now? Not a single thing in that video showed any modicum of skill. Hilarious and entertaining? Sure. Skillful? Err... no. This is also apparently agreed upon by almost everyone I ever talk to about him, as well.



And most underrated players?
EU: Kalimist from Stormscale. This guy is the real deal and from what everyone tells me, I think that he deserves a lot more acclaim than he gets. Having the top two teams on EU TR, Brutal Gladiator and possibly Deadly Gladiator, and even the notion that some people have that he actually carries Hydra should at least tell you something about his skill.

US: Veex from Executus. Although he didn't have the greatest LAN showing at MLG Orlando (nor did we, lololol), this guy has been at the top of almost every competitive online arena ladder ever since the dawn of arena. Merciless, Vengeful, and Brutal Gladiator under his belt; wouldn't be surprised if he pulled off Deadly, as well. And although ranks don't mean very much on the TR standings, his team ("well then") has been ranked in the top 3 for pretty much every week up until now.



Do you hate Swarm still?
Well, ironically and randomly at the same time, Eric (Swarm) sent me some private message on Gameriot out of nowhere apologizing for the ESL LA incident and wishing me luck in the future, and anyone that has the integrity to do that (Veex also comes to mind here) holds no bad blood in my books. Sure the kid has anger management problems, but there's not many people I can honestly say I "hate" because of this game. Except maybe Minor.



What's your overall take on Season 5?
Biggest joke and disgrace of a season to date. I've never seen so many horribly imbalanced game mechanics remain in place for so long without being hotfixed. Icy Touch burst? 10 second wyvern stings on a 45-second cooldown (hello immediate repentance hotfix when 3.0 launched)? Plague Strike HoT removal? Explosive shot damage (lmfao)? This season has been a travesty and I'm really glad it's finally coming to an end. Although part of me really doesn't want it to because s6 means the return of Ring of Valor and no one wants that piece of **** map to come back, ever.



What do you think the best DK spec of 3.1 will be?
I know everyone on the DK boards, especially over at AJ, is trying to come up with their unique specs and give it some sort of naming behind it to become eFamous, but there's not much special about the options for 3.1 specs right now unless some things are tweaked (which I imagine they will be). That said, I think it's still a tad bit early to discuss the best DK specs since things are still in their final state of flux as the patch notes finalize. However, I did find it funny that Ghostcrawler himself referred to the overpowered DK mechanic as "Shadowfrost Icy Touch" here. 



What are your thoughts on Ming as a person and WoW player?
I'm honestly not gonna suck up or kiss ass because he writes paychecks but he's a smart guy. He knows how to push people's buttons, knows how to get the hits, and knows how to start a **** ton of drama. And for that reason, his repeated trolling on this blog is a resounding success as it keeps the readers returning. As for his skills as a rogue? I've seen better. He's probably lost some of his chakra, jutsus, or whatever when rogues wern't overpowered after 3.0, but he still does pretty well in arena and was doing alright in the TR1 duels that I watched him in. However, rumor is that Estel claims he's lost a step, but who knows...



What's the future of your LAN team?
I still play with Sck, despite some dumb rumors going around (thanks Zilea). We haven't been running PHD and Realz can't play a warlock so we haven't done TR with him much, but that doesn't necessarily mean we scrapped him from things entirely. It's just that this game is so incredibly retarded and homosexual that a single hotfix or content patch can entirely change what works and what doesn't, what teams will still thrive and what teams will be completely worthless. At the end of the day, this is still WoW and we're all at the mercy of the developers who think that killing a healer in the absence of CC should be a viable strategy. So unless you're a ridiculously good korean RMP, I feel that there will be many uncertainties with LAN teams, especially after 3.1.



Any final mentions or shout outs?
Uh, yeah:

-Timothy from SK Gaming: Forgot about the FtW! I'll get to it ASAP!
-Sck: What do you possibly find enjoyable about EQ2?
-Realz: Spriest cleave viable??
-Kigz: wanna 2s?
-Venruki: bff?
-Sodah: wtf is a misanthrope?
-Minti: how rude
-Emokaramell: carries his RMP!
-Chronx: I think I see part of your screen in there
-Kintt: heart of a killer
-Proff: howd you die so fast...
-Litreocola: JUST SIT ON THE WARLOCK
-Hydra: does Kalimist carry??
-Akrios: master of sapping vanishes... just need to stop sprinting on openers with a healer...
-Igoaf: WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME!
-Moogol: ditch Rambo
-Faetalicious: waaaaaaaaah




On one last serious note, make sure everyone again checks out the Gladiator cutoffs for your battlegroup here since they tend to change daily and you definitely don't want to lose out on a cool frostwyrm because you were short a few rating. Good luck to everyone if the season does end this Tuesday coming up.