In continuation of my MLG interview week, today I was able to speak with Sodah, the number one Druid in the world, who was unavailable for Mondays interview. For the rest of this week I hope to get in contact with Cherez and crew for the possibly final MLG based interview or the winning FD team if they're interested as well. If for some reason you aren't familiar with Sodah, he is a consistent leader of SK-100, and helped to lead his team to victory against a multitude of BG9 teams at MLG this past weekend.



Jasi: To start, how was your overall experience attending MLG? Did your first time LAN'ing give you a positive or negative feeling on the tournament?

Sodah: The entire event, including hanging out with all the other WoW players, was one of the funnest times I've ever had. Even though the WoW corner of the MLG event center was relatively small compared to some others, I still was impressed with how well it went. It was absolutely a positive experience.

Jasi: Your teammates mentioned that you all practiced playing on the TR with zero mods in preparation for the tournament. Did the practice time pay off even though you all had such little experience playing with each other (3 weeks) before the tournament itself?

Sodah:  I actually only started using zero mods one day before the tournament. I think this may have actually been why our first match against Fnatic went so horribly. That, combined with the "first round jitters" sort of thing. We did practice almost every day for 15 days though, and that absolutely did pay off. We were able to get practice against some very good teams, including Neilyo and Greenranger.

Jasi: I heard yesterday that your team will be making some big changes to the rostor in terms of your Rogue teammates actually not remaining part of the team. What kind of additions can we expect in the future?

Sodah: GotGame originally only had GotGame West sponsored - that's Didy, Green, and Hood. For alternates, they also had Venruki and Deltons signed up. On Wednesday, two days before the tourney, I was added to the GotGame roster for a total of 6 people. They agreed to send me and my two rogue buddies. Lycra and Cyber were paid for for San Diego, but nothing long term was agreed upon, and they realized that.

In the future, you can expect me to be playing with people I've had more experience with, like Venruki. We've been playing together since '07. He's the best mage I know, and he has a few other classes under his belt. We're also going to be picking up a rogue, possibly Happyminty. Lycra already has his own team he's going to Orlando with, so that will be an interesting matchup if we end up playing them.

Jasi: Having taken down all that BG9 has to offer in terms of teams that attended the tournament, which do you feel impressed you the most?

Sodah: DGFG have always impressed me with their ridiculously high level of skill. When you're playing them, it's like playing an entirely different setup. Greenranger was telling me how on the TR, their Lock warrior druid team would beat every RPM - except for them. However, Azael, Zyz, and Spoh were incredible. Azael was the best warrior there, AND he plays a warlock! Frag dom deserved their win, and they're a great bunch of guys.

Jasi: So you feel that Azael even outperformed such long time shining Warriors such as Noktyn?

Sodah: All I have to judge were those three tourney games, but it certainly felt that way. I think Noktyn's EA failed every time though, so I was able to shut him down. Azael's setup also played differently against us and sat on the rogues, so maybe it was just the difference in strategy. Doesn't change the fact that I was impressed as hell by him.

Jasi: Do you feel there were any teams that underperformed or really didn't deserve to be where they were due to various factors such as RNG?

Sodah: Not RNG - but maybe the matchups. Some teams got a by, and then afterwards played a local team. Also, if my RRD had fought Hafu or Greenranger's War/Lock/Druid setups early on, there's a very high chance we would have been knocked out early. There definitely is luck on who you end up fighting.

Jasi: I heard a rumor of one of your rogues figuring out how to use a macro that would allow him to use Hemorrhage to auto attack a totem, is this true?

Sodah: Uhh, if that's the case, they didn't tell me? I have no idea.

Jasi: Were you able to spend time with any other teams and meet any players such as inactive serennia neilyo hafu etc? If so, what were your feelings on finally putting faces to names?

Sodah: Yep! After day 2 we went to Inn-n-out together, there's a group pic on GotGame.com. We also had some parties, and there were 25 or so of us that went to some pizza place at the mall. On the second night, I vaguely remember me and Greenranger trying to "NS" Didy back to full health after he passed out on the bed. Also, Neilyo is an awesome guy, nothing like what people would think if they'd met him online. In fact, almost everyone there was really, really cool. The only people I didn't really converse with were Inactive and Serennia - who both were very unsociable and unsportsmanlike.

Jasi: To step away from MLG now, how do you feel about being one of the best, if not the best Druid in the world? What do you feel separates you from the rest of the pack?

Sodah: I can't say I agree that I'm the best druid in the world... but I am the highest rated druid in the world. That's an important distinction. About what separates me? I've played a druid since release. I've taken breaks here and there, but I've always stuck with my class. Every single ability I have is built into my reflexes. It also comes down to a love for competition. Even before arenas, I would duel all the best rogues, warriors, warlocks, whatever over and over. I really feel like one on one situations teaches you the best, as you don't get to rely on any team mates helping out.

Jasi: Who else would you consider "top" Druids?

Sodah: Spoh and Greenranger. There may be bias there... they both played on Shadowburn.

Jasi: Having played a Druid since release, do you think that druids are broken or overpowered in any form? If so, what specifically (abilities etc.) do you feel need to be retuned toned down, or even upgraded?

Sodah: Druids are overpowered somewhat for 2v2 and 3v3 situations. They bring so much to the table that shaman and paladins don't - crowd control AND powerful heals. The basic druid mechanic of heals over time is something that is part of the class description and can't really be changed, and I think that's also the cause of their ability to do so well. When I was looking at the WotLK talents for druids, I think Blizzard realized that druids need castable spells, so they're going to try to make us rely on Regrowth and Flourish? (don't know what this is yet) crits. HoTs can't crit. I think that druids should get their 4 piece bonus back to emphasize kiting, but require more castable heals. For priests, I think they're in good shape right now. Their only problem is the lack of mobility.

Jasi: At one point I stated that I felt Priests had begun heading downhill in terms of their strength in the Arena, and it's to the point that for a Priest to really be effective, they need to be paired with a Druid or be forced into running nothing but RMP. Do you think this is based on Druids possibly being too powerful and thus they completely outshine every other healing class?

Sodah: The entire reason druids get paired up with healers in double healer combos is that they can crowd control. Pyschic scream is such a powerful ability right now, I think it's what brings priests up right behind druids.

However, not having played any other healer class very much at all, I can't say how druids compare with expert opinion. Druids certainly are the most defensive of the bunch, except behind paladins, and that's probably why they serve so well to augment the offensive capabilities of priests and shaman in double healer setups.

Jasi: From your perspective, what do you feel is the underlying issue that destroys paladin viability in all three brackets of the arena? Do you feel if they added a useful CC to their arsenal it would be a step in the right direction?

Sodah: Paladins don't have the crowd control, and they don't have the dispel/purge. Either give them some offensive capability, or give them a solid CC.  I don't think they're broken for 5s, though. I'm sure most people would agree with that.

Jasi: Alright. Thank you for your time and good luck in Orlando. Anything you'd like to say?

Sodah: GotGame kicks ass, and double melee setups are loleasy mode YOU'RE GOING TO GET CLEAVED AND YOURE GOING TO LIKE IT.
 
PERIOD.