Tag Archives: Burning

DK.BurNIng answered some fan questions a few days ago

On the Baidu Tieba of his own name, BurNIng answered some questions a few days ago, while all the drama and waves surrounding DK’s recent player departures was at its height… This Q&A was translated in a reddit post a few days ago, but I’ve gotten a request or two asking for me to translate it here for some reason as well, so here it is.

Q: Lately, ChuaN, Sylar, and xB have all been quite vocal on weibo. I’d like to ask you, B-God, can you share any thoughts?
A: For things related to transfers and retirements, it won’t be convenient for me to comment on today.

Q: What do you think about the player s4? Is your reasoning for often picking Furion in pubs related to having seen how effective Alliance’s system has been?
A: S4 I think has been the player who has seen the most growth as a newcomer. I hadn’t ever seen this player in the past, yet this year he comes out of nowhere and takes so many titles. The scariest thing is that, not only is he amazing on the solo mid position, he’s also the drafter for Alliance.

Q: As your team’s captain, what do you think is most important?
A: The most important thing is obedience (following the captain’s orders).

Q: I want to ask where in Qujing, Yunnan, is the DK base? I want to come visit with a few friends; we promise not to disturb the players!
A: Across the street from Tianyue Digital Mall.

Q: Where can we see your first person gameplay?
A: You can go search DK in the Dota 2 Community tab, and then check for replays from my profile.

Q: Will there be Dota 2 at this year’s WCG in Kunshan? Or Dota 1? Will you be there if so?
A: There is no Dota at WCG this year.

Q: Can you reveal to us what you know about competitions in the next half year? DSL and G-league? ECL, Alienware, G-1?
A: Right now I only know about the ACE League, and DSL might conflict with ACE League.

Q: So we can come visit your teamhouse in Qujing then?
A: Yeah, but right now we’re all on break.

Q: What do you do in your spare time outside of playing Dota?
A: Watch movies, listen to music, and occasionally play some Texas Hold’em.

Q: I have a few questions. First what you think about the usage of Lone Druid? Second, what is most important in drafting apart from trying to ban out the opponents best heroes?
A: To answer this question would take far too long. For Lone Druid, just watch AdmiralBulldog’s play and emulate it. For drafting, it’s like playing chess, back and forth. When you ban, you want to consider both what they are good at, and what your roster is weak against. For picks, mainly it’s considering what kind of lineup feels best together, leaning towards picking the hot heroes in the current metagame.

Q: What are your hotkeys? Do you have auto attack on?
A: Auto attack on, classic ability hotkeys. Item hotkeys are Q 3 ` Z F2 F3. This is mainly because it’s what I’m used to, so as long as it’s something you’re comfortable with it’s good, you don’t really need to go and specifically copy others’ setups.

Q: Is there room for Necrolyte in competitive? Why or why not? Will DK use Wisp more in the future? At TI3, non-Chinese teams were all quite good with Wisp. Why hasn’t Faceless Void been used in competitive lately?
A: Necrolyte is possible, but requires the lineup to be built around him. Faceless Void takes too long to come online.

Q: Do you feel that there are similarities between Alliance of now and EHOME of 2010? Whose style do you like more between Alliance and Navi? Can you talk a bit about why you think Alliance are so strong, from a strategical layer?
A: I tend to like NaVi’s style a bit more. Alliance’s power comes from their excellent distribution of resources and farm between the team, a clear tactical mindset and goals, and strong execution.

Q: B-god, will DK hire a coach? You’ve personally mentioned before that having a coach is an excellent plus.
A: It’s being considered, but we haven’t found a suitable candidate yet.

Q: B-god what’s your current weight? Have you gained a little bit?
A: I’m 180cm and 67kg, does that still count as fat? -.-

Q: You should stack more with longDD, that way we can see you more (longDD often streams).
A: I do like playing with longDD, it’s pretty enjoyable.

Q: My suggestion to DK: Find a professional coach, preferably a retired professional player, someone like 820. Create a statistical analysis team for research and reference purposes. I think for the latter, you could outsource to student Dota fans and thus not spend much, but potentially gain a lot.
A: Valuable suggestions, I will consider talking to the club about it.

Q: I’ve heard that B-god enjoys Linkin Park, have you ever been to one of their concerts?
A: To this day, not a single concert.

Q: B-god, there’s a video in which xB once said that apart from himself, the other 4 players in DK never went out much. Since you’d already been indoors all day from practice, why not spend some time going out?
A: Mainly it’s laziness.

Q: I want to seriously ask you this. How does one get on the path to playing professionally? No matter how tough it may be, I want to give it a try.
A: Right now it’s relatively difficult. First you have to make a name for yourself in pubs or semi-pro events, you have get noticed by someone in order to have a chance. And then the other problem is that pro teams right now focus on results, and thus are afraid to use newcomers. I hope that one day Dota can be like LoL where each club has 2-3 different squads, that way newcomers have much more room to prove themselves.

Q: I feel like Kunkka is a pretty good hero, and  you guys had seen good results with him as well, why hav eyou stopped using him? I feel like B-god should take some more time to interact with fans; you’re too quiet. Lastly, I wish you luck and success no matter what, and constant improvement in the coming days. Good wishes to B-god, good wishes to DK!
A: Kunkka is relatively needy in terms of having a lineup picked around him, so it’s harder to get him into a draft. I also hope to have more opportunities to interact in the future.

Q: Right now the Dota 2 scene really has a lack of new competitors. Which newcomers do you favor, so we can all pay some attention to them?
A: I favor CTY and fy.

Q: What degree is your myopia?
A: Around 200, I think.

Q: What are your favorite heroes?
A: QoP, TA, PotM

Q: Do you think PotM (Mirana) has potential for competitive? What about as an offlaner?
A: Alliance and NaVi have both performed well with her.

Q: Can you tell us which of the roles from 1-5 do you prefer the most?
A: If I say I like them all, will everyone believe me?

Q: First off, it should be said that Chinese TI3 performance was abysmal, due largely to an overly conservative, stiff, style and strategy. In the next year, do you think Chinese teams should participate in more smaller events, and get rid of the prize pool requirements for participating in tournaments? Secondly, can you talk a bit about your views of Orange and Mushi in the wake of their enormous performance at TI3?
A: More events is definitely something we all want. Regarding the restrictions, there’s nothing we can do either, we have to wait and see what the ACE Alliance does. For ourselves, we are considering the hiring of a coach. Orange is a team that tends to favor the early and mid-game, and their participation in some Chinese tournaments has helped them grow a lot as well. Mushi’s individual skill is exceptionally strong, he’s very versatile in his heroes, and if he can add some more steadiness to his play then he’d be even stronger.

Q: Which team’s drafts do you admire the most?
A: I most admire NaVi’s drafts.

Q: Ever since you said after TI3, that if you get Anti-mage then you can win, people in pubs have been picking Anti-mage every game. Of course, none of them have won, so what advice can you give to those people? That way they won’t be ruining Anti-mage’s reputation, and we can all learn a bit from you on how to play AM.
A: Anti-mage’s strength lies in overwhelming the opposition with items. If he can’t lead in terms of items, then he actually can’t out-fight many other lategame heroes. So don’t get Vanguard on him, just rush that fast Battlefury and farm it up.

Q: Any thoughts on starting up an esports academy after retiring? You can focus on training young competitors and teaching them the mentality it takes to be professional.
A: I don’t want to get arrested.

Q: Regarding fountain-related tactics, what do you think?
A: For entertainment purposes, sure, but I still don’t think it’s truly viable in competitive. In that game with TongFu, if they had some Necrobooks or Manta Styles then it shouldn’t have been so tragic.

Q: B-god, what does a carry player need in order to be considered a legit carry? Under average circumstances, is 100 creep score at 20 minutes acceptable? If not, how much more is?
A: Don’t miss last hits, or miss as few as possible, that’s the basic requirement. The bigger challenge for a true carry is decision making regarding when to join fights, and how to join fights (positioning, timing, target choice), as well as ability and item choice.

Q: In pubs, is it viable for Anti-mage to go straight Vlad’s then Manta?
A: I haven’t calculated, but I think it’s still best to go Battlefury, and if you’re still feeling squishy then finish your Power Treads first.

Q: How would you rate your own casting performances?
A: 8/10, no less.

Q: You guys should consider acquiring an Xbox Kinect or similar motion-based gaming system, for the purposes of exercise and whatnot while at your teamhouse. It’s cheaper than gym equipment, and being physically healthy is true health!
A: good idea!

Q: Who are you closest with, in the professional scene?
A: KingJ, LongDD.

Q: In the card game Legends of the Three Kingdoms, who is your favorite, and who are you best with?
A: Huang Gai.

Q: Everyone says that Dota 2 needs more new players, and lately many people have been talking about a newcomer named Maybe. You’ve probably played with/against him before in matchmaking, what do you think?
A: I don’t really know him. For newcomers, as long as their mechanics are decent, they’re willing to practice and think, then nothing bad can be said. But the main problem is that there’s a lack of opportunities for them to prove themselves.

Q: B-god, many people say that Dota is going downhill, with many younger kids choosing to play LoL and not Dota. Older generations are gradually leaving gaming altogether, and as such, Dota and Dota 2 seem to have less attention than in the past. In terms of player ability, there’s a clear divide between the top and the rest, a disconnect. You’ve seen Dota from the beginning, to its glory days, to now, what are your thoughts?
A: I think we should wait until the Chinese servers go open beta first before we talk about this.

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The International 2013 in my view (part 1)

This is part 1 of “The International 3 from my view”. Stay tuned for part 2, describing thoughts and events from the elimination stages at Benaroya Hall, in the next day or two!

This is a semi-diary, semi post-competition gathering of thoughts and recollections, from group stages at the Westin Bellevue to the elimination stages at Benaroya Hall. I’ve tried to focus on giving a view into what the players are like, as well as some of the casual, random events that happened that I saw or was a part of, that can serve to bring behind-the-scenes stuff closer to normal fans. It’s a long read but worth it, I think, if you’re a fan at all of Chinese teams and players. I’ve not only written about Chinese teams and players, however, and there’s some other stuff too.

I have to apologize in advance, because I am not the type of fan to take a lot of pictures with players, or to really intrude at all. I’ll chat with them if they make themselves available, and offer myself up to assist if it looks like someone needs it, but that’s about it — no autographs, no photos, basically nothing else. So, apart from my words and descriptions, I generally lack stuff to share with fellow fans. Hopefully you’re up for some reading, because there are a lot of words below!

Day by day recollections

7/31/2013 to 8/1/2013 – pre group stage prep time

My first day involved was July 31. Met Hippovic, who showed me around. Then I just hung around at the Westin Bellevue while teams did their photo shoots and promotional stuff. Met various players.

The next morning, Puppey sat down at the table during breakfast where Erik Johnson and I were sitting, and Puppey talked briefly with Erik Johnson about the infamous all-chat incident between xiao8 and Dendi… Then after breakfast, they had me translate for the players’ meeting that outlined some rules, expectations, and a general idea of how the event would go. That went… okay. I am not good in front of large groups of people. A camera is different because even though there are lots of people on the other end, I don’t actually see them.

At the players’ meeting. So much talent in one room.

Later on during the day, Dendi sat down next to a fellow translator, Tracy, and began watching her play, as she was playing a pub match on a laptop. Tracy dismisses this, thinking it was Mouz Black, who had been hanging out with us earlier. Then I tell her to look over, and then she’s like, “omg it’s Dendi”. And Dendi sits there with an innocent look on his face. Then she got a kill, made another nice play, and both were met with Dendi getting up and dancing about nearby. Shortly afterwards, the meeting room internet at the Westin cut out (as it often did), Tracy got an abandon, and Dendi strolled off to entertain (or be entertained) elsewhere.

Coach Dendi

Speaking of Mouz Black, who had made fast friends with a couple of us: We had taught him a few phrases in Chinese. He wanted to meet some of the LGD people, including LGD’s manager Ruru, but was apparently too shy to do so on his own. We taught him how to ask for a team jersey in Chinese (since he wanted an LGD set), and later on I taught him how to say the name of his favorite hero, Anti-mage, in Chinese. Much later on, some other Chinese kids must’ve taught him some not so savory words, because by the last day of the main event at Benaroya Hall, he was slinging them around until we told him that he should save it for when he really hates someone or something. Below, Black is saying 我想要一套队服, which means “I would like a team uniform”.

8/2/2013 – Group stage first day (Wild card)

RattleSnake: LaNm is one of my favorite players. He was the one that I chose as my favorite player in my compendium. He’s a funny guy, brilliant player, and casually approachable in person. After their wild card win, I waited behind with Kabu, who was waiting for the rest of his team to go to the players’ dinner. I knew where the dinner was, they didn’t, so I wanted to make sure people weren’t getting lost on the way (these players had missed the Valve-led delegation over earlier). Incidentally, Quantic were also late and so I told them to follow us too. Was that a bit awkward? Maybe… Quantic looked a bit low energy and hardly ever appeared downstairs for the rest of the group stages afterwards…

Anyway, I tell LaNm, “When I saw you guys pick Storm Spirit, I knew you’d already won. LaNm responds curiously, “Why? I think it was because they didn’t have much in terms of disables.” But my opinion was simpler, “I just think you’re awesome on Storm, haha.” And he grinned.

RattleSnake team interview after Wild Card win

iG: Ferrari_430 was up to play the solo mid matches, so during the players’ dinner at El Gaucho, Erik Johnson grabbed me over to translate to get his picks for heroes, and to make sure he knew the rules. He hadn’t checked the rules before and was surprised that runes were allowed. This revelation in part caused him to change his initial pick from Lone Druid to Templar Assassin. He was sitting with his team and chatted a bit with them before deciding on his hero picks. Ferrari is a really friendly person in a really unassuming manner. I already admired his play and style, and after meeting him, I like him as a person too.

After his and Mu’s first solo match, the TA match, which took over 40 minutes, they looked to me to ask if they could simply do the SF match next. When told that SF had to be third game, they decided to do Shadow Demon instead (whereas originally it was going to be OD as second match) to save some time. When I went downstairs to grab some water for 430 and Mu, I ran into XBOCT at the bar. He was seated, looked over to me, said “I like you”. I don’t think he really knew who I was then (or if he even really knows, now), but his friendliness had me asking him which of the Dota-themed drinks he’d had. He looks at the drinks menu and starts pointing. “All of them?” I ask. “Yes,” is his reply. Cool guy.

During Mu’s solo match against Ferrari, Hao stood behind his chair for much of the time, joking and making suggestions. Hao even brought Mu a drink of some sort. He had two of the same drink, one for himself, one he gave to Mu. Aww. TongFu’s players seem to be the friendliest with each other (this is not to say that the other teams aren’t all quite friendly with each other). While the Ferrari and Mu match went on, several other matches came and went. Iceiceice versus s4 was funny in that iceiceice giggled whenever something happened, especially whenever he used his coal.

The solo mid competition room at El Gaucho. Ferrari_430 vs Mu, Mushi vs xiao8

8/4/2013 – Group stage day 3

DK: rOtK is just as fierce in person and out of game as he is in-game (and at LAN events). He also seems like a very sincere person, and he’s got an amazing sense of humor and quick wit, more than once causing uproarious laughter in the Chinese section of the viewing lounge at Westin. He wears his heart on his sleeve, a rare specimen amongst your average Chinese player.

Here we see DK’s rOtk, in green, animatedly discussing something with the other players

iG: The iG players tend to be more quiet, though YYF can really talk, and talks quite fast, when he has something to talk about. Ferrari is very thorough whenever you ask him about something; in the mini-series with Soe where we asked players for their ID and what it came from, Ferrari_430 was by far the most thorough in explaining. He also likes to hold the mic himself when he’s talking (he was the only player with this preference). I’m not sure why his part was cut out from the final player ID video that was posted online, though. But his ID is pretty self-explanatory anyway: he likes that car, and the name of it was what he went with when registering himself on a gaming platform in the past, and it stuck.

Speaking of player IDs, I wish we could’ve gotten more, especially more of the Chinese players, but unfortunately it was not to be. In the final two days, I did some interviews with Perfect World, helping to translate Chinese questions to Western players, then translating their answers back. Additionally, I worked on the final versions of all the subtitles for team intro clips that they played before each team’s first appearance at Benaroya Hall this year. That took a while, because I needed to fix up the translations, the grammar, and then the timing of the subtitles as well. A lot of fun seeing my work up on the big stage later on, though. Anyway, player IDs. The teams and players were in and out as well, playing matches, going out for dinner, etc. Maybe there’ll be more chances in the future for this.

The player ID vid, as posted, is below. Whenever I’m not on camera, I was the one running the camera! ;P The Orange players were all so polite, and seemed a little bit shocked that anyone would want to ask them anything.

LGD: I think it was on this day that xiao8 was recognized in the lobby of the Westin Bellevue by a visiting group of Chinese tourists. An older Chinese man and his wife are walking out of the elevators while xiao8, his friend, and a few of us are waiting to go up, and the man turns around, peers at xiao8 and goes, “Aren’t you that guy on the TV? The dating show? Were the scenes in the show real or staged? Xiao8? …You’re here to compete!” Xiao8 confirms that the show and its result were not staged, and then just nods a bit, not sure how to respond. The man and his wife grin widely and wish him luck as we walk into the elevator. In the elevator, I remark that he’s a superstar now. Xiao8 smiles lightly in a way that suggests he doesn’t necessarily embrace it, and goes back to whatever he was doing on his phone.

I don’t remember which exact day this is from, but here is xiao8 with two bananas during the group stages. Sorry it’s blurry, camera derped

8/5/2013 – Group stage final day

RattleSnake: LaNm needs glasses. He had trouble seeing the screen while watching matches on the screens in the players’ lounge at Westin and constantly had to squint.  So I told him to go get some glasses. “Yeah, it’s indeed time to get glasses,” he replied.

You can sort of see LaNm straining himself to get a clear view of the screen from where he’s sitting. He’s leaning forward with his arms folded underneath his head in the center of the picture.

As seen in some of the panoramic photos so far, the teams and players mostly mix pretty freely. There’s a pretty clear divide between Western and Eastern, and then within that there’s another less clear divide between Chinese and SEA, and between Russian and non-Russian. But by and large, the players are friendly and cordial with each other, and most every player is willing to meet and get to know another player. A rare few players have the talent of slipping almost seemlessly between all the different groups (though they still have their own preferences). The Chinese teams seem to especially be friendly with one another, and when they weren’t competing, there would be intermingling to the degree that, to an untrained eye, you wouldn’t be able to pick out which players were on which teams at all.

Also, Black^ and Bulba partook in an activity they called ‘Ghost Ship’, in which they would ambush unsuspecting fellow players, pick them up, then put them down unceremoniously whilst shouting “ghost ship!!!” I saw them do this to two or three different people, and I don’t think anyone much enjoyed it. I am also wondering if they meant ‘Torrent’, as in Kunkka’s Torrent, which gushes someone up then drops them down.

LGD.cn and Dignitas played a tiebreaker, a close one. Afterwards, the two teams seemed to be pretty cheerful, even gathering together briefly to chat a bit.

After the tiebreaker: Aui_2000, DD, xiao8’s back, Yao, Waytosexy, Sneyking, Universe, Sylar

TongFu: I’d earlier offered to help the Chinese teams arrange for some Chinese delivery from a local Sichuanese Chinese restaurant located in Bellevue. On the last day of group stages, after everyone had finished playing their matches, there was some time, and TongFu’s manager CuZn came to get my help. We got some menus printed out and I had them go around and mark down what they wanted, then we ordered the food. They got nearly $200 of food, and TongFu’s manager paid for it. When it all arrived, it came in a large cardboard box, and word spread quickly amongst the Chinese teams. Pretty soon, members of every team were gathered in a big circle around a table, eating. Quite a happy sight. With the normal hotel food, the Chinese players would hardly ever look excited about the food, nor would they rush to it. In contrast, this time, they all rushed over eagerly. These players are amongst the best in the world, but in the end they’re all kids and young adults, far away from home, and I was truly happy to be able to bring them a little bit of that comfort…

The players descended upon the delivery Chinese food like… hungry Chinese players

Throughout the group stages, there was an on-going joke amongst the Chinese players that whenever someone stepped out for a smoke break, the Chinese team currently playing would lose. Hao in particular would come back inside after a break outside, and exclaim, “What? Lost again???” This is another reason to not smoke, kids. It was just a joke, but later on in the group stages I did hear comments at least once or twice about waiting to go smoke until after the game had ended. Haha. Either way, the Chinese teams in general seemed pretty loose and relaxed, joking amongst each other, chatting about the games going on and other things. It was cool to see the players in a more casual environment.

In the afternoon, with the group stages finished, there were Valve tours scheduled. A group of 13 of us got stuck in the elevator going up for nearly an hour. Amongst us were Black and Synderen from Mouz. Both of them can be pretty funny. The PC Games reporter that was stuck with us in there was also a funny dude. I think they contributed to keeping morale high in there. It took an hour of rising temperatures in the elevator, and a call to the fire department after the original elevator tech never showed up, for us to finally escape. When we ended the Valve tour, Synderen and I both, on two separate occasions, actually joked to one of the Valve people that “some of the guys got stuck in another elevator”, which brought a momentary look of shock and worry. Sorry to the Valve lady, it was probably not the best joke to make again given the earlier events.

Stuck in the elevator

They did give us some extra stuff in our goodie bags at the end of the tour. It was probably worth getting stuck in the elevator. I won’t bother posting pictures from Valve offices because, well, I didn’t bother taking any, and other people have posted plenty of pictures already anyway.

All in all, the group stage at Westin Bellevue was quite an intimate, low-key kind of event. Players would just sit and hang out in the lounge with the games on screen for hours on end. Food would come and go, Valve admins would come in and shout for the next team up, the team that just finished would come back in and sit down and grab some food and drinks… It would be such a huge contrast to the high pressure, high energy atmosphere at Benaroya Hall and the elimination stages.

This was part 1 of “The International 3 from my view”. Stay tuned for part 2, describing thoughts and events from the elimination stages at Benaroya Hall, in the next few days!

Interview with ECL’s solo tourney champion, VG.Fy

In this, VG.Fy, the solo mid tournament champion at ECL 2013, talks about the win, what it was like playing against BurNing in the tourney, what’s important to him, and more~~

Replays.NET: Fy, hello, welcome to this interview with Replays.net. In the solo finals here at ECL, you defeated teammate CTY to become champion. Have you guys practiced any Shadow Fiend solos against each other before?
VG.Fy: In DotA yes, but not in Dota 2.

RN: Many people say that Shadow Fiend feels greatly different in Dota 2, what do you think?
VG.Fy: I personally think that it feels a little different, but once you’re used to it then it’s all the same.

RN: In the semi-finals of the solo tournament, you defeated B-God. According to DK’s manager, Farseer, back when PIS was still part of BurNing, B-god had never once lost a Shadow Fiend mid solo against PIS. Yet you managed to win against BurNing, can you talk about this matchup?
VG.Fy: B-god is really good. He’s played carry for such a long time, so his mechanics are immaculate. But perhaps it was because he hadn’t played mid much in a long while, even though he was ahead for a long time in terms of last hits, I still managed to seize on a mistake he made to get a kill, and thus caught back up.

RN: Let’s chat about yourself, when did you first start playing Dota?
VG.Fy: From version 6.59, and I liked the game from first contact.

RN: What led you to playing professionally?
VG.Fy: I achieved a small level of skill in playing Dota, and took quite a few online tournament titles. So the decision to play professionally is something of an answer to myself, to my time invested, and to my friends and family — so I have something to show, for all their support of me.

RN: Before you started playing professionally, what was your main role?
VG.Fy: Mainly leaned towards carry-core type roles. After coming to VG, the team needed to me to play support, and it was something I was willing to give a try.

RN: What was the transition like from carry to support?
VG.Fy: There have been doubts in the past of my ability. As for the transition itself, I can only say that support skill comes with time.

RN: Have you practiced on any specific heroes, then?
VG.Fy: Basically none, unless it’s a hero that I’m absolutely terrible with, in which case I do.

RN: In this ECL, with your team against iG, your Windrunner was a bright point. In prior matches as well, your support has often seen flashy play. Can you share with us your secret in playing such a flashy support role?
VG.Fy: For a support to be a bright spot, it’s still reliant on the team. For example against iG, the only reason my Windrunner had room to execute in that fashion was because we had some tanky core heroes up front in teamfights first and foremost.

RN: You lost to DK in the quarter finals, what do you think caused this loss?
VG.Fy: The reason was probably due to the fact that we did not sufficiently prepare before the match, we didn’t analyze how to counter DK.

RN: Was it because, while DK has TI3 to prepare for, you guys do not, so you skipped preparing for them?
VG.Fy: I think it was just our own problem. We could’ve done more specific preparations beforehand, but we didn’t.

RN: Do you feel that with this solo tournament title under your belt, you at least have some individual achievement to speak of?
VG.Fy: This isn’t really very important to me. And maybe it was because I got lucky, because CTY’s solo is a bit better than mine.

RN: Then what is important to you?
VG.Fy: I feel, to be able to achieve a good result with the team at an important event, that is most important.

RN: What do you think VG is capable of achieving, in this quest to prove yourselves?
VG.Fy: We want to strive for top 3 in the next ACE League.

RN: What do you think are your team’s biggest strengths and weaknesses right now?
VG.Fy: Weakness is that we aren’t focused enough, and we don’t have strong match mentalities, thus our performances at offline events are unsteady. Strengths are that each of our players has good individual skill, and our teamwork and communications are all decent.

RN: This should be your first experience at an offline event where so much trash talk is flying around, both between fans and players, and players themselves… How did you feel?
VG.Fy: Speaking for myself, this stuff doesn’t have any effect on me, because I think I’m the type of player that remains calm.

RN: Then do you have any views on whether or not to use soundproof booths?
VG.Fy: Not having them should be okay, except if the opponent is DK, then they should be used.

RN: You’re very handsome, are there any worries that people pay attention to you because of how you look, instead of how you play?
VG.Fy: I will prove myself to them!

RN: Thank you Fy for the interview with us, any last words for everyone?
VG.Fy: Thank you to those that support us, thank you to ECL, and I wish Replays.net everlasting success.

Source: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20130715/1833276_2.html

DK.rOtK talks DSL and ECL, and hopes for TI3: “All for TI3 and BurNIng!”

Replays.net: Hello xB, welcome to this interview with Replays.net. DK quite nearly didn’t manage to make it to the ECL matches this time, can you explain to us what happened?
DK.rOtK_xB: Following DSL, the feeling was that we lacked the drive to win championships, and so for a few days we soaked in an atmosphere of disappointment and demotivation. After that, the club’s boss called out to us to gather back at our Yunnan base, where we held a team meeting in which we all reiterated our collective desires to win. We all felt that with so little time before TI3, we should do this for ourselves, and go out there and try our best once again. So with that understanding, in the end we managed to set aside all other obligations in order to participate in ECL.

RN: In the DSL you guys lost, where do you think you lost?
rOtK_xB: Our in-game performances and pre-match preparations were both inadequate, and our mentality wasn’t in the right place either. In the offline environment, execution and performance is very key.

RN: Did this have anything to do with the fact that just the day before, your team had defeated TongFu?
rOtK_xB: Yeah, we had a bit of overconfidence.

RN: Then what will be your team’s goal in participating in this ECL?
rOtK_xB: We lost in the DSL, taking second place. In reality, this result is one that we can accept, because after all, the second place result is one that we fought for. We all care about the process, so in our meeting we had agreed that this time at ECL our goal is just to fight it out and do our best, whatever we can achieve as long as we do that, as long as it’s in the top 8, is something we can take.

RN: So your DSL result was certainly not poor, second place. Then why did you say earlier that after this loss, you were all seriously demotivated?
rOtK_xB: Because, the team didn’t feel united. Everyone focused too much on the result itself, and forgot to actually have the heart to fight for it.

RN: Many people are saying that ECL, being an offline event, is your place to shine. Yet today we didn’t hear you do any trash talking, why not?
rOtK_xB: I feel that something like trash talking should be done in moderation. The inherent nature of it is to simultaneously raise your own team’s spirits while lowering the other team’s, so keeping it at a reasonable level is enough. It’s been around all along, yet because I was one of the early adopters of this, I got the reputation for being a very aggressive trash talker. Really, over all these years, whenever I do partake, I always keep it to a certain level without going too far. For example if they’ve already called GG, and you’re still shouting and yelling… this is not something that I will ever do.

RN: Well, then will we see your trash talking abilities later on here?
rOtK_xB: It’ll be contingent upon the atmosphere at that moment. Typically the best times for it are when a game is really close and tight. If one side is really far ahead or behind, there’s not much power behind it, it’s only when the game is back and forth, intense, that its effects are truly seen.

RN: Over the first two days of competition, many viewers and spectators are saying that it is just this kind of offline environment, with no soundproofing between the two teams, that provides for the best trash talking.
rOtK_xB: I also feel this way. Being able to shout at each other, face to face, that’s what really gets the blood flowing. If you look at other competitive sports, none of them will have any soundproofing; if you’re playing basketball, you aren’t going to have covers over the players’ mouths so they can’t speak. In the end, games aren’t won on the back of shouting at each other.

RN: With TI3 approaching, what goals and thoughts do you have for it?
rOtK_xB: TI3 is the true challenge for us. It will be time for us to truly show everything we have, and the goal is top 3.

RN: We all know that B-god will be retiring after TI3, how do you and your teammates view this?
rOtK_xB: Our DSL-related meeting also touched upon this issue. We all understand his decision, because BurNIng is not only respected and admired by all of us, but also the entire scene and other players. So we all agreed, that with TI3 very possibly being B-god’s last tournament, we must strive to leave no regrets for him, for this unmatched teammate.

RN: 820 in a recent interview mentioned that he thought your team’s playing style is relatively stale and predictable, what thoughts do you guys have on strategies for your team?
rOtK_xB: Before, we had always played 4 protect 1. After doing that for a while, we realized that as long as BurNIng’s farm is impeded significantly and he doesn’t get fat, then we would have no way into the game. So back and forth, we always came back to leaning on the 4 protect 1 heavily, the goal being to make sure that he does get the farm he needs. In reality, 4 protect 1 doesn’t really suit the current versions of the game, so we’ve made complete changes to everything. Because B-god himself might’ve been unfamiliar with having less farm to work with in early game, so the new strategies for our team encountered some early challenges and growing pains. Now, though, BurNIng has said, he can play anything in any style, and if he is needed to go up against heavy pressure, then he will carry the pressure, and thus our team has opened up many new styles, and we’re now able to play almost any style, and willing to play any style.

RN: So this ECL, your team is partaking purely for the purposes of getting more practice?
rOtK_xB: Yes indeed. For TI3, this time we’re here to thoroughly transition our style.

RN: Then how many different strategies have you guys prepared?
rOtK_xB: We’ve prepared many different ones. As long as we’ve thought of it, then we dare to use it. Right now we’re very liberal in this, we aren’t like before where we were very conservative in our style. In the past, perhaps we’d think of a strategy or a draft but not go with it because we weren’t completely comfortable or familiar with it, but this time we’re willing to use whatever we come up with!

RN: We wish you good luck, and you have the last word for anything you might want to say to fans.rOtK_xB: After all this time, especially in recent times, I really want to thank all of DK’s fans for their support. Just as one fan said to me: supporting DK is a kind of belief. I really really really thank you and appreciate you all for your support. And of course, also thanks to our sponsors Tt eSports for their long-standing sponsorship. Thank you all.

Source: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20130712/1832081.html

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DK.BurNIng playstyle and skills analysis by Gamefy

Original: http://gleague.gamefy.cn/view_29171.html

This is following the previous analysis by Gamefy of iG.YYF, translated here

Xu Zhilei (徐志雷), renowned Dota player from Anhui province. Ever since making a name for himself, he’s been under the intense bright-white of media lights. From his first achievements with  7L, then an explosion in fame during his Ch time, to ten titles with EHOME, nine titles with DK, and four finals appearances in the re-formatted G-League — with two resulting in wins — this steadiness in his performances and results have brought him the formidable title of being “Number 1 carry in the world”. In 2012, with the meteoric rise of iG, BurNIng’s star has faded somewhat, yet he still remains within the top echelons of professional Dota players by virtue of his exceptional individual ability, even earning the greatest of honors in the form of IceFrog naming Anti-Mage after him in-game.

Overall ability:

Awareness rating: SS

For a carry player, economy and space to farm and grow provided by teammates’ protection are the most important aspects influencing a team. While your teammates go to great lengths to provide these conditions for the carry, it is the carry’s responsibility to best make use of the conditions and turn them into effective items and resources to in turn contribute to the team; this is something that every carry must learn and practice. BurNIng is a prime example of a carry that has this ability — he very rarely makes the wrong choice in itemization, has great laning ability, and possesses deep knowledge in the details and key points of the heroes he plays (for example, getting Quelling Blade at start on Alchemist in order to play aggressively in lane). Additionally, he has the ability to adapt item choices in accordance to what is happening on the battlefield: for example in 2010 with EHOME, his choice to go Diffusal Blade on Alchemist in order to help Dai’s Sniper escape from the powers of Sheepstick was heralded by viewers everywhere. In that same year, his full-agility Morphling with Ethereal Blade wiping PIS’ Nevermore in mere seconds, can be said to be a highlight of his career.

Rhythm rating: A

BurNIng has never been a great one when it comes to dictating tempo and rhythm in a match. In matches, he rarely is the one to direct the entire team’s actions, and as such he is more of a legendary warrior than a unifying general. His style leans more towards focusing on his own growth and farm in early and mid game rather than pressuring the opponent. His is a safe playstyle: if the chances of failing a tower dive are more than 20%, then he will pretty much not go for it. Since going pro he has rarely played a number 2 position, instead it is the norm that when he does finally emerge from farming to fight, he is able to dictate the entire match. His mega-fat Anti-Mage was caught on camera at TI2 and surely left a great impression for fans all around the world.

Mechanics rating: S

Dota is definitely not a game where mechanics are everything, but without a solid base of fundamentals in mechanics, you will have nothing to play on. At BurNIng’s peak, he was an absolutely ideal carry player, with superb laning, top level last-hitting, quick reflexes, and perfect late-game team-fight decision making. His experience playing Chen during his time with Ch, plus his early experience in competitive Warcraft, gave him a great base in terms of micro and control. To put it in simple terms, BurNIng is a giant farmer that can effectively perform in teamfights, but some major mistakes and lacks of communication in 2012 are worth further consideration, because the small details determine everything.

Heroes diversity: S

As a top tier carry, hot picks in the current version include Anti-Mage, Faceless Void, Lone Druid, Phantom Lancer, etc, and these are all heroes that our man Xu Zhilei is closely familiar with, and can unleash all of the potential of. But if his own team fails to grab any of these carries for him, and instead gives him mid-game heroes such as Naix or Luna, his performances betray an obvious unfamiliarity with the styles required to play these team-fight centric carries. His Naix falls in fierceness to YYF’s, his Luna makes her presence less felt than either Zhou’s or Sylar’s, in the first half of 2012 his Chaos Knight was weaker than Hao’s. And so these are all places where the “universe’s number 1 carry” can make improvements. In the increasingly fast, increasingly team-fight oriented modern Dota versions, strictly afk-farming for a super late game carry is a very easily countered strategy. Finally, his understanding of Anti-Mage’s core item choices nowadays also seems to have fallen behind Zhou by a little bit.

Playing uphill: SS

BurNIng in 2010 and 2011 won 19 different titles. Amongst those wins, how many times did we see him ‘save the world’ in situations where his team were at a large disadvantage in early game, utilizing his amazing late-game ability to come back. No matter if it’s an online competition with thousands of viewers or an online tournament, BurNIng has always been calm and serene, in both ways: he can not only ignore massive pressure and harrassment in times of being behind, but also ignore a huge advantage for his team. What this means is that he never allows the big picture of what’s going on around him to affect his individual performance and execution, and thus very rarely fails to recover from a terrible start. This makes him the most mature, stable carry player. As for his latest three competitions since Anti-Mage was named (G-League, G-1 League, and WCG) where he has yet to use Anti-Mage, whether the reasoning behind this choice is because his team has never needed it or he is afraid of the pressure behind it, if you’re reading this BurNIng, I would like to know too.

Individual skill:

Last hitting: 97

For the universe’s greatest carry, his last hits are something that you need not worry about at all. Even though it isn’t as impossibly amazing as ZSMJ’s farming, BurNIng’s last hitting regardless of under tower, free lane, or under lane pressure, can and does always satisfy. In terms of fundamentals, when given free-farm he’s even more reliable, so if you want to practice last hitting, please peruse BurNIng’s vods, it’s beyond worth it! Taking a popular saying, BurNIng belongs to the class of players that “can be outplayed, but can never be out-farmed; can be pressured, but can never be stopped from farming”.

Laning: 95

B-god’s laning is absolutely first class. Amongst the big three carries, his solo ability is undoubtedly the strongest, and he rarely allows the opponent to control him. Fast reflexes, lots of experience in using vision and positioning, he’s a scarily reliable all-around carry player. His Lone Druid, especially, regardless of whether he’s on the safe lane with support or solo mid, can always reliably farm out core items and levels. BurNIning plays very aggressively in lane, yet rarely gambles his own life — if the chances of him dying while getting a kill surpass 30% then it is certain that BurNIng will choose to back off and ensure his own growth.

Decisions: 91

BurNIng has always been good at making decisions based on the situation in-game. His timing in entering the fray as a carry has always been seen as a textbook example for other players to learn from. With such perfect timing in each teamfight, Burning Show Time is thus born. Yet, going into Dota2, BurNIng has been repeatedly tripped up by tiny details in items and execution, sure to be a lifelong regret. The greatest example of this was in G-League versus LGD, in the second game DK had taken a comprehensive advantage and BurNIng’s Phantom Lancer was six-slotted, yet failed to consider the cooldown on his Boots of Travel and thus he was forced to walk back to the fight after buying back. But all was too late as in the time being, his teammates, Cheese and Aegis in hand, fell one by one to the might that was Anti-Mage, who had himself bought back and rejoined the fight faster. At that moment, BurNIng’s fans must’ve been shocked beyond the point of words. One TP scroll, a 12 second cooldown, all of BurNIng’s short-fallings and regrets of 2012 embodied within.

Positioning: 96

Positioning is a Dota player’s most basic action, achieved by only moving and clicking the mouse. But truly understanding the intracacies of positioning is not something that every player learns to the same level. Over-extending and getting picked off, staying too far back and missing out on combos, these can be seen in almost every match. Using positioning to take the least amount of damage, or using it to bait the opponent, these are all basics for every player yet some of the hardest things to get right. BurNIng’s positioning as a carry could be said to be one of a kind during his peak, rarely ever showing any mistakes. Always in the right place to get kills, always perfectly getting into or withdrawing from a fight, thus fully projecting a carry’s strength. Especially worth mentioning is his control of blink heroes, on those heroes B-god indeed has practically no weaknesses.

Ability usage: 90

Perhaps because of his role, BurNIng is not a player centered around his ability to use abilities. More often, it is by his farming, laning, experience, and reliability in his role to influence matches. It seems that he rarely appears in flashy top 10 compilations. Heroes like Naix and Chaos Knight that rely quite a bit on technique and abilities usage, BurNIng has significant room for improvement. Still, his understanding of how to use the ults of Faceless Void and Anti-Mage is exceptional, always effective.

Counter-gank: 98

Top, top-tier counter ganking sense. He very rarely ever gets caught in a gank; it’s almost as if BurNIng has a gank-radar installed inside him. Once the opponent disappears off the map he can pretty much figure out where they’ve gone, what path they’re going to take for a smoke gank, where he should blink to safety if they do find him, and whether his teammates can come support in time. These are all things that require greast amounts of practice and training. With Smoke becoming an ever more important item, experience becomes all the more important, and his talent becomes the separating factor for players looking to be the best.

Current version Carry scores:

Anti-mage: 98 — IceFrog honors him, a B-god named hero. Understanding of the hero is practically watertight.
Lone Druid: 97 — DK’s 9 title run in 2011 had this as their signature hero. Steady 16 minute radiance, IceFrog personally praised
Faceless Void: 95 — Lots of spectacular plays, excellent usage of the ult
Phantom Lancer: 92 — A new-age carry, not many examples of success. BurNIng had a chance to make a name with this hero, but one mistake with Boots of Travel, and the result is sadness.
Luna: 90 — Not many uses, solid performances.

Overall: 96

Overall BurNIng’s main strengths are reliability as a carry. Aggressive, tempo-dictating plays are relatively rarer compared to other carries. Teams that BurNIng has played for basically all revolve around him as the core in their strategy. His style leans toward helping himself over the team early on, and he certainly possesses the skill to go 1v5. All the titles over the years have said more than anything else. Compared to his old rival in Zhou, B-god has more attributes as a carry, and whenever he’s played as a super late-game role he usually performs excellently. Zhou instead has transitioned into more of a team-fight carry, sacrificing more of his own growth in games. Both carry players have their reasons for their styles, but it is clear that in current versions, having more heroes farmed up provides more room for error. In 2013, when BurNIng once again meets his old rival in Zhou, whether he can regain old glory and break iG’s current dominance will depend on whether he can cut out key mistakes, whether he can escape from real-life issues, whether he can play his Anti-Mage of old again. 2013’s G-League, TI3, we look forward to BurNIng’s answer.

Transfer value estimate: 150000-200000 RMB (considering his age, plus rumors of retirement, his estimated value is lower than his actual ability would otherwise dictate, plus he’s currently steady with DK and chances of a transfer are miniscule)

Mini interview with DK.Dai: “LGD.int will be very tough, we have some issues”

Dotaland note: Interesting bits of commentary from DK team members on LGD.cn’s loss as well at the end of this piece.

Original: http://gleague.gamefy.cn/view_27948.html

On Dec 26, Team DK, who had previously been crushed 2-0 by ForLove in the first match of the tournament, arrived at the venue to spectate the match between LGD.cn and LGD.int in the G-League Season 2 Dota2 offline tournament. After the first game in the match, Gamefy staff got a quick interview with DK’s Dai-god.

Q: Hello, Dai-god, say hello to Gamefy’s fans?

Dai: Hi everyone, I am DK’s Dai. My name is Zengrong Lei.

Q: Can you reveal to us why you guys are here watching this match?

Dai: Yesterday we lost to ForLove, today we’re here to take a look and scout out the match between LGD.cn and LGD.int.

Q: Yesterday you lost to ForLove, what was the cause of this?

Dai: Yesterday’s loss to ForLove was truly down to our own mistakes, in many places we didn’t play well enough. From our form, to our bans/picks, there were problems throughout.

Q: After losing to ForLove, your chances of advancing from your group aren’t looking great, how will you deal with this in upcoming matches?

Dai: Our next matches are against LGD.int and LGD.cn; both teams are very strong, plus LGD.cn has just won The Asia 2012 and will be on good form, so playing them will be exceptionally difficult.

Q: Then, after viewing their match today, any thoughts or plans on how to counter them?

Dai: Not really anything specific, the most important thing is still to play to our full potential.

Q: Thank you Dai-god for the interview.

The skies of change are always unpredictable — just after our interview with Dai, LGD.int posted their breathtaking 24-0 win over LGD.cn in game two to begin their turnaround.

Afterwards we also managed to speak with other DK members present at the venue and got their thoughts on the match between LGD.cn and LGD.int going on at the time. Super expressed that he was speechless, and that he couldn’t watch any longer. xB, Dai, and 357 all said that they felt LGD.cn tried to play too defensively and ‘camped’ too hard. BurNIng straight up exclaimed that LGD.int was impressive! And DK’s manager Farseer coolly analyized that, from the bans and picks it was already evident that LGD.int would win; they obviously had practiced this roster before, previously they had used the exact same roster before! Commnetator Nekomata (aka Danche 单车) thought that LGD.cn should really ban Chen — Enchantress with no jungle is useless, while Chen with no jungle can still push well. LGD.int’s dual gank worked well, leaving LGD.cn with no real options!

Analysis: Indeed as Farseer and Nekomata said, it was evident from the game that this was something LGD.int had practiced before. It is obvious that in the current patch version, ban/picks are very important, and LGD.cn in the third game decisively banned the excellent Chen, Luna, and Nyx. But nonetheless, for a top tier team such as LGD.cn to lose a game by 24-0… is still a bit hard to swallow.

Chance for Anti-mage to be named after BurNIng in Dota1 now

Known as “the universe’s number 1 carry” for his exceptional farming and decision making, BurNIng’s name can now be used on the iconic carry hero Anti-mage now in the original WC3 Dota after patch 6.77, as seen below.

Reportedly, it is a 1 in 7 chance that Anti-mage will have the name ‘BurNIng’ instead of his usual ‘Magina’ when spawned in game.