MOBA Weekly – Episode #7

Tonight at 6PM EST, MOBA Weekly will be LIVE for its seventh broadcast. This week’s special guest is Sebastian “Shinkz” Torralba, the captain of the Frentic Array Heroes of Newerth team.

MOBA Weekly is a production headlined by three hosts and a weekly guest and will feature discussions about news, game development, eSports, strategies, rumors and more. The weekly show will serve one of the largest overall communities in the world of gaming:  the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (or “MOBA”) scene that includes DotA 2, League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth.

The hosts of the show will be Adnan “Darthozzan” Dervisevic (DotA 2), Ken “xanderk” Smith (HoN) and Shaun “FourCourtJester” Delaney (LoL).  Each host will have 30 minutes to discuss his respective game and 30 minutes will be reserved for the guest interview. Thanks for your support!

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compLexity Gaming:  YOUR source for professional gaming news and entertainment!

Today, League of Legends received another update, adding a brand new champion – Graves, the Outlaw. The patch included changes to Skarner and Corki as well as changes to the Hextech Gunblade. This patch also has a change to the new Dominion mode, where minor settings have been tweaked.

Graves, the Outlaw

True Grit (Passive): Graves gains increasing armor and magic resistance the longer he remains in combat.

Buckshot:Graves fires three bullets in a cone damaging all enemies in the projectiles path. Enemies at close range can be hit by multiple projectiles, but each one beyond the first will deal reduced damage.

Smokescreen: Graves fires a smoke canister at the target area that deals damage and creates a cloud of smoke. Enemies inside the smoke cloud have reduced sight range and movement speed.

Quickdraw: Graves dashes forward gaining an attack speed boost for several seconds. Attacking enemies lowers the cooldown of this skill.

Collateral Damage (Ultimate): Graves fires an explosive shell dealing heavy damage to the first target it hits. After hitting a champion or reaching the end of its range the shell explodes dealing damage in a cone behind the target.

Release Notes Excerpt

Corki

• Gatling Gun
  • Now has a base damage of 20/32/44/56/68 per second
  • Duration has been adjusted to 4 seconds at all levels
  • Scales with 0.4 bonus Attack Damage ratio per second, from 0.4 total Attack Damage ratio every second

Skarner

• Attack Speed per level increased to 2.1% from 1.44%
• Energize will no longer activate when attacking Towers.
• Crystal Slash Mana cost decreased to 15 at all ranks from 22/24/26/28/30
• Fracture will now heal Skarner if Fracture kills its target.
• Impale duration increased to 1.75 from 1.5 seconds

Dominion

• Ambient experience gain has been lowered by 10%
• Lowered the point where Nexus Health will only be affected by holding capture points (and not by Champion Kills or Neutralizes) to 100 Nexus Health from 125 Nexus Health
• Health Pack pickups will now grant 20% more Mana
• Personal Scoring has been adjusted to more evenly reward defensive play:
  • Minion Kill reward increased to 2 points from 1
  • Channel Interrupt reward increased to 5 from 2
  • Martyr (dying on point) now gives an additional 10 points over its previous bonus
  • Point defense bonus is granted more regularly
  • There is now a score bonus associated with getting a Champion kill or assist while being on or near a point.

For a complete look at the official release notes, click here.

The Devil Plays Protoss: The Caster’s Chair

by Jacqueline Geller and guest contributor Liam Metzeling

Any opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of compLexity Gaming or its parent company.

Tastosis at MLG Orlando.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been treated to a fantastic array of casting talent. Between IPL3 and MLG Orlando, we’ve had over 15 talented men in the caster’s chair. Some of the men sitting in the casting chair were SC2 community icons such as Sean “Day9” Plott or Marcus “djWheat” Graham who commanded the MLG Orlando Red and Blue Streams like a boss. Other casters were up-and-coming casting talent such as Toby “Tumba” Nuvo who was one of the MLG Orlando community casters featured on the Black and White streams. While the player flavor of the week changes as often as tournaments come and go, casters are pillars of the community, ever stable and ever popular.

As the community continues to grow, there are more opportunities for SC2 casters than ever. Since the beta, it has been simple for any individual to try his hand at casting by downloading a replay, casting it and uploading the finished product to YouTube. A number of casters from Alex “HD” Do to Mike “Husky” Lamond started right there. Not only do both these casters have a number of fans, they have both been able to build the start of fantastic eSports careers from their YouTube beginnings. While anyone can cast a SC2 game, the ability to cast well is an entirely different ball game. With more opportunities for casters, more individuals are trying their hand at it.

What makes a good commentator? It could be “the sauce,” as Day9 calls it: the smooth, confident voice, full of eSports wisdom and knowledge. Perhaps it’s the entertainment value the caster adds to the game. Many fans attribute in-game skill and perfect, flawless SC2 knowledge to the most important ingredients of a great caster, but when it comes down to it, those features aren’t always required.

There are two main “types” of casters in a SC2 duo. You have a play-by-play commentator, and you an analysis commentator. These roles serve very different purposes, and the talents required can be quite different whilst interestingly being very similar.

A play-by-play commentator needs skill in explaining situations, possible future interactions, and of course a solid foundation of game knowledge. They do not require a library of information about the game, nor perfect skill inside the actual game. Take Nick “Tasteless” Plott for example. Back in his hayday (and to a small extent now) he was a fantastic player of our beloved Starcraft, however you wouldn’t consider him a high level professional with top 3 control by today’s standards. He is still a fantastic play-by-play commentator because of his knowledge, smooth voice, and great skill in creating a picture. There was a famous commentator in Australia who once said “Pretend you’re a blind man who has never seen a game of football. Create the picture with words so you can understand what is happening”. This does not mean a play-by-play needs to describe every single thing that has just happened – just the broad strokes, giving detail of what tactics, unit movement and other types of player management is occurring.

Analysis commentators require deep knowledge of the game, and an ability to explain situations from a strategic point of view. The skillful part of this role comes from explaining things without boring people to death. Sean “Day9” Plott, Dan “Artosis” Stemkoski and Shaun “Apollo” Clark come to mind when thinking of some of the top analysis commentators currently in the scene. These commentators have a great knack of explaining why, how and detailed reasoning behind player decision making in a match, giving the audience a feel of “what a pro is thinking” without needing to simplify the matter too much.

Mike “Husky” Lamond

While top tournaments ensure that there are two casters on hand for events, not all commentating teams require a duo. Sometimes you can find quality solo casters who can pull off both roles equally, however the majority of the time high level commentating requires “banter” and some “back and forth” to keep slow parts of the game interesting. There are few casters who can bring exceptional entertainment quality on their own like Husky or Day9.

If you’re interested in being a caster, there’s no better time like the present! That being said, the eSports community needs more than casters so take the time to figure out which roles you can fit into. With the number of both big and small tournaments popping up left and right, there are more and more places to get experience and get exposure as a caster. While it’s not an easy task to cast a SC2 game, it is a valuable learning experience for any SC2 fan. There’s no better way to appreciate what someone does than to walk a mile in their shoes. Take the time to learn the game, work on your voice and jokes, and perhaps you could be the next Painuser or CatsPajamas.

GL HF,
Jacq

PS. A big thank you to caster Liam “DUCKVILLELOL” Metzeling for his wisdom and contributions to this article. Follow Duck’s casts on Youtube or on Twitter @DUCKVILLELOL.

About the Author – Jacqueline Geller

After years of playing World of Warcraft, a friend introduced Jacqueline to Starcraft early last year. Jacqueline’s relationship with Starcraft started out slowly: a handful of casual dates, a little bit of flirting but nothing serious. She took her relationship with the game to the next level after BlizzCon 2010 where she experienced eSports magic first-hand and realized that Starcraft was the one. Despite being a mediocre player, she has been clambering the ladder at a glacial pace and has spent more time watching Starcraft online than she’d like to admit. In March, Jacqueline made the leap from eSports fan to eSports professional when she was hired by the Handsome Nerd as their Art Director, combining her design skills with her love of Starcraft. Since its start in April, Jacqueline has been a contributing writer for the North American Star League, writing coverage for Division 1. Offline, Jacqueline is a bookworm, a runner, a freeride snowboarder and has a Human Ecology degree with a Clothing and Textiles major.

View Jacqueline’s profile here.
Visit @jacquelinesg on Twitter

With DreamHack Winter 2011 getting closer each day, it’s hard not to get excited about the tournament. If you’re someone who thinks they have what it takes to compete at DreamHack, today is your lucky day. DreamHack announced that it will be running four online qualifiers where the top two players from each qualifier will get a spot in the DreamHack Winter 2011 StarCraft II Main Tournament.

Taking place on Oct 26, Oct 27, Nov 1, and Nov 2, the online qualifiers will follow the standard single elimination format (1vs1 BO3, Semi Final BO5, Grand Final BO5) and will feature the following maps:

TSL3 Metalopolis
Antiga Shipyard,
ESL Shattered Temple
GSL Dual Sight
ESL Shakuras Plateau
Tal’Darim Altar LE
GSTL GSL TerminusRE

If you think you have what it takes to make it to DreamHack and take on players like MC, DongRaeGu, and Genius you can sign up here.

Blizzcon has released the official brackets for their Starcraft II event which is set to begin in only two days, on Friday, October 21, 2011 at 12:00 PM PST. 16 players will battle it out through a double-elimination bracket.

compLexity’s NaNiWa finds himself up against Juan “terran” Tena in round one of the event. Terran qualified for Blizzcon by winning the Latin American Battle.net Invitational. Since winning the invitational, Terran, like NaNiWa, has been training in Korea.

More information about the Blizzcon 2011 event can be found by clicking here.

Next weekend, after the action of Blizzcon wraps up, Teamliquid has announced their Ultimate Barcraft after party, a huge community event that will encompass an entire hotel ballroom. The event will be available to anyone in the area, but for those who can’t make it, Ultimate Barcraft will be streamed live.

Included in the Ultimate Barcraft event will be player signings and panels featuring some of the communities most prominent figures, including compLexity’s Johan ‘coL.NaNiwa’ Lucchesi, Park ‘coL.MVPDongRaeGu’ Soo Ho, Paulo “coL.CatZ” Viscarra and Jason “1” Lake. NaNiwa, CatZ and DRG are special guests of the event and will be doing player signings throughout the night (and weekend). Jason Lake will be featured in “The Teams Speak,” a panel moderated by Andre “Gretorp” Hengchua that will give fans a chance to find out what is happening with their favorite teams. There will be Q&A taken from teamliquid.net forums, reddit, and the audience.

Below are the official details of the event as provided by TeamLiquid.net:

Location: Mariott Hotel – Platinum Ballroom (directly opposite Anaheim Convention Center)
Map:

Bar: 3 cash bars and VIP area/bar (21+)
2000 PDT: Doors Open as Blizzcon wraps up
2200 PDT: Broadcast Begins
Emcee: Zach “Diggity” Smitth

Special Guests/Player Signings

Joseph ‘Liquid`Ret’ de Kroon
Tyler “Liquid`Tyler” Wasieleski
Shawn ‘Liquid`Sheth’ Simon
Park ‘coL.MVPDongRaeGu’ Soo Ho
Johan ‘coL.NaNiwa’ Lucchesi
Lim ‘IM.NesTea’ Jae Duk
Jung ‘IM.MVP’ Jong Hyun
Aleksey ‘TT.White-Ra’ Krupnyk
Ryoo ‘dignitas.SeleCT’ Kyung Hyun
Steven ‘QxG.Destiny’ Bonnell II
and more!

Live Panels

“Leaders of the Industry”
Moderated by: James “Kennigit” Lampkin
A discussion with some of Starcraft 2 progaming’s most experienced leaders. Topics include their experience in the past year, lessons learned, and the future of their organizations.

Confirmed Panel:
Michal “Carmac” Blicharz – Director of Progaming, Electronic Sports League (ESL)
David Ting – General Manager, IGN Proleague
Russell Pfister – CEO, North American Starleague (NASL)
Ken “HotBid” Chen – COO, Teamliquid.net
Duncan Donovan – VP of Marketing, Curse Gaming

“The Teams Speak”
Moderated by: Andre “Gretorp” Hengchua
This panel will give fans a chance to find out what is happening with their favorite teams. There will be Q&A taken from teamliquid.net forums, reddit, and the audience. Look forward to some major announcements!

Confirmed Panel:
Victor “Nazgul” Goossens – Founder & CEO – Liquid` and Teamliquid.net
Jason “1” Lake – Founder & CEO – Complexity Gaming
Michael “Odee” O’Dell – Managing Director/Team Manager, Team Dignitas
Mark “Cinergy” Ferraz – Founder, Quantic Gaming
Kang Dong-hoon – Founder & Manager, Incredible Miracle

“Player Panel”
Will feature top players from all over the world for a Q&A session.

More information about the Post-Blizzcon Ultimate Barcraft can be found by clicking here.