Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi is as old as the hills. One of the most experienced DotA players on the scene today, he currently plays the #5 position for Na`Vi. However, perhaps the best intro we can give him comes courtesy of BTS caster David "LD" Gorman, who recently called him "a grizzled German vet" who has "aged like a fine wine".
In this quick interview, Kuro talks to us about his history with Puppey, the Dota 2 scene of today, and what he sees when he looks ahead.
Kuroky and Puppey - long ago, in a land far away. (Via it.com.cn)
What's it like playing with Puppey again after all these years? What is your first memory of Clement?
It's refreshing! We have both developed and grown up in the course of time, and yet our friendship remained the same. I played with Clement the first time in 2007, in an inhouse league named DCE. I was part of the clan, so we played together. We played together, a CK/Sylla lane, and we stomped. He stole all my kills. He doesn't remember, but for some reason I can recall 80% of all the DotA games I've ever played. My brain saves useless information, I think.
You've been around for a long time in the DotA scene. What's the biggest difference between DotA then and now?
Back then teams that won were credited, now it's called throw. I think it's sad.
You were fairly negative about Dota 2 at the beginning, and yet you are now an integral part of its pro-scene. What changed?
I wasn't negative. I love DotA/Dota 2. I was expressing my thoughts, and most of your today's favourite players agreed with me privately. I spoke in public, and I got smashed. The game was in it's early stage, and I think I conveyed my message harshly. Valve is still the best thing that could have happened to Dota 2. They take care of the game and respond quickly. I believe they will bring many more great things to us in the future.
Describe each of your teammates (Puppey, Dendi, XBOCT and Funn1k) using one word.
What is your favourite thing about being on Na`Vi?
The professionalism. The organisation is very caring. My teammates are funny and more importantly, good people.
What do you think about the new G-1 league? Do you think you guys will make it through the quals?
Hard to say, the competition is very hard. The best teams in the west try to qualify, and it will be a rough battle. Teams like fnatic, VP, and NTH play really good. I'm looking forward to playing against them.
What are you looking forward to the most about going to China?
Playing iG, DK, LGD.cn, LGD.int, and other good teams.
If you could make one change to Rubick, what would it be?
Give him an Aghanim's upgrade, so he can steal two spells which then fuse together. He could steal Warlock Golem and Macropyre, and end up with Inferno hell golems burning the ground with fire. The Panda ulti would merge with Techies' suicide and we'd have three suicidal pandas blowing themselves up. The Crystal Maiden and Nightstalker ultimate would create a dark winter night and reduce the vision of all heroes to 200. The Sylla ulti and the Dragon knight ulti would give us a flying frost bear-dragon!
Where would you like to the see the Dota 2 scene at this time next year?
More tournaments! More offline tournaments with better prize pools, and less online tournaments that drag out 3-5 months.
You've been on many successful DotA squads. If there was one ingredient in common between these winning teams, what would it be?
Kuro will be here in person at our Community Q&A on Wednesday, Apr 10 5:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00). Have something you'd like to ask him? Just post in this thread, and he will get to as many of your questions as he can. The questions he answers will be linked here.
Rubick with aghs... that can steal 2 spells... that merge together to become 1... VALVE PLS DO IT NAO.
I also like his comment that before, people would credit wins to the team that played better. Now the win is credited to the loser team throwing the game rather than the better team winning =/. It is a bit sad.
Long ago when you were on Mouz, you played vs MyM. You were dominating the game as broodmother, but when you had around 4k gold, you bought an Eaglehorn instead of a BKB. Consequently, MyM disabled you in teamfights and you lost the game. Do you remember the game and can you tell us why you decided to buy a damage item instead of a bkb?
Since you have a good memory, maybe you can help me find two replays from ks.int.
Remember that game you have Storm and Puck and snatched cheese AND aegis in the same time? I remember that was a long game, something like 1h30min.
Another game that was KS.int vs MYM, maybe the finals from any tournament when Mania's SK just crushed your team. I remember very well a wipe next the small neutral camp from Radiant. This isn't very specific, but maybe you can do some work for me
Also, GL kuro, you will always be my first in pro scene and I will always cheers for you.
agha rubick? i can see a kunkka ship + doom a landing ship that brings you....DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM you said your brain remembers useless informations :D did you see maelks dancing performance at the DLM 2009 players party? and how would you rate it ? 1-10
So, I want to go back all the way to the 2007-2009 period. Back then i remember you were pictured by the media as an incredibly talented player but teams simply cant work with you due to your star personality. Were there any truth into that?
Do you, as a professional player, ever care about major balance patches and the game direction that Icefrog choose or you just put your trust into him and only care about playing?
It is quite clear that Icefrog's intention after the latest major patch were to decrease the average game time by buffing heroes across the board as well as forcing teamfight by increasing kill golds. From 1 to "Kunka patch", how much did you enjoy 6.77? What is the problem with DotA that you think the next major patch need to address?
Lastly, is there any heroes that you dont want to see in TI3? What is the last "new hero" that you played in DotA1?
I have a question about your time in Mouz, and I hope you don't see this as gloating or rubbing anything in, I'm genuinely curious. When Liquid came back with two barracks down against PL/KotL in The Defense, what was that like for the team? What happened in game, what was the reaction after, and how did you guys rally to win against Liquid the next day?
As a support player, how does one differentiate between a good player and a great player? What are important skills or perhaps even personality that you feel a good support player needs?
Do you think metagame will change before TI3? Is there any upcoming heroes being released that you're looking forward to? In your opinion, what players do you think are best in each role, eg best mid, carry etc.?
Give him an Aghanim's upgrade, so he can steal two spells which then fuse together. He could steal Warlock Golem and Macropyre, and end up with Inferno hell golems burning the ground with fire. The Panda ulti would merge with Techies' suicide and we'd have three suicidal pandas blowing themselves up. The Crystal Maiden and Nightstalker ultimate would create a dark winter night and reduce the vision of all heroes to 200. The Sylla ulti and the Dragon knight ulti would give us a flying frost bear-dragon!
How do you feel about meepo in dota 2 competitive play? I remember that you played him in competitive games in dota 1 and did quite well if I remember correctly.
Do you prefer playing with autoattack on or off and is this only a matter of style or is there a relevant reason for progamers to play one way over another (aggro comes to mind). Do you even use some kind of script for it? Thank you.
Been a huge fan of Na'Vi since the start of DotA 2. As with most of NaVi fans, we were hit rather hard when the line up change was announced. How long do you think you guys have to take to fully merge as a squad and bring back the results most of us have come to expect? How long does it take for Puppey to adjust to the hero pools?
Na'Vi fighting! Go to China and train, come back and destroy everyone.
Changes on seeing Troll in the competitive scene if it's not nerfed or changed before CM? Do you think IceFrog will release the remaining heroes (Traxex, TC, Centaur, Troll etc) in CM before TI3? If so, would it clash the current "metagame"?
Just wanted to say that I love your personality and support play; the little speech you gave on talkDota on the impact of a support player was pretty sweet, I link it to people whenever they argue that only 1/2 position players are important.
lol really liked the rubick aghanim scepter suggestion, if a petition is formed it would have my support. Good interview!
My question:
I admit I am not an expert on professional dota, but when I watch recently it feels like one team destroys the other in game 1, then in game 2 the other team strikes back, and in game 3 the first team destroys again. I'm not sure if this is the reason, but how balanced is the current CM mode in your view? Does the team that gets to pick first have an advantage going in, if the teams are about evenly matched?
I just feel like teams getting outdrafted happens more often then I thought it would so I was curious.
This guy is seriously talented at 5th position. I've been playing fifth position rubick for a while, and am always an order of magnitude less effective than Kuroky... My god he is good.
Can you describe the immediate pre-game process for Na'vi at tournaments? I always imagine you guys have been practicing so hard, that all you really need right before a game is to relax and let the fingers fly, but sometimes I wonder if you all get really pumped off of a locker room style pep talk.
For players trying to improve, what do you think is the most important thing to focus on?
(somewhat related) What do you think Valve can do to make the game easier for new players to learn?
When learning how to communicate with new teammates, what are some things you find helpful? (e.g. deciding on roles/lanes ahead of time, deciding who to listen to/captain, important language issues/confusing terms/situations/things you have overcome, etc.)
How much time do you spend analyzing replays/watching VoDs or breaking down your gameplay and practicing a specific mechanic (e.g. focusing on nothing but ward positioning), and do you think it is more important for amateur players who want to get competitive to do this type of deliberate practice?
Do you think players can improve at all by practicing alone, or is consistent practice with the same 5 people the main way to improve?
Who do you respect and learn from the most?
What is the biggest thing that is missing/incomplete in Dota 2 right now?
Do you play dota when drinking alcohol? Do you play better or worse then? (what's your favourite drink? haha)
Back when Na'Vi were shuffling their roster, there was a lot of community speculation it would be a Russian-speaking player, especially in lieu of the NTH/EternalEnvy affair. Could you elaborate on the language aspects of playing in Na'Vi and how a team could overcome any barriers?
IceFrog seems to be creating these Flavor of the Month(Year) type heroes i.e PL and Nyx, (AM and morph previously) with OP changes. Do you see this having a positive impact on the game?
1. What format and duration do you think is the best for online tournaments? 2. What improvements do you think Valve needs to do for TI3? What would you like to see at TI3?
Thank you for the good plays! Big fan of you guys, in the good and bad! Hope you get that practice on and show beautiful plays this year.
1. What is your favorite food? 2. Favorite ice cream flavor? 3. Have you learned any important life lessons through your dota career? If so, what is the most important lesson you've learned? 4. What subject would you study in school if you didn't play dota professionally?
What do you think of the current western heropool? In my opinion, it is rapidly getting quite stale with Kotl, pl, nyx, naix, batrider, etc, whereas whenever I watch chinese dota I see a lot of heroes otherwise not used. Do you think the western teams are too afraid to experiment with entirely new hero lineups and compositions (ie. discounting incidental adventures on treant or OD), or what is the reason for the relatively small western hero pool right now?
How much do you guys scrim vs other top teams? Are you satisfied with ur own discipline / with the discipline of ur team-members when it comes to training?
If you've seen TL's power ranking for dota 2 teams, and you were to make one yourself (for the EU scene, that is), how would you make it? TL's is atm: 1) Nth 2) N'avi 3) Fnatic.eu 4) VP 5) TeamLiquid
How is the team spirit in Na'Vi? Are you guys motivated? Do you feel like you need much more training to reach your full potential or are happy with where you are currently?
Got any favorite bands or books you really enjoyed reading?
Why do you think there is no real order between western top team? Each one seems able to beat any other on a good day. At the moment it seems almost random.
At the start of the new Na'Vi we saw a very proactive, aggressive and effective execution. Past games, have been actually reactive, waiting for enemy teams to execute first. Is this the result of lack of training?
Puppey used to pick and ban alone in old Na'Vi, are you helping him now?
Watching G-1 League, the level of competition is higher (Bigger hero pool, less mistakes) compared to EU. Are you afraid that this will affect Na'Vi's chances in TI? As a team, how will you try to solve this?
Do you think EU scene fails in training? Watching scrims (source: QPAD) and competitive Dota, it seems as if teams just try to pick-ban heroes based on consequential situations, instead of actually practicing strategies or perfecting heroes. Do you think this way of playing Dota is effective. Do you guys at Na'Vi have any thoughts? Best example I can take is SingSing's Kunkka, he has trained that hero so much, that it is actually very effective, or Dendi's Pudge.
As a sidenote to the Rubickproposition - doing the math, valve/icefrog would have to invent ~20000 new skills sooo no . Question:
What is your take on the luck/random factor that seems to often decide teamfights in the lategame (e.g. sven landing a crit on his 1st swing to decide a teamfight which would have otherwise gone the other way) and do you think this requires changes to the game? If so, do you have any suggestions?
On April 10 2013 02:21 Aixler wrote: Long ago when you were on Mouz, you played vs MyM. You were dominating the game as broodmother, but when you had around 4k gold, you bought an Eaglehorn instead of a BKB. Consequently, MyM disabled you in teamfights and you lost the game. Do you remember the game and can you tell us why you decided to buy a damage item instead of a bkb?
I had a super game, dominating warlock mid and harassing TB in the woods. We had omni/qop bottom against Pugna, I didn't think he would have diffusual so early. In my opinion, our dual lane bottom failed to keep down the solo pugna, so he got diffusual by minute 15 I believe. My idea was that repel would be sufficient to end the game, as Warlock got crushed mid, TB had no real farm and our top lane was winning too; BKB would not have changed the game, as brood can't outcarry TB (which was the best carry back then) anyway. It's easy to look at an item choice, but the truth is that we, as a team, didn't play good enough to win
1) Why aren't you streaming anymore? Will you be streaming again? When? Is it soon? 2) How do you manage to be up and playing for long hours? Don't you get sleepy? Do you have an energy drink or something? 3) If you could have any of your favorite heroes as a pet, who would it be?
On April 10 2013 02:26 pedrlz wrote: Since you have a good memory, maybe you can help me find two replays from ks.int.
Remember that game you have Storm and Puck and snatched cheese AND aegis in the same time? I remember that was a long game, something like 1h30min.
Another game that was KS.int vs MYM, maybe the finals from any tournament when Mania's SK just crushed your team. I remember very well a wipe next the small neutral camp from Radiant. This isn't very specific, but maybe you can do some work for me
Also, GL kuro, you will always be my first in pro scene and I will always cheers for you.
The storm and puck game was against iGG, romanian team. I played storm and puppey played puck. joliE played rhasta, miracle played CM and they dual roamed.
the MYM game, I think, was when we had a weaver/warlock lane on top, I played potm solo bottom against Axe.
On April 11 2013 01:18 xairylle wrote: Why am I late in asking? Can I still ask? Please?
1) Why aren't you streaming anymore? Will you be streaming again? When? Is it soon? 2) How do you manage to be up and playing for long hours? Don't you get sleepy? Do you have an energy drink or something? 3) If you could have any of your favorite heroes as a pet, who would it be?
Thanks!!
Everyone is free to continue asking questions until the session is over. ^_^
On April 10 2013 02:44 Bisu-Fan wrote: What are you hotkey assignments?
and gosh agh on rubick is so sick~ haha imagine like fiends grip with pugna's life drain too op~ or ravage into rp.. o.O
I use legacy keys, except when I play rubick. Valve didn't fix alot of stuff for German keyboard settings (mainly y/z swapped), so some heroes (SF too) have problems with legacy
On April 10 2013 02:44 Sn0_Man wrote: How is your communication with the team working?
Are you learning russian? or do you guys communicate in a different language?
Are there any particular situations where the language barrier has cost you guys something?
Thanks for doing this!
I started picking up learning russian, but I don't know if I have the power to get through with it. We communicate mainly mixed, English and Russian combined
On April 10 2013 02:50 DoNotDisturb wrote: We all know how much you hate Nyx (or specifically, carapace) - how would you balance him?
there are many ways to balance a hero, nyx got a nice nerf already, but is still very strong. Either you can twist some stats, or lower the power of some spells, making manaburn 4x instead of 5x for example
On April 10 2013 03:05 MotherOfRunes wrote: agha rubick? i can see a kunkka ship + doom a landing ship that brings you....DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM you said your brain remembers useless informations :D did you see maelks dancing performance at the DLM 2009 players party? and how would you rate it ? 1-10
On April 10 2013 03:06 NB wrote: So, I want to go back all the way to the 2007-2009 period. Back then i remember you were pictured by the media as an incredibly talented player but teams simply cant work with you due to your star personality. Were there any truth into that?
Do you, as a professional player, ever care about major balance patches and the game direction that Icefrog choose or you just put your trust into him and only care about playing?
It is quite clear that Icefrog's intention after the latest major patch were to decrease the average game time by buffing heroes across the board as well as forcing teamfight by increasing kill golds. From 1 to "Kunka patch", how much did you enjoy 6.77? What is the problem with DotA that you think the next major patch need to address?
Lastly, is there any heroes that you dont want to see in TI3? What is the last "new hero" that you played in DotA1?
There were 2 teams in my lifetime where I had some personal problems and these teams I was only part of for a short time. I think if you ask my former teammates, most will talk only good about me. so no, i can confidently say there is hardly any truth in it. media is still media, be it esports or anything else, take everything with a grain of salt given the sources.
I don't care about balance patches so much, I try to adapt and play the game
I enjoy every patch, DotA doesn't really have any problems with the patch, some heroes are simply too good at what they do, e.g. Sylla and Batrider. Small nerfs could give more space to other heroes. the roles we have today, 1-5, were created by players, while the heroes are not created to fulfil a role. Heroes are just heroes, for example, what position would Tusk fit in? What position would Skeleton King fit in? 1? there are only better 1 options etc.
I don't mind seeing any specific hero. The last new hero I played was the knight with duel. hes fun to play
On April 10 2013 03:31 tree.hugger wrote: I have a question about your time in Mouz, and I hope you don't see this as gloating or rubbing anything in, I'm genuinely curious. When Liquid came back with two barracks down against PL/KotL in The Defense, what was that like for the team? What happened in game, what was the reaction after, and how did you guys rally to win against Liquid the next day?
The team felt pretty bad after the game, but we were just laughing for the first 20 minutes after our loss. Then we looked at our final mistakes we made and blamed it to our lack of concentration, while at the same time we were blaming ourselves being unable to finish an important game. During the series I already figured out liquid, so in my mind the Defense game was already won. The last game we lost by paper, but I think strategic-wise it was our win. So the next day we came back refreshed, and it was rather easy to outdraft and outplay liquid, as their way of thinking about the game was still the same. It doesn't matter how skilled you are, if one can see through your strategies, loss is imminent, which was the case for liquid.
On April 10 2013 03:39 Murm wrote: Do you think bottle crowing is imba? If so how would you fix it and how do you think it would effect the current play in the solo lanes?
I don't think it's imba, but it's affecting the game of the solo mid. Whether it's a good or bad things doesn't really matter, it's up to icefrog to set the pace of the game
Generally, as far strategy goes: it seems like you prefer to be reactionary. Figure out the opponent's strategy and then beat it by out-executing, exploiting their predictability, figuring out the weaknesses, and so forth. Would you agree with that? What do you think of teams who may practice a certain strategy or style so much that they believe they know how to play that kind of game better than their opponent, even if it's a little predictable?
On April 10 2013 04:07 Kipsate wrote: As a support player, how does one differentiate between a good player and a great player? What are important skills or perhaps even personality that you feel a good support player needs?
Good players fulfil their role, great players bring new dimensions into the game
Skillwise, support players need to have a good overview of the game and fights happening, as they can set only 1 spell in the right time, which is crucial. A good placed Lion stun can win the team fight Personality-wise, I would say it's the same as competitiveness itself. You have to think in a way what to do to win, in order to win you do x, y and z. Whatever you feel is the right thing, do it with confidence. if it fails, analyze your movements, and do it again. if it fails again, you have your answers whether you did the right things or not. Time to change your movements then, apply it to all approaches in life
On April 10 2013 04:09 MatteLiF wrote: Are you all speaking english when in-game? Or are the "russian speaking" speaking russian, when talking to eachother and english when talking to you?
it is mixed, sometimes we all speak english, sometimes xboct and dendi speak russian, another time english etc.
1) Alex wrote a post when you left Mouz and had some nice things to say about you. It's similar to the one you wrote for Puppey when you guys split ways. What was your reaction to that post when you read it?
2) In TI2 we saw how far behind the west was compared to their eastern counter-parts. How far do you think the NA/EU scene as a whole has progressed since then with respect to the east? Other than Na`Vi, teams such as nth, Fnatic and VP seem to be showing a lot of promise, so do you think it will be closer this time?
On April 10 2013 04:11 Windwaker wrote: do u think valve need to step it up and make a huge organized league like riot and blizzard?
Valve's way of sustaining the scene via the community itself is too idealistic. They are a dreamy company, so their choice is obvious. We can already see ten thousands of tickets being sold, yet the online world is dominant, and the prizepools remained the same. So yes, I believe and hope Valve will do something about it, since all pro players are being crippled. Personal sponsors can approach you, but they want to see something like LCS for LoL or WCS blizzard, so they can have something to work with. I believe, if after TI3 nothing will happen, alot of Dota players will retire/change the game. We love Dota so much, but people are getting old and we need to see where we stand in life. So much time invested for some small online tours, even the LAN tours are low prizepools.
On April 10 2013 04:17 TR wrote: Do you think metagame will change before TI3? Is there any upcoming heroes being released that you're looking forward to? In your opinion, what players do you think are best in each role, eg best mid, carry etc.?
don't know about the metagame, anything can happen hmm, I want to see pitlord finally. besides that, maybe the new heroes, they look fun dendi-xboct-funn1k-puppey of course!
You were very vocal about the vast differences of eu and chinese pro scene in the time of the original DotA, how do you see the differences now (strategy, individual talent, teamwork, training)?
What are your expectations from training in China?
Keep up the good work! Been following your games since the KS.int days
On April 10 2013 05:07 Dac wrote: How does communication work during games with Na'vi, does everyone speak english for everything? I don't believe they did before.
On April 10 2013 05:26 Gurgl wrote: How do you feel about meepo in dota 2 competitive play? I remember that you played him in competitive games in dota 1 and did quite well if I remember correctly.
meepo had so much bugs, so I didn't try to play him alot yet. he feels very different, I don't like him like in DotA to be honest
On April 10 2013 05:51 Deckard_Cain wrote: Do you prefer playing with autoattack on or off and is this only a matter of style or is there a relevant reason for progamers to play one way over another (aggro comes to mind). Do you even use some kind of script for it? Thank you.
simply autoattack on, no special mindset behind it. it's a habit I guess
On April 10 2013 05:26 Gurgl wrote: How do you feel about meepo in dota 2 competitive play? I remember that you played him in competitive games in dota 1 and did quite well if I remember correctly.
meepo had so much bugs, so I didn't try to play him alot yet. he feels very different, I don't like him like in DotA to be honest
Just clarifying - by your last sentence, do you mean Dota 1 or Dota 2?
Been a huge fan of Na'Vi since the start of DotA 2. As with most of NaVi fans, we were hit rather hard when the line up change was announced. How long do you think you guys have to take to fully merge as a squad and bring back the results most of us have come to expect? How long does it take for Puppey to adjust to the hero pools?
Na'Vi fighting! Go to China and train, come back and destroy everyone.
the new navi will probably not live up to the expectations of the public, because they are too high. even if we bring very good results, alot of people will find reaosns to still be dissatisfied. I hope to for many successes nontheless. puppey thinks of his own ideas, so there is no real adjusting to hero pools
On April 10 2013 05:56 duoform wrote: Changes on seeing Troll in the competitive scene if it's not nerfed or changed before CM? Do you think IceFrog will release the remaining heroes (Traxex, TC, Centaur, Troll etc) in CM before TI3? If so, would it clash the current "metagame"?
Troll is a very good pusher, maybe we will see him in a similar way lycan is played.
I don't really know, TC would be the most viable hero I believe
On April 10 2013 06:17 EchelonTee wrote: Just wanted to say that I love your personality and support play; the little speech you gave on talkDota on the impact of a support player was pretty sweet, I link it to people whenever they argue that only 1/2 position players are important.
On April 10 2013 06:19 Confuse wrote: lol really liked the rubick aghanim scepter suggestion, if a petition is formed it would have my support. Good interview!
My question:
I admit I am not an expert on professional dota, but when I watch recently it feels like one team destroys the other in game 1, then in game 2 the other team strikes back, and in game 3 the first team destroys again. I'm not sure if this is the reason, but how balanced is the current CM mode in your view? Does the team that gets to pick first have an advantage going in, if the teams are about evenly matched?
I just feel like teams getting outdrafted happens more often then I thought it would so I was curious.
there are certain heroes which control the game too much, outdrafts do happen from time to time. CM mode itself is fine, but I'm not sure if 2 first bans is good, maybe change it back to 3-3. FP in today's pool is definitely an advantage
On April 10 2013 06:28 dsue wrote: what do you think needs to be done to life the American/South American game to the standard of Europe and Asia?
it's mostly about infrastructure. if Americans would have many LANs happening, we would see a much stronger NA teams. other than that, it's the usual mindset which will determine one's success in competitive Dota
At what point in the game is the overarching win-strategy discussed? Is it discussed how you want to win before picks, after the lineup is chosen? After laning phase?
Is it generally the support who brings that up? Many of my losses are due to a misunderstanding between the carry and the support as to how we want to win the game (safely farm up and outcarry or shove down towers, e.g.)
On April 10 2013 06:55 zdfgucker wrote: If you could put together the best trolling team in the world, who would it consist of and what would their strat be?
rmN kuro icex3 weedman eternalenvy
wisp-tiny-skeletonking-bane-shadowdemon
wisp will teleport heroes to the edge of the map, so they can't escape. teamkill courier by sending it to the enemy, nobody can bring TP tiny will toss in eternalenvy twice, so you can hear him ranting in a funny voice bane for perma team sleep/abort TP skeletonking will farm in woods all game, while envy stacks ancient camps wisp finally teleported all teammates except shadowdemon by envy to the edge, they cant escape anymore eternalenvy keeps stacking ancients anyway
On April 10 2013 07:04 RoyGBiv_13 wrote: This guy is seriously talented at 5th position. I've been playing fifth position rubick for a while, and am always an order of magnitude less effective than Kuroky... My god he is good.
Can you describe the immediate pre-game process for Na'vi at tournaments? I always imagine you guys have been practicing so hard, that all you really need right before a game is to relax and let the fingers fly, but sometimes I wonder if you all get really pumped off of a locker room style pep talk.
in my experience, you should just relax before your actual games. do not eat too much food, don't think too much about the game, just relax. since we were just at techlabs, I can say what we did. puppey, dendi and I slept in the car for some hours before our game, since the mall was filled with fans, we couldn't get any rest there
On April 10 2013 07:10 StayPhrosty wrote: For players trying to improve, what do you think is the most important thing to focus on?
(somewhat related) What do you think Valve can do to make the game easier for new players to learn?
When learning how to communicate with new teammates, what are some things you find helpful? (e.g. deciding on roles/lanes ahead of time, deciding who to listen to/captain, important language issues/confusing terms/situations/things you have overcome, etc.)
How much time do you spend analyzing replays/watching VoDs or breaking down your gameplay and practicing a specific mechanic (e.g. focusing on nothing but ward positioning), and do you think it is more important for amateur players who want to get competitive to do this type of deliberate practice?
Do you think players can improve at all by practicing alone, or is consistent practice with the same 5 people the main way to improve?
Who do you respect and learn from the most?
What is the biggest thing that is missing/incomplete in Dota 2 right now?
Do you play dota when drinking alcohol? Do you play better or worse then? (what's your favourite drink? haha)
being self-critical for me is one of the main things to focus on
I think Valve is already doing a good job, there isn't much I can think of to make it easier, maybe more videos about gameplay
try to become friends, it's the simpliest way of making people listen to each other, which is crucial in a team game
it is needed to analyze your gameplay in order to improve, I do it mostly after important games to see my/team mistakes, so not too much time
individually, you can improve by just playing, but in the end you the effective way to improve is to grow within a team and get a better understanding of the game together
I respect many players, I learn from all players too
On April 10 2013 07:34 Mobius_1 wrote: Hi Kuro and you are awesome!
Back when Na'Vi were shuffling their roster, there was a lot of community speculation it would be a Russian-speaking player, especially in lieu of the NTH/EternalEnvy affair. Could you elaborate on the language aspects of playing in Na'Vi and how a team could overcome any barriers?
Also, do you know who IceFrog is?
by working together on problems, people together can achieve alot. it's all about mentality.
On April 10 2013 09:55 EZjijy wrote: IceFrog seems to be creating these Flavor of the Month(Year) type heroes i.e PL and Nyx, (AM and morph previously) with OP changes. Do you see this having a positive impact on the game?
I don't think icefrog creates these heroes with the intention to make them special strong, dota is a complex game so it's hard to find the right balance. balancing a game like dota is infact kinda impossible, you can just try to have it nearly balanced, which implies that heroes like you mentioned will always exist
On April 10 2013 09:55 EZjijy wrote: IceFrog seems to be creating these Flavor of the Month(Year) type heroes i.e PL and Nyx, (AM and morph previously) with OP changes. Do you see this having a positive impact on the game?
I don't think icefrog creates these heroes with the intention to make them special strong, dota is a complex game so it's hard to find the right balance. balancing a game like dota is infact kinda impossible, you can just try to have it nearly balanced, which implies that heroes like you mentioned will always exist
To add on to this, FotM is just how dota works because of counters and asymmetrical balancing
People don't like to buy shittons of forcestaffs on everybody anymore because of a slight nerf?? Suddenly Lifestealer top tier pick
And with lifestealer being picked this often you won't see Doom going FotM soon because Lifestealer>>Doom, no matter how many buffs he gets
On April 10 2013 12:26 BlackGosu wrote: 1. rank the roles from hardest to eastiest to play
2. do you practice 1v1 with teammates? if so do you win or lose more?
1 every role has it's own complex, so they are hard to play on their own, as you can see clear differences in the players abilities fulfilling their roles
On April 10 2013 12:37 Vankuga wrote: 1. What format and duration do you think is the best for online tournaments? 2. What improvements do you think Valve needs to do for TI3? What would you like to see at TI3?
Thank you for the good plays! Big fan of you guys, in the good and bad! Hope you get that practice on and show beautiful plays this year.
1 I like 1-2 day tournaments the most, anything longer than 1-2 weeks is already classified as unimportant/don't care situation
2 TI2 was very good in every aspect, I can't think of any improvements to be honest.
On April 10 2013 14:04 Kishin2 wrote: 1. What is your favorite food? 2. Favorite ice cream flavor? 3. Have you learned any important life lessons through your dota career? If so, what is the most important lesson you've learned? 4. What subject would you study in school if you didn't play dota professionally?
1. persian food 2. chocolate 3. my career has taught me alot of lessons, and it still does, it's one of the main reasons why I still play. hard to classify the most important one, I think it is not regretting your choices in life 4. I'm interested in some subjects, can't really say right now which I would truly study, need more time to think about it
Have you ever had a strange/funny fan meeting? Something which was really unique and you wont forget so fast.
How was the relationship at mouz between you and sing? I like his stream a lot, but sometimes I get the feeling that he is very selfish and and annoying, if things get serious - can you tell me ur impression of sing and how things went, when u lost a game with mouz?
On April 10 2013 14:12 TheEmulator wrote: Favourite Video game outside of Dota 2. One Esport, and one regular game on any gaming platform from any period of time.
esport - wc3 regular - knights and merchant was the only game I played alot when it before online era on PC, when I was young
On April 10 2013 15:45 Buggington wrote: What do you think of the current western heropool? In my opinion, it is rapidly getting quite stale with Kotl, pl, nyx, naix, batrider, etc, whereas whenever I watch chinese dota I see a lot of heroes otherwise not used. Do you think the western teams are too afraid to experiment with entirely new hero lineups and compositions (ie. discounting incidental adventures on treant or OD), or what is the reason for the relatively small western hero pool right now?
it's mostly about time, we have alot of tournaments we play all the time, so we need to use what we know is definitely good
On April 10 2013 16:16 Apsalar wrote: How much do you guys scrim vs other top teams? Are you satisfied with ur own discipline / with the discipline of ur team-members when it comes to training?
Thanks!
since our team is still new, I can't say much about it. for now, we don't practice but we will start on the 13th
On April 10 2013 16:45 Iplaythings wrote: If you've seen TL's power ranking for dota 2 teams, and you were to make one yourself (for the EU scene, that is), how would you make it? TL's is atm: 1) Nth 2) N'avi 3) Fnatic.eu 4) VP 5) TeamLiquid
I don't like ranking teams, there are some teams which are very good like StarLadder showed us, who can beat each other on a good day
On April 10 2013 17:04 tapes wrote: How is the team spirit in Na'Vi? Are you guys motivated? Do you feel like you need much more training to reach your full potential or are happy with where you are currently?
Got any favorite bands or books you really enjoyed reading?
Good luck, I wish you all the best!
we need to train alot, we are motivated to show good results, hopefully we can achieve our goals.
I mostly listen to melodic styles, so no specific bands. My favourite book is the art of war by sun tzu
On April 10 2013 18:35 zMuffinMan wrote: What do you feel was the biggest thing you took from your trip to SMM 2009 with MYM?
What is your fondest DotA tournament memory/achievement?
prior SMM 2009, I already looked into using Dusa/Razor, but my team didn't like my ideas. I learned to listen to myself more than to others, if you feel confident with your idea, you should enforce your idea
DLM 2009 was the first LAN I won, it's a strong memory
On April 10 2013 18:57 nojok wrote: Why do you think there is no real order between western top team? Each one seems able to beat any other on a good day. At the moment it seems almost random.
competition seems a bit random, strong teams can beat each other given their daily form. everyone tries their best, this is what competition is about; can't expect one team to win it all for a long period of time, as others will look into you just to beat you
What are some realistic hopes and expectations of yours with Na'Vi? Obviously you are aiming to improve as a team in China, but do you fear that losing the element of surprise against chinese teams may be a problem? I'm your biggest fanboy, btw
On April 10 2013 19:15 KazeZeroX wrote: how do you get so good at playing Rubick?
practice, practice. I like rubick especially since he makes it easier for me to punish my opponents and do more stuff in a game than a simple hero like VS
At the start of the new Na'Vi we saw a very proactive, aggressive and effective execution. Past games, have been actually reactive, waiting for enemy teams to execute first. Is this the result of lack of training?
Puppey used to pick and ban alone in old Na'Vi, are you helping him now?
Watching G-1 League, the level of competition is higher (Bigger hero pool, less mistakes) compared to EU. Are you afraid that this will affect Na'Vi's chances in TI? As a team, how will you try to solve this?
Do you think EU scene fails in training? Watching scrims (source: QPAD) and competitive Dota, it seems as if teams just try to pick-ban heroes based on consequential situations, instead of actually practicing strategies or perfecting heroes. Do you think this way of playing Dota is effective. Do you guys at Na'Vi have any thoughts? Best example I can take is SingSing's Kunkka, he has trained that hero so much, that it is actually very effective, or Dendi's Pudge.
Best of luck!
not neccesarily lack of training, rather lack of understanding how to win the game, as we feel lost alot of times due to different understanding of the game
we pick together, he makes the final calls
East teams are very high skilled, we need to simply get better to be able to beat them, there is no way around it
West teams have problems finding stable practice partners, thus creating specific strategies is very hard. west tries to simply get better mechanically most of the time and reduce mistakes with their roles, not in a strategic context but rather in their own roles
On April 10 2013 23:54 ILoveCoffee wrote: Do you agree with the notion that people have that different heroes in the hero pool are assigned into tiers based on their tendency to be picked?
I dont believe in tiers, trends determine their strengh mostly
On April 11 2013 01:18 xairylle wrote: Why am I late in asking? Can I still ask? Please?
1) Why aren't you streaming anymore? Will you be streaming again? When? Is it soon? 2) How do you manage to be up and playing for long hours? Don't you get sleepy? Do you have an energy drink or something? 3) If you could have any of your favorite heroes as a pet, who would it be?
Thanks!!
1) pc/net problems 2) no energy drinks, just about mental state 3) bristleback, little pig spraying quills all the time :D
On April 11 2013 01:50 Antoine wrote: Generally, as far strategy goes: it seems like you prefer to be reactionary. Figure out the opponent's strategy and then beat it by out-executing, exploiting their predictability, figuring out the weaknesses, and so forth. Would you agree with that? What do you think of teams who may practice a certain strategy or style so much that they believe they know how to play that kind of game better than their opponent, even if it's a little predictable?
reactionary playstyle is an indicator that the team doesn't practice so much, it's an easier way to get around things and still try to win the game. Teams can practice certrain styles and strats, it will bring them many wins, but at one point it will stop, so they have to be careful and have more plans in their bag for future success
On April 11 2013 02:00 Mutinix wrote: 1) Alex wrote a post when you left Mouz and had some nice things to say about you. It's similar to the one you wrote for Puppey when you guys split ways. What was your reaction to that post when you read it?
2) In TI2 we saw how far behind the west was compared to their eastern counter-parts. How far do you think the NA/EU scene as a whole has progressed since then with respect to the east? Other than Na`Vi, teams such as nth, Fnatic and VP seem to be showing a lot of promise, so do you think it will be closer this time?
1) I am still in contact with mouz, we parted on good terms. I was happy that I could help him to progress, it's a nice feeling.
2) I think the competition gets tougher every year, TI3 might be very tense indeed
On April 11 2013 02:05 szaszke wrote: You were very vocal about the vast differences of eu and chinese pro scene in the time of the original DotA, how do you see the differences now (strategy, individual talent, teamwork, training)?
What are your expectations from training in China?
Keep up the good work! Been following your games since the KS.int days
the gap is closing more and more, I think most teams from all regions can beat each other in different series
no real expectations, I hope we will progress though
On April 10 2013 05:26 Gurgl wrote: How do you feel about meepo in dota 2 competitive play? I remember that you played him in competitive games in dota 1 and did quite well if I remember correctly.
meepo had so much bugs, so I didn't try to play him alot yet. he feels very different, I don't like him like in DotA to be honest
Just clarifying - by your last sentence, do you mean Dota 1 or Dota 2?
On April 11 2013 02:17 phANT1m wrote: What are things you think people should do to improve? (Beyond normal stuff like last hits,map awareness etc)
What are ways you think can help them to accomplish this?
Thanks
its mostly about mentality. I believe, if someone wants to become good at something, he will achieve it, as long as he works hard for it, with body and spirit
What is your favorite stage of the game? draft, early, mid, late or super-late game? why? Which one is Na'vi the strongest at in relation to other teams?
On April 11 2013 02:29 RoyGBiv_13 wrote: At what point in the game is the overarching win-strategy discussed? Is it discussed how you want to win before picks, after the lineup is chosen? After laning phase?
Is it generally the support who brings that up? Many of my losses are due to a misunderstanding between the carry and the support as to how we want to win the game (safely farm up and outcarry or shove down towers, e.g.)
teams have various ideas how to win, you try to realize it via picks. if you think your idea of winning the game (eg. you think safe farm is best) is the best, then maximize this idea/strat as much as possible. apply it to all other ideas you might have
On April 11 2013 02:34 puretalent wrote: what do u think is the best way to improve and get into competitive scene?And which tips u can give to new players?ty
getting into competitive scene is about connection, so try to make aware of yourself somehow. improvements comes with practice and right mentality, try hard go pro. newer players shouldn't be too overeager, practice alot, at some point step back, relax, and look at your mistakes, and go for it again. as long as you have fun, everything is alright!
On April 11 2013 02:40 Dekkiller wrote: How do you feel about mid Rubick? Any tips for Rubick?
mid Rubick is nice, as you get alot of levels and items, so you are more flexible. he is not needed mid though, as he is a very strong support too. rubick is a hero that you get better with the better you are at the game itself. the more understanding you have, the more impact you will have with rubick, catching the right spells in the right moment and utilizing them
On April 11 2013 02:58 Steveling wrote: If every hero would be able to be picked only once per series would that make for some interesting picking mind games? It's an awesome idea right?
i think this will create so much chaos and imbalances, but it sounds like a funny idea :D
On April 11 2013 02:59 HarryKlein wrote: 1v1 wrestling H4nn1 against you, who wins?
Have you ever had a strange/funny fan meeting? Something which was really unique and you wont forget so fast.
How was the relationship at mouz between you and sing? I like his stream a lot, but sometimes I get the feeling that he is very selfish and and annoying, if things get serious - can you tell me ur impression of sing and how things went, when u lost a game with mouz?
Thanks for this Q&A!
old friends dont fight
not really, some are more enthuastic, some are less, some are crazy about you but I appreciate every support, very glad for their help.
sing and I are good friends, we enjoyed playing together. he can get emotional at times, but it's also his strengh, I didn't have problems playing with him, it was a fun time
On April 11 2013 03:14 ne0lith wrote: What are some realistic hopes and expectations of yours with Na'Vi? Obviously you are aiming to improve as a team in China, but do you fear that losing the element of surprise against chinese teams may be a problem? I'm your biggest fanboy, btw
right now, it's hard to say what will happen at all. for now we only focus on EMS and G1, everything else comes after. Our main goal is to place high in these events. thanks for your support
On April 11 2013 03:18 Firebolt145 wrote: You mentioned you prefer 3/3 bans over 2/2 bans at the start of the draft. Could you explain the difference between them and your reasoning for this?
it's mostly because alot of heroes have too much power in game, so 2-2 bans force each team to give away imba and get imba in return, im not sure if this is the ideal system. rather have 3-3 bans, kick out imba heroes, let teams have more room to create own strategies not revolving around heroes which fulfil their role too good
On April 11 2013 03:22 BurningSera wrote: Please tell us your favourite heroes on solo mid/solo hardlane/jungler/support and also melee and range carry heroes.
Thanks for the interview!
solo mid - qop/storm hardlane - bounty hunter/zeus jungler - enigma/morph support - rubick/thd carry meele - antimage/juggernaut carry range - drow ranger/gyrocopter
the 2nd hero I listed is more for public games, while the first hero I would use in a competitive game
Do you feel like at some point there will be a new divide in the DotA community between DotA 1 and DotA 2? Do you think people will pick up DotA 1 for the "purity" of the mechanics at some point? I see Dota 2 becoming a mechanically worse and less stable game every version that gets released with more cosmetic nonsense, does it bother you that the game has been in beta for over a year and many bugs remain in the game without answer as to when they'll be fixed?
On April 11 2013 03:31 gammAwolfa wrote: What do you think about Visage as hero, is he too weak for competitive Dota? or does players lack micro skills to make him useful?
he is viable in the right context, mostly about lane play. he will be used if somebody wants to force an aggressive tri lane, his nuke is very strong in the laning phase
On April 11 2013 03:33 laguu wrote: What is your favorite stage of the game? draft, early, mid, late or super-late game? why? Which one is Na'vi the strongest at in relation to other teams?
I like all stages, each stage I need to think what to do to win, it's fun right now, I believe we are strongest in early game, but we need to play more to figure out our strenghs and weaknesses
On April 11 2013 04:00 Haxity wrote: Do you feel like at some point there will be a new divide in the DotA community between DotA 1 and DotA 2? Do you think people will pick up DotA 1 for the "purity" of the mechanics at some point? I see Dota 2 becoming a mechanically worse and less stable game every version that gets released with more cosmetic nonsense, does it bother you that the game has been in beta for over a year and many bugs remain in the game without answer as to when they'll be fixed?
I don't think the west will really touch DotA instead of Dota 2. cosmetics are fine, they don't annoy me, I just don't like spell icons being changed, I think thats too much.
bugs are natural, but they dont bother me too much
On April 11 2013 04:00 Haxity wrote: Do you feel like at some point there will be a new divide in the DotA community between DotA 1 and DotA 2? Do you think people will pick up DotA 1 for the "purity" of the mechanics at some point? I see Dota 2 becoming a mechanically worse and less stable game every version that gets released with more cosmetic nonsense, does it bother you that the game has been in beta for over a year and many bugs remain in the game without answer as to when they'll be fixed?
I think people are being unfair to Valve when they say things like this.
99% of the "bugs" that are in the game are only bugs because they aren't at DotA 1 parity--they're not functionally broken or anything. Seeing as this is the first time that a developer has released a sequel that is supposed to be functionally identical to the original, no developer has ever been subject to this level of scrutiny before. The developers are being asked to mimic functionality in a completely different engine, written in a language that they probably don't know (seeing as I don't think working knowledge of JASS and the DotA 1 code-base is in any way a reasonable requirement for the DotA 2 dev team).
"Back then teams that won were credited, now it's called throw. I think it's sad."
As someone who has only been watching dota for about a year now I felt like I had to quote this. Every single stream/tourney/thread has people yelling throw about everything. It's honestly really annoying, I brought it up in one thread asking why the winning team wasnt getting credit and got a throw response.
On April 11 2013 04:00 Haxity wrote: Do you feel like at some point there will be a new divide in the DotA community between DotA 1 and DotA 2? Do you think people will pick up DotA 1 for the "purity" of the mechanics at some point? I see Dota 2 becoming a mechanically worse and less stable game every version that gets released with more cosmetic nonsense, does it bother you that the game has been in beta for over a year and many bugs remain in the game without answer as to when they'll be fixed?
I think people are being unfair to Valve when they say things like this.
99% of the "bugs" that are in the game are only bugs because they aren't at DotA 1 parity--they're not functionally broken or anything. Seeing as this is the first time that a developer has released a sequel that is supposed to be functionally identical to the original, no developer has ever been subject to this level of scrutiny before. The developers are being asked to mimic functionality in a completely different engine, written in a language that they probably don't know (seeing as I don't think working knowledge of JASS and the DotA 1 code-base is in any way a reasonable requirement for the DotA 2 dev team).
I think it would be unfair if you saw a constant effort for perfection that never wavered. It seems like over the past few months there has been a decrease on the emphasis on making the game as good as it can be versus making the game as pretty as it can be. I mean early beta the #1 complaint was that it wasnt similar enough to DotA 1, and undoubtedly the game has come a long way - but does that mean that just because it's much better they can stop improving it? I dont think so.
They consistently release updates every week and most of the cosmetics are not even being made by valve. It's not like they have decided to make hats instead of improving the game they have different people working on different things.
On April 11 2013 04:00 Haxity wrote: Do you feel like at some point there will be a new divide in the DotA community between DotA 1 and DotA 2? Do you think people will pick up DotA 1 for the "purity" of the mechanics at some point? I see Dota 2 becoming a mechanically worse and less stable game every version that gets released with more cosmetic nonsense, does it bother you that the game has been in beta for over a year and many bugs remain in the game without answer as to when they'll be fixed?
I think people are being unfair to Valve when they say things like this.
99% of the "bugs" that are in the game are only bugs because they aren't at DotA 1 parity--they're not functionally broken or anything. Seeing as this is the first time that a developer has released a sequel that is supposed to be functionally identical to the original, no developer has ever been subject to this level of scrutiny before. The developers are being asked to mimic functionality in a completely different engine, written in a language that they probably don't know (seeing as I don't think working knowledge of JASS and the DotA 1 code-base is in any way a reasonable requirement for the DotA 2 dev team).
I think it would be unfair if you saw a constant effort for perfection that never wavered. It seems like over the past few months there has been a decrease on the emphasis on making the game as good as it can be versus making the game as pretty as it can be. I mean early beta the #1 complaint was that it wasnt similar enough to DotA 1, and undoubtedly the game has come a long way - but does that mean that just because it's much better they can stop improving it? I dont think so.
Game designers have different teams that work on different things. The people designing the graphics and stuff like cosmetics may not be the same people who work on the underlying core game code.
Thank you Kky for taking your time doing this. I have always been your fan and will continue to support you with your dota career. I even put you + mouz on my TI3 list back in december ;. Now with Navi, you better win that damn 1 mil.
You are known to be one of the best rubick players. What do you think makes a good rubick? I generally find myself trying to go for that big steal and having close to non contribution to teamfights if i don't get it. Thank you! :D
On April 11 2013 04:00 Haxity wrote: Do you feel like at some point there will be a new divide in the DotA community between DotA 1 and DotA 2? Do you think people will pick up DotA 1 for the "purity" of the mechanics at some point? I see Dota 2 becoming a mechanically worse and less stable game every version that gets released with more cosmetic nonsense, does it bother you that the game has been in beta for over a year and many bugs remain in the game without answer as to when they'll be fixed?
I think people are being unfair to Valve when they say things like this.
99% of the "bugs" that are in the game are only bugs because they aren't at DotA 1 parity--they're not functionally broken or anything. Seeing as this is the first time that a developer has released a sequel that is supposed to be functionally identical to the original, no developer has ever been subject to this level of scrutiny before. The developers are being asked to mimic functionality in a completely different engine, written in a language that they probably don't know (seeing as I don't think working knowledge of JASS and the DotA 1 code-base is in any way a reasonable requirement for the DotA 2 dev team).
I think it would be unfair if you saw a constant effort for perfection that never wavered. It seems like over the past few months there has been a decrease on the emphasis on making the game as good as it can be versus making the game as pretty as it can be. I mean early beta the #1 complaint was that it wasnt similar enough to DotA 1, and undoubtedly the game has come a long way - but does that mean that just because it's much better they can stop improving it? I dont think so.
Game designers have different teams that work on different things. The people designing the graphics and stuff like cosmetics may not be the same people who work on the underlying core game code.
And valve might have a lot of people working on making the game china-friendly, they've already removed a lot of skulls and stuff from skill icons.
On April 11 2013 04:15 Scrandom wrote: "Back then teams that won were credited, now it's called throw. I think it's sad."
As someone who has only been watching dota for about a year now I felt like I had to quote this. Every single stream/tourney/thread has people yelling throw about everything. It's honestly really annoying, I brought it up in one thread asking why the winning team wasnt getting credit and got a throw response.
I felt like i have to quote this phrase, too. Anyway, its easier to see the mistakes in the loosing team after it had the huge advantage. In my opinion, the fault is up to the streamers, because they mainly have their eyes on the team winning the previous teamfights.
EPT
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