Interview

With
Tempest

Interview by r_gg

Tempest is currently the hottest team in the Korean Heroes scene, taking down the "invincible" MVP Black and becoming the Super League 2016 Summer Champion. We had an opportunity to interview the team before they leave for Sweden, to find out how they are feeling about their victory and what they hope to accomplish in the future.

Also, a big thank you to our Heroes community at reddit for the questions!! Don't forget to checkout our previous interview with Tempest that happened in the beginning of the summer season.

(Tempest's Super League Statistic by @Kaelaris)

Article Outline

Who is Tempest?
Meet the Players
On Summer World Championship
On the Game
Wrapping Up
BONUS!

Who is Tempest?

(GO TEMPEST! from Inven)

Q. First off, congratulations on winning Super League!!

How do you guys feel?

Dami: I'm happy that we won Super League, but I won't stop here. I'll keep on doing my best for more.

HongCoNo: It lets me buy more clothes, so it's great.

Duckdeok: It's awesome that we won Super League..... but I felt a bit empty because we won it too easily. I guess it's not too bad to win like this, and I decided I'll work harder so I can crush my opponents even more easily next time.

Lockdown: Feels good.

Hide: It was a bit disappointing that it was easier than expected, but it's great.

Q. After your first loss against TNL in the beginning, the team as a whole showed incredible level of growth for the rest of Super League. What was the secret to your success?

Duckdeok: We didn't get depressed from the loss, and we never stopped communicating with each other.

Hide: I think the fact that we were already friends before we formed the team helped us keep our trust in each other.

Q. HongCoNo said in an interview before the finals that drafts will decide whether or not they can take down MVP Black. How did you guys prepare your drafts for the match?

HongCoNo: Hide, Coach OPrime, and I had a 5 hour long conversation about it over Skype. We had some troubles when it was just me and Hide going over drafts, so we decided to bring OPrime in since he's quite knowledgeable. I think it ended up working great.

Q. What was your hardest moment in Super League? How about the most memorable?

HongCoNo: vs DSA, Game 3. I landed a perfect 4-man mosh pit, but Dami pushed them all away with Sundering. That was the toughest and the most memorable.

Dami: Our first series against TNL when we lost 3-0 was the hardest. The most memorable was when we beat TNL with a 3-1.

Lockdown: Hardest would be before the role swap. Most memorable was after the switch when I could feel I grew as a player.

Hide: Toughest moment - when we lost the game and got tilted. Memorable moment - when we earned our ticket to the grand finals.

Duckdeok: The semi-final aginst TNL was the hardest. I couldn't let go of my concentration until the very end. The most memorable moment was when we lost against TNL in the group stage. We lost the series, but Lockdown, who was sitting right next to me, was cheering up the whole team saying it's okay and we will do better next time.

Q. What are your favorite heroes and skins? Are there any heroes that your team doesn't let you pick?

Dami: I'm super confident in my Gazlowe, and want to play him.

HongCoNo: I want to play Cho'Gall. I love Azmo and Nazeebo too. Dunkmodan PLZ.

Hide: Nova was my first hero so I love her, but I don't think we'll ever use her in tournaments.

Duckdeok: Illidan.

Meet the Players

Lockdown

Q. You left MVP Black after becoming No.1 in Korea from winning HCOT S2. Only 6 months later, you once again reclaimed the top of Korea by defeating your old team. How do you feel? How's playing in Tempest different from playing in MVP Black?

Lockdown: I'm really happy to have won with my current teammates. I think the free, easy-going atmosphere of Tempest fits me a lot better.

Q. After switching to the ranged assassin role, it didn't take long for you to be called the "World's Best Falstad". How did you practice? Falstad's winrate in Super League was only 52% (15W14), but your Falstad actually came out 7-0. What's so special about Lockdown's Fastad?

Lockdown: I trained a lot in Hero League. I love gathering XP, so it's a perfect hero for me. I think that's why I was able to do even better.

Hide

Q. When merryday shocked the world with Seven-Sided-Strike Kharazim in Super League 2015, he said you were the one that taught him that style. We stopped seeing SSS Kharazim for a while, but you busted it out once again this season and made quite a killing. How do you feel about Kharazim in the current meta?

Hide: Personally, he's a great support hero that fits my taste. But objectively, I think he feels 2% short of being a good support.

Q. In Game 3 of the Grand Final vs MVP Black, why did you pick "Way of the Hundred Fists" instead of Cleanse or Echo of Heaven?

Hide: It was because the enemy composition didn't warrant a Cleanse or extra heals, and I wanted to add more damage to the team. Also, it's a personal favorite of mine

Q. As a support that needs to keep his team alive, isn't it difficult to play with such aggressive teammates?

Hide: Although my team is pretty aggressive, they are also great at dispersing enemy focus and distributing damage, so it's not that difficult. I tend to play quite aggressively too, so I really like my current team.

Dami

Q. Any tips on how to play post-cocktail nerf Greymane? (from /u/SfoL)

Dami: Greymane's autoattacks while in wolf-form is super strong, so make sure to stutter step as you land your autos, and use his Q to dodge enemy spells. If the enemy tries to escape, use his R or E to chase.

Q. Your performance with Sonya, Greymane and even Anub'arak in the finals were on-par with Rich. Which hero are you most confident in?

Dami: I think I'm confident in almost every hero.

Q. I heard your wrist hurts pretty badly. Does it ever effect your performance?

Dami: My wrist isn't too much of an issue in tournaments, but it used to affect our practice a lot. But now I learned how to condition it, so it's all good. Thank you asking

HongCoNo

Q. You said you have some health issues. Will you be okay traveling to Sweden?

HongCoNo: I should be able to survive it if I take plenty of medicine. Thank you for the concern :D

Q. Why do you keep on changing your ID? (from /u/bobtehnoob)

HongCoNo: I just love changing nicknames. But I won't anymore TnT

Q. It's not a question but more of a request: Can we have Hongcono always wear shorts at every tournament? :D (from /u/ahmong)

HongCoNo: Why?! I'll take note regardless.......

Q. Why didn't you high-five Dami during the grand final?

HongCoNo: I just didn't see his hand

Dami is my best bud.

Duckdeok

Q. How's it like to go to Europe again for a championship? Back when you won 2013 WCS S2 Europe, you were in same group with HasuObs (who will be playing for mYi) and you faced Grubby* in the semi-finals. Are you looking forward to the reunion?

Duckdeok: I'm super excited, and I want to play mYi ASAP. Also, it would be really awesome if Grubby can cast that match.

*Note: I made this question before the Casters were announced, expecting Grubby to be in it. Sorry duckdeok >_< RIP the dream T-T

Q. You were originally a Warrior player, but you switched to flex position mid-season. What made you switch? Wasn't it stressful having to increase your hero pool all of a sudden?

Duckdeok: I didn't feel much stress, and I was quite optimistic about the switch actually. When I first started Heroes, I wanted to play bunch of different Heroes other than just warriors, but my previous teammates forced me into playing tanks because they told me I'm only good at warriors.

To be honest, playing tanks was always a struggle and I never really enjoyed it. People around me kept complementing my plays so I thought I was good at it, but it really wasn't the right fit for me. I compensated for the mismatch through immense amount of practice, but I didn't think I could be No.1 Warrior in the world.

But I don't regret it~~~ If I hadn't played tank, I might have never got to play in Tempest.

Coach OPrime

Q. You are normally a hard-working community caster for the Korean scene. How did you end up joining the team as a coach? How's it like taking down MVP Black on your first game?

OPrime: HongCoNo suddenly asked "Wanna go to Sweden?", and I figured I could help the team in drafts and analyzing other teams. It feels weird though. I'm very close to players from MVP Black, so I'm sure they were all surprised when they saw me in their opponent's booth.

*NOTE: OPrime is a Korean Community caster who have been solo-casting every NA, EU and CN tournaments on Twitch for the Korean community for over a year. He joined Tempest as a coach right before the Super League grand final, and will be joining them to Sweden.

Looking at the World Championship

Q. Do you keep up with foreign tournaments? Which is your favorite region?

OPrime: I watch every single tournament. (China, Europe, NA, Taiwan, Latin America, SEA, and even AZ). I'm most curious about EU. I think they are quite good, but they always seem to underperform in international tournaments. I don't know why.

Duckdeok: I follow China a lot and they are quite interesting. I would love to be invited to play in Chinese tournaments too.

Q. Which team is your No.1 threat for Sweden? The team you want to face the most?

OPrime: Our biggest threat is mYinsanity. They are great at punishing mistakes, so I think they do well against aggressive teams. I would like to play against eStar, but I don't know what their roster situation is right now, so they are a pain to prepare against right now.

Q. For a young team, it can be difficult to face foreign meta from different regions. How are you preparing for that? Are they any difficulties in preparing against teams that you never faced before?

OPrime: I've been watching every tournament around the world for the past year, and I know how each one drafts so there's not too much trouble. But how well we'll do against them in-game is something we'll never know until we face them.

Q. Do you have any pocket strategy for Sweden, and why is it Twilight Dream Malfurion?
(from /u/Kasikeman)

OPrime: The event's in Northern Europe, so we might pick Vikings.

Hide: Twighlight Malf is gooooooood~~~

Q. No.1 Tempest player to watch out for in Sweden?

Everyone:

GO! DUCK DUCK!! GO! DUCK DUCK!!

GO DUCK DUCK GO*!!!!

OPrime: Duckdeok. He's gonna charm too many men. It'll be tough to keep things under control.

Duckdeok: ????

*NOTE: Original phrase was "경덕덕쿵덕덕 쿵기덕 쿵더러러럭 경덕", which is a Korean folk tune, but it's difficult to convey properly so I took some liberties.

About the Game

(Tempest getting ready - from Inven)

Q. What's the thing Heroes Esport scene need the most right now?

Dami: Passion.

HongCoNo: I want the community to not ignore the dedication put in by the pro-players, and stop berating the teams.

Lockdown: People.

OPrime: There aren't any global tournaments like WCA and MGA this year. I wish there were more international tournaments.

Hide: I'd love to see more investment so the players can put all their focus into the game.

Duckdeok: More love!

Q. How do you feel about the new ranked system?

Dami: It's exciting.

HongCoNo: I wish it improves matchmaking.

Hide: I want to be No.1.

Duckdeok: I'm really glad that we got new contents that increases motivation to continue playing the game. I hope to see more and more patches like this... and it would be great if they can come faster and faster....
It's a feature I've been waiting for since Heroes Beta, and it's just now being added.... it was so.... frustrating... *sigh*... it's finally here ;_;
I feel happy and exhausted at the same time. Also, I really want to see more improvements to matchmaking. Even if the search time have to get longer, I want to be facing equal-skilled opponents.... PLEASE.

Q. Thoughts on the "heal slave" issue?

HongCoNo: I think support is all personal preference, so I don't think it's a heal slave.

Dami: Our support does damage....

OPrime: I think they need to patch things so the less popular support ultimates get picked.

Hide: The current meta definitely favors supports that can instant save his allies. So to give supports more opportunities, they need to buff the under-used supports, and add more utility supports.

Duckdeok: How about reducing healing and buffing their CC, damage, etc? Or give them skills that can save their allies other than healing. Personally, I think buffing the "Scouting Drone" talent and giving it to some supports will increase the impact supports have in the game.

Q. We have seem some Tracer and even Chromie actions from NA. Any thoughts on the two heroes?

HongCoNo: Tracer has good skill set, but her damage is terrible. I think Chromie might show up. We have ☆G★.O☆D.★D☆.O.★W☆.N.☆.

OPrime: No, still not picking.

Hide: It's a hero that requires lot of skill from the player, but feels a bit lacking. I think they need to slight buffs.

Wrapping Up

Q. How can foreign fans reach out to Tempest?

HongCoNo: Please visit our Facebook page! If you shoot us a FB message, we'll do our best to answer them with our terrible English :D

Hide: You'll be able to find me on Twitch soon!!

Duckdeok: I have a twitter account, @positive2duck and also Instagram: @47dude

Q. Lastly, what are your future goals, and any message to your foreign fans?

HongCoNo: My goal is to win DreamHack without dropping a single game, and please give us your love.

Lockdown: I would like to say a big thank you to all the fans who love and care for Heroes!!

Hide: My goal is winning Blizzcon. Thank you so much for everyone who have been supporting Tempest!!

Duckdeok: My ultimate goal is to be the most famous Heroes player.... and to join the Nexus as a playable hero... Please continue to send us love.....

(Tempest wins Super League! from Inven)

Bonus

Q. Would you rather fight a cho'gall sized murky, or a hundred murky sized cho'galls? (from /u/Lord_Boo)

Dami: ㅋㅋㅋ (lolololol)

HongCoNo: Why are you asking this....?

Hide: I hate both....

Duckdeok: I'd just kill myself.....

Interview w/ Tempest - the Summer Korean Champion

Interview