EPTUPDATED WITH MORE GAMEPLAY QUESTIONS ANSWERED THOROUGHLY!!! CHECK BELOW!!!
I’ve had a chance to have an interview with HuK who won my small tournament (TDS). I’m surprised there haven’t been many interviews about him as he is no doubt the best Protoss player in North America, participating in almost every tournament and finishing at the top. He is known for his incredible PvT and taking down the best players consistently.
First and foremost, tell us about yourself.
HuK: My name is Chris Loranger, I'm 21 years old and I go by the name HuK.
Tournament
Well firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on winning my small, horribly organized tournament where you had to wait for weeks. How does it feel?
HuK: Great of course. Yeah it wasn't exactly what everyone had hoped but all and all I think it went pretty well. There were a lot of great players too so it’s always nice to compete.
You beat your clan mate Antimage 4-0. Would you say this had to do more with your PvP skill or the fact that you know how he plays, since you do practice with him?
HuK: Actually me and Victor never practice (Victor and I
). I just think he was having a bad day and I was pretty well warmed up from that morning from an EU tournament.General
Looking at the tournament stats during the StarCraft 2 Beta, with many #1 placed winnings, you are no doubt the best Protoss in North America. Do you agree with this? (It’s fine to gloat!)
Huk: LoL, I wouldn't want to say that myself but if others think that—that’s fine too
. Definitely think NA Protoss players are lacking, there’s a lot of great Terran NA players, but Protoss/Zerg seem a lot weaker.You and many of other top players come from a StarCraft background; however, there have been many WarCraft 3 players who are dominating as well. Do you believe that StarCraft 2 caters equally to both StarCraft and WarCraft 3 players?
HuK: No I think a StarCraft background is a bit better, but both games are WAY better than anything else. It's pretty close but overall I think StarCraft players have a slight edge. (Yes I'm biased.)
Your beastly Protoss play has earned you nicknames such as Huk Norris and The Incredible Huk. I’m sure you love those names, but if you had to choose one for people to refer you as, what would it be? Or would you prefer more than one being used?
Huk: I really love all my nicknames, and my fans for giving them to me. I don't really prefer any one over another but it seems that Huk Norris is the most popular so if I had to choose I guess that one.
I’ve come up with something. When you do lose, people can say Fuk.
HuK: Nice
, yeah I've heard people say fuk you Huk . By the way there’s another good Canadian user named Dukke who should change his name to DuK. What are your thoughts on StarCraft 2, especially compared to its predecessor?
HuK: Think it's great, thinks it's really going to be the closest competition to SC1 that you can get as a great game, but I think for as long as I live SC1 forever going to be my favourite game, just the "wow factor" you can pull off in that game makes the crowd really please. LIM YO HWAN!
Any improvements you feel that are needed in this game?
HuK: A lot, just to sum it up fix battle.net 2.0 because it’s horrible. Balance wise or anything else I don't feel really qualified to talk too much about it.
Battle.net 2.0
I’m not going to get in depth with Battle.net 2.0 because it’s safe to assume you loathe it just like the rest of us.
HuK:
Blizzard has stated that for all the games in the invite Pro League (above Diamond League), replays will be publicly available for everyone to watch. Considering that this league will be a gateway to big tournaments, and you are limited one account per game, how do you feel about this?
HuK: Mixed feelings I guess, no smurfing is a double edge sword in many, many ways. But competition wise it’s obviously great.
Protoss
Why does Blizzard hate such a beautiful race?
HuK: Hate us because were beautiful of course
.What would you say your best match up is, and what makes you good at it?
HuK: PvT when the beta closed I would say, just because Protoss have a lot of control in that game and can counter easily. Maybe because I was a Terran user in SC1, idk
.There has been of talk about PvT imbalance. One big one that many Protoss players feel the need to emphasize on is the Ghost’s EMP. In the ESL, Brat_OK’s Marines and Ghosts with EMP totally demolished your army despite you being ahead in food count. I know you try not to think about imbalance, but do you feel that this may be too powerful against Protoss?
HuK: I don't think it’s the best balance it could be but I don't think its OP either. Brat_OK simply played a lot better than me that day, and definitely changed his play up. He was the better player that day and it showed, the mistakes I made in that game were obvious, especially because a failed DT rush just puts you super behind.
The Archon, Carrier and Mothership are rarely used in the Protoss arsenal. Do you feel they will ever be viable if these units do not get changed?
HuK: Although there not used as much I still think, they’re viable, just better players haven’t seen their strengths yet. They definitely could use a buff but as the game progresses strategically I think more and more people are going to use these units.
In the original StarCraft, we can agree that Protoss is generally the easiest race to play. However in StarCraft 2, Protoss definitely has a lot to do that requires going back to the base, such as warping in units and chrono boosting. What are your thoughts on Protoss’ ease of play compared to the other races?
HuK: In SC2 I’m not sure because I haven’t really played the other races as much. When they took out the grid chrono that hurt a lot but it hurt Zerg a lot too so I didn't mind it as much. I think there are all pretty equally "hard to play" right now although I'm sure some other top players are more biased.
Are you going to stick with Protoss forever or do you feel that you may change races?
HuK: No I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with Protoss.
Playing
For the HuK fans, and the Protoss players who want to be as monstrous as you, what is your hotkey set up?
HuK: Jeez, well I'll tell you mine right now but it’s really weird and changes constantly.
0-nexussssss
9-scout probe at beginning (then 2nd nexus
8-3rd nexus
7- 4th
5- robo or stargate depending on priority
4- robo or stargate depending on priorirty
3- dropship, phoenxes, dts, etc (harass units)
2- collosus/ht/sentry
1- main army
Something along these lines I guess ^^.
What is your most memorable game that you just felt so awesome about?
HuK: Well would have to be my 5th win against TLO in ESL May Finale, just because it was my biggest win and I felt way behind, even though I was ahead most of the game. Other than that I felt I transitioned well for not practicing that map/strategy a lot.
If there is one player (that doesn’t certainly have to be the best) will beat you most of the time, who would you say it would be and why? In addition, who do you think will be the most feared and dangerous player once the game is released?
HuK: First one I would say Capoch but there are a lot of players that give me trouble. Capoch has a habit of knocking me out of tournaments in PvP with the same strategy every game. Second one is HINCRAM! They both do the same strategy every time and I just fail TT. Most skilled player on release either I would pick Dimaga or Sen.
How often do you practice and what tips would you give to gamers who want to play competitively?
HuK: Before release I would say I would practice 3-4 hours a day on average of actually playing. As for tips, play a lot and consciously try to play better; don't just robot through useless sessions then rage at the end when you get nowhere.
The StarCraft 2 eSports scene seems to be dominating worldwide, rather than just in South Korea with StarCraft. Do you feel that the best StarCraft 2 players will reside in one country?
HuK: No, although I think there could be stronger players from the Asian scene but worldwide competitions can still be pretty even. At least I hope so.
You should have cheesed Idra in the final game of the Gosu Coaching Weekly.
HuK: LOL, thing that is hilarious to me is people are like "wow man he totally mind tricked you into playing straight up and losing that game". But if I had cheesed and lost they would have said same thing. You’re probably right but I felt it would be dishonourable to do so after such a long series.
Last question I’d like to ask is where do you see yourself a few years from now?
HuK: Best SC2 player in the world obviously
. Playing SC2 upside down in a hyperbaric chamber.Conclusion
As a Canadian and Protoss player myself, I have nothing but respect for you as a gamer. Despite the sad news that you are leaving vT Gaming to pursue new opportunities I’m sure all your clan members and fans wish you good luck, and so do I. C’est la vie.
And poutines are awesome.
HuK: Yes thank you all, I will do my best to keep playing the best I can for everyone. And yes they are ^^.
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You can check out HuK’s live stream here: http://www.teamliquid.net/video/userstream.php?user=HuK
And very shortly there will be an announcement regarding HuK joining a new gaming team so keep an eye out.
UPDATE: More questions!
MORE GAMEPLAY QUESTIONS!
Terran
Against a build like Brat_OK’s Marine and Ghost with later tech switching, what would you say is the best counter as a Protoss?
HuK: I think that a Stalker Blink opening to mid-game High Templar would be best. You basically open as normal, pressure with Stalkers then transition into Blink (with Observers or Hallucination if possible). Micro well, then as you get to 2 base vs 2 base or more, transition to High Templar and micro the best you can. Stalkers are really fun and work well against Marines if you can micro well and transitioning to High Templar is fairly easy. In addition, with something like this you can be really aggressive for a good amount of the game not rally having to worry about many early pushes or aggression. So all around I really like this opening against this type of Terran build, but I will say that this is unproven and only theory crafted in my brain so don’t get your hopes up!
Hincram is known for his very aggressive proxy Marauder or Reaper rushes that is extremely hard for a Protoss to defend. You and many other Protosses have lost many times to this. Any new idea you feel that would counter this well?
HuK: Know that it’s coming and play safe. It’s not hard to counter a build that’s “all inish” such as this but you have to know it’s coming. He’s done this to me 6-7 games in a row in tournaments which sucks. The most recent I scouted the whole map and he actually built it in an empty base on Lost Temple. You need to use Sentries along with Zealots effectively to pin his Marauders down, and pull Probes if needed. Against Reapers, if the Stalker doesn’t come out you have to try your best to chase with Zealots and the Probes.
Despite this you have great success against Terran. What big mistakes are Terran players doing against Protoss?
HuK: Not varying their play well. In my eyes, a Terran player should play different strategies for different maps and have a wide range of play. I feel most Terran players only have a few strategies up their sleeves instead of a wide range of openings they feel comfortable with.
And in addition, what mistakes do you see a lot of Protoss players doing against Terran?
HuK: Not being as aggressive as they should be and not scouting properly. Then if they do scout properly, they usually don’t know what to think of what they see. Using your first probe scout, keep it alive as long as possible. Most people will lose it and not harass with it. I will keep it alive as long as possible and harass as much as I can. Check how many Marines, how early are the Tech Labs, etc. If he doesn’t Tech Lab and pumps a couple of Marines, you send your first Stalker and pressure and now he has like 4-5 Marines. Immediately in my mind I’m running through strategies of what he’s going, such as FE, Mass Marines + Medivac, Biomech, etc. Then I think of opponent/map and what they usually go, and then I go through my range of builds and think what would have the highest percentage success against their range.
Zerg
Many Protoss players are prone to Banelings busts early on the game. What advice would you give to those who struggle to defend this?
HuK: Well like everything else, scout. If you see it coming, do not worry. If you fast expand it is harder to defend, but always against Zerg you need to wall. In addition, have good building placement and have Sentries to micro and defend along with well placed Forcefields.
Warp gate timing pushes sometimes can be hard for Zerg to defend. What advice would you give to those Zerg who lose to this?
HuK: Watch my Zerg play
(Godder/Mark/Taylor). Sorry bit of an inside joke there, but don’t over Drone and know your timings. You can Drone still appropriately but make sure you can get cost effectiveness out of the Drones you make before the push comes. Micro well and don’t get cocky, remember if you defend his push without taking too much damage, you will usually be significantly ahead. Try variations with Spine Crawlers, Queens, Roaches, Speedlings, Carapace Upgrade, and see what mix works with what timing push. Against an Immortal timing push, a Mass Speedling would be the best. However, against a 4-5 Gate All In with +1, Zerglings without Carapace would get raped. In that situation you can try getting the Carapace upgrade (although still risky) or getting many Roaches.Coincidentally, if a warp gate timing rush fails to do significant damage, Zerg is generally ahead. How does a Protoss recover from this?
HuK: Know your opponent and how much he is prepared. I mean, if he invests a lot in Spine Crawlers and units, you can transition relatively easily, such as expanding or teching. Once again it is really situational in my eyes. I think too many Protoss go this build against a top player and would fail hard when they could easily transition out of it. The Asian players are a lot better at transitioning out of these “cheesy” builds.
During mid game, it seems that Hydralisks absolutely destroy gateway units. Most Protoss usually opt for Colossi, but what is your opinion on Star Gate and Templar tech?
HuK: I think as the game progresses and better players adjust that it will become more about Psionic Storm than Colossus builds. But right now, yes, the 2 base Protoss + attack upgraded Colossus is really popular among a ton of players. I have been trying out Star Gate and Templar tech near the end of the beta, but not many of the games were shown to the public. I actually had a really good game against MoMan, my new team mate, on Desert Oasis but it was the latest patch and the replay won’t work =[.
Protoss
Although an early patch fixed the fast four warp gate all in strategy that was in PvP, it is still possible although a bit slower. However, it is still as powerful and many Protoss players have a hard time with this. Is there a way to counter this?
HuK: Yes, you got to really watch how fast your opponent gets his Cybernetics Core and how much he saves his energy. I mean, if he is making that and he’s already at like 50+ energy, chances are he’s going to do this strategy and constantly boost the Warp Gate upgrade. The response to this is save your own and do all the same, cut less probes than he does and defend. Generally if you do, you will be ahead.
In late game PvP, it seems that if both players mass ground armies, the player with more Colossi in their army is usually the victor. Do you believe this is true and what ways can the other player transition against a greater number of Colossi?
HuK: Wow, lol, I really wish I could get the newest replays from the patch to work to show you a really good PvP I had against Robot Ferret last day of the beta on ICCUP TV. There are actually some really micro intensive things you can do in PvP that I found work extremely well so let me try to give you an example.:
- Pretty standard PvP game with standard openings
- Both players go Colossi
- Mid game Player A’s army looks something like 12 Zealots, 2 Sentries, 3 Stalkers, 4 Colossi
- Player B’s army looks something like 9 Zealots, 1 Sentry, 2 Colossi , Warp Prism (Speed/No speed) with 2 Immortals
With proper micro Player B in my eyes will win this fight, as the Immortals can be dropped behind the Colossi. Also many people underrate the Phoenix Build that was popularized by Nony which I feel is one of the biggest +EV builds out there.
Blink Stalkers in PvP seem to be amazing if played right. Against a player who is abusing to a great amount, causing your army to move around constantly, what would be a good response to this?
Depends on what you commit to but generally depends on what he’s got. If he’s doing this without Obs, obviously DTs is the best answer in my eyes. Safest against this build I would say is 2-3 Gate 1 Robo Immortal, but really depends on the micro from both sides. But the Stalker player usually controls the tempo of the game. PvP is very rock paper scissorish, if you try to transition most of the time you are super behind. Generally if you already committed to Star Gate/Robo/Etc you should stick it out and make the best unit combo you can from those. Sure he can micro well with the Blink but he can’t commit to a head to head on fight. So you have to either try to trap him with some tricky positioning or play, or make him commit by expanding or pressuring him/forcing a fight.
Do you think that there are effective upgrades rarely seen in PvP, such as +1 and Hallcuination that are useful in PvP?
Yes I mean anything that squeezes a little more value out of your units. Hallucination pushes to break Forcefields or absorb damage. They are generally underused but should be played around with.
General
Do you feel that there is any situation you should skip the Warp Gate upgrade?
Only if you’re doing some cheesy all in build like 2-3 Gate All In. I mean it’s definitely viable against the other 4-5 Warp Gate PvP build because most people don’t even make units out of their Gateways. So if you can trick them and push in with units really early then it’s great. Other than that, you should always get the Warp Gate upgrade.
A lot of people are having one control group syndrome, which is very dangerous as a Protoss player, especially against Terran. Any advice on how to get rid of this habit?
Lol not really, you got to force yourself into it. It’s really hard to break old habits especially if you’ve been doing it for a while. You have to take a lot of losses on the chin to worse players to break the habbit because if will fuck you up in games but in the long run it’s way better. SO DO IT!
When you are significantly behind in a match up, what is the best thing to do as (against each race)? Turtle? Take a hidden expansion?
It really depends on the skill level of my opponents. Against better players, hidden expos rarely work. If you’re behind in games you have to take chances. Try to tech up to something like 1-2 more expos when you know if they do a timing push you will mostly likely be dead. Too many times I see good players way behind and they know, yet they try to play a straight up game against a high level opponent when it’s obviously not going to work. Other things you can do is tech up some units that can change game, all in them if you’re up in army but behind in eco, try to play straight up and hope they make MANY mistakes (this being the worst choice against top players).
What’s the best way to remember to chrono boost?
I think Day9 said it best but I can’t remember his exact words. Basically have in mind constantly what your current objective is, whether it be 4-5 Warp Gate timing push (Chrono Warp Gate upgrade), tech to Colossus (Chrono Colossus/range upgrade), play straight up and out macro (Chrono Probes). Just always try to keep an objective of what you want to do and then it will be easier to remember in your eyes. Other than that, play more
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