We have a treat for you today guys! We have an interview with none other than Team Dignitas’ BLC team. Malakor, Wisteria and skrff will be answering a range of questions regarding themselves and BLC! There will be other interviews on the way, so stay tuned and check the site regularly for the next interview with one of BLC’s top teams or players! Thanks to the guys from Dignitas for taking time out from playing BLC to complete this interview!
So guys, could you give us a quick overview of who you are and what you currently play in BLC for some of our viewers that may not know who you are?
Malakor: My name is Viking Renhammar Metus and I mostly play the Herald bloodline, although we are currently experimenting with various others as well.
Wisteria: My name is Henrik Rapp and i mainly play the inhibitor and igniter.
skrff: Hello ladies & gentlemen Rikard Holm Melin here, I myself often tend to play Vanguard the big boned one, ive also started playing some glutton aswell. Nuff said.
Whats your gaming background and what interested you about BLC?
Malakor: I played a lot of DotA back in the day, but switched to LoL because it was shiny and the graphics seemed interesting. I signed up for the closed BLC beta a long time before it was released to the testers and played a lot of LoL in the meantime. BLC interested me because I was sick and tired of RNG deciding major factors in a mostly skill-based game for no real reason.
Wisteria: I played various nintendo consoles as a kid and later i bought a pc. i played halo pc for 3 years and played for the best teams in Europe. Then a buddy introduced me to BLC and i fount it appealing.
skrff: I started playing PC games when i was around 10 years old, before that i had Nintendo 8-bit aswell so ive always been interested in computer/video games, but the competetive part started with Counter-Strike 1.1-1.6. I then began with World of Warcraft for some weird reason, but didn’t quite enjoy the arena with all the RNG’s so i was more or less a PVE dude. Then i found out BLC and got hooked love it <3.
When did you start playing BLC and what’s your opinion on the current state of the game?
Malakor: I started playing in late march 2010, I believe. At the moment, the game lacks a bit in depth and skill cap possibility but really shines in ability variety and general pace.
Wisteria: I’ve been playing it seriously for about 6-7 months. It is in need of balance changes and more depth in my opinion.
skrff: I started in mid beta id say, 2010 early august. About the current state id say it lacks alittle depth and needs to be tweaked more for balance aswell.
How do you feel Dreamhack went?
Malakor: I think that we could have done better, but overall it was a fun experience and I’m already looking forward to Dreamhack Winter!
Wisteria: It was very funny to meet all the players. we should have gotten top 3 in my opinion but shit happens.
skrff: We could definitely done better, ofc you are disappointed after a loss but it was still a fun experience aswell.
You are currently playing Herald, Inhibitor and Vanguard, why do you play these bloodlines over others, what makes them more suited to your playstyle and your team’s playstyle than other bloodlines?
Malakor: This has been our “main comp” for a lot of the beta as well as a few months afterwards since we love playing them and it has worked out great for us but we are currently looking to mix it up a bit, due to lacking in early-game offense.
Wisteria: He was really powerful in closed beta and i got a high rank in solo ladder with the inhibitor. I learned to master him pretty well and i still find him funny to play. He fits well with vanguard and herald. Although we don’t play this comp exclusively anymore.
skrff: Vanguard is just a baller. also what they said
Whats the current situation with the team? Are you going to continue playing as a team and attend more LANs, or are you going to quit anytime soon?
Malakor: As long as BLC is going strong, and we are still having fun, we will keep playing together.
Wisteria: Hopefully we will stick around if BLC survives. Otherwise i wouldn’t mind forming a team in another game with these lads.
skrff: Not quiting anytime soon, might take some small breaks between bigger events but not quiting, we have too much fun playing with each other to just quit.
What is the current relationship between you all?
Wisteria: I’m engaged with Malakor.
skrff: I’m having an affair with Malakor.
Malakor: It’s complicated.
How has it been to play as a team? Has there been any conflicts of interests etc.?
Malakor: It’s been a lot of fun. The only problem is that Wisteria is adamant about playing with his pants on.
Wisteria: It is very nice to play with Swedish people. we don’t really have any conflicts imo. not any major ones at least. Its been a good run so far.
skrff: So far we haven’t had any big arguments, probably cause we try to have fun when we play and try to have fun when we don’t play aswell or playing other games with each other.
How do you see BLC developing in the future?
Malakor: A blog and some more forum interaction from the developers side would help the community out a lot. I really hope that they start advertising the game more as well, since nobody has heard of it, outside of pro gaming circuits.
Wisteria: After the summer i hope devs are fully rested and can start with new depth in the game. i would like to see weekly patches.
skrff: BLC hopefully will go far in the long run, with the work the devs have been doing with so few people it might go really well if they keep it up.
Is BLC a full time job, or just a hobby? Do you study or go to school?
Malakor: I work just enough to survive and game/party/slack the rest. I am self-teaching C++ from time to time, but I’m not very good yet. Might take a class in the future.
Wisteria: For me it’s just a hobby. I’m studying the art of music atm.
skrff: BLC is like a hobby, I’m currently working at a Steel Plant to get my monies.
Currently, how much time do you dedicate to BLC in a week?
Malakor: We are currently having a slight summer break, post-Dreamhack, but otherwise we play a couple of hours a day when possible.
Wisteria: If I’m free i can play a few hours a day. check my played time in game ^^.
skrff: The last few weeks we kinda had a little “vacation”, but when we’re serious we can do up to I don’t know 4-6hrs a day or something in team, all depends how people are working/studying.
Do you think BLC is a balanced game right now?
Malakor: There are a few bloodlines that need reworks and a few more that need nerfs/buffs but overall the balance is pretty ok at the moment. They should reduce the duration of most Crowd Control abilities.
Wisteria: Not fully, they need to disable double picks and picking 2 of the same archetype or it is gonna be very hard to balance.
skrff: Its pretty balanced, they need to tweak some stuff of course example is Harbinger, Ravener, Astromancer in my opinion, especially cause the new bloodline Grimrog just got out, but they need to check stuff on the older bloodlines aswell.
What would be your best tip to someone that is new to BLC?
Malakor: Stick to a few bloodlines and master them. If you keep switching around every time you lose, it’s gonna take a longer time to improve. Also, don’t give up if you get eaten up in the first few games, it happens to everyone.
Wisteria: If you wanna be good you need to take your time. don’t just give up when u loose, keep going and eventually you will do better.
skrff: Dont just play 2-3 games and give up cause you don’t under stand whats going on, take some time to watch a tutorial, read through abilities on both your bloodline and others aswell so you know whats coming for you.
What do you think of the current BLC community, is the community open and friendly to new players, or is there a sense of elitism?
Malakor: There are a few bad apples, but for the most part, the community is one of the best I’ve seen in a MOBA game. There is a bit of elitism but that is to be expected in such a competetive environment.
Wisteria: It could be worse. its very hard to get away from elitism in a competitive game like this but i think the people who went to dreamhack handles it pretty well.
skrff: The community is pretty good, i think its better then most others, of course there are gonna be some immature players but overall i think its above average.
Anything else you would like to say before we wrap this interview up?
Malakor: Thanks to our sponsors for supporting the e-sport scene. We really appreciate you guys giving this game a chance.
Wisteria: Thanks to the sponsors and dignitas.
skrff: I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was. And thanks to www.team-dignitas.net for picking us up. <3
Thanks for taking the time out to complete this interview and good luck in the future.