With Blizzcon quickly approaching Wildcard wanted to take the time to feature each of our professional World of Warcraft Arena players. Over the next few weeks you’ll get to meet each of them as we pick their brains about the current meta, game mechanics, their thoughts on making Blizzcon, and their personal life. The guys have been hard at work preparing to play and travel over to California and we can’t wait to watch them in November.
We first got to sit down and ask Maro him some questions, check out his interview below!
I’d like to start this off with a bit of information for anyone that’s a new fan to Wildcard. What’s your role on the team and how long have you been playing that role?
I’m mainly playing mage in our team, as well as balance druid and a little bit of destruction warlock. I’ve been playing mage forever and started playing balance druid like, 2 years ago. This year I started playing my warlock a bi,t but not so much at the moment. I’m also the team captain!
Have you played at Blizzcon before?
Yes, I got 5th place at last year’s blizzcon in a different team.
Will we see anything different in your own playstyle at this Blizzcon with WC?
Probably not, to be honest. The game doesn’t really get many meta changes at the moment which means we’ve kinda been stuck with the same comps/matchups for some time now.
What’s your biggest concern going into Blizzcon?
I’m honestly not too concerned about anything. Obviously Rogue Mage Druid is still gonna be the best comp in the game because there are most likely no changes that will happen before the tournament. But, at the same time there is nothing that beats it which means I’m not too concerned and just going to try my best like we did at the Summer Finals.
How is it traveling to the US and coming to these LAN events?
It’s honestly the main reason why im competeing. Traveling to different places in the world and spending time with all the people that became good friends over the years is the best thing about it!
Other than Blizzcon do you have anything fun planned while you’re California?
Two of my teammates are actually going to spend some extra time in the US and visit some places. I stayed in LA last year for an extra week with Zeepeye. Probably not gonna do it this year though…
Let’s talk about game knowledge and experience! What are critical aspects of arena fights that common players may not know?
I think something that’s overlooked by a lot of people is positioning. It’s something that’s more important for some classes than others but the best players in the world usually have really good positioning and they always have a reason to be where they are. It’s also something that’s kinda hard to learn, especially since it’s so different for all the classes and different situation
Any tips on how to get better with positioning?
Just watch pro players and always try to think of where you wanna stand and why you’re going to stand
What is the biggest mistake you personally thought you made during summer finals? What could you have done differently?
Don’t think I have too many regrets about summer finals, honestly. I think we all played well and I don’t think there was much of anything I would’ve done differently.
Once you reach dampening and you are out of iceblock, what is the key to taking back control of a fight?
In early dampening you can maybe get away using some cd’s defensively and just playing to live. In deep dampening you need to try and counterpressure and get some pressure yourself to have a chance at winning.
How much of the gameplay is managed by the shot caller versus memorizing DR, GCD, and ability timers?
Everyone kinda does that themself. We are allowed to use some addons these days to track DR’s on the enemy team. Some abilities you can track by using a stopwatch in game which is obviously limited to 3, and some you can track in your head.
And before we wrap up, a couple questions about life aside from Arena. Have you picked up any new games or hobbies recently?
Not recently. The only game im playing outside of WoW has been Counter Strike over the last couple of years. Other than that I’m trying to spend as much time as I can with friends when I’m not playing.
Have you had time to try out Classic? If so, any opinions?
I personally don’t like classic at all really. I think it takes too much time to do anything in classic, which is sadly a bit similar to retail these days. I’m not a big fan of sitting at the PC for hours grinding. I’d rather log in and play some arenas or just spend time away from the computer.
What was your friend’s and family’s reaction to the team making Blizzcon?
My family and friends have been really supportive, so they were obviously very happy!
Twitch chat was going nuts during your game against Diabouls at Summer Finals. It definitely seems like you have a solid fan base. Anything to say to your fans and supporters?
Thank you to everyone supporting and cheering for us. We hope we can do well at blizzcon and not disappoint anyone!
Let’s end with a game we made up just to ask each of you. You can Sheep One, Pyroblast One, and Nova One. Zeepyee, Blizo, and Looney. Who gets what?
Sheep Loony cuz he loves tanking them on his druid, Nova Zeepeye cuz he loves sitting roots and never gets triggered sitting roots, Pyro Blizo cuz he’d probably reflect after the cast.
For more player spotlights and interviews like this be sure to like and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Until WoW is back you can also check out our Stream Team and show them some love. They upload and stream amazing content daily. If you stop by let them know Wildcard sent you! Oh, and did you know we have an official Discord? Stop by and join our #stackthedeck community!
About Wildcard Gaming
Wildcard Gaming is a leading Esports brand aiming to to stabilize the uncertainty involved with the Esports industry. Wildcard has professional rosters in a variety of titles including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, World of Warcraft, and Brawlhalla. Welcome to the elite- Wildcard is here to dominate Esports at a Global Level. Join us, be a part of our family. #stackthedeck
