GosuGamers caught up with our very own support specialist, and one of Europe's very finest players, Miracle for a quick interview about his DotA career, professional experience, and expert perspective on the art of support.

Hi Miracle. Everyone knows who you are as a DotA player, but could you tell us a bit about the man behind the monitor?

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My name is Jesper Nyhlén, currently enjoying life as unemployed. Will most likely start studying again next semester. Much in my life involves computers but I also enjoy doing different sports and hanging with friends and familly.”

You're, of course, one of the most famous players in Europe. However, most people know you from your Mouz/Ks.int days and onward. Could you tell us a bit about how you started DotA and some of your earlier teams, such as BTB?

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I started off playing pubs back in the b-net days. From there I started playing with people I met while playing and formed some teams competing in pick-league and the DotA cups they organized. From there I went on to a few diffferent teams, BTB being the most noteworthy. This was the team that taught me the importance of teamwork and training. After a few good performances in some tours, we managed to attract some good players and sponsors, which led to the beginning of Mouz.”

Why did you become a competitive player in the first place? Could you tell us a bit about how you transitioned from being a noob to playing with legends like Drayich and Loda?

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I always enjoyed DotA but it never was that challenging for me, so I always tried to play in the big tours and leagues to get more exciting games. There were just so many more aspects of the game competitively than in pubs. The way from a noob to a real player is long, I got there by playing a lot with my team and friends. I always kept trying to improve my mistakes and weak parts of the game.”

Were there any players you idolized back then? Perhaps someone who inspired you to play, that you wanted to emulate? And which of your teammates have been the most influential to you over the years?

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I had respect for many of them but I never idolized anyone. I tried to analyze and learn from them instead. Puppey has helped me the most with my understanding of the game, and how my actions affect it.”

Speaking of Puppey, how have things been since your reunion with your old teammates? It was quite a long stretch in which you were apart; have things in the GGnet camp been as they were in the old Ks.int days, or has it taken time to get used to each other again?

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It´s been good, we´ve had some great games and still got lots to show. It was a really easy switch since we know eachother's playstyles so well, it obviously took some time to adjust to the new team but it ended up well and we intend to keep it this way.”

How did you become a support player, as opposed to a carry player/ganker/solo? Was it something that you gravitated toward naturally even back then?

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I always tried playing the hero I could do most for the team with and in Europe we always had very few strong supporters. Although I always played all sorts of roles, I started taking over the support role more and more over time. It was kinda natural for me to play it since my competitive playstyle always involved little farming and a lot of movement. It also fits my personality, since I don´t really care for fame or being the strongest one in the game, I just simply want to win.”

Is it very different playing your support/ganker role now than it was years ago in the 6.4x, 6.5x days?

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It´s way harder now. Back then I could play my normal aggresive game without thinking too much. Now you have to pick your moments to place wards and always be at the right spot. You also get a lot more hate during teamfights which makes positioning everything in order to get your spells off without dying.”

What makes it so much harder these days? Is it the pace of modern DotA, the rise of the trilane, or do you think it's simply because people understand the game so much better? Could it also be because of some changes Icefrog's made in particular?

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People are improving fast, especially the Chinese, who brought the game to a whole new level last year. And it took a long time before we in Europe were even close to their level. The tactics have always been a huge part of competitive DotA and most of the top teams are used to changing style and tactics every version. This makes it hard for upcoming teams to shine since they don´t have the same experience with adapting to new versions.”

Speaking of the Chinese, you spent 30 days in China in the ADL, at the end of 2009 with Fnatic. What did you learn, as a player, from this experience? How much did your game change as a result?

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While being in China, people played really passivily and countered every gank. This made it really hard for aggresive moves, which forced me to play really passively and choose the easy fights. A type of play I was never really used to. It was really hard at first to find the balance in aggression but it added a whole new dimension to my own play.”

Since you form one third of what GosuGamers would call Europe's Three Legendary Pokemo--err, support players, we feel as though it's our duty to help the community learn as much about support play as we possibly can.

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Okay.”

The community as a whole tends to grasp the essence of the high profile roles such as solo and carry rather easily. When it comes to support, a large portion of the community have problems understanding what occurs beneath the surface. To begin with, how would you summarize the role of a support player?

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The support role is all about getting an advantage for your team, either by placing wards, guarding your key heroes or distracting the opponents. The greatest difficulty is being useful without having any farm. This will give you a disadvantage in every fight.”

What are some important tips for aspiring support players out there? What are some of the biggest mistakes you see support players making? What sets a top support apart from a lower-level one?

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Try to lower your death count and work on your positioning and movement. Most of the supporters' deaths can be avoided by playing smart and thinking one step ahead of your opponent. It´s also the difference between getting items and being a freekill. The most common mistakes are going too far and being at the wrong position. You need to pick the right time for ganking, warding and guarding your carry. Timing, positioning and movement are the things that differ most between the top supporters and the rest.”

What is the best way to improve your timing, positioning and movement if you're an up-and-coming player?

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Analyze your own play and think about what you can improve when you play. Try to check for situations where you should be and situations where you do nothing. Also analyze how your position affects the outcome of battles and ganks. The key to movement is being invisible, try to stay in fog as much as possible and avoid warded spots. The only time they should see you is to prevent aggression at that place. This way you will force the other lanes to play passive or give you good chances to score kills.”

Alright, we'll move onto the quick-fire questions, and then wrap things up.

Name the three heroes you love to play most.

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Clockwerk, Tiny, Puck.”

Name the three heroes you're best at.

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Vengeful Spirit, Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor.”

Name the three carry/semi-carry heroes you're best at.

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Kinda decent with most of them, but Necro, Bounty Hunter and Sven are some of the ones I’m better with.”

What's your favourite hero to play in pubs?

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Always preferred randoming.”

What's the most underrated/underused support hero in your opinion?

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Abbadon.”

Do you find it harder to carry a game, or support a game?

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Carry.”

Who was the best support player you played against or enjoyed watching in 2010?

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Would say Gx or 357.”

Who is the worst support player on GGnet?

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It´s a tough battle between Azen and Pajkatt.”

Okay, great! It was absolutely fantastic having you, Mira. Do you have any shoutouts to give?

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Shoutout to all my teammates, current and former. Also would like to thank all my fans for the support over the years, hope I can continue providing good replays for you.”

Special thanks to Muga_Riptide from team GoD for helping us flesh out some of the questions in this interview. GosuGamers wishes him and his team luck in their upcoming Farm4Fame match against GGnet. But not too much luck.

Getting to know Miracle