In the world of SEA competitive Heroes: Team HOTboys

Welcome to "Introduction to competitive SEA Heroes". This is a short series focusing on competitive teams dedicated to building the South East Asian scene of Heroes of the Storm. As tournaments and competitions are being planned or organized, we would like to introduce to you a few rosters to look out for as you catch all the amazing plays and game styles that these teams can offer.

Hello Team HOTboys, lets start off by telling us how did you guys started in Heroes of the Storm and formed into a team?

Cerebro – I started with the BlizzHerosPH Facebook page, basically just surfed there and found Judes and John among the people that posted comments there. I had only played a couple of days or maybe a week and then Babael, who I met from the Hearthstone scene, suggested we did a friendly Singapore vs Philippines Heroes match. We agreed upon the dates and the match format, then I set up trials for the players and this is how I met Judes, Nikki and Jones. Later on, we got Jack to join in.

Sweet! Could each of you tell us your personal experience of the game so far?

Cerebro – I've been really enjoying the game so far. I started playing Dota 1 and I was a competitive Street Fighter 4 player before I switched to LoL. Once I tried Heroes, I decided to stop playing the other MOBAs. Heroes is so fast pace with its emphasis on things like going for objectives and teamwork which is what I like to see in a brawler.

Arkanthiel – My history in gaming is BroodWar and StarCraft 2, I'm not a fan of Dota2 and I played a bit of LoL but in the end I got hooked onto HOTS. I started playing Heroes during the Alpha, with Nikki and a few other friends who got us the keys.

Harkas – I started playing Warcraft as I was growing up, then ventured various games. I heard about Heroes of the storm through Facebook and other sites. Thank goodness I was one of the lucky ones to be able to receive an Alpha key, haha, one of the chosen ones!

Eisenhart – Basically I started at same time as Arkanthiel and played SC and various Blizzard games. We started playing Heroes in early Alpha and we used to have long queues and few characters. It’s still a very enjoyable game even for non-MOBA players like myself. It’s very enjoyable and fast paced, it’s easy to pick up but hard to master. I realized there are many things to do and lots to learn. too.

PandaUser – Hmm how did I find out about the game... I was mainly an FPS player playing Call of Duty and other similar games. I also tried playing LoL. To me things changed when I finally picked up Heroes Of The Storm. It's a fast game, you're not a lone wolf as you really have to play as a team… I was eventually specialized into the support role, behind which there's a long story but I'm not going to go into detail, haha.

Sounds like you guys have a great time playing the game and with each other. Can you tell me more about your team dynamics and how each of you got selected into the various roles in your team?

Cerebro - Wow, you cannot imagine how much vulgarities we hurl at each other, haha. Regarding the roles, I simply asked the team members which positions they felt comfortable playing and they selected them. Fortunately, the choices did not clash with each other although currently most of the players are able to play more than one role. I selected Ark as our primary tank as he has displayed outstanding skills playing in this position in the many games we have played.

Ark – I can play various positions if I want but when I try tank everyone agreed I played it well, so that's how I became the primary tank.

How do you guys conduct your training/practice sessions?

Cerebro - Currently we are laying back and enjoying the game. If there is a tournament or competition that we are participating for, we would definitely have a more serious discussion with the team and formulate a plan.

Ark – We also try to research the metagame. We would try different builds for characters and try to incorporate them in our team's strategy. If it works that’s great. If it doesn't we move back to our usual plan - go into a team fight and leave PandaUser behind as the sacrificial lamb!

Are there any teams/players you are supporting?

Ark - I used to support Team Liquid but they disbanded so I am cheering for Evil Geniuses now as I was into StarCraft 2.

Cerebro – I mainly support SMG & Maelstrom, especially Zuna who has some amazing plays which I'm trying to incorporate into my gameplay after watching his various videos.

What would you like to see changed/improved/added in Heroes of the Storm, on heroes and the client itself?

Ark – It’ll be sweet if we can have some custom maps focused on using various talents or skills of certain characters so we can experiment with heroes. Probably some changes with the gold drop, too.

Cerebro – Improvements to the FPS would be good and also I wish that Diablo would be slightly buffed because right now he is not inflicting fear like he should be. Lastly it’s a hero suggestion: I’m a big fan of the game Blackthorne and I was hoping we can see Kyle Vlaros in the game, which would be sweet!

PandaUser – As primarily a support hero, I really would like Li Li to be buffed so she can be used more often. Perhaps also the option to select specific maps while queuing against public teams so we can plan specific map strategies.

Harkas – I really hope for queues to be reduced and I would also like to see more balance changes so we don't always see just the high-tier heroes.

Eisenhart – I would like to have some talent balancing or maybe more talent skill choices so we can have a wider range of playstyles and builds

Do you have any last words for Heroes of the Storm players around the world?

Cerebro – To all who want to try the game - give it a shot. It's totally different from all the brawlers out there and I feel that Heroes of the Storm will be big in 2015 or 2016 so do join us!

PandaUser – I want to encourage everyone to try out Heroes of the Storm, it’s getting pretty big (maybe bigger than me). People will enjoy it more a try out the game.

Harkas – I would like to invite everyone who like fun and fast games - Heroes of the Storm is the game for you.

Ark – I Would like to thank GosuGamers for the interview, I really want people to pick up this game and I see you guys in beta.

Eisenhart – I would like everyone to give BlizzHeroesPH a like or check out our page and we will try to get you a beta code if we can!

Team HOTBoys Roster :

BeeJay - "Cerebro"