BabyKnight shares thoughts and knowledge!

BabyKnight with Mania and Pusher at this years Electronic Sports WorldCup

Core themes of the interview from the 18th of August were changes and additions of the recently released new version! Read on and find out, what worked out, what didn't and what should be changed to improve our alltime favourite game!

Gosugamers: BabyKnight with version 6.68 released for about 21 days,
approximately how many games did you play and in how many of them were you drafting?
BabyKnight: I would say 15 to 20 Captains in about 50 games total; less cmub, more standard cm.

Gosugamers: i see; What's your opinion about the new drafting phase,
do you think its better than in the past?
BabyKnight: I really enjoy it. I think once people get used to it, this is a better solution than the previous one. The only thing I'm concerned about is, IceFrog needs to limit the rather small pool of "imbalanced heroes" such as Drow Ranger or Windrunner; the heroes that you 'have to' ban. As it is right now, you can only ban three of them before you start picking . Apart from that I really enjoy it.

Gosugamers: Do you think this reworked drafting phase will make an impact on the tactical composition of competitive lineups?
BabyKnight: There might be some cases. If you are opting for a push orientated lineup for instance, you may get in trouble, due to the fact that your opponent is given a second chance to ban and counterpick accordingly. Apart from that, I think it will change some things, but no need to worry! This way of drafting is only an improvement and I'm looking forward to further advancements in 6.68’s stability.

Gosugamers: Lets talk about the new heroes! Have you played some of them so far and if yes, which ones?
BabyKnight: I've played them all many times! I really like Gyrocopter: he's cool to play, but to me, it seems hard to understand, which direction IceFrog wanted to go with this hero. Is he a Carry? A Ganker? Something in between? I have no idea to be honest, but many items kind of 'work out' on him if you get them fast (smiles).
I don't know that much about the other heroes. Eredar is very cool if you are not up against him, Thralls kind of 'meh', but who I really dislike is this stupid, sorry at his lovers (laughs), Wisp; he seems kind of awkward.
All in all I think these additions were okay, although I would like Icefrog to tweak some of them.

Gosugamers: Which one of the them is your favourite? A short answer please.
BabyKnight: The Gyrocopter!

Gosugamers: As it is now, how would you lane him and if on a dual lane what partner would fit?
BabyKnight: All this stupid "which lane will he work best with etc" doesn't matter in competetive DotA anymore. There will always be Trilanes and other Tactics, so you can't put it like this but, if he is up against a Dual Lane, i think you would want him in A Tripple Lane, or in combination with a Roamer for assistance.

Gosugamers: which items would you suggest on him? A rather gank-orientated build like Diffusal Blade and Dagon, damage-increasing items like Lothars Edge maybe even Battlefury, or tanky with Vanguard or BKB.
BabyKnight: I think Dagger, at some point, is essential on him, because you want to be in the middle of the fight, doing as much damage as possible. For that purpose, he will as well need a BKB, so he won’t get disabled. Although, to actually deal damage with his Flak Cannon you want damage aswell, so maybe a Butterfly? Then Buriza? I honestly ain't sure of what's best on him, but we will find out the more he get's played.

Gosugamers: Why do you think is Diffusal Blade not seen that frequently in competitive games and what should be done to bring it back?
BabyKnight: You should be able to sell Diffu 2 after using all the charges for some kind of price.

Gosugamers: About the new items, whats your opinion on them; good or bad additions?
BabyKnight: What I hate, is the fact that you now need five items to combine Skadi; this sucks big time. I like the Orb of Venom though, because it buffs some heroes that aren't used that frequently; Troll Warlord or Terrorblade for example. The implementation of the Arcane Boots was pretty stupid, sorry IceFrog why did you invent Soul Ring?

Gosugamers: about Ethereal Blade. do you think its an option for carry players?
BabyKnight: Sure is! A great addition on heroes like Sniper, Luna, you name it!

Gosugamers: what do you dislike the most about the new version?
BabyKnight: Eredars "Soul Catcher", why is the selection AoE ? (grins)

Gosugamers: Concerning your team and the tourney now, what do you think about your Groupstage-opponents in Razers Global Challenge and MYMs Prime Defending. Someone among them who you could bring you in trouble?
BabyKnight: No threats overall, I would say.

Gosugamers: did you observe how well other teams in the scene are doing at the moment, who would you think has the upper hand?
BabyKnight: Honestly, I have no idea. In my opinion, the usual teams will come out on top. At least from Europe I think it will be MYM, TeG, DTS, Nirvana and ourselves of course! What I dont know is how the asian teams are seeded, or who signed up, but they sure have some strong teams as well. I just hope the delay won't be too much of a problem.

Gosugamers: At last: Do you still train version 6.67 for the tournaments or is it 6.68 already?
BabyKnight: 6.68 for me atleast.

Gosugamers: That was all, thanks a lot for your time! The space below is for you; any final words or shoutouts?
BabyKnight: Shoutouts to Unknown-Force, Dacster, 1cHiGo, QiN, Antab and my fans for being awesome :D!


Links
GosuGamers - Appearences of BabyKnight in v6.68 replays