- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Multiplayer online battle arena games, or MOBAs, often dominate the esports calendar. With titles such as Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends and DotA 2 enjoying massive competitive followings, it’s clear this type of game resonates super strongly with esports fans.
But, to the untrained eye, they’re easily one of the most impenetrable genres out there. We were lucky enough to sit down with renowned Australian Heroes of the Storm player Benjamin Vinante-Davies, or FAT94, captain of seven-time national champions Mindfreak.
In part one of this two-part interview series, we discussed his own journey into the MOBA genre, before breaking it down a bit more for those who don’t quite know what’s going on.
The Roar: How did you get into gaming, and what were some of the first titles you really played?
Ben: I got into gaming, I guess, through my dad. [He] always played games when I was a kid, so I just watched him play them. And I think, growing up in high school and primary school, gaming was slowly becoming a lot bigger.
So you’d talk to your friends about TV shows and video games that you played at home, and then like it just grew from there, I guess.
The earliest titles I can’t really recall, but I know the first big game that I put a lot of time into was World of Warcraft, which is probably a classic for most people. I played also the smaller titles, but yeah. I guess like the whole Blizzard franchise as an early kid always appealed to me – Warcraft III and World of Warcraft.
The Roar: Had you taken an interest prior to Heroes of the Storm in playing games competitively at all?
Ben: I mean, I guess it’s like the dream job as a teen. You’re always like, “Yeah, I really want to play video games competitively and make a living off it.”
But that was more of a back thought, never an actual goal. It was always a dream in the back of my head, but it was never the ultimate goal until I started playing Heroes.
I entered a tournament and we didn’t win, but we did pretty well and it got me getting that competitive side. I actually really enjoyed it and that’s when it grew.
The Roar: I understand, you did play a bit of League of Legends first. What got you into League of Legends initially, and then what appealed to you and ended up swaying you to Heroes of the Storm as your MOBA of choice?
Ben: Well, moving into League of Legends … It’s more really a chain, I think, really. I used to play Maple Story, and then my friend from that game told me about [League] and we played that when Maple Story was on maintenance.
So then I got into League a bit, and then all my friends at school started playing, so it became the game of conversation, really. We were pretty much a ways of talking about it at lunch or whatever as kids. That’s where my enjoyment of MOBAs [came from].
Sometimes I don’t even think it’s the game itself, it’s the friends and whatnot that you actually have playing that brings everyone together.
The thing that led me to Heroes … Well, I took a break from League because I wasn’t very good at it. I stopped really enjoying it as much. I was playing a lot of World of Warcraft.
My friends told me about Heroes, which had Blizzard franchise characters, and then it was like League of Legends – two things I enjoyed. So then I gave it a go and got really into it.
The Roar: Let’s just backtrack a bit and talk a bit more about MOBAs and Heroes as a game in general, because they’re one of the biggest esports genres around, but they’re also one of the hardest to understand from a novice’s perspective.
Just walk us through the basics. What is each team trying to do in a game of Heroes of the Storm, and what roles would each player have?
Ben: There’s two cores and your objective is to destroy the enemy team’s structure that they’re defending before they destroy yours. The game is broken down into some simple roles where there’s a tank or a warrior, which is pretty much the front line as the name. The tanks deal damage.
The support, which is generally a healer that has like crowd controlling effects which support the team. They don’t really think of themselves there. And there’s assassins, which are your primary damage dealers. And then, usually, there’s like a bruiser or a solo leaner, because the map’s broken up onto three lanes on the generic MOBA maps, and they’re a off-tank bruiser type role.
The Roar: Obviously, you’ve got the team experience being shown at the top of the screen. But how else would a spectator be able to tell who’s on top or winning in a game like Heroes of the Storm?
Ben: As a spectator, there’s a leveling up system and, generally speaking, the higher level is usually winning. I think the Heroes of the Storm is quite simple at its core, but then when you get more into it, it’s actually quite complex.
I feel like it’s actually got a really easy to watch gameplay, because recently in America they have the [college league] Heroes of the Dorm, which I don’t know if you know about it.
The Roar: Great name.
Ben: Yeah, it’s on TV and they’ve simplified the way it’s shown, and I think that’s a pretty good thing bridging people that don’t really play MOBAs or video games to being able to watch it themselves.
I don’t really follow many sports. But I feel like the commentators explain the game quite well. So if you went to watch a football match or something, the people explain the rules sometimes.
Not so much in football, but with esports, I’ve noticed that commentators explain what’s going on and you really don’t need to know too much about the game to get by or start learning about it.
The Roar: We hear and read a lot about the aiming and reflex practices that FPS players go through. What would the training routine be like for a MOBA player?
Ben: I mean, it’s the reflexes and things. You don’t really have that as much as just playing the game and practicing in the matchmaking and playing the game.
But I also feel like, it’s not like a really big spoken thing, but mental health is really important for video gaming. You need to have a clear mind.
So mental health exercises actually help you tremendously playing the game – having a clear mind, being able to focus on the task at hand. I guess that applies to everything, but it’s definitely true here.
Emotions can take control of the game. If you’re angry or frustrated, you’re probably more likely to make mistakes while playing. So if you have a much clearer mindset when playing, you’re going to play better.
The Roar: That’s interesting. If, say during a game, you can feel yourself getting frustrated. How would the top MOBA players, top Heroes players arrest that tilt and get themselves back into a better frame of mind?
Ben: I feel like sometimes, given I’m the main voice of the team for the shotcalling and whatnot, I’m probably the person most likely to tilt. But when I do, my teammates just are there to support me and they reassure me that it’s okay.
When someone’s frustrated, you have to – even though you know nothing’s wrong – you need to help them out and speak to them, [give them] reassurance and stuff.
I feel like having a teammate in a competitive game like this is really helpful. You’re pretty much brothers or whatnot, and you’ve got to support each other through it. It helps a lot.
The Roar: That makes sense. You just mentioned that you do play the role of shotcaller, how important is that role to the team? And how would it compared to like a shot caller in a first-person shooter?
Ben: Well shotcalling’s the direction of the game, basically. What you want to do depends from team to team, because some teams don’t have a dedicated shotcaller – everyone does their own thing and clicks in little pieces.
The way our team works is quite tactful. If we don’t have the voice shot calling, leading then it’s not gonna work as well as it normally does.
The Roar: What are some of the most common mistakes you see more up and coming Heroes players make, and what would your advice be for a Heroes player who wants to get better and really take it seriously as a professional pursuit?
Ben: I think egos are a big thing. You grow a big ego and then it can be your worst enemy. It’s good to be confident in yourself, but not overconfident because if you get too inflated with the way you perceive yourself, and then when it doesn’t come together how you see yourself, then it’s gonna crush you a lot more than if you were to be a little bit more humble with the way that you’re going about it.
That’s punished me in the past and I’ve lost tournaments over it, so I’ve learnt from that mistake. That’s a big one.
Never compare yourself to other people. Always just focus on yourself and try to improve your best. It’s okay to look at others and do what they do, but just make sure that every day you’re getting better and learning and becoming the best that you can more so then being better than others.
It’s just what you can do yourself.