If you follow StarCraft since a longer time, you might well know HayprO – for many years, he was in the respective top non-Korean teams in both Broodwar (Templars of Twilight) and StarCraft 2 (TeamLiquid) before retiring in 2012.
In the interview, HayprO shares his thoughts on Rivals, why he thinks it needs official tournaments, sponsored streamers and improvements in the new player experience.
Q: People who know you from StarCraft might have not heard about you since you retired. What have you been up to since then? And what brought you to Rivals ultimately?
HayprO: Hello! After retiring, I went back to university and finished my math and physics studies. After that I decided to study another year to get a teaching degree, so now I work as a math and physics teacher. Also, I’ve been married for soon to be three years and have a one year old daughter.
I started playing mobile games in 2012 when Marvel: War of Heroes came out. When the game got very P2W, I switched and started playing some Clash of Clans but switched as soon as Clash Royale came out. As soon as Rivals came out (I saw the exhibition game with iNcontroL at E3) I switched to it to try it out and it turned out to be a great game so I ‘ve been playing it for some months now.
iNcontrolL playing Rivals at the E3 in June 2018. The game, and how it's played at high level, went a long way since then.
Q: You’ve been playing both of the competitive RTS games at a very high level. What do you think about Rivals from the eyes of a BW/SC2 player?
HayprO: I think that it’s is a fun game and I would say that Rivals is a mini version of Broodwar and StarCraft 2. You got the economy part with harvesters. You got the micro. And you got the strategy and decision making with pad control and unit counters. At the same time the depth is obviously limited. That does not have to be a bad thing: What I enjoy about Rivals is that its fast-paced and simple to play while being competitive.
I think the game is ready for competitive play. The official tournaments is what’s missing.
Q: What’s your point of view on the balance Rivals strikes at being a “fair, competitive RTS” and the pay-to-win elements?
HayprO: I don’t think too much about the balance and when I play, levels is the issue more than a certain unit being overpowered. Being able to spend money on a game to gain levels faster is a part of the mobile games and it’s something to just accept. I don’t see an issue with it since it’s mostly limited to the ladder play. The Champions Blitz have level caps which limits the P2W aspect.
Q: What do you think about the direction Rivals is going right now?
HayprO: I think the adding of new units is going too fast. It’s better if they work on the existing units that see no play. Some units are almost never used, fixing that is important to keep the game fun and balanced.
I feel the tweak to the champions model was too extreme. They went from giving away way too many diamonds to requiring diamonds to redo a run. I would like something in between. I do like the season reset, it's fun getting all those crates in the beginning.
Q: What would be one thing you would change about Rivals if you could?
HayprO: I would work on different things to make the player pool bigger. Right now, that’s the biggest issue imo. When you get to masters, you basically start to recognize every player you play against.
I think, if you compare the game to Clash Royale, it’s harder to win if you are a new player. That probably scares away an amount of players which limits the player pool. However, I don’t have a solution.
Q: It’s certainly a challenge to make the new player experience better in Rivals. A nut to crack for both Redwood and smart folks in the Rivals community!
You played in some of the first tournaments for Rivals. Do you enjoy the experience? What would you suggest for the community to do about tournaments so they are enjoyable both for the top players, and for the casual fans who like to watch/follow such events?
HayprO: I really like the spectator mode, its well done. The tournaments are an important part to help the game stay competitive and to attract more players.
I think official tournaments need to be hosted and also I would like to see sponsored streamers to help grow the game. I don’t think we can expect thousand of viewers on twitch, but I think it should be much more than what is now, maxing at like 60 viewers.
Q: Fully agree on the need for more tournaments. Official tournaments from Redwood would be the best, but even some more support from Redwoods for community tournaments would help a ton.
You’re part of the Ascendance alliance in Rivals. What brought you there, and what’s going on at Ascendance that makes you enjoy being part of it?
HayprO: I joined Ascendance because Alicia and Bikerush were at the top of the ladder and I wanted to be in a competitive clan. Being there for a couple of months now and the atmosphere is great.
Q: Speaking about alliances (or clans in Brood War, teams in SC2): Are you still in touch with some of your old team mates from ToT or TeamLiquid?
HayprO: Yes I am, but mostly only with the Swedish players that were in those teams. I talk to ToT)DaZe(, ToT)TreK(, HuK and Jinro on a regular basis.
Q: Do you still play BW/SC2 from time to time? Or follow Broodwar and/or StarCraft 2 tournaments as a fan?
HayprO: I don’t really follow SC2 much aside from the big tournaments like IEM and Blizzcon. For Broodwar I do follow the korean leagues. Broodwar will always be number one in my heart :)
When it comes to playing, I’ve basically stopped playing games on the PC aside from doing a game day every 1-2 months with some friends. When I play games, I want to do good, so I gotta invest time in the game and I just don’t have that amount of time anymore.
Q: Glad to hear you still follow Broodwar. Just before this interview, I was watching the semi-finals of the ASL in Korea. Let’s get back to Rivals for the last question: What’s your favorite unit and why? Which unit do you hate playing against?
HayprO: My favorite unit is the Banshee. Without it, I would not be able to win against the GDI Predator tanks with my Scorpion tanks. The unit I hate playing against is overleveled Jumpjet Troopers. They kill harvesters so fast …
GDI Jumpjet Trooper & NOD Banshee
Q: Hayder, thank you for this interview! And dear readers, make sure to follow Haypro on Twitter: @LiquidHayprO
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