20-20: BuLba October 17th, 2013 14:32 GMT Text by CountChocula Graphics by fusefuse

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20 Questions

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20Q 20A: Black^

is a hometown hero here on Team Liquid. A member of Liquid Dota since its inception, BuLba is one of the most vocal North American Dota players on the scene. He loves the community and often posts on our Dota 2 forums right here on TL.

We

BuLba confirms that he will answer 20 questions from the community. BuLba confirms that he will answer 20 questions from the community.

20 Questions

Want to ask something? We'll do it for you. Just post your question in this thread. Our editors will pick the 20 best questions from this thread and BuLba will answer them, after which the answers will be slotted in below.

Ask away, TL!

20 Answers

How awesome was TI3 (and that LGD.cn game)? Could you talk a little about your experience? [Scaramanga]

The LGD game was probably one of the best moments in my life. Everything was on the line and playing versus some of the players that I respected immensely like xiao8 just made it even better. We were definitely rooting for Alliance to beat LGD in the winners’ bracket because LGD felt like they were very vulnerable to our playstyle. I was very surprised that LGD went from a team that tried different stuff out in G-1 like their Spectre strat into a team that literally picked 4 core heroes every game. We expected each and every pick from their Mag pick to their Alchemist. Even the Furion pick was not very surprising because they relied on that pick if the enemy team was going aggressive so Furion can TP in and win their trilane. We had the last pick and Clockwerk felt like the best hero versus their heroes. Clock could solo kill the furion when he was splitpushing and Clock is a decent hero versus Mag and Alch as well. Anyways the game started and everything was just an adrenaline rush. We made the right moves and the right teamfights and just won the game. The feeling after winning was quite surreal.

I'm sure you've given this much thought. What do you think went wrong in your games vs. iG at TI3? [taldarimAltar]

Another mistake was that after killing the Weaver in the trilane, we abandoned it way too early to try and gank SF. Ferrari played very passive and didn’t get ganked and wasted our supports’ time. That allowed Zhou to catch back up and in the end we didn’t snowball our aggressive trilane, which we could have done considering the First Blood. I definitely think if we had more experience in the mid game, we could have done better but their lineup was very good versus ours. Nyx would own the OD later on and Batrider would just lasso me in fights. We had nothing to really go through BKB as well besides the Abyssal Blade. I also probably had to farm more in a spectator’s point of view but their Batrider and Nyx were never showing on the map. It was quite difficult to farm past the river unless we were together because they could pick us off any time. The main problems were that:

A. we broke our trilane way too early. This let Weaver catch up and the N’aix (me) start as a trilane N’aix and then end up as an offlane N’aix soloing versus a Weaver and a Nyx manaburning me. My Phase Boots timing was at like 3 minutes, but I ended up with a late Armlet because I had to solo a Weaver+1. I also should have probably gotten an Assault Cuirass over finishing the Abyssal because Shadow Fiend and Weaver just owned me in fights due to SF aura+Weaver deso.

B. we were too predictable in our laning and iG exploited that.

C. we had nothing to go through BKB. iG could literally just countergank and splitpush us with Keeper and we could not respond efficiently. Batrider and Nyx could pick any of us off and we had no choice but to stick together. Weaver+SF+Bat+Nyx would own our heroes mid to late game. I mention this in an interview I did with Epi , but I felt we were a bit too happy after beating LGD. I think it is because this was our first big LAN win on a stage as big as TI3. Our style at the time was also very predictable. We literally ran aggressive trilanes every game to suppress their carry’s farm and had strong solos. Honestly this was our playstyle the entire year and it fit our team well. Anyways, iG knew this and knew straight from the start that we were going aggressive. They took a Keeper very early because Keeper is quite strong versus aggressives and they also picked a Shadow Fiend. Our goal was to suppress the enemy carry but their carry was actually the Shadow fiend mid which just abused Radiant mid and outfarmed us. They also had a Batrider which owned us quite hard because we always had to stick together. They could endlessly splitpush us while we had to stick together in clumps due to the enemy Batrider and Nyx.Another mistake was that after killing the Weaver in the trilane, we abandoned it way too early to try and gank SF. Ferrari played very passive and didn’t get ganked and wasted our supports’ time. That allowed Zhou to catch back up and in the end we didn’t snowball our aggressive trilane, which we could have done considering the First Blood. I definitely think if we had more experience in the mid game, we could have done better but their lineup was very good versus ours. Nyx would own the OD later on and Batrider would just lasso me in fights. We had nothing to really go through BKB as well besides the Abyssal Blade. I also probably had to farm more in a spectator’s point of view but their Batrider and Nyx were never showing on the map. It was quite difficult to farm past the river unless we were together because they could pick us off any time. The main problems were that:A. we broke our trilane way too early. This let Weaver catch up and the N’aix (me) start as a trilane N’aix and then end up as an offlane N’aix soloing versus a Weaver and a Nyx manaburning me. My Phase Boots timing was at like 3 minutes, but I ended up with a late Armlet because I had to solo a Weaver+1. I also should have probably gotten an Assault Cuirass over finishing the Abyssal because Shadow Fiend and Weaver just owned me in fights due to SF aura+Weaver deso.B. we were too predictable in our laning and iG exploited that.C. we had nothing to go through BKB. iG could literally just countergank and splitpush us with Keeper and we could not respond efficiently. Batrider and Nyx could pick any of us off and we had no choice but to stick together. Weaver+SF+Bat+Nyx would own our heroes mid to late game.

Can you please give us a "table of contents" or a "chapter" of your team's drafting guides and notebooks, which you guys posted pictures of on Twitter in anticipation for TI3? [rkffhk]

One of the chapters was hero statistics and win-rate losses. The rest is secret :D

What are some little-known interesting facts that teammates have shared in your time together or personality quirks that your fellow teammates frequently display during Dota 2 games? What is best practical joke that has ever taken place among Liquid players? [TanGeng]

There are two Tinker players on the new Liquid. When do I get to see some Tinker games? [bigglesbiggles]

In terms of results the NA Dota scene seems far behind the Chinese and European ones. Why do you think this is and what do you reckon needs to be done to help the NA scene catch up? [Mouzone]

Do you feel that Elder Titan needs some changes? Will we ever get to see you play him in competitive? [Dac]

How did you come up with the idea for Tinker’s March build? [msl]

What's currently the best hero no one's ever picking up? Also, what are the main differences - both mechanically and mentally - between playing the offlane and playing solo mid? [GoingGoingGone]

This question is quite difficult because each team has different responsibilities for the offlaner and the mid. For example, Na’Vi farms a lot more on Dendi and relies on him winning his lane. Alliance on the other hand relies on s4 to be very unselfish in his play. He helps his team a lot and makes a lot of plays in the mid game. They are two different styles of playing mid lane besides the normal CS’ing and lane control.

Offlane is also different as you see Chinese teams rely on the offlaner to set up ganks and be teamfight controllers while Alliance relies on Bulldog to have a lot of farm and help in the mid to late game. Both positions need a lot of map awareness and laning skill.

Which role do you enjoy playing more: offlane or mid position? [CylerBelmont]

What would it take to make Invoker "viable" mid again? He was top tier at TI2 and as far as I can remember his only nerf was -4 base damage. With the prominence of supports pulling regen and Treant Protector making any 1v1 winnable, why don't we see him more? [Thomas7575]

For a new player that has basic RTS knowledge (coming from BW and SC2) and does not want to feed, what would be a good tip for playing better at Dota 2? [s.a.y]

Why don't we see Clockwerk mid? He's an insanely good ganker and that early levels should help get some good ganks going pretty quickly, no? Aside from OD, I also don't see any hero completely destroying him on that lane. [Mandalor]

Who do you think is the best Clockwerk in the world, other than yourself? [thragar]

What do you think are issues IceFrog didn't address in 6.79? With Zenith and MUFC disbanding, where do you see SEA Dota going? Can you beat YajirobefromDC? [meniscus-]

Do you think Valve need to put more gameplay items in the game? If so, for what role (support, carry, etc.)? [yookstah]

Do you see yourself as a franchise Liquid player in the same way as say Ret, TLO, etc. in the Starcraft team? Concisely, do you see yourself as Liquid for life? [TemujinGK]

Who has been your favorite player currently active in the scene to watch and learn from and what sort of impact has learning from this player made on your own play? [Koalabee Juniper]

Your favorite Pokémon? [Oukka]

Would you choose to have a real life Bulbasaur or to win TI4? (The Bulbasaurs are watching this.) [kellymilkies]

Sorry Kelly, but winning TI4!

This time, we also have a few bonus questions:

Will you play Bloodseeker mid in competitive Dota? [Nazgul]

What are you fiending on right now? [Hot_Bid]

Why do you lose to Arteezy mid? Explain how being a vegetarian in China has affected you psychologically. [Fluff]

How does it feel to be the second best Tinker in the world? [Qojqva]

Writer: CountChocula

Gfx: fusefuse, riptide

Editor: riptide

Banner image by: R1CH

: CountChocula: fusefuse, riptide: riptide Being second to EternaLEnVy is being second to God Himself. We’re 50/50 in 1v1s. China’s food made me depressed. Stuff to abuse in new patch. 我会让他们连馒头都吃不到 Those championships owed me over the years, I will take them back one by one. Maybe, but I doubt TC thinks the hero is legit. Darkrai I think for this year, the player I felt that had the most impact was s4. His gameplay understanding surpassed every other individual for ti3 and he led his team to several victories. I really enjoy his playstyle. I don’t think I can say I am on the same franchise-level as TLO or Ret for Liquid. They both have represented Liquid for quite a long time and Dota is still quite new in the Team Liquid community. I do however hope to be Liquid 4 Life. I’m not very sure on this one. I can’t really think of an item that is needed that desperately. One of the best things about Dota is definitely the variety of items that fill every role. Honestly the direction that 6.79 took was something I never thought would happen. Not that it’s bad or anything, but it was very sudden and out of nowhere. I haven’t seen a patch that didn’t change as many things core to the game as this one did. I recently sent my opinions about 6.79 to the TL writers about the patch, but it was before playing it. I was totally wrong about how pulls would change the game. Now it seems like pulls don’t even matter as much let it be from Radiant or Dire. I dislike the whole pooling 1 tango thing. It’s very weird seeing like 4 tangos in an inventory and it should have just not been allowed anymore. Mid item builds feel so random and I also felt there should have been a change to runes. The first rune at 2 minutes feels so imbalanced towards however gets it. Even more so than before because you could at least bottle crow if you don’t get the rune, but now the person that doesn’t get the rune is somewhat screwed if he is playing a hero that relies on bottle to lane like Beastmaster or Dragon Knight. Also the Lich change was probably one of the most unnecessary changes. The game was changed to favor dual lanes and the best dual laning hero in the game got buffed. Besides the things I dislike, I do enjoy a lot of the hero changes including Axe, Disruptor and Broodmother. bOne7, however I flame some of his builds to him and we argue. We do occasionally see Clock mid, but definitely not as much as offlane. I think a big reason is that Magnus stopped being picked. Clock did fine versus him in lane and was good versus him in game. Also Clock doesn’t necessarily scale as much as other heroes with farm. He has his spells and his spells are the reason that he is strong. Yes, Force Staff, Aghanim’s and BKB are very good items on him, but his strength is his spells and ability to leech experience and be an annoying initiator. Also when he is mid, he does a lot weaker versus ranged heroes compared to how he does in the side lane. Using cogs to burn mana is a lot harder mid, because there isn’t much space and his lane pushing is not as good as other heroes. However, I think that a snowballed Clock from mid lane is probably one of the strongest heroes in the game. He gets great coverage of runes and can gank any lane easily. Mid Clock is probably my favorite way to play the hero. I think the biggest thing is watching competitive play and not just on streams, but watching replays and player perspectives. See the actions they make and how they play and try to imitate it. This along with practicing and playing a lot will help a ton. Dota is a game which requires a lot of knowledge as well as mechanics, so both of these things need work. There are plenty of resources for knowledge in the form of Youtube videos and guides, but mechanics need to be practiced and imitated. The main problem with Invoker is that BKBs are so strong. He also doesn’t have the same teamfighting abilities as a Puck with a Blink Dagger and is very easy to gank. His laning also lacks lane pushing and rune control, because he doesn’t use bottle as efficiently as other heroes like Puck or Dragon Knight. With the new patch however, we might see him come back - not necessarily because of his buff, but because of how Bottle got nerfed. You do need a Midas as mid Invoker though. The mid position because my favorite heroes besides Clockwerk usually are laned there. Also I enjoy the aspect of how much control you have over the game from the mid lane position. The best hero that no one is picking much is probably Disruptor in my opinion. However we might see an increase in Disruptor picks after 79.This question is quite difficult because each team has different responsibilities for the offlaner and the mid. For example, Na’Vi farms a lot more on Dendi and relies on him winning his lane. Alliance on the other hand relies on s4 to be very unselfish in his play. He helps his team a lot and makes a lot of plays in the mid game. They are two different styles of playing mid lane besides the normal CS’ing and lane control.Offlane is also different as you see Chinese teams rely on the offlaner to set up ganks and be teamfight controllers while Alliance relies on Bulldog to have a lot of farm and help in the mid to late game. Both positions need a lot of map awareness and laning skill. Tinker was always one of my favorite heroes because of his high skillcap. However there was a lack of stability with the hero, because he needed to snowball using Missile Laser. As people and teams got better, you couldn’t necessary rely on your two nukes to carry you through the early game. The hero also needs a lot of items. March felt very strong in Dota 2 and I started experimenting with it. Finally when I was on EG, Demon and I used the ancient Tinker strat and it became popular since then. I started either 2-0-4 or 1-1-4 with the hero and rushed Blink Dagger after Boots of Travel, so I can shift queue into the forest and spam March. People were going Force Staff rush before and I disliked Force first. Elder Titan definitely needed changes. His damage nerf on Spirit made him weaker as a laner, because the timing window where you have to 1 shot the ranged creeps is a lot smaller now. However he is still as strong throughout the game due to the Aura. Experience is always the biggest aspect. It is just harder for NA teams to play competitive compared to European teams and Asian teams due to time restraints. The NA competitive pool besides the 3 top teams has some teams with potential, but the issue is that most of them have no experience. There are a few players that have very high individual skill though, but you will never see them band together. Another issue is the lack of good support players that are not on the top 3 NA teams so it is hard to find cohesion among the individually skilled players. One player on team Typical Mistakes impressed me tremendously though. Name is Andrew “Vt.Jubei” Evelyn. Hopefully soon! Tinker is a hero that has to fit perfectly in a draft usually, because he requires so much farm. However once he gets his farm, he is quite unstoppable if a good player plays it. The best practical joke was probably the one that Hot_Bid and Korok pulled on me after I saw the movie Conjuring. What a scary movie. As for interesting facts, Wayto is a worse bowler than I am. TC smiles 24/7 in real life. Our editors will pick the 20 best questions from this thread and BuLba will answer them, after which the answers will be slotted in below.Ask away, TL! Sam "BuLba" Sosale is a hometown hero here on Team Liquid. A member of Liquid Dota since its inception, BuLba is one of the most vocal North American Dota players on the scene. He loves the community and often posts on our Dota 2 forums right here on TL.We last had BuLba on our Community Q&A in February , and thus felt it was time we let you guys have another crack at him. A lot has happened since then for Sam (including a great run at TI3), and we're sure you have a lot to ask him!