By KungFuPanzer

Mitch Campbell

Interview with Crs Elementz: "I think we're the easiest team to get along with and the most out going"

Thu 5th Jul 2012 - 8:34pm Category: League of Legends

I got to catch up with Elementz after Team Curse took down Team Solomid 2-1. Cody and I got to talk about his opinion about the current league of legends scene and how Team Curse fits into it all, and more specifically about the future of Curse as they are soon to be moving into a gaming house.

How are you feeling about moving to a gaming house with the rest of team curse?

Elementz: I am excited as our house is going to be kick ass and I enjoy the company of my team in real life. I think it will help us greatly improve our game and I can see us being a top 3 team because of the house.

Are you guys going to have any rules in the house, like lowest ELO cooks?

Elementz: Hell no ha-ha, otherwise I'd be cooking all the time! Although my cooking isn’t that bad so it could work I guess. I think kind of stuff is reserved for when we actually get into the house though. I am sure we'll be doing lots of fun stuff like that or other competitions as we're all competitive players.

How does liquid impact Curse, does he do his job as manager well? Is he moving into the gaming house with the team?

Elementz: LiQuiD112's like a true parent I think. You know he means well but he can get annoying at times ha-ha. He does have good insight though and he really wants us all to succeed so it really does help us out having some really motivating us. When he's not in manager mode he's a great dude to hang out with too so it's all good at the end of the day. I do believe he's moving into the house with us as well.

Due to Pobelter continuing with his schooling, how has Westrice fitted in at Curse both in and out of game?

Elementz: We will all miss Pobelter and he holds a special place in our hearts and it was sad to see him go but West has made the transition very well I think. We all get along already and he's a pretty chill guy which is great because that's what everyone’s like. I would honestly say Curse is the team with the most laid back attitude outside of the game. I think we're the easiest team to get along with and the most out going. Even if we don't win we have the most fun losing. We make the best out of crappy situations.

Curse is currently fifth on the ladder for season 2, what will you guys be aiming for in the rest of the season?

Elementz: #1 obviously! I think it's pointless to be like "K guys let's just go for 3rd place, that will make us happy" you should always strive to be #1. That's the whole point of being a professional gamer is to do your best and try to be the #1 player and the #1 team to the best of your abilities.

What is curse’s plan for season 3?

Elementz: I think that's way too far down the line to even think about. I mean obviously we want to be a top team, in the running for the finals come Season 3 as if Riot is putting up 5 million this season I can only imagine what they're going to be tossing up next season. I think we just need to buckle down, train hard, live it up in our house, and see where life takes us.

The Korean and Chinese League of Legends communities are growing rapidly, what are your thoughts on the teams that are rising up there? Has Curse considered a stay in Korea to experience their play styles?

Elementz: We got offered to go over there and play but the times just didn't line up. With our house coming up and the other tournaments locally it just didn't make sense to go all the way over there. I have heard some scary things about the teams over there and I know the Asian teams take eSports VERY seriously and now that they actually have full access to the game I am sure they have their own M5's, TSM's, and other powerhouses waiting to be unleashed to the NA and EU scene.

From what I've heard from the teams that have gone over there is that the Asian teams are very strong and I can't wait to play them to see how strong they really are.

The prize pool of league of legends is enormous in season 2, how do you think this has affected how teams play and the amount of new teams that are breaking into the competitive scene?

Elementz: Of course I think that's why you're seeing more and more gaming houses sprouting up. It's worth it now to take it more seriously as the cash on the line is very serious.

The metagame has shifted in League of Legends from fast clear junglers to crowd control heavy junglers, with nautilus seeing a large amount of play in the recent tournaments MLG and Dreamhack. What do you think about this, have you any thoughts on where the meta will head next?

Elementz: I just think the "CC / Tank" junglers are finding the way into the meta is all. I don't think the meta has changed that much it's just introduced a couple new players into the game. I don't see the meta changing that much in our near future unless riot actually changes the way the games played.

There's a reason the games the way it is right now and that's because it's the strongest way to play it. Sure you can 2v1 and change it up from time to time to throw teams off their game but the same principle is there with the standard roles being filled.

Further on from that, what do you think about Azingy’s tri-lane theory?

Elementz: Sounds interesting, maybe with all the time we'll have in our gaming house we can test it out.

What part of league of legends would you like to change to benefit the community?

Elementz: I think support doesn't get enough gold and they don't get to contribute as much as they could. I think Riot needs to address that and hook supports up with some love.

Who is your favourite champion right now and what do they offer a team?

Elementz: My favorite champion currently is Katarina. I've been messing around with builds and finding going more into AD is a lot of fun. Hexdrinker is OP on her ha-ha. I enjoy the snowball nature and the fast reaction team fighting. You really gotta be on the ball to be successful with Katarina and I enjoy the skill involved in being good with her. All she really offers is DPS to a team and the chance to get a cool looking penta as you play clean-up crew ha-ha.

Describe a day in the life of Cody.

Elementz: Wake up, eat my not that delicious supplement shake (trying to lose weight for summer hah) talk on Skype with all my RoG peoples and see what needs to be done. Checking e-mails, more skyping etc.. That kind of stuff. Then I'll either stream or scrim with the team for a while then I am off to the gym later in the night because that's when I like to work out! That's a general day for me. Otherwise I'll be hanging out with my GF or a friend when I get the time.

You get mixed reviews for your tier lists, what motivates you to make them and keep making them?

Elementz: The people that enjoy them motivate me. I did it because the community deemed me the "tier list guy" and the guy for the job. I am not going to back down from something that I almost feel to be a responsibility now. People really enjoy the lists and really like to theory craft about it so I continue to do it because I enjoy theory crafting.

I feel people kind of look at them like patch notes and everyone gets excited about patch notes. It's something fun to discuss whether you agree or not with it. So as long as people continue to enjoy it I will continue to make them.

Back in the days of season 1 you were criticized for your gaming skill, after discussing this in your recent blog post, how do you feel about your skill? Has the Curse experience helped?

Elementz: I believe it has. I went from a top tier player to basically a player full of himself thinking I didn't need to improve. Now that I realize I have a goal, and something to strive for, I feel I have improved greatly and I feel like a better player overall now. I feel like I did back in the day ha-ha. The curse experience has definitely helped.

The future of league of legends is cloudy right now, with Dota2 becoming more and more complete and Hi-Rez Studios beginning the closed beta of Smite. How do you feel league of legends matches up against the other MOBAs that are available and being developed?

Elementz: Lol, that's really all I have to say about that. League is in its own category at the moment and no Moba is going to dethrone this bad boy anytime soon. Hon failed, Dota will take some users from League but nothing major, a small dent that can be buffed out. Smite looks fun but I don't see any real competitive scene play in that game where a user can look and get behind the play.

I think that's what makes League so appealing as it's easy to watch and understand and it's exciting when a team fight happens. I think that game will be more of a novelty Moba for fun, rather than being taken seriously as an eSport but maybe they'll have a kick ass spectator mode and prove me wrong!

With the addition of Curse.EU, how do you feel they match up against the Original Curse line-up?

Elementz: I think they're currently a stronger team then us. They're a great team and I hope to surpass them soon.

Would curse consider getting a pet for the gaming house, given the choice between a hamster named teemo, a turtle named ramus or a cat named nidalee which would you choose and why?

Elementz: Ha-ha I really enjoy cats and dogs and LiQuiD112 is actually bringing his dog! So we'll have a house pet!

Do you have any shoutouts you would like to give?

Elementz: Shoutout to my team and my family for supporting me! Shoutout to RoG and all the people who work on it you guys are awesome! Shoutout to TeamSpeak and Logitech for sponsoring us! Also follow me on Facebook and twitter and make sure to go to Reign Of Gaming to check out my tier lists!

Thanks for the interview Elementz, it was a pleasure.

Elementz: Thanks dude :P glad to answer the questions!

Please register or login to post comments