Time:  20:17:30 CET  11:17:30 PST  14:17:30 EST  04:17:30 Seoul  03:17:30 Beijing
NEWS
WE.TeD: "Human players have too many tactics"
Zhuo "TeD" Zeng the strongest Chinese Undead player talks of why Human remains his weakest match-up, why the NGL ONE is like the NBA and why he still tries to be innovative.
Chinese version
By Lawrence Benedict 'Malystryx' Phillips
Apr 7, 2009 20:25
Zhuo "TeD" Zeng the strongest Chinese Undead player talks of why Human remains his weakest match-up, why the NGL ONE is like the NBA and why he still tries to be innovative.Q1. Syc, Panxiang and Kenshin are in your roster but have yet to play in the WC3L this season, are they purely for Chinese competitions, practice partners or do they have ability to perhaps reach the international stage?
WE.TeD: "They are not only training partners but our comrades as well. They are doing quite well in the open ladder of Battle.net lately, and they qualified for the invitational ladder. I think they have what it takes to reach international level in the future."
WE.TeD: "Yes. Syc has different in-game style from Sky, InFi and KenShin. He is a consistent player. I recall he once used only two guard towers during his tower rush to beat SocceR at WSVG Wuhan Tour."
Q3. Despite four humans in the team, Undead versus Human is still one of your weakest match-ups after Orc, how can that be?
WE.TeD: "Because Human players have too many tactics. If you get used to one of them, they come up with other tactics. Sky for instance tends to use Paladin at EI and TS, while InFi tends to use AM, Syc tends to expand with AM when he is at tier 2 and KenShin sometimes tech to tier 3 without expanding at all. Sky’s AM is more aggressive in the meantime so it is hard to get used to all of them."
Q4. You maintain a god-like 87% win average in Undead mirror yet have no top Undead players in your team and you are probably the only one in China. How do you manage to maintain this win average, is it simply replays or do you have some European or Korean Undeads you practice regularly against?
WE.TeD: "Godlike? No, not really. Perhaps I practiced too much for PPS China vs Korea Season I. The best way to keep up is practice. China has actually many good undead players. I practice with FoV once in a while, but not much."
Q5. You recently pulled off a fiend/tower rush against Grubby on Secret Valley, why do you still feed the need to innovate? Is Coil Nova not enough to beat the top players?
WE.TeD: "I think I like innovating before I became a professional gamer. I love playing with new and fancy tactics. I already used Beast Master and Fire Lord combined with skeletons to play against Orc when I was still amateur, and there are a whole lot more strange tactics to play with. Every time I create something new I feel self-accomplished and happy. I don’t like remaining at the same place and I need more development and innovation."
WE.TeD: "NGL Solo League is similar to NBA I think. You just replace teams with players there. There are excellent players from all over the world that participate in this tournament, and we have games pretty much everyday and every one of them keeps us in suspense till the very last moment.
For me, You count on teamwork when you are playing WC3L, while it depends on how much you practice when you are playing the NGL Solo League. I prefer to the system of NGL team league, because you know you have team-mates to count on no matter you win or lose. Of course I will be happier if I manage to all kill."
Q7. In a past interview when asked your thoughts of the changes to G-League you said that: "I feel that the change from a team league to a solo league makes it more challenging," would you say the same for the NGL or was the KoTH format more challenging?
WE.TeD: "I like the old WC3L match system: 4 solo matches plus a 2on2. I think it is the closest equivalent to what we called “Clan War”."
Q8. Warcraft3 has been relatively quiet so far this year and there is a longer period between competitive matches, is this a blessing or a curse?
WE.TeD: "I think I have many online games to play every week. From time to time I have to play three or four days in a row."
Q9. How do you keep motivated in the World Elite house? If there are no matches for a while are you allowed to stay out late with your girlfriend or go drinking?
WE.TeD: "I manage to keep motivated because I want to bring Chinese Undead to a higher level in the world. Good Chinese undead players were considered non-existent in foreign countries before so I want to prove Chinese Undead players are very skilled. I want to travel around if I don't have any games to play for a while."
WE.TeD: "It depends on every kid’s self control. I used to play online games, but I won’t get addicted to it, because I know the outcome of playing online games does not justify what you spend on it."
Q11. China was undoubtably the new centre for Warcraft3 in 2008, and was also the chosen location for PGL, WC3L and EM Chengdu in January 2009. Do you think given the economic problems that perhaps we will see less international competitions in China this year or will there perhaps be more since it is a cheaper location to host an event?
WE.TeD: "It’s hard to say, but as we players, we apparently hope for more and more tournaments and bring fans more and more good games."
WE.TeD: "They are not only training partners but our comrades as well. They are doing quite well in the open ladder of Battle.net lately, and they qualified for the invitational ladder. I think they have what it takes to reach international level in the future."
" Human players have too many tactics. If you get used to one of them, they come up with other tactics"
Q2. Syc was added I believe after his success at the PCGA Pepsi challenge but is there really a need for four human players in the same team?WE.TeD: "Yes. Syc has different in-game style from Sky, InFi and KenShin. He is a consistent player. I recall he once used only two guard towers during his tower rush to beat SocceR at WSVG Wuhan Tour."
Q3. Despite four humans in the team, Undead versus Human is still one of your weakest match-ups after Orc, how can that be?
WE.TeD: "Because Human players have too many tactics. If you get used to one of them, they come up with other tactics. Sky for instance tends to use Paladin at EI and TS, while InFi tends to use AM, Syc tends to expand with AM when he is at tier 2 and KenShin sometimes tech to tier 3 without expanding at all. Sky’s AM is more aggressive in the meantime so it is hard to get used to all of them."
Q4. You maintain a god-like 87% win average in Undead mirror yet have no top Undead players in your team and you are probably the only one in China. How do you manage to maintain this win average, is it simply replays or do you have some European or Korean Undeads you practice regularly against?WE.TeD: "Godlike? No, not really. Perhaps I practiced too much for PPS China vs Korea Season I. The best way to keep up is practice. China has actually many good undead players. I practice with FoV once in a while, but not much."
Q5. You recently pulled off a fiend/tower rush against Grubby on Secret Valley, why do you still feed the need to innovate? Is Coil Nova not enough to beat the top players?
WE.TeD: "I think I like innovating before I became a professional gamer. I love playing with new and fancy tactics. I already used Beast Master and Fire Lord combined with skeletons to play against Orc when I was still amateur, and there are a whole lot more strange tactics to play with. Every time I create something new I feel self-accomplished and happy. I don’t like remaining at the same place and I need more development and innovation."
"I already used Beastmaster and Firelord combined with skeletons to play against Orc when I was still amateur"
Q6. Both the WC3L and NGL changed format, for the public I would say the NGL One 1on1 seems more popular, what about for you as a player? Do the changes affect you in anyway? WE.TeD: "NGL Solo League is similar to NBA I think. You just replace teams with players there. There are excellent players from all over the world that participate in this tournament, and we have games pretty much everyday and every one of them keeps us in suspense till the very last moment.
For me, You count on teamwork when you are playing WC3L, while it depends on how much you practice when you are playing the NGL Solo League. I prefer to the system of NGL team league, because you know you have team-mates to count on no matter you win or lose. Of course I will be happier if I manage to all kill."
Q7. In a past interview when asked your thoughts of the changes to G-League you said that: "I feel that the change from a team league to a solo league makes it more challenging," would you say the same for the NGL or was the KoTH format more challenging?WE.TeD: "I like the old WC3L match system: 4 solo matches plus a 2on2. I think it is the closest equivalent to what we called “Clan War”."
Q8. Warcraft3 has been relatively quiet so far this year and there is a longer period between competitive matches, is this a blessing or a curse?
WE.TeD: "I think I have many online games to play every week. From time to time I have to play three or four days in a row."
Q9. How do you keep motivated in the World Elite house? If there are no matches for a while are you allowed to stay out late with your girlfriend or go drinking?
WE.TeD: "I manage to keep motivated because I want to bring Chinese Undead to a higher level in the world. Good Chinese undead players were considered non-existent in foreign countries before so I want to prove Chinese Undead players are very skilled. I want to travel around if I don't have any games to play for a while."
"I manage to keep motivated because I want to bring Chinese Undead to a higher level in the world"
Q10. China recently announced there has been a 7% decrease in online gamers under the age of 18 after they introduced an anti-addiction gaming system allowing young players to only play a certain number of hours a day. Do you think it is up to the government to enforce these kind of measures or is it the responsability of the parents?WE.TeD: "It depends on every kid’s self control. I used to play online games, but I won’t get addicted to it, because I know the outcome of playing online games does not justify what you spend on it."
Q11. China was undoubtably the new centre for Warcraft3 in 2008, and was also the chosen location for PGL, WC3L and EM Chengdu in January 2009. Do you think given the economic problems that perhaps we will see less international competitions in China this year or will there perhaps be more since it is a cheaper location to host an event?
WE.TeD: "It’s hard to say, but as we players, we apparently hope for more and more tournaments and bring fans more and more good games."
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TeD Fighting ~!~!~!
Really nice interview though, definitely one of the most interesting Asian players to read about. Not to mention his pics are usually awesome too ;D