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VindicareXpert

By 5*General - 22nd November 2011 - 02:10 AM

While the ballots may have been cast months ago, it's finally time (high time honestly) to honor our newest GameReplays Expert! VindicareX took GROS by storm earlier this year and has cemented himself as one of the- if not the- top Dawn of War 2 player since. He was thus a natural selection for Expert status, and we sat him down (just before GR2O) to talk about the honor:

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5*General: Expert has been an award for you that's been a long time coming. You definitely established your bid for it back in GROS- ney, cemented your bid back then. How does it feel to finally get the official nod?
VindicareX: I am just thankful that my hard work finally paid off in this way. I looked up to a lot of the "badge guys" in my browsing and early posting days on GameReplays. I like to think that I can impart a similar feeling to others that come across Dawn of War 2. At the moment, it feels like a relief, something tangible: one doesn't need this badge to be able to be an awesome player and member of Dawn of War 2, though.

5*General: At the start of GROS, many considered you a relative unknown compared to many of the "big guns" you were up against. Behind every such great rise is a similarly great origin story- what's yours?
VindicareX: I was an unknown? Man- well, I suppose I didn't have too much of a history in 1v1 at the time. Anyway, I played Dawn of War 2 back on day one of original release (February 19, 2009), after having played the original Dawn of War series as well. I played a lot of team games (3v3 then) and only dabbled in 1v1. Team games [were] an easy way for me to learn the game and have a good time, since I had my allies for support. I was just your casual everyday gamer and didn't really do much outside the game. I eventually got into the online forums, starting with the official forums. I posted a lot of balance discussions and gameplay things there. I first came to the GameReplays scene through one of my 3v3 buddies (UnusualFashion, if anyone remembers him). I poked and prodded a bit here and there. I also stumbled across Dawn of War 2 Live- newer during that time some months before Chaos Rising. They showed a lot of games there and plenty of tournaments. I was watching the games of the pros on it (I remember one with Mickytricky as an Apothecary) and I thought "hey, I can do that- hell, I can do better than these guys. Get me into the next tournament." While I was a huge 2v2 and 3v3 player during this time, going up against top tier players in team games, I didn't have a good history in 1v1. I soon learned that 1v1 is a different beast. My drive and push for being one of the top 2v2 players though (at least I liked to think so) helped me give a good motivation to get better at 1v1 and win and win to get to the top. I remember one game, a time when Ork Warboss was dreadfully underpowered, I played against stellviax (under the name Obliterators) in a Warboss mirror- needless to say I got stomped rather quickly. Although by this time, I was much more active in the community, and even a Dawn of War 2 Live caster. It was really during the Chaos Rising scene when I put my game into high-gear in 1v1, playing less team games than I did before. My thought was: if I just win enough, I'll get better and better and beat those expert 1v1 players, then no one can deny me. I joined as many tournaments as possible (the first ones I joined were Bogger's hosting of Dawn of War 2 Live tournaments in original Dawn of War 2) to prove my worth. I just kept at it and built my skill to become one of the best Dawn of War 2 players. I was a good player by the time Chaos Rising was ending and competing with the top players, but I did not have a lot of tournament experience against them. It was really at the end of Chaos Rising I would assert myself to that next step of joining and performing well and winning tournaments at a high level. Like you said, It was really GROS where I truly dominated the tournament and all the experts who played that really cemented my status.

5*General: Exactly. But anyway, you definitely put in a lot of hard work to get where you are. For newer players looking to improve, do you recommend that they enter tournaments with elite players even if they don't feel they can stand in the ring against them?
VindicareX: Certainly, if not for the practice. Many top players are very kind and friendly to newer players (since they don't know them nor haven't come to hate or rival them). Though I would suggest to play ranked games first and make your way up there to find good players. While not definitive, it's a good measure of your skill.

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5*General: Do you have any other suggestions for new players looking to work their way up?
VindicareX: Watching replays and asking for advice there, or other forums section/sites provides a good learning experience. Joining the L2P group if you are new or somewhat new. Though I have to say, just playing and improving through games seems to be the best way.

5*General: And of course, now you're at the top. Where does that leave you? What more do you want to accomplish, and what are you looking to do right now?
VindicareX: Trying to win all the tournaments I join (though this is hard, since you can't win them all, constantly). I also want to help be constructive and insightful to discussions and post some awesome replays, of course! Helping newer players into the game with some welcoming posts is always an aim of mine as well.

5*General: How do you plan on using the Expert badge?
VindicareX: Flaunt it in front of Edtjuh. :P I keed, I keed. Honestly, I want to give a greater sense of importance to the posting on GameReplays, to give some sort of composition and weight on (balance) discussions. Of course, this gives some perks to me, but I feel I worked hard and long enough to deserve the position this gives: I will do my best to maintain it too.

5*General: Definitely. So moving on to some more current stuff, many players are complaining about Chaos this and Chaos that in balance these days- how do you feel, being both a Chaos and Space Marine player, about the whining?
VindicareX: I feel that a lot of people just can exploit chaos very well. As in; Chaos can bring out some good counters to just about every situation in a straightforward manner. A lot of the complaints are just unwarranted. though some units/wargear, like in any race, could use some tweaks. Anything in the game at the moment can be beaten by just playing better (though some things definitely need some tweaks).

5*General: From your high vantage point, what is your current take on the overall game balance and playability?
VindicareX: It's in a great spot and has been for awhile. There are some things that become exacerbated in high level play, but nothing has that "OMGWTF OP" feeling. At this point, only tweaks are needed to get this game to be better, which is good and it is a rare online game that doesn't always need this. This makes the game very reasonable for players, since with simply better skill and fewer mistakes they can overcome anything that is thrown at them.

5*General: How are you feeling about your chances in the upcoming GameReplays 2v2 (GR2O) tournament?
VindicareX: I won't lie, I haven't been playing a lot of 2v2 since Retribution came out. Though I am getting back into shape for it and hopefully that the tournament. I think I will be ready for whatever comes my way when the times comes.

5*General: What other players do you feel should be upcoming for Expert?
VindicareX: Wurgl has been doing well in tournaments, as well as some good, if not somewhat raged-filled at times, posts on GameReplays. Toilailee is also a fantastic player, but I have yet to see him make a similar showing with a race other than Imperial Guard (not to say they are overpowered, but being an expert should carry, at some level, to be able to play multiple races very well).

5*General: Well, I hope you enjoy your shiny new badge! Any party plans?
VindicareX: Just to finally get that highlighted part of the replay to make it that much more attractive! Maybe boast about it when the time comes in some... heated arguments. For now, I will try to get some good replays up. Thanks again for you time. I know you are a busy man and it's amazing all the work you do both for Dawn of War 2 and out of it.

5*General: No problem, and good luck in the 2v2 tournament!

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Who will the next Expert be? Stay tuned to find out! But while you do, be sure to check out VindicareX's replays, now tagged with the Expert badge! and comment and congratulate him on his shiny new badge!