Since fresh news from the Tribal Wars Tournament has been rather scarce lately, the staff have prepared an exclusive interview for today with one of the finalists - NFQ. This team has lately been a lot in the AoC spotlight and gone through some close shaves as its players strove to make it to the Final Round.
Dalv, who conducted the interview, talks to VG_Paladin about the tough clashes they have gone through as well as about the challenges that they have yet to meet. Translation has been provided by USC_kiky.
Dalv: Ni hao! Thank you for accepting my invitation, I hope you have the traditional cup of Chinese tea ready for a soft word. I hope your favorite team won the football game.
VG_Paladin: Hello! What’s up? Actually all NFQ players including me are watching the EURO CUP :D
Dalv: That’s nice. Seems like football is the king of sports all over the world after all.
Dalv: Please tell us something about yourself for our readers to know you better.
VG_Paladin: It’s my pleasure to have your interview! This is VG_paladin. My Chinese name is陈秀锦(xiujin-chen). I am self-employed in a sale store. AOC is the only hobby I have.
Dalv: Can you share some insight about your team mates in NFQ beyond the world of AOC as well?
VG_Paladin: They are easygoing players with more than 9 years experience in playing AoC. We have been friends and participating tournaments together for years.
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Dalv: Having shown for the first time into the international AOC scene in this setup, I think people are interested in finding out what does N.F.Q. stand for and how was it formed?
VG_Paladin: The name “Noobs From QQ battle zone”, NFQ for short, was made up by our operator Kiky, mainly because we played most of our games in the Chinese QQ battle zone, an unrated game zone.
Dalv: So as we all know, you are a 100% Chinese team, if someone was to visit China, a country which combines the flourishing modern style, the exciting traditional style and the beautiful natural landscape, what would you advise them to see and feel?
VG_Paladin: The Great wall is the first choice, since it’s the symbol of China, followed by the Imperial Palace, also called the Forbidden City in Beijing, because it’s like a Chinese Musée du Louvre. Then Mount Huanshan and Mount Guilin are famous for their exceptional views.
Dalv: We have learned that the Chinese community also uses a different meeting place to play, the QQ Battle Zone. Do you have a designated AOC forum as well?
VG_Paladin: Yes. We have 2 main battle zones, the QQ battle zone and the China Gamer Alliance (CGA). We have several AOC forums but the biggest one is this one http://diguobbs.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=175
Dalv: Is LN a regular map for your team? What maps does NFQ use to play the most?
VG_Paladin: Not really. I am the only one who played a lot of LN games, and I even played only LN years ago, but my teammates play FR, MR and Arabia most of the time.
Dalv: Moving towards the LN tourney currently in the spotlight, how would you describe in short the LN map and its gameplay style?
VG_Paladin: Imo, this map can be the homemap for players with good economic control and a clear picture of imp war. It might be hard for offensive players who prefer Feudal fight to find their place on this map.
Dalv: Sun Tzu said:
‘If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.’
How have you guys prepared for the tourney, have you practiced LN games together and do you analyze your opponents from the tourney carefully?
VG_Paladin: I did analyze the records of our opponents, usually with Geoffrey(Yiniaoer). But we didn’t practice a lot, because two of our best quad were too busy to play with us. Other teammates did play on Arabia from time to time. We will do our best to demonstrate good games for the community.
Dalv: Please share a short sample of analysis of an opponent you have already met.
VG_Paladin: We learnt a lesson from our match with POJ, a team consisting of exceptional players. The first two games that we lost reveal a serious drawback in our gameplay style. The only strategy in our first two games was boom and walled, which left advantage to opponents, who provoked the war in castle age. Balancing defense and attack well was the reason for our victory in that match. The outcome of walling and defense will only lead to a war within our wall.
Dalv: NFQ had some really tight encounters with VNS and PoJ which brought flavor among the community. How did these games feel both during and outside the matches?
VG_Paladin: It was really a tough match against POJ, though we made it at the end by a streak win in the last three games. I have to say that our lost to VNS was unexpected. Dee and IamOK are not very sharp at post-imp fight. Though goodboy(Ming) played the last 3 games, he was on a phone during the first 30 minutes of the last games, which deterred our communication.
Dalv: Fate brings you together with VNS yet again. What do you think the clash will bring to the table this time?
VG_Paladin: It’s time to prove us.
Dalv: How would you define your team’s style?
VG_Paladin: Every player has his own style. The combination of Yiniaoer(Geoffrey)+Ming(goodboy)+lovecheng+me(paladin) is steady and risk-averse.
Dalv: Some of the voices in the community praised Ming__’s (Goodboy) performance, even if he had few appearances despite fans wishes. How does it feel to play along him? Does he bring a change to the team’s gameplay?
VG_Paladin: The presence of Goodboy(Ming) gave us confidence and a mental edge over opponents in the game, because he is a 2.4k+ player experienced in international tournament, though he is inactive recently due to his business work.
Dalv: Do you use voice chat with your team when you play? I have noticed you rarely chat during games.
VG_Paladin: Yes, we do. Voice chat makes communication much easier.
Dalv: Is there any memorable voice comment you have in mind, be it joke, urge or swear that one of you guys said it?
VG_Paladin: I would say the fifth game in the match with POJ. We were shocked to see that goodboy was fighting against paladins + mangudais+ elite plumed archers + Chukonus with halberdiers and skirmishers only, when we got plenty of gold and food to sling him. He was calm, but we were saying “WTF!”.
Dalv: Which games have you enjoyed the most playing in this tourney?
VG_Paladin: The fifth game with POJ, but it’s a pity that it wasn’t recorded. The scores were at the same level for more than one hour.
Dalv: Indeed, it’s always the best games getting broken. What about other games?
VG_Paladin: Another game was with VNS. They got advantage in early imp by pushing goodboy’s Franks and Geoffrey’s Mongols with Saracens, but we won it finally.
Dalv: From the 18 civilizations, which would you most likely choose for your team and which would you choose the less likely?
VG_Paladin: My favorite combination is Chinese+Mayans+Spanish+Mongols. The last civs I would choose are Goth, Turks, Viking and Briton (sometimes Viking and Briton are not bad).
Dalv: By analyzing community’s response, the tourney so far has been a letdown for some and a pleasant show for others. What are your thoughts about the tourney so far? Have you some criticism to share?
VG_Paladin: The disassembly of Malevolent was unexpected. TyRanT, RVK and POZ were doomed to advance the Final stage.
Dalv: What are your thoughts about the upcoming Final Stage of the tourney?
VG_Paladin: My favorite team is TyRanT, mainly because of KKAB, who has been my idol for many years. Tight clashes should be the match between TyRanT and RVK, or NFQ and VNS. We are also anticipating some fierce fight with POZ if possible, but they are probably stronger.
Dalv: As you know, your opponents in the final shall be aLc, poZ, RVK, TyranT and VNS. Please provide a short description for each in one or two words.
VG_Paladin:
aLc = Champion
poZ =Paladin
RVK = Teutonic Knight
Tyrant =Elite War elephant
VNS =Woad Raider
Dalv: What advice would you give to less skilled Land Nomad players which try to improve?
VG_Paladin: Practice booming and balancing between different resources. Scouting with sheep is a must.
Dalv: For what is to come, what kind of AOC tourney would you prefer and why?
VG_Paladin: National Cup or WCL 8 if possible :D I would like to see more tournaments involving team play.
Dalv: If one thing was to be changed about AOC, which should that be?
VG_Paladin: Making civs more balanced.
Dalv: I agree, let’s hope AOEFE manages to do that.
Dalv: Live streams quickly started to evolve for our beloved game as well, resulting in a new rise of AOC glory. How do you think AOC will be after several years from now?
VG_Paladin: I think it will bring more interactions between players. One of the breakthroughs is the Live streams. However we are sorry to find that live streaming via twich.tv is impossible for us Chinese players.
Dalv: Your country has a long history behind which strongly reflects today in traditions as well. Can you tell us a Chinese saying which you like?
VG_Paladin: Criticism obeys the power, but minds only follow reasoning.
Dalv: Having reached to an end in our conversation, is there anything you would like to add for the readers?
VG_Paladin: Thanks for the attention and encouragement from everyone to NFQ. And great thanks the donator, administrators and moderators for organizing such great tournament that lights up the enthusiasm of AoC players.
Dalv: Thank you for your time and good luck in the final stage, it was a pleasure switching words with you. Zaijian!
VG_Paladin: Thank you! Bye!
I would like to kindly thank Jia Zhuo (USC_kiky) for offering the translation and interpretation.
Beneath we have the pleasure of showing you the NFQ players in person:
Geoffrey (_CHB_yiniaoer)
Goodboy(Ming_)
IamOK
LoveCheng
PBT_DEE
VG_PALADIN