[DonD]DoberOnDamp has received a lot of credit from teams and casters for their amazing run through the Divisions each cycle, starting in Bronze in Cycle 1. Now they find themselves facing Diamond level teams in Cycle 4. This weekend they were unfortunate to face [tdM]Trademark eSports and [coL]compLexityGaming back to back, resulting in their elimination.

I was able to sit down with Porch and Dobermon before and after their matches this weekend to better understand this new team and learn where they came from as well.




Let's start this off with you guys telling us where you're from and how you guys formed your team.

Porch: I've been playing since beta, was part of Babysmashers in beta. We ranked 3rd in the first Alienware Arena tournament behind WHP and 5 at the time. Played as part of DDT for the 40k World Cup Tournament and placed 8th in there. Played in and out of in-houses until I decided to form DoberOnDamp.

Dobermon: I got a beta invite from a friend and decided to try HoN out. Despite only having a bit of Dota experience, I enjoyed playing HoN. I really just played HoN on and off until HoN Tour came out and Porch invited me to the team.

Now the name DoberOnDamp, in conjunction with your team picture. Can you give me an explanation of why you’re named that? I know previously you said you loved Dampeer. Is the joke that you are you really good with him or really bad?

Dobermon: (laughs) Yea about that... On my last break from HoN. when I came back I started playing a lot of Dampeer. He started off being played as a joke and playing with Porch he figured that it could fit well into his Lockpick draft. When I ended up joining the team, it was a nice surprise from Porch that he decided to name the team this as part of a joke.

That's quite amusing. I'm always glad to see Dampeer being played. Porch, can you give me a rundown of your team going into Diamond Cycle 4? I've noticed that you guys are changing up your lineup again.

Porch: Well Dobermon plays any "D" Mid hero, Tha_Machine plays Initiator/Suicide, MonsieurTruc[/b] is playing the Carry, LilAssazzin plays Hard Support and I play 2nd Support/Jungle, GetsCarried and y0lo` are our 6th and 7th respectively. Monsieurtruc is our newest player and our new carry starting in Diamond.

Can you give me an insight to how your team has come this far so quickly? You guys are the first team to move up a division each cycle, starting in Bronze. Breaky has been using you guys as an advocate for what a great system HoN Tour is for new teams to do just what you guys have been.

Porch: Well, we have been learning from mistakes since the beginning. It was relatively easy working through the lower teams and now as we reach the top teams, it will just be a big jump and struggle. We've succeeded this much so far so we can just learn and improve as a team with experience. We still have a lot to learn.

I'll admit I don't have too much to ask Dobermon. Besides you being the mid player, what do you have trouble with or like to face in a mid match-up?

Dobermon: I'm comfortable playing versus most dual lanes mid, even in a 2v1 lane like the Engineer/Pebbles type lanes I feel I can beat. I would want to be Dampeer going up against them though. He's my most comfortable hero for that situation.

More onto your drafting style, obviously running solo mid lanes open up a lot for you as a team. How do you approach Lockpick as Hellbourne/Legion sides?

Dobermon: This is all Porch, I just play Dampeer and Deadwood!

Porch: I don't have a specific mindset going into Lockpick, nor do I feel one side or another has that much of an advantage. it's all about what's viable and what isn't in the current game state. Speaking of Lockpick, I would find it much better if one team got first lock and the other team got first pick, I feel this would open up the field more to allow different things to happen.

I like that idea. Let's hope someone from S2 reads this! When looking at what heroes fit or are viable, how do you determine this yourself?

Porch: I actually watch a lot of Dota 2 casts and try to watch their strategy and heroes picked to see if I can cross-over something similar in HoN to make it work. For a while, HoN's competitive scene was stagnant so I was watching a lot more Dota 2 as teams were able to scrim and you could see a lot of strategies evolving. I think now though as HoN's meta evolves it will turn out to be something amazing in turn.

As far as the meta goes, we see many teams go between passive and aggressive lineups. There are statements being made from the teams choosing to play passive that they are better because the only reason there are many deaths in aggressive games is that teams are making mistakes which is why they are dying. In short, what is your take on this situation?

Porch: I prefer playing a more action-packed game because I feel that playing passive is more risky. When teams play passive, they tend to play a "put all their eggs in one basket" type of game where they focus their team around having one teamfight to determine the game. It is a conscious decision to play like this and I feel that it is more a mistake to rely on one fight instead of having multiple engagements.

With multiple fights, even if you lose one or two of them, you can swing the game around because it is not over when you lose one fight. It makes for much more exciting play and more lenient to making mistakes (like losing a fight because one guy was caught out of position).

Breaky and Tralf have given you guys specifically a lot of attention for what you have managed to do-- moving up a division each cycle to reach Diamond. This is what HoN Tour allows people to do and you guys have become a role model for this through your actions. How do you guys feel about given this responsibility and how do you feel about others trying to replicate your success each cycle?

Porch: I think that's really a great honor to be dubbed "the team to replicate" but we really have a lot of work to do ourselves. What we have done is a great thing and if teams really set a goal for themselves I think they can reach it just like us. America is a growing scene for Heroes of Newerth, there are many players there who just haven't had the chance to get on a team. Here's hoping they find their way.

Any tips or advice for upcoming teams such as [DrDz]Druidz eSport (Ex-The Hug Bears)?

Porch: Be a care bear and hug them harder! There's a lot of players still out there who can compete at this level - just need to practice the right things and draft to your teams advantages.

After the weekend's events, are you guys able to keep a positive attitude after the games and how will you go about the review process for the games you played?

Porch: I think we had to go into Diamond with the mindset that this will be a learning process. The skill level on the average player is much higher and the game pace is faster. So we have a lot of things we'd like to work on as a team we hope to get a lot of positive things out of this experience.

I think that just about wraps up what I have to ask. I wish you guys the best of luck in Cycle 5. Any shout-outs?

Porch: Shout-out to Beef for the coverage and Emperor/Present23 for always being able to talk shop with me. They've been a great help in my continued improvement in drafting/player management.


- Crowslaw
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