Today we’re talking with SoLeN from Pikachu!

SoLeN, Did you play any other games similar to HoN before playing HoN?

Yeah, I played DotA for roughly 3 years before starting HoN. Never competitively though.

What made you swap to HoN?

Actually I was at DreamHack Summer 2024 and I was playing DotA at that time, but since I forgot my LAN cable I had to use the wireless network at DreamHack which had some issues at the time so every time I got a small disconnect, I would disconnect completely from a game.

Ah, and in DotA you can’t reconnect, right?

Right, so it was impossible to finish a game, and then I saw that HoN had the “Reconnect” feature, which was perfect for me at the time, so I tried it out. And eventually got hooked up with it, since there was no delay etc.

Did you like HoN at first?

It was really enjoyable to play, even though I still preferred DotA, I think HoN was very nice as well.

What do you think is the biggest difference between DotA and HoN?

I would have to name two things, which I think are equally different. Hero balance and turn rate/delay.

DotA is slower?

Yeah, very different. You get punished a lot more for making the wrong step.

Did you get stomped like everyone else in the beginning or were you a natural talent straight away?

Actually I don’t remember. I think I did pretty well since most of the heroes were ported from DotA and I had a huge advantage over anyone who never played DotA before. I think I was pretty decent at first, but far from top level.

Do you have/remember any special/epic moments from HoN to tell us about?

I can’t really give you a “moment” but the best time for me was when I was playing on my old team (YSR), with Nir, DeathGr0wL, Frostymuffin and gordob when we were all quite new to the scene, we had a lot of fun. Trying different tactics and causing some huge upsets to the top teams at the time.

Who do you think is the best player in the world now?

That’s a difficult question. What I evaluate on would be that he could play all roles at a high level.

So an all-around player?

I think my choice would be Chessie. When we saw him before he joined compLexityGaming he played the solo/carry role, and now in col he plays support/jungle.

And he performed well on all those roles. My favorite player to watch is sLiCKz though.

What team do you think is best/looking strongest?

compLexity is definitely looking strong, and they are really the team to beat. I think there will be some upsets at DreamHack Winter though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if either TTes/GJ2012 or tdM took home the victory.

Will you go to DreamHack Winter?

Yeah, I will be there with some friends. I can only recommend people to go, it’s an awesome experience every time!

How many times have you been to DreamHack?

Four times before. Two times at Summer and two times at Winter.

On your HoN Tour profile it says that you are an all-around player. Is there any role you feel extra comfortable in playing?

I love the suicide role, probably because it forces you to struggle with minimum resources, and it makes you appreciate every little bit you get and focus on getting as much as possible while being in a difficult position.

Do you have any special tricks/tips you can share with other suicide players?

If you don’t have any hero with Deny level one on your team, and you don’t have a hero that can pull creeps, block the creeps so the range creep is as far in front as possible. It can mean the difference between being level 1 and 5 after 10 mins

Which is your favorite hero?

I would say Tempest or Bubbles. Both of them I really enjoy playing and I love the fact that they are so versatile.

Do you play any games other than HoN?

I started playing a bit of World of Warcraft since the new expansion, because I’ve always had a thing for the PvP in the game and I was told that they are focusing on fixing the PvP part of the game in the new expansion. So I’m just playing it casually. However HoN is my main focus. I also play a little bit of DotA2 here and there.

How often do you scrim with your clan?

We try to scrim every day. Especially lately because we’ve had a lot of trouble converting to our new “style.”

Before, Pika was known as a team that always went trilane offensive and played really aggressively. Now we are trying to focus on being more versatile and being able to play different lineups. If you can play every lineup, you will have an advantage going into a game, even before the draft is going on.

Do you have any tips for new players to think of when playing?

I’ve played a lot of TMM lately, and I would recommend players stop blaming their team all the time and look at their own mistakes. I think that if you look at the Chinese DotA teams, that is why they are dominant.

iG. Chuan made a statement:

“In china we farm and push for the win – and in Europe they kill kill kill.”

It’s something to think about when looking at your playstyle.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!

No problem at all, any time.

- Arvid "Boudn" Gunnarsson
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