For this week's TB10 we had the pleasure of interviewing competitive Pokemon player and Kid Cobra main MissingNoL. You can find this interview past the page break.
Question 1
APC: Please tell us a little about yourself?
MN: My name is Mitchell Davies, and I am a 21 year old Computer Science major living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I enjoy playing and listening to music, as well as cooking and eating foods.
Question 2
APC: When would you say you fell in love with competitive fighting games/eSports?
MN: I found out that competitive scenes exist while playing Team Fortress 2 in 2014. Intrigued, I decided to learn both Street Fighter 4 and Pokémon VGC (Video Game Championship). I never did take Street Fighter 4 as far as I did with VGC.
Question 3
APC: What gaming achievement are you most proud of in your career so far?
MN: My 2016 season in Pokémon was chock-full of achievements. X - 2 or better at every Regional, an early World Championship invite and two Regional top 4s. I impressed myself with my first serious season of VGC.
APC: What was it about ARMS that made you decide to take it seriously on a competitive level?
MN: Pokémon has a lot of RNG, and after a mediocre 2017 season, desired some other eSport to fill the void VGC has been slowly creating. After trying different games, ARMS caught my eye, as it places more emphasis on positioning rather than reaction time and combos, and it seems like it will have a strong backing. It also does not have any RNG! Purely a game of skill.
APC: What made you pick your main over the other characters in the game?
MN: Kid Cobra has the Hydra as one of his default ARMS. Alongside being one of the best ARMS (in defaults), I expected the tournament to be heavily populated with Ribbon Girls, as her vertical mobility combined with vertical camera issues is arguably broken. Kid Cobra also has very strong mix-ups, which I value a lot in my character.
APC: What is your favourite arm loadout & stage. (Please explain why)
MN: My favorite loadout is definitely the Hydra on both ARMS. This best compliments both of Kid Cobra’s playstyles: rushdown and bait / punish. The other ARMS, Slamamander and Coolerang, don’t capitalize on these playstyles very well because of their awkward speeds and trajectories, but are important in specific matchups.
My favorite stages are ones that allow me to close the gap easily and allow for side dashes, leading me to banning Ribbon Arena, Mausoleum, and Buster Beach. I enjoy playing on DNA Park, as the tubes help you work in a strong bait and punish game, and allow you to escape pressure on wakeup which is definitely one of Kid Cobra’s weaknesses.
APC: Thoughts on custom vs standard arms for tournaments.
MN: I used to be all for custom ARMS, but now I’m not so sure. A lot of ARMS go underused in customs, something defaults doesn’t struggle with because every character has unique ARMS. I enjoy variety, and while customs would add some sense of variety, a lot of ARMS such as Boomerang and Retorcher will go without use. However, customs would arguably increase the viability of some of the weaker cast members.
Question 8
APC: What advice would you give to someone just getting into the game?
MN: Play through Grand Prix on level 7 with every character and their defaults (until you get to the unfairness that is Hedlok: feel no remorse in spamming Dragon). You’ll be surprised how strong a lot of ARMS and characters can be, and learn what types of ARMS can be effective against certain characters. I’ve been seeing a lot of potential for secondaries - perhaps even a new main!
APC: What are your hopes for the future of ARMS?
MN: I hope that ARMS will increase in popularity as an eSport. Having to purchase a Nintendo Switch to practice may be off-putting to some, but I think the game’s charm and already strong competitive scene will increase both viewership and playerbase.
APC: Where can people find out more about you?
MN: My Twitter handle is @MissingNoL, and I am on quite a few ARMS and VGC Discord servers. Hit me up!
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