The Big 10 #2 - Gore Magala (Helix)

In our opinion, nothing is more exciting than seeing a talented player put in work with a "low-tier" character, so when we had the opportunity to get Helix specialist Gore Magala to do this week's TB10 we couldn't pass up the chance! 

Question 1:

APC: Please tell us a little about yourself?

GM: Well, my name is Jonathan Valdes, though most know me as GoreMagala (or just Gore for short). I reside in Florida, and the simple truth is that I'm just an avid gamer.

Question 2:


APC: When would you say you fell in love with competitive fighting games/eSports?

GM: Frankly, I have no prior experience with competitive fighting games or eSports. I did have some experience with Smash 4 and Injustice, but I played them both casually and my interest in them died quickly. I would say ARMS is the first fighting game I'm (arguably) actually good at, spawning a burning passion and love for competition, improvement, and community.

Question 3:

APC: What gaming achievement are you most proud of in your career so far?

GM: Considering my career (if you can call it that) just started, I would say the one and only achievement I have under my belt at the moment (but I'm proud of nonetheless) would be that I was the champion of Neopunch’s first online tournament. I would hope that in the future I can claim many more tournament victories.

Question 4:

APC: What was it about ARMS that made you decide to take it seriously on a competitive level?

GM: There's just...so much. I remember when I was just starting out, I was already enjoying the game very much, but as time passed by I realized (alongside and with the help of various other fabulous members of the ARMS community) that each day I would learn something new. Whether a new piece of tech, the realization of arm girth, the intricacies behind the rush system, the interplay between arms, the different approaches to combat and ways to counter them, and more. There was (and still is) a continuously compounding level of depth that astonished me, and I love how all the different players formed bonds by sharing discoveries and finding out new things from each other. It helped open my eyes and make the revelation that this game is more than a party game, another Wii Sports Boxing, or a game with waggle controls, but that it's something that can and should be taken seriously, that relies so much on a plethora of information as well as the ability to actively adapt and control your mental state. After that I started taking it more seriously and competitively, to the point where I started practicing matchups in my dreams, and spending over three hundred hours in the game itself trying to accumulate as much knowledge as I could.

Question 5:

APC: What made you pick your main over the other characters in the game?

GM: That's actually somewhat of a funny story. Originally my main was Twintelle, and I would often find myself in NeoGAF lobbies to play for fun. However, after a while I noticed that I was a bit too strong compared to those I was fighting, and at the time I didn't want to dissuade anyone from the game or ruin their fun, so I switched to Helix as a bit of a joke character, so that everyone else could have an easier and more enjoyable time. Eventually, one thing led to another, and I ended up becoming even more powerful with Helix. I didn't notice it at first until someone mentioned it explicitly, that I was better at Helix than I was with Twintelle. I couldn't believe it at first, until I came back to Twintelle for a bit and struggled. I suppose something about Helix just clicked with me, and after a bit I accepted it and became proud that I was able to perform well with such a complicated character that was hard to learn.

Question 6:

APC: What is your favourite arm loadout & stage. (Please explain why)

GM: At the moment I will definitely say my favorite and most common loadout would be double Roasters. I play a very aggressive Helix and most of my playstyle revolves around being in your face and having a deadly wakeup game, making the Roasters among the best arms for that since one small mistake will cost the enemy 150 points of their health. Furthermore they're also really great for when I have to play defensively and use tower mode to bombard the opponent with a barrage of permanently charged punches to gain an advantage in battle (both by gaining rush and redirecting the flow of battle in my favor). As for my favorite stage, it's Spring Stadium, without a doubt. The reasoning for this is because it's so small, and thus provides no escape for whoever is unfortunate enough to face me there. It's not a guaranteed win by any means, but I would say fighting in Spring Stadium makes my job of providing constant pressure much easier.

Question 7:

APC: Thoughts on custom vs standard arms for tournaments.

GM: Currently I totally understand why offline tournaments use defaults, it's logistics. However, judging by the fact that every online tournament that I'm aware of allows customs, as well as Nintendo’s tournament (which consisted of Japan’s best players) allowing customs, it leads me to believe that they might be the future of ARMS’ competitive scene. Personally, as Helix I'm biased towards customs myself. Don't get me wrong, I can do fine with defaults, but Helix’s default arms (which are arguably designed with defensive play in mind) don't mesh well with my preferred playstyle, causing me to play differently and have a little less fun. Furthermore, as much as people say only Hydras or Bubbs will be used, that simply isn't true. From my experience I've seen more people experimenting with different arms and a larger amount of diversity overall. I mean, in NA we have a Min Min that uses a Tribolt and a Chilla as well as a Kid Cobra that enjoys using a Megaton and Slapamander, both of which are rank 20. Meanwhile Nintendo’s Japanese ARMS website updated and we can see a double Megawatt Twintelle and a Min Min that uses a Guardian and a Triblast (again, both of which are rank 20).

Question 8:

APC: What advice would you give to someone just getting into the game?

GM: I'm not the best at giving spontaneous advice, but I would tell them to stay motivated to learn and get better. Aside from that I would ask that they join the Reddit and competitive ARMS Discord and to play with other members of the community, so that the person who is new to the game can hear constructive critiques about what can be worked on as well as have a large amount of people capable of answering any questions they might have.

Question 9:

APC: What are your hopes for the future of ARMS?

GM: It might be silly, but I have huge aspirations for this game. I truly want to see it grow into something large, or at the very least I would wish that it has its own dedicated following. I believe this game has the potential to be the next big thing and it's up to us to help it get there. Thankfully it seems to be getting attention with EVO Japan and various other large tournaments, so we are making steady progress, now we just have to keep it up.

Question 10:

APC: Where can people find out more about you?

GM: Well, you can find me on Twitter, which would be @SanctifySilence. However your best bet at getting my attention would be to come across me in the Reddit, competitive, and Chroma (which is essentially the uber competitive) ARMS Discords, which would be

https://discord.gg/7x4dz9y

https://discord.gg/34F5V5N

https://discord.gg/dGWRwWt

respectively. I hope to see you all there!