This week's Inside Lounge will feature a team of free agents that were banded together by our secret tinder hamsters. FAT#19 despite being a fully free agent team have done respectably well in division 5 and stand a chance to play in Heroes Lounge Cup. Let us hear more about their adventures, trials and tribulations of being a free agent team, and perhaps advice for the aspiring heroes who may soon thread the path prior blazed?
Hello FAT#19, would you like to introduce yourselves to our readers?
pioavenger: Hello, I'm Pio and I'm the "lucky" individual a computer (or Epixors) randomly chose as FAT #19's Captain. I'm a flex player but tend to play the tank role, or some random heroes we might be in need of. I'm also currently residing in the Lounge's salt mines.
Gugle: Hey guys! I'm Gugle, a mature gamer from Norway mainly playing ranged damage dealers for the team having played Heroes since closed beta, and some League before that (really didn't like it). This is my first season in Heroes Lounge, but definitely not my last. I've learnt a lot from playing with these guys, and looking forward to continue playing with 'em.
Oropouche: Hi, I'm Oropouche, flex player since open beta, heroes is the first competitive game I played. Currently playing support in the FAT #19 team in Heroes Lounge.
Khris: Hello ladies. Im Khris from FAT #19. I'm currently just a sub but I play in the solo lane and offtank for the team when required.
Ghost: Hey, it's Ghost, FAT #19's tank/flex. Been playing HotS, my first MOBA, for over 2 years now.
Being a free agent team, how did you feel the season have been for you?
pioavenger: Well, in terms of results it's been great actually. As it stands we are 5-3, which is more than we could have hoped for a pleb team. In terms of behind the scenes though, it was a literal hell. Not the lounge itself, but the team roster. We have had around 7 roster changes or so, multiple subs and such. Pittor can even confirm this by the amount of times I've bugged him. Overall, we have had a good season though, and with Khris joining us we got even better.
Oropouche: This is my first season in heroes lounge. Switching to support role was at first a lot more difficult than I expected, It took us time to get things straightened up but as the season goes, we are seeing better results.
Khris: I have only been a sub for FAT #19 for a few games so far, but I must say it's the best time I've had in Heroes. Being able to play with a full pre-made and being able to experiment has really helped me become a better player.
Have Heroes Lounge lived up to your expectations?
pioavenger: If anything, it's blown them out of proportions. The amount I've learned, the people I've met and, most importantly, the morning memes are something I can't live without right now.
Oropouche: Heroes Lounge gave me the opportunity to play the game with dedicated people as a 5-man. Playing with my teammates greatly improved my knowledge of the game, I learned a lot, both mechanically and strategically. So far it's a really nice experience. I really hope we go to the playoffs.
Khris: So far I would have to say it has 100%. The people are all very professional and so far I have not encountered any players that I would not like to play with or versus again.
Being a new team, how did you work out synergies, schedules and such?
pioavenger: Well, at the start it was really hard. When the team started, we actually only had effectively 3 members, due to others either leaving or never even showing up. We then got Oro and Ghost from what remained of FAT #9, our underachieving cousin team, and ended up with at least a 5-man. From then on, we just started using when2meet pages to schedule games and 5-man practice sessions, but we also do some 2 or 3-man ones in the mornings. It's in these sessions that we either go into Quick Match and try random stuff that might work together, or we try the ones that we actually succeeded with in Unranked Draft or Team League.
Khris: Mostly I would say by trial and error. We try out certain heroes and comps in QM mostly and see if we can fit them into our normal comps for when we delve into Team League. For practice we try to get as much as possible during the evenings whenever the team is all together.
It seems that your team favours Cursed Hollow. What about the map appeals to you?
pioavenger: Well, our team actually favour Warhead Junction, however this map always gets banned due to being hated or due to us being sniped, somehow... Well, now it's 100% public, we love Warhead! Ever since we got Khris we have gotten to try out more macro oriented play styles instead of Team Fight oriented compositions and they have been working out. When we can't play on Warhead, which we have only done once in the lounge so far, we would rather play a map that's similar in play style, when thinking about the macro side. Even though it's the map we have the most games on, we only have 40% win rate and this is due to the roster issues at the start of the season which have thankfully been fixed.
Khris: Cursed is one of the oldest maps in the game and has always been a favourite of long time players like myself. It’s a map that allows for a lot of different play styles and I feel that it suits the comps we try to aim for.
You’re one of the teams still in the running to join the Cup playoffs. How confident are you, and are you looking forward to participate in the playoff?
pioavenger: After doing a lot of maths throughout the last few rounds, I noticed that we could actually still go to the playoffs, so we put a lot more effort into the lounge. As it currently stands, if we win our round 9 match, we have around a 75% chance to go to the tie breakers. We thought we wouldn’t be able to attend them due to Khris being a substitute and only able to fill in for 4 games, however we have been saved by being told that he can actually still play off-season. Thank you!
Khris: I would be very excited if we made it to the playoffs, to be able to test my skills against some of the best teams in the league would be an amazing experience. Even if we don’t succeed in making it to the playoffs, just being able to take part would help us develop as a team and hopefully attend it as often as we can.
What advice would you give to aspiring free agents going into season 5?
pioavenger: Embrace your inner sloth. Go onto the discord server, enjoy the memes and meet new people. If I had not gone to the discord I would have missed out on great moments and probably something very important: the team. If I had never used the discord server I would have never gotten any team members to add and would eventually have quit due to a lack of roster. If you're joining the lounge as a free agent just don't be afraid to talk to people!
Khris: Find players who you enjoy playing with. You can always learn each others weakness in the games you play with them and take it from there. Skill comes to those who stick together and work together.
What are your team’s plans for next season?
Khris: Our aim is to climb as high as we can while maintaining a fun environment for our players. I hope that I will become a full member of the team by then.
pioavenger: For next season we already plans to run as a full team. We have the current team members, Khris, a friend who is coming in just to sub if we ever need him, and a new addition that we are keeping as a secret for now. As for a team name, unless something changes, expect to see us as "Carried by Skins".
Any shoutouts?
pioavenger: I'd like to start off by saying thanks to the almighty Petman for making all of this possible. I'd also like to thank everyone that is or has been part of FAT #19 in any way this season, be it as a member or a sub. Specifically I'd like to thank Lio, Mee, Scorchbone and Notice (not from the lounge) for practising/being a sub as well, and finally from the lounge, Leksa and Peaky for tolerating me and my salt for half an afternoon, Maluco from Focus the Tank for practicing with us as well, everyone who I have been so lucky to talk to on the discord server, and our coach Mahotsukai who helped us so much throughout the entire season, enabling us to actually function as a team and win.
Khris: Shoutouts to anyone who has played us in the past, it was a pleasure to play against all of you. Shoutout to my team for allowing me to take part in their games so far and finally...Hey mom!
That wraps out our interview with FAT#19! Thank you to pioavenger, Khris, Ghost, Oropouche, and Gugle for the interview, I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I have. We look forward to seeing you guys back next season as "Carried by Skins"!
As always if you have any feedback, suggestions, interview requests, or would just like to tell me how awesome the interviews are, you can always find me on discord. Any other kind of feedback, suggestion and criticism can always be directed at us through our Discord, or via Twitter or Facebook. Don’t be shy to come say hi, and meme with us.
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