Blitzkrieg Masters Amsterdam 2018 - Interview with Entropy Gaming

Entropy Gaming, consisting of the following roster:  uzuma, dltr, zlatan, k1aStaR and sus , formed from the remnants of DefuseKids and always looked dangerous due to the individual capabilities. After a team change following a disappointing finish at Gallantry Budapest, the team has plenty of time to integreate their recent changes and perform well at the Blitzkrieg Masters. To learn more, we interviewed Axel  uzuma Maes on behalf of his team. 

1.) How are you preparing yourselves for the upcoming event, the first ever Battalion 1944 Major? 

After our disappointing finish at Gallantry earlier this year, we discussed the things that went wrong and the things that could have gone better. Our biggest challenge was to stop playing against ourselves and to keep the atmosphere positive at all times. The recent replacements, picking up k1aStaR and sus, helped out incredibly, as there’s a lot of extra positivity in our lineup. We practice as much as we can to improve the communication and to adapt better to our opponents during the game, instead of talking about what we could have done better after the game.

2.) For how long has your team been waiting for an opportunity to play Battalion 1944 at this level?

Most of us started out playing at the highest level. Though, it’s only just now that we’ve found the right set of players. After taking a look at the state of Call of Duty 4 in 2017, we knew we needed something new to play for. Battalion 1944 is still in a fairly early stage and we’re all eager to master the game. We’re all really excited of what is yet to come.

3.) What are your goals heading into the event? What placing are you aiming at?

Obviously, our goal is to win the event. We’re investing a lot of time in the game, making sure we’re fully prepared to win against every team at the Major. We won’t disappoint.

4.) What was your experience in the online qualifiers? Where there any negatives and positives you’d like to point out?

Unfortunately, the qualifiers were in the weekends, so for some teams, it was hard to play. Luckily, we managed to qualify during the second week which gave us time off on the weekends to spend with friends, girlfriends and family. I did like the system though; five different qualifiers where two teams qualify. All the teams who qualified deserved their spot and I’m glad we’re going to have an event this soon with the current best teams in the world.

5.) From the online qualifiers, what is your team’s judgement on the level of competition at this time in the title’s lifespan? How much room for improvement is there? 

There’s a skill gap between some of the qualified teams in comparison to others, but in the end, as the game is still in development and not everything has been discovered yet, I expect some upsets in Amsterdam. The best team will be the team which plays together and reads the opposition better than the other teams- they will take the trophy home undoubtedly. 

6.) If not yourselves, what teams form the top competition for the first place spot?

Comrade Gaming, Demise and Endpoint and hopefully Method, if they manage to sort their lineup out are at the top of the list for me. 

7.) Do you plan to keep competing in Battalion 1944 after the Major is finalized? 

Absolutely. As far as I know, everyone in Entropy enjoys the game big time. Major update two has been a step in the right direction. I hope the game grows in numbers though because we’re 31 days away from the major and it’s quite hard to find decent public games on a regular base.

8.) How do you view the updates which have recently hit the title? Have they all been general improvements?

In general, all changes were improvements in my opinion. There are still a lot of things, including the economy system, that need refinement. I do have some questions about why Bulkhead launches updates close to events. The MU2 update went live 3 days before Gallantry whilst teams had been playing together and stratting MU1 for 3-4 months. At the start of September they'll launch MU2.5, introducing some huge changes to player models and movement. I do hope it’s not going to influence the game as much as MU2. So in general, yes, I appreciate the updates. The timing of launching the update(s) could be a lot better though. They could launch MU2.5 after the World Championship for example, but I’m not a part of Bulkhead and I’m sure they have their reasons to launch them at those moments.

9.) What would you change, if you could, in Battalion 1944 mechanics, maps and weapons? 

Weapons. I would make it more of a Kar98 - M1 game and get rid of the SMG meta. On some maps, SMG’s are very overpowered in comparison to the other guns. You need to have an A-game on the Kar98, M1, Gewehr or Carbine to compete against a Thompson or MP40, and still, it’s a 50/50 gamble for each gunfight. 

Maps. Most of the maps have been balanced out, we’re going to start stratting Invasion soon. I’m really curious as to how the map has changed and about the new plays people can make.

Mechanics. The movement feels great right now. I’m kind of disappointed that they will take out crouch jumping in MU2.5. In my opinion, it adds another dimension to the game. In CS:GO and Call of Duty 4 there were some jumps that were hard to master. It’s something you have to put the time into. In my honest opinion, getting rid of it reduces the skill gap slightly.

10.) Any advice for those Battalion 1944 rosters which are struggling to reach the level of competition needed for the event? 

Analyze the things that go wrong or went wrong in the past. Make those things a point of focus and work hard on them, both in-game and out-game. There’s a lot of highly skilled people in this game and the strength of the current teams is going to be nowhere near as good as the best team in a couple of months. Work together, talk to each other, have open communication and stay together. The game in my opinion, is a raw diamond and I hope new talent starts showing up fast. If your team hasn’t qualified for the major, don’t give up, please. There’s going to be plenty of events in the future. Good luck to everyone!

Despite the recent change, uzuma, the 23-year-old player, is confident in his team's ability to perform in the upcoming event and potentially win it all. His comments on the skillgap are quite interesting, as of right now, the skillgap is quite narrow; we're receiving all types of answers for question six! Sadly, one team will place 16th and one will place first, that's just the nature of competition. 

We'd like to thank uzuma for the interview!