GosuGamers talked with SirActionSlacks about toxicity in Dota 2, smurfing and how can that be addressed, The International 2023 and his most fondest memories.
During the days off at The International 2023 we had the chance to talk with Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner about this year’s TI edition, surprises, compendium and more, but we also took a deeper dive with him into how toxicity and smurfing are going hand in hand in Dota 2.
Hi Slacks, how does it feel to have TI back in Seattle?
Feels good, the vibes are good, the Valve employees are happy, and the players got their visas somehow, it's good times!
Did you expect to see the prize pool below 5 million for TI12?
Without a Battle Pass, I didn't expect to be more than $500, so I'm surprised. I bought a level 50 Compendium because I love esports. So, no, I didn't expect it to be that much because I thought it would be much, much less. Thanks, community, you've done great.
What were the biggest surprises for you in terms of how the teams performed so far at TI12?
The biggest surprise was that Quest got eliminated. I had them winning. nouns are the other big surprise. I don't know how they keep winning.
Do you feel like this might be China’s turn to lift the Aegis, even though this year they have the fewest teams they ever had at TI?
I actually hope that China wins. I love the teams that they have here. It's a great scene that really needs its time and if I see fy lose one more International I'll blow my hand off of the fireworks. So, I hope they win, I'm very hyped about them. The Chinese scene was dead and if the Chinese scene dies, we die, baby. So, to the moon with China!
What would be a perfect TI grand final for you?
One that I'm working on? At this event, though it would have to be LGD vs nouns and nouns lose in game 5 after three-four hours long grand final and at the end of the game Techies is reverted to his original status.
Techies and Omniknight are not popular at all this TI. They never got picked or banned in the group stage for instance. Why do you think the teams here are not afraid of them?
Because they are terrible heroes. Omniknight and Techies are two of the worst heroes in Dota 2 right now. If any hero is deserving a buff, it's them. Completely rework them, make them stronger, give Omniknight back his old Repel, restore Techies to his original status and we are good.
Which TI was the best for you?
TI6, baby, easy. We had Wings, it was my first TI working it, not just being a creepo running around, we got puppets, we got the Augmented Reality (AR) introduction. Everything about TI6 was freaking hype for me. It holds a special place in my heart because just because it was the first one that I got hired for. But we will see what happens this year in Climate Pledge. It's been a while since we've been back in Seattle.
Is the best TI memory from TI6 as well for you?
My best TI memory is that CDEC vs EG TI5 grand final, which I got to watch from the crowd. The greatest match of all time for me. I don't remember what happened on the screen, I just remember the excitement from the arena, the energy was so palpable. It was unreal.
How about the worst memory related to a TI?
God, there are a lot. The worst is probably from when they canceled the audience for TI10. We were in COVID times in Romania. It was definitely the right decision; it was crazy over there with COVID. The stage at that event was beautiful, it was such a great stage, and thinking of all the hard work people went into to make that stage, how that whole stadium looked, how it felt, and just knowing that it would be empty, it was really depressing.
SirActionSlacks on toxicity and smurfing in Dota 2
How do you like the implementation of the behavior score and what's your behavior score?
It is incredible. As a 12K behavior score person myself, I think it's working completely perfectly. I am not toxic, I love the system and it's a fantastic thing to have. Every time someone gets into an argument on the internet with me, I say "screenshot your behavior score," and they never do. They are always afraid because they are toxic monsters. But, I am 12k, I am perfect and it is really good.
I think people will naturally be toxic in Dota, but there are different degrees of toxicity. There's the crazy racist guys screaming every single match, then there is the "hey I think you should buy a BkB" people. For some Dota 2 players, the BkB guy is the toxic person. They would much rather like to have that guy banned for life because he said anything about their gameplay.
Toxicity is kind of like smurfing. It's hard to define what it is, but all I know is that as a 12k behavior score person, I am not it.
I think that if you get under 5K behavior score you should have to do things in order to play a Dota 2 game. You should write an essay about how people should forgive you, you should have to play Ability Draft before you can play a normal game. I think that your computer should electrocute you if you are under 5k. Like they should send a shock that you have to tank it and then say “thank you, daddy Gaben” before you can search for a new game. Punish them, punish those monsters as much as possible.
I mean, when the behavior score came out I was low, but I figured out the best way to not manipulate it but to embrace it in a way that was good.
It's very simple. You just have to compliment who you think are the stupidest people in your game. If the Faceless Void buys a Blink Dagger, you say "yo, nice!" and they will commend you because they don't receive good feedback because they are nightmarish people. So what you do is you compliment people who you think are bad, they compliment you back and then you report and avoid them. This is how you can farm behavior score in a completely non-toxic way.
“Toxicity is kind of like smurfing” - SirActionSlacks
What's your take on smurfing?
I hate all smurfs. I think that no Dota 2 player should have an alternate account. Players are like "I did an alternate account to hide my cool drafts." No. I think Gabe Newell said it best, people will do something illegally until you can provide them with a convenient way to not do it. That was his take on piracy. I think smurfing is the same thing.
I think Valve needs to implement a system that will allow people to do what they want to do with smurfing. People smurf for three reasons:
One: Bad smurfs, evil smurfs. They want to go down to Heralds and go 30/0/2. These guys should get straight out banned.
Second: A lot of people do what I like to call social smurfing. I'm immortal but my friends don't really care about Dota and are Crusaders. I'd like to play with my friends, so I'm making a smurf. It would have been great if there was some kind of system implemented where they could do something like that.
The third kind of smurfing is the "I want to try something new, I want to learn new heroes." Now, this one is very difficult because there used to be a Least Played mode where everyone was supposed to be on equal ground. The problem is that they want to try something new, but all their teammates are doing well. I call these people "fun parasites."
Someone goes into a game; they pick Pudge pos 5. He cannot survive unless you are trying. He is systematically parasiting on people trying so that he may enjoy his time. Sometimes in Dota you have those rare times where you have the worst game of your life because there are 4 "fun parasites." First pick Pudge, Rubick pos 4, they are all suckling at the same corpse, but there is no one that is trying.
So, that was the Least Played mode, where everyone was a parasite hoping that someone was actually trying. That's a really rough thing to solve.
Also on smurfs: what is a smurf? Is it someone that is actually 8K, but they are playing at 5K? Maybe. Is it someone that has a new account with 100 games and the system has put them in a 9K bracket, but still you can tell that they have 100 games? It's hard to define. But at the end of the day, I think they should all be banned.
Did you ever have a smurf?
No. I never smurfed a day in my life. I got 19,000 hours played, every single one is an open profile on Dotabuff. I don't play with smurfs, unless I didn't know, I don't smurf, I have no alt accounts and if you do, you should be put on an island. Hopefully, you have lots of food, but you should at least go to the island once. Smurfs island.
A more of a personal question if you don’t mind. Will you teach your boy Dota 2, or will you keep him away from the unpredictable and at times toxic pubs environment?
I think it's a father's job to make sure that their kids don't make the same mistakes as them. Little T-rex won't be playing video games. He is going to be a Chad, he is going to do sports, he is going to have friends, he is going to be cool. So, no, he won't be a Dota 2 player. I don't know any Dota 2 player that fits those descriptions.
Thank you for your time Slacks, really appreciate it!
Thank you and to everyone watching TI. Keep reading GosuGamers.
More GosuGamers interviews from TI12
- nouns: “We are all a mix of boredom and anxiety right now”
- Miposhka: “This format is the worst in my opinion”
- Omar Interview at TI12: “We will definitely make some changes”
- SabeRLighT: "We crumbled under the pressure of TI"
- Purge: "I’m looking forward to Blade Mail and tanky heroes getting nerfed"
- NatTea on hosting TI12 “It's still hard to grasp that this is my reality, that this is my career”
- Stormstormer: "Whoever invented Heart of Tarrasque meta is an absolute genius”
- Costabile: "(It's a) Loser mentality to say 'I didn't get last at TI, that's good enough"
- tOfu: “It's important that we start to feel a bit the pressure”
- Panda and kaffs: “This TI feels a bit weird”
- KingRD: “I don't want to come to TI and have to change everything
- 23Savage and Mikoto: "The game is kind of boring now"
