While we were at ESL One Kuala Lumpur last week, we had the chance to chat with Mira "Ephey" Riad about her work.
We talked about what kind of toll an analyst job takes, how much time she needs to dedicate to the game and to researching the teams and players to stay at the top of the job.
Are there any teams that pleasantly surprised you at ESL One Kuala Lumpur?
I would say that through the group stage, I was most pleasantly surprised to see Team Secret do so well after so long. There is some talk about how sometimes the DPC held back certain teams or how they thrive in different environments. But we didn't really get a chance to see it put into practice, and now seeing Secret being able to play in this tournament and perform well, it makes me wonder how many results would have been different in the last couple of years if the system was different.
What does it take as an analyst to stay on top of the job?
You can't ever be lazy when it comes to analysis because it is a pretty competitive role and a lot of people are always vying to be put in this position. You can't just cruise through an event based on your information from a previous tournament. I feel like as an analyst you have to always be playing Dota 2, you have to constantly either be watching streams and replays or be playing Dota so you can have a personal connection to the game. But you also have to constantly research, you can't just go into a tournament and talk about heroes at an elementary level.
You need to look at teams' specific heroes, you have to check Dotabuff, you have to check stats and certain things. In my case, I like to compile information before a tournament starts where I'll go into these stats websites and see which teams are succeeding with certain heroes, with which are failing and so on. Then I'll go into individual Dotabuff profiles and look at what they are playing in pubs, if there will be any kind of surprise picks. I have a spreadsheet that I make before a tournament, which is kind of like my notes.
Do analysts get fatigued from having to look at games from the same meta over long periods of time?
Yes, all the time. I feel like in a work day I can pay very close attention to maybe 5 games of Dota 2. I'm talking about games where I can watch for very small details, but after that, I feel like my ability to watch with an observant eye, where I'm looking for information to share with an audience, just kind of disappears. There are two stances if you want. There is actively watching for details and everything, and there is just sitting back and consuming it as entertainment and these are actually two very different things. So, definitely, I feel that fatigue.
What would be your ideal patch length if you had the power to design and release patches?
For me, it would probably be about three months because that's enough to figure it out to the point where it's competitively interesting. It's enough time to find the good heroes and figure out the best way to play them, you have time to build up to that point, but also, it's not enough time to be dependent on that for your competitive advantage. So, it would force all the teams and players to constantly be looking for new things.
Did you make any resolutions for 2024?
I do have a resolution which is the same every year: to distance myself from what other people think of me or how they perceive me. For 2024 I want to say that I confidently believe in myself in a way where I don't need affirmations from other people.
With that in mind, it's time to wrap up our interview here. Thank you so much for your time, Ephey, wish you a Happy New Year and we are looking forward to a 2024 filled with events and exciting news!
Thank you and I will take this opportunity to wish the entire Dota 2 community a happy Holiday season and a Happy New Year!
