Believe sees end of WarCraft 3 career - military papers sent in

GosuGamers translated an interview with one of the few professional Undead players in Korea. Won Seok "Believe" Yu talks about the occuring problems with practicing in Korea, the current state of Undead and how his time in WarCraft 3 is coming to its end.

Thank you for accepting this interview. As usual, please introduce yourself.
- "Hi everybody, I'm Korean Undead player Believe, and I'm very honored to accept this interview."

I heard you're currently studying at a University. What year are you in?
- "I study Electrical Engineering and I'm currently a fourth year senior. This means that I'm about to graduate soon, and regarding what I would like to do after that - well, I am considering either serving my two years of military service first or opting to pursue a higher degree."

How long have you been playing Warcraft 3? Was this your first choice?
- "As one of the players who managed to get a copy of Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne just after they were released, I've been playing the game for ten years. But I started playing 3v3 fun games, so there wasn't much skill involved."

Since the heroes on Reign of Chaos did not have magic resistance [?], those 3v3 matches were really exciting for me. Yeah... and after around seven years, I got influenced by Sweet and I started training solo with Undead as my primary race."

Why were you influenced by Sweet? Did you have a natural affinity towards the Undead race?
- "I guess it was the randomness of fate. Back then, I was actually playing more Night Elf games."

Coincidentally, Sweet was also once a Night Elf player. How did Sweet influence you?
- "He's a diverse and quick player whose style of play is fun to watch. At that time, the Undead race's main route to victory depended on his last offensive wave, while Sweet was somehow able to remain passive throughout the whole game, and suddenly unleash a wave which resulted in a comeback.

That was what most caught my eye about Sweet."

Is that to say, your style of play closely resembles Sweet?
- "Well, it was initially, but I have since developed my own style."

Tell us a bit about your current training schedule.
- "School work is pretty heavy at the moment, and so my training has had to take a backseat."

Even so, we're still expecting to see you at competitions like IEF and AWL.
- "Yup, even if I don't get enough practice, I still don't want to miss these tournaments."

How is the Warcraft 3 scene in Korea? Are there still many semi-pro tournaments and leagues?
- "The scene here has seemingly entered a stale and 'vegetative' state. There are no offline events and there are no professional tournaments. It's hardly like the situation in China, where there are many big tournaments for Warcraft 3."


"It's hard for Moon, Lyn and Focus to find worthy opponents."
The fact that you've persisted all these years in the Korean Warcraft 3 scene is commendable to say the least. Korea still has a couple of strong players such as yourself, Moon, Lyn, Focus, etc. Which client do you guys mainly train on? Do you play on VS [Chinese game client]?
- "It's hard for Moon, Lyn and Focus to find worthy opponents. Our main form of training would be to play against Chinese professionals on VS. Still, it seems like the number of players playing solo these days are dwindling, while rooms running on 1.26 patch have so few people."

Does your connection to VS affect your play?
- "Yes it does. Either VS lags, or it can suddenly crash..."

How would you rate yourself as a player, if we were to go according to the level system on VS?
- "If there aren't so many Orc players around, I believe I would be a Level 24 on VS. Undead magic is at the mercy of the Orcs... This is the inner wound all Undead players have to nurse."

Will we still see Korean professional players and tournaments in action next year?
- "Reprisal, Focus and I often play live on AfreecaTV - so don't worry, even if there aren't any competitions going around, we'll still broadcast our training live for you guys."

In Korea, we all know Starcraft is the most popular game. How did Warcraft 3 pull you in, and when it did, it never let go for so many years?
- "Warcraft 3 has its own charm, and the heroes and lore contribute so well to the diversity and flavor of this RTS [Real Time Strategy] game. Since its release, there have been many imitations of the game, but none which could surpass the original..."


Seasoned Undead player GoStop at World Esports Games.
Not long ago, we have the privilege of witnessing Sweet, Gostop and many others in action at a Korean tournament. Do these players still play the game?
- "Sweet is currently doing his military service, but he still has off-days, which he spends on Warcraft 3."

Can we watch him through Afreeca TV?
- "Of course. The only difference between Sweet and the rest of us is that he would not be able to participate in international online tournaments like Zotac Cup."

2011 saw the retirement of Undead legend Ted, while the scene also witnessed the rise of many other Undead players such as yourself, HopeStar, Wfz, XiaoKai and others who managed to attain commendable results. Is it safe to assume that other than the Undead vs Orc matchup, the Undead class is finally emerging from its previous declining state?
- "I don't believe that Undead is the weakest race - heck, I don't even believe that Orcs stand at a clear advantage against us. The right thing to say is that Undead is a race which heavily penalizes mistakes, and sometimes a small mistake can lead to a straight loss.

Apart from a few special maps, including playing against Humans on MV and TS, against Orcs on SV as well as against Night Elves on TS, the Undead are not in any disadvantage at all, as long as the player does not commit any mistakes (and this is the hard part).

So, if Undead players are able to mimic Ted or maybe the Korean legends that came before him while paying close attention to every aspect of the game, they will definitely stand a chance against players such as ReMinD, Moon, Lyn, Sky, TH000, Infi, Fly100%, FoCuS. If the general population of Undead players raise their skill level, then I'd say Undead will be able to walk out of its declining state."

As two players who switched to StarCraft 2, Moon and Lyn displayed formidable skill upon their return to Warcraft 3 when they faced players like Remind, TH000 and Fly100% - to the extent that they took down consecutive titles at WCG Korea and IEF 2011 global finals. As a fellow Korean player, how do you think they have been able to maintain their form for so long?
- "Even back in their early days, they played Warcraft 3 to their peak. They are at very high level that it cannot be lose their touch to WC3, also it cannot be achieved by other players easily. Moon and Lyn in higher class, and that class has the property to be eternal. I don't know if they had any secret method, but I feel as long as they trained occasionally, they would quickly have been able to regain their initial form."

There's a new Korean player Space who has been rather active in the scene. Can you share with us some information about how he is doing now?
- "After going in between games, Space has finally returned to the Warcraft 3 scene. Although his contidion is worse than before, he really enjoys playing the game, and is also very enthusiastic about sharing his godlike skill with the rest of the world via AfreecaTV. Let's pray the heavens will create one more miracle for Undead player Space. All the best!"

Yes, all the best to you too, Space! Let's bring the focus back to you. Share with us your plans for your Warcraft 3 and eSports career. Will Warcraft 3 be the last game you devote so much time into?
- "University work has severely limited my time for Warcraft 3. I'm not even able to ensure that I'll have time to play the game in the coming weeks. Furthermore, I've even submitted my military service application to Katusa. If all goes well, I'll begin my service next March.

Hence, my time in Warcraft 3 is coming to its end. I'll try my best to attend as many Korean tournaments and online Chinese tournaments as I can. Warcraft 3 is the game I love most in my life, and probably the last I will give it all for. The last chapter of my Warcraft 3 will soon kick off in flames!"

Thank you for accepting this interview. Any last words?
- "Thank you for conducting it, and thanks to all my fans. I will perform my best to repay you guys for all your support. If I had my way, I wish I could do this forever. I would also like to thank those who have constantly supported Warcraft 3 as a game.

Even as the beauties and pleasures of life fleet by, they will not draw us away from each other. Warcraft 3 has been the most beautiful memory of my life - so let us indulge in our passions and enjoy the game!"