Community Spotlight - PsiGuard

[quote=Mowen][center][img="/images/news/community-spotlight-psiguard.png"][/center] [columns] [nextcol width=60] [url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/psiguard-85214][img=https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/d80434b539d83735ff645f8b9a1b91db.jpg][/url] [nextcol width=15] [nextcol] Last Community Spotlight we interviewed the grand prize winner of MOBAFire’s [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/winners-be-prepared-s4-guide-contest-27445]Season 4 Guide Contest[/url], [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-emikadon-27946]Emikadon[/url]. This interview we'll be talking to [url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/psiguard-85214/content/builds]PsiGuard[/url], a moderator and prolific guide writer. PsiGuard has always been a helpful community member from the day he first joined our site. He started off writing guides, then moved on to Veteran and eventually Moderator. He also holds 2nd highest reputation score, showing how many users he's helped (because let's face it aint nobody gonna beat jhoijhoi at reputation). Not only has he done a lot on MOBAFire, but he's also climbed higher and higher each season in League of Legends, and is now a Diamond ranked player! Thanks for the chance for the interview PsiGuard, and for all you've done for the site. Now, onto the interview... [/columns] [color=#e9b986][size=5]What was MOBAFire like when you first joined in 2011? What were some of your first experiences?[/size][/color] [list] [*] When I first visited Mobafire, I was a simple lurker -- a consumer of guides who didn't even bother creating an account. When I was still unranked and only had a couple hundred normal wins under my belt, I registered for the site in order to write a guide for Alistar. I don't know what compelled me to write a guide at the time, but I sat writing for 5 hours in one evening, stopping only to eat dinner, and published the guide the next morning after a few last-minute tweaks. Quite honestly, it was a pretty awful build. I'm pretty sure it initially started with a Doran's Ring on support (to be fair it was still season 1, times were different) and I built mobility boots and Trinity Force. I got a lot of encouragement and feedback from the community and a lot of people supported the guide even when it was in a terrible state. I improved the guide over time, venturing into the forums to get advice on bbcoding and asked a few of the well-known members for reviews. My first guide rose to the top 10 Alistar guides, and eventually took the #1 spot and I was addicted. A month later I published my Nocturne guide and a month after that, a guide for Malphite. Each of my new guides eventually rose to the #1 spot and a few people started recognizing me in game. I loved that feeling and hearing from people that appreciated my advice, which is the main reason why I never left the site. I met some great people in the forums and later in the Mobafire chat room in the LoL game client. I befriended a number of frequent forum posters and witnessed them do some pretty awesome things, like [color=#00ff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/jhoijhoi-52504]jhoijhoi[/url][/color]'s amazing [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/making-a-guide-101506]Making a Guide[/url] reference guide for bbcoding. I really looked up to the veterans of the site for their general helpfulness to random posters of the forums like me, and eventually I was promoted to Veteran myself. I made a ton of friends through Mobafire (over half my friends list is made up of Mobafire members) and learned a lot about the game, guide-making and sometimes just how to act maturely on an online forum. When I was selected to be a Moderator it was one of the happiest mornings I can remember, not because of any special privileges of the position, but because some awesome admins recognized my temperament and contributions to the site and liked it.[/list] [color=#e9b986][size=5]What are some of the biggest differences between MOBAFire then and now?[/size][/color] [list] [*] The league community has grown a lot since then and there are a lot more new faces (well, avatars) on the forums than before. Despite some misgivings from people on the outside, the guide quality of Mobafire is immensely better than it was a few years ago, partly because of some quality standards set in place largely by jhoijhoi and a few really talented authors, and partly because more experienced players began to join the site and write their own guides. I also have to give credit to the admins, programmers and other staff members that have made improvements to the site over the years. Mobafire now has one of the best guide builders out there, a great selection of subforums and now even a notification system. A lot of suggestions have arisen from the community over the years, and to a large degree, they were listened to and acted upon. That's something I love about Riot and I love about Mobafire too.[/list] [color=#e9b986][size=5]You’ve made several highly rated guides throughout your stay. What do you like about writing guides?[/size][/color] [list] [*] The primary reason I love guide-writing is because I feel like I can make a meaningful contribution to the community and help people. When I was a newer player, I read a lot of guides and benefitted from the knowledge and experience from other players, and I wanted to be the person helping out new players myself. The other reason is -- and I'm going to be pretty honest here -- the recognition and respect. I'm not a very outgoing person in my personal life and have only a few close friends, but Mobafire and League of Legends let me share my talents with other people and earn respect doing so. My in-game rank, my status as a top guide author and my position as a moderator don't mean a whole lot in the "real world", but they matter to me because they make me feel valuable to somebody else, even people I've never even met. Receiving encouraging or grateful messages from a bunch of strangers is something I never thought I'd experience, but I can't get enough of it.[/list] [color=#e9b986][size=5]Do you have any advice for other guide writers?[/size][/color] [list] [*] If you want to write a good guide, don't be lazy. Don't slap your knowledge on the screen as a bunch of text telling people what to build and what to do. Good guides combine aesthetics, organization and detail to deliver a real in-depth lesson on how to play a champion. Read other highly rated guides with a critical eye and ask yourself what makes their guide good. Listen to criticism in your comments section, but always weigh the advice of others with your own judgment and the advice or people you trust. And many of you may not like to hear this, but if several highly ranked players tell you something, they're probably right. People like to pretend that rank means nothing (even some high elo players say this) or that a bronze player has as good a knowledge of the game as a diamond, but it's simply not true. You can still write a great guide without being the best player if you listen to other people and learn from them. Your experience might not be a good indicator of what's best, so draw from many sources to decrease your anecdotal bias.[/list] [color=#e9b986][size=5]What is a memorable moment you had involving MOBAFire?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I queued up with a bunch of Mobafire members for the first time a long time ago when I was still pretty new to the site. All of the players there were much more experienced than me and there were several veterans, so I was feeling a little sheepish. I picked Alistar support because I felt that the support position on one of my comfortable champions would make me less likely to make a fool of myself in front of all those cool people. I didn't even know how to W-Q or ward properly as Alistar, but somehow I performed pretty well and got some tips from my teammates. After a few games my ADC said in Skype "Wow, you're like the best noob I've ever played with." That person was [color=#00ff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/wrathofvulk-36530]wRathoFVuLcAn[/url][/color], who now goes by Vulk, and became one of my best friends. That's probably my favorite memory from the Mobafire community.[/list] [color=#e9b986][size=5]I can see the friendships you've made on MOBAFire have had a big role in your enjoyment both the site and League of Legends. Do you have any more shout-outs for your online friends, or anything else to say about the ones you already mentioned?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I'd like to thank [color=#00ff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/wrathofvulk-36530]Vulk[/url][/color] for being my duo buddy and general awesome friend. [url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/shorexshot-235996]ShoreXShot[/url] and [color=#ffff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/jpikachu1999-163273]Jpikachu[/url][/color] for helping me theorycraft builds and testing ideas in normals. [color=#00ff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/jhoijhoi-52504]Jhoijhoi[/url][/color] for all the stuff she's done for the site, her insights into coding and aesthetics and her reviews and support of my guides. [color=#ffff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/barbj-122246]BarbarianJ[/url][/color], [color=#ff8000][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/grandmasterd-128936]GrandmasterD[/url][/color] and [color=#00ffff][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/wayne3100-101082]Wayne3100[/url][/color] for making up our little PM group (we have over 3400 PMs in one thread). [url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/fatelblade-169709]FatelBlade[/url] for being my biggest fan, and later an awesome friend. [url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/mooninites-38547]Mooninites[/url] for being a pretty great player and person even if he gets himself in trouble a lot for being so crass. [color=#00ff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/lugignaf-42029]Lugignaf[/url][/color] for being so welcoming and becoming one of my first mobafire friends. [color=#ff8000][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/darkpercy-22031]Dark Percy[/url][/color] and [url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/mashedpotatoe-84710]MashedPotatoe[/url] for being supportive of my elo climb and nagging me to get diamond (and now challenger). Also for laughing at my amazing French skills. [color=#00ff00][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/astrolia-127693]Astrolia[/url][/color] and [color=#ff8000][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/vavena-84118]Vavena[/url][/color] for being awesome and teaching me stuff even though I suck. :P [color=#ff0000][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/mowen-21137]Mowen[/url][/color], [color=#ff0000][url=http://www.mobafire.com/profile/matt-1]Matt[/url][/color] and the other staff for all your hard work and respectful community interactions. And all the members, scouts and reviewers that have helped me develop my guides over the years. I can't list everyone, but I wouldn't be here without you guys.[/list] [center][img=http://i.imgur.com/VDv9cNh.png][/center] [color=#a8bbf2][size=5]Which champ was the first you ever played in League of Legends? What was your first League of Legends experience like?[/size][/color] [list] [*] Technically my first champion was [[Ashe]] ('cause you know, the tutorial makes you play Ashe), but the first champion I bought and mained for a long time was [[Kennen]]. I bought him as soon as I had 6300 IP, and soon after bought [[Shen]] and [[Akali]] (I had a thing for energy-ninja champs I guess). I rounded out my champion roster with a few others, like Ashe, [[Tristana]] and [[Alistar]] for bot lane and [[Warwick]] for jungle, but I still played a ton of Kennen mid and Shen top. League started as a way for me to hang out with my brothers (both already level 30) who were at college while I was still in high school. I don't remember my first game, but I remember the lack of meta and build knowledge in unranked games in season 1 and my brothers and I would try all sorts of crazy champion comboes and strategies to get kills. One of my brothers mained [[Fiddlesticks]] and I would play [[Rammus]] or Alistar with him in bot lane and CC enemies for days while they slowly died to Drain or Crowstorm.[/list] [color=#a8bbf2][size=5]You have come a long way from that first game, now being Diamond rank. What has your journey been like?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I had played the original [color=#ffffff][b]DotA[/b][/color] in Warcraft III so I had some experience with Moba-type games. I learned quickly by playing with and against challenging players and overtook my brothers in skill and experience, right around the time I got into Mobafire. Here, I found more players with higher skill levels than me and learned in normal games even faster. I found learning and improving to be pretty exciting and motivated me to play even more. I started reading guides before I tried a new champion and in season 2 I got into watching professional esports. Soloqueue was a difficult experience at first (I was mostly duoing with Vulk back then) and I let my temper and general moodiness get the better of me in a lot of games. I wouldn't be diamond right now if I hadn't improved my attitude towards the game. Skill usually comes with experience, but the real improvement that stands out to me was learning to focus on the game and my own play rather than the circumstances of any given match.[/list] [color=#a8bbf2][size=5]If you had to give players looking to improve themselves one piece of advice, what would it be?[/size][/color] [list] [*] Don't rely on the outcome of the game to determine your success, and don't beat yourself up if you play poorly. Raging at your team accomplishes nothing, makes you play worse and will result in more losses than if you had remained calm. Play with a critical eye, learn from every mistake and always remember that there's a player out there who could have played that game better than you did. Follow streams, read guides, watch youtube videos and professional matches to see what works well and what doesn't, but always remember that your matches won't be the same as anyone else's.[/list] [color=#a8bbf2][size=5]Are you into the LoL eSports scene? Who are some of your favorite players or teams?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I've been a [color=#ffffff][b]TSM[/b][/color] fan from early Season 2. [color=#ffffff][b]Dyrus[/b][/color] is one of my favorite players, even though he isn't the best top laner there is and he doesn't always have a great attitude. Watching his stream reminded me a lot of myself when I play, and his anger issues and tendency to blame are pretty familiar to me. He's also a pretty lovable and funny guy out of game.In terms of in-game skill, I have a lot of respect for [color=#ffffff][b]Doublelift[/b][/color], [color=#ffffff][b]Meteos[/b][/color], [color=#ffffff][b]Dexter[/b][/color] and of course [color=#ffffff][b]Faker[/b][/color]. I also really respect the opinions of [color=#ffffff][b]Jatt[/b][/color] and [color=#ffffff][b]MonteCristo[/b][/color] because I think they can analyze the game better than a lot of pro players can.[/list] [color=#a8bbf2][size=5]There are so many more MOBAs now than there were when League of Legends was created. How do you think League of Legends has impacted the video game market or eSports scene?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I don't really know how League of Legends got so popular, but I think it proved to a lot of companies how valuable a free-to-play franchise can be. Riot really focuses on player experience in order to attract and keep customers and it pays off. The popularity of the game and the great work of the casters and others who run the LCS really contribute to a great experience both in-game and out of game. A lot of other companies have tried to recreate the success of LoL as a Moba, but I don't think LoL is going anywhere any time soon. [/list] [center][img=http://i.imgur.com/VDv9cNh.png][/center] [color=#acdd9f][size=5]What’s another game you are very fond of, and why? Is there a video game that had a big impact on your love for the medium?[/size][/color] [list] [*] League of Legends is one of the only truly multiplayer experiences that I've poured a lot of time into (the others being [color=#ffffff][b]Halo[/b][/color] and [color=#ffffff][b]Call of Duty[/b][/color], as well as [color=#ffffff][b]StarCraft[/b][/color] and [color=#ffffff][b]WarCraft[/b][/color] custom games). If I had to pick a favorite game aside from League, it'd be one of the single-player games I played as a kid with great story and atmosphere. [color=#ffffff][b]Metroid Prime[/b][/color], [color=#ffffff][b]LoZ: The Wind Waker[/b][/color], [color=#ffffff][b]Paper Mario[/b][/color] and [color=#ffffff][b]Knights of the Old Republic[/b][/color] all bring back great memories. I would even just watch my brother play something like Metroid Prime for hours just for the fun of it. I think single-player story- and atmosphere-driven games are the reason I consider video games to be more than just a leisure activity. [/list] [color=#acdd9f][size=5]If you could spend one day with a video game character, who would you spend the day with and what would you do?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I'd probably spend the day with with [color=#ffffff][b]Tali[/b][/color] or [color=#ffffff][b]Liara[/b][/color] from the [color=#ffffff][b]Mass Effect[/b][/color] series. They're both characters with interesting backgrounds and I love science-fiction. Also, as a 19-year-old, you know, I might as well make it a date. ;)[/list] [color=#acdd9f][size=5]What’s your favorite movie or book? Why?[/size][/color] [list] [*] I couldn't really pick one favorite, but I love science-fiction, fantasy and action. Movies like the [color=#ffffff][b]Lord of the Rings[/b][/color] trilogy, [color=#ffffff][b]The Matrix[/b][/color], [color=#ffffff][b]Star Wars[/b][/color] and [color=#ffffff][b]Harry Potter[/b][/color] (books and movies) are all timeless classics to me. My family owns and watches a ton of movies together so it's kind of something I grew up with and it's really impossible to justisolate one good experience from so many. I don't read many books, but a series called the [color=#ffffff][b]Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud[/b][/color] is probably my favorite set of books. He has a really engaging writing style and the fantasy world he describes is equally enthralling.[/list] [color=#acdd9f][size=5]Do you have any funny stories from when you were a child?[/size][/color] [list] [*] Nothing specific. To be honest, I'm not very fond of my child self. All I remember are the times that I let my emotions get the better of me, the times I was ignorant or stubborn or the times that I made a fool of myself. Apparently I've always been pretty entertaining in one way or another, so I guess there's that.[/list] Thank you for the interview PsiGuard! I hope everyone else enjoyed PsiGuard's spot in the Community Spotlight, read other Community Spotlights below! [spoiler=Past spotlights]* [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-emikadon-27946]April 2014 - Emikadon[/url] * [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-xdanielwang-27454]Februari 2014 - xDanielWang[/url] * [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-meiyjhe-26948]Januari 2014 - Meiyjhe[/url] * [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-dewo-26087]November 2013 - DEWO[/url] * [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-interview-jebus-mcazn-24960]September 2013 - Jebus McAzn[/url] * [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/forum/news/mobafire-celebrity-jhoijhoi-24322]August 2013 - Jhoijhoi[/url][/spoiler] [center][img=http://i.imgur.com/VDv9cNh.png][/center] [center][img=http://i.imgur.com/oTu71yE.jpg][/center][/quote]

[quote=Janitsu]Great interview [size=1]except that I didn't get special shoutout just for being me[/size][/quote]

[quote=Jovy]Wow no shoutout for me either, bosh'tet.[/quote]

[quote=Bioalchemist]wow you are only 19? you act like a 40 year old! ;) good interview :)[/quote]

[quote=ShoreXShot]Great interview, you earned it Psi.[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD]Came all the way to Canada and all I got was a lousy shoutout about a PM group. #disappointed Anyway, good interview. [quote=BioAlchemist]wow you are only 19? you act like a 40 year old![/quote] I can confirm this. Seriously, he's pretty adorable irl.[/quote]

[quote=Bioalchemist][quote=GrandmasterD] I can confirm this. Seriously, he's pretty adorable irl. [/quote] awwwwwwwwww[/quote]

[quote=Latest Legend]Note to following spotlight participators: Be wary of shout-outs :P Nice interview![/quote]

[quote=Mowen]Remembered to add something I had in mind: [quote=Mowen] He also holds 2nd highest reputation score, showing how many users he's helped (because let's face it aint nobody gonna beat jhoijhoi at reputation). [/quote] Thanks so much for doing this interview Psi, it turned out great! Also I'd totally go on a date with Garrus if I could, so I relate to Psi. ^_^[/quote]

[quote=Luther3000]Tali master race. <3[/quote]