With the Final Stage of The Tribal Wars 2012 having started, Dalv changes words with VNS_CooL, on behalf of long time VNS clan, about encounters, strategies and their odds to a top spot.
(Note: The interview had been started before they played their first game in the final stage)
Dalv: Hey there! Nice to have you here! It seems we are both Clint Eastwood fans, we should get along great. Are you watching EURO cup as well?
VNS_CooL: Hi there, it’s nice to finally see you. I’m watching EURO too, but what a pity when my favourite team lost (Nederland).
Dalv: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
VNS_CooL: My name is Huy, known as VNS_CooL. I’m 22 years old and was born in Binh Thuan. I’m still a student. I enjoy watching football, playing games, listening to music ( I like to listen music while playing aoc)…
Dalv: How about your team mates? Some new nicks in your team for this tourney, but I suppose they are the same old players. Can you add a short presentation for each of them?
VNS_CooL:
VNS_ACCM > He is one of the old VNS experts, he came back to AOC in the last 6 months.
VNS_Devil 1 > He is VNS_Yellow, I guesss most people know who he is. He just loves smurfing around, and has lots of accounts.
VNS_Novalily, VNS_Aztecs, VNS_Devil_Lina are also very old experts.
Dalv: VNS is an appreciated, long time clan in the AOC scene. Do you remember how was it formed? Was it an AOE2 clan since the beginnings or more like a gathering place for Vietnamese strategy players?
VNS_CooL: VNS was founded by VNS_All (I guess you know him too) and his close friends, they played AOE2 at that time. Since WCG 2002, VNS has gathered all top players in Vietnam. With deep passion for AOC and benefited from the development of Internet, VNS has become the strongest and also the most popular clan in Vietnam. We are also very proud that VNS is one of the appreciated, long time clans in the AOC scene.
Dalv: http://vns-clan.org/Forum/forum.php is your web home, is that correct?
VNS_CooL: Yes, that’s correct, this web is so wonderful, you should visit it sometimes, however it’s just in Vietnamese 11. And it is also the place holding almost all of AOC events in Vietnam.
Dalv: Tense history behind, the millenary capital Hanoi, the fast growing economic center Ho Chi Minh, large coastlines in which mountains end, high plateaus to the north, tropical forests to the south, a huge level of biodiversity, Vietnam really has a lot to offer to foreign tourists. What should one visit first in your country?
VNS_CooL: Vietnam has numerous famous destinations for foreign tourists to explore. But I suppose you should visit Ha Long Bay first –the Unesco World Heritage Site, or you can come see Phong Nha Cave (in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, also an Unesco World Heritage Site), it has spectacular cave systems and the longest underground river in the world.
Dalv: I suppose I’d need my rain suit most of the time. I heard it’s raining pretty often there.
VNS_CooL: It depends, but in HCMC, it doesn’t rain much, especially in dry season, from December to April, if you don’t like raining, you can come at that time, life is more active. However I love raining 11.
Dalv: How are the girls in Vietnam? Google seems to give me very pleasant results.
VNS_CooL: Yes, absolutely, Vietnamese girls are wonderful, most of them are meek and beautiful. I hope I’ll get one one day.
Dalv: Alright Going back to gaming. We are here to discuss about AOC and Tribal Wars 2012 tourney. But before that, does VNS play any other games besides AOC?
VNS_CooL: In the past, we played WarCraft, but after that we just stayed focused on AOC.
Dalv: VNS is once again in the Final Stage of an AOC tourney. I believe plenty people from the community sympathizes VNS for being among the clans that put passion and brotherhood above the possible financial gains. Is this your secret for success?
VNS_CooL: Yes, we play AOC just for fun and it’s a very good way to relax after classes and work. VNS got in the Final Stage once again, in my opinion, I think it’s because we’ve been playing together for a very long time and we really get on very well with other teammates. And it’s also because we’d prepared quite seriously and well before the tourney.
Dalv: I have to say I was negatively surprised to see The Tribal Wars criticized for finally using a different map than the usual. LN is a very old custom map that still has a lot of people playing it due to its unique late long warfare and nomadic feeling in the start. For a clan that is also used to maps like Arabia, how would you comment upon this hate it or love it Land Nomad map?
VNS_CooL: We joined WCL right at the very first time it was held, and we never miss any tourney since then and in most WCLs, we chose LN as our homemap (while Arabia is considered as fixed map). We really really love LN and we were so excited when we got to know that TTW 2012’s map is LN. We knew that we could make something special 11.
Dalv: Have you practiced LN games together for Tribal Wars 2012?
VNS_CooL: Yes, we’ve been practicing, preparing hard and doing some researches about strategy, resources allocation in order to know how to put TCs in the best spots. Besides, we also had many wonderful practicing games with POJ and Tyrant. We really appreciate their help.
Dalv: What went wrong against RVK (1-3)? Can VNS face these giants differently in the final stage?
VNS_CooL: Losing 1-3 to RVK is acceptable for us, however we still expect we could do better in the rematch this weekend.
Dalv: What about NFQ? You have won by one game and sent them to LB, but it seems they were a powerful competitor for Tyrant (2-3) and they are also eager for revenge against VNS. How do you see the rematch?
VNS_CooL: NFQ with _Ming (aka Goodboy) is a very strong team. They changed their style rather much after losing 0-2 to POJ and won the last 3 games. We may say NFQ is the opponent we want to rematch the most in this tourney. I expect we will be bringing the most epic games for community.
Dalv: Talking about odds, the pool prize is quite impressive for our old AOC, leading to some very strong players merging into firm favorite clans. However, an unforeseeable map as LN may change the tide of the battle for the underdogs through nothing but strategic decisions and inspiration. Can VNS finish among the first? What is your realistic goal?
VNS_CooL: Of course we want us to be the champion. However in our opinion, Tyrant is a really strong team which is full of legends plus 1 master of strategy: Kkab; besides, RVK also has the finest players at the moment, of course it’s not easy to defeat them all. So our practical/realistic goal is to get into Top 3.
Dalv: Do you make use of voice chat during games? This may cause lag but it is important isn’t it?
VNS_CooL: We know voice chat is a very good way to communicate, but at this time we can’t do it, because most of us play at Internet Café and we do not have necessary devices and it’s also very noisy up there.
Dalv: As far as lag is concerned, is lag less of a problem in LN than in maps like Arabia?
VNS_CooL: Yes, that’s correct, it doesn’t give as many bad effects as in other maps, because you don’t have to move/attack/defend much in the first 20 mins.
Dalv: What is VNS’s strongest point in team gameplay?
VNS_CooL: IMO, it’s the understanding, we’ve been playing together for a really long time, we get on very well with each other and also that we all speak the same language, not like some other teams that have to speak English to other teammates.
Dalv: Generally speaking, do you think playing defensively is better than aggressively or there should be a balance between defending and attacking? We have seen a lot of walls in this tourney.
VNS_CooL: IMO, there should be a balance between attacking and defending. As you can see, NFQ lost 2 first games to POJ because they just walled and boomed, but after that they balanced out the attacking and defending, they won the last 3 games. And balancing also got them a good result vs Tyrant. Anyway, if your team can wall fully, fast, it absolutely brings you many advantages.
Dalv: And in particular, what do you think about Chris getting slinged and rushing? Is sling overpowered in LN?
VNS_CooL: Chris is a legend, he attacks so aggressively, plays excellently, especially when he gets slinged. I think, in the Final, RVK will sling him AGAIN to take full advantage. In LN, you can easily wall and sling, hence I think slinging is a good strategy, which is in fact proved right, when it’s used by most teams up to now. However, there is one exception which makes me so surprised: POZ rarely used slinging strategy.
Dalv: Which player had the most impressive performance so far in TW 2012 in your opinion?
VNS_CooL: I guess it’s Goodboy, he got NFQ into the Final. I may say he accounts for 50% of NFQ’s power at the moment. We are really looking forward to rematching with them once again. Another excellent player IMO is POJ_L_Arlesienne, his style is very special, we are really impressed. haha
Dalv: Do you have any favorite set of games from the tourney?
VNS_CooL: We are impressed by the game 2 in NFQ - Tyrant set, in this game NFQ had beautiful performance. However, Tyrant (especially Viper) tried to keep things balanced till Briton (Love Cheng) finished slinging and joined the fight.
Dalv: I’m going to break the Omerta: 1v1’s have been taken down from the tourney after Daut vs Jordan games leading to a LN not being fair for competitive solo play etiquette. Do you agree that the luck factor may be decisive in 1v1 LN or even expert players need to understand the map better?
VNS_CooL: I’ve watched BO21 between DauT and Jordan, they are beautiful and full of exciting fights. I think luck factor is just doing a small proportion in LN1v1, the most important thing is you have to make sure your strategy is a good one. Practicing and having a good sense of direction or good special skill will bring you advantage to find good spots to build TCs.
Dalv: Is there a best all-around civilization for LN?
VNS_CooL: IMO, China is the best, and the next one is Mayan.
Dalv: If really close to an enemy in a 4v4 LN, would drush ever be a good decision?
VNS_CooL: I’ve never drushed in LN 4v4 game, but I think it’s not a good decision.
Dalv: The biggest number of LN players are those ranging from 14xx to 17xx. How would you advise them to make a good rush vs an open booming opponent?
VNS_CooL: IMO, Monks/Siege Rush is the best strategy to do vs an open booming opponent. At the same time you still have to manage to develop your economy.
Dalv: Can you put down a short description for each of your opponents in one or two words?
VNS_CooL:
aLc = Aztecs
NFQ = Celt
poZ = Spanish
RVK = Persian
TyranT = China
Dalv: What would you like to ask the fellows from aLc which are next to be interviewed?
VNS_CooL: What I hear is German beer is real cheap, is that true? We love German beer, but it’s way too expensive here in Vietnam 11.
Dalv: 1v1 or team tourney, which would you prefer in the future?
VNS_CooL: I prefer Team Wars, it brings more intense events and exciting/dramatic/big fights.
Dalv: We now have plenty of streamers for our beloved AOC. Do you watch any of them? Which channel is your favorite and why?
VNS_CooL: I watch every channel, but for me the best is Viper’s. I’m a big fan of his work.
Dalv: Are you eager for the launch of Forgotten Empires expansion?
VNS_CooL: Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much about it, but just looked through the trailer. It seems nice and impressive. I hope it would bring more joy to AOC.
Dalv: What should be done to enjoy AOC 5 years from now as well?
VNS_CooL: I think we need to hold tourneys more frequently, both 1v1 and TGs. This would provoke old masters to come back and expose new ones.
Dalv: The Tale of Kieu is a massive work of literature, but I think one needs deep knowledge of your culture to thoroughly understand it. Many have tried to translate its true meaning into English. What can you recommend us for getting to know your culture better?
VNS_CooL: Every year, in March or April (March in lunar calendar), in Vietnam there is a big festival: Hung King Festival. This one takes place in 2-3 weeks with lots of traditional activities. You can get to know more about Vietnamese culture in this festival.
Dalv: Is there anything you would like to add for our community?
VNS_CooL: VNS wants to be friends with AOC lovers! <3
Dalv: Thank you for sharing the time with me. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did making the interview. Good luck in the Final Stage, bring us beautiful games!
VNS_CooL: Thank you Dalv, I enjoyed this interview very much, I hope community would find it interesting and know some more about AOC in Vietnam as well as Vietnam. Thank you!
Special thanks to Nova for arranging the meeting.
Here are the friendly players players behind VNS
VNS_ACCM
VNS_All (left) and VNS_Amon(right)
VNS_CooL(left guy with hat)
VNS_Ellvt_
VNS_novalily
(VNS_Yellow yet to be presented)
Furthermore, they have also provided 2 pictures for the elders:
Geek (right)
Halen