Team Dignitas Heroes of the Storm: Interview with Support Player James "Bakery" Baker

Previously a League of Legends player, James 'Bakery' Baker transitioned into Heroes of the Storm and eventually got picked up by Team Dignitas. We probed his brain for insights on the differences in the two MOBAs, Bakery's individual playstyle, and his personal thoughts on the state of the Heroes competitive scene. We also asked him a couple of personal questions so that our fans can get to know him better!

As an ex-LoL player, what drew you to Heroes?

Bakery: I was actually following Heroes all the way back when it was first announced as a Starcraft 2 arcade game. I really liked LoL, and I was good at it so I played it every day, but it always felt like something was missing to me. As soon as I played my first game of Heroes, I immediately felt much more connected to the game, and I just couldn't get enough of it.

How does playing support in both games feel? Are there major differences in the role between the two games, or is it mostly the same?

Bakery: There are two ways to play support in LoL, one is much more passive and often involves playing Mages or Champions like Janna and Nami. The other is a much more aggressive style, usually involving tanks like Alistar and Thresh. Supporting in Heroes is very different from the more aggressive style, which is the one that I used to play, and I would say Warrior would be the closest role to it. They are fairly similar to the more passive style, although I would say they have a much bigger impact. Of course, due to the lack of wards, the roles play completely differently outside of teamfights and lanes.

What's your style of support? Are you more defensive, looking to protect your allies, or do you prefer being offensive, setting up your team to make plays?

Bakery: I'm one of the most aggressive supports in the Heroes scene, but it is quite hard to make solo plays with the support role at the moment. My favored playstyle is to stand very aggressively, and try to get maximum dps and healing, utilising my own health pool as a resource.

In your opinion, what separates a good support player from an excellent one?

Bakery: The biggest factor that separates the good supports from the best ones are the identification and use of a Hero's most effective playstyle. To give a few examples, keeping as close to 100% uptime on Monk's auto attacks and hitting his palm at the last possible second, or positioning well enough with Medic to be able to heal your frontline while being completely safe. The top supports in the game use this, and you can see them winning games alone for their team because of it.

You're known for your Uther and Kharazim, amongst others. Why do you enjoy these two heroes, and what makes them more viable than others?

Bakery: My favorite thing about both Heroes is the visibility and impact from their Ultimates. If you use those abilities effectively, you can allow your teammates to survive a situation they had no right to, or enable a very high risk team composition, relying on you keeping a key team member alive. Kharazim also has some of the best Burst and Sustain healing in the game, while Uther has some of the best Burst healing in the game.

Any tips or tricks for players looking to improve their play with Uther and Kharazim?

Bakery: For Uther and Kharazim, focus on what your ultimate can do in a teamfight or skirmish. For Kharazim specifically, try to auto attack at every possible oppertunity, and look to position yourself to hit as many people as possible with your W. You can use your Q to help with this in clutch situations.

Besides those two, what are some of the stronger support picks in the current meta and why?

Bakery: Arguably the strongest Support in the meta right now is Tyrande. Her acceptable sustain healing, fantastic damage, long range CC, and excellent utility with both vision and stealth makes her an exceptional pick.

What do you think about the future of Heroes? What can be done to ensure the popularity and growth of not only the game itself, but the competitive scene as well?

Bakery: I think the future of Heroes is really bright, and everyone is really excited for the upcoming announcement from Blizzard. I think the biggest thing is an updated Ranked system, with a better matchmaker, and a Grandmaster system, as whichever form of circuit Blizzard announces will be great for the competitive scene.

Do you anticipate Heroes moving to a league-based style of competitive play like League's LCS or Smite's SPL? Would such a move be good or bad?

Bakery: It has its pros and cons, and both as a player and spectator I much prefer tournament play, but the stability and growth that a League brings to the scene is incredible. I know a League is something that Blizzard was considering, and if they are able to properly integrate a League into an open circuit, then I think Heroes would quickly become one of the most interesting competitive scenes.

What's a typical daily schedule for yourself and/or the team?

Bakery: We usually start practice with a 2 hour scrim block at 14:00. We have a 1 hour break from 16:00 to 17:00 which we use to play Hero League or analyse replays, and have another 2 hour scrim block from 17:00 to 19:00. We then have a 1 hour break for food, and conclude the day with one last 2 hour scrim block from 20:00 to 22:00, before having a short meeting about what we learned, and what we need to do to improve. Everyone plays at least 5 Hero League games per day.

How do you balance your personal life with the demands of being a pro player? Any special methods that you use?

Bakery: Balancing your personal life is one of the hardest parts of being a pro player. Normally it's best if your personal life can happen late at night or before noon, as that still gives you a full day of practice. We also have at least one off-day per week to allow people to recharge.

Were you a fan of Blizzard games prior to playing Heroes? If so, what did you play and for how long?

Bakery: I've played WoW sporadically since Burning Crusade, and I used to play the original Starcraft all the time as a child, with at least 5 cheats on of course. I played a lot of Starcraft 2 around the time of release, and kept coming back to it until I started playing Heroes. My peak League was Diamond, although I spent most of my time playing various arcade games such as Ice Baneling Escape, Angry Angry Templar and Zealot Hockey.

Thanks for the interview! Any shoutouts/social media plugs?

Bakery: Thanks for the opportunity and thanks to our sponsors! If you would like to keep up to date with me, and of course the team, then you can follow me on Twitter @BakeryHeroes! I'm also making an effort to stream a lot recently, so you can check that out at www.twitch.tv/TNBakery!