Blossoms Thoughts: Overwatch’s Looking for Group and Endorsements

Overwatch players received a long-awaited update on June 28 this year when the development team released Patch 1.25.0.1: new social features! These features are Looking for Group, which allows players to find others to play with across all game modes, and Endorsements, which allows players to compliment their teammates and even their enemies in exchange for small rewards.

They’re relatively small changes, and they’re not new concepts in online gaming. That said, both Looking for Group and Endorsements are changes that, hopefully, are just the start of improving the quality of gameplay for everyone, by reducing toxicity, rewarding positivity and productivity, and allowing for better matches through the creation of more organized teams.

The features have been out for two weeks now, and I for one think they’ve been a hit, but I thought it would be fun to hear what the members of Death Blossoms themselves thought about the experience. We have members from all regions, in all skill tiers, who main all heroes, and they certainly had quite a bit to say when I opened the floor up to them.

By and large, respondents feel that both features have been a plus. I ran a small survey to go along with this, and every single respondent agreed the new features improved the state of the game.

Graph showing that of 23 respondents to the survey, 23 said yes, Endorsements and LFG have improved the state of Overwatch.

Summing up what a welcome change Endorsements in particular has been, Demi has seen how it benefits a game’s player base before, and is glad to see it come to Overwatch.

From the days when I played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360, to playing LoL years ago, you encounter the same type of behavior. When LoL added their endorsement system, I noticed an immediate change in the community, and since Overwatch came out I always hoped they would implement the same system. Unfortunately people need an incentive to behave when they can hide behind being anonymous, and I believe this simple solution is enough to do that.

Nuka had a similar sentiment.

While part of me is bitter that it takes a reward system like this to make people act like decent human beings, I am largely relieved that we don’t have to put up with the things we used to.

A running theme among the responses was that while people may not be nicer, they are less toxic, and the net benefit is the same to the average player. Nubz puts it like this:

I don’t think that toxic people are necessarily being nicer, but the larger, quieter majority of non-toxic people seem to feel more comfortable participating in text/voice chat. Heck, this is the first season in a while that I have defaulted to team chat, and I think that’s true for a lot of people. I also think the larger presence of chill people in comms is making toxic people feel less free to be abusive.

Others agreed, believing that drowning out the toxic vocal minority of the playerbase, intimidating them into keeping their vitriol to a minimum if it comes up at all, has been the biggest noticeable change since Endorsements was implemented. According to eternaforest:

I feel like the endorsement system has incentivized players to be better teammates, knowing that a number and ranking is on the line. Although it is not much in the grand scheme of things, I do think it’s making players take the game a bit more seriously.

Being rewarded for not being toxic may even sway some of those people to stop being toxic entirely, a possibility Cascadia noted:

There is some psychology that indicates that the more you do of something, the more genuine it becomes. So, when people are being rewarded for being nice, eventually they become nice. My personal example is that I always felt I’m not a good streamer. Very defeatist attitude. But then I tell myself repeatedly that it’s more about me being able to be me, and that the more I do it, the better I will get. Eventually I’ve internalized that. It’s all about retraining the brain.

Some in the larger community have decried the system for encouraging “fake positivity,” claiming that people will only act nice to get endorsements. Many of our members mentioned this, and while they don’t necessarily think that’s wrong, they also think it’s kind of a non-issue. Somecatfish put it pretty succinctly:

It feels like people are more nice, and even though they might just be “fake” nice to get endorsements, I think it’s definitely better than genuine toxicity!

Ph03nix agreed.

Even if people are faking their positivity, they are willing to work together, whether it’s to win or rise in the endorsement ranks.

rainmonkey thinks positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment:

A lot of people have noted and even made fun of the fake-niceness. However, I feel like it’s still a better change towards positivity instead of trolls running rampant and putting people down for no reason, other than the fact that they might get banned, but most likely not.

Stardust adds:

Some people still don’t care and will act however they choose, but in general communication has been better and more constructive. I do feel like a lot of people are probably putting on an act simply for the endorsements, but as long as my games are less… crappy… attitude wise, I don’t mind the fake positivity.

And Nana sees true potential for change:

There’s a saying that you “fake it till you make it” – if all these people are just being “fake nice” for the endorsement, it doesn’t matter. Chances are, if they’re “fake” nice long enough, they’re going to be actually nice. They’ll see how much better their games go if they’re not an asshole.

On a more personal note, AJHoney felt that the endorsements made her a better player:

I have felt that being noticed for shot calling is helping me realize that even if no one is talking, it is still a good habit to get into!

Overall, the community is very positive on Endorsements. Akra summed it up well by saying:

My hope is people will be more likely to communicate and cooperate overall, as a community expectation and standard.

Our members had less experience with Looking for Group (LFG), many simply feeling intimidated to try for a number of reasons. To start with those who’ve tried it, the results have mostly involved rock-solid teams and good old-fashioned fun. Kristen shared that she used it to make a team of nothing but healers and pointed out how great it is for new players:

I had a lot of fun and managed to make a few friends! I’ve also spoken to people before that want to try out the game, but don’t want to do so without having a team to play with. I think this is a great step towards that, especially with the role system!

The role system certainly is great, allowing people to guarantee at least a chance at the heroes that they’re most comfortable filling, which makes everyone happier. Hera agreed and said:

Since we can set the roles, there’s a designated healer, tank, DPS in almost every game. It really makes our roles easier. If I tank, I know that the healers and DPS would have my back, especially if there are comms. If I DPS, I know that I have tanks who can create space. If I heal, there’s just enough coordination to be able to stay alive. There’s no frustration as well: I no longer think, “Ugh, I want to DPS, but I can’t because we don’t need 6 DPS,” because I get to choose.

SubLein thinks the combination of both Endorsements and LFG could be greater than the sum of its parts:

Like-minded people look for groups to get away from some of the toxic nature of Overwatch, plus it increases callouts as well. The endorsement levels can be a factor when creating a group, say your group wants level 2 and up, while people who have been reported for being toxic go down to zero. So endorsements help to heighten the quality of groups. Plus, who doesn’t like colors and leveling up?!

Despite the overwhelmingly positive response toward the new features, some members expressed concerns. For starters, Amna found a bug that indicates LFG isn’t fully integrated as yet, as it can’t handle changes to the group composition well.

One time in a 5-stack, someone sent a group invite to a friend to make it 6, but that person never accepted the invite, so there was a pending 6th person forever. We tried to kick the person, change leaders then kick, nothing worked. We had to disband the whole group, and unfortunately I was the last person to hit “leave group,” so I was stuck with the pending person and had to restart my client in order to get them removed.

A few of our members also noted that LFG and Endorsements, while not inherently problematic, would create or bubble up other issues in the community. pinja found a good example of why we can’t have nice things:

Some people use the green Sportsmanship endorsement to BM, like when the enemy feeds a lot, your team will give them the green one.

While many of our members were happy that they now felt they could talk without bearing the brunt of toxicity in return, Akra noted that some might feel more discouraged now, knowing that they can’t as readily benefit from the new system:

I wonder if an unintended consequence of the endorsement change particularly is that folks not able to participate in voice chat for whatever reason (computer limitations, discomfort and/or shyness with speaking in front of strangers, and so on) might be negatively impacted by the changes. For me personally it’s been a 100% positive change to have endorsements, but not sure how others who aren’t comfortable in voice chat feel about it.

Allie shared that there are instances where it’s best to just go it alone and avoid LFG, out of fear that LFG might invite more toxicity rather than mitigate it:

As a trans woman with a feminine username I actually feel slightly more uncomfortable using LFG than I do without it. If I’m tired and my voice isn’t on point or I don’t care and I get clocked in a game, it’s one thing and over and done quickly, if they even paid enough attention to notice the two things. In a group I’m stuck with, those people while they have nothing else to look at between games. It feels a little more vulnerable to more personal harassment in a weird way, as opposed to something super easy to blow off in a one off game.

Roxy had a similar feeling.

Being trans in Overwatch is just as awkward as it’s always been, and people I don’t know won’t necessarily kick group members for making rude comments towards me (which has already happened). Additionally, blocking, or avoiding a player actually doesn’t stop them from joining your LFG group, which I think is a massive oversight.

On the whole, the Death Blossoms community is very positive toward both Looking for Group and Endorsements. In the week that the two features have been available, they have noticeably improved the state of the game, and our members are in agreement that could be the start of mending Overwatch’s reputation for having a toxic player base. The devs have indicated as well that they’re not done improving the social aspect of the game, either, and given what a hit these two features have been, we can’t wait to see what comes next.

If you would like to hear more from our members, you can visit Demi, Nubz, eternaforest, Cascadia, Ph03nix, SubLein, pinja, and Allie by clicking their names!

Newcomer’s Guide to the Overwatch League Playoffs

You know about the Overwatch League. Maybe you never got into it or maybe you’ve never been into Esports at all. Maybe you spent your 100 free tokens on the prettiest skin you could find and that’s the closest you’ve gotten to following the League. But now you’ve heard about the Overwatch League Playoffs. And you’re wondering. What’s going on in the Playoffs? Who will be playing? Who are the teams and the players to keep an eye on? Well, that is why I’m here today. As an avid fan of the Overwatch League and its teams all season long, I will answer all of your questions.

THE BASICS:

We’ll start with the structure of the Playoffs. Starting on July 11, the top six teams from the Overwatch League’s Regular Season will face each other in a single elimination bracket to become the first to win the Overwatch League championship, and the prize money that comes with it. The Playoffs will be split into three weeks, each week a different round in the bracket. The first week, starting on July 11, will be the Quarterfinals. The next week, starting July 18, will be the Semifinals. The weekend of the third week, July 27-28 will be Grand Finals.

The Overwatch League was divided into two divisions: the Pacific Division, and the Atlantic Division. The top team in each division, regardless of overall seeding, qualifies into the Playoffs, and receives a first round bye. This means they skip the Quarterfinal week and instead will start their fight to the end during the Semifinals. This season, the two Division leaders are the New York Excelsior for the Atlantic, and the Los Angeles Valiant for the Pacific, ending the season in first and second seed respectively. After these teams, the teams seeded third through sixth qualify, and will start their battle in the Quarterfinals. These teams, in order, are the Boston Uprising, the Los Angeles Gladiators, the London Spitfire, and the Philadelphia Fusion.

Every matchup will be a Series of up to three matches, played over a course of three days. Each match will be a best of five maps played.The first team to win two matches by winning three maps in each match, will move on to the next round. Also, it’s important to note that the third match won’t be played if a team has already won two. After the Quarterfinal series, complete, the lower-seeded winner will face the New York Excelsior, and the higher-seeded winner will face the Los Angeles Valiant. From there, the two winners of the Semifinals move on to the Grand Finals, and will face each other in one final Series to declare the World Champion of the Overwatch League.

MEET THE TEAMS:

The first matchup of the Playoffs will be between the Boston Uprising and the Philadelphia Fusion, starting at 8 p.m. EDT on July 11. So, we’ll talk about these teams first.

Boston Uprising

The Boston Uprising is the third seed from the Regular Season, and are the only team to sweep a stage, winning ten games in a row in Stage 3. This is no small feat, especially since Mistakes, originally brought onto the team as a Tracer and Sombra specialist, was pushed into the flex DPS role towards the start of Stage 3. Despite this, Mistakes performed masterfully, and was the perfect DPS partner to Striker, the team’s resident Tracer player. Add to them the tank line of Gamsu, a well-known and accomplished player in APEX, which was at the time the highest tier of Overwatch tournament play, and NotE, a D.Va player who got his start with Toronto Esports, and a strong support roster of Kellex, a Mercy player known for rezzing and escaping in the most impossible circumstances, and AimGod and Neko, two accomplished Zenyatta players originally competing in APEX like Gamsu, and you have the solid roster of the Boston Uprising. Although the trend from Stage 3 didn’t carry over into Stage 4, there’s no doubt the Boston Uprising, originally thought of as a random mishmash of players, are one of the top tier teams in the Overwatch League.

Philadelphia Fusion

The Philadelphia Fusion ended the Regular Season in the sixth seed, making them the last team to qualify for the Playoffs. However, you shouldn’t just write the team off. The Philadelphia Fusion reached the Stage 2 Playoffs, losing in the finals, and can clearly hold their ground against the best of the best in the Overwatch League. And their DPS duo carries the team along while winning the hearts of fans all over the world. Carpe has passed through many teams in the past, and has shown off his talent in each and every one. His Tracer is the hero that he is known for, but since the League started, his Widowmaker has stolen the breath of every watcher as he takes out entire teams by himself. Eqo is the perfect match to Carpe’s hitscan, playing projectile heros with massive success, and with a deep hero pool that gets larger as every match goes by. Their tank core is made of SADO, a strong and accomplished Winston player, and with HOTBA as offtank. HOTBA was also in APEX, proving himself and his skills long before Overwatch League was announced. And finally, their supports are out of this world, with Neptuno as Mercy, and the greatest Battle Mercy in the Overwatch League, and Boombox playing Zenyatta, who in past made a name for himself by killing key targets early and winning whole fights for his team. With this amount of skill on the team, the Philadelphia Fusion have a strong shot at the title of World Champion.

The other Series in the Quarterfinals will be the London Spitfire versus the Los Angeles Gladiators. Their first match will begin at approximately 10 p.m. EDT on July 11, the exact start time dependant on the previous match.

London Spitfire

The London Spitfire was fifth overall after the Regular Season ended. Originally a mix of two APEX teams, one of which was G.C. Busan, champions, the London Spitfire was heavily favored throughout the Regular Season. And their skills were put on display as they reverse-swept to win the Stage 1 playoffs and competed again in the Stage 2 Playoffs. Although their record slipped from Stage 2 to the final stages, they are still a powerhouse of talent and can never be counted out in the Playoffs. The DPS players, originally from separate teams, have joined together to become a fearsome duo since the Overwatch League began. Profit and birdring are both well known for their tracer play, and birdring is also to be feared on his Widowmaker and projectile heroes. Gesture and Fury similarly only started playing as a tank duo when picked up for the London Spitfire, but have such strong synergy together some wouldn’t even know. Bdosin and NUS are the support duo. Both played in APEX at the start of their careers, and have proven themselves again and again, with Bdosin taking and winning countless duels and NUS helping and healing as needed, so good you don’t even notice his presence until it’s gone. If there’s a team a lot of people might count out when they shouldn’t, it’s the London Spitfire.

Los Angeles Gladiators

The Los Angeles Gladiators ended in fourth, and one of the favorites of the home Los Angeles crowd and all over the world. Although the team was slow to start, ending Stage one with a 4-6 record, they picked their record up fast after acquiring main tank Fissure from the London Spitfire, and eventually playing in the Stage 4 Playoffs. Bischu and Void support Fissure from the offtank slot, switching in and out depending on if Zarya or D.Va is going to be played. Surefour is a well-known DPS player, having played in the pro scene of Overwatch from the near beginning, playing on Cloud 9 and eventually working his way to the Los Angeles Gladiators. With him in the DPS role is Hydration, a strong flex focused on the projectile heroes. And in the back, supporting all of them, are BigGoose, a Mercy player who also has an affinity for whipping out his pistol, and Shaz, a strong Zenyatta player you think twice before challenging to a fight. Overall, the Los Angeles Gladiators have taken their players, all from many different teams and areas, and combined them into a strong contender in the Playoffs.

Los Angeles Valiant

The Los Angeles Valiant, leader of the Pacific Division, and overall second seed, is a very strong team and great contender for World Champion. Space, their offtank, is widely considered one of the best offtank players in America, despite only playing sice Stage 3. He masterfully runs with Fate, the main tank of the team, and together they hold the frontline of the Los Angeles Valiant strong. In the back, the supports are no slouches either, with Custa as main support, keeping his team alive and bringing them back when they die with skill and mastery, and Kariv, a strong Zenyatta player, who when needed will flex to various DPS heroes, including Widowmaker. And of course, the DPS of the Los Angeles Valiant pave the way for their team, with SoOn playing Tracer and Widowmaker, and Agilities taking the flex DPS role, although he is very well known for his skill on Genji and Pharah. The Los Angeles Valiant almost swept Stage 4, ending the Stage 9-1, but ultimately made up for this by going into the Stage 4 Playoffs and winning, setting themselves up as very possibly the first World Champion.

New York Excelsior

The New York Excelsior is the leader of the Atlantic Division, as well as leading all the teams in the Regular Season. With a massive 85% win rate during the Regular Season, there is no doubt that the New York Excelsior is among, if not the fan favorite for the World Champion. To compare, the Los Angeles Valiant in second has a 67.5% win rate. The New York Excelsior is a powerhouse, with all nine roster players excelling at their roles, and are widely known as among the best of all time. The DPS core is made up of Saebyeolbe, the Tracer and hitscan player, Pine, a specialist in all the hitscan heroes, and Libero, the flex DPS with a vast hero pool, filling any need the team might have. The tanks have Mano and Janus playing main tank, both to equal ability and switching out as different playstyles are needed, and MekO, who plays offtank with a specialty in D.Va, playing seamlessly with whichever main tank is in play. And finally, the supports have Jjonak, a Zenyatta who is considered by many Zenyatta players, including himself, as the best Zenyatta player, and the role of main healer, typically Mercy, is covered by Ark, who is so skilled at his job playing Mercy you hardly even notice him, and Anamo, no less skilled than his teammate. This team often boasts about their skills, and then perform to back up their claims. They were back to back Stage Champions in the Stage 2 and Stage 3 Playoffs, and have been wowing Overwatch League fans since the beginning of the season.

You have now begun your journey into Esports. You have learned about the Overwatch League Playoffs, heard all about the teams and their players, and now the only question you have left is: “Who are you cheering for?”

Friday Feature: Death Blossoms

Greetings! Our Friday Feature today is the official DB Twitch channel! In the last few months, DB has been making a big push to keep our channel active and exciting with new content every week. From streaming our monthly tournaments and charity events, to covering weekly PUGs and team practices, we’ve kept a regular schedule that has recently awarded us with Twitch Affiliate. Thanks to all the supportive members and teams within DB (and our lovely friends!), we are continuing to work towards a goal of providing more resources for our community.

One of the many long-term missions we have at Death Blossoms is to help our streamers gain exposure. Solidifying our own DB Twitch channel takes us a step closer to achieving that goal. We are incredibly thankful for the awesome ladies that have been streaming for us, and as we continue to grow that channel, we hope to return that appreciation in the future! – DB Admins

Our stream schedule is always posted on our website’s calendar, but our current weekly schedule for our teams and weekly events is below (all times in EST).

We also want to celebrate our Twitch Affiliate with an Affiliate party! We are hosting a 24-hour stream next week, starting on Saturday, July 7th @ 12pm EST. If you’re a DB member and you’d like to stream for a block, we’re still taking sign ups (if you’re a current member in our Discord, check out #events-info). Otherwise, definitely stop by and cheer on our girls! If you haven’t already, throw us a follow. And remember, if you have Twitch Prime, you can use your free sub to support DB! All of the money earned on our Twitch channel goes directly back into the community.

Featured Artist: Kris

Today on Death Blossoms, we want to feature a very special artist: Kris, who designed our logo and the emotes for our Twitch channel! I spoke to her about the experience of creating the emotes and also about what got her into art and what drives her in her work. Read on to see what she had to say.

I’m a freelance illustrator specializing in characters and concept art. I’ve been into drawing since I was about 3 years old, and my earliest experience of sharing art was drawing Disney characters from the VHS/DVD covers and showing them to my classmates.

It was a pretty casual affair for most of my young childhood, but in typical fashion, I really got into it when I started watching anime, specifically Inuyasha. Where I lived, it was only broadcast in Spanish, so I was literally watching just for the art and animation. I loved it! From then on it was kind of a battle between art and science for me since I also loved animals, and my parents largely supported me pursuing a career in that over anything to do with art, since back then (late 90’s-early 00’s), the whole “starving artist” trope was still pretty status quo. I kept up my drawing up until college, where I barely drew anything for about 5 years due to studying.

I got my degree in behavioral neuroscience, and at that point, I realized that I really wanted to try doing art for a living. My girlfriend really supported me in that endeavor since she’s also a freelance artist and has become very successful and felt like I had what it took.

So, since 2015, I’ve been freelancing, but within the past 2 years, I noticed how drawn I’ve been to work in the games industry, as opposed to trying to turn myself as an individual into a brand. Working with other people on something big just invigorates me – I’m a very social, extroverted person, and being part of a team gives me the most drive. I’m currently working on a few contracted mobile game projects as a lead artist with the goal of snagging a full-time studio job within the next year.

One specific job I did recently that I‘d love to talk about was making emotes for the Death Blossoms Twitch channel! This was my first attempt at making emotes in general. I knew the most immediate challenge would be working at such a small size. So to be extra careful, I tried at all times to keep in mind the actual size that people would see, since I was working at 300% zoom in Photoshop. That helped me prioritize the specific emotion and key features of each character for most clarity.

With a small final product like an emote, I knew it would be best to make the characters almost chibi style, so a very large head with a smaller body. I tried to exaggerate the expressions as much as I could, so what the character was feeling would be very obvious at any size. Additionally, focusing on the most defining parts of the character appearance would help readability, since the most iconic parts of D.va and Mercy respectively are the D.Va headset and Mercy “halo” headpiece. Highlighting these items in the design allowed me to simplify them from shoulders down since anyone can recognize these heroes by those characteristics.

Finally, since the neat line art would become very fine at smaller sizes and it would start to feel more like a colorful blob, I added a thick black outline around the outside of each character to keep the picture self-contained. Overall, it was pretty fun to create these emotes and I enjoyed the challenge!

Speaking broadly as an artist, my favorite experiences in art so far can be split into two things: learning from others and public reaction to my work.

When I was just starting out freelancing, I was very insecure because I had so little experience. My friends were years ahead of me, and I just didn’t know where to start. I struggled a lot on my own, and I’d feel terrible about going to really high-quality online galleries like ArtStation and thinking, “Man, I’ll never be this good.” However, the online community has some great lessons to teach about focusing on yourself and not comparing your work to others, as well as a wealth of resources on how to study and get better. Everyone is trying to help each other and share advice on how to improve, and I realized it would be a shame to let my self-esteem about my art to get in the way of making the most of that. Now, when I see great work far better than my own, instead of tearing myself down, I think, “What could I learn from this piece? What can I take away from this to add to my own work?” That productive mindset has helped me immensely.

More sentimentally, sharing my work publicly has also been great, not because it strokes my ego or anything, but because once in a while someone will comment or point out one of my works that to me feels old, outdated, the weakest of the bunch, and tell me how much they like it. It always catches me off guard and reminds me that my perception is wildly different from other people’s, because I created it, and that kind of interaction always makes my day.

Regarding the craft itself, I’m fully self-taught. My brother got me my first copy of Photoshop when I was 16, and I’ve been hooked ever since, working in the digital art medium for 11 years now. A few of my peers are also self-taught and are crazy good just due to the sheer amount of drawing they do every year, but I’ve always preferred a structured system to how I pursue improvement of my skills. Therefore I try to take on active learning by going through anatomy/perspective books and studying the core concepts of drawing. In just the past few months I’ve seen tons of improvement in my work by just taking a few hours a week to read and practice from books I’ve read.

On that note, I’ll end with a bit of advice: Becoming good at art is like becoming good at anything else. It’s hardly ever about talent, and even then, you don’t really need talent, just a combination of passion, motivation, and time investment. It takes a lot of effort to make something look effortless, and when you see an artist’s amazing work, you just see the image, not the thousands of hours and practice and study over the years that brought them to the creation of what you’re seeing. If you want it bad enough, you can get there too someday. Keep practicing!

Here are some samples of her artwork!

To see more of Kris’s artwork, feel free to visit her portfolio here: https://zinganza.wixsite.com/portfolio

Team Tuesday: Wolfsbane

All of the members of Death Blossoms know of our amazing teams that we so proudly support and house in our community. But who are the ladies behind these fierce teams? In today’s team feature, conducted by Ivydragon and Stardust, we meet Wolfsbane, the oldest team within the DB family. We’ll get to hear their thoughts on the competitive community, and get feedback on what has held them together as a team for over a year now.

Stardust: Who are the members of Team Wolfsbane and what roles do each of you typically play? Who are your favorite/most played heroes?

Nuka (Co-Team Captain): Myself, LilyKitsune, Zadca, Memequeen, Queen, and Tomato are the “usual” players you’ll see attending scrims. LilyKitsune is our Rein/all-around murder specialist. Zadca is our off-tank/occasional Brigette. MemeQueen and I play supports. Queen and Tomato are our DPS specialists. LilyKitsune and Queen typically do a lot of the shot calling, what ults to use, where to go, what our plan is, etc.

It is obvious from the get-go that this team is extremely supportive of one another and are proud to play together. Shortly into the interview the team began excitedly lauding one another on their accomplishments as a team. LilyKitsune, for example, was much loved for her Rein.

NyxRose: LilyKitsune is the bravest Reinhardt player in the universe and her pins are 99.9 percent accurate.

Zadca: Wolfsbane is literally just the Lily survival squad, we scream and she kills things. We also occasionally clean up the mess she makes.

LilyKitsune: Is there anti-blushing medication? D:

Nuka: I’m pretty sure I said one scrim “I’m gonna go Lucio and speed boost Lily into the enemy team and then we win ok? ok go”

We then decided to ask the ever curious question that we think people frequently consider when playing other teams and seeing amazing plays made:  When these girls joined Wolfsbane, were these the roles they were comfortable in? Or has there been a learning period where people have swapped roles/heroes?

LilyKitsune shares she has been a main tank since day one, but other players such as Nuka have gone through many periods of growth on the team.

Nuka: Personally I’ve been tossed around roles as the roster changed. I am a support main and started WB as a support main. I then switched to off-tank and then to DPS. I was then back on support and am possibly going to be put back on DPS again depending on the current roster changes. It’s definitely been a learning process. Nyx was also support, then DPS and then main tank and then off-tank. (“I just fill as we need” Nyx adds.)

Zadca is also no stranger to constant role swapping. She gave a nice insight on why hero swaps are necessary when working with a team.

Zadca: I started as a Dva main but enabling Lily has been a lot of learning how to play Zarya in situations I would have normally wanted to run Winston and Dva. The way Lily plays Rein you can 100% play dive around it tho. It’s a lifestyle, not a comp. Trust your fellow tank.

Each teammate acknowledges they each play a part in making the team tick, and their own responsibilities can be crucial to their overall success.

These roles, while cornerstones of the members, are not always the same. We found out that many of the girls, while they love the role they play on Wolfsbane, are also happy to play much different heroes: such as Zadca who will aggressively play off-tank but will Sombra without question when asked because she truly enjoys playing as her. Nuka mentions she has many favorites to play, but Mercy is where she finds herself most relaxed and enjoying herself.

So far the interview gave us a nice idea of who the girls behind Wolfsbane are and what they each bring to the team, but let’s dive into the leadership. Leading a lady wolf-pack into battle is no easy task, so how do Nyx and Nuka manage to do it?

IvyDragon: Do you feel having two captains allows flexibility in the leadership role of captain?

NyxRose: I’m not sure how it works for other teams, but it works for me and Nuka because we get along pretty well. Basically, I do the booking of scrims, scheduling, and Nuka leads the scrims. We make joint decisions on things that relate to the team. I generally do communications with DB, other scrim partners, potential recruits since Nuka is not comfortable with it. It also works because there isn’t really a power dynamic or any control issues, we all just want what’s best for the team.

As we read the co-captains response regarding their two captain role for Wolfsbane, we learn they are the only remaining members of the original Wolfsbane roster.

Stardust: Do you know why Wolfsbane was chosen as the name to describe your team? Do you use the original mission statement and team icon/logo or has that possibly changed as well?

Nuka: we had a vote

Nuka: since all team names had to be ‘flower’ names, I think Belladonna was on the list, along with Dahlia

Nuka: I think Nyx’s vote was the deciding vote on Wolfsbane

NyxRose: We use the original mission statement and the beautiful art was designed by Piglet with careful thought.

Nuka: she drew that up in 10 minutes, lmao

Nuka: but we love our logo

And it is quite beautiful and majestic.

IvyDragon then asked a very good question: Was the Wolf theme kind of a reason around picking it, or did you guys kind of grow into that aesthetic?

Nuka: We grew into it

Nuka: It was easier to identify with a wolf pack as a team than as a flower

This was an interesting perspective that neither of us expected from what we felt was a simple prodding question to find out how Wolfsbane’s unique logo represented them.

Ivydragon had the next question for Team WB: Alright, so say someone is tuning in to a Wolfsbane scrim on twitch for the first time; what would you want them to know about your team?

These answers varied widely and they were an excellent representation of the fun-loving, laid-back team that Wolfsbane is.

LilyKitsune: “Milo is a mischievous cat”

Piglet: It’s gonna be noisy

Nuka: Memequeen also has Cooper, a very large and loud dog who can add… flavor to the scrims lol

After sharing about how Milo often enjoys trying to sabotage Zadca mid-game and the various reasons for shrieks, screams, and bursts of laughter that the team often hears from one another in practice and scrims, we decided to ask a more serious, nitty-gritty question.

Stardust: For the team as a collective: Is the goal of your team to have a group to play together regularly or to focus on the more competitive side of Overwatch (the ELO ladder, tournaments, etc.)?

For the players individually: what is your personal goal when playing Overwatch?

NyxRose: The team has always been in the awkward spot of being competitive yet casual. We scrim regularly with diamond/masters teams, but many of us are unable to commit to a more rigorous schedule with VOD reviews, coaching, etc. I know some of us want us to be more competitive and take it more serious, so we are still trying to find that balance. In the past, we have wanted to do tournaments such as ESL weeklies, but right now… we mostly just scrim and do rank on our own.

NyxRose: Many of our members are in school, have full-time jobs, other passions and commitments.. so Overwatch for some members is just a pastime and a way to relax while playing a fun video game.

Each of the girls has strong goals they wish to achieve, some different from another, but ultimately all follow the same passion and desire: to play with a group that has good synergy and works as not only a team but a family. Anyone with team experience may understand where NyxRose and all of Wolfsbane is coming from. Many of the teams in DB as a whole are trying to find that balance of improving individually, and as a team, while also keeping the game a fun escape from everyday stresses and pressures of school, work, and daily life.

Being the oldest team in DB, most of the members have had their fair share of time within our wonderful community. We were interested to see what is their favorite part of being on a Death Blossoms team.

Stardust: What do you think is the best part of playing on a team here in Death Blossoms?

Zadca: Bullying each other in DB events—I mean… community and friendship! Serious answer though, being able to connect with one another is huge, and I think it really speaks to the intent overwatch has as a game despite seas of salt and rage we often encounter in the main game modes.

Nuka: I think just the freedom to be ourselves. A lot of times in competitive, at least for me, I don’t speak. If I feel the team out and think “ok, they don’t seem toxic”, I might make callouts. Maybe. If it’s important. Like a flanking McCree that I know has deadeye. But I’ve had experiences in competitive that weren’t nice, weren’t friendly, etc. It just wasn’t a good time. With DB and WB, I feel comfortable and free to be myself, to talk during games, and I really trust everyone to just not be dicks. DB is a wholesome pack of nerds that are good people.

Stardust: Nuka touched on something we wanted to ask you about as well: How has your experience been as an all-female team when participating in outside tournaments/scrims? What about outside Overwatch competitive community in general?

Nuka: For the most part, scrim partners are good. We’ve had a few teams where the other team was… not professional, not nice. Rude or flaky. But those are few and far between. After scrims, we like to check Twitch to see if the other team streamed their scrim against us, to see their comms and how they read what we were doing/if we were effective, etc. And usually, we find that a lot of them, at some point, notice the number of Mercy hours our team has collectively. And then they just don’t take us seriously, or they make jokes about it. The usual shit. That’s annoying.

NyxRose: But most of those scrim partners are blacklisted and we don’t play with them again. We are pretty selective. I think the majority of our experiences have been quite positive though in the scrim environment. Competitive Overwatch is a whole different beast though.

 

Stardust: Has the behavior within the competitive community turned you off from playing as much as you did previously? Or are you of the camp that you’ll still play but you ignore the majority of comms/leave entirely?

Zadca: This season I’ve relied a lot more on alternate accounts just to avoid the usual mercy main trash comments. Also /hidechat is a godsend

Nuka: I actually play more Competitive now these days than any other game mode. I think I actually prefer the risks of toxicity just to have a group of people who at some level want to win. Like in QP I will see 5 people pick DPS and then I sit there like… why. Why would this be fun for me to heal? In Competitive, I simply won’t talk if I feel the team environment isn’t healthy. And if it’s toxic I just leave voice chat. They’re not contributing anything worthwhile at that point so there’s no difference.

We knew and related to these experiences all too well; as Nyx said, competitive Overwatch is a beast and one you had to come at with a clear, focused mind and patience.

Stardust: On a more light-hearted note, since WB is the oldest team here in DB (despite all of the changes, you’ve come back time and time again!) what advice would you give to new players looking to form teams? What do you feel allows you to successfully bring different people together to form a tight-knit group?

Zadca: Don’t expect everyone to instantly mesh. Know yourself first before you try to team. And be willing to accept that sometimes you aren’t a good fit with everyone. Don’t let playing become a chore. If you don’t enjoy playing together it shows.

Nuka: A good lengthy trial period is necessary because of what Zadca said. Once you do form a team, play together outside of scrims. I don’t mean all 6 have to be there. But play QP, or Arcade, or another game entirely with members of your team. You want good bonds to form so that scrim communications are easier.

Ivydragon: Okay, so on the opposite note of not enjoying playing together, you guys have been talking a lot about some good times with each other. So for each of you: what has been one of the most memorable moments on the team for you so far?

Zadca: Any time we scrim a new team tbh. The panic and gushing is always A+.

Nuka: Honestly I like the little things, like… in one of our last scrims, Lily was off being a murderball and meanwhile Tomato and I found their Lucio hiding in a corner. He waved, we waved. And then we let him go. It was a fun moment. I like Zadca laughing at things that happen, like me sleep darting a Tracer into a pit. Piglet makes the GREATEST noises when she’s panicking.

Zadca: I laugh a lot. If I’m not screaming I’m laughing.

Nuka: I also love when our team coordination really comes together, ult economy is great, it really feels like we’re controlling the game. We had a great game on Horizon like that a few weeks ago. I think of it fondly, and I hate that map.

Nuka: oh! I can think of a great moment, but it was before most of the current roster. During a tournament, we had Juawia as our Rein. It was King’s Row. We’d just lost a team fight on the first point (defending) and were grouping up for the next fight when we realized we had time to contest. So we ran in there, Juawia shattered the entire team, we wiped them and held the point and won the map.

Through talking with Team Wolfsbane we realized just how much of a little family they have become. We asked for clips or videos of some of their favorite moments and we were provided with the following.

Zadca and LilyKitsune have that psychic connection…https://www.twitch.tv/videos/267600200  (another POV) https://clips.twitch.tv/HungryDistinctBeaverLitFam

Juawia helps the team contest in a clutch play: https://plays.tv/video/59642180d07bc6a20c/juawia-with-the-clutch-shatter-?from=user

If after learning about Wolfsbane you’re interested in following them on Twitch you can find their links below. Tune in for scrims and some great teamwork and wholesome support.

Nuka’s twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nukaheals

Zadca’s twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/zadcaa

[Nuka usually streams their scrims and Zadca said the best time to catch them live with scrims/practice is Wednesdays.]

This has been our first deep dive featuring a Death Blossoms team and we look forward to bringing you more. Keep an eye out for our Team Tuesday posts and next get to know our second oldest team, Aris. If you thought the wolf pack was a force to be reckoned with, get ready for our Snake Squad!

Friday Feature: Bunny

Welcome back to our Friday Feature! This week we will meet Bunny, a member of Team Pigeonwings here at Death Blossoms. Here is what Bunny wanted to share about herself:

Hi! I’m Bunny. I’m an aspiring Twitch streamer and I stream almost daily playing all sorts of games! I mostly play Overwatch but sometimes I enjoy PUBG, Fortnite, Gang Beasts and lots of others! I also occasionally stream my art, but that’s not as often!

These are my stream hours (all times are EST):

Monday: 1pm-5pm and 7pm-11pm (Team Practice 7-9)
Tuesday: 1pm-5pm and 7pm-11pm (Team Practice 7-9)
Wednesday: 12pm-2pm and 6pm-12am
Thursday: 3pm-5pm and 7pm-11pm (Team Practice 7-9)
Friday: 10am-3:30pm and from 6pm-12am
Saturday: 11am-5pm
Sunday: Off usually, but I might stream if bored!

You can find Bunny streaming on Twitch, sharing photos on Instagram, and giving updates on her day and streams over at Twitter!

Friday Feature: Tsukitenshi

This week’s Friday Feature is another cosplayer that goes by the name, Tsukitenshi.

My name is Tsukitenshi but you can also call me Tsookie, I’m a happy member of the death blossoms and have been happily cosplay for 2 years long. I enjoyed this hobby ever since it started and am currently a lot of Anime cosplays even though i’m planning to broaden my options. I cosplay both male and female characters, Pleasure meetin’ ya!

Don’t forget to like her Facebook page to see some of her other creations and future ones too.

Friday Feature: Elizabeth (Miss Rez)

This week’s Friday Feature is Elizabeth aka Miss Rez! Miss Rez is a variety streamer on Twitch that does both gaming and creative streams. Here’s a little bit more about her and what she does:

I’m a variety streamer who provides both creative and gaming streams, my favorite game being Overwatch (I’m a support main but Roadhog and Widow also hold a special place in my heart!). My creative streams feature my technique in creating realism portraits. I offer a free portrait every month for one of my followers and even take commissions for my work! I also hold a monthly subscriber-only giveaway where one of my subscribers will win “Rez’s Health Pack!” I’m shamelessly powered by sass and all things cat related!

And coincidentally, this Saturday I will be hosting an 8-Hour Birthday Stream and all are invited! :smile: During this stream I’ll be doing both the portrait and Health Pack giveaways for the month of May!
Stream Schedule:
  • Monday – I will be the stream caster for a Team Lotus scrimmage or practice on the DB Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/deathblossomsgg) from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PST
  • Tuesday – streaming a Team Lotus scrimmage or practice here on my channel from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PST
  • Thursday – Creative stream, start and end time varies
  • Saturday – This is a “surprise” day where I basically stream whatever I’m in the mood for. Could be Overwatch, a different game, or creative – whatever strikes my fancy that day. Whatever it is, it’ll be streamed from 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM PST
  • Sunday – Overwatch from 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM PST
Here is just a sample of some of her amazing artwork:
Don’t forget to follow her on Twitch and other social media accounts: Twitter, Instagram, and maybe join her Discord server.

Friday Feature: Miranda (Ironicgodtier)

This week’s Friday Feature is Miranda aka Ironicgodtier! Ironicgodtier creates art, some of which features some familiar Overwatch heroes. Here’s what she has to say about her art:

My name is Miranda, recently turned 21 and have been drawing since I was 9 years old. I am a fully self taught artist and have been working hard to where I am today. Drawing for so long though had come with consequences of a weak dominant arm and possible carpel tunnel , so this year I started physical therapy to help with that. I draw mainly in a cartoonish style just because it’s more what I grew up with and is fun to draw more than anything. The odd thing I do I think unlike most artists, is I draw traditionally (pen and paper) before I put it to digital, it’s odd but it’s something I have always done.

Be sure to follow Ironicgodtier on social media to find more of her art: Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

Feature Friday: Law

This week’s Feature Friday is a member that cosplays, including some of our favorite heroes straight out of Overwatch! Here’s what they had to say about it:

Hi Im Law! Im a cosplayer who makes their own costumes, props and sometimes acts in them as well. Currently my best cosplays are Ana, Sombra, D.Va, Lady Phantomhive (Black Butler) and Kaori Miyazono (Your Lie in April). I’m also working on Princess Peach for a convention in mid-April as well. I sew lots of my costumes as well as I do the makeup for all of them. I have three years of stage/fx makeup in theatre. On my Instagram there are currently only photo of my D.Va from a retro games con I went to in November but soon I will have more of both Sombra and Princess Peach.

Be sure to check out Law’s Twitch and Instagram for more!