MaxStrafe talks about invitation to NAVI, love for CoD and Apex Legends' development

APEX / News / 18 September 2020 — 13:00

The first interview with MaxStrafe!

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk talks about the invitation to Natus Vincere, shared his previous esports experience, and also gave his insight on the Apex Legends' development.

Congratulations on winning the playoffs of ALGS Super Regional! How does that make you feel?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I am very glad that we were able to win the biggest online tournament of this season and prove to everyone that we deserve the first place in the European ranking.

How difficult was it to concentrate on the tournament given the fact that each one of you understood that this was the last competition in this roster?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I have carefully chosen the right words and adequately explained all the reasons why I decided to join NAVI. The guys were supportive, and for that, I'm very thankful.

I think the fact of the inevitable transfer only had a favorable impact on team spirit and training as a whole because everyone understood that this is our last tournament together and the last chance to take the first position in the European ranking.

Tell us about playoff matches. How did you manage to play at this striking pace in almost all of the maps?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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We trained every day: we studied timings, the best rotations, trained our aim — all of this, in the end, was close to the ideal state. Also, we were not afraid of the patch changes and quickly adapted to them.

If we talk about your former teammates, how did they take the news of your departure? Are there no negatives left between you?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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No, they were supportive. On the contrary, it made us even more united for the rest of our time together. We parted on friendly terms with each of the guys.

And as a closing question of your former team, tell us, did you have any offers from professional organizations? Why did you not end up in any of them?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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There were several major offers, but negotiations quickly reached an impasse. Even well-known organizations that came into contact with us, after a while, "disappeared", ignoring us in all chats. :D

There were also individual offers to me personally, which I could not accept, because the main requirement was to play the final of the season in another team, and I just could not leave behind my guys a couple of weeks before the playoffs.

Let's move on to

Natus Vincere. How unexpected was your invitation to the camp of the Born to Win? How long did you think about it?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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Honestly? I expected that this might happen, and I thought about it for a long time, and I kept asking for more time, as I became very close with Gnaske and SirDel during this period. In the end, I came to the conclusion that it is essential to move forward and NAVI is a suitable option for me.

Have you met 9impulse and clawz? Or did you get to know them only after joining the organization? What was your impression of them?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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Before joining the team I was not personally acquainted with the guys, but knew about their accomplishments. Impressions from the acquaintance are exceptionally positive: the guys welcomed me into the team with open arms, I hope that we will be able to get a coherent teamplay in a short period of time and head straight into the new season with our heads first. :)

What responsibilities do you have in the team at the moment?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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As a matter of fact, I remain in my usual role: I will continue to play Pathfinder and shoot everyone whenever possible. And also to generate as many great ideas as possible for rotations, positioning in fights, etc.

Let's talk about Apex Legends. Why did you choose this game within the Battle Royale genre? Have you tried to participate in other Battle Royale games: PUBG, Fortnite?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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For a while, I tried playing PUBG, but quickly realized that this is not my game... And with Apex Legends everything turned out exactly the opposite: I found many familiar mechanics from previous games that I liked. I also got hooked on the game's dynamic.

You have an unusual and intense esports career: if I'm not mistaken, Apex Legends is already the fifth discipline where you play at a professional level. How hard is it to move from one game to another?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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Yes, this is indeed the fifth discipline in that I am trying my hands on, but, I will be honest with you, I wasn't a professional player in all of them.

When you jump from one discipline to another and in each of these games you try to be the best and to break down the game into small details, the experience gained in these games will not be useless and will move on with you to a new game where you will find where to apply to. So I adapt to new disciplines and game environments quite quickly.

It is no secret that most of your career you devoted to Call of Duty. Do you think the game has a chance to take the esports path in the foreseeable future?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I love and I am a fan only of the first versions of Call of Duty (CoD1, CoD2, CoD4: Promod). Unfortunately, all these versions have long been dead... Yes, there are still amateur tournaments and even LANs: enthusiasts are trying to keep the games alive, but there will be nothing serious by the standards of esports. And I dislike playing all other games in the series: I can't call them high-quality and interesting games.

Does your heart still belong to Call of Duty? Have you played the Battle Royale?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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Right now I have absolutely no time to play other games than Apex Legends. But from what I saw, this is the best game of the series that came out after CoD4.

A few words about CS:GO, where you also had a short career. Why didn't this game appeal to you to pursue in the future?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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When I played CS:GO, I had a very weak PC and a 60Hz monitor. I couldn't compete with the guys at FACEIT level 10. And to be honest, I never liked the discipline on its own. I wasn't even a fan of CS 1.6, so I decided row against the current and chose Call of Duty.

It is considered that Valorant is more complex than the CS:GO. Was there any desire to try it out?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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If I didn't have any results in Apex, I think I would think about moving to Valorant. I'm familiar with the S&D 5x5 mode and I got my main experience in these games. But the game is also not quite for me, in fact, it's just a new CS.

By the way, do you follow esports in general? Maybe you have favorite players, teams?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I don't follow esports much, I don't even remember the last time I watched a tournament on stream. I used to get excited by watching Warcraft 3 and StarCraft. I guess I like to play FPS and watch strategic games. :D

Let's talk about Apex Legends. Generally speaking, are you satisfied with the direction in which the game and the esports scene are moving?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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No, I am extremely unsatisfied... There is a feeling that the developers do not listen to the players and from patch to patch are trying to make the game more casual.

I also think that Respawn could organize more online tournaments or leagues with more substantial prizes: $10,500 for the top 3 every three weeks is not exactly what you would like...

Share your opinion about the meta. What do you think developers should do to keep the balance? Or it won't matter, because these kinds of games will have some characters that will be stronger than others regardless?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I believe that it is impossible to make all the characters balanced: there are fun ones, and it's pleasant to play in the public lobby, and there are defense and attacking compositions for the professional scene. Overall, there is a balance of characters.

The only thing to do is to nerf Crypto: his ult is too strong on a professional level. In terms of weapons, I would remove Devotion, and nerf Triple Take, Volt SMG, and even Arc Star... I think that this grenade had to be nerfed from the first season. In fact, with one stick you can easily kill the enemy in full armor.

— Max-Strafe. (@MaxStrafe)

Name the strongest and weakest Legends in the Apex Legends. And how did you determine them?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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The main criteria for me is how useful the character is at the tournaments. On this basis, the most useless is Octane, Mirage and Rampart. And well Crypto, I've already mentioned it above: it needs to be nerfed.

Is there a character in the game that you love to play, but it's absolutely useless in the competitive environment? What can be done to improve it for the sake of balance?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I like to run around with Mirage. I think it would be fun and useful if you could teleport in the place of the released "mirage".

What is your opinion about what developers have been doing with shields lately? What can you tell us about all these changes?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I approve of the changes that have affected the armor. And Respawn did really cool improvements on the World's Edge map by adding new locations and choke points. But everything else in this patch, in my opinion, is a mistake: new zones, a lot of new bugs, weapons meta, crafting, and especially Crypto.

What do you do in your spare time? Maybe you like to watch TV series or maybe some physical activity?

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I can not imagine spending my free time without movies and TV series. I also watch various interesting and informative content. Before the pandemic happened, I did very little physical activity and tried to keep myself in shape. I try to spend a lot of time with my friends. But mostly I spend my time on Apex Legends.

And at last, would you like to say a few words to Natus Vincere fans, who are looking forward to the upcoming tournaments with the participation of the team.

Maksym «MaxStrafe» Stadniuk

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I am very thankful to all the people who responded positively to my arrival. I myself am looking forward to our competitions. But don't forget that this is a new squad that has to build their game from scratch.

I hope that we will be able to overcome difficulties and come to a worthy result.