MaxStrafe on 8th season and most recent ALGS

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

Yes, I did, and I will say that this is exactly the gun I was missing in Apex! I thought they would redesign the Sentinel and it would be like a Winchester rifle, but the Sentinel is still a useless weapon.

As a second and third position player, I really like the "30-30" and it fits my style: pretty strong damage, medium fire rate, high accuracy at close range... And overall it's a lot of fun to play with.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

I prefer to mix shotguns (Mastiff / EVA-8) with snipers and assault rifles (Flatline or R-301). When possible, I try to choose weapons based on the zone.

My current universal pick for guns is Flatline with Anvil / 30-30 Repeater + Mastiff / EVA-8. This set-up saves space in your backpack and is versatile at any range.

In general, I'm comfortable playing with whatever I can find and fill it up with attachments.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

Horizon definitely has a chance to break into the meta: the character gives a vertical movement for the whole squad + the ult combines with other characters like Caustic or Fuse. With the right use of grenades and her ult you can easily rack up some frags. There are already a lot of teams that prefer to play with Horizon on Kings Canyon.

Also, teams that play from the edge of the zone on the World's Edge often picks up Horizon. She is powerful and puts a lot of pressure on opponents across the map. You can easily do first damage or even knock someone out. 

In fact, it's the only playable legend with a vertical movement at the moment... RIP PATHFINDER <3

Fuse is interesting, he's fun to play with in ranked matches, but he's not even close to the other legends in terms of impact. I don't think he'll be in a competitive meta in his current form.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

We've only played a few games with Horizon: it doesn't really fit our play style and strategy. I find it extremely difficult to play her on the World's Edge, especially in strong lobbies. We'll probably use it on Kings Canyon in the future. So we haven't had any highlights with her yet.

However, we almost got caught on her Q once, as the dudes who were in the same house threw the Q one floor below us and Nesh was thrown off the balcony into the patio. We almost died there. :D

But it's definitely a bug: I do not think that the original plan of the developers was that the Q ability of this legend should go through the ceiling or walls.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

Since we are forced to flex on World's Edge, we will alternate picks. Gradually adding new legends to our roster, so to speak. If the center points on the map, it will most likely be Crypto + Wraith + Caustic. At the edges, we will take Gibraltar instead of Caustic.

We are still thinking about Kings Canyon: guys want to try a Horizon + Crypto + Gibraltar. If it doesn't work out, we'll go back to Wraith.

I might switch to Bloodhound after some time. I want to be more useful in the team fights, I can't really get much out of Crypto.

Also, I played one match in GLL tournament on Fuse: it was a lot of fun, but only because it was a big contrast for me... There's a huge difference between sitting in a Crypto "gameboy" and actually doing it. :)

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

He's really very strong... He's hard to push+, he creates a lot of pressure with barrels and his ult in fights. He can shut the squad down with barrels on the outside of the house, and throw his ult inside: the result - three kills at zero risk, or at least take over the enemy's position if you do it right.

Also in the final zone, Caustic is more likely to win, although with the newly redesigned last zone it's no longer as logical as it was. Still, the legend is extremely unpleasant if you have to fight him. I thought he should be nerfed, and was surprised when he wasn't changed in season eight.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

By and large, our starting spot has not changed – Artillery. They broke the wall, and that's all, the loot remains the same. Let's see how our movements on the map will change, it is too early to say.

New spots do not harmonize with the map, and they are made silly in my opinion. Reminds me of the worst parts of the map Olympus: they are extremely difficult to enter, two chokes that control 5+ teams. 

It's also a strange decision to remove the bunker-like shelter under Salvage and the desert house attached to it. I do not understand why they decided to make this location one big open area: it creates imbalance and dead zones on the map.

We'll see... This is just my observation, it's really too early to say how all these novelties will feel in the game.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

From what I've seen: this tower offers nothing at all, except the chance to be easily knocked out...

The developers placed them in the strangest and most inappropriate places. For example, next to all of these towers there are several other highgrounds, so they are very easily attacked. And one tower is located literally near the Titanic: what was the logic behind making this observation crap? I still don't get it...

Maybe it will be playable in some rare last zones, that's all.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

This time I did not grind much: managed to take Diamond 3 in one long session at the time of the patch. During that time I did not get a single cheater, only controller players, a lot of them...

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

I will say that the match was incredibly fierce: without a doubt, it was the hardest group I've ever played. Our semifinals were twice harder than the finals that followed. Not a single zone out of the six on our side of the map matched up. At most, the only zone that was playable for us was the one in the middle... The rest were on the opposite side of the map, which was very difficult to get into. All of the teams played from god-spots, with the exception of Alliance, which took 20th place in our lobby.

I think we did the best we could with this matchup at the time. Unreal zone bad luck - but that happens in Apex Legends. This defeat prompted us to add new legends to our pick: next time we'll be more prepared for such lobbies.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

Monday through Friday we play scrimms. When possible, we play some on Sunday too, whether it's a ranked or an ALN tournament. Every day we gather notes, suggestions, and keep a record of mistakes made, and then we sort them out together. This can be just a languorous but necessary conversation or we watch VODs. The important thing is to be on the same page after the conversation so that there are no disagreements or similar mistakes in the future. After all, that's the point of training.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

By and large, I'm in charge of landing, rotations, zone analysis, and subsequent position selection. I strive to get the whole team on the same page in terms of playstyle. So that everyone knows and understands what we are allowed to do and when - it will make our lives a lot easier.

As it is, there is no monopoly on making calls. If the guys have ideas, they can voice them or initiate risky moves on their own responsibility as long as it doesn't conflict with the basic game plan and important timely rotation.

We can't always find a middle ground as to who makes calls during fights, which can cause some important calls to get lost. We're working on that now. Previously, for example, I ran ahead and tried to dictate fights, but in the game with Crypto it is complete nonsense. Often I would just get caught. Now I try to stay behind the guys and give them cover, as I should on this character. We're still looking for the best option to stick with.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

To be honest, I was away from home and almost didn't watch it. Once in a while, I looked at the games, first of all I checked the zones, and was jealous remembering of our semifinals. :)

Very glad that Maincast got into Apex! A huge hello and respect to Misha "Olsior" and Kirill "9impulse" (<3), who commented this event. The studio is the best, the casters are top notch. And I'm sure I missed a lot, I'll be sure to catch up with vod.

Максим «MaxStrafe» Стаднюк

It's hard to say: so many changes in the meta, everyone picks up legends and juggles them around every day. Let say Luminosity Gaming, Gambit Esports, COOLER Esports and Alliance. I named four because they all stand out from the rest, could not skip on any of these teams.