Hearthstone, eversio interview, complexity, Neville Caruana, Neviilz, root gaming,blizzard, professional memer, cam thing, coL.Neviilz

21st
May

Interview: Neville "coL.Neviilz" Caruana - Hearthstone streamer for compLexity

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Neville ‘Neviilz’ Caruana is undoubtedly one of the most successful gamers coming from Malta. As a Hearthstone player and streamer, he has risen to prominence in the international Hearthstone scene over the past couple of years on the back of an entertaining persona he puts up whilst streaming to thousands of viewers.

For the uninitiated, Hearthstone is an online collectible card game developed by Blizzard Entertainment, based on the lore of their immensely successful WarCraft franchise. The game requires you to build a deck of cards, comprising of a variety of types, including monsters, spells and utility, around one of nine classes. Each card has an energy cost, and a deck needs to be balanced between high energy and low energy cards, offensive and defensive or other utility, in order for it to be successful. Whoever kills the opponent’s hero, wins the match. The compositions available are innumerable, so strategy, theorycrafting and a balanced deck play a huge part in determining the game.

Neville has gone on to gather an impressive following: his streaming channel on Twitch has 2.3 million views, and 56,000 followers. He has over 7,000 followers on Twitter, and several other thousands on YouTube and Facebook.

We will be trying to unravel the enigma that is Neville in this interview!

Hi Neville, could you please introduce yourself, and your Hearthstone playstyle?

I'm Neviilz and I stream Hearthstone full time for Complexity on Twitch.I usually play stupid decks rather than the most optimal list mainly cause I enjoy them the most.

Neville at the Malta Cyber Series during his time with ROOT Gaming

Hearthstone has essentially become your full-time job. Do you work or study, or does the game have your full, undivided attention? How many hours a day do you play?

I dropped out of college to pursue streaming and thankfully it worked out amazingly.

Watch live video from Neviilz on www.twitch.tv

Serious business Neviilz - winstreak with Echo Giants Mage

What attracted you towards Hearthstone specifically, to the extent that it has? Did you play any other trading card game in the past, or any other video-game competitively?

Initially I started playing Hearthstone casually but then I got more into it after I started pursuing the tournament scene of it. Also Hearthstone is pretty easy to stream since it has alot of downtime so that also pushed me to stream Hearthstone fulltime.

Neviilz reached rank 1 legendary on the European & NA servers six times

What made you start streaming? There are quite a few video-game streamers in Malta, but none so popular. How did you get the ball rolling in this direction?

I started streaming cause I thought it was cool having people watch you play a game that you both enjoy. I think there are many reasons that factor in how I got the ball rolling but I think the main reason is consistency.

How much of ‘you’ goes into your streaming persona? Some people call you ‘excessive’, but you’re obviously very entertaining to many. Is it effortless, also having to communicate in a language which is not your native tongue?

I'm naturally introverted so I would say it's nowhere close since I always try to "push boundaries" on my stream when it comes to entertaining content. Yeah communicating in that (Ed: English language) was difficult initially but it becomes a habit.

Neville's infamous 'cam thing'

I noticed that nowadays you start your stream at around 8.30am, which one would say is very early for a gamer. How dedicated do you have to be to stick to a schedule, and ensure that it is a success?

Honestly it was a huge struggle for me to stay consistent with that schedule starting out but it seemed like the optimal time to stream hearthstone since there wasn't that much competition at the time.

What is your audience demographic? Are they mostly American, European, or otherwise?

Mostly European and Australian.

Do you perform your own video/graphic editing in order to make your videos, or your infamous memes? Do you rely on volunteers/fans, on staff from your organisation, or is it pretty much just your effort?

I used to have a video editor for my youtube channel a while ago but then we had a bit of falling out. My fans tend to always take clips/recordings of the tricks I do to potentially spark a new "viral" meme.

You’re currently playing for compLexity Gaming, a very well-known professional esports team based in the US, and previously you played for ROOT Gaming, another very successful organisation. How does it feel to play for a professional esport organisation, and how does it support you in your endeavours?

I feels amazing to have a team back you up as what initially seemed a very lonely journey. Apart from all the financial perks I get, the team is great for sharing ideas,plans and whatnot.(and a cool jersey :D )

A stranger donated you $4,200 during your stream. How did that feel?

At the moment I had no idea how to react especially since I was pretty new to the whole idea of people tipping me cause they felt entertained to some extent. Now looking back I just feel grateful that we crossed paths and he decided to support me in my streaming endeavours.

Neville gets a $4,200 donation

What was the most awkward moment you’ve had on stream?

Certainly:

Despite your excellent results on ladder, having been ranked 1 Legend on the European server numerous times, you don’t really compete in tournaments. Is it something that doesn’t really interest you? There are numerous high profile tournaments in Hearthstone, such as the ongoing Global Games (World Cup) etc.

I don't think it's really worth investing that much time into pursuing something that has such a low % to return a great ROI considering the state Hearthstone is in currently. Not to remove any competitive credibility it has but there is a pretty big influence of variance in the game.

What do you think of the state of competitive Hearthstone at the moment?

I personally think there is a lot to improve on especially when they release new card sets. They always try appealing for the casual players which I think is smart since they are the heavy majority but I think they should respect the the competitive scene more since they are the most devoted players.

Watch live video from Neviilz on www.twitch.tv

Reaching rank 1 legendary

You’re quite well known for your non-meta decks. Do you strategise yourself, or do you get inspiration from other players? How do you approach it?

I usually try to discover decks on my own or take other's deck and give my own twist to it which makes it more enjoyable to watch. With this being said, I usually end up making the decks worse but that isn't really my main intention.

Have you ever considered streaming other titles? Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds is a streamer’s favourite at the moment, but there are also other virtual card games such as Gwent which are really getting some attention.

I would love to stream other games but the thing that is holding me back is upload speed. There isn't really anything I can do except wait for my ISP to install fibre in my area to venture to higher FPS games like Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds.

The poker industry talks about being an esport. What do you think about that? How much luck goes into a game like Hearthstone, as opposed to poker? Do you even think a comparison can/should be made?

I think Hearthstone is poker for kids. Both skill wise and interface wise. The comparision a pretty big stretch but there aren't that many competing card games that you can compare with so you're kind of forced to use poker.