36-year-old Warcraft III pro player Manuel Schenkhuizen, better known as Grubby, is currently at the tail end of his A to Z challenge and is slowly climbing up the ranked ladder. His infectiously positive personality and affinity towards the game have led him to be noticed by several Dota 2 pro players and personalities alike.
Previously receiving coaching from pro players such as Ceb, streamer and pro player Gorgc, and even the chaotic ball of energy that is SirActionSlacks, Grubby is now being instructed in the ways of the carry role by Andy “Draskyl” Stiles himself. An ex-Heroes of Newerth professional player and current Dota 2 caster, Draskyl had some choice words for Grubby when it came to playing the role of position one.
One of the most famous (or infamous, depending on who you’re talking to) carry players in the world is Artour Babaev, better known in the Dota 2 community as Arteezy, or simply RTZ. Professional players and pub players alike have looked to Arteezy for his prowess in the carry role, with many players praising him to be far ahead of his teammates when it comes to decision-making in the game.
While there is a lot of thought put into the decisions Arteezy makes in his games, most of them have just become muscle memory for the man himself. It is easy for some players to mistake some of these habits as somewhat different from the rest of the player base, while others think he sets the standard for the carry role. Draskyl simplified RTZ’s gameplay by distilling it down to its basic elements for Grubby.
Draskyl explained to Grubby that when you play position one, you have the highest farm priority and are generally the win condition for your team. Due to this, position one players generally decide when they want to farm and when they want to fight. Every team generally makes space for their position one carry because they know this fact as well.
With Grubby coming from team-based games such as Warcraft III and Starcraft II, it was easy for him to integrate into the team-based MOBA that is Dota 2. Now Draskyl explains to Grubby that when you play as your team’s main carry, play like Arteezy does. Don’t show up to teamfights unless it is absolutely necessary and if it benefits your farming in some way.
This advice makes a lot of sense in the current meta where games go much longer than the last patch, putting more emphasis on hitting creeps and farming. This is further reinforced by the Flagbearer creep that was recently introduced as well. While this is solid advice by Draskyl, whether Grubby integrates it into his playstyle or not is yet to be seen.
