The top players in the world compete at J Cup every year.
The Naraka Bladepoint World Championship 2023 is special because it’s the first time pros around the globe gather in one offline location in Chengdu, China.
There’s really no better place or time to ask the best of the best for Naraka tips and advice — and that’s exactly what we did.
Speaking to solo J Cup finalist Froztivus, an ASC Champion and Morus Cup Solo Champion, and Joshua “Tryhard” Martinez, a two-time Morus Cup Solo Champion and J Cup trios finalist, we ask them what they learned climbing the ranked ladder and from competing against other pros.
Naraka tips and tricks from Naraka Bladepoint pros at J Cup: what can we learn from the cream of the crop?
Froztivus missed out on previous J Cups in order to complete his university credits. But he finally graduated this year, qualifying for the solo finals.
What he loves most about Naraka Bladepoint is that it’s so deep. Describing himself as a quick learner, he didn’t encounter any struggles in-game that have made him want to quit.
“I know that it takes time. So when there are no tournaments going on, I would just take it slow,” he shared with the media. “I would spend my time watching instead, then sitting in free training practicing combos.”
When he was still attending university, he would play Naraka Bladepoint on average three to four days a week and other games in his free time. This is because once he understood “the things you can do, it doesn’t take a lot of maintenance.”
Of course, before tournaments, he would ramp it up. At the same time, he would watch more and pay more attention rather than spam ranked games.
“For you to figure those things out by yourself takes a lot more time compared to watching a certain player and learning from them,” he said.
TryHard, a fellow North American pro, gives the same top advice.
“I would say I watch more than I play. I see it in my head and walk through the steps of what I see them do,” he said. “[The players in China] are getting so many reps. The practice they have is unbelievable, so I try and make the time that I play always meaningful. I never try and play just to play.”
When asked about the biggest difference between ranked and pro play, TryHard identifies discipline and knowledge as the two pillars that set the good apart from the best.
Knowledge includes map knowledge, knowledge of other players and their playstyles, as well as general mechanics. Finetuning mechanics becomes more important in the Realm of Yang where you take an isolated fight without disruption.
It also helps that the pro scene in China lets them compete regularly in leagues as full-time pros, which in turn trains players to level up and be more disciplined, even in the early game at spawn.
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