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Method, one of the most popular and successful World of Warcraft guilds in the world, are teaming with ection, a multistreaming platform, ahead of the Race for World First. While a few guilds could ultimately tackle Amirdrassil and be the first to defeat its final boss, when you think of success, you think of this guild. They’ve been around since the dawn of WoW and continue to bring quality content to fans all over the world.
In my earliest days of playing World of Warcraft, I wanted to put the effort in to join a guild like Method, but the closest I came was the top guild on Rexxar at the time, and that was brief. Ahead of the Race to World first, I had a chance to chat with Liam Whitehead, Method’s Sales & Partnerships Manager, as well as Rosario Basilotta, Director of Product Development at ection.tv.
The idea that the two groups are coming together to let Method fans have unprecedented, easy access to their favorite raiders during the RWF rush in World of Warcraft is really quite exciting. We spoke to Liam about how the guild is doing ahead of the Race, and Rosario about the functionality of their service.
Liam Whitehead discusses Method, ection, and much more
Q. First, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Can you introduce yourselves for people who aren’t familiar in our audience?
Liam Whitehead: Hi, I'm Liam or DOOPZ to some people; I'm the Sales & Partnerships Manager at Method. I've worked in Gaming for around five years and have been working at Method for just shy of a year now.
Esports-wise, I have a fairly decent WoW history, raiding in multiple top 50/100 guilds over the last five years before running out of time :D
Q. Method as a guild has existed since 2005 and has remained one of the most prominent, popular raiding guilds ever since. How does it feel to still be a name that players know and trust when it comes to information and quality raiding content?
Liam Whitehead: World of Warcraft is truly one of the OG Games. It doesn't matter who you talk to. If they're over 20 years old, they know WoW, and they know Method.
Honestly, it feels fantastic to join an esports team that truly made the game what it is today and continues its ideology of being 'first' throughout all aspects of the industry. I sort of have to give credit to Scott here, he knows the information the raiders and staff team can produce, and love watching them grow their own channels spreading that knowledge.
Q. We’re on the cusp of another “Race to World First” with Amirdrassin in just about a week. How prepared is the team? How do they feel about their chances going in to claim first this time?
Liam Whitehead: The guild are feeling fantastic; the last race truly showed that it's no longer a two-horse race, with Method being ahead of Echo and Liquid at different times throughout the progression. Preparation behind the scenes has only gotten better, with more analysts, supporters, and helpers joining than ever before.
Personally, from speaking to the guild, they really do believe in themselves to do it. These guys have sunk 1000s of hours in this game and feel more ready than ever.
Q. As someone who has also played since Vanilla, I understand that raid prep is important, but also can be remarkably time-consuming. Is there anything Method does to prevent burnout and keep the team mentally and physically fit as they prepare for an important race like this?
Liam Whitehead: For in-game burnout, generally, the team have been great at making sure each raider's 'workload' is manageable, as well as letting them take breaks between tiers as they see fit to reset themselves. Although I will say, some of them are just making extra characters every week on their own accord... just to make sure they can't get unlucky!
On the physical/mental side, Cayna (our Talent Manager) is fantastic with speaking to all the players, learning what it is they need to perform at their best, as well as anything we can do from a Method side to make them achieve their goals. Likewise, Sco, Lorgokz, and Bangerz are huge fitness fanatics, continuously giving out advice to all the players about how to stay fit and healthy throughout the race.
Q. What’s the state of balance looking like in World of Warcraft right now? Are there specs that you absolutely will not bring to a progression raid or specs that are absolute must-haves?
Liam Whitehead: Blizzard have really moved into this mindset of giving every class a raid buff, meaning there are so many spots already taken for the raid before you can even think about balance. What most guilds are doing is putting their two tanks as "raid buff slots", freeing up more room for meta dps.
Realistically, since the introduction of Augmentation Evoker (the support class), balance has been wild, to say the least. I think you'll see around two to four in every RWF composition, purely based on the buffs it gives to your dpsers. Blizzard have also just forgotten about Elemental Shaman, which is a shame to see.
Q. Blizzard is starting to do more to hide certain mechanics and features of bosses so that addons can’t immediately telegraph every little thing. This can add to the challenge and excitement of a boss fight, but how do you feel about it not only as content creators but as a guild?
Liam Whitehead: I think right now, Blizzard are sort-of testing out this feature, so the mechanics they're "hiding" are fairly solvable, which for these guys doesn't make much of a difference. Hopefully, it's a good sign that they will make harder mechanics hidden in the future, so we see more brain power during the race!
Q. Method is going to be coming together with ection, a multi-streaming platform, to give their fans more access than ever to the Race to World First. What makes this choice so important not just for you but for the fans worldwide?
Liam Whitehead: As a salesperson, it's always easy to say a product is good, but genuinely, the ection platform is an incredible tool for the RWF. It enables our fans to not only watch the main broadcast but watch and support their favorite creators at the same time. The RWF is a community driven event, and ection provides our fans with the ability to engage our entire community at once.
Personally, during 'The International' this year, I made my own ection playlist with my friends, so we could watch all four streams at once, and we loved it.
Q. Do you think using platforms like ection going forward will become the standard for top-end, World First pushing guilds like Method going forward when it comes to content creation?
Liam Whitehead: The RWF is the perfect use case, not only for our community but for all the top guilds competing. No more flicking between multiple streams' POVs and trying to get updates; it's literally all there in front of you. Personally, I'm super excited to see the community's feedback on it!
Q. Like the rest of the world, you guys no doubt saw the massive WorldSoul Saga revealed during Blizzcon. How excited are you guys for the future of the game? What hyped you up the most?
Liam Whitehead: The WorldSoul revealed kind of showed us that Blizzard DO care and, over time, are becoming more and more aware of the importance of the RWF.
Although it wasn't announced, I'm super hopeful for WoW to be added to the gamepass, opening it up for a whole bunch of additional players and making it overall slightly more affordable for people.
Rosario Basilotta speaks about Method and ection.tv
Q. Thank you for taking the time to speak to us! Can you explain to our audience what ection is, for those who might not be aware?
Rosario Basilotta: Hey, thanks for having me! So, ection.tv is this awesome streaming platform that's all about bringing the energy and excitement of live events directly to your screen with a unique twist.
Imagine being able to watch multiple streams simultaneously, create your own playlists, and immerse yourself in a variety of events, from gaming battles to live music concerts. It's like having a live festival experience wherever you are on a computer or mobile!
Q. There are quite a few restreaming sites out on the internet right now. What would you say makes ection stand out the most?
Rosario Basilotta: The world is full of streaming platforms, but ection.tv stands in a league of its own. What sets us apart isn't just the ability to tune into a single stream. Instead, ection.tv invites you to blend multiple streams, crafting a personalized viewing experience that's as unique as your tastes.
And there’s more - our dedication to nurturing a vibrant community distinguishes us. ection.tv is more than just a platform; it's a playground for those who live and breathe streaming!
Q. What has the process been like of working with Method to create this unique environment for the Race to World First? Would you like to see other top-end raiding guilds host their raid teams on the site as well?
Rosario Basilotta: Working with Method on the Race to World First has been an incredible journey! It's like forging a legendary battleground for these epic raiders. We're passionate about crafting spaces where communities like Method can truly shine. And absolutely, we're eager to welcome more top raiding guilds. Imagine the excitement as more guilds join – it'll be like bringing together the greatest heroes of Azeroth for an epic showdown!
Q: What led to the decision to partner with Method to host their Race to World First coverage? Are ection’s developers also long-time fans of World of Warcraft?
Rosario Basilotta: Teaming up with Method? It felt like destiny. Race to World First isn't just a competition; it's a legend in the making, and we've been fans of the World of Warcraft saga for as long as we can remember. Some of our devs have been playing WoW for ages! It's a dream come true to host this iconic event.
Q. There’s going to be a lot of footage on screen at once when taking the whole Race to World First in via ection. Will this take up a lot of bandwidth, trying to keep track of everything at once for the casual viewer?
Rosario Basilotta: Good point! With so much action happening, you’d think it'd be a bandwidth monster, but here’s the cool part: ection.tv is designed to be super smooth for the casual viewer. Our tech juggles multiple streams efficiently, so you can catch all the action without any worries about overburdening your internet connection.
Q. What do you think the future of ection is as a platform? Where do you plan to take this technology going forward? Do you see room for it to evolve?
Rosario Basilotta: The future of ection.tv? It's boundless and thrilling! We're constantly on the move, innovating and reimagining what streaming can be. Right now, it’s about making streaming more interactive and community-driven. But that's just the beginning.
The potential for growth and evolution is massive. We're envisioning a future where interactive events and seamless integrations aren't just ideas but realities, creating an ever-expanding universe of possibilities. Stay tuned – with ection.tv. We're only scratching the surface of what's possible!
The Race for World First begins today in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. Method are one of the guilds gunning for that top spot, and they won’t stop until the race is done. You can watch them live on ection.tv.
Who will claim the next World First in Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
