RWF Guild Spotlight: Echo
With BlizzCon and Patch 10.2 around the corner, the Race to World First (RWF) for Amirdrassil is on its way! Today, we chat with Meeres, Tobo, Xerwo, Kush, Stove, and Velo of Echo to learn more about their plans for Amirdrassil, their reflections on the RWF of Aberrus, and more.
Table of Contents
“...Even if you are new in the guild, you don't get treated differently. We don't treat trials differently than other members.” –Meeres
Q-1: Hi! It’s been a while since we’ve sat down with Echo to reflect upon the RWF. To kick us off, let’s take a look back at the RWF of Aberrus. What has been the best part about competing in the RWF on site?
Meeres: Meeting a lot of friends from the Echo guild and organization is amazing. Getting to chat not only online but in person is always a way better feeling and also a lot easier! On top of that, it feels epic to be on site with everyone just gaming and doing what everyone loves the most.
Tobo: I love not having to worry about preparing food. The fridges are full of drinks and the staff are always there and ready to help. It takes away a lot of the pressure on those things, which is always good for the race. Meeting my guildmates has been really fun especially since I came from just watching the race and their streams to actually being at the venue in person.
Q-2: What’s the first thing you do after arriving at the RWF venue?
Meeres: Most of the time, arriving at the venue means greeting everyone that's there and chatting a bit – all the players, casters, and production. After that, I set up my PC and get back to work to prep for the RWF.
Tobo: I’m always super tired after traveling all day, so I usually go straight to the PC after walking in to make sure everything is set up and ready. If I arrive at the city late or in the evening, I’ll probably go straight to the hotel to shower and sleep to be well rested for the next day. Of course I’ll go greet everyone but it usually happens naturally with people arriving at different times.
Q-3: Do you have any superstitions or traditions during the RWF? Anything funny to comment on from the last RWF?
Meeres: Oh, definitely. For me, I have a jacket around at all times since I am always cold. This can lead to funny events like me sitting indoors with a big winter jacket on, while others just have short sleeve shirts.
Kush: Usually, I’d like to shave my head prior to RWF so that I could shower less (I don’t like my hair greasy). But since I have a girlfriend now, this has been strictly forbidden.
Velo: I always go to the gym in the days before the raid releases because there’s no time for that once the race is on. Also, having the fridge and freezer completely full of pre-cooked food ready to eat helps to minimize any stress of cooking a meal during our lunch and dinner breaks.
Stove: My only tradition is drinking Monsters every day lmao.
“I think Smolderon and Tindral could be very interesting if tuned right. It would be exciting if we could catch up to Liquid there and then smash our heads against a tight DPS check while the viewers see multiple guilds simultaneously having very close pulls.” –Xerwo
Q-4: We’d love to hear more about your upcoming RWF plans for the next tier. How has raid testing been going for Amirdrassil? Do any of the bosses stand out in particular?
Meeres: Raid testing has been pretty nice this time around – only 2 or 3 tests were bugged and not working, but the rest of the bosses were pretty nice overall. We got a lot of info from the tests and are hyped to blast through them! I think the last 2 or 3 bosses stand out the most. In particular, Tindral Sageswift looks like a really cool boss to progress on. It is a fast-paced fight with some Dragonriding that feels good to play. This one will be an epic kill for sure if the tuning is right.
Tobo: Smolderon and Tindral look like really good bosses and I have high expectations for both of them. I hope Smolderon has a tight DPS check and that there’ll be optimisations to make there. I think that optimising DPS will be very fun on that fight in particular because of the damage amps and fitting those with Augmentation Evokers. Tindral will be very difficult and rewarding to play from what I’ve seen.
Xerwo: Raid testing has been great. I think Smolderon and Tindral could be very interesting if tuned right. It would be exciting if we could catch up to Liquid there and then smash our heads against a tight DPS check while the viewers see multiple guilds simultaneously having very close pulls.
Kush: It’s been okay. The only boss that stands out thus far for me is Smolderon. He has some cool things going on and damage amplifiers, etc. I’ve heard that people like Tindral but I wasn’t too impressed with that Moonkin impostor.
Velo: Raid testing has gone very well. In particular, I like Tindral since its a very high-paced encounter and there’s an intensity of damage intake during the fight with multiple requirements of certain roles needed during each phase. It's the kind of boss fight I personally enjoy. Also, having some variation of each phase doesn’t make it too repetitive, and it has a “Massive Bang” type cast like on Rygelon at the end of the fight. I hope it will be a very tight DPS check so that we get to see the very same close attempts that we had in Sepulcher.
Stove: The PTR raid testing has been pretty good. I think Smolderon and Tindral are really fun bosses and will be very fun to progress through, but there are some bosses that I’m not too excited about like Nymue or Council of Dreams.
“Although he’s not really a villain, I would love to fight Illidan again in the future. With all the new boss mechanics Blizzard has been cooking up, I think it could be an amazing fight.” –Meeres
Q-5: Who would you love to see as a final boss in a raid? Are there any WoW villains that you would like to eliminate?
Meeres: Although he’s not really a villain, I would love to fight Illidan again in the future. With all the new boss mechanics Blizzard has been cooking up, I think it could be an amazing fight.
Tobo: I don’t have any real preferences on specific bosses but I’d like to fight one of the big main enemies to end off the expansion at least. For this expansion, Galakrond or something similar like a vision of Galakrond could be really fun and cool. I liked finishing off Shadowlands with The Jailer because he was the main enemy of the expansion but I want to fight the big major ones from the past too.
Xerwo: I hoped that Galakrond would make a return in some type of way. Still hoping for the future!
Kush: Not really, no. As far as villains go, I'd like to see some void lords though…
Velo: Iridikron and whatever he is cooking with the void.
“I would love to have no raid testing for any upcoming raids…Going in without a Dungeon Journal and no prior testing would elevate the race to another level and create even more hype!” –Xerwo
Q-6: In an ideal world, which would have a higher fun factor for you: Raid testing on PTR or going in “blind” into a new raid and RWF?
Meeres: For me, both are amazing things. Getting to test out all the cool ideas you have on PTR is nice and you can see work pay off. But overall, going blind into the raid must be the coolest thing since you never saw anything. Just to experience that for the first time would be really awesome.
Tobo: I think going in blind would always be more fun in a world where PTR testing didn’t exist and the bosses were tuned perfectly. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like we’ll get to that stage. The part that takes the most fun out of the RWF is usually the prep, and our prep always has to get better and more intense. Going in blind would hopefully relieve some of that stress.
Xerwo: I would love to have no raid testing for any upcoming raids. It's probably never going to happen though, sadly. Going in without a Dungeon Journal and no prior testing would elevate the race to another level and create even more hype!
Kush: Blind RWF would be way more fun I think. Not only would you save countless hours of prep, but figuring stuff out while actually progressing in real time is really fun as well.
Velo: No raid testing and no Dungeon Journal would be exciting. I’d at least like to explore something along the lines of no Dungeon Journal to show mechanics/abilities from the bosses. You could still do raid testing, and data mining would still exist, but there would be less preparation in terms of strats. Some ‘blind’ progression would also happen when the raid releases, as there can be many changes to each phase of a boss or bosses entirely, without you knowing exactly how or when things will happen.
Stove: Raid testing is a lot of fun because you get to make a solid plan for the boss and you walk in as prepared as possible. That for me is more fun than going in blind.
“Preparing all the reminders and talent builds that I will need for the tier makes me feel a lot more comfortable once the patch hits. Not having to worry about when to press defensives or what talents to use for a boss enables me to focus on other things” –Stove
Q-7: What is the most important thing you do personally to prepare for the RWF?
Tobo: I like to take some time to relax and make sure I’m comfortable going into the new tier. It’s usually good to avoid leaving things until the last minute (but there always ends up being something to do leading up to the tier).
Kush: Stack up on coffee, of course.
Velo: Trying to be healthy and well-rested when the raid releases, alongside being prepared for whatever classes I may play in the upcoming race.
Stove: Preparing all the reminders and talent builds that I will need for the tier makes me feel a lot more comfortable once the patch hits. Not having to worry about when to press defensives or what talents to use for a boss enables me to focus on other things.
Q-8: What’s the Echo Roster looking like for 10.2? Any new faces or players changing roles?
Meeres: The Echo Roster is looking very strong going into Patch 10.2. We had some swaps and changes, but we found amazing players to fill those slots going into Amirdrassil.
We have 2 new members:
Tobo: We lost Skaris coming out of Aberrus, which was a big loss. From that, we have Thaner switching over to the main Paladin, and Sol role swapping to healer.
“I think our strongest traits are a combination of a very high performance attitude alongside a lot of laughing and having fun while raiding and playing other games or just hanging out in Teamspeak.” –Velo
Q-9: What do you see as your strongest traits as a guild? How would you define the culture?
Tobo: I feel like we have very good consistency when we’re in the zone and when getting closer to a kill – especially when everything is fully fleshed out and we’re just performing the final form of the strat.
Kush: As a collective, I would say that our strongest trait is being European. These fraudulent North American competitors (their roster is actually half European) have no chance this time around for SURE. As for the culture, I think half of Echo is very interested in Japanese culture – anime in particular…(not me).
Velo: I think our strongest traits are a combination of a very high performance attitude alongside a lot of laughing and having fun while raiding and playing other games or just hanging out in Teamspeak.
Stove: I think one of the strongest traits of Echo is our leadership. Having leaders with passion and a wealth of experience is something that I really like. I’m really enjoying raiding with the guys because it’s pretty chill in farm, but once we are testing a hard boss, everyone goes full tryhard and works to find solutions, etc.
Q-10: How do you integrate new members into your guild? Do you have any cool or fun rituals?
Meeres: One of the most important things for me is that, even if you are new in the guild, you don't get treated differently. We don't treat trials differently than other members. They need to play the same amount of alts, same requirements, etc. The fun ritual we have is that, if a new trial joins Teamspeak for the first time with the whole guild, they need to tell a joke. It doesn’t matter if the joke is good or bad – it can even be some small banter against something.
Xerwo: On their first raid, the new trials are asked to tell the worst joke they know. It’s always a good icebreaker! 😀
Kush: Gingi likes to make people feel uncomfortable as a sort of initiation greeting. I think that’s it to be honest.
Velo: Playing together outside of raiding, like playing Mythic+ or other games together, has been very good to integrate new players into the guild.
“I think the importance of multiclassers has gone down quite a bit since Hunters got a raid buff and Augmentation Evokers got introduced. There's only like 4-5 spots that you fill now, and we have enough players for that to not be a problem.” –Stove
Q-11: How important is it to have strong multiclassers on your roster going into the RWF? Are there any bosses in particular where you think this may come in handy?
Meeres: Personally, I think the value of multiclassers has gone down quite a lot since it's not possible to stack 12+ Warlocks anymore like in the past. With all the raid buffs and different requirements to even raid, only a select few raiders need to multiclass and swap roles during the race. Of course, during prep, more raiders have a chance to swap to a new class just because it's better in the new raid tier.
Tobo: I think it’s always important to have multiclassers in the guild to cover more options of class stacking and different comps. One memory of this being super important was in Sepulcher, where the comps going from Anduin / Lords of Dread were very different to Rygelon / The Jailer. That tier being very long allowed for multiple characters to be geared so that does benefit the multiclassing roles. It’s definitely important though to have all bases covered going into a new tier because class balance could change at any moment and we need to be prepared for it.
Kush: I think it’s less relevant nowadays with multiclassing since two thirds of your roster is locked into a certain class/spec anyway, so there’s very little room for flexibility. I don’t think it matters too much, no.
Velo: Over the past few raids, we have gotten very strong in general regarding our roster being able to play multiple classes and specs. However, this hasn’t been as necessary or desired over the course of the last 2 raids compared to Sepulcher with having ranged/melee balance on Halondrus and Lords of Dread. In Sepulcher, I personally swapped from Mistweaver Monk in melee to Holy/Discipline Priest in ranged to deal with the bomb mechanic on Halondrus and the Cloud of Carrion mechanic on Lords of Dread. Priest also had a different healing profile that suited those encounters.
Stove: I think the importance of multiclassers has gone down quite a bit since Hunters got a raid buff and Augmentation Evokers got introduced. There's only like 4-5 spots that you fill now, and we have enough players for that to not be a problem.
Q-12: Do you have any closing thoughts to send us off with to get us hyped for Echo’s plans and presence in the coming tier? Anything related to BlizzCon? Etc.
Meeres: The best I can say is that I am super grateful we have such a huge support from so many viewers and players around the world. Without any of them, the RWF would not be possible!
Tobo: I’m very excited to play at BlizzCon!
Kush: CATJAM
Velo: If you liked watching the large amount of raids split in previous RWFs, you will not be disappointed for this upcoming race. I personally have 13 geared characters prepared (send help).
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About the Authors
VitaminP (VP) is the Content Manager of Raider.IO. VP holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and has worked for Raider.IO since the formation of its News Section in November 2018. VP specializes in tanking classes and has loved doing competitive Mythic+ on and off since early Legion.
Picco is an old-fashioned WoW gamer that started back in Vanilla and has played ever since. She is a healer by heart and is currently maining Restoration Druid. She loves Mythic+ and has a great passion for events like the MDI and TGP. Picco is part of the KeystoneMasters team and enjoys jiggling around with ideas for fun new formats of community tournaments. She is also a Mod for several streamers and guilds, particularly during the RWF. Outside of WoW, Picco is a Sprout in FF14, where she explores with her Lala Summoner.
