Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.1 Ch.4: God of Trick Shots

『DEFEAT』

Yuel sighed as he put down his controller. Another match, another team that fell apart due to flaming. Everybody instantly locked their picks during class selection, then blamed each other for how the team lacked the necessary meta roles. Yuel went out of his way to fill in as a Support, but of course nobody thanked him for that.

In fact, half the team blamed him for random things and made him feel like the only player with a brain. Truly, Support was such an unrewarding role. He hated it.

Maybe there are Classmancers players in other classes? Yuel sighed again. He could play two more matches before lunch break was over, but he was no longer in the mood. He packed his things and left the classroom.

Supposedly, all sixth graders at his school received Classmancers lessons, so maybe some kids from other classes got into Classmancers as well. He wasn't exactly the most social kid, so he didn't know anybody from other classes. Nevertheless, he went out of his way to take a look. That's how frustrating it was to play online alone.

"Gah! I hate this dumb squid ult!" A girl's cry caught Yuel's attention.

"Khaha, Kraken is mah bro!" A boy grinned triumphantly.

Are they playing Classmancers!? Yuel almost broke into a run toward their table. Ultimate ability + Kraken = somebody was playing the Pirate class.

A 2v2 Classmancers match was in progress, with two pairs sitting opposite of each other across the table. The only girl in the group played Cryomancer and her partner played Trickshooter. Their enemies were Pirate and Cleric.

They played on a map that was even smaller than the 3v3 map, with the only lane objectives being Golem and Colossus. Both pairs had a Carry and a Support, so this match was similar to the early game of the 5v5 mode's Bot Lane. Were they practicing this specific scenario?

The girl's tablet happened to be closest, so Yuel followed her point of view of the match.

Let's see if they can make this combination work. The pairing of Cryomancer and Trickshooter had some synergy. It wasn't the most practical combo, but it was exciting to watch when it was successfully pulled off. Sadly, the girl's supporting was... abysmal.

Ugh. Don't just run! Yuel barely stopped himself from shouting at her. Whenever the two teams exchanged blows, the Cryomancer was the first to distance herself from the fight. She left the Trickshooter alone on the frontline to 1v2 the enemies and soak all the damage. That was the first big no-no of supporting.

Trickshooter was the Carry class, the one dealing all the damage. Only he could bring victory in this 2v2. The Support should be ready to die for the Carry if push came to shove. There were Support classes which had a legit reason to prioritize their own survival, such as Cleric, but the Cryomancer definitely didn't belong to that category.

Granted, Cryomancer wasn't a tanky Support and didn't have any reliable escape skills, so maintaining some distance from the enemy was important. However, she had to position herself in a way that'd allow her to hinder her enemies. By running away at the first sight of conflict, she wasted the important supporting tools in the Cryomancer's kit.

For example, the Cryomancer's passive, Frostbite, made her basic attacks slow down the target's movement speed and attack speed. That was a great way to weaken the enemy Carry during a team fight, as most Carries relied on high attack speed for their damage output. Alas, by running away as soon as the fight broke out, she never made use of Frostbite.

She probably thought her playstyle made sense because of her ultimate ability: Cryo-Freeze. That's a common newbie mistake among Cryomancers Yuel met online. Cryo-Freeze allowed her to freeze an ally to make them temporarily immune to all sources of damage and rapidly restore HP. By hitting the Trickshooter with Cryo-Freeze right before he died, she saved him from death and restored him back to full health, allowing him to continue the team fight. That meant she had a very good reason to prioritize her own safety, right?