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This week sitting down for Fan Friday we have the spotlight on Juicy. If you have been checking the Orcs Must Die! Forums you will have surely come across his posts as a regular. Here you can find out a little more about the fan behind the posts!

Here’s Juicy!

The Basics

• Name:

Juicy (Juicearific outside of OMDU) Also known as Josh – but I prefer Juicy.

• Home town:

 Dubois, Pennsylvania. Born here, live nearby. Haven’t moved away (yet!)

• Age:

18, for another few months.

Questions

• What does Juicy do outside of gaming – can you tell us about your day job?

Ivy has grown to be one of my favourite characters to play in the Alpha so far (along with Smolder and War Mage who I also rate highly). Ivy is a ranged hero equipped with her bow, she specialises at taking out minions from a distance. However there is alot more to her bow than it may seem. Ivy can shoot a special arrow as part of her secondary weapon. This is a penetrating arrow that can shoot through enemy minions but also more strategically it can be used to disable traps.

When Ivy uses her penetrating arrow any traps around the area where it hits will be disabled for a short while. This allows friendly minions and heroes to pass freely over the stunned traps. This is where Ivy’s main strengths lies and it also defines her role as a “Supporter” on the battlefield. When pushing your waves forward Ivy can be great at helping them get through enemy traps.

Ivy also has some other tricks up her sleeve with two abilities she can call upon using mana. The first is the heal ability, when called a circle will appear around Ivy which heals her and any allied heroes who step into the circle. This can be very handy in the battle-field especially when fighting other ranged characters, by healing Ivy can score the extra HP she needs to stick it out.

Her other ability is “Root” and lets her trap enemies in a fixed position by roots (a bit like vines). This is easier to describe looking at the below screenshot. When players are trapped in this position they can still attack but are unable to move for a few seconds.

Believe it or not Ivy has one last trick up her sleeve. Her passive ability allows Ivy to move very fast when she is low on health. Not only that but she can pass through traps unharmed due to her speed. This is a powerful passive and can save her from death. Because dieing in OMDU results in some time you have to wait until your hero respawns by escaping the danger zone Ivy can heal and continue the fight without so much delay.

Overall Ivy is a very strong hero and her skills and abilities make her a very approachable and easy to learn hero. She is a perfect choice for beginners or for those learning the ropes of OMDU. Ivy’s strenghts lie with her abilities, but she can suffer when her abilities are on cool-down or she is low on mana as her basic bow can feel somewhat week. But hey, thats balance!

Coming up this week…

This week Robot are featuring a new hero, Blackpaw. Quite different to Ivy, Blackpaw is a strong, fast melee hero. We’ll be finding out more about him this week with the Robot stream on Tuesday, the Community Stream on Thursday and of course, the hero review right here on REF.

See you all around!

Here we are again! Another Friday, another fan-friday! This time the spotlight is on WadeMcGinnis – a newcomer to OMDU with his recently acquired alpha access. Lets find out some more about Wade, who isn’t actually called Wade!

The Basics

Name: James “Wade D McGinnis” Johnson

Home town: Spokane Washington

Age: 27

Questions

• What do you do in your day job?

I am a manager at a local retail store and I start class here soon for Radiology Technician.

• Do you have any pets?

I have two dogs, ankle biters and one cat, who happen to destroy my first streaming rig.

• Which is better, Marvel or DC?

DC. While I love me some Spiderman, Batman, Green Lantern (GL), and Superman…can’t beat it.

• If you could pick anywhere in the world to travel to, where would you go?

Ireland.

•  Outside of gaming, what are your hobbies?

Other than hanging with friends, going to movies, and just having fun, I lift weight. Have my own exercising equipment. In addition I produce gaming related video content on my YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/silverdante87). Been making videos for almost three years now.  Also started to live stream on my Twitch.tv channel (http://www.twitch.tv/wade_d_mcginnis)

• What was the last film you saw at the Cinema and how was it?

That would be Amazing Spiderman 2. Never thought I would like the new Spidey but Andrew Garfield really pulls off the quirky attitude and the wit.

• How did you hear about OMDU?

By accident! I was surfing the internet trying to find something to talk about in a Holo Call episode when I stumbled upon an image of Blackpaw lunging for the Warmage. Did some research, found out Robot Entertainment had a new take on a beloved series I played way too much of, as told by my friends, and set out to pester the guys and gals over on twitter.

•  Which is your best and least favourite OMDU heroes and why?

Having had only a few matches so far and only able to see what other heroes do through the live streaming Robot has been doing, I would say my favourite is looking like Stinkeye because I really like totems. I played World of Warcraft for seven years and in that time the shaman was the one I enjoyed the most. Shamans in general are characters I enjoy playing. Love me some totems!

As to the hero I least like. I would say the Sorceress because at the moment she does not have her charm ability. What can I say, I really enjoyed charm when I played her.

• What can we find as must have items in your deck?

The usual. It’s like cooking you need tar trap for sauce, brimstone to lightly char them. Floor spikes to tenderize. Teleportation ring when you get a tummy ache after dinner. And frost arrow wall to save some for later.

Any remaining slots are situational for me. Sometimes its Anti-trap, sometimes it is improved ceiling ballista.

• Is there anything missing in OMDU that you would like to see?

For me it is the spore mushrooms. I can see players using this but making sure the creature in question stays tethered similar to how Guardians work now.

Only thing I know is missing is the physics traps. Have a fantasy of Blackpaw lunging for me only to realize too little too late that I am standing behind a spring trap and oh, there he goes. Off the ledge.

Shout out

• Is there anything you would like to say to all the OMD fans out there right now?

If you have a question, share it. The devs are listening. This is ORCS MUST DIE! There is no doubt in my mind. So make sure to keep an eye on the official stream to know where they plan on taking the game. Your voice has presence! Share it!

Thanks for taking part James! We’ll see you in game!

If you are in the EU and are looking to get access to Orcs Must Die! Unchained then be sure to enter our awesome competition here at REF! We have 10 alpha keys to give-away to lucky winners! Our competition is super easy to enter and has numerous means of entering. The competition will run from 15th May until Saturday 24th May at which point the lucky 10 winners will receive their alpha keys via email.

You can increase your chances of winning by completing as many of entry choices as possible. You can enter once each day to score an extra entry. Follow REF and OMDU on Facebook, Twitter and Twitch bags you a further two entries each. Easy peasy!

Please remember – This competition is for EU alpha access only. It is not open to US users at this time. Also, the alpha access on offer is purely access to the alpha and does not include the founders rewards which you can find at www.orcsmustdie.com. For more information just hit the terms and conditions link below.

Good luck, Orc Slayers!

Tonight’s official OMDU stream featured the ranged support hero Ivy. Ivy is one of the free to play characters that will be available at launch. You can catch Robot’s Mastermind (Justin Moe) playing as Ivy in tonights stream which you can catch up on below.

There is also the community stream hosted by Nananea taking place on Thursday. Be sure to check that out to see more of Ivy! Not only that, but Taroth is also streaming Ivy and Stinkeye gameplay on Wednesday (US) and Thursday (GMT).

Watch live video from OrcsMustDie on TwitchTV

Last week Robot Entertainment briefly switched on the new three lane map for Unchained. The map was online for alpha players for only a short period as a quick preview of what was to come. While the map is sure to be back soon it has currently been taken offline for further development.

If you missed out on it and what an idea of what the three lane map is like, never fear because Nananea comes to the rescue capturing game-play video of the new map on her YouTube channel. Take a look at the video below to see Nananea play the three lane map with other alpha players and some of the bots. You’ll also get to see footage of Blackpaw and Midnight.

Last weeks character focus has been on the powerful melee hero – Hogarth. He is quite different to War Mage and Sorceress as his strengths lie more in up-close combat rather than range attacks. Hogarth is quite a menace on the battlefield and you don’t want to find your self up close and personal defending against him, he has a great deal of armour which means it takes quite alot to bring his health down, its always wise to keep away from Hogarth and battle him at range where possible.

Weapons and Abilities

Hogarth’s passive ability allows him to increase the armour of nearby friendly minions and heroes. Sending Hogarth in surrounded by many minions can be a very good strategic decision.

On the weapons front his primary ability is his big axe which can be swung dealing alot of damage over a very reasonable area thanks to his overall size. His secondary lets him leap forward and stomp on the ground dealing stun and damage to near by enemies.

His abilities allows him to create a shield around himself as his primary which reduces the damage both he takes and nearby friendly minions. His secondary ability allows him to hurl a hatchet which passes through enemies and only stops when it hits a wall or reaches maximum range.

Overall Hogarth is a great addition to the line up and will most appeal to players who prefer up-close melee battles as opposed to range. Whatever your game-play preference, Unchained has a character for you.

Hogarth Streams

If you missed out on the official and community Hogarth streams last week be sure to take a look at them below and see Hogarth in action.

Official Stream

Watch live video from OrcsMustDie on TwitchTV

Community Stream

The community stream features Nananea along with SixOkay and Dlangar (Dusty Monk)

Watch live video from OrcsMustDie on TwitchTV