As soon as the game began, Marim already suggested an unusual opening tactic. "Let's start from the Hyena Camp, okay?"
"Huh…?" "But, that's not the meta…" Her two companions, Kim and Dain, raised an eyebrow.
"It's just more efficient this way," Marim insisted. "DK clears creeps hella fast, right? So, it's best to take advantage of that and grab the Hyenas right at the start. That's the strat pros use, you know?"
"Hrm…" "Well, if pros do that too..." Kim and Dain exchanged troubled glances. For them, anything that strayed from proven meta was uncharted territory. After all, why study niche topics when there is countless material to go over within the meta itself? It wasn't efficient at all.
Everybody in the Tycoons shared the same mentality. They only invested their time in researching the meta. They sought only the fastest, most efficient, and surefire ways to improve at the game. After all, the time they could allocate to the game was very limited.
This approach made sense, and Marim overall agreed with it, but it was boring! Hella dry! What was the point of following the mainstream like a brainless sheep!? It was impossible to make any innovations with that kind of mentality!
Alas, it seemed Marim was alone here with that mentality. Therefore, even her totally reasonable suggestion to target the hyenas was met with resistance, just because it strayed from the dear, dear meta. Bleh.
"Are you certain this is a recommended strategy?" Nahum interrogated. "I believe I understand the math behind it, but is it really the best approach for any given game? Are you sure there aren't any caveats you're glossing over?"
"Well, to be honest, half the time it's better to straight up go for an early invade," Marim said. "But somehow, I have the feeling you'd like that suggestion even less."
"My goodness, opening with an invade!?" Kim exclaimed. "Such a volatile strategy!"
Dain and Nahum were equally shocked. Marim could only sigh at that. "Yeaaaaah, figured it wouldn't sit well with metaslaves. That's why I proposed the tamer approach."
Nahum nodded in approval. "Very well, I understand. Kim, Dain, you're free to entertain that idea if you want to. I have no objections."
"Hrmmm..." "Well..." The two exchanged uncertain glances.
"Pretty please~?" Marim made puppy eyes.
"O-Okay!" "Yeah, let's do this!"
"Thank you~" Ha! Suckers! Marim grinned. Ez.
Just like that, she successfully swindled these metaslaves into following a less common opening. Stonks!
Though it feels dumb that I had to "work" for something so simple. Marim shook her head. Seriously, these inflexible oafs will be the end of me...
Anyway, after putting all that negativity behind her, Marim and the duo traveled to the Hyena Camp. It was usually the Jungler's job to clear this camp later on, but Marim wanted that exp for herself. Rather, she NEEDED it. A DK had to grab any advantage it could to get ahead. No foul play was deemed too low.
Dang, I wish DK had a mechanic that allowed it to hog up exp without splitting. Oh well.
Dark Knight was like a hungry pet that constantly demanded food. However, not because it was spoiled but because it would straight-up die without early nutrition. Marim had to quench that endless hunger to stay afloat.
This shit is always a race against the clock, almost like a speedrun. Marim grinned. Let's get this done!
First, she swept through the Hyena Camp with Kim and Dain. She could've sped up the process with Dark Blast, but it was more optimal to leave that for the Ogre Camp; the mobs there were hella tankier.
Speedrunning isn't just about doing things quickly. You've gotta be thinking about the long-term. Marim nodded to herself. She ended up spending precious time on the Hyena Camp, but she made up for it by unleashing a powerful Dark Blast on the entire Ogre Camp, wiping it out in one shot.
Kim blinked awkwardly at this development. "Wow, we really finished the camp so quickly..."
Dain smiled dryly, too. "So, this is the strength of an early-game Dark Knight…"
They seemed shocked that Marim's calculations were on point. This was satisfying to look at.
In your face, metaslaves! Marim smirked. And, this isn't even the end. I'mma keep subverting expectations until all of you realize that being a brain-dead metaslave isn't enough to get wins.
With the power buff obtained, Marmin traveled to Mid in order to greet the first wave of the game. The enemy Pyromancer, Beat, was already there.
Huh, so she got here faster than me. Marmin pouted. Well, I took out the Hyenas too, so I'm the real winner here. And, I'm only gonna keep getting ahead!
WHISH! Marim unleashed Dark Blast on the minion wave, slicing through the entire army in one fell swoop! All the soldiers evaporated on the spot.
Heh. No matter how many times I do it, this always feels awesome! Marim grinned evilly. Just look how powerful it is! And yet, these metaslaves are trying to convince everybody this isn't viable. I call bullshit.
LegendaryMemer had already proven DK was powerful enough to stump even the Leopards, and that was him playing the class in an actual meme role. So, a DK in a more serious off-meta role was gonna deliver for sure.
I mean, this isn't the Korean Pro League. We're just a bunch of middle schoolers, basically hobbyists who play make-believe at being pros. The meta isn't king here.
The people who only examined the meta of the highest ranks often missed the fact that classes had uneven performance across different ranks. Dark Knight was one of the most extreme examples of this. It thrived in Bronze, where nobody had a smidge of a brain, and it did alright in Silver and Gold. But, as the ranks went up, the class naturally started falling out of favor.
Still, at our level, it's totally legit. Even the Leopards lost to a DK; that's all the proof we need.
With all of that in mind, Marim was confident in her pick. She didn't go with DK just "for the lulz" or just because she wanted to prove a point, even though these were strong motivators as well. The way she saw it, based on all the data available, Mid DK was supposed to be legit.
But that's just theory talk for now. Marim admitted. I've gotta prove it works in practice, too. So, come and try to counter my DK, Stratus! It's experimentation time!