‘Salt Command’ First Battleborn eSports Team

MentalMars.com is proud to announce a partnership with Salt Command, the first professorial Battleborn eSports team. The professional Battleborn players at Salt Command will be releasing two guides pre-Battleborn launch on MentalMars.com to help newer players ready themselves for the game’s immersive PvP experience. I’m looking forward to working with the professional players of Salt Command and to provide the best intel & guides as well as keeping you informed on the Battleborn eSports scene.

MentalMars

Salt Command  Team Composition

• Nicky aka StealthShampoo, Captain of Salt Command, The One True Ambra
• Kyle aka FullySalted, Co-Captain of Salt Command, Galigod
• Ryan aka UrineNation, Salt Command Team Manager, #1 Attikus Troll NA

Team Interview

Before the launch of this special announcement, I had a chat with the guys from Salt Command and asked them a bunch of questions regarding the team, Battleborn, and eSports.

First off you guys have some interesting gamertags, is there a story behind those names?

• StealthShampoo (SS): I first started making YouTube videos for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. “Soap” was the name of one of the main characters in that game. In multiplayer, my favorite weapon to use was a silenced P90 with a red dot. I derived the name “Shampoo” from “Soap”, and added “Stealth” in reference to my favorite gun. 6 years later, I am still StealthShampoo.
• FullySalted (FS): I thought on this for a long time. I don’t have the greatest track record as far as gamertags are concerned, and since it would have to stick, I didn’t want to mess this up. I went through multiple different ideas, most of which were either taken on Twitter, or Twitch, or Youtube, so they didn’t work. I think my favorite was SlayMinion (but pronounced so that it rhymes with filet mignon). Unfortunately everything was taken, until it came to FullySalted. It just resonated with me, especially considering how I get quite salty on occasion, but it also fit with the theme of the team, so it was settled.
• UrineNation (UN):  When my father was a kid he met an older kid named Greg. Greg didn’t have a very strong father figure growing up, so my dad’s dad (my grandfather) became somewhat of a surrogate for Greg. He and my dad were pretty much inseparable until Greg joined the military it’s a play on words and pee.

What made you decide to start a Battleborn eSports team?

• SS: I got in on Battleborn multiplayer fairly early, a month before the Closed Technical test. I went to a press event at 2K, where despite my carrying, my team lost 5 out of 5 rounds of Meltdown. Salt Command will avenge my losses.

  But seriously, I love the thrill of competitive gaming. I’ve played several games at a high level, lead a few teams, and would like to make Salt Command my most ambitious and successful team yet.

• FS: I’m currently in college (aka university for you folks in Europe) working to get a degree in statistics. But I’ve been felt like something was missing from my life. I played games as a hobby almost my entire life, but I realized it was competitive gaming that I was truly passionate about. I’ve been a huge fan of esports for a while, especially in Dota 2. But even though I was a decent player, I felt like I was so far behind the pros who have been playing since Dota 1. Battleborn offers a new frontier, a more balanced playing field, and so I knew it was the right choice.
• UN: My friends were doing it so I figured, “I’m not getting any younger, might as well.”

So the team is called Salt Command, how did you guys came up with this name, does it have a special meaning?

• FS: I have no idea.
• UN: Salt Command is named after the apostle Kueller gifted us with the technology to create salt from almost nothing.
• SS: “Salt Command” derives from a command in my Twitch chat, “!salt”. Typing that in my chat gets one of my chat bots to return a link to a message in my chat from someone that was salty. People get mad at streamers for all kinds of illogical, immature, or unnecessary reasons. In my chat, these salty individuals are archived for future generations of viewers to ridicule and make fun of.

Nicky, 2K picked you to be the lead caster for Battleborn, so you know a lot about the game, does this give you an edge?

• UN: *Defer to Nicky*
• SS: I absolutely have an edge thanks to my position as Lead Caster. Months before people knew about the last 10 Battleborn characters, I had already written up Helix pathing I like, I tested strategies and team synergies, and overall logged hundreds of hours in the newest build of the game even before the Open Beta. I’m very excited to be able to finally share these strategies with other high-level players that I’ve kept in my pocket for months.
• FS: This question wasn’t meant for me, but just in case you want to know, that bastard has the edgiest of edges as far as this game is concerned. That’s why it’s good to have him on my side.

Nicky, casting at events does this help with scouting and game research?

• SS: A lot of the events I host consist of new players, but there a few standout, passionate Battleborn players I see show up at booths that absolutely steam roll people. Those players I watch over closely. Otherwise, casting dozens of games a day over a 2 or 3 day period really shows me what newer players like to gravitate towards doing.

  Casting really just helped get my basics down. As a caster for a game that hasn’t even launched yet, my job is to really make the game understandable for players and spectators. I know Paradise like the back of my hand having watched and explained every aspect about it hundreds of times.The biggest thing casting will help me with in the future is the fact that it’s really enhanced my ability to explain something and make it understandable to my fellow players. This will really come in handy when trying to get my other teammates up to speed.

• FS: Also geared toward nicky, but I can say that we’ll definitely be on the lookout for talented individuals at events.
• UN: Um…. No.

What makes Battleborn so special?

• SS: Battleborn isn’t a MOBA. Battleborn isn’t an FPS. Battleborn is a full gaming experience. We’re talking a single-player campaign that can be played solo and co-op, multiplayer with three game modes (many people haven’t played Capture yet, but it’s quite fun), and 25 unique playable characters. Did I mention all the free post-launch DLC? You’re really getting your money’s worth here.

  The game’s also absolutely hilarious. On top of that, the changing dialogue in the single player really gives it replayability.But aside from the marketing jargon that I’ve repeated billions of times, the men and women at Gearbox and 2K are really passionate about this game. I’ve seen them in streams answering questions, browsing the Subreddit, promoting their content creators, doing everything they can on and off the clock to make sure this game launches well.I’ve seen the game grow substantially over the past year, and can only imagine how much growth there was in the four years where I wasn’t in on the development. And there’s plenty more you haven’t seen.

• FS: There are a ton of reasons why Battleborn is an incredible game. The people at 2K and Gearbox are all awesome and funny people, and it shows. That same level or comedy and hilarity that many have come to love from the Borderlands series is present here as well. I’m also a huge sucker for games with loot-farming mechanics, like Diablo 3 and The Division, so it’s getting me hooked fast.

  Most importantly, its competitive potential is enormous. With its versus mode with MOBA elements, it has a ton of depth, and mastering each character feels like an achievement of its own. Thankfully, it also translates to the viewers really well, as even before I knew what was going on in the matches, it was a blast to watch. I realize that with an overwhelmingly positive review of the game, people might get the wrong idea, so I’ll make it clear. All these opinions are purely from my experiences in the game thus far. And with close to 100 hours in the pre-release and Open Beta so far with only a fraction of the content that will be in the full release, I can honestly say this game has an insane amount to offer.

• UN: I think all the nudity is what sets Battleborn apart. A lot of devs try to either hide nudity and you gotta ROM hack it to access it or they plaster that sh** all over the marketing and really hit you over the head with it. With Battleborn, the nudity is prominent, but you gotta work at it, thus creating that rare feeling of accomplishment that so many games with nudity fail to accomplish.

What do you guys think the main competitive mode will be for esports and will you be focusing on this game mode?

• SS: If I had to name one single mode, I’d say Incursion. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if tournaments took on a multi-mode format. For example, round 1 could be Incursion, and Meltdown could follow in round 2. Whatever the mode, Salt Command players will be well-practiced in whichever mode is necessary.
• FS: It’s definitely going to be between Incursion and Meltdown. I would lean toward incursion just because it’s more strategic, and more similar to other competitive games like Dota 2, but it’s hard to say. I’ve been playing mostly Meltdown since it’s not always possible to get a full team together, and Meltdown is a bit easier to carry, but when we get a full team together Incursion is definitely the way to go.
• UN: Meltdown is a really busy game mode that flows a bit better than Incursion in its current form. I think it’s simple enough to understand from a spectator standpoint, yet there’s enough going on in terms of momentum shifts and strategy to keep it interesting.

Where do you think the main eSports scene will be going to and how does this reflect on your team?

• SS: I’ve really pushed for the eSports scene with Battleborn. I’m always bugging 2K and Gearbox for competitive support. Day 1 I bugged them at an Observer Mode (which I’m 99.9% sure they’ve put in to stop me from harassing them about it).

  Wherever the scene goes, I hope to have Salt Command lead it. Whether it be official tournaments, online, community-based, or even a league, Salt Command will be there.I’ll be sure that Salt Command is reflected on and looked upon as well as a respectable team. We wouldn’t want to be the top team and make the Battleborn eSports team seem volatile and toxic, and will do our best to promote ourselves as honorable and polite players, and expect all other teams to operate on the game standard. While eSports is naturally competitive, we can be competitive without being dirtpipes.

• FS: Hopefully, to Battleborn! I am really looking forward to playing in tournaments, and playing to the very best of my ability when the pressure is on. I would say gaming, in general, seems to be moving toward eSports, since livestreaming has become so huge. That’s not to say all games will be trying to have a competitive aspect, but the ones that can be played competitively will most likely be pushing for eSports.

  For my team, that means we will be doing our very best to not only perform at tournaments, but connect with people who are interested in the competitive scene. Whether you’re a tryhard like me who wants to push your skills to the limit, or a casual player who just enjoys watching other people battle it out, I’m sure I can speak for everyone in Salt Command when I say we are happy to discuss the current metagame. (Nicky’s note: nah man, we’re keeping secret strats on lock bro.)
  
  At the very least, if anyone wants an outside opinion about anything related to the game, I am a huge fan of theory crafting in games.

• UN: As I said before the nudity is what really sells Battleborn to me and a lot of people, so I think the first teams to get naked will really have an advantage and from there you build confidence and look even better naked with that confidence. While our team doesn’t really have the best physique for nudity, we can fill that niche of the “everyman” so kids could look at us and say “I could do that!”

Do you have any other history with competitive gameplay?

• SS: I’ve competed with co-captain FullySalted in Call of Duty: Black Ops tournaments, was previously extremely high-ranked in Assassin’s Creed and The Last of Us multiplayer, won the 2014 Titanfall event at E3, won several titles in Evolve, and coached a multi-ESL winning Evolve team. I was also Lead Caster for Evolve, which is how I got involved with Battleborn.
• FS: Aside from some time on the MLG circuit for Black Ops 1, nothing official. With that said, I can’t help but get competitive in games. Some of the more competitive games I’ve sunk many hours into include League, HoN, Dota 2, Black Ops 3, and Diablo 3.
• UN: I had an old Rhode Island Red back when cockfighting was really big. His name was Ricky the Ripper and I got him to go for the eyes of the other rooster. We mainly did local tournaments but we ranked top 10, even top 5 once at EVO. Of course, Ricky did like most cockfighting roosters do and went to college for an engineering degree so neither of us has been in the ring for a while. With Battleborn I’m really excited to get back into that high-pressure, high-stakes environment and play some close games with some good teams.

Battleborn is a team-based hero shooter with a wide range of playable characters. Each of them have a specific role, a class. Are there certain roles you guys prefer to play and as the team (Salt Command) isn’t complete yet, are you looking for people that can fill in some specific role to add too Salt Command?

• SS: I prefer to play the role of team Ambra player. Many believe they can fulfill the role as an Ambra player, but I am the One True Ambra.
  As for specific players we’re looking to add, I’m willing to be flexible and accepting of all other non-Ambra competitors.
• FS: My favorite role to play is that of the melee attacker. I really enjoy the agile characters that are high-risk high-reward. We aren’t too concerned with roles at the moment, since we are waiting to see how the team works best before we solidify things.
• UN: I usually just wait until everyone else takes a character and kind of “fill in the blanks” from there. Typically I’ll play either a turret removal-type character with range or support. But I’ve played tanks, melee, just whatever we need at the moment. Or Attikus. I’m just trying to be serviceable in many areas so people who are actually really good at other characters can do their thing.

Each Battleborn hero has a variety of unique abilities, if there was one skill you could have in real life what would it be?

• SS: Being able to literally summon a miniature-sun from my hands every 12 seconds would be incredibly OP IRL. Not to mention I could theoretically heal myself by basically setting myself on fire. I would then quit this Battleborn team to become an immortal firefighter.
• FS: I would probably choose Deande’s Holotwin (the ability where she creates a clone of herself and goes invisible). That way if people came up to me on campus and asked me if I had a second to hear about their cause, I could just send a clone at them to distract them while I got the hell out of there.
• UN: My preferred skill would be Caldarius’s dash stab because it combines the speed of dashing with the versatility and seductiveness of stabbing.

Thank you guys and I’m looking forward to what the future brings us.

Salt Command is still a few men short, do you think you have what it takes, read up on the official announcement at the Gearbox Forums and sign up through this application form. You can also follow the team on social media, and check out Salt Command on Twitter.