Tanker Q&A: Fatcrobe Talks Full Potato, Season 5, and the Derp Gun

In a recent poll of WGLNA Season 5 Gold League captains that asked what team was most likely to pull off a major upset and advance to the Finals, the answer was near unanimous: Full Potato.

That’s right, the Silver League upstarts who are competing in their first Gold season are already making a name for themselves behind the scenes, winning scrimmages against some of the top competitors in the game, while at the same time, earning the respect of their Tanker peers.

Wargaming’s Jon Robinson sat down with Full Potato’s captain, 24-year-old Carl “Fatcrobe” Traversy, to get his thoughts on the recent poll, what it’s like moving from Silver to Gold, and his advice for battle callers looking to step their game up.

Wargaming: What do you think of your peers picking Full Potato as the upset team of Season 5?

Fatcrobe: It’s pretty cool. I honestly don’t know what to expect from this season, due to all the changes, but before the changes, we thought we’d be able to place pretty high. We’ve scrimmed a few Gold League teams already, and we’ve had some pretty good success against these teams. Honestly, we were expecting a top six or even a top four finish before the changes, and we still expect to finish this high. We’re going to work our hardest to achieve these goals.

Wargaming: How did you guys decide on the name "Full Potato?"

Fatcrobe: We wanted something funny, something light-hearted. Going Full Potato is going all out doing something stupid but having fun at the same time. We used to derp a lot. Just because we had the skill, we would just go and push for the win with our big derp guns … nothing too methodical. That was going Full Potato to us, so it stuck.

Wargaming: How about the name Fatcrobe?

Fatcrobe: When I was in high school, I had the name Microbe from doing improvisation. In French, the translation would be something small, but I changed it over time because I’m not small anymore. (Laughs) Fatcrobe is never used as a username in games, so I never have to put numbers or change it in any way. It’s a pretty unique name.

Wargaming: What new strategies are you expecting to see in the 7/54 attack/defense mode?

Fatcrobe: I think it’s going to be really hard to predict this season. The tank lineups are really going to need to be adjusted, just so you can adapt to what your opponent is bringing to battle. Last season, the meta was set in stone, and there wasn’t much difference in the tanks teams were using. In most situations, it was all the same. With all the changes, you just don’t know what tanks your opponent is going to use, and because of that, I think all of the teams this season come in on an even playing field. It’s going to be all about practice and which team prepares best for all situations.

Wargaming: You’re known for being Full Potato’s battle caller. What’s the key to being a great caller in Tanks?

Fatcrobe: One of the things that I see a lot of is new callers who try and overcomplicate things. You have to really keep it simple because if you design something too complicated, your team is going to be confused. Unless you practice beforehand, it’s going to be really tough to pull off anything complicated.

To me, the key is to keep it simple, while at the same time, keep your tanks close together. You never want your tanks too far apart. You also really need to work on your lineups a lot. It’s really important that you go into battle with the proper lineup. You need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each tank so you don’t send them into a bad spot.

The last point is, you should always try to prepare your plan beforehand. You should always know what you want to do before the game starts, even if you’re not able to stick to your exact plan throughout the battle. Even if you have to change your plan due to circumstances taking place in the game, at least if you have a plan going in, it will keep you more focused on your match and tuned in to exactly what’s going on.

Wargaming: How do you think the Gold League battles will differ from what you saw in the Silver League?

Fatcrobe: Depending on which teams we’re facing, it’s a big step up, but that’s basically against the top, top teams. Against the rest, I think it will be similar to what we faced in the Silver League. I think we’re pretty even. It’s not out of reach.

Wargaming: So your peers picked Full Potato as their choice to pull of the big upset and make it to the finals. What other teams do you think will be there at the end?

Fatcrobe: I’d be confident facing any team, but S.I.M.P. and #RU (now called RUlette). All the other teams, I’m pretty sure we can beat them.

Wargaming: How did you get started playing Tanks? Were you always a big video game fan?

Fatcrobe: When I was young, I started playing Counter-Strike, and I did play competitively at it, but then I saw the ad for World of Tanks on some Web site and decided to give it a try. I got hooked on it just because it’s more of a strategy game than anything. It’s not about reflexes or anything like that. The game really comes down to your decision making, and that’s why I like playing. You have to constantly learn from your mistakes in order to improve, and you need to invest that time in order to keep getting better if you want to reach that next level.

Wargaming: How long did it take for you to start playing, then realize that you wanted to join a team and try to compete via eSports?

Fatcrobe: I started playing in 2011, and then I stopped for about a year, but then I came back and got my first tier 10 and ended up joining a clan. From there, I joined another clan, and I made some friends there, so we decided to start a team. We qualified for the Bronze League our first season, and we’ve been working our way up ever since. We can’t wait for the Gold League to get started so we can show everyone what we can do. Just because we’re coming up from the Silver League, we’re not going to be an easy team to beat. Hopefully we can show everyone what going Full Potato is all about.