Community Spotlight: Cruella

By picc0, VitaminP — Nov 10 2023 17:45 UTC

With BlizzCon 2023 complete and the Race to World First (RWF) of Amirdrassil on the way, we present this Community Spotlight on none other than Cruella!

Cruella is one of the most renowned WoW streamers today due to her extensive game knowledge, funloving personality, and most of all, her skill. Among her long list of accomplishments, she is known for being a Method raider in the RWF and has been seen casting official Blizzard events such as the MDI and the The Great Push.

Read on to learn more about Cruella’s path to becoming a RWF raider, how she manages career challenges, what class she would love to see implemented into the game, her RWF Spotify Playlists, and more!

Who is Cruella?
Cruella’s Path to the RWF
Preparation & Recovery for Events
Favorite Bosses & Mechanics
Casting & Mythic+ Tourneys
Biggest Career Challenges
Cruella’s Ideal WoW Class
Spotify Playlist - RWF Hype
Advice for Aspiring RWF Raiders
Closing Thoughts

“I had to beg the Guild Master to be accepted into a world 30 guild because « girls were not allowed ». I’ve wanted to quit many times but I decided to continue to show that women can also succeed at the top level of this game.”

Q-1: Hi! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. First, we’d like to get to know you a little better. Can you tell us more about yourself?

Cruella: Hello and thank you so much for this opportunity!

My real name is Louise and I am 25 years old. I am French and live in Paris. I have a degree in biology and was working in IT before COVID happened. The pandemic gave me the opportunity to grow my stream and become a full-time streamer, on top of allowing me to play in an RWF guild (I wouldn’t have the time if I still had my old job).

I always played Death Knight in World of Warcraft (that’s why my username on Twitch is Cruelladk) but recently with the RWF, I started playing different classes such as Demon Hunter, Hunter, and Evoker depending on what the guild needs.

Outside of the game, I like to spend time with my friends and with my cat Snow (she’s sooo cute).

Q-2: How did you get started with playing WoW? When and how did you decide that you want to be competitive, and what was your path towards entering the RWF raiding scene?

Cruella: I started playing WoW since my dad showed me the game when I was 9 years old, so it’s been 16 years! For a long time, I was only able to play WoW during the holidays when I was at my father’s place, but I decided to keep all the money I was getting from birthdays and Christmas to be able to buy my own PC when I was 15!

At that moment, I decided to join my very first guild, Sapere Aude. I stayed 1 year in this guild and then realized I wanted to compete in a guild that does the highest raid difficulty. That’s why I left and joined a French guild that was FR#30 back in Mists of Pandaria.

I encountered lots of disbands because of small servers and recruitment issues, so I went in many different guilds, that were FR#14, then top 10, then top 2 (which equals to world 30).
At this point, I was 20 years old and started to be in a very competitive guild, and the troubles began. Unfortunately, I was seen differently because I am a woman. I had to beg the Guild Master to be accepted into a world 30 guild because « girls were not allowed ». I’ve wanted to quit many times but I decided to continue to show that women can also succeed at the top level of this game. Naguura is a woman who really inspired me and I always told myself that she made it to the top guilds, so it is possible!

I then joined the first French guild, named From Scratch during BFA. We were not a full daytime raiding guild but managed to finish world 10-14 on multiple tiers. The guild disbanded at some point and I joined the second French guild, Impact, which became the first one after the disband.

At the start of Shadowlands, I became a streamer for Method and was at the same time preparing my Castle Nathria’s progress with Impact. The guild decided to stop mid-prog because we had roster issues due to Christmas and also bad performance. At this point, I was a fully geared Death Knight and the class was doing amazing. I messaged Sco, the guild master of Method, asking him if they need a DK to finish their tier. I got into a TeamSpeak meeting with their Raid Leader and joined them the next Wednesday.

I finished Castle Nathria with Method and we ended up getting world 7th, which was correct after the reformation of the guild. I decided to stay in Method after enjoying the RWF so much and because I always wanted to push myself to the limits, on top of learning proper English and becoming fluent.

I am still part of Method to this day.

Q-3: When we interviewed you and several Method raiders just before BlizzCon recently, you mentioned that the most important aspect of your personal prep is maintaining a good sleep schedule. What other insights can you offer into how you mentally and physically prepare for an event of this scale, and how do you recover afterwards

Cruella: A Race to World First always brings me a ton of stress and it impacts me physically. I start waking up early before the event because we will wake up really early in the morning to raid, especially the first day when we wake up at 4 AM to be ready when the servers are opening. The biggest issue I have is eating. I cannot eat in stressful situations and I remember losing 6kg during long RWFs such as Sepulcher of the First Ones. So basically, I try to eat a lot to recover between tiers because I know I will lose weight during prog. One of my goals for Amirdrassil is to force myself to eat a bit more even if I am not hungry because it is not healthy.

Q-4: Speaking of our recent interview with Method, you also mentioned that Tindral Sageswift seems to be a particularly good boss encounter on PTR. In general, what types of bosses or boss mechanics do you tend to enjoy the most?

Cruella: I always enjoy bosses with new mechanics. For example, I remember High Tinker Mekkatorque back in Battle of Dazar’alor with his robots where you had to yell the right color. The Dragonriding part from Tindral is something that seems well-balanced and it’s new!
Usually, I really enjoy bosses with a lot of mechanics. My favorite ones remain Halondrus, Rygelon, Painsmith, and Uu’nat.

Cruella progressing Mythic Halondrus with Method in Sepulcher

“The most challenging part for me as a caster was finding things to say during downtime when we were waiting for a dungeon to start, but experience is everything and I feel like I’ve become a way better caster than I used to be.”

Q-5: In addition to your impressive WoW “resume” as a RWF raider, we’ve also seen you step into some casting and dungeon competitions as well. What are some of the past events you’ve casted or played as a dungeon competitor in the past? What do you think are the most challenging parts of each, and what are your highlights?

Cruella: Due to my WoW experience, I got the opportunity to be part of the French caster team for the MDI and The Great Push. The first time I started casting was the MDI Global Finals that were at BlizzCon 2019 during Battle For Azeroth. Ever since Shadowlands, I am pretty much casting every competition.

The most challenging part for me as a caster was finding things to say during downtime when we were waiting for a dungeon to start, but experience is everything and I feel like I’ve become a way better caster than I used to be. I remember misspeaking a French word during the broadcast, and the sort of word I used instead ended up being really funny. My Twitch chat is still trolling me about it to this day.

“The hardest part for me is disconnecting from my job…Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed and stop answering messages but then I feel guilty for not answering people. Having too many notifications also makes me miss some important info or opportunities.”

Q-6: With all that you do and accomplish, what do you think is the hardest part about managing your busy lifestyle as a WoW community figure? What are the biggest obstacles you face in making career decisions and managing your time?

Cruella: The hardest part for me is disconnecting from my job. Even if I am not streaming or preparing anything for Method I still try to talk with my community on Discord and try to answer messages and questions. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed and stop answering messages but then I feel guilty for not answering people. Having too many notifications also makes me miss some important info or opportunities. I have been working with an agent since the start of 2023. She helps me a lot by managing my emails and answering brands.

I am also bad at taking vacation – it stresses me out. I always feel like all my viewers will be gone when when I come back.

During the Race to World First, I am so busy that I have to catch up on so many things afterwards, and I’ve had to miss some Christmas, which made my mom a bit sad.

Q-7: If you could create a class/specialization in WoW or choose an existing one that you feel you would play if you were in Azeroth IRL, what would it be? What would your abilities be like? Please describe the “Cruella class” for us!

Cruella: I always wanted a Bard class that would work a little bit like Augmentation Evoker. You choose your instrument, play music, and it buffs people. Maybe one day 😀

Q-8: Do you have any playlists or special songs that you would love to share with us? Which songs get you really hyped? Which songs pump you during progress?

Cruella: During progress it’s either alternative rock or epic music (if we are close on killing a boss). I have two playlists for this:

“I don’t think having a full-time job is possible if you want to play WoW at the RWF level. Streaming is the only reason I am able to afford living and doing the RWF at the same time.”

Q-9: Do you have any advice for players and/or streamers who someday aspire to play WoW in an increasingly competitive environment?

Cruella: You need time in your life. I don’t think having a full-time job is possible if you want to play WoW at the RWF level. Streaming is the only reason I am able to afford living and doing the RWF at the same time. You also need to love the game, because when your guild is asking you to maintain 10 characters you have to do it!

I am personally not playing WoW anymore outside of guild prep and stream. Even if I love WoW, I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to because of the work dimension it became.

Q-10: Are there any other closing thoughts you’d like to share with us today?

Cruella: Shout out to all of these amazing people working in Raider.IO, you guys are the best.

For Blizzard, can you buff all the classes I am playing, please? And also mute every Boomy / Warlock player? Also, have you seen my cat? She’s very cute.

About the Authors

Picco is an old-fashioned WoW gamer that started back in Vanilla and has played ever since. She is a healer by heart and is currently maining Restoration Druid. She loves Mythic+ and has a great passion for events like the MDI and TGP. Picco is part of the KeystoneMasters team and enjoys jiggling around with ideas for fun new formats of community tournaments. She is also a Mod for several streamers and guilds, particularly during the RWF. Outside of WoW, Picco is a Sprout in FF14, where she explores with her Lala Summoner.

VitaminP (VP) is the Content Manager of Raider.IO. VP holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and has worked for Raider.IO since the formation of its News Section in November 2018. VP specializes in tanking classes and has loved doing competitive Mythic+ on and off since early Legion.