Frequently Asked Questions

In December of 2018 I discovered the existence of a neat upcoming game called Hytale, and I immediately started making Minecraft Hypixel Bedwars commentary videos talking about the potential for the game. As I made these videos, another channel cropped up making similar content called Hytale News. I reached out and proposed that we collaborate and post on eachother’s channels. Fezzy worked as the commentator and editor for Hytale News at the time (pretty much everything lol, he even wrote scripts sometimes). Eventually Hytale News’ owner started doing some sketchy stuff that Fezzy didn’t agree with, and he left.

We kept in contact after that happened, and eventually he asked to edit for me since at the time I was stressed out about posting daily videos while in college, and he needed a job. I agreed, then the rest is history!

Right now there is no official application to be a moderator for my YouTube and Twitch channels, or on discord. I typically pick moderators by hand and base that decision by how long the person has been active in the community, and how level headed they are. I don’t pick mods often, sorry D:

You might have noticed that I NEVER swear in videos or on stream. Most YouTubers would say that they keep things clean to stay monetized or to keep PG for more viewers, but my reason is dumber than that. For my whole life I have been quite awkward, and swearing just sounds cringey coming from me. In my old videos I tried to, but ended up stopping because I just felt too awkward. I don’t even swear when I am alone lol.

Sorry, but I can’t do that D: Whether it be in Minecraft, Discord, Twitter, etc… I would like to keep my friends lists clean, and if I accept 1 or 2 donators then I would have to add all of them, and that would ruin my communications with the people that I regularly play with or talk to. I still really appreciate you all!

I generally take my stream music from epidemicsound.com, and stick to “beats” or “house” type lowfi music. There is no playlist online since all of the songs are in a folder on my computer and I use a VLC playlist to play the songs. In other words, I can’t tell ya!

Of all avenues for helping me out, here are the best ones:

Watching videos all the way through. The YouTube algorithm promotes creators more who have a high average viewer retention. This means more new people will be introduced to my stuff! If you wanted to really go crazy, you can boot up my Livestream VODs Playlist and watch for as many hours as you want :p

If you do plan on donating, the best avenue by far is through Streamlabs. YouTube’s superchats and members, and Twitch’s bits and subs are split between me and the respective platform. Streamlabs is basically a PayPal transfer with a stream alert, no revenue split aside from the transfer fee. Although, Twitch Prime is a way to donate to me without spending any money if you have Amazon Prime, it’s an awesome thing!

In my opinion, the bipartisan system in the US is not great because choosing a side makes you outwardly appear to identify with dozens of opinions with varying contexts. I do not identify with any party, and would prefer to have my own take on each issue independently.

HOT TAKE: politics is not about solving issues with society, it’s a power struggle. Politics are better described as a distraction for the public to participate in rather than actually pushing for change. The people who actually get into power are those with money who lobby, and rooting for some democrat or republican to win an election has the same impact as rooting for a sports team. For this reason I don’t vote.

I record and stream with StreamLabs OBS. This fork of OBS has some great benefits, including built-in alerts and selective video. I also use VoiceMeeter Banana to selectively route my audio. When recording and streaming at the same time, this gives me the freedom of handing my editor a clean VOD with no background music or stream alerts.

My videos are edited by Fezzy the Frog! He has a YouTube Channel, you should check it out 😀

My birthday is December 30th, 1997. As of writing this, that makes me 22 years old. Do the math if it isn’t 2020 anymore lol

With Badlion Client installed, open the mod menu (right shift by default). Then click “configure mod profiles”, then “Search Online”. Search for “thirtyvirus”, and click on the one who’s author is the same name. Currently BLC’s waypoints mod is bugged, and will not show any waypoints right off the download. To get around this, you need to join my Discord Server and check the #skyblock-resources chat. In there, you will find a video by Eth (best moderator ever lol) and a replacement JSON file. Follow the instructions in the video.

As with any other downloads, you can find my resource pack on my website’s download page.

I typically upload videos every day at 11:00am EST. If I miss 11:00am, I will try next for noon.

Currently all of my social media DMs are closed. If you need to get in contact with me, I offer the ability to open a ticket on My Discord Server. Before opening a ticket, please check the rest of the FAQs. I am also available through my email, but ask that you only reach out that way for business inquiries: thirtyvirus1@live.com

I primary stream on my YouTube Channel, and occasionally stream on my Twitch Channel. Most of my streams start at 5:00pm EST and continue for 3-5 hours.

In November of 2009 I made my Xbox LIVE account, and for the first time was given the opportunity to pick a name for myself other than “Brandon” online. I attempted to claim the name “Game Freak” but the name was already taken, and I was given a dozen randomly generated names to pick from, one of which being “ThirtyVirus”. Yup, my name was randomly generated by Microsoft’s account creation software.

Before you even make a video, picking a topic / genre is extremely important. Is what you are doing something that people care about? How will people find your video? Why should someone watch you over someone else? In my case, in mid 2019 I noticed that Hypixel SkyBlock was a new and upcoming game that caught the attention of lots of players. I was very attentive to updates and the content they bring to the game, and got millions of views from making videos about them. Game updates are an example of guaranteed fresh content, and is a great opportunity for new YouTubers to make a name for themselves by covering them fast. Guides and “exclusive content” (aka interactions with staff or discovering some gamechanging concept) are also great sources of content. Doing a series of “Let’s Play” style videos typically should be reserved for pre-established creators with an audience, so I would advice waiting until you have a footing first before doing so. In general though, try to make videos that you yourself would watch even if you were a complete stranger.

Of course, titles and thumbnails are important as well, and my advice here is really simple: keep things simple. The best thumbnails only have 1-3 subjects and typically have high contrast and bright colors. Try and avoid text, but if you need to include it make sure that the font is BOLD and very large. Also make sure that there is a clear separation between the subject and the background, tyipcally by using a blur, and make sure that the background isn’t distracting. In my case, that meant making the background of lots of my SkyBlock videos a minecraft sky with a couple clouds. If you did your job correctly, the thumbnail should pass the “zoom test”. Zoom out until the thumbnail is only an inch or so in width on your screen. Is it still clear? Do you still know what is going on? As for titles, it is best to tell some sort of story, especially in the present tense. Peak the curiosity of your viewers.

On YouTube, maximizing watchtime is your priority. This means long videos, very frequently. Keeping your audience engaged is important as you want at least 50% average viewer retention. You can do this by cutting out any fluff from the video, adding background music, emphasizing funny or interesting moments with zooms, sound effects, memes, etc… Some other tricks for increasing avg viewer retention are: keep outtros extremely short as people click off as soon as you suggest the video is about to end, avoid excessive advertisements or sponsorships to prevent clicking through segments of video, structure the video in such a way that there is a goal or story that is played out throughout the video, keep the title and thumbnail accurate to the video content, upload content that resonates with your audience.

My advice for streaming (just like with videos) is to do so frequently, and for very long. Always talk to your chat, and avoid long pauses (more than 30 seconds) without saying anything. Typically streams are much easier to keep exciting when multiple people are in a call together. In the beginning, try your best to keep up with most new followers, and try not to sound robotic when doing so. ESPECIALLY thank for every donation, unless of course they come in too fast in which case what are you doing taking my advice lol.

Finally, always look to improve. Don’t focus too much on your numbers vs some other channel, you should be more concerned with your relative performance each month. Become the best version of yourself, and most importantly…. DON’T GIVE UP. Don’t go on long breaks, don’t apologize for a long break in some boring commentary video, just keep the uploads / streams coming and keep a consistent schedule. Be at your best even when things aren’t working out, because at some point a lucky opportunity may show itself and you can use that to reach your next milestone. Hope this all helps 😀

If that isn’t enough, I would suggest checking out this video by Gus Johnson, a really cool dude who knows his way around YT!

• I primarily play Minecraft in version 1.8.9, as that is the most supported version for Hypixel games and mods.
• I play with Badlion Client, and you can copy my settings profile here. This handles all of my mod settings as well.

In my “Patient Zero – PC Build & Peripherals Overhaul! ft: Cooler Master” video, I showcase all the current parts for my PC, as well as my peripherals. For a comprehensive list of EVERYTHING that I use, you can check out my Amazon Affiliate store!