Offensive Effort

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 5:31 am

I am starting to question my interpretation of my fights. When I read them I generally try to get a handle on what is working and eliminate what is NOT working. I saw a couple of interesting things re: AL & OE for a couple of fighters; I want to double-check myself on this. I realize these might seem like remedial questions (KID, YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS BY NOW!) and I thought I DID know this, but I'm starting to doubt myself. Confused

So I have some questions: (a) When a fighter makes a 'wild attack' for no reason (it is not riposting and the attack doesn't connect) the OE is too high, correct? Or is it the AL, or both? (b) Is there something that the other fighter can do to influence this, like perhaps it's using the 'response' tactic?

I believe there is a general 'boiler plate' set of numbers that most managers use for offensive styles: 10-10-? for minute one, then jump back to (what is hoped) is an ideal OE/AL in order to conserve endurance and/or make more effective attacks.

So I'm not really talking about that first minute (though if 10-10-? caused wild attacks, that is obviously NOT the minute 1 strategy to be using!) I'm talking about dialing in the 'best' strategy after that for an OFFENSIVE style.

Why? Because it seems like I have an offensive type that likes an OE of 'moderate' or lower, and that seems counter-intuitive. Maybe I need to just lower the AL and leave the OE alone?? If this were a BA I would do that, but it's not.

I realize there are a lot of random factors here; I'm just looking for general suggestions/insights. Wink

Advanced Expert Poster Joined: Jul 15, 2014 Posts: 192

I think it depends upon the style, but I have had some lungers recently come out with LO / HI and LO / MO faves which seems counter-intuitive for an offensive style. Obviously, these should have been designed as PLs instead of LUs!

I think GB mentioned he had a BA come through with MO OE this round, so apparently it is not limited to the LUs I had.

I don't personally feel that AL would cause you to swing wildly. I would look to too high an OE, an initial low ATT base, or both to be the cause for wild swings. Others have more knowledge than I, so I defer to greater minds.

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 7:35 am

Vladimer wrote:

I think it depends upon the style, but I have had some lungers recently come out with LO / HI and LO / MO faves which seems counter-intuitive for an offensive style. Obviously, these should have been designed as PLs instead of LUs!

I think GB mentioned he had a BA come through with MO OE this round, so apparently it is not limited to the LUs I had.

I don't personally feel that AL would cause you to swing wildly. I would look to too high an OE, an initial low ATT base, or both to be the cause for wild swings. Others have more knowledge than I, so I defer to greater minds.

Our opinion - insufficient attack skills, inadequate experience, too high offensive effort for that warrior, overly high activity level, and roll of the die - all/some/or one come into play.

"So simple." Wink

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 8:49 am

I agree with the Consortium.

I tend to see newer warrior generate the wild swing, poor attack statements. I'm currently running a parry-strike and he is whiffing all over the place without a high OE/AL, so I think it's likely due to a low attack skill base.

However, if the gladiator is seasoned, then it might be the die roll, your opponents defenses etc. If this happens on a frequent basis, then I'd either speed them up/down depending on when the wild swings occurred the most to find their happy medium (aka favorite rhythm).

Good luck on the sands!

Advanced Expert Poster Joined: Jun 20, 2015 Posts: 194

It's all of what consortium said plus kill desire and FE. Even low attack skill warriors will flail less as they gain more FE. Note: I think of Lungers and Aimers as defensives that run 10-10-X. The offensives to me are Strikers, Bashers and Slashers (optionally Pikers).

Advanced Expert Poster Joined: Jun 20, 2015 Posts: 194

Oops. Sorry for not capitalizing "C"consortium. Surprised

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 2:08 pm

Manta wrote:

It's all of what consortium said plus kill desire and FE. Even low attack skill warriors will flail less as they gain more FE. Note: I think of Lungers and Aimers as defensives that run 10-10-X. The offensives to me are Strikers, Bashers and Slashers (optionally Pikers).

Inadequate experience meant FE

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 2:09 pm

Manta wrote:

Oops. Sorry for not capitalizing "C"consortium. Surprised

Most days we feel undercapitalized. Wink

Advanced Expert Poster Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 113

I find the effort that most of my warriors put forth, is offensive.

Advanced Expert Poster Joined: Jun 20, 2015 Posts: 194

ragnarokwolf wrote:

I find the effort that most of my warriors put forth, is offensive.

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 8:19 pm

My recent graduate had something similar happen. HE is a slasher that went 10-10-X in minute one and dropped to high moderate the rest of the fight.

He did pretty good in basic. When he got his invite, he favoured MO/MO. When I tried that, he was slain his last turn in basic. So, who knows. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 9:15 pm

Longshot wrote:

My recent graduate had something similar happen. HE is a slasher that went 10-10-X in minute one and dropped to high moderate the rest of the fight.

He did pretty good in basic. When he got his invite, he favoured MO/MO. When I tried that, he was slain his last turn in basic. So, who knows. Rolling Eyes

Quote Consortium: Our opinion - insufficient attack skills, inadequate experience, too high offensive effort for that warrior, overly high activity level, and roll of the die - all/some/or one come into play.

Yeah, lots of possibilities... but I was hoping that somehow I could find an easy answer. SIGH. I'm looking at one of two slashers; both have low FE and are running with the same numbers, but the one with two experts (in two fights) seems -- unpredictable. Yes, and I believe that slashers (more than other styles) can be 'jittery'. But what can I say? I love that style! Even w/o the decise tactic they can sometimes out-jump a ST or BA, and when they attack they're like a shredder runnin' full out!

But then there's that 'minute two'... Again, same numbers... One SL keeps attacking. The other seems to be thinking about it, then maybe throws out a wild swing (just to show some effort for the scribes in the stands, I suppose). Honestly, I rarely see my slashers throwing out random attacks that miss. Caught me off-guard.

I dropped the AL a bit more; see what happens next time. Confused

Thanks everyone for your input. Smile

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 11:37 pm

Unfortunately, or fortunately, there are no easy answers. Otherwise, the game would have been figured out years/decades ago. That's one thing that keeps Duel II fresh and fun.

Good luck with your slashers on the sands!