A large amount of historical research went into the game design of Duelmasters. Each of the ten fighting styles used in the game are based upon historical precedents. For those interested, the section entitled "Historical Development of Fighting Styles" sets each fighting style into the context of the real world times and places which gave the combat disciplines their birth. When considering how to fight your warriors, your individual warrior overviews are your best place to start. If your fighter lacks that certain deftness, by all means, don't give them an epee or a morning star. If strength is lacking, a greatsword would also be a mistake. If endurance is a problem, high activity levels coupled with Plate Armor can imprison your warrior and render them an easy target. On the other hand, if your fighter has a particular strong point, play it to your advantage. If they can do tremendous damage with a blow, sending them out with only a dagger would be an underutilization of the warrior's natural capacities.

One of the most important focal points of Duelmasters strategy, however, lies in the relationships between the ten different fighting styles. Each fighting style has natural advantages over certain fighting styles as well as natural susceptibilities to others. A classic example is the Lunging Attack style versus the Bashing Attack style in which the Lunging style tends towards advantage. While such advantages or disadvantages never assure victory one way or the other, they do provide one of the all important "edges" that all managers seek to use in order to win. When you consider that there are one hundred possible combinations of fighting style vs. fighting style match-ups, each case providing for unique situational effects, the entire subject can indeed provide food for thought.

When considering the ten fighting styles individually it is important to note that each one style tends to respond differently to the major strategic dimensions of Offensive Effort and Activity Level. While one set of values, say 10 in each, might work well for a Lunger, that same set of values might have a drastically different impact on a Parry-Strike warrior. A good example of this is shown by the Parry-Riposte style. A Parry-Riposte warrior might actually make more attacks with a low offensive effort (Counterstriking off an opponent's poorly executed attacks) than with a high offensive effort (attempting to initiate attacks). Looking at a different style, a Basher with a low offensive effort might not attack at all. Forming a mental image of how each particular fighting style looks in combat can be an excellent way to begin exploring these effects. If your mental image seems silly to you (a Total Parry warrior with a 10 offensive effort) then it's probably not the way to go.