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Duel2 :: View topic - Welcome (back) to Duel2
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SwineTiger
ArchMaster Poster
ArchMaster Poster


Joined: Mar 16, 2006
Posts: 1038
Location: Northern California

PostPosted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:20 pm Reply with quoteBack to top

Welcome (back) to Duel2!

If this is your first time playing Duel2 and it seems daunting, just post a note in this forum and managers will gladly help you get acclimated to the premier play-by-mail gladiatorial combat game. This game is far from being mastered, so even a novice can be competitive in no time with the right mentorship. You should also read the various stickys in this forum section and the notes below to familiarize yourself with the in-game jargon, discussion topics and getting started on the right foot.

If you’re returning from a lengthy hiatus, you will probably notice that some things have changed about the game once known as Duelmasters.

Back in the mid to late ‘80’s, many of the players were teens, but a recent audit revealed that most of the players are in their 30’s and 40’s. This means that you will find more people taking breaks from the game for real world issues (health, family, employment) as opposed to being grounded or having spent their allowance on Star Wars figures. The demographics of the community also means that while many of the veteran managers are helpful, it may sometimes take them awhile to respond to questions, so be patient.

Upon returning to the game you might be tempted to run your old team since they had a good record and RSI surprisingly still has them on file from more than a decade or two ago. While it is novel to re-activate your classic warriors, many will probably be outdated in terms of design and skills-versus-stat management and some arenas are more dangerous than others due to sandbaggers (see Dueltorial sticky) . This can lead to a disenchanting return, so there are other options to consider. Here are some suggestions for getting immersed in the game:

Order a number of new Roll Up sheets to get a fresh start. Because of the depth of knowledge among the majority of players, an average or slightly above team will not have good odds of success. Keep in mind that WT and WL are the most important numbers for a gladiator since WT determines how fast a warrior learns skills and WL determines how easily they can train stats. Therefore, if you have 2-3 warriors with a 17-21 in either or both category, that’s a good sign, although your other numbers will definitely play a part in determining if your team has potential. Needless to say, there are exceptions to every rule.

To assist with gauging whether or not your Roll Up is worthwhile, you can post the raw numbers in the Roll Up Discussion forum and see what other managers recommend. If you have an excellent warrior, they will not be shy about calling this out. Although there is no shame in being inexperienced, if you do not want to call attention that you are a novice player, you can also contact a manager directly to get their take and most will provide feedback. While managers generally won’t provide you with all of the numbers for plotting your warrior’s fights (hey, you have to do some work), there’s no harm in asking for a minute 1 strategy, general activity/offensive levels for a style, or weapon suggestions. Most managers would rather help an inexperienced player than have them do poorly and abandon the game.

Look into joining the No-Tourney arenas (see Special Arenas sticky). Because of the No-Tourney clause, you will be on a more even playing field since warriors won’t have hidden experience gleaned from tourneys (i.e. no sandbaggers!). Also, managers must run full teams, so there is always plenty of participation. Once you get better acclimated to the game, you can then start running teams in other arenas and the tourneys with more confidence and success.

Arena choice matters. In arenas with annual contests, such as Aradi (arena 60) with its TOGS event, there are a lot more sandbaggers, making it much more difficult for the novice and even for experienced players. Therefore, don't let your experience in one arena dictate your overall impression of the game.

Forum participation. When new players arrive and discover the forums, they inevitably do the following things:

- First, they have managers weigh in on their roll ups, which is fine and encouraged.

- Secondly, they start finding issues with aspects of the game from dated content on the website to select player ethics to lack of role playing in certain arenas. Before commenting on concerns, it is much wiser to get feedback from a single manager. Otherwise, you often end up addressing a topic that has already been discussed ad nauseum and your inexperience will always be on your permanent record.

- Lastly, some new managers tend to post things that are volatile or overly dramatic, all of which they generally end up regretting once the vets chime in or after they've gotten some more experience.

One thing that has remained the same about the game is the passion of the players. Some are more vocal than others, but most share a collective concern about maintaining the longevity of the game. This bodes well for new players, so if you are feeling like the game isn't how you remember it (you know, being 15 and opening the orange envelope and smelling the dot matrix fumes), just reach out to the community and we'll try to bring back some of the magic.

Please keep in mind that I returned to the game about two years ago after a 20 year hiatus and it was members of the community that kept me from throwing in the towel after a couple months, which was actually the impetus for this forum section.

SwineTiger
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