DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 04/28/2007 Duedate: 05/11/2007
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-233
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
CHAENY GROVE
MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
(93-8471) [4-0-0,45]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY CHAENY GROVE
MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
(93-8471) [4-0-0,45]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
ABALOND EGRAN VELUNA
MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464) NO QUARTER (1463)
(93-8469) [3-1-0,28] (93-8465) [4-0-0,15]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464) 37
2. ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462) 29 ONLY HUMANS (147)
3. BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461) 25 Unchartered Team
4. NO QUARTER (1463) 20
5. THE WOLVES (1467) 1 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464) 13 7 1 65.0 1/ 1*MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464) 10 5 1
2/ 2*BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461) 12 8 0 60.0 2/ 2*BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461) 8 7 0
3- 3*LORDS OF LIGHT (1458) 10 10 1 50.0 3/ 3*NO QUARTER (1463) 8 7 0
4/ 5*NO QUARTER (1463) 10 10 0 50.0 4/ 5*ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462) 5 8 1
5/ 6*ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462) 6 12 1 33.3 5- 4*LORDS OF LIGHT (1458) 4 6 1
6/ 4*THE MEAT LOCKER (1466) 3 6 0 33.3 6/ 6*THE MEAT LOCKER (1466) 3 6 0
7/ 0*THE WOLVES (1467) 0 1 0 0.0 7/ 0*THE WOLVES (1467) 0 1 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
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Looking at a Rollup Independent of Style
By Drake
Okay, I suppose I should introduce myself since several of you are probably
wondering who the heck I am and why you should even bother with reading about how *I*
design warriors. First and foremost, it's your game and you're the one playing it.
You should play the game how you want and stuff what anyone else says. However, I
have some experience in the game (I started playing back in '88) and what follows is
a method that works for me. It won't always lead to a Primus god-warrior, but very
few rollups have that potential anyway (and a significant portions of what goes into
that you don't have much control over). So, on with the show:
Most articles you see have 3 features that bug me. First is that many of them
are over 10 years old and contain a lot of out-dated information. Second is that
they're almost always about trying to create some sort of godling warrior and if you
look at the needed stats you'll see that 75-90% of most rollups can't meet the
criteria. The third is they talk about how to make a rollup into a particular style.
Realistically, style should be the last thing you look at when designing a warrior.
You don't make the rollup fit the style, you pick a style that best fits the rollup
you've got. So, with that in mind, I've decided to outline the process that I go
though when I get a new rollup.
WIT and WILL
The first stats that I look at are Wit and Will. These are the two stats that
govern your warrior's future development and as such are the most important in the
game. Wit determines how many skills your warrior learns per fight and Will governs
your warrior's chances of raising stats.
As a side note, many articles talk about "burning" skills via stat raises. This
is due to a glitch in the game program that causes skills learned by raising stats to
count against a warrior's maximum of 20 learned skills in each area. For example, if
your warrior has learned 19 Attack skills and you raise Strength from 16 to 17, the
program will count your warrior as having learned 20 attack skills; leaving you
without any more to learn though skill training. However, if your warrior had
already learned all 20 attack skills through skill training and then you raised
Strength from 16 to 17, you warrior would have 21 attack skills. If your warrior
makes it to Primus, however, it will be able to learn back these "burnt" skills so
it's not as bad as it was before the implementation of Primus (actually Gateway, but
Gateway doesn't exist anymore), but I'd still only burn sparingly. If you want to
know what trains are safe, get one of the skill charts floating about. Check
Terrablood's website (www.terrablood.com/) for this and many other useful charts.
Okay, back to the topic at hand. The first thing I do on any rollup is try to
get both Wit and Will to the highest of 15, 17 or 21 (skill breakpoints tend to fall
on odd-numbered stat levels with the exception of 19; see the skill charts at the
site mentioned above). I try to get at least one of them to a 17+, but I will go
with double 15s if at least 1 of the following conditions apply:
* A total skill base of 55+
* Superior physicals: ENDURANCE, HIT POINTS and DAMAGE DOING all ranked Normal+ with
at least one ranked 2+ levels above Normal (charts available at the above reference).
I will go lower than a 15 Wit only if ALL the following conditions are met:
* A 15 Wit is impossible to reach
* Will is 17+ (the warrior will have to train stats in order to stay competitive)
* Any 2 of ENDURANCE, HIT POINTS and DAMAGE DOING are 2 or more levels above Normal.
I will go lower than a 15 Will only if *all* the following conditions are met:
* A 15 Will is impossible to reach
* Wit is 17+
* A total skill base of 50+
A number of managers will tell you not to use a Will of 10 to 14 because there
are no skills to be gained at those levels. The problem I have with this reasoning
is that skills are not the only factor in the game (though they are important). If
it will get me to an ENDURANCE or HIT POINT breakpoint (see the above website), I
will use a Will in this range if 15 is unreachable. Will also determines how soon
your warrior will give up a fight and may play a roll in how likely they are to
survive a trip to the infirmary.
I will *not* go below a 9 Will as all styles (even Strikers and Aimed Blows)
will suffer greatly with Little ENDURANCE. Likewise, I will *not* go below 15 in
both Wit and Will under any circumstances.
STRENGTH and DEFTNESS
Once I'm satisfied with my warrior's starting Wit and Will, I will then look at
Strength and Deftness. I rate these two roughly equal because Strength is important
for various physicals (DAMAGE DOING, CARRYING CAPACITY and ENDURANCE) while Deftness
is important to starting skill levels (more so than Strength) and both are important
in weapon selection.
My usual minimum for Strength is 9 to get a good variety of weapon
suitabilities, however an 11 will get you the LO, LS, QS and BS. If Size is low, I
will raise Strength. If you don't have access to a damage chart, a rough rule of
thumb is that Strength + Size = 21 will nearly always get you Good damage, and won't
get you below Normal. Also, if Strength is close to an ENDURANCE breakpoint, I'll
raise it a point or 2, but not at the cost of Wit or Will.
As for Deftness, I generally try for an 11 because it's a major skill breakpoint
and a requirement for several weapons. I will go lower if one of the following
conditions is met:
* A total skill base of 50+
* The warrior has high HIT POINTS to make up for the lowered Parry and Defense
* The rollup starts with a high Speed (makes up for the loss of Defense and the
Decisiveness bonus means your warrior might not have to defend as often).
Finally, I don't worry too much about COORDINATION (Speed + Deftness) because
I've had many *very* successful warriors that were clumsy. By very successful I mean
graduating with 80%+ W/L records and still doing well in ADM.
SPEED and CONSTITUTION
If you have any points left over at this point it's probably only 1 or 2. So,
if 1 or 2 points on Constitution will get to a HIT POINT, ENDURANCE or CARRYING
CAPACITY breakpoint, I'll put them there. Otherwise, leftovers go into Speed.
SIZE
You're stuck with what you get.
DARK ARENA
If a rollup won't conform to the above guidelines, I DA it. These requirements
aren't that strict and anything less is going to have real trouble.
STYLE SELECTION
Okay, so you've got a set of stats. Now you need to pick a style. You can go
by one of the many available style articles and pick one that your rollup meets the
criteria for. My usual minimums for the various styles are as follows:
AIMED BLOW: Deftness 17+ (ABs get a base Attack skill bonus that increases the
higher their starting Deftness is), a starting Attack of 10+, Decisiveness + Attack
of 18+ (they are an offensive style after all) and Defense 7+.
BASHER: Strength 13+ (Almost all Bashing weapons need this), ENDURANCE of
Normal or better, Good or better DAMAGE DOING, a starting Attack of 8+, a starting
Decisiveness of 8+, Decisiveness + Attack of 18+ and Decisiveness + Initiative of
16+. I will go lower on ENDURANCE, but for every level below Normal, I want DAMAGE
DOING to be one level above Good.
LUNGER: Good or better ENDURANCE, Good or better DAMAGE DOING, a starting
Attack of 8+, Decisiveness + Attack of 16+ and Defense 7+.
PARRY-LUNGER: Good or better ENDURANCE, normal or better HIT POINTS, Parry +
Defense of 12+, Riposte 7+ and Attack 6+.
PARRY-RIPOSTE (personally, this is a style I don't run much because all they do
well is riposte; they're average at best at attacking, parrying and dodging): Normal
or better HIT POINTS, Parry + Defense of 12+ and Attack 6+.
PARRY-STRIKE (a niche style good for certain purposes but inferior in most
areas): normal or better HIT POINTS, Decisiveness 7+, Attack 6+, and Parry +
Defense of 12+. Surprise your opponents by sometimes running offensive and other
times defensive.
SLASHER: Good or better ENDURANCE, Good or better DAMAGE DOING a Decisiveness
8+, Attack 8+, Decisiveness + Attack of 18+ and Decisiveness + Initiative of 16+.
Like a Basher or Striker, these guys don't defend real well.
STRIKER: Good or better DAMAGE DOING a Decisiveness of 8+ and Attack 6+. While
they do defend slightly better than Bashers and Slashers, their real strength is
getting the jump on *everyone*.
TOTAL PARRY: Normal or better ENDURANCE, Normal or better HIT POINTS a starting
Parry of 10+ (it's what you do best) and Parry + Defense of 15+. For each level of
HIT POINTS above Normal, I'll drop the Parry requirement by 1 and the Parry + Defense
requirement by 2.
WALL OF STEEL: Strength of 9+ (minimum for their lightest weapon, the
Scimitar), Deftness 11+ (again for weapon selection), Good or better ENDURANCE,
Normal or better HIT POINTS, a starting Parry of 8+, Parry + Defense of 14+, a
starting Attack of 8+ and starting Riposte of 6+. These guys are very good at tiring
out an offensive and then tearing them apart, or mercilessly pounding on a defensive.
However they are slow to learn Riposte skills, so you want to start at a decent
level.
Now, you'll probably find that many rollups will be viable for two or more
styles. At this point, I look at the 2 or 3 most popular styles in the arena and
make my final choice based on what style does well against the most common this
warrior will be going up against. If you're new, a good general rule is if the arena
has lots of offensives go with a Total Parry or Wall of Steel (the Parry-Whatevers
are best run after you've had some experience), if there's lots of TPs go with a
Striker or Basher (Aimed Blows are also great at beating up TPs but are a very quirky
style best saved for when you have some experience) and if there's a lot of non-TP
defensives go with a Lunger or Slasher. Another consideration is to pick a style
that your team is currently lacking in. If your team is mostly offensive or
defensive, go with the opposite. It will allow you more flexibility when you make
challenges.
Another piece of general advice for new managers: Pick 3 or 4 styles that
interest you -- a good starting mix could be TP, 1 or 2 offensives (BA, LU, SL & ST)
and maybe 1 'quirky' style (AB, PL, PR, PS or WS) and concentrate on those styles.
This way you'll have a solid mix of offense & defense on your team. Play those
styles exclusively for a while so you can learn the quirks of the chosen styles. If
you spread your attention between too many styles to start off, you can miss a lot of
the nuance that goes into running particular styles (especially with the quirky
styles).
As for running your warriors, the various style articles have handled that
fairly well. Be wary of articles that suggest counter-intuitive strategies (running
TPs with a higher than 5 Offensive Effort, running Aimed Blows like a TP, running
Parry-Ripostes like Lungers and so on) you're best off going with a style's
strengths: Defensively for defensives, Offensively for offensives and mixed for Wall
of Steels, Parry Lungers and Parry Strikers.
That's pretty much it (at 4 pages, that's enough). If you have any questions,
I'm easiest to reach by sending a diplomatic note to Drake's Hardware in arena 81 or
if you have internet access I can be found on the Duel2 message boards posting under
then name Drake. Finally, I can be emailed at dm_drake@sbcglobal.net.
-- Drake (April, 2007)
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
The topic I've chosen to address today is The Obvious. There are some obvious
mistakes that new players can and sometimes do make. I've seen it happen. I'm sure
none of YOU have made these mistakes, but just in case....
Choice of weapon, there's a good area for mistakes. Every style has its
preferred weapons, NO weapon can be used by every style, nor can every style use all
weapons. At some point in your ten turns here in Arena 93, you will see the chart
that separates out weapons by style. Pay attention to that, this is not just whim,
opinion, or personal taste. This has been tested, over and over again. The fights
are monitored by a computer, and a computer doesn't care about "this should work" or
"that should be cool." If your weapon is unsuited to your style, you will be
penalized in the fight. This is more than just "doesn't seem to have the strength/
wit/deftness to use his weapon." That handicaps you, but not as badly. In fact,
just to confuse people, sometimes a warrior's "favorite" weapon, chosen by the
computer at the time the roll-up is first input, will be one for which he lacks the
perfect numbers. But it will ALWAYS be one suitable for his style.
Don't trust real-world logic in picking weapons, this is a game with its own
rules. My stock example, which is TRUE, is bashers and fists. You'd think--many
have--that a basher would be a natural going in with his fists. No. Bashers are
unsuited to this weapon and will not do their best with it. Do not trust logic,
trust the charts.
Also, weapons have weight and bulk. If you go in loaded like an armory cart, as
I have seen characters in a role-playing game do, you will be at a disadvantage. The
computer is merciless when it comes to encumbrance. Always carry a backup, yes.
That's common sense. But do NOT carry a backup that's heavier than your primary
weapon, it's for emergencies, and you may not be able to draw it in time anyway.
Don't even THINK about carrying a two-handed weapon as a backup, the computer will
not allow this. The input program rejects this. Always. Yes, sure, if you go to
the Dark Arena, you might see the Shewish Giant with backup mauls. He's a special
case, he exists only to kill your warriors, and he is allowed more weapons than any
managed warrior will ever be able to carry. When you're looking for a backup, pick
something relatively light: dagger, shortsword, scimitar, if you want a sword,
hatchet, shortspear, warhammer. Maybe a mace.
Training. This is one of my stock cautionary tales, and it's true. It happened
back before Noblish Island was opened. A new manager who had run three turns and
pulled 0-15 wrote and asked me what was wrong. Not only were his warriors losing,
they hadn't learned a skill in the whole time. He sent me their stats to demonstrate
that they SHOULD have learned skills. Five warriors, three fights each, and between
them, they had TWELVE stat increases. They hadn't learned skills because they hadn't
been training skills. Read the rule book, read ALL of your Noblish Island
newsletters, and pay attention! It's depressingly easy to overlook the obvious, and
this can mean a disaster.
Armor. The offensive styles, basher, lunger, slasher, striker, are geared to
run fast, fight fast, move fast, get in and win and get out before they're hit. If
you put them in full plate, yes, you will probably reduce their chance of death. But
you will also reduce their chance of winning. They should not need the heavy armor
to keep them alive; their offensive capabilities should be doing that, by winning the
fight before they're in danger.
Perhaps not so obvious, but...you can often surrender when a fight is going
badly. If your desperation strategy is set up for that. Raising any of your fight
numbers, much less all of them, in desperation, will often cause your warrior to go
berserk, and it increases his chance of doing something stupid and getting killed.
Dropping the numbers, on the other hand, makes him feel that he doesn't want to fight
so hard, and he might surrender before his hit points drop to zero and he dies. No
guarantee, but it's worth a try in many cases.
Jorja
The Middle Way
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Profile of a Style
Slashers
This article is not the Last Word on Slashers. But I've run a lot of them, and
I think I have something useful to say. They were my default style when I was
learning the game; if I didn't know what else to do with a roll-up, I made it a
Slasher, armed it with a scimitar, and ran it 10-10-x until I figured out what I
should be doing instead. Usually, "instead" meant lightening the armor and slowing
them down because they got tired too fast, activity level first, then if necessary,
offensive effort. An amazing number of them survived and even graduated on this
strategy.
I have the details of sixty-five immortal Slashers here, warriors who,
regardless of my managerial expertise or lack thereof, managed to survive to
graduation. Some are very bad, but lucky. A few are very good. Most are ordinary
warriors of moderate ability, made from the kind of roll-ups that you see every day.
I'm not going to list all sixty-five of them, which is way too many for a practical
discussion, but think of them in the background, confirming or denying suggestions
and suppositions.
Favorite weapons: You will find that only those weapons which may show up as
favorites when a warrior graduates will be listed as "well-suited" in the fight
reports. These favored weapons vary with style, and I assure you they have been
thoroughly researched by players over the years.
The eight weapons suitable for use by Slashers, and the minimum stats required
to use them, are:
Battleaxe ST 15 WT 9 DF 9 \\ 12 in sample
Broadsword ST 11 WT 9 DF 7 \\ 7 in sample
Epee ST 7 WT 15 DF 15 \\ 5 in sample
Greataxe ST 13 WT 9 DF 11 \\ 8 in sample
Hatchet ST 5 WT 3 DF 7 \\ 9 in sample
Longsword ST 11 WT 13 DF 11 \\ 8 in sample
Scimitar ST 9 WT 11 DF 11 \\ 10 in sample
Shortsword ST 5 WT 11 DF 3 \\ 6 in sample
[Data courtesy of Pagan and other managers, for which I thank them. Any errors are
my own.]
The final number on each line is the total number of Slashers in my sample who
had the weapon in question as a favorite. (Just as a warning on the unreliability of
statistics, the first twenty-two warriors on my Slasher list favored an axe of some
kind over a sword by 2 to 1. But on the group of sixty-five, the proportions are
reversed! Tricky things, numbers.)
Study this chart, and resist the temptation to make a Slasher who doesn't have
the stats to use at least one of these weapons well. I can tell you from bitter
experience that you do not want a warrior who is unsuited to every weapon in the book
by reason of either stat deficiencies or style preferences. If you haven't done it
yet, then take my advice and avoid this pitfall; it is enormously frustrating.
Weapons not listed on this chart are not suited to the slashing style. Really,
we're not guessing--managers have tested this repeatedly, and arming a Slasher with,
say, a war hammer or a long spear will always, regardless of his stats, get the
result "uses this weapon in an unorthodox style" (meaning "badly"). You want to
avoid that.
As you can see from the list above, a Slasher doesn't have just ONE important
stat where weapon choice is concerned. Over all, strength, wit, and deftness are
equally important, but there is enough variation that a warrior deficient in one area
but not the others can find something to fight with.
Below are two dozen immortal Slashers, three who favor each of the Slasher's
weapons, their relevant stats, and their favorite rhythms.
Battleaxe
Damoreth ST 13 WT 17 DF 11 H/VL
Kaltho ST 10 WT 17 DF 13 VH/L
Robin ST 10 WT 17 DF 7 M/M
Note that none of these three warriors has the minimum stats needed to use a
battleaxe to best advantage! That's one of the little tricks the Commission plays on
us to make sure we don't find things too easy. You'll see others below who lack some
critical stat needed for using their favorite weapon, also.
Broadsword
The Kid ST 13 WT 11 DF 11 H/L
Elin ST 19 WT 11 DF 17 H/VL
Gilis ST 9 WT 17 DF 11 H/VL
Epee
Billie ST 12 WT 12 DF 9 H/VL
Anlis ST 11 WT 15 DF 13 VH/L
Kyra ST 9 WT 11 DF 17 M/VL
Greataxe
Kothland ST 10 WT 15 DF 9 H/VL
Jane Erh ST 9 WT 15 DF 15 M/VL
Ginger ST 9 WT 11 DF 11 H/VL
Hatchet
Kirmo ST 9 WT 15 DF 13 H/VL
Treefrog ST 10 WT 13 DF 9 H/L
Medio Curr ST 9 WT 11 DF 13 H/L
Longsword
Goff ST 9 WT 11 DF 9 H/VL
Tumbleweed ST 11 WT 13 DF 9 H/L
Nelinaria ST 12 WT 17 DF 13 H/L
Scimitar
Horace ST 13 WT 11 DF 13 VH/VL
Wolf ST 9 WT 15 DF 13 H/VL
Geladina ST 9 WT 15 DF 12 M/VL
Shortsword
Rover ST 13 WT 9 DF 11 VH/VL
Riya ST 10 WT 15 DF 9 VH/VL
Hammir ST 9 WT 15 DF 13 VH/L
My habit of giving any Slasher with the necessary stats a scimitar to wield
means that a lot of these warriors never ran their favorite weapon. But they
survived anyway, because the scimitar is so GOOD. I really like arming Slashers (and
many other styles) with scimitars, and I highly recommend it. Just one scimitar in
hand, off-hand empty, and a back-up on the belt. A warrior who does NOT have the
stats for a scimitar (hard to imagine, given my basic design philosophy) is not
trained as a Slasher.
Which brings us to the question of warrior design. With me, if I'm determined
that a warrior shall be a Slasher, the basic design decisions are already made: a
Slasher must be able to use a scimitar. Okay, not always. Seven of the twenty-four
warriors listed above lack the deftness for a scimitar, which means I probably sent
them out with a shortsword or a hatchet. But "able to use a scimitar" is still my
basic Slasher criterion. If there are points left over after arranging that, I put
'em on will. And if will is 11 or better, I MIGHT put some points on speed, just to
see what happens.
You will note that I don't figure any points to be added to CN. True, a Slasher
burns endurance rapidly and may get tired in less than a minute if running hard. But
Slashers are offensive warriors. They aren't out there for a long fight; their style
wins quickly by attacking, or quits and fights another day. For the same reason, I
am unlikely to put a Slasher in anything heavier than leather armor. (The "quits to
fight another day" strategy has offensive effort and kill desire both dropped to
moderate or lower in desperation.)
Favorite rhythm: As I said at the beginning, when I started playing, I used to
run my Slashers 10-10-x, and many of them did well enough to graduate under that
regimen. But looking at the favorites from my graduated Slashers, I find no
offensive effort lower than Moderate (5 or 6) and no activity level higher than
moderate. It breaks down this way:
Very High (9-10)/Moderate (5-6): 2
Very High (9-10)/Low (4-5): 6
Very High (9-10)/Very Low (1-2): 8
High (7-8)/Moderate (5-6): 1
High (7-8)/Low (3-4): 10
High (7-8)/Very Low (1-2): 21
Moderate (5-6)/Moderate (5-6): 4
Moderate (5-6)/Low (3-4): 6
Moderate (5-6)/Very Low (1-2) 7
This gives you a clear idea of how the Gladiatorial Commission sees Slashers:
offensive. In all but four out of sixty-five cases, offensive effort is higher than
activity level, and sometimes--often--it's a lot higher. This is not to say that you
will always want to run your Slasher hard and fast, which will burn his endurance at
a furious rate, but this is what he does best.
There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that warriors have a favorite
kill desire.
There is no convincing evidence to support the hypothesis that warriors have a
favorite attack location. Logical arguments based on real-life concepts do not
necessarily apply to Duelmasters. There IS evidence to support the claim that
increased deftness means a better chance of hitting the designated attack location,
in case you wondered about that. And even without training DF to a higher number, a
warrior appears to gain accuracy with experience and an increase in skills.
Favorite Tactics: In my sample of sixty-five warriors, only four have a
favorite tactic, and in all four cases that favorite is the offensive tactic Slash.
This is not to say that your warrior can't use any other tactic to advantage, because
maybe he can. Well, okay, I wouldn't give him a Bash tactic, and probably not a
Lunge, either.... But apparently the only tactic he really likes is Slash.
Going from the general to the specific--
Profile of a Warrior
Black Victor
Slasher
Vic is 9-7-15-17-15-10-11, no stats trained, and he was 22-18-2 running on
maintenance at the time he received his graduation notice. He had an advanced master
in initiative, and advanced expert in riposte, a master in attack, and an advanced
expert in decisiveness.
According to his overview, he is very intelligent (something not always
demonstrated in his dealings with his teammates)
Nothing short of a genius at keeping his foes at sword's point
Does a lot of little things well
Uses an unusual fighting style, deadly to slower, less active foes (I have
NEVER gotten an overview that claimed the warrior used a hackneyed, common fighting
style that would result in getting himself killed)
Avoids blows well
He's an extremely active fighter (the SP and DF)
Cannot take a lot of punishment (low CN)
Can only carry a very little weight in armor and weapons (low ST)
Is very quick on his feet
Avoiding rather than trading blows
Can do good damage with a blow (largely a result of his SZ)
The Commission claim he favors a battle axe, which he has never tried, and a
rhythm of very high offensive effort and very low activity level
At the time this invitation to the Isle arrived, he was running 10-10-8 straight
across, carrying a scimitar and backup scimitar, in leather armor and a helm,
attacking right arm, protecting body, and using no tactics. Sunset (DM 21) is not an
easy arena, but this strategy--you'll note that it is not his "favorite"--got him out
alive.
But suppose he had the same stats but some other style. What difference might
that have made? None to his ability to take and deal out damage, but more than you
might think to his initial, or base, skills. Several managers (Sir Boyd and Pagan
are prominent among them, but I know others have helped, all unsung) have done a lot
of research, analysis, and experiment on the relation between a warrior's starting
stats and style and his starting skills. (Note that a warrior's starting skills may
not be exactly what the charts would lead you to expect. There is a luck factor; a
warrior may sometimes have more or fewer of a given skill than expected.) His
ability to take and deal out damage, and to carry or not carry weight would have
remained the same, but....
This is how Vic would have stacked up as a warrior of another style in the
skills department:
Skills
Style Init Rip Att Par Def Dec Total
AB 5 3 6 1 5 10 30
BA 12 7 10 1 3 10 33
LU 13 7 12 1 7 9 49
PL 10 7 10 3 5 8 43
PR 8 11 6 3 3 6 37
PS 8 7 6 3 5 8 37
SL 14 7 10 -1 5 9 44
ST 9 7 6 0 5 10 37
TP 8 7 4 7 5 6 37
WS 14 7 10 5 5 8 49
All styles are not created equal, but have their own various strengths and
weaknesses.
Do you look at this chart and wonder why all warriors aren't created lungers and
walls of steel? Well, a lot of them are, especially lungers. Some die of that low
CN, inability to carry much armor, and lack of parry and defense skills. Some fall
victim to bad matches, develop losing records (this warrior is NOT at his best
against a long-haul total parry, for instance), and get sent to the Dark Arena. Some
managers simply LIKE to play other styles, and can make up in skilled management what
the warrior may lose on the initial roll-up.
Which brings me to an issue I would like to just mention to those of you here
who are new managers. You can design warriors to maximize starting skills. Let's
suppose that Vic's initial roll-up had a ST of 7 and I decided NOT to add two points
to it. I could have put those points on either WT, WL, or DF, the three most skill-
rich stats and had more skills for him to start with. But with a ST of 7, I couldn't
have counted on getting at least normal damage done, even with his big SZ, and
"little damage" has been the end of many warriors. What good are skills if you can't
take your opponent down? If I'd accepted a lower CN, I could have put more points
into stockpiling skills... and maybe gotten a "very frail" warrior, one who couldn't
survive a blow. What good are skills if you can die from a single blow?
Good warrior design is a balancing act. You have to know what you expect of the
warrior: is he to be a long-term project, destined to dominate high-end play, or a
dixie-cup short-term warrior? A short-term warrior can get away with a lot of
"design flaws" that would be disaster for a long-termer. He can get away with being
very frail, or having a WL too low for training up stats. He can be experimental.
But the first requirement for a long-term warrior is that he survive to reach the
Isle and immortality. Skills alone are not enough for that.
Jorja
Middle Way
P.S. If there's something you'd specifically like to hear about, ASK. I don't know
what your questions are if you don't ask 'em.
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[+ Question of the Week #4 +]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
The Question of the Week is posed in Aruak City (DM 11) by Hanibal, a manager
who is himself an alumnus of Noblish Island. The answers are provided by other
managers in that arena. Any manager here in Noblish who wishes to pose a question to
the more experienced managers of Aruak City, feel free to do so, either by sending in
a personal directed to DM 11 and identifying yourself as a manager from Noblish
seeking enlightenment, or by posting the question here, in which case I will be glad
to see that it reaches Aruak.
Also, Hanibal sends you greetings and asks that we remind you that all arenas do
not have the same attitude and local conventions. Aruak City is an Andorian arena
and subscribes to the doctrine of Honorable Play, meaning, no down-challenging except
from the throne or in bloodfeus, no deliberate attempts to kill the warriors of other
managers, and a general attitude of friendly respect toward the other members of the
arena. It is, in fact, a fine arena, and one where you would all be welcome (though
there are plenty of others--just ask, and I'll be glad to tell you about my
favorites). -- Jorja
Question, turn 405:
All -- If I had a warrior blessed +4 in all areas, maxed out with all 25's would I
have a chance to beat the top warriors in Primus or Gateway? RSI says you get better
as you gain FE. Some of those warriors have 10 years of FE. How could one ever
compete? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 406:
Q.O.W. -- A warrior as you have described would definitely be a viable contender at
the top of Gateway! Maybe even the best. Experience, though helpful, is vastly
outweighed by raw skill. Plus, a great set of favorites make's such a warrior much
better. If worked properly, a warrior +4 in everything could possibly TC a couple of
times and use those prizes to make them better. Young warriors are continually
making gains into being competitive with the top of Primus and Gateway. It just
takes a lot of time. Donatello and some older warriors used to be the very best, but
younger ones have upset the balance. Nothing is set in stone. -- Adie
P.S. Not that I've had much luck chipping at that stone. It's very difficult when
you're a small manager.
Hanibal -- If that hypothetical warrior you speak of had one of the fighting styles
that were suited to high end competition, then it would be very competitive. Let's
say you went whole-hog and made it a lunger. Being bonused by four in every category
would make it one of the very best. But it just doesn't happen! Ask the Consortium
how many +24 warriors they've had.
Total FEs have a slight, even marginal effect, on the outcome of fights. Having
good favorites is more important, and the amount of tourney prizes used on a warrior
cannot be discounted either. If you're trying to choose which tourney class to try
and TC, I would advise something lower than Primus or Gateway! -- Generalissimo
Puerco
Hannibal -- Regarding your question of the week: Does their long experience make the
top warriors in Gateway unbeatable? I have no personal experience with Gateway and
don't care to get any at this point, but a manager who IS in Gateway says, No, the
top warriors in Gateway are not unbeatable. But the critical factors include not
only the warrior's abilities but those of the manager. -- Leeta
Not a question of the week, but something else you might find interesting. Thank of
it as an alternative to all the "How to make a perfect whatever" articles.
Jorja -- In dm 12 Riztab you asked me what I'd do with a certain roll-up wich wasn't
too good: 12-16-12-3-9-12-6.
IF I wanted to actually play this monstrosity of brilliance, then I would do so
only for a limited time it depends upon what I can challenge in the arena but let's
say there are a lot of poor endurance weaklings, and/or a lot of Scum TP's. Then I
would run this guy until I didn't have a descent chance to get my challenges through.
There seems to me only one option for this guy: 17-16-12-3-13-12-11 Basher. He has
a 50-50 chance to get tremendous damage capability. If he only gets Great Damage
then DA him. If he gets his Tremendous damage then what you do is challenge EVERY
scum TP you possibly can, and since they are scum TPs they are prime targets for
down-challenging. Its not like you are picking on them; they are scum. This guy has
a 100% chance to get Good endurance. I would ONLY run a 10 Kill-desire and try to
kill things, but perhaps multiple wins over the same warriors is beter than being
bloodfeuded by a warrior that can beat you. I would ONLY run with the MAce. You
could go ahead and use a HL or a ML for those TP's but at tremendous damage and a
MAce you shouldn't get any bounces, and plenty of massive damage statements. Only
use a MODERATE OE with a 1 AL starting in minute 3. USE BASH. Minute 1 and 2 go
with a scum TP strategy but use response. No armor of course. Now for all other
match-ups you go out like the scum you are: APA+F MA+LG (well-suited to the weapons
selected), and run a triple-10 trying to get the jump, desperation should mimick your
minute 1 strat. Minute 2 onward just drop the AL to LOW and then to VERY LOW.
Physicals for this guy are: Good endurance, can sustain a Tremendous amount of
damage, can carry a Tremendous amount of weight, can do a Tremendous amount of
damage. This kind of warrior is much more fun than a Scum TP. He should beat any TP
as long as you follow my guidelines. During random match-ups you will have some
definate good chances to kill those weaklings that can't do enough damage to get
through the plate and the hit-points. If you don't want to kill then I advise not
droping your KD below a 6. The problem is that although you can take a lot of hits
like a TP you can't parry any of them. If you can't start swinging sometime in
Minute 2 then your chances to win are slim against those random offensive matchups. -
- Pagan
Question, turn 406:
All -- Does having a lot of initiative skills help to steal initiative or is it all
riposte skills? Is there a difference between "seeking the counterstrike" and "tries
to steal the initiative" or is it the same thing, but a different statement. --
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 407:
Hanibal -- QoW: If two warriors are fighting and one has a great deal more init.
skills than the other, it is possible for the initiative in the fight to get taken
without a riposte. It doesn't happen an awful lot, but it isn't shocking to see it
happen. Ex: A friend had a basher that started AE init on the rollup. His first
fight he matches against an aimed blow. The aimed blow wins decise, hits him once in
the head, and without going desperate or anything, he just starts swinging and beats
the poor aimer just like that. You probably know that aimers usually tend to lack
init skills, so in that case the difference in total init allowed the basher to just
steal it. Even when ripostes are involved, init still plays a role. If you've seen
a warrior repeatedly make riposte attempts, only to get attacked again, then its
because the defending warrior's init was insufficient to allow him to attack after
the riposte. Alternatively, styles like plungers and wastes make fewer attempts to
riposte, but their attempts are usually successful because their init is so good. Of
course, the strategy a particular warrior is using (as well as the strategy of his
opponent) is important in taking and maintaining the initiative too. -- Generalissimo
Puerco
Q.O.W. -- Those fancy terms that come after a parry or dodge are successful attempts
to potentially riposte. Then, once you succeed at getting that fancy line (your
riposte vs. their init), you make another check (I think your init vs. your
opponent's init) to actually take the initiative from them. This is usually the
easiest way to take the initiative from a warrior. Each riposte line is a chance to
take it away. An example is how some rippers with low init may attempt to riposte
off of every single attack, but they may only steal it after several tries.
Sometimes, however, a warrior may actually just straight out steal the
initiative. This occurs usually when the one doing the stealing has a very high
rating in init and the opponent's rating is low. A good example includes when a
lunger gets hit by say an aimed blow, but the very next line is the lunger swinging
back. No riposte what-so-ever! This is much rarer. This can also be a function of
what offensive effort and activity a warrior is running. Warriors running more
slowly can often lose the initiative this way as they just give it up. -- Adie
Question, turn 407:
All -- Is there a difference in between an Expert and (AE). It appears to me that
your (17, 18, 19th) skills don't seem to make a difference until you get that next
rating @ 20? -- Q.O.W.
Answer next turn, don't have the time to dig it out today! -- Jorja
SPY REPORT
I was going on vacation, see? Surf, sun... But what do those bums say? "Hit
the road, Debby Tonte. NOBLISH ISLAND needs a spyreport." Oh, well. MVP award for
CHAENY GROVE? MIDDLE WAY 17's proud of her after beating CAPTURED ORC and getting 17
points. Talk about yer big time losers! TALYM got smashed by BARDON FROER, and lost
10 points! What a putz! RAPHAEL fights so hard to be Duelmaster, then quits
fighting and loses the title. No one said he was a genius... Was that a tear I saw
in CHAENY GROVE's eye, as she took over Duelmastership? And wasn't CAPTURED ORC fit
to be tied! Is the Duelmaster really being a real snob to his teammates? Don't ask
me!
I gotta admit I haven't been in "deep con caves" with any spies. Really, I just
wing this stuff. BLOOD KNIGHTS was the most avoided team. Is a 12-8-0 record really
that scary? I don't know what NO QUARTER's been doing. They certainly haven't been
accepting many fights from BLOOD KNIGHTS, that's fer sher. Like, is TALYM popular,
or what? He was challenged the most in all of NOBLISH ISLAND! He's got a 3-1-0, is
that good?
What does a fighter fight for? I mean, the crowds don't give a hoot if someone
gets killed. Not after four more fights. AALAIYA bloodfeuded (is that a word?)
ELLIRIN IMBRAY for revenge over some guy's bad fortune. Was it really worth it?
What if they had a fight and nobody showed up? I'd be out of a job, that's what!!!
Remember, blood on a purple robe may stain. Soak it in cold water, and hand
wash. I gotta leave. NOBLISH ISLAND is like such a dump, and you guys smell too
much! I had a fun time, see you later-- Debby Tonte
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHAENY GROVE 8471 4 0 0 45 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BARDON FROER 8470 4 0 0 38 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-RAPHAEL 8434 3 1 1 33 LORDS OF LIGHT (1458)
KYRA 8457 4 0 0 28 BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461)
ABALOND EGRAN 8469 3 1 0 28 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
ARDENT 8463 2 1 0 26 ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PHOENIX RISING 8460 2 2 1 22 ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462)
CROMWALLIS 8467 2 2 0 19 NO QUARTER (1463)
BASAIDO 8505 1 0 0 17 BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461)
TALYM 8455 3 1 0 16 BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461)
VELUNA 8465 4 0 0 15 NO QUARTER (1463)
AALAIYA 8456 1 3 0 15 BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461)
-HANIEL 8433 2 2 0 13 LORDS OF LIGHT (1458)
MIDNIGHT RUIN 8461 2 2 0 13 ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462)
NIGHTBLADE 8464 2 2 0 13 NO QUARTER (1463)
MEATBALL 8481 1 1 0 13 THE MEAT LOCKER (1466)
-URIEL 8435 2 2 0 10 LORDS OF LIGHT (1458)
-RATZIEL 8432 2 2 0 8 LORDS OF LIGHT (1458)
AEREON 8458 2 2 0 8 BLOOD KNIGHTS (1461)
ELLIRIN IMBRAY 8473 1 3 1 7 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DENCIE HILLIS 8472 1 3 0 6 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
BURCHARD 8468 1 3 0 6 NO QUARTER (1463)
-KHAMAEL 8436 1 3 0 6 LORDS OF LIGHT (1458)
OX 8466 1 3 0 6 NO QUARTER (1463)
PORK CHOPS 8483 1 1 0 4 THE MEAT LOCKER (1466)
MYSTERY MEAT 8480 1 1 0 4 THE MEAT LOCKER (1466)
VORUS 8462 0 3 0 3 ABYSSAL PLAINS (1462)
BURGER 8479 0 1 0 1 THE MEAT LOCKER (1466)
VALERIAN 8484 0 1 0 1 THE WOLVES (1467)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
HALO 8459 0 4 0 ABYSSAL PLAINS 1462 DARK CHAMPION 24 233 NONE
ANGELYSTA 8454 1 1 0 BLOOD KNIGHTS 1461 RAPHAEL 8434 231
ASYANA 8489 0 1 0 BLOOD KNIGHTS 1461 ELLIRIN IMBRAY 8473 232 JUST REV
MEATLOAF 8482 0 2 0 THE MEAT LOCKER 1466 PHOENIX RISING 8460 233
PERSONAL ADS
No Quarter would like to extend a hearty welcome to Noblish Island's newest stable,
The Meat Locker! -- Reegan Ironbeard (promoter, No Quarter)
Aereon -- I wasn't aware of your allergy. The next time you fight one of our
warriors, we'll bring a can of bee repellant and then we might stand a chance! --
Reegan Ironbeard (promoter, No Quarter)
Ellirin Imbray -- Thank you for the vote of confidence and the useful advice. I'll
try out your suggestion this next turn and see how the fates treat me. -- Veluna
Dencie Hillis -- I agree wholeheartedly with your observations. Once I leave the
safety of Noblish Island, I'm dead meat (and possibly before!). I have a sinking
feeling that Reegan Ironbeard is going to send me to the Dark Arena before
graduation.... -- Ox
Aalaiya -- If you're desperate to hit someone, you should consider fighting Ox or
Burchard. Sometimes I think they wear magnets under their armor and it attracts a
multitude of blows! -- Reegan Ironbeard (promoter, No Quarter)
Drake's Comments on Last Turn's Articles:
Note that I'm specifically writing about the articles that appear at the end of the
newsletter as they tend to be a bit dated and thus misleading. Those articles that
appear under the Team Spotlight heading are going to be far more recent and thus
accurate in the info they provide. So, with that in mind, here we go:
"TRICKS OF THE TRADE" by Roku -- Most skill bonuses for Speed are on even rather than
odd numbers. Skills are not the be-all end-all of the game. Your warrior needs some
physicals (HIT POINTS, ENDURANCE, Damage Rating, etc) or their skills will never come
into play. Also, I you really can't rate Stats in importance from 1 to 7. They just
don't work that way. Rather, I group them like so: Wit & Will; then Strength &
Deftness; finally Speed & Con. As far as Size goes, you're stuck with what you get.
"Warrior Handedness, is he a Righty, Lefty or Ambi?" by Sir Jessie Jest -- Some
interesting theories, but you have no real control over your warrior's handedness.
Also, his discussion of which hand an Ambidextrous warrior favors has some errors in
it. Pagan wrote an article about this that should cycle around eventually and it
contains better info on being Ambi.
"The Arcane Slasher" by The Arcane Kid -- Roll-ups that can hit 15+ in all three of
Wit, Will & Deftness are rather rare and will likely come up short in other stats.
You definitely want a high Wit & Will (especially Will as Slashers burn ENDURANCE
almost as fast as Lungers). You want enough STR to do Good damage. I'm not as
focused on Deftness as Kid Arcane was. I like my slashers to have some SPD (8+,
higher if Wit or Will are below 17) in order to improve their Decisiveness skill.
Otherwise they get jumped and toasted by other offensive warriors. Notes on running
are pretty good, but there is no reason to match your KILL DESIRE to your OFFENSIVE
EFFORT (there's an old DM myth about it giving you Dec or Att bonuses). Most common
favorites: Offensive Effort -- 7-8, 9-10 then 5-6; Activity Level -- 1-2, 3-4 then
5-6; Weapons -- SC, EP then BS.
"The Basher" by Uncle Charlie -- An okay article. Stats are pretty standard.
Bashers are good for those occasional high-size/moderate-str or high-str/moderate-
size rollups you get. They can go as low as 9 on Will and I like to put their Speed
at 8+. The problem with Bashers is that they don't defend themselves very well, so
if they get jumped or riposted they tend to lose. Most common favorites: Offensive
Effort -- 7-10 then 5-6; Activity Level -- 3-4, 1-2 then 5-6; Weapons -- MA, ML then
GS. The QS & WH are the fastest basher weapons and nothing get's through plate like
a HL or ML.
"The Anti-Thesis Slasher" by Talon -- A pretty good article on running non-godling
warriors. Otherwise see my above comments on slashers.
Another general note for everyone: I strongly recommend those with internet access
check out www.terrablood.com for all kinds of useful charts, tips & hints to help
with this game. Also, visit the Forums on www.duel2.com where you can converse with
many of the more experienced managers in the game. If you don't have internet
access, contact me with a mailing address and I'll see about putting together a small
'D2 Care Package' with some of the more commonly used charts. -- Drake (who can be
reached by diploing Drake's Hardware in arena 81, emailing dm_drake@sbcglobal.net or
you can find me on the Duel2 website posting under the name Drake; who'da guessed)
Talym -- I'm not hurt too bad, just my bones and organs. -- Nightblade
Meatloaf -- Be sure to ask for an extra helping of Jello while you recover in the
infirmary! Seriously, I hope you are able to fight again. -- Burchard
Vorus -- We matched up well and it was a tough contest! I was fortunate to walk away
with victory. If you had dropped that shield, you probably would have won. -- Veluna
Pork Chops -- That last strike to the kidneys tells me that you were trying to kill
me. Had I died, the rest of my team would seek your death. Consider yourself
warned! -- Ox
Haniel -- Well fought! I tip my hat to you, sir! -- Cromwallis
Reegan -- I guess that's a good way to start a little rivalry. -- Arturius
Armor is my friend. Armor is my friend. Armor is my friend. -- Aalaiya
Nightblade -- Sorry 'bout your shoulder. -- Talym
Abalond -- Maybe I was just meant to be a target. -- Aalaiya
Halo -- Sorry about the headache. -- Kyra
P.S. I REALLY wasn't going to kill you.
Chaeny -- Well I guess I found another thing I am allergic to. Your weapon. --
Aereon
P.S. I think you may have missed a spot on my foot.
Ellirin -- Armor should have been my friend. -- Asyana
Jorja -- I have a couple of questions. I always put down a back up weapon, but it
doesn't seem to get put in my fights. If I lose a fight because my weapon breaks and
I don't have a backup, can anything be done about it? And Question #2. At what
number of skills do you get ratings like; expert, ad expert, and so on. I was
reading my dad's fights and he has warriors with masters and advanced masters and he
only has a few more fights than me. I train mostly skills so am I doing something
wrong? -- Arturius
Can someone tell me if these were a waste of a couple of good warriors or should I be
glad they are now dead? 11-11-10-17-9-5-21 AB and 17-5-13-21-9-6-13 ST -- Arturius
Ratziel -- What hurts more, your manhood after my first shot or your pride after that
public spanking? -- Mystery Meat
Ox -- That fight was back and forth. I'd be honored to fight you again. You might
beat me next time. -- Pork Chops
Aereon -- Good gods, man! What were you THINKING? All that armor is likely to be
your downfall, and with that weight and encumbrance, if you fall down, you'll need
help getting back up. No, seriously, your style is purely offensive; it's built
around speed. When you armor up like that, you're handicapping yourself, and
undercutting what should be your primary asset. You're supposed to be moving so fast
that it's hard to lay a blade on you, and instead, you didn't move AT ALL except to
be driven back by MY blows. When you hit the mainland, you'll be deep in trouble. --
Chaeny Grove
Aalaiya -- Listen, kid, our style, we should be coming out of the starting gate
running at top speed. 10-10-x. Sure, sooner or later one of us would get the
official "first blow," but we should have had "clash" lines first, indicating that
you were at least TRYING to get the first blow away from me. -- Abalond Egran
P.S. Clash lines. Things like "their weapons smash together between them," or how
we "exchange attacks and parries," or even how "Sheila Greywand is impressed by the
vigor or whatever of the fight." It isn't really her, just some golem, I believe.
They say she doesn't get out much.
P.P.S. While you can use your weapon just fine, according to the introductory notes,
I might also point out that for our style, my weapon is said to be faster. I don't
know if this is true, there's a lot of superstitious misinformation going around, but
that's what I hear.
Asyana -- Good dodging, I salute you. Very important, dodging. But you note there
in the first minute, about two thirds of the way down, where you "defend to conserve
your strength"? Either you're running too fast (pacing is VITAL if you can't end the
fight with the first blow) or you need to build your endurance (train CN). Or, of
course, both. -- Ellirin Imbray
P.S. Oh, gods, you died. I didn't read that far down the back. Really sorry about
that. BUT, dying in the Infirmary from loss of blood after two days reinforces what
I said about endurance and training CN. It won't help YOU, but the rest of your
teammates need to know this stuff, too. You can, of course, increase your endurance
and keep yourself in the fight by training WL, but that won't keep you ALIVE. CN is
what keeps you alive, or at least tries.
Phoenix Rising -- Well done, and with a RATHER tricky style. -- Dencie Hillis
P.S. But I'd drop the shield, if it was me. Of course, Jorja's never much liked
shields, so it's partly a bias rather than confirmed fact....
Midnight Ruin -- Drop the offhand weapon, drop that cumbersome backup which you kept
tripping over and put your offhand AS your backup. What's the point of a backup
that's heavier than your main weapon, after all? Just gets in the way and wears you
out. But the really important things to remember are: drop that offhand weapon, and
get MOVING faster. You've got an offensive style, ah, I didn't mean that the way it
sounded! You have an ATTACKING style, okay? You should come charging out at top
speed, same as I do. -- Bardon Froer
Reegan Ironbeard -- Any time. It's why I'm here. -- Jorja, the Middle Way
P.S. Isn't that hard to shave?
All -- Late saying this I am, but glad we are to find others who share our passionate
madness for mayhem. -- Lazarian, mgr Abyssal Plains
Kyra -- Losses teach as much as wins. Thanks for the lessons. -- Midnight Ruin
Veluna -- This bout went well, glad I am we fought well. -- Vorus
Khamael -- Well now, my win was indeed a surprise! -- Ardent
20 April 2007
All -- I've been...out of circulation for the last couple of months, and my lists
are not up to date. If you've announced a manager name, a new alliance, or changed
a manager name or alliance since the middle of February, let me know in the ads, via
diplo, or in an e-mail (Sue (at) solberg-mathews (dot) com). For that matter, if
you just want to make sure I've got things right, you can always do the same. -- The
Saint, keeper of lists
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
HALO was butchered by DARK CHAMPION in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
AALAIYA devastated ELLIRIN IMBRAY in a 1 minute one-sided Bloodfeud duel.
TALYM was handily defeated by BARDON FROER in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge match.
BURCHARD lost to MIDNIGHT RUIN in a popular 1 minute gory amateur's Challenge brawl.
OX was demolished by ABALOND EGRAN in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge competition.
AEREON was vanquished by ARDENT in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
CHAENY GROVE overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute gory mismatched Title brawl.
KYRA handily defeated VORUS in a 1 minute uneven melee.
PHOENIX RISING slaughtered MEATLOAF in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
NIGHTBLADE vanquished VALERIAN in a slow 3 minute one-sided duel.
VELUNA savagely defeated BURGER in a popular 1 minute brutal novice's melee.
CROMWALLIS demolished MYSTERY MEAT in a 5 minute mismatched competition.
DENCIE HILLIS was devastated by MEATBALL in a 1 minute one-sided battle.
PORK CHOPS was devastated by BASAIDO in a 1 minute mismatched bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK 8 AIMED BLOW 7 - 3 - 0 70 |
|BASHING ATTACK 6 PARRY-STRIKE 5 - 3 - 0 63 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 PARRY-LUNGE 5 - 3 - 2 63 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 16 - 11 - 1 59 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 TOTAL PARRY 4 - 3 - 0 57 |
|AIMED BLOW 1 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 18 - 1 56 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 STRIKING ATTACK 20 - 20 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 SLASHING ATTACK 12 - 12 - 0 50 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 15 - 1 46 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 5 - 8 - 0 38 |
Turn 233 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
AIMED BLOW 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 2 2 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 6 2 PARRY-LUNGE
PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 2 2 BASHING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
BASHING ATTACK 3 - 3 1 TOTAL PARRY
1 PARRY-STRIKE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK CHAENY GROVE 8471 4 0 0 45 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
LUNGING ATTACK BARDON FROER 8470 4 0 0 38 MIDDLE WAY 17 (1464)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is ABALOND EGRAN 8469. The most popular warrior this
turn was VELUNA 8465. The ten other most popular fighters were CHAENY GROVE 8471,
AALAIYA 8456, BARDON FROER 8470, BURCHARD 8468, MIDNIGHT RUIN 8461, ABALOND EGRAN
8469, ARDENT 8463, KYRA 8457, MEATBALL 8481, and BASAIDO 8505.
The least popular fighter this week was VALERIAN 8484. The other ten least popular
fighters were MYSTERY MEAT 8480, NIGHTBLADE 8464, PORK CHOPS 8483, DENCIE HILLIS
8472, CROMWALLIS 8467, MEATLOAF 8482, VORUS 8462, AEREON 8458, OX 8466, and TALYM
8455.
Article for Newbies
This here is an article aimed mostly at you new managers to the game out there.
This chart is a consensus of managers on the internet about how they felt each style
fairs against all other styles at the beginning levels of the game. Of course, once
you get ten or so fights under your belt the whole scenario changes and you can throw
this right out the window. But in the meantime, use this chart to help you get a
feel for the game, how the different styles interact with each other and to hopefully
dispel those 5-25 starts that can make you drop the game. Hope this helps you some.
KEY FOR ODDS OF WINNING:
1 - ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE 6 - BETTER THAN EVEN
2 - HARDLY LIKELY 7 - GOOD CHANCE
3 - NOT MUCH 8 - HIGHLY PROBABLE
4 - SLIGHT CHANCE 9 - MOST DEFINATELY
5 - 50/50 10 - ALMOST GUARANTEED
Reminder: Left Row vs Top Column
BA ST LU SL AB TP PS PL PR WS
BA 5 2 6 6 8 9 7 6 5 6
ST 8 5 8 9 9 6 7 5 6 4
LU 4 4 5 6 10 5 7 7 9 6
SL 4 1 5 5 8 6 8 7 8 9
AB 2 2 2 4 5 10 6 6 6 7
TP 3 4 6 4 1 5 7 8 6 5
PS 3 3 3 4 5 4 5 4 5 4
PL 5 4 3 3 6 2 7 5 7 6
PR 7 5 2 2 4 5 6 3 5 4
WS 5 8 6 2 4 6 7 5 6 5
There you have it folks. I would personally like to thank all the managers on the
internet who made a contribution to this effort. You know who you are. Also a big
nod of appreciation goes out to the mighty PUG (Ben Hitz) who organizes and runs the
roundtable and without whose effort little projects like this would prove quite
difficult.
David Gottwald - Magic Man
The Crew - Monuntial (34)
Rocky's Heroes - North Fork (47)
Tragedy Strikes - Andor (57) (inactive)
Natural Born - Illis (59)
Slow & Easy - Aradi (60)
Omega Squadron - Dragonhead (72)
MAKING YOUR CHALLENGES GO THROUGH
First, you need to be sure you are making your challenges correctly.
1. Are you writing down the warrior I.D. number of the warrior you want to
challenge?
2. Is your handwriting clear?
3. Is the warrior you are challenging within range of your warrior? Warriors
can challenge within their own class and the next higher class, plus the "Challenger"
classes can also challenge the next lower class. So, an Adept can challenge Adepts
and Challenger Adepts. A Challenger Adept can challenge Adepts, Challenger Adepts,
and Champions. (Try not to challenge down, though. Besides being unsportsmanlike and
making everyone mad, it isn't advantageous to your warriors. They need to fight more
experienced warriors so they will learn.)
4. Are your warriors eligible to make challenges? If they didn't fight within
the last two turns, then they can't challenge.
5. Are the warriors they want to fight eligible to receive challenges? If they
didn't fight within the last two turns, then they can't be challenged.
Next, adjust your choices for the maximum likelihood of getting your challenges.
There are several things that will help:
1. Have each of your warriors challenge two different opponents from two
different teams. That way, if the first opponent's team doesn't fight that turn, you
still might get your second challenge.
2. Use your avoids. Have each warrior avoid the teams of whoever you think
might be likely to challenge him. If you can get out of being challenged, that
increases your chance of getting your own challenge through.
3. Don't challenge warriors who didn't fight last turn. The odds are higher
that they won't be fighting this turn.
4. Don't challenge warriors who might be involved in a bloodfeud (either as the
killers, or the avengers). A bloodfeud challenge has priority over all other
challenges.
5. Don't challenge Tournament Victors. A TV challenge has priority over all
other challenges except bloodfeuds. You'll need to do a little research in back
issues of the newsletter to find out who the TVs are.
6. Don't challenge warriors who you know are going to challenge someone else, or
are going to get challenged by someone else. Your challenge has a better chance of
getting through if it is the only challenge to that particular warrior.
7. Don't challenge the "easy pickings." That is, warriors above you who have
way too few fights or very bad records for where they are ranked. They will tend to
get challenged a lot.
8. Don't challenge warriors who are likely to be avoiding your team. This
includes any warrior your team fought within the last two turns.
Well, it sounds like I've eliminated just about everybody, doesn't it? Of course
you can challenge opponents who fit into one or more of those categories; just try to
find ones who don't. Your idea candidate for a challenge is: A warrior ranked
somewhat above your warrior in the same class, or in the next higher class, with a few
more fights than your warrior, and a winning record, who isn't a TV and isn't
currently at war with anyone.
I hope this will be of some help to you.
The Rogue She-Puppy
MAXIMIZING THE DUELMASTERS EXPERIENCE: WHAT THE RULES DIDN'T SAY
When you get your turn results in the mail it is very important that you squeeze
as much enjoyment as possible out of that envelope! I recommend (and also use!) the
following procedures.
First, open the envelope lengthwise with a letter opener. Remove the blue-sheet
BUT DON'T LOOK AT IT! It may tell you that you are broke and owe RSI a lot of money.
Flip it over instead! The blue-sheet will be used as a "hider" when you read the
fight results line by line, so you don't see the end of the fight by mistake and ruin
the excitement.
Remove the rest of the sheets in one smooth maneuver and place the flipped-over
blue-sheet on top of the pile, without looking at anything. You don't want to
accidentally uncover an unexpected replacement rollup. This is a traumatic experience
that should be avoided at all costs, as it indicates that one of your battles didn't
go exactly as planned.
Now you must prepare your room, or whever you are, for the battles. If you are
suicidal, or a lousy manager, or a suicidally lousy manager, remove all sharp objects
from the area. If you happen to manage an entire team of scummy warriors it is okay
to leave a loaded musket nearby.
The next step is to put on music. It definitely adds to the experience to have
your favorite tunes playing in the background, preferably AS LOUD AS YOU CAN GET AWAY
WITH! I christen each new warrior with a song that is his and his alone, and play
that song whenever it is his turn upon the sands. It is a personal choice but I
recommend Judas Priest, Manowar or Metallica. Avoid Abba and Barry Manilow (like I
had to say it). It is also important to match the song length with the expected
length of the fight. Don't choose "The Immigrant Song" for your 21-con Ultra-Scum.
Likewise, don't choose "Stairway to Heaven" for your quick lunger. Finally, sometimes
it is nice to choose an exceptionally violent alternate selection for those
Bloodfeuds.
Now you are almost ready! The final preparatory step (optional) is to prepare a
pot of coffee. Beer also works well, especially on Fridays, but I understand that
some managers are not Well-Suited to that particular beverage. I've heard the Duke
Malibu in Solven drinks goat blood, but mind you this is only a rumor. For the final
touch, try putting on any handy armor you have. Or a loin-cloth. I put on most of my
hockey gear.
The fights are on! The music is loud! The coffee is good! Read the fights
slowly, line by line using your blue-sheet as a guide. Don't go too fast, now. Yell,
"Yeah!" if your warrior scores an especially gruesome hit. Cringe if your warrior
feels the joys of a great axe connecting with his face (that means you, Marilith).
Raise your fist in the air when that total parry realizes that his last shield has
broken! And cry when your favorite gladiator is gravely injured and then takes ten
consecutive war hammer shots to the head...
When the end of the fight comes you will be emotionally drained, so yell out,
"Huzzah!!!" or "Damnnn!!!" or whatever, to take the edge off. When the fighting is
ended take a breather before preparing for the next cycle's fights. Reflect on what
has transpired and make a few notes. You'll be a better person (and manager) for it!
Isn't Duelmasters great?
Brought to you by ICE (the deranged): DM-49 (Vithicar) Rotting Livers (205)
DM-10 (Kolact) Beermacht
DM-22 (Solven) Steel Warriors
DM-24 (Zorpunt) No Escape
Winning With the Average Warrior
Hi! The Master of Anime here... Yeah, yeah, I know, you're all doing a
collective, "Who the Hell is this character?" Well, my claim to fame, if you can call
it that, is that I run Eve, one of the more popular, if not completely unspectacular,
warriors to fight in Alastari. I am a micro-manager (you've heard of mega-managers?
Well, think in reverse) who has been mainly running only one team during my 8+ years
of Duelmasters. This little write-up is aimed towards the less experienced managers,
the ones that can be brainwashed from some of the "How to build the perfect
warrior..." spotlights that tend to appear from time to time.
Many of the "How to build..." spotlights tend to deal with roll-ups that are
quite ideal, but in reality, rarely come out of RSI's number crunching machine,
commonly referred to as "the Roll-Up Gods". There have been a few good articles on
how to design skillful warriors from 'average' roll-ups. Those articles, in my
opinion, are the most helpful to new managers for the simple fact that you will almost
always get an 'average' roll-up. Occasionally, that 'average' roll-up might turn out
to be something special, and that is what I would like to key in on.
I know a lot of managers who will continually DA their warriors until they get
something that is as close to perfect as possible. You know, the warrior with three
or four 17s or the warrior with a couple of 21s or that size 3 or 4 warrior, etc...
If you are a relatively new manager and you are also doing this, I think you are
missing out on one of the more intriguing aspects of this game and that is warrior
development.
Being a micro-manager, I do not have an army of warriors like the mega-managers
do, but I'd like to think that I can hold my own against them (hey, if you're gonna
dream, dream big). Anyway, back to the point. One of my 'average' warriors seems to
have achieved a form of notoriety in Advanced Duelmasters to the extent that even the
ever quiet Mirage (manager of Donatello) has had something to say (it was at the last
Tempe FTF and my warrior, at the end of the 6th or 7th round, was listed as the top
Primus warrior on the tourney list.) Mirage pointed at my warrior on the list and
said, "That, is embarrassing..." I took it as a compliment. In case you're
wondering, my warrior is Akira (the reason I'm writing this article is that I've been
approached many times of late by managers who wanted to see Akira's numbers, thinking
he had some sort of godlike roll-up. I set them straight).
I'm not going to print Akira's numbers in this article for the main reason that I
don't have them with me at this time (it'll probably tick-off a lot of managers whose
warriors Akira has beaten anyway), but I do know this... he has about 30 attribute
increases and only one attribute is in the 20's, that one being WL (he even got gypped
by not getting some skills that you normally think he'd get by raising WL up the
20's). He won't be getting another attribute above 20 for a long, long time. (I
think his next highest attribute is 17... note that this is after the 30 or so
increases...) You should have a pretty good idea how generic this roll-up is... a
roll-up that would probably be DA'd by most managers looking for a good roll-up... a
roll-up that I even said, "I'll run him for kicks, but will probably retire him once
he gets to AD."... a roll-up that entered AD with a less-than-stellar 14-10 record...
a roll-up currently on a 20 fight win streak... a roll-up with three consecutive
Primus TVs.
So, before you give up on that average warrior, think again about giving him a
chance to flourish... he might suprise you as Akira has surprised me. Good luck in
the arena!
M.A., a proud member of GAPPDA
P.S. If you want to know Akira's original roll-up, diplo Anime Legends (Arena 102,
104).
P.P.S. Swift -- We GAPPDA members are NOT slugs!!! At least, I don't think we are...
TWELVE TIPS
A rookie manager asked me a question recently which prompted my "teaching juices"
to flow. I quote: "Just give me a dozen hints, and I'll leave you alone!" Obviously,
his challenge prompted me to organize my thought creating my Twelve Tips.
"Now wait a minute!" I hear you asking. "Why should I read on?" Simply put:
-- If you're an experience manager, you'll want to "clue me in" on other valuable tips
I missed.
-- If you're a "newbie," these tips will enhance your W-L record and compound your
fun.
"But, are they GOOD tips?" you ask. Believe me, fellow opponents, after 5000+
fights, dozens of "tutored pupils," many A.D. warriors, and a rather lofty W-L record,
they're GOOD tips. So here we go, in no particular order.
(I) ASK FOR HELP--Ask RSI about the Sponsor Program. Diplo "good" managers in your
arena. Proclaim your willingness to learn in a personal ad. You'll get some
conversation.
(II) OFFENSIVES FIRST--This is not an easy game, and the basher, lunger, striker can
be readily designed and more easily "mastered." (Whatever that means.) Avoid the most
difficult finessives, such as aimers (AB), rippers (PR), and probably wastes (WS).
Get some confidence first! Most of us old-timers yet struggle with a good aimed-blow.
(III) SKILLS, SKILLS, SKILLS--One of the most prevalent rookie errors is training too
many stats. Skills win fights, and in the long run, you will regret certain stat
raises.
(IV) COLLECT DATA--The more you know about your own warrior (And even with the same
stats, warriors differ) and the more you know about your opponents, the more likely
you can cause something "good" to happen. In the military/political world, we call
this "intelligence." (Clue: ask about a D.M. handbook filled with info.)
(V) PERSONAL ADS--Don't be a jerk! But write some every time. Let me assure you that
an unliked rookie cannot succeed in an arena against the local "Powers-in-control."
You want to create friendly opponents. (When you know what you're doing--then you can
try the jerk routine!)
(VI) TURN SHEET--Accuracy counts. Fill it out perfectly (and legibly) pal! Know what
each section is for. (Reread the instructions.) Many have been the surprised and
frustrated manager who caused his or her own problem! (Even us "megas" blow it now and
then!)
(VII) NO CON--Don't ever (well maybe 1% of the time) add points to constitution on an
offensive rollup. Other attributes may add skills; con won't. (Just wait until you
hear someone shout never add to con--ever. I didn't say that.)
(VIII) ONE WEAPON--For offensives. When you get to finesse styles, you'll understand
why you may want one in your off-hand also. But, almost always carry a backup. (Hands
can be hurt both striking and defending.)
(IX) CHALLENGE/AVOID--Always! A manager's prime purpose is to optimize his warrior's
chances. Challenge those you'll have a good shot at beating and avoid teams who can
cause you the most difficulties. (Challenge warriors--avoid teams.)
(X) ENTER TOURNAMENTS--What a way to acquire skills and experience without impacting
your arena W-L record. Actually, you will create a positive impact in that those
"tournament earnings" are "hidden" from other arena warriors. Plus, tournaments are a
real "rush!"
(XI) FIND A FRIEND--In every arena find at least one "friendly" foe. Share opponent
info. With two, or more, of you sharing, look how much more "intelligence" you'll
have.
(XII) STAY COOL--Don't let any problem (loss, death, personal ad, error, etc.) anger
you. (This is fun, right?) The cool head wins more matches than the emotional one.
So good luck, rookie! We were all in your shoes once. (And for some of us that
was a long, long time ago.)
THE CONSORTIUM
DM 8 Smithsonian (Curator)
DM 11 Bulldogs (Kennelworth)
DM 20 Animal Farm (Mino)
DM 46 Fandils (Fandil the Wise)
(and many, many more)