DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 09/01/2007 Duedate: 09/14/2007 NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA DM-93 TURN-242 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS BLACKMOON ECLIPSE (1476) (93-8556) [6-0-1,66] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader POSITION IS EMPTY BLACKMOON ECLIPSE (1476) (93-8556) [6-0-1,66] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite RON BURGUNDY MYEYESAREUPHERE CRUCIBLE (1480) CRUCIBLE (1480) (93-8566) [4-1-0,26] (93-8565) [4-0-1,40] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) 41 2. ECLIPSE (1476) 38 DRAGON'S FIRE (711) 3. THE CYRKLE (1472) 13 Unchartered Team 4. CRUCIBLE (1480) 12 5. THE WOLVES (1467) 7 MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 4*MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) 12 3 1 80.0 1/ 3*MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) 12 3 1 2/ 3*CRUCIBLE (1480) 16 8 2 66.7 2/ 2*ECLIPSE (1476) 9 6 5 3/ 2*THE CYRKLE (1472) 6 4 0 60.0 3/ 1*CRUCIBLE (1480) 8 6 1 4/ 5*ECLIPSE (1476) 17 18 5 48.6 4/ 4*THE CYRKLE (1472) 6 4 0 5- 6*GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) 4 6 0 40.0 5- 5*GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) 4 6 0 6- 7*DRAGON LANCE (1479) 3 6 0 33.3 6/ 6*THE WOLVES (1467) 4 8 1 7/ 9*DEFENDERS (1481) 3 6 0 33.3 7/ 8*DEFENDERS (1481) 3 6 0 8/ 8*THE WOLVES (1467) 5 13 1 27.8 8- 7*DRAGON LANCE (1479) 1 4 0 '*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn (###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank TEAM SPOTLIGHT * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * Profile of a Style Bashers I make no claims to being exhaustive in this study of Bashers. There are managers who know more about the style, managers who have better Bashers, managers whose Bashers win more consistently. But this is a place to start. I have the details of twenty-eight immortal Bashers under my hand here, Bashers who, good, bad, or indifferent, survived long enough to graduate and discover their favorites. In those favorites lie clues to how the Gladiatorial Commission expects Bashers to operate. This does not mean that Bashers HAVE to operate that way, and it can be fun to force a style to do the unexpected and take everyone by surprise, but this could be said to be "what comes naturally." Favorite weapons. You will find that only weapons that may be received as favorites are ever described as "well-suited" to the style. For instance, an epee never occurs as a favorite weapon for a Basher, and any Basher who uses one will find he "is unsuited to his weapon" or "uses this weapon in an unorthodox style" at the top of his fight report. There is little, if anything (well, okay, surprise), to be gained from using a weapon unsuited to the style in question. The eleven weapons suited to use by Bashers, and the minimum stats required for their best use (information courtesy of Pagan's Enchiridion), are: Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11 Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Large Shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 5 DF 5 Mace ST 13 SZ any WT 3 DF 5 Maul ST 15 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 7 Medium Shield ST 9 SZ any WT 5 DF 5 Morningstar ST 13 SZ any WT 7 DF 13 Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ any WT 7 DF 5 Warhammer ST 13 SZ any WT 5 DF 7 Assurnasirbanapal offers the following alternate requirements for some of these weapons: Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Large Shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 3 DF 5 (not sure about size, but I believe wit is 3) Morningstar ST 13 SZ any WT 7 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ any WT 5 DF 5 (I can see that some warriors in my future are going to have to test these weapons.) Study this chart, and never make a Basher who doesn't have the stats to use at least one of the weapons well! I've made the mistake more than once (and more than once done it deliberately, but then, I'm perverse) of creating a warrior who is unable to use well any weapon to which his style is suited. This is enormously frustrating. Take my advice and DON'T DO IT. You may notice that the Fist is not listed as a weapon suited to the Bashing attack. This is an example--one of the most glaring ones--of the fact that sometimes intuition and real-world experience are "not well suited" to Duelmasters. Two weapons not listed on this chart are the Broadsword and the Battleaxe. If you arm a Basher with one of these weapons, the fight report will inform you that your warrior is not well suited to the weapon or uses it in a marginally effective manner. A manager I consulted informs me that he has had good results anyway with the Broadsword and is still experimenting with the Battleaxe. So you CAN ignore the weapon suitability chart above, though I would not recommend doing it until you have enough experience to know what risks you're taking. And don't do it with a warrior who adds the disadvantage of having inappropriate stats for the weapon to the disadvantage of unsuited style. As you can see from this list, the most important stat for a Basher, from the standpoint of weapon use, is Strength. A Basher who is dumb and on the clumsy side will find weapons he can use appropriately, provided he has the strength to lift them. This has led to the creation of a lot of dumb, clumsy Bashers. My own personal feeling--and I've run a lot of these depressing warriors--is that a dumb, clumsy Basher is doomed in the long run. And often very boring, as well. Boring is even worse than doomed. My immortal Bashers, their relevant stats, and their favorite weapons: Madoc ST 11 SZ 11 WT 13 DF 9 Mace Wanda the Blonda ST 17 SZ 8 WT 9 DF 15 Warflail Kenda Teegue ST 19 SZ 7 WT 11 DF 11 Greatsword Al Kore ST 13 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 13 Quarterstaff Broken Nose ST 17 SZ 18 WT 11 DF 9 Quarterstaff Hogar ST 13 SZ 13 WT 21 DF 7 Maul Ski Mask ST 13 SZ 15 WT 15 DF 9 Maul Crabby Appleton ST 19 SZ 11 WT 13 DF 6 Warflail Lissette ST 14 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 15 Greataxe Velendeis ST 9 SZ 14 WT 13 DF 7 Maul Hoftalj ST 21 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 7 Mace Cadal ST 14 SZ 15 WT 15 DF 11 Mace Caramella ST 13 SZ 13 WT 14 DF 11 Quarterstaff Lulu ST 17 SZ 11 WT 15 DF 9 Morningstar Franklin ST 15 SZ 6 WT 5 DF 17 Morningstar Bam Bam ST 13 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 9 Medium Shield Dune ST 19 SZ 17 WT 4 DF 3 Halberd Old Maid ST 17 SZ 7 WT 15 DF 11 Halberd Pelis the True ST 13 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 15 Large Shield Joe ST 15 SZ 10 WT 15 DF 13 Medium Shield Claudius ST 19 SZ 13 WT 10 DF 7 Quarterstaff Ekkar ST 17 SZ 15 WT 13 DF 7 Mace Jomon ST 11 SZ 17 WT 11 DF 15 Greatsword Dijanna ST 17 SZ 12 WT 17 DF 7 Mace Khora the Small ST 15 SZ 9 WT 17 DF 11 Warhammer Sweet Jorja ST 13 SZ 13 WT 15 DF 7 Quarterstaff Tarok ST 7 SZ 18 WT 11 DF 9 Warflail Kelan ten Salth ST 14 SZ 15 WT 17 DF 11 Greatsword You will notice that some of these warriors did not have the initial stats to use their favorite weapon efficiently. That's a little trick the Commission plays on us to keep us from getting too cocky. Only one of them (Tarok) was initially unable to use ANY of the bashing weapons well, and I trained up his strength early in his career. My personal favorites among the bashing weapons are the warhammer, the mace, and if the warrior has the wit for it, the quarterstaff, as these seem to me to produce the most interesting fights. If I'm going to train a warrior as a Basher, I try to make him able to use one or another of those weapons; it saves me a lot of stress. Which brings up the question of Basher design. In almost all cases, the advice routinely given is to put the points on WT, WL, and DF in preference to other stats. But to use any of the weapons listed above, the warrior DOES NOT NEED a WT of more than 11, and depending on which version of the stats for Morningstar you accept, he doesn't need more than 11 or 13 in DF. Do not put points on these stats beyond the necessary. ST: A Basher needs strength, and lots of it--who wants a Basher who "does little damage"? Besides, he needs a minimum strength of 9 for the least of his weapons, and that's a medium shield. Who wants to send a Basher out with a medium shield? Pile 'em on here. CN: No. A Basher wins by attacking, not defending. He should be keeping his opponent too busy to fight back, and he should not have to worry about his hit points. Generally speaking, go with whatever you've been given on the roll-up. The time to experiment with the creation of a Scum Basher is later, after you have more experience. SZ: You can't do anything about this, but a large size is not such a handicap for a Basher as for some of the more finicky styles. And it will increase the damage he can do--a Basher is all about doing damage. WT: No more than is needed for the weapon you've chosen. If you have extra points after satisfying other requirements, sure, go ahead and put them on wit, but you can get a decent learning rate with a wit of 11 so why waste the points here? Besides, if he survives long enough, you can train up more wit later. WL: I would always put points on will (unless it was 17+ already), but for me, that's reflex, not conscious planning. In theory, a Basher wins fights fast by attacking all out, and so he doesn't need will for the stick-to-it effect. But then... if he's a good Basher, wins a lot, graduates, and you want to keep on running him, a high will does make it easier to train up stats once you get around to it. SP: I don't really have a feel for the effects of high or low speed on ANY style. I would cautiously suggest that if you can get the speed into the moderate range (8-12?) without sacrificing anything important, then do it. But if you can't, then don't. DF: Enough to use the weapon of choice, or perhaps two or three weapons for variety. No more. And a note on armor: A Basher should NOT be loaded down with heavy armor. He isn't supposed to get hit, so what does he need that armor FOR? Favorite rhythms. Sometimes it's expedient to ignore a warrior's favorite rhythm, once you know it, but it does give you a guideline for running the style. Rhythm is given as Very High or VH (10-9), High or H (8-7), Moderate or M (6-5), Low or L (4-3), and Very Low or VL (2-1), for Offensive Effort first, and then for Activity Level. For the warriors listed above, the favorite rhythms are: H/VL H/L H/L H/M VH/M VH/L M/L M/VL H/VL H/VL VH/VL M/VL H/VL H/L H/L VH/VL VH/VL VH/VL H/L M/L VH/M VH/VL VH/VL H/L H/VL H/L VH/M H/M. You'll notice that there is no Offensive Effort lower than Moderate, and no Activity Level higher than Moderate, and that Offensive Effort is usually at least two steps higher than Activity Level. Not always--some of those listed above are only one step apart, and another manager tells me that he has some Bashers with favorite rhythms of Moderate/Moderate. But from the sample I have, it seems that Bashers favor a higher Offensive Effort than Activity Level, often considerably higher. While you may not always want to run a Basher this way, it appears that nature and the Gladiatorial Commission intended them to run very offensively. With a newly entered Basher, this kind of speed is a place to start. Once you get a feel for the warrior in question and for his likely opponents, you can tinker with the numbers for the ideal strategy. But be warned that running so offensively, the average Basher won't be able to keep going for long! Especially, he won't be able to go for long with a heavy weapon (one requiring more ST to handle) and heavy armor. When I think of the Bashers I have seen come out in Plate and struggle to last a single minute at high speed, I could weep. High speed burns endurance. Bashers go out to win fast, or they become easy prey for a slower-paced, more deliberate warrior. Of course, sometimes you'll run up against a Basher who ignores the stereotype, the so-called "Scum Basher." He differs from most of his kind by having a high endurance which allows his manager to run him slowly and take people by surprise. But this warrior is a freak. I distrust freakish warrior designs as a matter of principle. 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 or styles have a favorite attack location. Managers have argued that the nature of the bashing attack lends itself to overhead blows to the head and upper body. However, I suspect that this is one of those intuitive things which turn out not to work, just as one would intuitively expect a Basher to do well with his fists, and he does not. Some managers have pointed out that a Basher aiming at the head tends to end his fight quickly. ANY style striking the head tends to end the fight quickly. (Consistently aiming at the head will increase the chance of killing, which will, in the long run, decrease the chance of your Basher's survival. Managers bloodfeud dedicated killers with hostile intent.) I consider this a case of "Not Proven." Favorite Tactics. Of the twenty-eight Bashers listed above, only eight had favorite tactics. Two favored the offensive tactic of Decisiveness, and the rest favored the offensive tactic of Bash. It seems reasonable to assume that the offensive tactics of Lunge and Slash are inappropriate for a Basher. (Of course, you can't always count on reason here, but....) There were no defensive tactics favored (granted, this is not a large sampling of warriors), which suggests that they should be used sparingly, if at all--a Basher is a purely offensive style. Proceeding from the general to the specific, here's a basher who had a very unpromising beginning-- Profile of a Gladiator Turo the Brick Lord Protector and Pain in the Rear Turo, a seven-foot Troll, just graduated from Lin Tirian, my own home arena, at 16-44-2, 94. He's a basher. And I suspect that most other managers would have sent him straight to the Dark Arena. At graduation, he is 11(2)-9-20-6(2)-17(2)-10-17. According to his overview, even after those stat raises, he Is not very bright The more subtle points of the riposte simply escape him, which I could have told anyone right off Stands around making himself a target, which we noticed Cannot carry a lot of weight in weapons and armor (that low ST) Is slow on his feet (Does size have an effect here?) Can do tremendous damage with a blow (mostly SZ, I suspect) Turo is "naturally adept" with a maul (well, okay, he's probably pulled up a few trees and swung 'em around to bat at pesky people), favors a rhythm of very high/low, and has an innate ability to use the bash tactic. None of this comes as a great surprise--it fits his character. He's aggressive by nature (definitely) and most readily learns initiative skills. (Doesn't that require BRAINS?) Ah, well. I've been running him lately as follows: Mace, backup war hammer, offhand medium shield, plate mail and a full helm. 9 8 7 6 7 8 10 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 8 8 7 8 7 8 10 which I wouldn't swear is the strategy I sent in for him originally, but it is what he's using. Attacking right arm, protecting head, no tactics. Maybe this was based on something another manager suggested to me. He graduated with no ratings at all. Yes, really. Obviously, he's not anybody's ideal warrior, but he's been surprisingly fun to read. And it seems at least possible that if I'd paid more attention to his strategies, issued challenges and avoids, he might have taken a better record out of the arena. He is headed for retirement, obviously. I think he has some idea of going back to his home in the foothills of the Khriatrin Mountains and terrorizing his kin. And another example of a basher, a much more successful one: Khora the Small Lady Protector Contender for the Throne in Lirin Kiv (ADM 107) Basher I don't have her graduation overview here, as that was a long time ago. But she started as 15-12-9-17-11-9-11. Now, after years of fighting, maxed on skills and training stats, she is 25-12-9-17-17-13-16. Her record at the present is 94-129-3, and despite doing devastating damage, being incredibly quick and elusive, and having an Advanced Master rating in attack and Masters in all the other skills, she is still not woman enough to take the throne in this smallest of the Advanced Duelmasters regions. Her favorite weapon is the war hammer, her favorite rhythm high offensive effort and very low activity level, which are good favorites. So why isn't she Duelmistress, or as it is called in Lirin Kiv, Champion of the Horn? Because there's an even better basher up there already. Her most serious problem is that low CN, I think. Maybe she should train that up.... Here's their most recent fight, a short one, so I'll give it to you in full-- Phetmolge is 8' tall, right-handed, fights with no armor or helm, carries a war hammer and a large shield, to which he is well suited. Khora is 5'7" tall, ambidextrous, in leather armor and a helm, carrying a war hammer and an off-hand war hammer, to which she, too, is well-suited. Khora is running 8 4 7 RA BD no tactics; about Phetmolge we can only guess. Both warriors move with snake-like speed around each other. The weapons lock together in a test of strength. Phetmolge is moving constantly without pause! He sweeps his large shield in a sudden unexpected assault! A spectator exclaims, "Brilliant!" Phetmolge smiles briefly. Khora parries the blow with her war hammer. She disengages her foe's weapon arm and tries to steal the initiative! She makes a lightning-quick backhand smash with her war hammer! Phetmolge is struck in the belly. Khora says admiringly (this is irony), "How much damage can you take, anyway?" (Lots. Lots and lots. More than she can, anyway.) She launches a brilliant attack with her war hammer. Phetmolge stops the blow with his large shield. He sidesteps, trying to throw his opponent off balance. He launches a brilliant attack with his war hammer! Khora is hit on the right hip! It is a tremendous blow! Khora winces, obviously feeling great pain. She mutters a desperate prayer and is stopped by the herald. She is determined to become top basher in Lirin Kiv and will keep fighting until she is Inducted into Primus. Jorja The Middle Way +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question of the Week #3 +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question, turn 403: All -- I've read that once you have an AE in a skill area you don't need to use a tactic in that area. What if you have a favorite tactic? Would it benefit your warrior to use it even if he is maxed in that area? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. Answers, turn 404: Q.O.W. -- Tactics. It's generally believed that using a tactic, at any level of skill, increases something (init, attack, damage, etc. though no one's sure) at the expense of one or more other abilities. Usually it seems you lose more for using the tactic than you gain, so they should be used sparingly. However, favorite tactics are a bit different. I've noticed, generally, that the penalties usually imposed by using the tactic are greatly reduced or eliminated, making it more useful. I run a piker in AD who has response as a favorite and run her with it. She seems to do great with it against everybody. My decise running striker still defends well (though she's got favorite learn defense), and she still jumps everyone with a poor decise rating. My advice is to give it a try if it's a tactic you think your warrior needs, or can use based on their current point of development. -- Adie Hanibal -- It really is almost like flicking a switch the way you can (usually) prevent death intent statements if you want to. Dartor is the arena expert on killing and he too agrees. Most new managers gain pleasure from seeing their warriors kill, and it's not something to be ashamed of. But there is a better way of going about things. I think as you gain more experience and experiment with lower KD, you'll find that running with a 4 where you used to run with a 6 will have little effect on a warrior's performance other than decreasing the chance of death intent. This is especially true in the first minute, or before your warrior would get tired. -- Generalissimo Puerco Hanibal -- Each tactic has some benefits and some drawbacks. I can't tell you exactly what those are because I don't know myself. If a tactic only provided the equivalent of extra skills, then it might be true that a warrior wouldn't need them after a certain level of skill is achieved. But let's say that your warrior has an AE+3 and his opponent has a MA. Then there might still be good cause to use a tactic. I believe tactics grant benefits that can't always be translated into more skills. I think the best example of this is what happens when response is used against decise. Tactics have their value at all levels of the game, but the most valuable tactics might change. I don't think many would run with decise at the top of AD, though lunge and dodge remain popular. But for a new warrior, decise can be very important. Tactics are not well documented in the literature, and for that reason you may do well to learn first-hand and develop some instincts regarding the use of appropriate tactics. -- Generalissimo Puerco Hanibal -- Regarding the latest question: if you have an advanced expert in an area that equates to a given tactic, is there any point in running the tactic. Yes, if the tactic is a useful one. I don't THINK that there is a one-to-one equivalence between types of skills and types of tactics. For one thing, there are eight tactics and only six types of skills! -- Leeta Question, turn 404: All -- Do you think you are faster with your favorite weapon? If your fav is a Halberd would you be quicker with a War Hammer? I've read you get +4 in each area if you are using your favorite. -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. Answers, turn 405: Hanibal -- I strongly doubt that a favorite weapon gives four extra skills in each category. I don't see how anyone could know that unless it was said by a credible source within the GC. I'm terrible at finding favorite weapons. I can tell you that the one large favorite weapon I've had experience with is the greatsword, and it is still lousy even as a favorite. I really enjoy longsword as a favorite. -- Generalissimo Puerco Q.O.W. -- With regard to favorites, the only really obvious effect is that you are automatically well suited to it, and the warrior using it almost always throws more critical attacks with that weapon than if it wasn't their favorite. That pretty much gives me the impression it only helps attack. -- Adie Q.O.W. -- I would be amazed if you would receive +4 in each area for a favorite weapon. And we do not believe the fave adds to the speed with the weapon. The fave greatly aids attack and parry, hit %, and ability to hold onto the weapon. And, of course, criticals increase. -- Kennelworth Hanibal -- I don't know about specific bonuses for using a favored weapon. However, I do believe that if your favored weapon is something that you aren't otherwise suited for (for example, a broadsword for someone lacking the necessary attributes), you can often get good results by going for a lower version of that weapon. From the halberd of your example, for instance, "down" to a great axe, or even farther down to battle axe and then to hatchet. Experiment with them and see what might work. I have no specific numbers to support this, but it is the impression I've gathered over the cycles. -- Leeta SPY REPORT Oh, hi. Its just little 'ol Debby Tonte. Thought I'd check out NOBLISH ISLAND to see what's new. Like, CRUCIBLE had to be so embarrassed when they got kicked off #1 spot by MIDDLE WAY 18! Way to go MIDDLE WAY 18! MVP award for LISA KAROL? MIDDLE WAY 18's proud of her after beating ASH and getting 16 points. Talk about yer big time losers! DEATHBLADE got smashed by MYEYESAREUPHERE, and lost 9 points! Don't you think the Duelmaster is being unfair? I think BLACKMOON should let VETERAN MERCENARY be Duelmaster for a while, without fighting about it. I hear the top team insists all their warriors get nine hours sleep. They want photogenic fighters for PR photos. AAARRGH!!! I HATE SPYREPORTING!!! Sorry. I just had to say it. Like, is TARG popular, or what? He was challenged the most in all of NOBLISH ISLAND! He's got a 1-1-1, is that good? Challenges, revenges, Bloodfeuds. All NOBLISH ISLAND ever talks about is fighting! Me, I'm more laid back. Like was that some Bloodfeud, or what? (DUNN vs. SLAPYOUINPUBLIC, that is.) MYEYESAREUPHERE bloodfeuded (is that a word?) DEATHBLADE for revenge over some guy's bad fortune. Was it really worth it? Fight, fight, fight. Is that all you guys can do? Remember, blood on a purple robe may stain. Soak it in cold water, and hand wash. I know how much you like reading this stuff, but I really should stop. Its been really albendranius! Later, guys-- Debby Tonte DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BLACKMOON 8556 6 0 1 66 ECLIPSE (1476) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME NIGHTSHADOW 8555 5 1 1 40 ECLIPSE (1476) MYEYESAREUPHERE 8565 4 0 1 40 CRUCIBLE (1480) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME GABRIELLE 8515 2 0 0 28 THE CYRKLE (1472) DEATHBLADE 8559 3 3 2 27 ECLIPSE (1476) ROS QUIN 8589 3 0 0 27 MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) RON BURGUNDY 8566 4 1 0 26 CRUCIBLE (1480) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DUNN 8488 2 0 0 23 THE WOLVES (1467) FALWORTH 8573 3 0 0 22 DEFENDERS (1481) TARIN SILLS 8588 3 0 0 22 MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) LISA KAROL 8592 2 1 1 20 MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) NOLAN MARRIK 8591 2 1 0 18 MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) TARG 8587 1 1 1 17 THE WOLVES (1467) POL ORVIN 8590 2 1 0 15 MIDDLE WAY 18 (1483) -NIGHTFALL 8595 2 0 0 15 GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) -FIREFORGE 8561 2 0 0 14 DRAGON LANCE (1479) KLAATU 8514 1 1 0 11 THE CYRKLE (1472) -MR. GREEN 8597 1 1 0 11 GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) BUFFY 8511 2 0 0 10 THE CYRKLE (1472) BOLT THROWER 8567 2 3 0 9 CRUCIBLE (1480) LEVITHEAN 8485 1 4 0 7 THE WOLVES (1467) -PROF. PLUM 8594 1 1 0 7 GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) VALERIAN 8484 0 6 0 6 THE WOLVES (1467) SLAPYOUINPUBLIC 8603 1 1 1 5 CRUCIBLE (1480) -RAISTLIN 8563 1 1 0 4 DRAGON LANCE (1479) BLIMRING 8576 0 3 0 3 DEFENDERS (1481) -GUDGE 8593 0 2 0 2 GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) -MISS SCARLET 8596 0 2 0 2 GOTTA GET A CLUE (1484) -TASSLCHUFF 8564 0 2 0 2 DRAGON LANCE (1479) QUESTOR 8512 0 2 0 2 THE CYRKLE (1472) -ISTAR 8560 0 2 0 2 DRAGON LANCE (1479) -GIGRUNAN 8575 0 1 0 1 DEFENDERS (1481) -THURMONIN 8574 0 1 0 1 DEFENDERS (1481) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME NOT FOR LONG 8611 0 1 0 1 CRUCIBLE (1480) -GOLDMOON 8562 0 1 0 1 DRAGON LANCE (1479) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? GUNNY HIGHWAY 8568 3 1 0 CRUCIBLE 1480 TARG 8587 241 BLIZZARD 8569 2 1 0 CRUCIBLE 1480 DEATHBLADE 8559 240 JUST REV ASH 8513 1 1 0 THE CYRKLE 1472 LISA KAROL 8592 242 BOROM 8577 0 1 0 DEFENDERS 1481 NIGHTSHADOW 8555 240 MISTWALKER 8605 1 1 1 ECLIPSE 1476 SHEWISH GIANT 21 242 NONE FOEREAPER 8612 0 1 0 ECLIPSE 1476 SPYMASTER 22 242 NONE SONNY 8486 0 1 0 THE WOLVES 1467 MYEYESAREUPHERE 8565 238 NOT REVE CHEWIE 8487 1 1 0 THE WOLVES 1467 SLAPYOUINPUBLIC 8603 241 JUST REV PERSONAL ADS Noblish Island residents -- Drake seems to be MIA, so I decided to give Jorja a hand this turn by imparting some DM knowledge. I will not be making all my comments in one sitting at the computer, so they may be spaced a bit in this NL. -- Master Darque Comments on article "The Effects of Coordination" -- The writer of this article makes three claims in regards to coordination: 1) low coordination leads to more weapon drops; 2) low coordination hinders drawing a back up weapon; and 3) low coordination hinders a warrior that has been knocked from his feet. First, according to Terrablood's website, the chart he cites in the article is incorrect The "Marvel of Fighting Coordination" appears only at a combined total of 41-42 (Speed + Deftness). Secondly, I will remind you that Coordination does have a minor effect upon your warrior, but only at higher coordination levels. You may get a Coordination sub- statement [with the ability to use a weapon in each hand] if your Speed + Deftness is 28 or greater and Speed and Deftness are 14 or greater. This is known as a quasi- ambidextrous statement. While it does not confer any skill bonus, it does lower the deftness requirements for off-hand weapons. As to the authors three main claims in the article, I am unsure if they are 100% accurate. I have seen multitudes of warriors that were clumsy and highly coordinated pass and fail each of his claims on a regular basis. Most managers to my knowledge pay little to no attention to coordination, apart from noticing the quasi-ambidextrous sub-statement. Comment on the Basic Ripper -- Theories and advice on the great Parry Riposte are bountiful in the world of DM. Everyone has the answer, but very few have that unstoppable Ripper at the top of the arena. The advice in this article is solid, though it should not be used exclusively. The writer of this article seems to favor a more offensive approach to PRs. Rippers are a finesse style and as such can be run successfully many different ways. A quick chat with managers that do prefer the PR style will lead you to the same conclusion. This is good advice for all styles in the game. What works for one particular warrior will not always be true for the next one, no matter how similar they may appear to be in design. The numbers he presents in the article (15+ in Wit, Will, and Deft) are sometimes hard to come by with roll ups. I feel you can skimp on the Will if you have enough in both Wit and Will. Be sure to compensate low Will with moderate Strength and Constitution. Comments on Stimpy Thoughts on Total Parries Part II -- Since I have not read part one, it is hard to comment on this article. I do not know what type of design he is advocating. I will say there are two types of TPs in the D2 world, the scum and the hybrid. The scum is the STR, CON, and WILL monster that can take a beating like no ones business. SIZE may also be important to the scum because it will have an affect upon Hit Points. These warriors do well on varying levels of the game and in the two main aspects of D2--arena play and tourney play. The scum variety will work well with the numbers he is pushing. The hybrid TP is more offensive minded, but that does not mean that you must forsake the style's inherent strengths. STR, CON, and WILL are still key components, but you add WIT into the equation. Development is not dependent upon stat raises, but upon skills learned. TPs generally favor lower OE and AL than most styles. His numbers are good, but you can tweak the OE a bit if you want to get more offensive swings out of the TP. If you begin witnessing a lot of missed and wild swings, drop the OE slowly until he gets comfortable. The Userous Merchant? I should be fighting managed warriors. Anyway, he won't be using anyone anymore! -- Blackmoon Geeze, another kill. I'm not even trying. Nobody likes cults anyway. -- Deathblade Kodiak -- Ron Burgundy is a fine warrior and one heck of an anchorman. Good idea, though, lets not get bloody. -- Fox, mgr. Eclipse Samuel Pleasure -- It would appear that we can not meet on the sands without enriching the coffin makers. Hell seven of our nineteen fights have been against you guys. Gunny Highway will be missed sorely as I'm sure your squad may mourn Chewie. I shall bloodfeud and I expect the same. In fact we will be going out of our way to slay as many of your warriors as the Spear God may grant us. It shouldn't be hard to blood feud SLAPYOUINPUBLIC, he will be available and challenging members of your stable. -- Kodiak, mgr. Crucible Fox -- You're on quite a run, friend. Congratulations on holding the top four rankings on the Island. Not only did EYES not get either of her challenges against you last round she didn't even fight with the rest of the stable. I know I sent five sheets in, I'm not sure what happened to hers. She will be seeking the bloodfeud with Deathblade this round, albeit with our seeking a kill as promised. No harm to our friendship, as I stated in the last diplo, this arena is to small for us to avoid shedding some of each other's blood. Have you noticed that in all four of BOLT THROWER'S fights he has fought someone from your stable? The Fate of Norns awaits us all. -- Kodiak Tasslchuff -- Typo last round. That message was intended for Deathblade not you, sorry. -- Kodiak Eclipse -- DID I READ THAT CORRECTLY? Mistwalker was sent to the dark arena on hisher first fight and butchered WURM KIN? I take it this means that MISTY gets a second chance? -- Kodiak Istar -- If you can handle the weight you may want to consider heavier armor. You're going to need to be able to take more punishment than that. Of course less armor would allow a better view of you assets. Sorry about that short spear to the right buttocks. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it! -- Ron Burgundy P.S. Don't tell Deathblade we had this little talk. She kind of has a crush on me...in fact she can't really resist me, but who could blame her? See...I borrowed some of Fantana's sex panther and...anyway. My hair is always perfect, even post fight. Nightfall -- Win or no win, you've got a problem with that weapon. Right, you knew that. Dropping the offhand weapon, or at least consigning it to backup status, would HELP, but still...darned tricky. -- Pol Orvin P.S. Ah, Jorja wants me to emphasize (and there is NO reason for her to hit me!) that you should not have a weapon in each hand. It is frequently a bad plan anyway, and given your particular deficiency, it's unquestionably a bad plan. And I have to add my two coppers' worth and point out that you don't need two backups as well, because if you don't have the deftness to use two weapons, where will you find it to draw a backup in the heat of battle? It isn't EASY, you know. Falworth -- Go for a hatchet. In fact, I know one gladiator who does very well (she's been Inducted to Primus but was my FIRST graduate) with a pair of hatchets, one in each hand. I don't know if you can handle two, but try at least one. -- Jorja, usurping Lisa Karol's personal P.S. You could also try a broadsword, if you want to go to a different extreme of weight. Tasslchuff -- Good try, bad luck. That's the thing with this game, even when you do everything right, there's always the incalculable. Which I feel was either bad luck on your part, or my incredible Charisma. That's a joke, actually, the character stats on the census forms have NO EFFECT AT ALL on the fights. Mine have never been input. Jorja says it's too much trouble to send them in. (shrug) Ignore them. But, of course, if you meet me on the street somewhere, my Charisma will knock you off your feet. Count on it. -- Tarin Sills Persistant Beggar? Futile. -- Nolan Marrik I agree with Nolan. -- Ros Quin Eclipse -- As any kid would tell any parent, age and long experience don't always equate to skill, and never to luck. It was a good fight. -- Jorja P.S. Nolan's sulking, but so what? If he gets too obnoxious, well, I was basher of some renown in my day.... Samuel Pleasure, manager of The Wolves -- Got your diplo. Regarding your first question: will the newsletters in other arenas be as helpful as the Noblish Island newsletter? No. The contents of the Noblish Island newsletters were assembled over the course of years to give new players a crash-course in playing this game. The articles and informative spotlights are divided into ten sections, and if you keep all the newsletters from your ten turns here, you'll have the full set. Think of them as an informal handbook for playing the game. As regards your second question, concerning weapons versus different armor types, I'm afraid I'm not the person to answer that. I've never been prone to more than lightly bruising the numbers, and that's a question for the number-crunchers. I'll ask around and see what I can find out for you. Also, it may come up on one of the "Question of the Week" sections. -- Jorja MyEyesAreUpHere -- There is someone here who I am sure you are just dying to meet. His name is Targ and he is waiting in the arena for you. A little present from the Wolves. -- Samuel Pleasure LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS MISTWALKER was dealt death by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight. FOEREAPER was killed by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute Dark Arena melee. NIGHTSHADOW demolished TARG in a 1 minute uneven Challenge fight. MYEYESAREUPHERE bested DEATHBLADE in a popular 4 minute Challenge contest. SLAPYOUINPUBLIC was overpowered by DUNN in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge match. BLACKMOON devastated VETERAN MERCENARY in a 1 minute one-sided Title duel. VALERIAN was bested by NOLAN MARRIK in a 1 minute match. KLAATU was viciously subdued by RON BURGUNDY in a 2 minute novice's competition. GABRIELLE vanquished EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a action packed 1 minute uneven duel. QUESTOR was overpowered by POL ORVIN in a 1 minute uneven duel. BUFFY savagely defeated BLIMRING in a 5 minute gruesome novice's fight. LEVITHEAN was beaten by FALWORTH in a 2 minute novice's fight. BOLT THROWER was demolished by TARIN SILLS in a 1 minute mismatched competition. ROS QUIN devastated NOT FOR LONG in a 1 minute bloody one-sided battle. LISA KAROL executed ASH in a 1 minute mismatched conflict. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |SLASHING ATTACK 5 SLASHING ATTACK 26 - 10 - 2 72 | |STRIKING ATTACK 5 AIMED BLOW 16 - 13 - 2 55 | |AIMED BLOW 4 WALL OF STEEL 11 - 10 - 0 52 | |BASHING ATTACK 4 BASHING ATTACK 27 - 25 - 4 52 | |LUNGING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 14 - 2 52 | |PARRY-LUNGE 2 PARRY-LUNGE 9 - 10 - 1 47 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 STRIKING ATTACK 26 - 33 - 4 44 | |PARRY-STRIKE 1 TOTAL PARRY 3 - 5 - 0 38 | |TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-STRIKE 4 - 9 - 0 31 | |WALL OF STEEL 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 15 - 0 12 | Turn 242 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: PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 3 SLASHING ATTACK SLASHING ATTACK 4 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 2 3 AIMED BLOW LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 2 2 STRIKING ATTACK AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK BASHING ATTACK 2 - 2 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 BASHING ATTACK TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME BASHING ATTACK BLACKMOON 8556 6 0 1 66 ECLIPSE (1476) SLASHING ATTACK NIGHTSHADOW 8555 5 1 1 40 ECLIPSE (1476) STRIKING ATTACK MYEYESAREUPHERE 8565 4 0 1 40 CRUCIBLE (1480) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is RON BURGUNDY 8566. The most popular warrior this turn was MYEYESAREUPHERE 8565. The ten other most popular fighters were RON BURGUNDY 8566, GABRIELLE 8515, DEATHBLADE 8559, LEVITHEAN 8485, FALWORTH 8573, MISTWALKER 8605, BUFFY 8511, ROS QUIN 8589, NIGHTSHADOW 8555, and DUNN 8488. The least popular fighter this week was ASH 8513. The other ten least popular fighters were NOT FOR LONG 8611, BOLT THROWER 8567, BLIMRING 8576, QUESTOR 8512, VALERIAN 8484, SLAPYOUINPUBLIC 8603, TARG 8587, LISA KAROL 8592, KLAATU 8514, and BLACKMOON 8556. TRICKS OF THE TRADE Here are a few tricks of the trade I've found out. 15, 17, and 21. Those are the magic numbers for stats; any fighter who starts with a stat (except Con and Size) at any of those numbers will have more beginning skills than normal. Stats: The stats in order of importance with regard to skills, most to least, are wit, will, deftness, speed, and strength, with con giving you no skills, just hit points and endurance. The higher you can start any of these, especially the first three, the more skilled your fighter will be. Logically, therefore, what you really want is a fighter who has wit, will, and deftness at 21. This will be a GOD! And probably go out and get killed immediately due to low con... Raising stats: Care must be taken in doing this. All fighters start out with the ability to learn 20 skills in the categories of Defense, Parry, Riposte, Attack, Decisiveness, and Inititive. When you learn all 120 skills, you've maxed out. You can get skills though normal learns, or by raising stats; however, if you raise stats BEFORE you max out (except for Con), anything gained will count as one of the 20. This is called "burning" skills. If, on the other hand, you wait until you've maxed out, then raising stats will add those skills to the ones you've learned, enabling you to exceed your limits. But raising stats will give an immediate boost to your abilities. It's a question of short term vs. long term gain, you see. And aiming at vital areas - head, chest, and abdomen - will increase your chances of getting kills. And being bloodfeuded, and maybe getting your fighter killed in return. Keep in mind that what you send forth will come back to you. Sometimes redoubled. Roku Warrior Handedness, is he a Righty, Lefty or Ambi? Greetings, Joy and Happiness to everyone!!!! I hope everyone that reads this article is doing well and remembering not to drink and duel. This article discusses things about the handedness of a warrior. Most managers only worry about things like skill, weapons and trains. Handedness is not a major factor in playing the game but it's nice to know some things about it. Most warriors will be right handed, with a small percentage left handed. Even more scarce is the ambidextrous warrior. I believe that the defensive styles have a higher percentage chance to be a lefty or an AMBI than offensive styles do. It's just an observation that I made in the 513 warriors surveyed. Another note on that, I notice that out of 211 parry-ripostes that I was using for a PR article, about 43% of them were AMBIs. The highest percent of AMBIs out of all the styles polled. When a manager puts weapons into his warriors hands and also when he tells his warrior where to strike, handedness plays a key role in the manager's decision making. I had a team with 4 AMBIs on it, and I started to do some experiments with them to see how the AMBI thing worked. I noticed that in general the AMBI favors using the left hand more than the right hand. But, there are a small percentage of AMBI warriors that are reversed, where the right hand is used more than the left. There also seems to be some confusion amongst managers that get the USE of a hand mixed up with which hand the weapons go in (IE which is primary and which is off- hand). Right handed warriors USE the RIGHT hand the most and the primary weapon is the RIGHT hand, off hand is the left hand. For left-handed warriors, it is the opposite of right-handed warriors, of course. The confusion comes with the AMBI handed warriors. AMBIs USE the left hand more BUT the RIGHT hand holds the primary weapon, and the left hand holds the off hand weapon. Every so often you will get an AMBI that this is reversed, where the RIGHT hand is USED more and the PRIMARY weapon is held in the LEFT hand. But this kind of ambi is extremely rare. Well, that's it for now. Have fun, and watch out for that right hook... 'cause it might be a left hook!!!!! For more DM info, or just to chat you can DIPLO me at ADM 103, THE JOKER'S WILD. You can also email me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com or visit my DM web site at the following address: http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessiejest/homepage.htm Ta-Ta, Sir Jessie Jest The Arcane Slasher I love the Slashing Style! Slashers are finesse artists, but they're much more aggressive than your aimed-blow. Well-designed slashers are formidable opponents; they are as ready to defend as to attack, though they prefer the latter. Fate has been to kind to this style, perhaps too kind. Even a badly-designed slasher may do well in basic, prompting many well-intentioned managers to promote questionable set- ups as "the slasher ideal." After reading another `Eureka!' article, I am compelled to add my 2 cents. I've learned how to design great slashers, and I'd like to pass on my ideas to the rest of Alastari. I can't tell you how to keep them alive (in four years I've only gotten one to ADM) but I can outline guidelines for creating a spooky character that will win for you--until they die or get to ADM. Just remember that decent opportunities to make a slasher aren't very common! WT, WL, & DF--15 pts each at least. Period. If you don't have it, you don't have a great slasher. Believe me, you can't afford to skimp anything here! ST--Anything from 7-11 is fine. The smaller the character the higher the number, but anything with a +9 size can get by with a 7 ST. For light armor use an epee, for anything heavier use a pair of hatchets, a scimitar, or a broadsword, depending on ST. CN & SP--Ideally, both are single-digit; if your con is high you're probably looking at a WASTE. Whatever else you do, don't add them. SZ--Since this is something we can't change anyway, don't worry about it. The bigger they are the less points to spread around to other areas, though. My slashers come up with the best overviews when I follow these guidelines. Most earn at least four wit statements; about 50% either start out with an Expert or two, or they pick them up within a couple of skills. One of my very best died in a tourney: 6-3-11-15-51-11-17. He started out doing good damage; picked up Experts in att, init, def, and rip. in two skills or less. This is an extreme example, but it seems to me that the well-designed slasher gets more than their fair share of luck on their overview. I've run one a lot worse that did fairly well--a winning record, until he was killed by a veteran lunger: 11-7-14-15-15-7-15, good bases in attack and init, four wit statements, great damage. Running them? Start out with an offensive effort of 10, and never let the OE drop below 7. How quick you taper down depends on the endurance rating. Slashers burn endurance very quickly; if you don't have good endurance drop right away from 10 to 7 and leave it there unless desperate, then go back to 10. Otherwise try 10, then 9, then 7. Remember, these are aggressive beasts; keep 'em on the offensive! Keep the activity level fairly low except in the very beginning, when you should be running 10. Then drop to 5 or 6, then 3 or 4m then 1. Go back up to 7 or 10 in desperation. Match your kill desire to your offensive effort, always. Summary: 10-10-10, 9-5-9*, 7-3-7, 7-1-7 across. Desperation: 10-10-10 or 10-7- 10. Avoid armor unless you MUST, but no higher than ARM and H. Don't use tactics--they seem to inhibit the slasher's ability to riposte and respond well to their opponent. Exception: to take out scum pick the heaviest weapon your character can lift and use the slash tactic--go for the legs or the arms: 7-1-7. Slash all the way! These `rules' have worked for me. The biggest problem I've had is that my slashers rise too high too quickly. Within five or six fights they're fighting warriors with 15 fights' experience. So be forewarned; give them sometime off every few turns so that they won't get clobbered by some old-timer looking for an easy win! Good Luck! The Arcane Kid, of Astral Kin, Osksi DM-3 *Remember, with `good' endurance only! "The Basher" My friends would laugh if they knew I was writing this, but who cares what they think? The basher is not a bad style in my opinion. It starts with the same base decisiveness as the striker, but has 4-5 more skills in initiative, and 3-4 more skills in att. That's what makes this style so good. I mean, you have the ability to get the jump on your opponent, you have the ability to hit your opponent, and who cares about their high riposte with your high att rating combined with your exp+ in initiative, they won't know what train hit them, much less think about the counter attack. O.K. I only make two types 1st the WL Basher: #1 #2 12 13 10 11 10 9 21 16 15 15 9 13 7 7 Example #1--Currently 8-3-1 in Firehold (68) has Master+1 att, Master +1 init., and Adv.Exp. dec., and is already sitting pretty with 80 recognition points. Example #2--Currently 8-3-0 in Jhans (36) has Exp.+3 att, Adv.Exp. init., and Exp+3 dec. with 87 recognition points. O.K., the other kind I like to call it the "High damage, low will, needs to end the fight before he passes out with exhaustion" Basher. This type of basher relies on his high damage capabilities to make up for his low WL. I've not had the best of luck with these types of bashers, but I do know they can win (Warbeast has proved that to me). The key is to get at least great damage on the roll-up. O.K. some examples: #1 #2 #3 11 13 17 11 9 12 16 17 10 17 17 17 7 10 11 11 11 10 11 7 7 Example #1--I DA'ed, he didn't win Example #2--Killed in round 1 of the winter FTF, went 4-3 in the Oct. Tournament, learned 6 skills 5 being Att. Example #3-1-0 in Jhans(36) I run both styles ALE +L, WH light armor, mace medium armor, and WH heavy armor. Go 10-10-7 dec 1st minute, and after min 1, go 8-8-5. WL basher, and the other kind drop down drastically. Always aim for the head (it gets you an att bonus and could score you a kill every now and then) unless you know you're gonna be up against a TP or waste, then aim for a leg. Well that's gonna be it. Somebody write me and tell me what you think. Uncle Charlie Mgr. Genocide (68) Helter Skelter (36, 100) The Anti-Thesis Slasher Greetings all. No, this is definitely not another "Perfect" article. In fact, it actually is just the opposite--finding success with a warrior whose stats were just average. I am not an expert at this game and do not have near the experience that some managers have. What I do have is some now solid experience with Slashers thanks to this guy. So what I will do with this article is show you how my first attempt at building a Slasher went, what it taught me, and maybe I can show a new or old manager something about the style that can help their game. This Slasher was my first attempt at the style. His starting stats were average at 13-11-12-10-16-11-11. Definitely no Primus-quality warrior. By most people's standards, he wouldn't have even been thought of as an ADM warrior because of his low wit and will combo. Today, I don't know if I would even keep this guy, but at the time I didn't know any better and kept him. I'm glad I did because he turned out to be a good warrior, not great, but good and a fun one to watch. He had three statements to start: "...learned how to be decisive and quick", "...conserve his endurance past what might normally be expected", and "does great damage". The last statement I think helped him a lot in many of his fights. Weapons and Armor Weapons-wise, all I knew about the Slashing style at the time was that a scimitar was good, so I gave him one. He did well with it, so I kept using it. I didn't use any off-hand weapon because I knew that an offensive-styled warrior could make quicker attacks with a weapon using two hands. I gave him one back-up scimitar, knowing that scimitars break though not that often. Early on, I may have given him light armor and a helm, but later I discovered that if he didn't get the first hit, he almost had no hope of winning. After all, the credo of an offensive warrior is to "hit first, hit hard" and hope it ends the fight quickly. I also started to realize he would never be a "great" warrior. My philosophy changed and I could only hope to get him to ADM. So, I decided to use no armor or helm, which slows warriors down. Strategy: Ah, the most important part of this warrior's winning ways. Looking back at his early strategy, I wonder how he did so well. I started him going 10-10-10, attack and protect the head with no tactics. My desperation strategy was usually 10-10-5, which did nothing to help him. I used the decisiveness tactic since his overview said he was decisive. Through observing his fights and looking at what he preferred, I ironed out a general strategy which I think is good for a lot of Slashers: min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ desp OE 10 8 6 4 4 4 5 AL 10 4 2 2 2 2 8 KD 6 8 6 4 4 4 5 AL RA HE -----------------------> PL AM BD -------------------> HE Against more parry-type warriors like WOS and TP's, I've used a 10-6-6 min. One strategy that he seems to like. Design and Trains: I started him off training skills only. But I soon learned that his average stats meant that he wasn't going to learn very well. I decided late to train skills, then stats, every other turn. The training of his will to 17 really helped his endurance out. He finally went to ADM at 15-11-12-12-17-12-11. If I had recognized earlier that he would not be a great warrior, and accepted that, then I might have been about to train everything twice like in the "old" days and he would have gone at 15-13-12-12-18-13-13. Record: He started out great at 4-0-0, then was 8-4-1. He hit a rut and was soon 9-7-1. He was mediocre in his middle fights but was above .500% at 14-12-2. He was under .500% once at 14-15-2. Near the end of his regular DM career, with some careful challenges and strategy changes, he went 5-0-0 and ended up 21-16-2. He was Duelmaster for three turns in Cliffhome. Final Notes: So, what's the purpose of all this? It's to show that anyone can take a mediocre warrior and through careful strategy and design build them into a formidable warrior. I recognized long ago that this Slasher would never be great and accepted it. That's what turned him into the warrior he is today. I was willing to take the risks necessary to make him win. His name is E.G.B.D.F. (Every Good Boy Does Fine) and in this case his name is true. I couldn't have asked more from him in his accomplishments. He can be found fighting occasionally in Darkholm. He's taught me an incredible amount about this style and has contributed to my 65% overall win-loss record with them. I'm open to feedback, positive or negative, and hope in some way that I've helped someone learn more about this style. So, good luck to all and may your swords ring true! Brought to you by Talon, mgr. of Eagles Claw (38,104), Farfignewtons (32) where I'm known as Volksie, and other teams throughout Alastari.