DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/29/2008 Duedate: 04/11/2008
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-257
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
HOLLAND
SHENANIGANS (1494)
(93-8660) [6-1-1,84]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
BROTHER TAO HOLLAND
FAUX TIDES (1482) SHENANIGANS (1494)
(93-8580) [5-4-2,37] (93-8660) [6-1-1,84]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
HOLLAND GEMINI
SHENANIGANS (1494) ORDER (1501)
(93-8660) [6-1-1,84] (93-8703) [3-0-0,26]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. FAUX TIDES (1482) 47
2. HOUSE OF JADE (1503) 20 ELLISHOOD (1493)
3. SHENANIGANS (1494) 18 Unchartered Team
4. MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) 15
5. ORDER (1501) 2 HOUSE OF JADE (1503)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*HOUSE OF JADE (1503) 8 2 0 80.0 1/ 1*SCARLET BROTHERHO (1505) 9 4 0
2/ 1*SCARLET BROTHERHO (1505) 14 4 0 77.8 2/ 5*HOUSE OF JADE (1503) 8 2 0
3/ 4*SHENANIGANS (1494) 19 16 4 54.3 3/ 0 FAUX TIDES (1482) 8 7 3
4/ 5 ELLISHOOD (1493) 19 20 0 48.7 4/ 6*MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) 6 8 0
5/ 7*MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) 17 19 0 47.2 5/ 7*ORDER (1501) 4 5 0
6/ 6*ORDER (1501) 4 5 0 44.4 6/ 4 ELLISHOOD (1493) 3 4 0
7/ 0 FAUX TIDES (1482) 18 30 4 37.5 7/ 8*SHENANIGANS (1494) 2 3 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
Well, I guess this is it, Nob Heads. I'm forced off to greener pastures. Funny
thing, after a 15-year hiatus, I came back to this arena with plans on making it my
home. Unbeknownst to me, I must now transfer out. That's okay, anything new in Duel
2 is alright with me. Okay, here's the low down on Middle Earth's travelling
fighters:
Aragorn: ST 11, CN 11, SZ 9, WT 17, WL 16(17), SP 10, DF 11. Pretty vanilla,
but a WT 17 WL 17 lunger will usually do well in basic and it's easy to fill out a
strategy sheet: 10-7-7.
Gimli -- ST 21, CN 10(11)(12), SZ 8, WT 12, WL 16 (17), SP 7, DF 10 (11). Tried
the opposite of the low will striker. The rollup started with the 21 ST but I didn't
feel like a basher. I never saw how long he could go, but great endurance and carry
a great amount could get him through 9-10 minutes offensively.
Boromir: ST 14, CN 13, SZ 12, WT 15, WL 14 (15), SP 4, DF 12. Seems like any
SP less than 5 becomes a WOS for me. They need no speed and slightly uncoordinated
or clumsy doesn't mean much if you can defend and hit hard.
Balrog: ST 15, CN 12, SZ 18, WT 10, WL 11, SP 5, DF 13. Might have been a
better WOS but we must experiment. He will milll around the middle ranks and after
20 more turns will graduate and be benched. I love his damage, but he learns slower
than Helen Keller, as a basher should.
Dark Arena Meat: ST 9, CN 13, SZ 14, WT 14 (15), WL 17, SP 8, DF 9. I couldn't
figure out what to do with this guy. Started with a 5 ST and 4 DF and I took a shot
at a lunger. I actually had a challenge strategy of Dark Arena, but at the last
minute I scratched it out and gave him one fight to prove himself. Well, he's turned
out 8-1 and the Popularity Leader of the island. A lot you f**@in know, Denunzio.
Anyway, this crew has gotten me to 29-15-1 after one team rollup, I didn't buy
10 and pick a favorite. Now I must be off. Keep your scimitars sharpened and leave
your war flails at home.
-- Deep Thought, mgr. Middle Earth, DM 93
Redlegs DM 4 and Ultra-Violent DM 26
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
"Tinkering strategies?" Jorja glanced around the common room of the Lighthouse
quickly. None of her gladiators were near by, but she leaned forward and lowered her
voice anyway. "The team here doesn't believe I ever do that, and I don't want them
to hear me saying differently, Diaretic. They'd get expectations, and I don't have
any plan to make life that easy for 'em. But here's the way I go at it when I'm
feeling generous with my warriors. Mind you, this is just the way *I* do it, and
there are plenty of other approaches.
"Say I've got a warrior who's a pure offensive style, which means a basher, a
lunger, or a slasher. I don't count strikers, as they're versatile and sometimes
unpredictable. Say I've started him out fast, maybe 8-6-x. Unless he's fighting
another pure offensive, he should be first off the mark. So I look for the problem.
If it's a problem with his numbers and style and he should have been some other kind
of fighter, well, too bad, we're both stuck with it. I can boost his offensive
effort to ten--sometimes it already IS ten, of course, but if it isn't, then that
goes up to the top. I can drop his activity level, say to four. I know some people
start their offensive warriors going 10-10-x, but to my mind, this is just asking for
early burnout in a fight. I've seen that kind of thing--a warrior comes out of the
starting gate like his socks are on fire, and by the MIDDLE, not the end, of the
first minute, he's panting and staggering, and losing. Sure, some warriors can take
that kind of energy burn, but most can't.
"So I tinker with his numbers, and it doesn't help, he still gets jumped when he
shouldn't. The next thing to try is dropping the weight he's carrying. Maybe I've
got him in some kind of mail, okay, I drop that to leather. This reduces his
protection against blows from his opponent, of course, but everything's a trade-off.
If he gets out there first and deals a shrewd blow or two, it won't matter; he'll win
before he gets hurt. If he's already in leather, or if I want to lighten him up
further, I'll drop his backup weapon and give him a lighter one. Say he's got a
scimitar with a backup same, maybe I'll drop the backup to a shortsword or even a
dagger. I'll always leave him SOME backup weapon--"
"He'd have his fists, if you didn't give him a backup weapon, wouldn't he?"
Diaretic asked.
Jorja shrugged. "Well... yes, but none of the pure offensives do well with
their fists. Strikers, maybe, but not bashers, lungers, or slashers. They can and
will use 'em if they have nothing else, but they won't do well. And frankly, I
wouldn't even send out an aimed blow, the CLASSIC unarmed style, with nothing but his
fists for backups. I've seen too many of them 'struck in the arm with the parry'.
It's too risky for a warrior who's already got problems. Unless, of course..." she
looked suddenly thoughtful, "I'm hoping he'll get killed...."
Diaretic raised his eyebrows. "Do you do that much?"
"Send them out hoping they'll die?" Jorja shrugged. "Well, yes and no. I run
everything, maybe send one warrior in a hundred to the Dark Arena--after he's fought
for a year or two. There are often warriors that I would LIKE to see die, even
though I hate the hassle of recruiting new ones. But I've never sent a warrior out
unarmed, unarmored, and with the basic 1-1-1 default strategy. At least, not
deliberately. There's a team I have in Murska that was running on maintenance once.
I wasn't paying attention, and no less than THREE new warriors started up there
without strategies--and survived! They had horrible records by the time one of the
other managers managed to get my attention, 0-19 I think it was, but they survived.
Tough men, and they eventually made it to graduation, once I gave them 'sharp pointy
things' to use on their opponents. But I don't do that deliberately." She paused
and signaled for one of the waiters to bring Diaretic a fresh drink.
"Where was I? Warriors getting jumped when they shouldn't be, right. As a last
resort, because I don't really care for tactics, I might give such a warrior
decisiveness in the first minute, also.
"But if none of this works, if he still gets jumped regularly, then I have to
think about taking a different approach. Maybe he'd be better off running slowly,
despite his style. So I put more armor on him, some kind of mail, usually, and I
slow down his first minute, maybe invert it: 4-6-x or 4-8-x or something. And then
in the second minute pop him up to eight or ten offensive effort, on the idea that
he'll catch the faster offensives when they're tired. Sometimes it works.
Especially with beginning warriors, winning can often be a game of endurance. He who
is still standing, wins."
Diaretic nodded and sipped his drink. Half-formed ideas of how he might use
these ideas on his own warriors revolved in his mind. "What about the opposite case,
a defensive warrior who can't last long enough to win as he should?"
"The total parry who collapses from exhaustion in the second minute?" Jorja
laughed. "I've had a few of those over the years. I call 'em 'the warriors of
exasperation'. It isn't easy running everything, you know--I end up with some
warriors that not even a mother could love, and with them, I tend to do really dumb
things, just for the heck of it. The aimed blow with a deftness of three or four,
for instance, or the total parry with no con.
"But for the, hmm, 'legitimate' cases of warriors running too fast, well, there
are signs as obvious as an offensive getting jumped. 'Fighting to conserve energy',
'straining to hold his weary arms at guard', stuff like that in the fight report is a
sure sign. You can take two approaches to that, lower the weight they're carrying so
as not to burn their energy that way--lighter armor, lighter weapons. Or slow 'em
down. Say I've got a ripper going 6-8-x and stumbling with exhaustion in the second
minute. I might slow this warrior down to 4-6 and see if that helps. Heck, I've
even done that with offensives. Back when I started slashers out going 10-10-x, I'd
get them stumbling with exhaustion and losing because of it in the second or even the
FIRST minute, and I'd slow 'em down. Activity level comes down first for an
offensive warrior--I think of that as the 'dodging and parrying' number. Offensive
effort comes down first for the defensives."
"Hmm." The younger manager frowned, making a series of linked rings on the
table top with the wet bottom of his glass. "What about warriors who flail wildly?"
"I've been told that this is due to lack of attack skills, and unless you're
going to train stats and burn those skills, nothing but time will cure it. But I've
found that sometimes--not always--lowering kill desire helps. Drop it to five, say,
if it's higher. Dropping the offensive effort a notch might help, too. I think of
'flailing wildly' as 'trying too hard'. You can never be sure, of course, because
managing gladiators is an art, not a science." She paused and half stood, looking
toward a center of commotion. "Do you want Wednesday to get falling down drunk on
the night before the fights?"
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #8 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
Question, turn 417:
All -- Here's last cycle's question that didn't make it in (along with page two of my
personals). What are the top five weapons to be successful in Advanced? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 418:
Q.O.W. Response -- The top weapons in AD, or even basic DM, are generally agreed upon
to be the SC, LO, BS, and BA. The scimitar is an all round great weapon. Seems
easier to crit with, and even against heavy armor, still dishes out a lot of damage.
Because it's a slashing weapon, it seems to pull a lot of critical damage on normal
hits. The longsword is the second best, though that could be contended, for its one
great ability, the knockdown! The broadsword is heavy, but it dishes out heavy
abuse, it doesn't break often, and it is pretty good at smashing through parries.
The battle axe is just plain cool, and it is very painful! After those four, it's
difficult to say which weapon is better. I like daggers, though shortswords are
strong, and the halberd is really fun if your warrior can throw crits with it. --
Adie
I must have missed the question this is answering, or it was part of an ongoing and
sometimes heated discussion on winning and killing and aiming locations in Aruak
City.
Q.O.W. Response -- Other than the obvious ability of aiming at the
chest/abdomen/head to gain death intent statement, I think that it's more difficult
to win when aiming at the body because there are more hit-points there. This is
especially the case against tough, armored warriors. Attacking the body with lunging
weapons can get knockdowns, but I think that it's even easier if you aim at the legs.
If you consider protect locations though, maybe the body is better to aim at because
maybe fewer people protect it.
The limbs, and head especially, have less hit points, so if struck, such a
warrior usually gives up sooner. Aiming at the head can get quick victories and
death intent statements, but results in more deaths, obviously. But I think a lot of
people routinely protect the head. Aiming at the arms allows the defeat of a warrior
when they lose their weapon, or use of their arm, and can't draw a back up. -- Adie
P.S. I only advocate aiming at the arms and legs in Aruak City. Elsewhere is a
different story.
Question for turn 418, to be answered next turn:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Adie's QoW -- Striking arms can cause an opponent to drop their weapon and
(temporarily) lose the use of the limb. Striking the legs can increase the chance of
a knockdown. Striking at head, chest, or abdomen can allow for a kill on the sands.
Chest and abdomen seem to be the locations best protected by armor. Head can have a
different level of armor protection than the rest of the warrior's body, which can
make things tactically interesting. From what I've seen, managers usually have their
warriors protect their vital hit locations by default, so to me it makes more sense
to aim at non-vitals. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Is Generalissimo Puerco psychic? Tune in next turn and find out!
Hanibal's QoW -- All of the one-handed swords make up the top tier of weapons, with
the axes and spears on the second tier (consider halberd in this group), and all the
bludgeoning weapons (and the greatsword) at the bottom. Quarterstaves, war hammers,
and mauls are liked by some, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have them.
Unfortunately the quarterstaff recently became tied (with longsword) among my LPs for
most popular favorite weapon. Also, interestingly, I only have one LP that favors
the scimitar, and it's a total parry! -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Top five weapons? Hm, scimitar, scimitar, scimitar.... Oh, you mean
DIFFERENT weapons? A lot depends on the style of the warrior in question and his or
her favorite. But scimitar is up there near the top of the list for many styles. --
Leeta
The question from turn 418:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Answers from turn 419 and 420:
Q.O.W. Answer: I have had all sorts of s#&t (not sure what word this was
supposed to be) happen regarding arms falling uselessly at their side: some warriors
give up, some continue on, I've even had a warrior lose his use of an arm twice in
one fight (and he still won!!!). One thing is certain...the weapon in the useless
hand always drops in the sand. -- Dr. Strange
Refers to last turn's question--
QOW -- Weapons? We agree that SC seems tops with LO and BS highly desirable. The
Consortium clan has a great affinity for these also: BA, DA, QS, SH, WH and GA. Not
the normal "feelings," but... -- Kennelworth
QOW -- A useless arm is a statement and since it normally comes at the end, it
"seems" to mean something, but it is similar to a dropped weapon. -- Kennelworth
Answer Q.O.W. (arms) -- When arms are struck in combat, I too have seen a variety of
things occur. I've seen them get hit, forcing a weapon to be dropped, but then a
back up pulled immediately. I've seen them get hit, drop a weapon, and be too hotly
engaged to pull a new one. Also, they can hang useless after being struck. The
weirdest thing I've ever seen is a warrior lose the use of their arm, drop their
weapon, strike with their fists, and then have one of those fists get parried, AND IT
WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WAS USELESS THAT WAS INJURED BY THE PARRY! Strange eh? So if
both arms went useless, you could still fight with fists? Hmm... -- Adie
New question, turn 419:
All -- I recently tried an experiment where I gave a warrior a Primary weapon
(Broadsword) and the same off-hand back-up. She pulled the back-up when things
slowed down in min. 2. Does this mean she prefers two weapons or do they always do
that? If you give a warrior two back-ups will they pull the one they prefer or
whatever you list first? -- Hanibal -- Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 420:
Answer Q.O.W. (backups) -- When things slow down in a fight and neither warrior is
eager to hold the initiative, they will usually pull any off-hand or back up weapon
they have, whether they need it or not. It has no relation to whether that warrior
prefers to fight with two weapons or not.
Drawing back-ups also can occur when the fight is intense. If your weapon
breaks while on the offense, often such a warrior will draw their back up and attempt
a riposte to hold the init. Also, if you're on the defensive and you attempt to
riposte, but you have a back-up weapon or off-hand weapon to draw, your warrior may
try to pull it. Success is not always guaranteed in either case though since your
warrior may be 'to hotly engaged'. Even if a defending warrior succeeds, drawing a
weapon after a riposte forces that warrior to give up the init they could have taken.
But if they pull a back-up and THEN riposte, then can take the init.
If you give a warrior two back-ups, they pull the one listed first, and if it
breaks or is dropped, they'll pull the second. It is not random. -- Adie
QoW -- If the warrior has a free off-hand, and a backup off-hand weapon, it usually
isn't long before they decide to make use of it. I'm guessing that OE and
coordination (anonymous source) are factors that affect the likelihood of drawing a
backup in the off-hand. Wanna Be, manager of A Savage Few here in Aruak, once hosted
a fast draw contest where contestants had to start the fight unarmed but could have
backup weapons. The all-out offensives would sometimes spend a full minute or more
with their fists before deciding to draw steel. The defensives would usually draw
something the first chance their opponent would give them. -- Generalissimo Puerco
New question, turn 420:
All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal --
Q.O.W.
We're now caught up with Aruak City (dm 11) on the Questions of the Week; they are
about to run turn 421 as I write this. So if Hanibal misses a turn in asking, or the
managers there miss a turn in answering, we'll have to miss a turn in looking over
their shoulders. Amazing how things follow one another like dominoes falling, isn't
it? There is NO REASON AT ALL why you here can't pose Questions of the Week of your
own. Send them as a personal to DM 11, identify yourself as a new manager seeking
enlightenment, and you should get a helpful response. -- Jorja
SPY REPORT
Much has changed in NOBLISH ISLAND since last I was here. Never fear, Olaf
Modeen adapts to many situations, as do all successful fighters. Ya gotta be quick
on yer feet! Keep your elbow off the table! Thrust! Block out the pain! HOUSE OF
JADE is now ranked 2nd with a 4-1-0 turn. What's with HOLLAND? He actually beat
NOBLISH ISLAND's VENEMOUS CONCUBINE, and walked away with 18 more points from the
fight. Major screwup at SHENANIGANS. KOS-MOS lost 7 points to ONE EYED MACK. Some
new strategies, perhaps? Maybe KOS-MOS will provide more easy wins... I can barely
restrain my enthusiam for SHENANIGANS' outstanding member, Duelmaster HOLLAND.
Wouldn't it be nice to have live subjects to practice on? I hear some team is
looking into the uses of convicted prisoners.
Speaking of cowardly avoiders and unfair challenges... How well I know the
feeling of being in the most avoided team! Don't fall out of practive, HOUSE OF
JADE! In my day, no team with a 4-1-0 would scare me off! What's the problem, FAUX
TIDES? What do people see in ONE EYED MACK? His 7-2-0? FAUX TIDES ain't talkin',
but he's got 36 points. EARL BRUCE didn't quite know what to make of a challenge he
received from BASTOR of FAUX TIDES, who is 23 points below him. BASTOR perhaps got
his just desserts, seeing as he bested EARL BRUCE and ended up with 33 recognition
points.
Warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND unite. You have only your games to lose! Someone
told GLAIVE that ORDER never Bloodfeuded, that he'd have an easy kill. Well, I'm
sure whoever misled you is right sorry. Many a warrior has met his fate in a
hungover stupor. You young rapscallions, take note!
Who knows what the future holds for a warrior. More fights, there's no doubt.
All work and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter. Work and play no fighter dull Olaf.
Olaffighterwork and no play. Remember--a good fighter needs both good skills and
good luck. Until next time,-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
HOLLAND 8660 6 1 1 84 SHENANIGANS (1494)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-LEINAD 8700 6 0 0 61 ELLISHOOD (1493)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-AKIRE 8654 5 3 0 43 ELLISHOOD (1493)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BROTHER TAO 8580 5 4 2 37 FAUX TIDES (1482)
WOODY HAYES 8726 4 0 0 37 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505)
ONE EYED MACK 8579 7 2 0 36 FAUX TIDES (1482)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BASTOR 8699 2 5 1 33 FAUX TIDES (1482)
TALHO 8657 4 3 1 27 SHENANIGANS (1494)
VILLITA ULAN 8708 4 4 0 26 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502)
GEMINI 8703 3 0 0 26 ORDER (1501)
MARA ACOMA 8712 2 0 0 24 HOUSE OF JADE (1503)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SALIRA TEES 8728 4 2 0 22 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502)
KOS-MOS 8659 4 3 0 19 SHENANIGANS (1494)
TEEBI SHOSTALLO 8707 3 5 0 19 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502)
LUJAN 8715 2 0 0 19 HOUSE OF JADE (1503)
EDDIE GEORGE 8724 3 1 0 18 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505)
-ARCHIE GRIFFIN 8725 2 0 0 17 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505)
PAPWYEO 8713 2 0 0 17 HOUSE OF JADE (1503)
ASSYLA 8652 3 6 0 15 ELLISHOOD (1493)
XANTIPAR WYE 8709 3 5 0 14 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502)
KEYOKE 8711 2 0 0 14 HOUSE OF JADE (1503)
EARL BRUCE 8723 3 1 0 10 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505)
BO DILLY 8697 1 6 0 9 FAUX TIDES (1482)
JIM TRESSEL 8727 2 2 0 8 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505)
GLAIVE 8731 1 2 1 8 FAUX TIDES (1482)
SELLATRA ROSE 8737 1 1 0 4 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502)
ARIES 8701 1 1 0 4 ORDER (1501)
REGGISAKI 8702 0 2 0 2 ORDER (1501)
LOGI THE GIMP 8714 0 2 0 2 HOUSE OF JADE (1503)
-ELYK II 8730 0 1 0 1 ELLISHOOD (1493)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
NOTYAD 8729 0 2 0 ELLISHOOD 1493 BASTOR 8699 255 REVENGED
GLADIUS ROSE 8698 0 4 0 FAUX TIDES 1482 TALHO 8657 254
BOURNE 8705 0 2 0 ORDER 1501 GLAIVE 8731 256 JUST REVENGED
ANEMONE 8656 3 4 1 SHENANIGANS 1494 BROTHER TAO 8580 257
MAHO 8658 2 5 1 SHENANIGANS 1494 BLACK ORC 257 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Glaive -- You have dishonored my family by killing my brother Bourne. You asked to
see me on the sands again. I am sorry for the outcome. -- Gemini, Ftr Order
Gimli -- That shouldn't have worked for you. Darn. Good fight. -- Teebi Shostallo
Persistent Beggar? Bah. -- Villita Ulan
One Eyed Mack -- You're as wild as a one-eyed Jack. Still, though you won, some
advice: either train stats for that weapon, or drop it and use your backup. Plus,
the armor is generally not considered well suited to your style. Of course,
"generally" means it isn't always true.... -- Xantipar Wye
P.S. It also looks like you might have had trouble going farther into the second
minute. "Breathing heavily" is a bad sign.
Woody Hayes -- I suppose I should be *glad* that so many of our opponents have got a
grip on strategy, but I'm not. I want you to do dumb things and lose. -- Salira Tees
Logi the Gimp -- Comparing our styles and my strategy and noting that I got the first
move, I would guess you need to be running faster (the offensive effort and activity
level numbers in your strategy). -- Sellatra Rose
All -- Wow! Such excellent and exciting duels this turn. Boromir, Assyla, Xantipar
and the late Bourne. It will be a sad thing to leave here finally. Ellishod has
been an excellent challenge as well as my ARCH foe Shennanigans <grin>. I'm not sure
where I'm headed, but I hope to see you down the road as this will be my last turn
(and hopefully struggle for DM!). -- Gavin Rule, Faux Tides 1482
Order -- Not long ago, I was in your shoes. Stick with it, Jorja is an excellent
teacher. Usually, it's not preferred to use shields, however. I fear you will only
have one shot (this turn) to seek revenge. Pity! I love a good BF. -- Gavin Rule
Talho -- You have thwarted our attempt to avenge Gladius by shamefully hiding. I'm
surprised the illustrious Spy Master hasn't had a mouth full on this. One day, we
will meet again and seek revenge on our own terms. It's been a pleasure! Till
swords meet! -- Bastor
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
MAHO was dealt death by BLACK ORC in a crowd pleasing 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
GEMINI viciously subdued GLAIVE in a exciting 1 minute beginner's Bloodfeud battle.
KOS-MOS was vanquished by ONE EYED MACK in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge brawl.
ANEMONE was savagely slain by BROTHER TAO in a 2 minute brutal Challenge fight.
BASTOR devastated EARL BRUCE in a 1 minute uneven Challenge brawl.
BO DILLY was overpowered by MARA ACOMA in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge struggle.
ARIES was viciously subdued by LUJAN in a 4 minute novice's Challenge competition.
REGGISAKI lost to PAPWYEO in a 2 minute beginner's Challenge duel.
HOLLAND vanquished VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a action packed 1 minute uneven Title fight.
WOODY HAYES defeated VILLITA ULAN in a 2 minute gruesome match.
TALHO beat ASSYLA in a 1 minute fight.
XANTIPAR WYE was subdued by KEYOKE in a unpopular 6 minute match.
TEEBI SHOSTALLO handily defeated LOGI THE GIMP in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
SALIRA TEES overpowered PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 2 minute mismatched conflict.
EDDIE GEORGE overpowered SELLATRA ROSE in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
JIM TRESSEL was devastated by MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute uneven duel.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK 6 LUNGING ATTACK 34 - 15 - 3 69 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 SLASHING ATTACK 27 - 12 - 0 69 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 WALL OF STEEL 12 - 9 - 0 57 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 30 - 26 - 2 54 |
|BASHING ATTACK 3 AIMED BLOW 15 - 16 - 4 48 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 PARRY-STRIKE 10 - 15 - 0 40 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 PARRY-LUNGE 5 - 8 - 0 38 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 TOTAL PARRY 7 - 12 - 0 37 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 BASHING ATTACK 9 - 17 - 1 35 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 9 - 20 - 0 31 |
Turn 257 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:
SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 5 LUNGING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 2 SLASHING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 5 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 1 PARRY-STRIKE
AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 2 1 AIMED BLOW
PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 2 1 BASHING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK HOLLAND 8660 6 1 1 84 SHENANIGANS (1494)
AIMED BLOW BROTHER TAO 8580 5 4 2 37 FAUX TIDES (1482)
SLASHING ATTACK ONE EYED MACK 8579 7 2 0 36 FAUX TIDES (1482)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is HOLLAND 8660. The most popular warrior this turn
was MAHO 8658. The ten other most popular fighters were GEMINI 8703, LUJAN 8715,
PAPWYEO 8713, HOLLAND 8660, VILLITA ULAN 8708, ANEMONE 8656, WOODY HAYES 8726, TEEBI
SHOSTALLO 8707, SALIRA TEES 8728, and BROTHER TAO 8580.
The least popular fighter this week was KEYOKE 8711. The other ten least popular
fighters were XANTIPAR WYE 8709, JIM TRESSEL 8727, SELLATRA ROSE 8737, ASSYLA 8652,
REGGISAKI 8702, ARIES 8701, BO DILLY 8697, EARL BRUCE 8723, KOS-MOS 8659, and LOGI
THE GIMP 8714.
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A NOTE ON MAILMEN
In response to the articles on new fighting styles, those were good, but how can
you forget our most favorite warrior who has a style all his own? The Mailman! To
Duelmasters he is our most sacred person. I mean, how many of you managers out their
have sat down and calculated what day your Duelmasters will arrive and have sat
waiting for it to arrive, while unknown to you, your mailman is fighting away to get
your Duelmasters delivered. Let's review him...
ST - should be around 19. He needs to heft two medium bags, cloth mail armor and
a ton of rubber bands.
CN - 13, give or take a few. He does get bitten by dogs often.
SZ - Any.
WT - At least 10. He often likes to read the mail.
WL - Try about 20. He must endure all kinds of weather.
SP - 16 is good. He needs to run across streets in traffic.
DF - 10 is good. Sometimes he has to carry packages.
This setup should get you a good mailman but they are hard to come by. If you
can come up with any better, diplo me. I am:
Staple Gun
mgr. of Technet (3)
The New Deal (23)
I am currently working on the U.P.S. and Federal Express warriors.
"Strikers R Us"
Greetings, everyone. It is I, Talon, again. I am very glad to see everyone
participating in the arena and sharing their thoughts on styles and strategies. This
turn I will take on the striking attack style, which is certainly one of my favorites.
I believe the striker is one of the easiest styles to run, and one in which no
team should be without. A high-powered striker can diversify and empower your team.
A well run striker can beat any other style, period, at any level in regular
Duelmasters. In arenas where scum TPs are rampant, strikers are just the answer as
they can attack for up to 12 minutes or more. Strikers are versatile. They can do
exceptionally well with a dagger as a weapon or with a halberd. They can do well with
no armor or with plate armor.
Stats:
Biff Primal Solid Perfect
ST 5-21 9-17 13 15
CN 3+ 3+ 6 3
SZ 9-21 3-17 9 5
WT 3-17 17 + 17 21
WL 9-17 13 + 17 15
SP 5+ 5-13 9 8
DF 9+ 9-17 13 17
With the way I design strikers, there are essentially two strikers that evolve.
The BIFF and the PRIMAL. The Biff striker is typically one that is not looking long-
term, but one which I want to run and have fun with. With this striker, I try to have
one stat (wit, will, or deftness) which is extraordinary, one which is average, and
the other ends up being at some non-normal level. Some examples of the Biff are: 10-
10-11-4-17-17-15, 7-11-17-17-11-6-15, 9-5-14-17-11-13-15, 4-8-17-15-13-10-17, and 21-
3-15-21-5-8-11. With these warriors, the emphasis is on having fun and learning more
about the style.
The Primal is essentially a Primus-quality warrior. In this category, the
striker will be designed with stats that most other managers will gasp, "OH MY, WHY
DID YOU MAKE HIM A STRIKER?" It is also the warrior that will be Duelmaster for 8
straight turns and will go to ADM with a 16-4-2 record, with 4 Masters and an Ad Ex.
The key here is to create a warrior with AT LEAST a 17 wit and 15 deftness, along with
a 13+ will and who will do normal damage or better. The goal with the Primal is a 21
wit and 17 deftness, because this will ensure a great warrior.
Weapons and Armor: As for weapons, the best striking weapons that I have found
and used are the dagger, epee, scimitar, broadsword, quarterstaff, greatsword,
longsword, war hammer, and sometimes the short spear. I don't run my strikers with
shields or off-hand weapons, as it takes away from their attack. The heaviest armor I
will use is padded leather. Always wear a steel cap or a helm.
Strategy (general):
Min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Desp
OE 10 8 6 6 6 5 5
AL 10 5 4 2 2 1 8
KD 6 8 6 6 6 5 5
attack arms/legs/head -- take your pick
protect arms/legs/head -- take your pick
off tactic decise, slash, bash, depending on weapon
def tactic response is best; try dodge though.
With this strategy, a striker with a normal endurance should fight for eight
minutes as a scum TP and come out on top, outrageously victorious. Just match your
weapon with your tactic and only use the tactics in minute one or desperation.
If you have any further questions on this or any other style, feel free to diplo
me.
Talon, mgr. Eagle's Claw
HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS
OR
a new look for Aimed Blows
Greetings and salutations, all. Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen
before....one that works, at least for me! Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
ST: 17 (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
CN: 13 (gonna need every hit point he can get)
SZ: 4 (smaller the better!)
WT: 4 (overrated for aimed blows!)
WL: 21 (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
SP: 4 (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
DF: 21 (better max this one out too, at least a 19)
You laugh at me? I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky,
I didn't expect either one of em.) But both are in reach with a little luck. Hey, if
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit
more CON would be nice.
But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask? Why, I'm glad you inquired!
LOTS of armor. The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character
a lot of fights. But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not
really what this character does best.
I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand. With an offhand
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating. So:
FI-SH, APM-H.
And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level. He can
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a
good waste. And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this
warrior!
I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7
generally. Now, how to become Duelmaster?
Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON. Step two, now
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the
Duelmaster's team... and kill them. (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him. Badly. Once
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
There are drawbacks, of course. Once you get to that level, odds are you're
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this
trick... Oo! I love mixed metaphors...) But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills
against gladiators with 50 fights!
Rex is now 7-3-1. All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack. And boy, is it fun
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
What else can one do with this warrior? Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to
an off-hand epee! He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner? Who knows? He's probably
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD!
Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke. We entered a similar warrior
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON). That warrior, Jalon, is
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now...
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's
another story...
--Khyron
mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
Jayhawks (70)
Silent Storm (65,74,75)
and numerous others....
THE WALL OF STEEL AS A BERSERKER
This article is for newer players; more experienced managers will, I'm sure, have
much more sophisticated ideas about warrior design and strategy. This will enable a
newbie to design a competent warrior who should be able to achieve a better than 50/50
record.
The wall of steel, or "waste," is often considered the second scummiest style in
Duelmasters. I love the style, but I don't run mine that way; I prefer to think of
the waste as a fierce dervish ripping into his opponent like an airplane propeller.
In accordance with this view, most walls of steel that I design couldn't scum if they
wanted to (well all right, sometimes it happens by accident if the opposing warrior is
going all-out and can't last very long). It's fun to run them fast; they get the jump
on people who don't expect it of them, and their fights are exciting. Mind you, they
don't win as much as if they ran more defensively, but the ones with good stats still
do okay (I'll make practically anything a waste and run it, but this article isn't
about the ones that a sane manager would DA).
So, here is a design for a competent wall of steel:
ST 13+ Needed for endurance, damage doing, and weapon selection.
CN 9+ You need a passably good con for endurance.
SZ 7+ Teeny weenie wastes don't hit hard enough or take enough damage. Real big
(15+) is bad because it hurts endurance.
WT 13+ Preferably 17. Like any other style, the smarter they are, the better.
WL 17+ Needed for endurance, damage-taking, and sheer grit. 21 is recommended.
SP 3+ Whatever.
DF 7+ Higher deftness is better, but you can get by without it.
As you can see, these are fairly easy requirements. Of course, the more wit,
will, and deftness, the better your waste will be (same as any other style). If you
don't end up with at least good endurance on the overview, the warrior probably isn't
going to do very well. With that high will, though, you can bump con a couple of
times and you might get good endurance, so there's still a chance.
Choose your weapons based on deftness, and your opponent's armor weight. I
normally use something like 0-8 SC, 9-12 BS, 13+ GA, backup SC or BS. No shield.
Some other good weapons for the waste are QS (only takes 11 ST, and can hit heavy
armor), MS, and BA. The war flail isn't a very good weapon, but you can play with it
against leather armor. For armor, I usually choose something middling like ARM & H,
but will go with APL & H if he has a lot of con.
For strategy--I heard a rumor (NOT confirmed) that a wall of steel gets a bonus
if his OE equals his KD. Since I don't like to use a kill desire above 6, I don't go
by that in the first couple of minutes. Keep the activity level moderate to low; the
waste doesn't need to jump around a lot and the way he keeps his weapon moving, he's
burning a lot of endurance without that added drain. Attack and defend the arms, like
a slasher; a waste is a sort of parry-slasher. A typical strategy for my wastes might
look like this:
Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Offensive 9 8 7 6 5 5 2
Activity 6 5 4 3 2 1 6
Kill des. 6 6 6 6 5 5 2
Att. loc. RA LA RA LA RA LA RA
Pro. loc. AM AM AM AM AM AM HE
Off tac. none -- -- -- -- -- --
Def tac. -- -- -- -- -- -- P
I play with the numbers a lot, depending on what the warrior seems to like. For
example, if he doesn't parry too well, I'll give him a more offensive desperation
strategy, like 8-4-8-slash. (If I really like a warrior I sometimes use a 7+ KD to
try and save his life.) If he never manages to get the jump on anybody, I'll try
running him more defensively, like with a first minute of 3-6-3. It's not as much fun
as going all out, but it's more fun than losing all the time.
You can challenge pretty much any style (lungers aren't recommended). When
fighting a warrior you know to be very defensive (a TP, or a scummy variety of PS, PR,
PL, or WS), slow down or you will be scummed. For the most part, though, an offensive
waste is very versatile and can beat any style. The better his important qualities
are (WT, WL, DF, endurance), the better the quality of warriors he can defeat. In
other words, if you have a so-so rollup that barely made the minimum requirements,
challenge so-so opponents. If you have a good rollup, go for the gold. Challenge
warriors with a few more fights than you, so you'll learn plenty of skills--but don't
challenge way way up in experience, because it's no fun to lose a good warrior.
For the most part, train skills--especially on your challenge strategy, when
you're going after someone with more fights! And for sure on the first fight, because
you'll likely be matched against someone who can teach you a lot. It's okay to train
con once in a while if you need more endurance and damage-taking; and if you have bad
luck on the rollup and get "does little damage" or something, you might have to train
strength once or twice (no more!). But it's best not to train any other stats until
way, way down the road.
Ask your DM sponsor or any experienced manager in your arena for more advice (if
they tell you I'm full of hot air, they're probably right). A little bit of good
advice from a more advanced player can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the
game!
If you have any questions or suggestions, you can diplo: the She-Puppy, mgr.
Mordant Prison DM-1, and others.