DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 04/12/2008 Duedate: 04/25/2008 NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA DM-93 TURN-258 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS VILLITA ULAN MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) (93-8708) [5-4-0,39] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader POSITION IS EMPTY VILLITA ULAN MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) (93-8708) [5-4-0,39] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite VILLITA ULAN VILLITA ULAN MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) (93-8708) [5-4-0,39] (93-8708) [5-4-0,39] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM HOUSE OF JADE (1503) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) 51 2. MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) 37 THE MUPPETS (132) 3. ORDER (1501) 34 Unchartered Team 4. GOLDEN HORDE (1497) 1 5. SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505) 0WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 0*WAVES OF GLADIATI (1507) 4 1 1 80.0 1/ 2*HOUSE OF JADE (1503) 10 5 0 2- 2*SCARLET BROTHERHO (1505) 14 4 0 77.8 2/ 4*MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) 8 7 0 3/ 1*HOUSE OF JADE (1503) 10 5 0 66.7 3/ 0*WAVES OF GLADIATI (1507) 4 1 1 4- 3*SHENANIGANS (1494) 19 16 4 54.3 4- 1*SCARLET BROTHERHO (1505) 4 4 0 5/ 5*MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) 21 20 0 51.2 5/ 0*ORDER (1501) 4 5 0 6/ 0*ORDER (1501) 6 7 0 46.2 6- 7*SHENANIGANS (1494) 2 3 0 7/ 0*GOLDEN HORDE (1497) 0 1 0 0.0 7/ 0*GOLDEN HORDE (1497) 0 1 0 '*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn (###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank TEAM SPOTLIGHT Rhythm and Blues A Few Thoughts on Rhythm Every warrior has a favorite rhythm--a favored number for Offensive Effort and Activity Level. (Note, to the best of my knowledge and belief, there is NO favored Kill Desire.) This rhythm is set when the warrior is created, and it is revealed to the manager when the warrior graduates. I have never been entirely clear as to what, exactly, using the favored rhythm does for the warrior, but there is a general agreement that it does something, usually something good. Paces him, perhaps, to get the most fight for the least endurance burn? Paces him so that he can make the most of his style's specific strengths and minimize the weaknesses? Something like that, no doubt. This implies that favored rhythms are linked to style, and that certain ranges may be specific to style, and I understand that the major number crunchers have demonstrated this to be so. It further suggests to me that if one knows the range of favored rhythms for a given style, one may be able to give a warrior of that style a more effective strategy than one derived simply by guessing and looking at the warrior's stats and overview. Wherefore I have pulled out the favorite rhythms by style of the graduated warriors available for my inspection. You will note that the size of the samples varies a lot from style to style. This roughly indicates the ease with which I have been able to keep the different styles alive until graduation, modified by my personal preferences as to style. The first letter in a pair indicates favored Offensive Effort, the second favored Activity Level. VH=very high H=high M=moderate L=low VL=very low Distributing the ten numbers available in an even and logical manner, we get: VH= 10, 9 H= 8,7 M= 6,5 L= 4,3 VL= 2,1 We don't know exactly which number of the pair a given "favorite" is, but this is close enough. I'm including the raw data here, despite the fact that it looks very boring, heck, it is very boring, so that any of you who wish to may study it and make your own deductions. Aimed Blows, twenty-two graduated warriors polled as to favorite rhythms: L/VL L/L VL/L VL/M L/VL M/VL M/L L/VL VL/VL L/M L/L L/M L/L VL/L VL/M L/VL L/L VL/L L/M M/L VL/VL L/L Notice a pattern here? Nothing higher than Moderate, and every pair has at least one Low or Very Low. In other words, Aimed Blows prefer to be run "scummy." Or if you're feeling charitable, they like to take their time and make their blows count, which is natural enough when you consider that accuracy is their strong suit. Bashers, twenty-five graduated warriors polled. VH/VL VH/VL VH/VL H/VL H/L H/L H/M H/L M/VL H/VL VH/VL H/L H/M M/L H/L H/L H/M VH/L VH/VL VH/VL H/L VH/M H/L H/VL M/L Again, there's an obvious pattern, but it's a different one. Offensive Effort no lower than Moderate, Activity Level no higher than Moderate, and often a very sharp division between the two in any given pair. High Offensive Effort, low Activity Level. No instances of M/M listed here! Bashers are very direct in their fighting: attack, attack, attack. No finesse, little dodging. Lungers, forty graduated warriors polled. VH/H H/H H/M M/H M/H M/VH L/H VH/M VH/VH H/VH H/VH M/VH VH/M H/H H/VH M/VH H/VH H/H VH/M M/VH VH/VH L/VH L/H H/VH M/H M/M M/H M/M H/VH H/H VH/VH VH/H M/VH L/H M/H H/H H/H VH/M M/M VH/H Everything but VL is represented in this group. Two out of the forty warriors have rhythms of M/M. It may be significant that these are both fairly old warriors; other anomalies have shown up from time to time in very old warriors. Other than that, every pair contains either H or VH at least once, although there seems to be no definite preference as to which position it should be in. A slight bias toward faster OE than AL, but the sample isn't large enough to be sure of that. It's common to see BOTH numbers H or VH for this style. Lungers like to run fast, and a good lunger fight has a lot of action--dodging to the side, leaping over or ducking under a blow, as well as attacking. Of course, that means they tend to burn out fast, too, so you have to plan for that. Parry-Lungers, twenty graduated warriors polled. M/VH M/H L/M H/VH VL/H M/M H/M H/H H/M H/L M/L H/H L/L H/L M/M H/L L/L H/M VL/L L/VH Granting that this is a small sample, I see no pattern here. P-lungers vary a lot from one warrior to the next, and you have to experiment to find the rhythm that works best for any individual warrior. Some are more lunger, some more parry. In fact, you could say that the "Offensive Total Parries" and "Defensive Lungers" that some managers write articles about could be summed up as: Parry-Lunger. Parry-Ripostes, a mere fourteen graduated warriors polled. VL/M M/M M/M H/M L/M VL/M L/M L/H M/H L/H VL/M L/H L/M L/M Hardly a definitive sample (these are hard to graduate), but there seems to be a pattern of Offensive Effort no higher than Moderate (okay, one, unless it's a typo), Activity Level no lower than Moderate. I must admit that I have been known to run them with an OE of High or Very High when I got tired of having them jumped by offensive-styled warriors. Some rippers can handle that without flailing or getting tired, and some can't. Parry-Strikers, twenty-one polled. M/VL M/VL VL/M M/M VL/H L/L L/VL VL/L L/L M/L M/H L/M M/VL L/VL VL/L VL/VL VL/M VL/L L/L VL/L M/L I see every range of numbers here but VH, and no obvious pattern. Figures. Everyone says this style is notional when it comes to how they want to run. A large sample might show some clear tendency, but from this small group, all I can say is, they don't seem to like to run very fast. Slashers, sixty warriors polled. What can I say? I like slashers, and when I was starting out, I ran a lot of them, many of whom lived to graduate. In some cases, this was unfortunate, but at the time, it seemed like a good idea.... VH/VL H/L H/VL M/L H/VL H/L M/VL H/L H/VL M/M M/M VH/VL VH/L H/VL H/VL VH/L H/VL H/L M/VL VH/L VH/M M/VL H/M M/VL M/VL H/L H/L M/L H/VL VH/VL VH/VL M/M H/VL M/VL H/VL H/VL VH/L H/L H/L H/VL M/L M/L H/VL M/M M/L M/L VH/VL VH/L M/VL H/VL H/VL VH/VL H/VL H/VL VH/L H/VL M/L H/VL VH/VL Now that we're back among the pure offensive styles, a pattern emerges again. No Offensive Effort lower than Moderate, no Activity Level higher than Moderate. Within those limits, anything goes--from Moderate/Moderate to Very High/Very Low. Slashers like to run hard, they don't like to stand around and scum their opponents, but they'll accept a modestly cautious approach if it's called for. Pay attention to the details in your warrior's fight. If he starts getting tired early on, you probably need to lower his Offensive Effort some. If he never gets the first blow and loses continually because of that, raise Offensive Effort. Strikers, sixty-three polled. (shrug) When in doubt, make it a striker.... VL/M L/L L/L H/VL M/H M/L L/M L/L L/VL M/L M/VL M/L H/VL H/L M/L M/VL M/L M/H L/VL M/M L/M L/VL M/VL L/VL L/VL M/L L/VL VL/L H/L M/H M/H H/VL VL/L H/VL M/VL VL/L H/VL M/VL M/VL VL/VL M/VL L/H H/L M/VL H/VL M/M L/VL M/L M/L M/L H/M M/L L/M VL/M M/VL M/L M/M L/L M/VL M/L H/VL H/H M/L Neither Offensive Effort nor Activity Level of Very High appears, but that leaves a lot of possible combinations (okay, only sixteen, but that seems like a lot when you're writing an article late at night), and most of them seem to show up on this list. Strikers, like P-Strikers, need tinkering. Total Parries, twenty-nine warriors polled. VL/M VL/L M/VL VL/VL L/L VL/VL VL/M VL/VL L/M VL/L VL/M L/M L/H M/M M/VL VL/VL VL/L VL/VL L/L VL/VL VL/L L/L VL/L L/L VL/L L/VL VL/L VL/L VL/L No Offensive Effort higher than Moderate, no Activity Level except one higher than Moderate. This is what you'd expect, right? Total Parries conserve their energy. While you can run them faster, they aren't going to like it. And if they don't like it, they aren't going to perform really well. Walls of Steel, thirty-five polled. M/VL L/L L/VL M/L M/M L/VL H/VL L/VL M/VL VH/M M/L L/M H/VL H/M L/L L/L M/L M/L M/VL M/L M/L H/L VH/VL H/L M/L L/M H/M M/M M/M H/L M/VL VH/M H/L M/VL H/M No Offensive Effort of Very Low, no Activity Level higher than Moderate. Some people call this style the "parry-slash," others say it's a prime candidate for running like a berserker. Otherwise, a lot of variation. Some are scummy (L/VL) and some are slice-and-dice machines (VH/M). Too bad you can't tell right off which you've got, eh? This style needs attention and experimenation for best results. Now that you've plowed through all the tedious stuff (at least, it was tedious for me to organize the data, hope it was less so for you to look at it), I'll offer a word of advice to new players. Make all or most of your first warriors of the styles that have clear patterns. Bashers and slashers are the easiest to do well with right off the bat. Lungers and strikers are a little trickier, but not much. The others are a lot trickier. Winning right off with your first attempts at those styles-- especially once you're out of Noblish Island and into the cold, cruel mainland, is unlikely. However, the study and struggle needed to master one of the trickier styles is amply rewarded by the rush of guiding one to a winning record, a duelmastership, and graduation. Jorja The Middle Way +<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #9 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+ The 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. Answers, turn 421: Q.O.W. (size) -- Smaller size has always had an advantage in the upper levels of the game, especially at the top of Primus and Gateway. The bonus to defense and parry offsets the initiative loss and the damage taking and dealing that a large size provides. Of course, large size comes with its own defense penalty. A high defense is critical in the upper levels where it is imperative not to get hit. If you are unhittable, it comes down to an endurance contest. However, huge warriors, especially those gifted in defense can make devastating opponents on their road to the top. They are tough and dish out more than all the little pip squeaks ever could. It's much easier to get a great warrior out of a smaller size than out of a larger size of course, due to stat distribution to the other critical areas like WT, WL and DF, so finding a great huge warrior is difficult. My best is Khazakh who is in 105 right now. He's gifted in defense and endurance, and he's devastating in the arena. But some day, near the very top, his size will probably be a hindrance unless his attack is absolutely crazy and he can hit the little guys. -- Adie Q.O.W. (answer) -- It depends greatly on what you define as the top of the game. Certainly any sized warrior can be effective at the top of a basic arena or any AD arena. By the time you're talking Primus or Gateway it's mainly a matter of whether or not your team can muster enough warriors to win magical prizes to enhance you, those without them must be truly gifted indeed. -- Maxwell Honorblade Q.O.W. -- Do the small size skill negatives prevent success in the top end game? -- Certainly not! While the negatives are there, remember that small size allows more "points" elsewhere, easily making up the skills. The smaller warriors are *often* the leaders at the top end. There are also TC-winning ways to modify warriors, and this past FTF prize is "very expensive" for this very purpose. -- Kennelworth QoW -- I don't participate at the Primus/Gateway level of play, but the word is that ability to deal a powerful blow remains important and thus allows the large warriors (read: lungers) to remain competitive with their smaller peers. What I do know is that my sz 3 Lunger that's +4 in defense will have, when completely maxxed out in both skills and stats, the highest number of naturally attainable defense skills in the game. Unfortunately, she'll only do tremendous if she's lucky. -- Generalissimo Puerco QOW -- My limited experience in the high end of the game (I have one whole Gateway warrior...WHOO!) the most important skills are, in order: attack, defense, and initiative. So while it isn't good to lose defense, init is a valuable asset as well (helps keep the momentum). Another aspect in the end game is the damage rating, which size does help and can make a LOT of difference. But since it is better to have a 21 wit than a 21 size, I would say that in general over 11 size is unwanted. -- Anti The questions this time were in regard to the Style-vs-Style chart and how to run a parry-riposte. Parry-Riposte: How to run them? Hmm... well, I've only run three so far, but I think I've seen a lot of what they can and can't do. From my experience, if their parry is decent, they can take a couple good hits, and carry decent, give them heavy armor and run parry tactic (very helpful with their low parry bases), but at maybe 4- 5-5, or faster at 5-3-5. The parry tactic augments their defense, but they'll still try to riposte since they have so much of it. For those who are more frail, can't carry much, and have decent defense, I go in lighter armor and run maybe 3-6-4 (I've never run dodge tactic here, but I'd try). My first ripper to AD had a 7 ST, did normal damage, and she ran in ALE/L running with moderate activity. She graduated 16- 6. Of course, she's also +5 in att, +2 in par. But she still defends much better than she parries in that light armor. -- Adie P.S. As for early in the career, scumming is handy, but put OE up just a bit so they'll swing if given the opportunity. Armor for sure to keep them alive unless you're bold. Leeta -- I've seen that chart too, but I have no idea if it was based off of a large number of fights. I think those numbers for strikers reflects their great ability to throw those crits early in the career, and to be quick to the first hit. For parry- strikers, I think it merely reflects the variability in how they can be run and designed. The chart of course is based on gross stereo-typing of the styles. I wouldn't use it too much even as a beginner. -- Adie Leeta -- I think that "chance to win by style" chart is silly. Doesn't it say that lungers will almost always beat aimers? My aimers tend to do pretty well against lungers, how about yours? -- Generalissimo Puerco Leeta and ALL others -- While I have not seen this chart, I can't help but say that it is probably not very accurate. Too many things factor into a match-up of two warriors to expect style to <cut off by Hal, unfortunately> On thinking it over in the light of the past month's fights, I have a feeling that the chart is probably rather old, and that recent advances in management technique have drastically undermined its usefulness in most instances. Discounting luck (which one should never do, of course), and all other things being more or less equal, the best manager is more likely to win, rather than the one whose warrior has the favored style. (Now, there's an inflamatory statement!) Probably that overstates the case, but I think managerial skill is now a significant factor, anyway, even if it isn't decisive. -- Jorja * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * ---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===--- Duelmasters ----------- DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 591): VENTRIIE of DARK WARDS (Dr. Doom, mgr.) DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 591): PARMEIDES of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.) DM 13 DULLENS (turn 498): WINDWALKER of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 15 MALCORN (turn 585): REDBIRD of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 16 WILLAF (turn 587): HEART OF GOLD of GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.) DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 585): STELRA TIRINS of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 583): GULF COAST D of ANARCHY (Jekyll, mgr.) DM 28 MORYA (turn 292): VAIDISAVA of THE PENTARCHY (Le Pentarque, mgr.) DM 29 LAPUR (turn 576): BRICKHOUSE of STREETWALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.) DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 289): ULL STORMHELM of THE STORMBRINGERS (High Lord Bosk) DM 32 ARVAT (turn 573): SERVIUS of CAESAR'S THUGS (Caesar, mgr.) DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 571): ACE HEARTS HAMMER of KLKASINO HAMMERZ (Hammer) DM 35 MURSKA (turn 562): ALE'CHAI TALLSKY of PHILANTHROPISTS (Aragorn, mgr.) DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 524): SOLDIER 4 of MEDAL OF HONOR 27 (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 267): REALITY of SRETSAMLEUD II (Phat Phat, mgr.) DM 47 DOUBLE X (turn 261): HANTA of DOK SIK KILLERS (Doc Sik, mgr.) DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 248): EXTENSION oF LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.) DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 452): CENTURION of KNIGHTS OF ROCANIS (Jakari, mgr.) DM 60 COLLUSION COVE (turn 439): WRATH LIX of DEATH STUDS VII (Death Stud, mgr) DM 61 JURINE (turn 430): LOCKENLOAD of CLAN GHOST BEARS (Bjorn, mgr.) DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 415): JOEVINA SARIL of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 197): LAELKORISSA of FAVORITE GUYS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 386): GENERAL MILLS of CORPS (Papa Bear, mgr.) DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 384): GARTH of MANAGER MUSINGS (FTF Manager, mgr.) DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 370): CONJUROR of MAGIC ARTISTS (Houdini, mgr.) ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 477): SCOOBY DOOM of HOUNDS OF HELL (The Dark One, mgr.) Top Teams --------- DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 591): DARK WARDS (Dr. Doom, mgr.) DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 591): CULTS-R-US (?, mgr.) DM 13 DULLENS (turn 498): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 15 MALCORN (turn 585): STARBASE 5 (Zeus, mgr.) DM 16 WILLAF (turn 587): PUNNY ANIMALS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 585): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 583): THE MAGNIFICENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 28 MORYA (turn 292): THE PENTARCHY (Le Pentarque, mgr.) DM 29 LAPUR (turn 576): ESCAPADE (Scion, mgr.) DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 289): WAR (Lord of War, mgr.) DM 32 ARVAT (turn 573): ROMAN HEROES (Caesar, mgr.) DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 571): STORM BRINGERS (The Rake, mgr.) DM 35 MURSKA (turn 562): PHILANTHROPISTS (Aragorn, mgr.) DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 524): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 267): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.) DM 47 DOUBLE X (turn 261): X-MEN II (Omega, mgr.) DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 248): MIDDLE WAY 6 (Jorja, mgr.) DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 452): KNIGHTS OF ROCANIS (Jakari, mgr.) DM 60 COLLUSION COVE (turn 439): CHILDHOOD TRAUMA (Samwise the Bald, mgr.) DM 61 JURINE (turn 430): CLAN GHOST BEARS (Bjorn, mgr.) DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 415): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 197): MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.) DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 386): SAND DANCERRS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 384): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 370): MAGIC ARTISTS (Houdini, mgr.) ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 477): DO IT AGAIN et al (The Dark One, mgr.) Recent Graduates ----------------- DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 590): KOOL-AID DRIKER of CULTS-R-US (?, mgr.) DM 15 MALCORN (turn 585): REDBIRD of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.) (turn 584): BET TWICE of TRIPLE CROWN (Sultan, mgr.) DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 584): VIOLET ORC of HEROESANDFOUNDONES (The Judge, mgr.) DM 28 MORYA (turn 291): SHARAPOVA of THE PENTARCHY (Le Pentarque, mgr.) DM 29 LAPUR (turn 575): MENSA of VENUSIANS (Venus, mgr.) DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 289): ULL STORMHELM of THE STORMBRINGERS (High Lord Bosk) (turn 288): COMMANDER SPUD of MILITARY MAYHEM (Crip, mgr.) DM 32 ARVAT (turn 572): SHEA TANN of DEVIL ADVOCATES (Dark One, mgr.) DEFIANCE of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.) DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 570): THE CLAW of RAVAGING LORDS (General Ikillu, mgr.) DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 266): ANGEL HAMMER of MUTANT HAMMERZ (Hammer, mgr.) DM 47 DOUBLE X (turn 261): ROISIN DUBH of GAELIC STORM (Bobby Bigfoot, mgr.) SUCCULANT of WARHAMMERS (Coyote, mgr.) DM 60 COLLUSION COVE (turn 439): ALLAN JOHNSON of TPW FOREVER (Anti, mgr.) WHITE WITCH of CRAZY CREEPS (Crazy Creepster, mgr) LOKI IX of DEATH STUDS VII (Death Stud, mgr.) (turn 438): THE RIDDLER of CRAZY CREEPS (Crazy Creepster, mgr) DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 196): BLACK EYE of BLACK & BLUE (The Mun, mgr.) SPY REPORT Ready for some action-packed adventure, some thrills, chills and spills? Well fergit it, cause this is the Spyreport for NOBLISH ISLAND. Too bad, SCARLET BROTHERHOOD, but HOUSE OF JADE was just too good to be stopped. Talk about hot teams! WAVES OF GLADIATION goes out, the very first time, and goes 4-1-1! Like, what do you guys eat for breakfast? MVP award for REGGISAKI? ORDER's proud of him after beating LUJAN and getting 21 points. Talk about yer big time losers! LUJAN got smashed by REGGISAKI, and lost 12 points! What a putz! HOLLAND fights so hard to be Duelmaster, then quits fighting and loses the title. No one said he was a genius... Was that a tear I saw in VILLITA ULAN's eye, as she took over Duelmastership? And wasn't AMBITIOUS GUARD fit to be tied! Who was the wiseguy that said NOBLISH ISLAND's Duelmaster was paying for drinks at The Warty Toad? Don't look at me! So just why would someone becomes a warrior anyway? It can't be for these really neat Spyreports can it? Like, is MARA ACOMA popular, or what? She was challenged the most in all of NOBLISH ISLAND! She's got a 2-1-0, is that good? Challenges, revenges, Bloodfeuds. All NOBLISH ISLAND ever talks about is fighting! Me, I'm more laid back. What if they had a fight and nobody showed up? I'd be out of a job, that's what!!! I really didn't, you know, study when I was a kid. Who would've guessed I'd be a famous Spyreporter? I gotta leave. NOBLISH ISLAND is like such a dump, and you guys smell too much! Its been really albendranius! Later, guys-- Debby Tonte DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME VILLITA ULAN 8708 5 4 0 39 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -HOLLAND 8660 6 1 1 84 SHENANIGANS (1494) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME GEMINI 8703 4 0 0 37 ORDER (1501) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -WOODY HAYES 8726 4 0 0 37 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME TEEBI SHOSTALLO 8707 4 5 0 30 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) -TALHO 8657 4 3 1 27 SHENANIGANS (1494) SALIRA TEES 8728 5 2 0 24 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME REGGISAKI 8702 1 2 0 23 ORDER (1501) KEYOKE 8711 3 0 0 20 HOUSE OF JADE (1503) KHURST 8738 1 0 0 20 WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) -KOS-MOS 8659 4 3 0 19 SHENANIGANS (1494) PAPWYEO 8713 3 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) MARA ACOMA 8712 2 1 0 16 HOUSE OF JADE (1503) XANTIPAR WYE 8709 3 6 0 15 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) SELLATRA ROSE 8737 2 1 0 14 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) BRONIOL 8742 1 0 1 14 WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) MAYSIN 8741 1 0 0 11 WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) -EARL BRUCE 8723 3 1 0 10 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505) -JIM TRESSEL 8727 2 2 0 8 SCARLET BROTHERHOOD (1505) LUJAN 8715 2 1 0 7 HOUSE OF JADE (1503) KIRKLEIS 8740 1 0 0 5 WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) ARIES 8701 1 2 0 5 ORDER (1501) SCORPIO 8743 0 1 0 1 ORDER (1501) MORTIS 8679 0 1 0 1 GOLDEN HORDE (1497) OCLOR 8739 0 1 0 1 WAVES OF GLADIATION (1507) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? CONVICTED THIEF 0 0 0 BRONIOL 8742 258 NONE LOGI THE GIMP 8714 0 3 0 HOUSE OF JADE 1503 WURM KIN 258 NONE PERSONAL ADS Woody Hayes -- That was well done, curse you. -- Villita Ulan Keyoke -- I wanted to pout, but Jorja says I have to be "helpful." What a busybody! The only helpful thing I can think of for you is that you should-- (sound of someone being smacked upside the head) Ah, you did well in that fight. Seems unreasonable, but you did. -- Xantipar Wye the slightly stunned by his manager Logi the Gimp -- Your weapon, though devastating if you land a blow, is slow to recover from a blow that misses and awkward to parry with. You might want to consider something more manageable, such as your backup weapon. -- Teebi Shostallo Standbys, bah. -- Salira Tees Eddie George -- Someone out there had a nasty temper, and it wasn't ME. Seriously, you might want to weigh the risks of "aiming vitals" (head, chest, abdomen). This increases your odds of killing your opponent, and in some arenas it's considered quite the thing to do. In other arenas, people are going to get annoyed over it. Annoyed managers--not Jorja, fat chance!--may try to kill your gladiators in return. Do as you will, but know what you might be risking. -- Sellatra Rose LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS LOGI THE GIMP was butchered by WURM KIN in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight. GEMINI devastated MARA ACOMA in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel. ARIES was handily defeated by KEYOKE in a dull 5 minute one-sided Challenge match. REGGISAKI devastated LUJAN in a 2 minute one-sided Challenge fight. VILLITA ULAN savagely defeated AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 2 minute bloody Title competition. XANTIPAR WYE was vanquished by EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute mismatched fight. TEEBI SHOSTALLO devastated CULT MEMBER in a 1 minute one-sided competition. SALIRA TEES overcame MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute melee. SELLATRA ROSE vanquished OCLOR in a 2 minute gory uneven duel. PAPWYEO won victory over MORTIS in a 2 minute novice's duel. KHURST overpowered EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute uneven match. KIRKLEIS beat SCORPIO in a 3 minute novice's fight. MAYSIN subdued PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 4 minute amateur's competition. BRONIOL butchered CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute one-sided battle. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |STRIKING ATTACK 3 SLASHING ATTACK 25 - 11 - 0 69 | |LUNGING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 32 - 15 - 3 68 | |BASHING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 28 - 22 - 1 56 | |AIMED BLOW 2 AIMED BLOW 16 - 13 - 3 55 | |SLASHING ATTACK 2 WALL OF STEEL 11 - 10 - 0 52 | |TOTAL PARRY 2 TOTAL PARRY 9 - 9 - 0 50 | |PARRY-LUNGE 2 PARRY-STRIKE 9 - 13 - 0 41 | |WALL OF STEEL 2 PARRY-LUNGE 5 - 9 - 0 36 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 BASHING ATTACK 9 - 19 - 2 32 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 8 - 19 - 0 30 | Turn 258 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are: AIMED BLOW 2 - 0 LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 2 4 LUNGING ATTACK SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 2 STRIKING ATTACK TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 1 PARRY-STRIKE TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME STRIKING ATTACK VILLITA ULAN 8708 5 4 0 39 MIDDLE WAY 19 (1502) LUNGING ATTACK GEMINI 8703 4 0 0 37 ORDER (1501) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is VILLITA ULAN 8708. The most popular warrior this turn was VILLITA ULAN 8708. The ten other most popular fighters were GEMINI 8703, REGGISAKI 8702, SELLATRA ROSE 8737, PAPWYEO 8713, SCORPIO 8743, MAYSIN 8741, SALIRA TEES 8728, TEEBI SHOSTALLO 8707, MORTIS 8679, and KHURST 8738. The least popular fighter this week was ARIES 8701. The other ten least popular fighters were KEYOKE 8711, OCLOR 8739, XANTIPAR WYE 8709, LUJAN 8715, MARA ACOMA 8712, LOGI THE GIMP 8714, BRONIOL 8742, KIRKLEIS 8740, KHURST 8738, and MORTIS 8679. The Defensive Lunger Perfect Minimums Actual Characters ST 13 11 11 13 CN 7 3 3 11 SZ 4 4 10 6 WT 21 17 17 17 WL 17 13 17 19 SP 5 5 9 5 DF 17 13 17 13 The lunger, in my opinion, makes a much better defensive fighter than offensive fighter. Fighting defensively will compensate for the speed at which lungers burn endurance. They will still attack whenever possible but their defensive ability will allow them to dodge most attacks. The most important part is their initiative. When they do dodge, they'll usually steal the initiative and attack. I haven't been fighting lungers defensively for long but my record is 14-5-0. Don't fight defensively against other lungers as they will usually win. The strategy I use is: Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp Off 4 -------------------------> 9 Weapon: Any lunging Act 6 4 --------------------> 9 No armor if low con KD 4 -------------------------> 9 APL/H if average con O.T. ---------------------------> L D.T. --------------------------------> You can attack any location you wish but I suggest protecting the body. The third character listed started with experts in attack, defense and initiative. The last character had an expert in attack. The Wild Boar, manager of Things (5) and many inactive teams. WARRIOR ENDURANCE Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone! I hope you have had pleasant dueling. This article is about endurance and some things to think about when you're designing your warriors. Below is a chart showing the different endurance levels a warrior may have. This chart may be a little off of due to the fact it isn't possible to have all the variables as a manager, but it does give you idea of the amount of endurance a warrior should have. The formula for endurance is: E = (ST+CN)WL With the result of that number use the chart below. 000-180 = Very Poor 181-240 = Poor 235-390 = Normal 391-509 = Good 510-639 = Great 640-699 = Tremendous 770+ = Awesome Here are some examples of warriors with their Endurance ratings: 1) Slasher ST 5 CN 7 WL 15 (5+7)15 = 180 Poor 2) Striker ST 7 CN 13 WL 9 (7+13)9 = 180 Poor 3) Parry-Rip ST 7 CN 10 WL 11 (7+10)11 = 187 Poor 4) Basher ST 13 CN 9 WL 9 (13+9)9 = 198 Very Poor 5) Striker ST 13 CN 9 WL 9 (13+9)9 = 198 Poor 6) Aimed-Blow ST 9 CN 15 WL 9 (9+15)9 = 216 Normal 7) Striker ST 10 CN 5 WL 15 (10+5)15 = 225 Normal 8) Slasher ST 13 CN 10 WL 10 (13+10)10 = 230 Normal 9) Wall/Steel ST 13 CN 12 WL 17 (13+12)17 = 425 Great There are several factors such as warrior style, RSI random factor, and there is some evidence that SIZE has some effect on a warrior's endurance. In any case the RSI LUCK factor can be around 7 to 8% in your favor or 2-3% worse than average. These are just estimates, but are still factors nevertheless. Some styles that are HIGH BURN endurance, like lungers, slashers and walls of steel, are more likely to be UNLUCKY with the endurance rating. Every action your warrior does consumes endurance. Attacking seems to use more endurance than any other action. Once a warrior's endurance is used up, he will make an endurance check against his WILL. If he fails the roll, he will either stop to rest or collapse to the sand, depending on how badly he failed the roll. When a warrior stops to rest, he gets back some endurance. When he gets enough endurance back, he will start attacking again. This is just a theory that I have developed from observations. It maybe completely off, but it gives one something to ponder. That's it for now lords and ladies, I must go entertain elsewhere. If you would like to chat about DM or other things, you can EMAIL me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com or visit my DM website at http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessisjest/homepage.htm You can also diplo me at DM 11 "The Lords Of the Abyss (319)" or any of the Joker's Wilds scattered about. Cheerio, Sir Jessie Jest Member of the Ivory League Presenting, by Popular Demand (from 1989)... THE NUMEROLOGY OF DUELMASTERS by The Ghost of Eldrid Character Generation Hello, I am the Ghost of Eldrid, and I have an important message that directly effects how well your team may do in the future. Some managers will not take this important article seriously (some people don't believe in ghosts, either), and their records will suffer for it. I have played Duelmasters for four years and searched through all of my old turns and painstakingly researched every important fact in this article, and I have discussed my conclusions with about ten different managers (named managers such as Phido, Doctor LeGrand, Silk, Russ, and Biff Frothingslosh) who all agree on the validity of my arguments. The results of my research are both startling and magnificent. THERE IS NUMEROLOGY IN DUELMASTERS!!! Whether it was programmed in or it exists on a higher plane, it matters not. IT EXISTS!!! And I plan to share some of its amazing secrets with you, starting with character creation. Remember in the realm of character generation the powers favor odd number stats. NEVER, EVER have an even number on stats, except, of course, for size, which, obviously should be even since everyone can tell what size your character is by his description in the fight. Do you want people thinking your warrior is odd? I should hope not!! But in case you decide to keep your odd warrior, DO NOT MAKE ANY OTHER STATS EVEN!! Write a letter to the commission stating that you forgo the rights to the last point and you want it to be sacrificed to the benefit of Alastari. Always start adding points to wit and will first. Either make them 13, 17, or 21. Why? Under 12 wit is worthless, as any good manager will tell you. A 13 understandably gives your opponent bad luck, a 17 has the ever-lucky "7" in it, and 21 is BLACKJACK, and you get twice the number of winnings you would normally get. Why not 15 or 19? Is it not obvious to everyone that 15 is unlucky? The only President of the United States not married was the 15th, James Buchanan (who?). Lincoln was shot on April 15th, and the clincher... my brother was born on the 15th of May. If these "coincidences" don't prove to you that 15 is unlucky, I don't know what will. 19 is an evil number. It tries to deceive you into thinking it is better than 17, but actually, it is an "11" with a small zero placed on the second pole, and we all know that a zero is nothing. So what do we get for our extra eight points? In effect, something smaller than nothing. Next, make every other stat odd. Add the other points to make the style you want. Deftness is the key to character generation. Deftness (min) 5 to make a basher (ST 13+) 7 for a lunger 9 for a striker 11 for a wall of steel (ST 11+, WL 17+) 13 for a parry lunge (ST 11+), slasher (SP 11+), parry-strike, and total parries (these styles depend on the opponent's bad luck. 17 for a parry-riposte (WT 17+) 21 for an aimed blow (this style needs the double winnings) The last thing to remember is that luck is a big factor in this game and I don't know if you noticed, but when warriors have even ID numbers they are luckier than odd ID characters. Look at the best warriors in Primus: Wallbanger, Donatello, Epitaph, Chaos Knight, Villiage Idiot, Silverflash, Khorga Khan, Jake the Snake, Sly, Max, Stormbringer, Teetotaler, Raphael, Selleque, Kiri, Constance, Hangover, Eve, and Sam Spade. All have even-numbered IDs. Now you say, "But Yoda and Necron-99 both have odd IDs, and they are the best aimed blows of the game!" Yes, but they are AIMED BLOWS and they are members of an odd style, so of course they do better with odd numbers. So remember if you want your warriors to be best in all Alastari someday, Dark Arena all your odd-numbered characters, unless of course they are aimed blows. Good luck, and may the numbers fall your way. -- The Ghost of Eldrid, retired PARRY-STRIKE, ANOTHER FUN STYLE There have been several articles about fighting styles, some say theirs is the best, or ultimate, one said theirs is the most fun style. Well, I feel that parry- strikers are just as much fun to play as any other style. First, let's start with the run down of what they say in the "RED BOOK". The book says that parry-strikers are defensive, using small quick movements in their actions (sounds like you could say that about some other styles as well.) The book says that some managers swear that a high wit is critical to the style (only those who have no brains would disagree with that.) Let's get to business. First and foremost this style is deceptively aggressive, making them a very good offensive type of fighter, or deadly type of defensive fighter. Offensively they tend to get the jump on their opponent. I had a parry- striker that was only jumped 3 out of 11 fights, before he died. To prepare and run a parry-striker can be quite confusing, so I will try to help make it as simple as possible. Here are my feelings on roll-ups for the parry-strike style: ST: 11-15, I'll explain later. CN: who cares. SZ: 10-14, don't go over 14. WT: 13-17, 17 is the best. WL: 13-17, to get good endurance. SP: not important. DF: 11-15, I'll explain later. Here are some good roll-ups for a parry-striker: 11,7,10,17,17,7,15; 15,7,11,17,16,7,11; 11,7,14,17,13,7,15; 15,7,14,17,13,7,11. Now, if you have a decent wit, the way you run this fighting style will depend on strength and deftness. For example: if your fighter has a high DF and a low ST it would be to his/her advantage to be defensive, since the speed would benefit the ability to move in reaction to their opponent. If the ST is high, and DF low, it would be better to fight offensively like a striker, trying to get the first, and only blow in. If they don't have a decent wit, you're on your own. I can't help you on that. Remember this style of fighting is the same as a striker except for added knowledge of parrying, as well as bein a little more aggressive. I would not suggest a low ST and DF, it will take away from your WT & WL, and you don't want to do that, but if you do, good luck. You don't need much CN if you have a good WL, which gives you your endurance. SZ; you don't want it to be above 14, it would hurt your fighting style more than your attributes. WT; it is the same as it is with strikers, the higher the WT the faster and deadlier they become. Raise WT to 17 if you don't have it at the start, then don't worry about it again until ADM. WL; this is where you get your endurance. 13 is fine to start out, but I would suggest 15, then bump it up to 17 in basic. SP; it is what you need to riposte, but PSers have this "one strike one kill" attitude. Meaning that there isn't much time to riposte with a killing attitude, so do whatever. DF; what is there to say, it helps, but is not crucial to be a great PSer. Now to running a PSer. If he is an offensive fighter 10-10-10 Dec. all the way through the fight, even in desperation. If Defensive, 1st 10-10-10 Resp., 2nd 10-7-10 Dec., 3rd 10-10-10, 4th 10-10-10 Dec., 5th 10-10-10 Dec., 6th 10-10-10, Desp. 10-10-10 Resp. Remember, first you want to assure your defense, and to do that, you should go defensive the first minute. By the second minute you will be secure enough to go on the offensive, but experiment. 6th minute on, leave blank, for by that time he/she will know what to do (if their WT is high that is.) The best thing you could do for your fighter is watch the fights, if you are getting more defensive skills than offensive, run the def., or change weapons. That is the best advice I can give you about PSers. About armor, I like to use ringmail or nothing, but experiment. I know that there is someone that will disagree with me, but I feel that I have given you some ideas about this fighting style that can be used, even though I am a new manager, playing for just over a year. No matter who writes a style article, it is just advice, not the bible. Just use the articles as a point of reference, not as sworn law. This is a very fun fighting style, try it out. I have written this in answer to Foreign Legion Arena 31, and The Spartans Arena 8. I challenge any Primus Manager to correct my writing of PSers. It is not my favorite style, but it is as fun as any other that I have used, including my favorite one (Which is a STRIKER!!) If there are any comments, please Diplo The Priest, the manager of The Heroes of XIAN DM-10, or The Crucifiers DM-46. THE ARMOR PIERCING PARRY-LUNGE When you think "attack" what style comes to mind? Bashing? Definitely lunging? Of course. Parry-Lunging? Excuse me? Yes, the parry-lunger! Few people realize the fact that parry-lungers are attack gods waiting to be born. All it takes is the right warrior and lots of guts. This warrior is not for the weak of heart. We'll begin with stats. Range Perfect ST 9-11 11 CN 5-9 5 SZ 6-11 8 WT 17or21 21 WL 17or21 17 SP 5-8 5 DF 15-17 17 Why? ST(11): This is your optimum PL strength. It puts your warrior in the normal to good damage range. Also, you have the best PL weapon at your disposal--the LO! CN(5): Yes, his life expectancy is low. What'd I tell you? Guts, right? He gets his endurance from WL. If you want to make trains, make them here. SZ(8): Our most flexible stat. A high SZ (i.e.11) allows you to skimp a bit on Str (9). WT(21): If it's not a 21 you're not going to get the attack this fellow counts on. His learns will be awesome and a 21 WT will make him a better warrior out of the chocks. WL(17): End/Att are dependent on this one being high. Keeps you on your feet when you should drop from exhaustion. SP(5): Not a big requirement. Init and Parry will come from elsewhere (WT/DF). This is not a lunger mimic. DF(17): Combine this DF with a 21 WT and you will have a massive attack. Pinpoint accuracy is the byword. Parry, init, def and riposte will all benefit immeasurably. At 15 you have access to the EP, a fine lunging weapon this style can put to devastating use. Strategy (General, but effective in most cases) 2 9 9 7 6 5 10 6 9 9 7 6 5 10 2 7 7 7 5 5 10 HE ----------------------------> HE BD -----------------------> - - - - - - - P - - - - - - Minute 1: This fellow won't get the jump on offensives, so we'll just go defensive and render their "mad minute" fruitless. This PL's counterattack will be amazing at even 2-6-2 P due to the high AL. Keep the parry tactic until Adv Expert parry is gained. Minutes 2 and 3: These two will end most of his fights. When he starts landing precision blows in his opponent's face it will usually be over quickly. Keep the kill desire relatively low as to avoid sloppy attacking. Minutes 4 through 6: If you haven't won by now you've got to depend on your WL to carry you until you finish the job. He'll probably top out at the five min. mark. But we want to keep the attacks coming so we do so at his endurance's expense. Desp: If your opponent is an offensive he's probably blasted through your min. 1 defense. Your best bet is to go spastic and hope to take him out in one shot or so. If he's some super-defensive (scum) this PL is probably exhausted and you're hoping the super-offense will put him over the edge. After all, it's better to burn out than fade away. Always aim for the head to maximize the impact of your blows. If it tickles your fancy, aim for your opponent's weapon arm and beat him senseless when he's unarmed. Protecting the head in min. 1 is strictly odds playing on my part. My offensives aim head so I assume everyone else's do too. After min. 1, we forget defense. Weapons and armor are simple. APL/H or ARM/H (if you're challenging a real heavy-hitter). I prefer swords for armament. My combos are usually LO/SM, LO/SH, SC/DA etc. Against heavy armor go with LO/SH. Always aim for the head. Philosophy: This guy clings to life by luck, early on, and will never be free of the spectre of death. In his first few fights stay away from lungers and bashers. Both have high attacks and usually do substantial damage. Prey on strikers, PS, PR and slashers. As he progresses, his attack, parry and defense will equip him with the tools to handle most everybody but always remain cautious of those bashers and lungers. A PL of this calibre should begin with around a 90 att, 70 par/init and 60-70 def. Decise and riposte will be slightly lower. Riposte 50 and decise anywhere from 35-50 depending on how lucky you get. Train skills exclusively from fight one and on. Use tourneys if you must raise anything at all (including con). Don't be discouraged if he's around .500 early on. By ten fights he'll be sporting three Adv Experts at least (att, par and init) and will begin to dismantle those scum/finesse styles that managed to beat him. Feel free to write or diplo me with comments/criticisms/or questions. Fight the Good Fight, or: Agath CPL Michael Dockus Lunatic Fringe (23) H Co BLT 2/8 Circle of Five (51) 24 MEU (Det F) Slaves of Power (52) FPO NY NY 09502-8531