DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 07/28/2012 Duedate: 08/10/2012
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-356
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
KEN DO
KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
(93-9274) [6-2-0,55]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY KEN DO
KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
(93-9274) [6-2-0,55]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
UGHH DIET MOUNTAIN DEW
THE HERQULOIDS (1601) DRINK UP (1604)
(93-9292) [4-2-1,29] (93-9315) [5-0-0,41]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 20
2. BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 15 THE MUPPETS (132)
3. THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 14 Unchartered Team
4. THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 5
5. DRINK UP (1604) 3 (-1)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*DRINK UP (1604) 16 8 0 66.7 1/ 2*BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 11 4 0
2/ 2*BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 16 8 0 66.7 2/ 1*DRINK UP (1604) 10 4 0
3- 3*DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608) 2 1 0 66.7 3/ 3*THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 7 5 2
4/ 4*THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 15 12 2 55.6 4/ 0*THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 4 6 0
5/ 0*THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 6 9 0 40.0 5- 7*DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608) 2 0 0
6/ 0*KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 10 17 0 37.0 6/ 0*KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 2 6 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
Assur's Guide to Pure Offensives
1) Design
When you are making a pure offensive, the things that matter most are:
Damage, Endurance, Attack skills, Decise skills, Initiative skills,and wit.
While other attributes and skills are nice, especially if you want to try fighting
differently, the pure offensive doesn't care much about them.
Damage is dictated by Strength and Size.
Endurance is dicated by Strength, Constitution, and Will (especially Will)
You get attack skills at:
Str: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Wit: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21
Wil: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Dft: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21
You get decise skills at:
Wit: 5, 7, 17, 21 Wil: 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 21 Spd: All even values
You get init skills at:
Siz: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Wit: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21
Spd: 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 21 Dft: 5, 7, 7, 15, 15, 17, 21, 21
Wit helps you learn more skills and as you'll notice contributes to each of the
skills that you care about (attack, decise, and init). The only other thing to
seriously consider is your weapon selection.
Damage is probably the most important attribute, followed by decise and then attack.
Wit is also very important as you need to learn your offensive skills enough to keep
up your ability to overwhelm your opponents.
2) Style Choice
Strikers are the best pure offensive style. They conserve endurance, learn the
best skills naturally (decise and attack), and can use all the good weapons. The
only real negative is that they have fewer attack skills than the other pure
offensive styles.
Bashers are the next best choice. They learn the right skills (but learn attack
more than decise) and have more attack than strikers. However, their weapon choices
are not as good as strikers (which makes damage rating very important for bashers)
and do not conserve endurance like strikers.
Slashers are the last of the styles that are naturally a pure offensive. They
do not learn decise naturally, though, so while they are great with their attack and
initiative, they are generally slower than their counterparts. They have access to
most of the best weapons in the game, but do not have a great speed weapon.
Parry Strikers can also be run naturally as a pure offensive. They learn lots
of decise skills, but learn parry skills to go with it. They can use almost any
weapon and can make fine pure offensives.
None of the other styles learn decise naturally, so while it can be a favorite
learn for any other style, you can't count learning them, so speed can be an issue.
Other styles' strengths are not in the pure offensive category, but there is nothing
wrong with running other styles as pure offensives. Recommend HIGH WIT for these!
Many managers run Lungers as pure offensives and because of their natural high
favorite rhythms it works just fine. But it is Assur's opinion that Lungers' natural
strengths do not make them the best choice for a pure offensive.
3) Weapon Selection (with requirements)
The following are my recommendations. Feel free to try other weapons
Speed Weapons (best chance to attack first):
Striker/Parry Striker
Short Spear (9 Str, 5 Wit, 7 Dft)
Dagger (3 Str, 7 Wit, 7 Dft)
Basher
Quarterstaff (11 Str, 9 Siz, 11 Wit, 11 Dft)
War Hammer (13 Str, 5 Wit, 7 Dft)
Slasher (I run far fewer slashers, so I'm not as sure about this one)
Hatchet? (7 Str, 5 Wit, 7 Dft)
Damage Weapons: (When damage is what you really care about)
Striker/Parry Striker/Slasher
Battle Axe (15 Str, 7 Wit, 9 Dft - If using an off-hand weapon, also 9 Siz)
Scimitar (9 Str, 11 Wit, 11 Dft)
Broadsword (11 Str, 9 Wit, 7 Dft)
Basher (note that HL and GS are very heavy and burn endurance fast)
Halberd (17 Str, 9 Siz, 9 Wit, 11 Dft)
Greatsword (15 Str, 9 Siz, 9 Wit, 11 Dft)
...can also use Battle Axe or Broadsword marginally...
Other Good All Purpose Weapons:
Striker/Parry Striker/Slasher
Longsword (11 Str, 13 Wit, 11 Dft)
Basher
Maul (15 Str, 9 Siz, 5 Wit, 7 Dft)
Great Axe (13 Str, 9 Wit, 11 Dft)
4) Strategy and Tactics
The most common strategy used by pure offensives is run hot. Hot means high
offensive effort (OE) and activity level (AL). 10 OE and 10 AL is very common.
Realize the hotter you run, the faster you will use your endurance. But most of the
time, you'll want to run hot. Unless you know you're fighting a pure defensive,
running hot is good advice for pure offensives.
If you're fighting a pure defensive, they want you to use all your endurance, so
running this hot might not be a good idea. Running 1 AL is not a bad idea (they are
not going to try to attack you).
Also realize that every warrior has a favorite rhythm (favorite OE and AL) which
will make them fight better. Some warriors don't like running super hot (or aren't)
as well suited to run super hot. Until you get to advanced duel2, you won't know for
sure what your favorite rhythm is. But you can experiment and sometimes get a feel
that your warrior runs very well as certain numbers.
I am not a fan of using tactics. They hurt you as much as they help you. That
said, the Decise tactic is great for making you faster. It is easily countered by a
warrior using the Response tactic. I've won ridiculous fights (new warriors beating
20 fight warriors) by using the response tactic. The response tactic is a great way
to counter another offensive using the decise tactic.
I usually do not use Bash, Slash, or Lunge very often.
5) Armor
No armor is recommended. But death is a high risk. Even using the lightest
armor (ALE/L) protects against death in a major way compared to no armor. If you
know you're fighting someone faster than you, wearing armor may very well be a good
idea (While who attacks first is dictated largely by luck, I'd rather not depend on
luck if I have another choice)
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
The topic I've chosen to address today is The Obvious. There are some obvious
mistakes that new players can and sometimes do make. I've seen it happen. I'm sure
none of YOU have made these mistakes, but just in case....
Choice of weapon, there's a good area for mistakes. Every style has its
preferred weapons, NO weapon can be used by every style, nor can every style use all
weapons. At some point in your ten turns here in Arena 93, you will see the chart
that separates out weapons by style. Pay attention to that, this is not just whim,
opinion, or personal taste. This has been tested, over and over again. The fights
are monitored by a computer, and a computer doesn't care about "this should work" or
"that should be cool." If your weapon is unsuited to your style, you will be
penalized in the fight. This is more than just "doesn't seem to have the
strength/wit/deftness to use his weapon." That handicaps you, but not as badly. In
fact, just to confuse people, sometimes a warrior's "favorite" weapon, chosen by the
computer at the time the roll-up is first input, will be one for which he lacks the
perfect numbers. But it will ALWAYS be one suitable for his style.
Don't trust real-world logic in picking weapons, this is a game and has its own
rules. My stock example, which is TRUE, is bashers and fists. You'd think--many
have--that a basher would be a natural going in with his fists. No. Bashers are
unsuited to this weapon and will not do their best with it. Do not trust logic,
trust the charts.
Also, weapons have weight and bulk. If you go in loaded like an armory cart, as
I have seen characters in a role-playing game do, you will be at a disadvantage. The
computer is merciless when it comes to encumbrance. Always carry a backup, yes.
That's common sense. But do NOT carry a backup that's heavier than your primary
weapon, it's for emergencies, and you may not be able to draw it in time anyway.
Don't even THINK about carrying a two-handed weapon as a backup, the computer will
not allow this. The input program rejects this. Always. Yes, sure, if you go to
the Dark Arena, you might see the Shewish Giant with backup mauls. He's a special
case, he exists only to kill your warriors, and he is allowed more weapons than any
managed warrior will ever be able to carry. When you're looking for a backup, pick
something relatively light: dagger, shortsword, scimitar, if you want a sword,
hatchet, shortspear, warhammer. Maybe a mace.
Training. This is one of my stock cautionary tales, and it's true. It happened
back before Noblish Island was opened. A new manager who had run three turns and
pulled 0-15 wrote and asked me what was wrong. Not only were his warriors losing,
they hadn't learned a skill in the whole time. He sent me their stats to demonstrate
that they SHOULD have learned skills. Five warriors, three fights each, and between
them, they had TWELVE stat increases. They hadn't learned skills because they hadn't
been training skills. Read the rule book, read ALL of your Noblish Island
newsletters, and pay attention! It's depressingly easy to overlook the obvious, and
this can mean a disaster.
Armor. The offensive styles, basher, lunger, slasher, striker, are geared to
run fast, fight fast, move fast, get in and win and get out before they're hit. If
you put them in full plate, yes, you will probably reduce their chance of death. But
you will also reduce their chance of winning. They should not need the heavy armor
to keep them alive; their offensive capabilities should be doing that, by winning the
fight before they're in danger.
Perhaps not so obvious, but... you can often surrender when a fight is going
badly. If your desperation strategy is set up for that. Raising any of your fight
numbers, much less all of them, in desperation, will often cause your warrior to go
berserk, and it increases his chance of doing something stupid and getting killed.
Dropping the numbers, on the other hand, makes him feel that he doesn't want to fight
so hard, and he might surrender before his hit points drop to zero and he dies. No
guarantee, but it's worth a try in many cases.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Profile of a Team
Middle Way 7
Instead of giving you the profile of a graduating warrior this week, I'm going
to show you what I started with and what I did to make the Middle Way 7.
Warrior #1 I made a parry-riposte, as much because I like making rippers as
because I thought this was an "ideal" ripper. (Hint, it is NOT an "ideal" ripper.)
13 + 0 = 13 I left the ST at 13 because that's enough to use any ripper's
5 + 0 = 5 weapon. I didn't raise the CN, though an "ideal" ripper would have
12 + 0 = 12 more, because I didn't have the points to spare. I can raise this
13 + 2 = 15 warrior's CN later, and in fact I did so on the first fight. Why
7 + 6 = 13 didn't I raise the WT to 17 or 19, as I could have done? Again, I
13 + 0 = 13 needed the points more elsewhere, and 15 is sufficient for any of
7 + 6 = 13 the ripper's preferred weapons. Learning with a 15 WT is fine,
also. I raised WL to 13, the maximum allowable addition of points, because that is
THE most important stat. Without a decent WL, you can't raise any of the other
stats, and 13 is marginal anyway. If this warrior survives to graduation, it will go
into automatic retirement because of that low WL. SP I left alone because that's
more than enough for any ripper to start with. DF I raised by the maximum six points
because it's so useful for a) getting initial skills (this warrior was born with an
expert in riposte) and b) hitting on target and winning fights before the low CN
loses them. This warrior is very frail--mostly the low CN, but incredibly quick
(relatively high SP and DF combined). She can't carry much weight, but she does do
good damage.
Warrior #2 I made a wall of steel, which may be my favorite style. I added
6 + 3 = 9 three to ST because I HATE warriors who do little damage. Also,
10 + 0 = 10 raising ST to 9 will allow this warrior to use the SC, one of my
16 + 0 = 16 favorite weapons. Nothing to CN, 10 is okay. Not great, but okay.
12 + 5 = 17 Five to WT, since I have the points to spend there, gives me 17,
7 + 6 = 13 just about the ideal starting WT. The full six to WL for the same
6 + 0 = 6 reason as above--gotta get it as high as possible, and this is
13 + 0 = 13 still just marginal for a long term warrior. I left the SP at 6,
because I never know what to do with SP anyway. And DF left at 13 because the points
were needed more urgently elsewhere, and 13 will give this warrior the SC, the wall
of steel's best weapon. This warrior came out slightly uncoordinated (the low SP)
but at the same time quick on his feet. He can trip faster than anyone you ever saw!
Again, can't carry much weight but does good damage.
Warrior #3 I made another ripper. Hey, I warned you I'm doing rippers right
9 + 0 = 9 now! It would probably have made a better lunger, but I didn't
8 + 0 = 8 feel like making a lunger, and besides, the idea of a seven-foot
20 + 0 = 20 tall ripper tickled my fancy. I left ST untouched, as 9 will
14 + 3 = 17 give this warrior the SC. CN is acceptable, though low for a
4 + 6 = 10 ripper. Raised WT to 17, because WT is always useful to have; if
4 + 1 = 5 I could have put the two extra points on WL, I'd have settled for
11 + 4 = 15 a WT of 15, though. Six points to WL for the same reason as above
--this team is cursed in the WILL department. Oh, well, you work with what you've
got. Four added to DF for starting skills and accuracy, and the final one point I
dropped on SP because it looked so desperately low. This warrior came out with
"slightly uncoordinated" but is not listed as "slow and inactive," possibly thanks to
that extra point on SP. At least, that's what I choose to tell myself. This one
came out slightly uncoordinated but incredibly quick and active, can't carry much
weight but does great damage (the SZ).
Warrior #4 has perhaps the best potential, in my view. I made it a wall of
11 + 0 = 11 steel (you're not surprised, are you?). Left ST and CN alone;
9 + 0 = 9 they're high enough to go with. Raised WT to 15, which is a good,
13 + 0 = 13 meaty WT. Why not 16? Because that wouldn't give me anything I
10 + 5 = 15 can't get at 15, and save the extra point for use elsewhere. WL to
12 + 5 = 17 seventeen--gotta love it. If this warrior survives, that 17 WL
5 + 1 = 6 means long-term possibilities in the form of relatively easy stat
10 + 3 = 13 raises later on. One point on SP because I had it and that seemed
more useful than any other place I might put it. Three to DF, because the extra
accuracy is always useful, though I could have stopped at 11 (the minimum needed to
use a SC) and put the other two points elsewhere. If I had chosen to do that, they
would probably have gone to ST for more damage. Slightly uncoordinated but active
and very quick on his feet, can't carry much weight but does good damage. A familiar
pattern, eh?
Warrior #5 is a total parry. Somehow he just didn't look like anything else.
4 + 5 = 9 Points to ST to reach my minimum preferred of nine, so that he will
14 + 1 = 15 not be cursed with little damage. After all, he MIGHT strike a
16 + 0 = 16 blow some day. Also, I wanted him to be able to stand up under his
9 + 0 = 9 armor. An extra point to CN, because total parries can always use
12 + 5 = 17 more of that. Nothing on WT, as skills are not important for him,
9 + 0 = 9 and 9 isn't too bad... for a total parry. Five to bring WL to 17;
6 + 3 = 9 this is as important for a total parry as for any other style, and
maybe more so, since it affects endurance. Left SP alone; he won't be moving much.
Three to DF to bring that up to 9 so that he can use some weapons other than the
shields. I have a hard time thinking of shields as weapons, frankly. Normal
intelligence--no statement as to how intelligent he is, but then again, no statement
that he is "very stupid" either. A compromise I--and he--can live with. He's got
good endurance and can take a lot of damage, thanks to CN, SZ, and WL. Can't carry
much weight (the low ST) but does great damage (the high SZ). I've already raised
his ST by one and plan to up it another point to 11, as I have chosen to arm him with
a longspear (they use 'em like quarterstaves for parrying and may, on rare occasions,
even attack with them); also, if I am reading the chart correctly, there are no
skills to be burned by stat trains from 9 to 11.
You'll note that only one of them won its first fight. This is not unusual, nor
is it distressing to me. In fact, I like for them to lose their first fight, as it
teaches them a little humility! But seriously, the first fight gives you a chance to
get the feel of the warrior and decide what adjustments to make to each one's
standard strategy.
Number 1 was going 6-6-6 straight across, not fast enough to burn out early, not
slow enough to scum. She got the first blow, which is good, but I don't expect her
to do it again; her opponent should probably be cranking up his Offensive Effort to
grab the first blow for himself. She didn't start showing exhaustion statements, so
she can handle this speed, at least; it was damage (that low CN) that took her down.
The second was going 8-6-6 and did NOT get the first blow, which was appropriate
considering his opponent's style. He went down to damage, the wimp, before I could
tell if he could sustain this speed.
The third, my seven-foot ripper, went 6-6-6 and had no trouble dealing with the
Persistent Beggar. I really can't call that a test.
The fourth was jumped, knocked down, went desperate, and quit, all in the space
of a few seconds. He's going to get some teasing for that from his teammates! He
was going 8-6-6, but there wasn't time to see how he liked that.
The last one, the total parry, went down to damage, having made no attempt to
parry, dummy that he is. I may set him the parry tactic in minute one. He was going
6-6-6, for all the good it did him. If he'd bothered to parry and hung on a little
longer, he could have had that fight, because his opponent was staggering with
exhaustion in the first minute.
Jorja
Middle Way 7
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[+ Question of the Week #6 +]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
From turn 412:
AK's Q.O.W. -- There's no single trick to keeping warriors alive. Constitution and
armor probably helps the most because it's more difficult for them to run out of hit
points and die in the infirmary, plus they don't go desperate as easy which is
usually when the death intent comment comes. Warrior experience is a big help, but
it takes time to earn, of course. Tourneys could help with this, but you can die
there too. It may be at half chance, but you get so many.... It really comes down
to the death intent statement usually. Skill, and toughness (including armor) help
to keep you from getting to that point, and once there, only warrior experience makes
a difference in reducing the chance of failing the survival role after that death
intent statement. -- Adie
AK's Q.O.W. #2 -- It takes a lot more than three master ratings once you get to the
middle ranks of ADM. In the lower end, that could be enough. But success is much
more attributed to the sum of the warriors' capabilities. Are they tough? Do they
have staying power/endurance? Do they defend well, even with low skills? Do they
have good rythyms? Do they 'like' their rythyms? How bout their favorite weapon?
Is it good and do they love it or hate it? Sometimes a warrior, for a reason not
easily definable, just wins. Other super skilled ones can just lose regularly. Of
course, each warrior may win at one level of the game, like basic and as freshmen,
but maybe lose like crazy higher up. Godlings will commonly come into their own as
champions and freshmen. The very rare few can win ALL the way. Those warriors are a
true joy.... -- Adie
Another Q.O.W. -- Perhaps it is not the fact that your good roll-ups never get
blessed and the others do. But it may be the fact, that you only get few great ones,
and it is EASY to remember them not getting gifted. Kind of like that syndrome where
people find it easy to remember all the negative things in their life, but find it
difficult to point out the equal or more numerous good things. However, if this is
not the case, keep those better gifted average roll-ups. Especially those that can
win in basic. You may find them winning in ADM later too, especially once they start
training stats. Also, if you get enough great roll-ups, you will eventually get
gifted ones. Remember, some styles find it easier to be more gifted. -- Adie
AK47 -- Let's see... <shuffling through paperwork> It says here that the three
recently deceased warriors from my team had 'normal', 'a lot', and 'very frail' hit
points. The 'very frail' one died in the infirmary, which is a little different.
The hit points, if you will, just determine how much damage can be sustained before
the warrior goes desperate/frantic/careless/you-name-it. Once that happens, con
ceases to matter. I've seen all types of warriors buy the farm, from 7 will to 21,
from no armor to APA/F. You hit upon the most important point, winning as much as
possible, but beyond that it's all about luck. Running in a friendly arena can help
the statistics of dying, but it doesn't mean any individual is safe and unkillable.
Tournies aren't that safe, in my opinion. FEs are helpful, but I think they are just
a visible artifact of being a developed fighter. A warrior with a lot of FEs but a
lousy learn rate probably isn't much more survivable just due to those FEs. -- Axly
AK47 -- Three masters sounds like a good rule of thumb, but that would vary depending
on what the warrior's physicals were like. I might say two masters and two ad exes
for defensives, but I'm no expert on them. -- Axly
Hanibal, QoW -- I have no idea. Some styles get gifted more than others, and in
certain areas. If you want the best bonuses, run aimers! -- Axly
QOW / AK 47 -- I've found skills keep a warrior alive better than anything. My best
learners have all lived. Especially offensives who learn a lot of init and decise
quickly. Swing first and keep swinging. I'd take WL over CN for its skills. I fear
mentioning this that it may jinx me, but I've never lost a warrior past about 10
fights. Armor has helped me at times, but it robs warriors of much of their finesse.
If a good defensive warrior can live through about 5-10 fights and learn well
he/she/it should be well on the way to success. -- JRK
QOW / AK 47 -- I think it's an oversimplification to say three masters are needed in
AD. I also think it depends on the arena. Andorak is very competitive right now. I
have warriors with three advanced masters who can't seem to win much anymore. As to
what the requirement is... I think it depends on a number of factors, where you are
in the rankings, what your favorites are, what you get in the way of challenges,
matchups and where your attributes fall. Three masters and tremendous
damage/endurance would be much different from three masters and normal in both areas.
I'm not sure a good benchmark can be set. But it is certainly and interesting
question. -- JRK
QOW -- Overall, I would lean toward saying the reverse is true as far as giftedness.
Most of my average warriors have come out very close to average, usually a little
above. While many of my good warriors have been at least +3, often +5 or more. On
my all star team of long ago (Maxwell Honorblade, Monica Virtueshield, Michael
Honorblade, Corina Honorblade, and Angela Silverblade) all of my warriors were gifted
(four of them by +3 or more, 3 by +5 or more), average or not. I also tend to do
well in attack and poorly in init. Giftedness seems to be a fickle thing, I suspect
this is because the RUGS are involved. -- JRK
P.S. I apologize if it seems I am bragging, but my record and I have never gotten
over the graduation of all those warriors.
Axly -- Damned if I know. I found the style-linked starting points very curious.
Looks to me like there was an attempt to balance styles that resulted in drastic
imbalances! -- Leeta
Hanibal -- Once you've gotten the death-intent statement, only luck will keep you
alive. The thing you need to do is avoid getting the death-intent statement. No,
this is serious. You can up a warrior's hit points in the design stage, by adding to
CN and, I think WL (but maybe ST), and having a large SZ helps. Of course, if you
pile the points on there, he may be dumb and clumsy. You can pile on the armor,
which will help keep him alive but may lose him fights unless he can scum; some
warriors are totally immobilized by armor.
On a more positive note, if I have a warrior who is "very frail" that I really
don't want to die, I will use armor, and I will attempt to keep him alive by using
the "surrender in desperation" tactic. No, no, it isn't a joke! Honest! Say I've
got a frail warrior, probably with normal or lower endurance. I send that boy out
running hard, 10-10, even. Sometimes, especially if he's smart and deft, he wins
right off. But if he doesn't win right off, he rapidly becomes exhausted and quits.
I forget who it was who suggested this to me, years ago--Phido, maybe. It doesn't
always work (nothing ALWAYS works), but it may help. And I'd rather have good
warriors lose than die; if they stay alive long enough, they build up skills and
start winning. -- Leeta
P.S. Yes, CN keeps you alive better than WL. WL sometimes leads a low-CN warrior to
go on fighting a little too long.
P.P.S. Yes, warriors who can take a lot of damage do die, sometimes, because some
warriors can dish out a lot of damage.
P.P.P.S. The survival of low-CN high skill warriors is more a matter of strategy
than anything else. And, obviously, if you don't lose, you don't die.
P.P.P.P.S. Picking your arena does contribute to warrior survival, but it can be
tricky, since a warrior has, as a normal minimum, a year to go before graduation and
the character of an arena may change in the course of a year. Andorian is not always
a guarantee of relative safety; you need to look at the actual managers present and
evaluate THEM for propensity to run killing styles and strategies. In my opinion,
tourneys are of limited value in building up a warrior for the regular arena. Sure,
the chance of dying is only half that in regular dueling, but the chance of learning
skills or training stats is also only half. And that's what increased FE is about:
more skills, more stat trains.
P.P.P.P.P.S. There is NO number of fights that will preserve you from being killed,
and if you fight equally experienced opponents who happen to be "headhunters," it
won't improve your chances much, either! Pick your fights with care, challenge and
avoid every time. The only absolute guarantee against death is a potion of
immortality (a tourney prize) or graduation.
AK47 -- It depends on the advanced arena you're fighting in. And by "hold your own,"
do you mean have a 50% winning percentage, or rise rapidly through the ranks, or make
it to the top, or what? I have run warriors in Lirin Kiv (ADM 107) from the day it
opened, and in that arena, no, you don't have to have three masters. Oh, sure, it
HELPS, especially now that the arena has aged enough so that some of the foundation
warriors DO have those masters. But it happens to be a small advanced arena fed by
small basic arenas, and while the competition among the fossils in the upper levels
is stiff, the lower levels aren't that bad. Heck, even MY warriors win sometimes!
Or, try 101, Home Guard. Yes, the current status lets in warriors who are
potentially good, but I doubt anyone there has three masters, and if they do, they're
probably on their way out. -- Leeta
P.S. And no amount of innate ability on the part of a warrior can overcome for long
the effects of careless management. Management may not be ALL, but it's at least
half.
Hanibal -- Regarding blessed warriors and great rollups, the law of averages says
everybody has a chance to be blessed. But it takes a LOT of warriors for the law of
averages to operate visibly. I have had great (in stats) warriors who were blessed
and the same who were cursed, ditto for average ones. -- Leeta
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 701): VENTRIIE of DARK WARDS (Dark Warden, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 703): WHERE of GUESSING GAME (A-sop, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 636): MICKEY HANDS of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 697): INKED PIG of INK & STEEL RETRO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 699): TWILO TALON of TALON'S TERRORS (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 690): DAWN of ZOMBIE SQUAD 2 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 691): BULL HALSEY of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 348): TAXES of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 688): CAPT. ANTSY PANTS of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 345): XANDAR of AVENGERS (Huckle Cat?, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 685): UNDERCOVER LILY of SECRET SQUIRRELS (Gentleben, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 682): JERK O'LANTERN of HALLOWEINERS (The Dark One)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 674): MADON AP LLEW of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 632): BAIN of ORDER (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 323): ANDROMEDA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 317): ULTIMA REGUM of IN QUETERNUM (Vae Victis, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 304): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Coach, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 564): TAM TAM KA'BLAM of INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 549): DIGGITY DOG of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 531): HORSE D'OEVRE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 525): XYLOID of SCRABBLE (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 253): BOOB of PALINDROMES (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 486): TUNA SALAD of PARKING LOT 4 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 481): LIGHTNING THRUST of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 472): CALEAM CHOWDER of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 589): WILD THANG! of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 701): DARK WARDS (Dark Warden, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 703): BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 636): ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 697): INK & STEEL RETRO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 699): REALLY? (Dr. Grimley, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 690): 82ND ILLINOIS (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 691): THE MAGNIFICIENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 348): DODGE BULLETS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 688): CLAN CROW (Owsly, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 345): NUMBERS GAME (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 684): COLLEGE RADIO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 682): HALLOWEINERS (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 674): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 632): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 323): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 317): VEGAN CANNIBALS (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 304): THE MYRMIDONS (Sigurd Fafnisbane, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 564): INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 549): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 531): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 525): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 252): SUPER STARS (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 486): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 481): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 472): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 589): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 703): WHERE of GUESSING GAME (A-sop, mgr.)
(turn 702): ITCHY FROGGY of KAOS FROGS (Grimm, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 698): HORUS MANN of PUNNY AMINALS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 689): CAPT KIRCHNER of 82ND ILLINOIS (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 348): TAXES of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 688): KICKER MURPHY of CLAN CROW (Owsly, mgr.)
SULU of TREKKERS (Deep Thought, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 681): HEADLESS NORSEMAN of HALLOWEINERS (The Dark One)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 673): MONKEY MAN of REALLY? (Dr. Grimley, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 632): MELANJI of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 322): CELESTIAL ROSE of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 317): ARTICHOKE ON THIS of VEGAN CANNIBALS (The Anarchist)
SPAWN of FANTASTIC FIVE (?, mgr.)
(turn 316): ENDEMIC of BLACK LIGHTING (Dark Angel, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 303): THRESHPACK of PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 549): ELIN GISSORS of MIDDLE WAY 25 (Jorja, mgr.)
(turn 548): SLIPPERS of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 253): BOOB of PALINDROMES (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 481): LIGHTNING THRUST of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr)
INCREDIBLE SPEED of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Since the start of my time on the throne here on Noblish Isle, I have never
needed to fear losing my seat. But now, I must let it go to another because the time
has come for The Farseers to move on. Such a move provides me a view of another
throne on which to sit. So you can expect that I will train hard and fight my best
to rule Chimlevtal's sand as well. Hopefully we may all live long lives, with many
tales of victory. Keep in mind that it is defeat that can kill us, never a win. --
Dutiful
SPY REPORT
It's me, The Unknown Spymaster here with my bag to give you the news on last
week's fights. We now have a new top team for all of you guys to dogpile on. BASH
BROS BASHERS now holds the crown and they are betting they can keep it. Hey
everybody, watch out for PEN STEELSLASH, who flew up 17 points in the rankings after
mashing TAB like a melon. Keep your eye on this guy. And falling like a basher in
the top ten was TAB, who dropped 15 points after a disappointing (to say the least)
bout with PEN STEELSLASH. In front of all the crowds, KEN DO took the Duelmaster's
crown for his own. I give the bum two weeks. Advice to bashers--never force
anything, just get a bigger halberd!
Here is other news that is of note. And hey, kiddies, those of you who didn't
avoid THE HERQULOIDS, please raise you hand. Wow. Does NOBLISH ISLAND really have
that many liars? And you guys like to boo me? Well, unsling your rasberries, cause
DRINK UP beats feet every time THE HERQULOIDS smiles at them. Try farming, eh? And
who is this DIET MOUNTAIN DEW you ask, with 41 points and a 5-0-0 record. Ooh, the
tales I could tell!
Remember that an arena is not always a safe place to be, but it is one of the
most interesting, though! Here's some advice: warriors with little wit and will may
encounter problems on the trail to the Isle.
Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in NOBLISH ISLAND
have no sense of humor. Or maybe that they were senseless. C'mon, Leadfoot, let's
make some tracks. And remember, you can pick your friends and you can pick
your--(loud boos), oh, you've heard that one already!-- The Unknown Spymaster
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KEN DO 9274 6 2 0 55 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-MONOPOLY 9217 7 3 0 75 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-CAREERS 9216 7 3 0 55 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
DIET BIG RED 9317 5 0 0 48 DRINK UP (1604)
-POKER 9219 6 4 0 45 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
PEN STEELSLASH 9328 4 1 0 43 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315 5 0 0 41 DRINK UP (1604)
-CONTRACT BRIDGE 9218 7 3 0 36 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
QUEENIE PAROE 9345 3 0 0 32 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
-CHESS 9220 7 3 0 29 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
UGHH 9292 4 2 1 29 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
ENDURANCE BURN 9326 3 2 0 28 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE 9325 5 0 0 27 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
-TSINGTAO 9316 2 2 0 26 DRINK UP (1604)
STRIKER MATCHUPS 9324 3 2 0 24 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
TAB 9314 3 2 0 22 DRINK UP (1604)
WEAPONS 9323 3 2 0 21 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
LOSING INITIATIVE 9327 2 2 0 20 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
KONANN CEE 9296 3 3 0 19 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
SULL 9294 3 3 1 15 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
-DUNCAN 9338 1 0 0 15 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
-ZANE 9352 1 0 0 13 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
ZOE YATES 9349 1 2 0 12 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
-BARBRA JEAN 9273 2 3 0 9 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
-CY LENT 9305 2 2 0 8 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
SALOME RYAN 9346 1 2 0 5 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
URBIN TILL 9347 1 2 0 5 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
TY CHE 9339 0 1 0 5 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
FOLGERS 9353 0 2 0 2 DRINK UP (1604)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
MAXWELL HOUSE 9313 1 2 0 DRINK UP 1604 SULL 9294 354
MINDY V 9276 0 5 0 KNIGHT LIFE 1597 SHEWISH GIANT 356 NONE
WAYLON VOLE 9348 0 3 0 THE LOW ROAD 4 1610 UGHH 9292 356
PERSONAL ADS
Dutiful, Farseers -- Good luck in Chimlevtal. You will enjoy it and you are ready.
-- Dr, Dehydrate
Norman Rankin -- While I shall probably never make it to Morya, our affiliate, The
Expense Accounts--managed by Finance Manager, resides there. He would echo your
comments that, for a slow arena, Morya has much to offer. -- Dr. Dehydrate
Uncle D, manager of Knightlife -- What team are you running in the Turf Wars? You
will find both Assur and a Consortium affiliate participating on different teams
there. -- Doc H.
P.S. Oz, that Consortium affiliate is one of the coordinators/moderators of the Turf
Wars.
P.P.S. Like you, we recommend a team event such as The Turf Wars as a great activity
for new managers. But, one would really, really have to rush to enter this TW in
time as it starts in late July.
Uncle D -- NO! No, no, no. There is nothing wrong with speed. Do not dump a
warrior because it has 21SP and 17WT. The Consortium managers would gladly run a
fast 21 speed warrior. Yes, indeed. What the various articles are trying to convey
is that SP is, in general, one of the lesser valued stats. Speed, and the decise
skills that come with it (plus a few others) are not always enough to win with. Most
articles guide a designer towards WL and WT, for obvious reasons, and then to
physicals, which tend to be ST and CN. DF is invaluable for the finer skills it
presents almost any style. If one places his design points first on all these, there
are none to place on SP. Hence, one could determine that SP is lesser, but certainly
not bad. -- Dr. Dehydrate
Jorja -- What a nice thing to say. Thanks. -- Doc Dehydrate
Sull -- You seem to have taken a liking to my coffees. One dead coffee is enough.
You kill my 2nd and I will be greatly caffeine deprived. So don't. -- Dr. Dehydrate
Picker -- Nice challenge, but I was quite ready for you. Thanks for letting me
practice doing the dew. -- Diet Mountain Dew
Zoe Yates -- I was at my very best. It was the wrong day for you to fight me if you
expected to win. -- Tsingtao
Fighting the Fratsfan Slave? What a waste. -- Tab
Stormy -- Today was my day, but I suspect the next would be yours; so I am avoiding
your team. -- Diet Big Red
Good luck to all. Drink plenty of water. -- Dr. Dehydrate
All -- As I walk to the Dark Arena, please know it was fun knowing you. -- Mindy V
Queenie Paroe -- That was beautiful, I think I'm in love! -- Cy Lent
All -- Back where I belong. At the top! May all you be my subjects and bow before
me. -- Ken Do
Norman Rankin -- Good-day and welcome to Noblish Island. May the sand box be kind to
you. -- Uncle D, mgr of Knight Life
All -- I have read that there is a number of Alliances out there. My question is, is
it hard for a Newbie to join one and how do you find them all? Also would you
recommend joining one? Are there any books on Duel out there I could get? -- Uncle D
All -- With our Charter, we have decided to move to Chimlevtal. Also, I will start
to manage another group of warriors in arena 81. If you wish to continue to compete
with us, then look for our stables in 31 and 81. Good luck to everybody! -- The
Farseers
Doc -- The stand-in really worked me over. It was a nasty ripper who robbed me of a
perfect record here. But 9-1-2 seems fairly respectable for a novice like me. --
Dutiful
Uncle D -- I have decided to take this team over to DM-31 to keep learning with.
Also, I am working on starting a new team in the no-tourney Arena 81. Now I just
need to locate five new warriors and choose a name that allows everyone to assume I
manage it. There will probably be some similarities in the new name. Send me a
diplo if you ever want more details. -- The Catalyst
Konann Cee -- Normally when I start attacking I can win, but not in this case, it
seems. -- Shrewd
Ughh -- Wow, five skills from hitting me ten times? -- The Fool
Doctor Dehydrate -- I don't think you like Folgers any better than Maxwell House.
Maybe you should Doctor Decaf a little, huh? You can bloodfeud us more if you need
to. As you can see, Folgers was kinda bitter, eh? Take advantage if you want (you
really shouldn't talk down to others, man!) Good luck. :) -- Kell Drakestone, mgr.
The Herquloids
P.S. You could at least use my name, Doc.
Ughh to Tsing Tao -- Come back here, I'll poke a hole in your can!
Assur -- I have never understood how one USES counter tactics. The concept seems to
imply that you will know in advance what tactic your opponent will be using and when.
Could you go into this a little more deeply? -- Jorja
Uncle D -- Regarding your 21 SP 17 WT warrior, why dump him? Is he doing very badly?
Then, maybe. Is he winning, are his fights fun to read? Then no. -- Jorja
Cy Lent -- Ah! A match where style was important to the outcome, or so I choose to
believe. You have one of the trickiest styles to run, according to my manager, and
she finds my style one of the easiest. I grant you my aim is poor, but that didn't
help you. -- Queenie Paroe
Tsingtao -- What? I thought you were... maybe an archeological site? -- Zoe Yates
Weapons -- You know, I'm not a dwarf. I think my indignation gave me the edge in
that fight. -- Urbin Till
Losing Initiative -- You didn't lose it fast enough, dammit. -- Waylon Vole
Pen Steelslash -- Ah, you must be one of those pens that's mightier than a sword. My
hard luck. -- Salome Ryan
Norman Rankin -- Welcome to Duel2! -- Assur
Uncle D -- Assur and Oz are participating in the Turf War. Oz is a manager of The
Consortium. Some people say that The Consortium is a single man in real life, but
clearly Duel 2 is "Reality." In this Reality, The Consortium is a collection of
managers who run in various arenas throughout all of Alastari. The Consortium runs
teams here in DM 93 as well. Currently, the Consortium representative is Dr.
Dehydrate. Previously it was the Gamemaster. Do you really think one person could
be a Consortium and have all these different personalities? -- Assur
P.S.. Yes, I'm being a bit tongue in cheek here, having a little fun. The Consortium
is run by a single person under a single account number, but in the game world, there
are many representatives)
Speed is considered a less valuable stat. Most managers smile when a new replacement
comes back with 3 speed. It gives Decise skills, Defense skills, Riposte skills, and
Initiative skills. I don't know any manager that designs with initiative in mind.
Riposte is something to consider on hybrids, but you'd rather get these skills from
wit or deftness. Defense comes from all over (size, wit, will, speed, deftness), but
you often would rather have constitution than another defense skill. That leaves
decisiveness. Pure offensives absolutely need decisiveness. But once again, you'd
rather get your decise skills from huge wit and will. Except for pure offensives,
Assur rarely adds to speed. Even on pure offensives, speed is not the highest
priority in design. Re. your 17 wit, 21 speed guy? I wouldn't dump a warrior
because of 21 speed. Now if you tell me that the warrior isn't a pure offensive? Or
he does little damage? Then I might suggest that you dump him.
Rosemary -- Such is the way of life with Bashers. Running pure offensive pure
lungers is a challenge, unless you learn right. If you are not a pure offensive,
wear a little armor. -- Assur
Mindy V -- A lucky win by my basher. Most of the time, I'd expect you to finish what
you were able to start. But most of the time doesn't mean all of the time. -- Assur
Kalam -- And most of the time, I'd expect my basher to finish what he started against
you. Good win! Congrats. -- Assur
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
MINDY V was dealt death by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
KONANN CEE was vanquished by DIET MOUNTAIN DEW in a 1 minute uneven Challenge battle.
FOLGERS was demolished by ZOE YATES in a 1 minute uneven Challenge fight.
KEN DO devastated STRIKER MATCHUPS in a 1 minute one-sided Title contest.
TAB was overpowered by PEN STEELSLASH in a 1 minute mismatched match.
DIET BIG RED devastated LOSING INITIATIVE in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
QUEENIE PAROE bested SULL in a 1 minute match.
UGHH butchered WAYLON VOLE in a 1 minute gruesome one-sided competition.
FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE vanquished TY CHE in a 1 minute uneven duel.
ENDURANCE BURN vanquished SALOME RYAN in a 1 minute uneven fight.
WEAPONS vanquished URBIN TILL in a 1 minute brutal one-sided fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 9 WALL OF STEEL 12 - 6 - 0 67 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 4 SLASHING ATTACK 35 - 19 - 2 65 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 30 - 21 - 3 59 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 PARRY-STRIKE 11 - 8 - 1 58 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 AIMED BLOW 20 - 16 - 2 56 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 53 - 59 - 4 47 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 LUNGING ATTACK 9 - 11 - 1 45 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 TOTAL PARRY 13 - 16 - 0 45 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 2 - 1 33 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 9 - 0 25 |
Turn 356 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 BASHING ATTACK 4 - 5 4 SLASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 2 STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 1 PARRY-STRIKE
PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY
WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
SLASHING ATTACK KEN DO 9274 6 2 0 55 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
PARRY-STRIKE DIET BIG RED 9317 5 0 0 48 DRINK UP (1604)
BASHING ATTACK DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315 5 0 0 41 DRINK UP (1604)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is UGHH 9292. The most popular warrior this turn was
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315. The ten other most popular fighters were KEN DO 9274, MINDY
V 9276, ZOE YATES 9349, PEN STEELSLASH 9328, DIET BIG RED 9317, QUEENIE PAROE 9345,
UGHH 9292, FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE 9325, ENDURANCE BURN 9326, and WEAPONS 9323.
The least popular fighter this week was URBIN TILL 9347. The other ten least popular
fighters were SALOME RYAN 9346, TY CHE 9339, WAYLON VOLE 9348, LOSING INITIATIVE
9327, TAB 9314, STRIKER MATCHUPS 9324, KONANN CEE 9296, SULL 9294, FOLGERS 9353, and
WEAPONS 9323.
A SACRED LORD'S SLASHER
Well, this article/spotlight is for Seal at 7th Order, so here goes.
ST: If he's huge (15+), 3 is okay, and use HA. I prefer 7 for epee. 9 gets scimitar
and 11 gets broadsword. Anything above 11 is a WASTE!!!
CN: Whatever they send you.
SZ: Any.
WT: 15, 17, or 21. 13 is workable, but I hate slow learners! 21 will probably take
a lot from other areas, so 17 is best.
WL: 17, 17, 17!!!! You need endurance, lots of endurance. Some of my friends use
15, but I prefer not to.
SP: 9+ They use SP as well as most, but don't add here until after WT/WL/DF.
DF: 15+, 15+, 15+. Once again, I have high standards. The reason? Have you ever
had a slasher come out w/ "relying on his speed to stay out of trouble"? That's
'cause his parry is in the negative. With a 15 DF your slasher will have a much
better parry and will probably be about 1-3 trains from a Master parry in advanced.
Later on, you'll see!
Now, how to run them:
10 9 7 -------------------------> 10
10 4 2 -------------------------> 10
7 9 7 -------------------------> 1
CH/HE -------------------------------------------- >
HE ----------------------------------------------- >
Off: D at first, open later, min 2 +, open
Def: D/S (preferably Dodge)
Min two+ is in case of a TP or WoS coming after you. This setup works, so good
luck!
Mike Bookout
Bookie, Sacred Lord of the Black Regime
Memphis Mafia (36,100)
P.S. Anybody want to join the Regime?
The Dark Arena: A Fighter's Perspective
(sung to the hymn: Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the dawn
I am walking down the tunnel
After everyone is gone
I step into the torchlight
And I see the blade he's drawn
My mind, it sings this song:
CHORUS
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
My mind continues on
The crowd is chanting praises
But all I hear are growls
Mine enemy's upon me
So I strike him and he howls
Parry, parry, slash, and parry
I smell his breath so foul
And death, he sings this song:
(CHORUS)
Now we both are tired
And my strength is fading fast
Oh, let me give that fatal blow
Oh, let me be the last
I swing my sword with all my might
The crowd it stands, aghast
As he dies, I sing my song:
(CHORUS x2)
Scotlan (28, 31, 39, 50, ?)
Kill Desire: "Patience."
Many times I have lost warriors, and the manager claimed the KD was only five.
As if KD had anything to do with the death of my fighter. It was really the battle
axe to the head that killed him.
I was quite disturbed at the widespread belief that kill desire has something to
do with killing an opponent. But they have good reason to believe this: the
Duelmasters Handbook definition of kill desire has a tendency to cast a "confusion
spell" on the reader to make them think that way. The wording is very misleading.
The name "kill desire" is also misleading. A more correct word would be "patience."
Yes, kill desire is actually how much patience your fighter had before taking a
shot. KD doesn't add damage or tell your fighter where to aim at.
Damage is calculated by weapon and strength. (Of course, favorite weapon also
affects damage.)
You let your warrior know where you want him to aim at by filling out the attack
location boxes on the fight sheets.
Hit location and damage are the main two things that will kill warriors. Hit
locations to vital areas such as head, chest, and the abdomen repeated times increases
your chance to kill. The amount of damage inflicted to these vital areas also
increases your chance to kill an opponent.
As you see, none of this has anything to do with kill desire.
Now, I will tell you what kill desire, or patience, as I call it, actually is.
If you run your warrior with an 8-10 KD, you're telling him to swing like a
drunken wildman. You'll see statements in his fights that say "swings wildly" or
other things to that effect. He is not waiting for a good opening. He is swinging at
everything! This is bad for several reasons.
With his KD that high, he is very easily dodged and parried. Also, he can be
feinted into bad dueling decisions as well.
I think that KD between 5-7 for offensive styles and 3-6 for defensive styles is
perfect.
You get a lot more hits with a 5-7 KD, and feint a lot less. But you also get
more kills in this range. Reason being, you're waiting for a good shot that is hard
to dodge or parry. The example I used earlier about the manager with the 5 KD and
battleaxe is the point I am trying to make. If his warrior's KD was 10, my warrior
could have dodged or parried the attack and still be alive today. But since it was a
5 KD, he waited for a good shot that my warrior had trouble defending against, and
cleaved his head off! (Well, not literally.)
Defensive styles run about 3-6 KD. Defensive styles swing wildly a lot in the
beginning, but that is natural. They will get better. 3-4 KD, they still have a
tendency to let attacks go by. Of course, if you're scumming, go with a 1 KD.
In short, having an 8-10 KD means your warrior is doing all that swinging and
hitting less. Not to mention all the endurance he is burning up to no avail.
Any comments, you can diplo me.
ta-ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
DM 11: Lords of the Abyss
DM 61: Pit Fiends
DM 67: Storm Wizards
DM 5: Bad Girls
SOME INFO ON THE RIPPER
Being that the parry-riposte is my favorite style, I thought I'd share a few
things I've learned.
General design:
ST: 7-11 Strength isn't all important to the P.R. An 11 will gives you all well
suited weapons. I'll even go as high as 17, but with no dramatic
effect.
CN: Any A higher con will give a better endurance and make survival easier.
SZ: Any Although a smaller size gives you a defensive bonus.
WT: 15-21 As with all other styles the higher the better. 15 will give the epee.
A P.R. needs to learn skills to survive.
WL: 13-21 Will is as important as wit. It helps endurance and life expectancy.
A higher will allows you to pick apart most scum.
SP: 5-13 13 is a major breakpoint but it's not necessary to go that high. A
combo of 15 wit, 15 deftness and 11 speed will give you an expert in
riposte with any luck.
DF: 13-21 The higher the coordination the easier it is to hit your attack
location. A 15 will give you the epee.
The perfect P.R. would look something like this: 9-4-5-17-21-11-17 with starting
skill bases like:
Ini: 60%
Rip: 90%
Att: 75%
Par: 70%
Def: 75%
Dec: 40%
One of my first PRs looked like this: 15-10-9-15-15-6-14, Thror the Dark. He was
extremely unlucky as far as starting skills. He now looks a little different: 17-11-
9-17-16-7-15 with 90% Init, 145% Rip, 130% Att, 130% Par, 115% Def and 80% Dec. I
destroyed him with early stat raises.
I had a similar design that was luckier, at least until he got X-ed by a slasher
in a tourney. He died with a 12-3-1 record. But enough of that. You're probably
wanting to get on with the strategies.
So getting on with it, I've tried both offensive and defensive strategies.
Generally defensive has worked better for me. Something like: 3-6-6 going offensive
in minute 3 or 4 with a 10-8-6 or a 9-7-6 and then backing off to a 6-4-6 or a 4-5-6.
As far as tactics go I don't use 'em very often. If you use any offensive tactic
use the lunge or nothing. Defensively use dodge and parry sparingly, if at all, and
don't use the riposte tactic after you've achieved a master.
Okay, now on to weapons and armor. A parry-riposte is somewhat limited when it
comes to weapons. The longsword is their best choice against heavier armors. I once
tried the halberd (I'll wait until you finish laughing.) Anyway, Thror the Dark
savagely slew Spymaster with it. I only give the PR an off hand weapon with epee,
shortsword or the longsword.
I've done varying things with armor, but I've found that lighter armor works
better, personal favorites being APL, ARM, and ASM. I read an article about the
parry-riposte of coom that made me laugh. It said something about wearing more armor
than expected of a PR, listing nothing higher than ACM+F. Imagine what he would have
thought fighting Thror the Dark in APA+F.
This is just an opinion brought to you by Necrom, manager of Knightmares (33),
Pentad Paladins (55), Northlanders (70) and a couple of others.
Crimson Strikers
Greetings, fellow managers, I, Crimson Strategist, shall share my thoughts with
you on the striking attack style.
This style developed in cultures where weapon quality surpassed that of the
armors, this made landing the first blow vital. This blow is usually delivered in a
downward fashion quickly, surely, and with power in a minimal of wasted motion.
Here's how I rate the stats:
ST 11-15: Never go below 11, strikers are well suited to ALL the weapons in the
game and 11 allows the use of the majority of them. They also need to hurt their foe
when they hit, thus making this an important consideration for damage rating.
CN 3-9: This whole style revolves around finishing your foe quickly, if your foe
has time to develop a complex formal attack on your striker, then you're not fighting
him properly. A properly run striker should never be hit more than four or five
times, any more than this and the whole concept behind this style gets thrown right
out the window, therefore I rate con as the least important attribute for this style.
SZ 9-16: A size of 9 allows use of all the weapons and it is important in
determining your damage rating, plus, it also adds to your init and this style thrives
on init.
WT 13+: As with any style, the higher the better. 13 is rock bottom, it allows
the use of all weapons except the epee and you'll still learn at a decent pace.
WL 7-13: This style conserves endurance which allows this attribute to go
considerably less than most styles and still fight effectively for a respectable
length of time. I've had strikers with a 13 ST, 3 CN, and 5 WL get poor endurance
ratings and ones with 11 ST, 6 CN, and 9 WL get normal. However, if you want some
long term potential, you'd want to be around 13 or so.
SP 10+: This is very important for decise and init skills which are the heart of
this style. Landing the first blow and finishing the fight quickly is hinged on your
striker's speed.
DF 15+: This is crucial attribute for this style, they NEED to be precise with
their blows, plus, it also adds to their init. Get to 17 or 21 if possible.
Now let's take a look at the style itself. The striking attack is one of the
easiest styles to run, yet they have adversity that many styles lack. As I've said
before, a striker can use ALL the weapons in the game. They can fight effectively
wearing plate armor and no armor, they can use EVERY tactic in the game be it
offensive or defensive, a striker can fight like a lunger or basher, ripper or
slasher, etc... provided that you match up their strategy with the appropriate tactic
and weapon. They can beat ALL the styles in DM and beyond if you choose their
strategy correctly for that particular style vs. style matchup.
Here are some examples of style vs. style matchups for strikers and various
tactic selections vs. the different styles.
High decise strikers over slashers and lungers, strikers over total parry and
wall of steel, rippers over strikers, etc...
Using the decise tactic vs. lungers, slashers, and aimed blows. Using the lunge
tactic vs. rippers and aimed blows, using no tactic and having a moderate offensive
effort and moderate activity level vs. total parries and wall of steel, etc...
The possible variations for this style are virtually endless.
Now let's take a brief look at your striker overview and glean some helpful hints
on how to fight them. If you see statements like "relying on speed to stay out of
danger" or "avoiding rather than trading blows," this is telling you that your AL
should be moderate to high. If he does great damage, then don't use weapons like the
epee or shortsword, this would be an underutilization of his strengths. If he learns
attack skills easily, then this is telling you that he likes to take his time and pick
his shots so don't send him out with a 10 OE! If you see statements like "has learned
how to be a decisive and quick fighter," then by all means USE the decise tactic with
a high OE. Don't send him out with offhand weapons unless he's ambidextrous, if you
do, it will take away from his attack. As you can see, the various statements on your
overview are very helpful in telling you how your striker likes to fight.
Here's a very general strategy that has worked well for my strikers.
OE 10 8 7 7 7 6 6 Armor: ARM to ACM
AL 4 3 2 1 1 1 8 Weapons: BS,LO,SC,GS,BA
KD 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
ATT LOC Head, body, arms
PRO LOC Head or body
OFF TCT Decise or bash
DEF TCT Response or dodge
Before I close there is one last point I wish to emphasize, USE the
challenge/avoid system, it will help control who you fight and when. In closing, I
would like to thank the following managers for their diplos and articles which helped
me learn the game: Sir Jessie Jest, Talon, Tex, the managers on the roundtable, and
numerous others who took their time to put quill and ink on parchment and pass their
knowledge on to others, thanks!
Many of you know the Crimson Death stables or soon will know them since I plan to
have quite a few of them up and running, however, some of them will be on and off due
to monetary fluctuations so if you wish to diplo me with any comments, criticisms,
whatever, send them to my home arena, which, from here on out, will always be active.
Later,
Crimson Strategist
Crimson Death DM 61