DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 08/11/2012 Duedate: 08/24/2012
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-357
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW
DRINK UP (1604)
(93-9315) [6-0-0,54]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY DIET MOUNTAIN DEW
DRINK UP (1604)
(93-9315) [6-0-0,54]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
UGHH ENDURANCE BURN
THE HERQULOIDS (1601) BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
(93-9292) [5-2-1,33] (93-9326) [4-2-0,45]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. PARKS AND REC (1611) 51
2. BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 33 DRAGON'S FIRE (711)
3. DRINK UP (1604) 14 Unchartered Team
4. THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 9
5. THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 4 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 3*DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608) 3 1 0 75.0 1/ 1*BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 10 5 0
2/ 2*BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 20 9 0 69.0 2/ 3*THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 9 3 1
3/ 1*DRINK UP (1604) 18 11 0 62.1 3/ 2*DRINK UP (1604) 8 6 0
4/ 0*PARKS AND REC (1611) 3 2 1 60.0 4/ 4*THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 6 8 0
5/ 4*THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 18 13 2 58.1 5/ 5*DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608) 3 0 0
6/ 5*THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 8 11 0 42.1 6/ 0*PARKS AND REC (1611) 3 2 1
7/ 6*KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 10 21 0 32.3 7/ 6*KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 2 9 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
THINGS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT WANT TO
KNOW ABOUT D2 BUT PROBABLY SHOULD
* Today, the aimer (AB) is considered the best style available. Ten years ago, the
lunger (LU) was dominant. Twenty years ago the plunger (PL) was considered the
ultimate fighting machine. All styles have weaknesses and strengths.
* Yes, indeed, a DM arena warrior can occasionally defeat/kill a DA Monster. Some
managers have a custom of challenging the DA on their Lord Protector's final fight
since the warrior is already "immortal."
* The top (not in order) early goals for a new manager probably should be:
1. win more than 50% of the first 20 fights
2. achieve a Duelmaster
3. earn a Lord Protector
4. have a lot of fun
5. learn, learn, learn
* The purely offensive styles are the easiest to learn to run well, (BA, SL, ST)
while the special/defensive/finesse styles are most difficult. (AB,PL, PR, PS, WS)
* Stats and physicals are very important, but this is considered a game of learning
skills.
* Gender, race, and role-playing do not in any way affect the strategy and fight
mechanics. But they certainly add to the enjoyment of the experience.
* Recognition points (recog), political points (PP), and fight equivalent (FE) are
all terms to learn and understand.
* There are managers who seldom run in arenas. They tend to acquire many rollups and
design and select godling-type warriors to run in the four tournaments per year.
Any warriors of theirs that show up in arenas are sandbagged. (see definition
below) These managers are cleverly called Tournament Managers.
* Sandbagging means that the warrior as shown in the arena has many more fights than
shown. For example: Fighter X may show a record of 2-1-0, but has participated
mostly in tournaments and has a 20-6 record there. We now use "fight equivalents"
(FE) to define a warrior's experience level.
* If a warrior plays long enough, and trains every possible stat, it can look like
this: 25-25-x-25-25-25-25. (Only 21-21-x-21-21-21-21 pre-ADM.)
* In ADM, a warrior is immortal. In DM, it is possible, but very, very improbable
that a warrior can be immortal.
* There was a time when a silly paying manager was known to run 40 teams at once.
The Consortium knows this guy well.
* Attending a Face-To-Face tournament is probably the highlight of a D2 career. The
next Face-To-Face tournament is in Tempe, AZ, this winter. After that, the next
summer Face will be in either New Orleans or Atlanta, (TBD).
* The war flail is known as a "whiffle" for its weak damage-doing. It is reported
that a whiffle once bounced off a naked (unarmored) opponent.
* There are only two arenas where a manager is mandated to run all five warriors in
his stable each turn. (DM81, DM83)
* Nicknames to know: parry-lunge = plunger, advanced expert = adex, war flail =
whiffle, parry-strike = piker, sponge total parry = scum, parry-riposte = ripper,
godling = a superbly designed warrior, such as a 21WT/21WL design.
* Yes, you can double challenge a warrior, and it appx doubles the chance of getting
the fight. Simply list the to-be-challenged warrior's ID twice in both challenge
slots.
* Two sites have significant value and information about the game; Terrablood.com and
reality.com/dm
* There are three mentors in Noblish Island, Jorja, Assur, and The Consortium (Dr.
Dehydrate is the current representative.). Use their expertise.
* Some managers seldom use tactics. (e.g. Assur) Some use tactics often. (e.g. The
Consortium)
* A most common offensive strategy opening is 10-10-X. (OE/AL/KD)
* An expert has 16 total skills of the same type. Skills are acquired--at design, by
learning skills in a fight, and by increasing certain stats which also provide some
skills. An advanced expert has 20 total skills.
* Many consider the scimitar (SC) the best overall weapon in the game. The most
commonly used weapons by The Consortium are LO, SS, BS, QS, ME, DA. Their favorite
of the weapons is the BA.
* The most popular Consortium armor, in order, is--naked, APA, ASM.
* One of the best events (An event is a special competition in an arena) is the Turf
War, a year long team competition, in DM47. That event, TW VIII, began in late
July 2012. It is open to all levels of managers. Read about it in the DM47
newsletter.
Have fun. Enjoy the competition. Learn, learn, learn. Ask questions.
Experiment. The day will come when you, too, are an experienced D2 manager. Good
luck.
Doc Dehydrate
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
Assur's Guide to Pure Defensives
1) Design
In creating a pure defensive, the things that you should be concerned about are:
Hit Points, Carry Ability, Endurance, and your skills in parry and/or defense.
Again, other attributes and skills can't hurt, but those are the vital attributes for
how you'll be fighting.
Hit Points come from Constitution (mostly), Size, and Will
Carry Ability comes from Strength and Constitution, though if your Strength is
lower than your Constitution, the carry ability only comes from your Strength.
Endurance comes from Strength, Constitution, and Will (especially Will)
You get Parry Skills at
Str: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21
Siz: (5), (7), (15), (17), (21), (21)
Wil: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21
Dft: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21
You get Defense Skills at
Siz: (5), (7), (15), (17), (21), (21)
Wit: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21
Wil: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21
Spd: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21
Dft: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21
Note that for parry and defense skills in size, you get penalized for having higher
sizes.
For parry based styles, it is highly recommended to have 11+ strength and as much
will as you can get. Eleven deftness is also very nice. You can't have too much
constitution. It is recommended to not be too big, because you don't typically have
enough points for the stats you really want. Wit is nice, but not necessary. Almost
always, 1 point of con is better than 1 parry skill.
For dodge based styles, it is much tougher. ABs are usually made with 21 deftness
because they get attack skill bonuses, but for a pure defensive dodging AB, the
deftness isn't as vital. If you're going open handed, strength can be sacrificed. I
do not know as much about pure defensive AB's, especially in basic. I have two that
I plan to try out soon (3-21-11-11-10-7-21 and 9-17-12-11-7-7-21) Mine will fight as
Rookies and then in the arena. For Lungers, you want lots and lots of endurance.
Twenty-one will and as much strength and constitution as you can get. Low size is
highly recommended for dodge based defensives.
High speed is not desired on either, simply because you want those points elsewhere.
2) Style Choice
There are two routes to go in choosing a style. A parry based style or a defense
based style. The traditional choices are the parry based styles (any style that
learns parry naturally). Style is almost irrelevant, because in most of these
fights, a couple of parry skills or endurance burn doesn't come in to play. There
are times when it does, which is what makes Total Parries the king, but all of these
styles can be very, very successful as pure defensives.
Total Parries are the most common pure defensive on the sands. There are plenty
of nicknames for Total Parries who are pure defensives, because of how frustrating it
can be to face them. They learn parry and defense skills naturally, are well suited
to all of the shields, and often ignore opportunities to attack. They also have the
highest parry base in the game.
Parry Strikers would be my next choice. They conserve endurance better than any
of the other parry based pure defensives. They learn parry naturally. They are well
suited to the Small Shield.
Parry Ripostes conserve somewhere around the same level as Total Parries. They
learn parry skills naturally. Because they also learn so many riposte skills, even
running defensive strategies they will tend to try to gain the initiative. They are
one of the best natural hybrids, but they make fine pure defensives as well.
Parry Lungers burn endurance much faster than the styles listed above. They
have much higher skill bases overall, but their parry is the same as Parry Ripostes
and Parry Strikers. They learn parry naturally.
Wall of Steels have the potential for the highest parry in the game. Total
Parries will never be bonused in parry skills, so while they start with the most, a
Wall of Steel can be bonused and start with two more parry skills than any other
style can. On the other side of things, they burn endurance faster than any of the
other styles listed and typically use heavier weapons. Like Parry Lungers, they have
a higher overall skill base, but for the discussion of the pure defensive, those
other skills don't matter as much.
The other option is a dodge based Pure Defensive. Most of the time, these styles are
run as hybrids in later minutes, but they both have the ability to run as pure
defensives for an entire fight.
Lungers are the king in basic. They learn defense naturally and have the
highest starting defense in the game. In fact, they are the only style other than
Total Parries that learn defense naturally. On the down side, they burn endurance
fast.
Aimed Blows are the other style that typically runs as a pure dodge defensive.
I do not know much about these warriors, but watching them is a thing of beauty. In
ADM, when they can start going open handed without concern, they rule the game, but
even in basic, they can be very successful. The down side for them is that they do
not learn defense skills naturally, so you're really hoping it is their favorite
learn.
As always, any style can be run as a pure defensive, for part of a fight or an entire
fight. The styles listed above are merely the traditional choices. And realize that
the dodge based styles I list are often run as hybrids in later minutes. The line
between a pure defensive and a hybrid is often blurred, because even some Total Parry
pure scum will attack and win fights after their opponent is exhausted (which is one
of the hybrid strategies I will mention later).
3) Weapon Selection (with requirements)
If you aren't planning to attack, it hardly matters what weapon you use, right?
Typically, parry based pure defensives use an off hand shield (and often a main hand
shield)
Large Shield (13 Str, 3 Wit, 7 Dft) (10+ Dft to use in off hand, depending on Main
hand weapon)
Medium Shield (9 Str, 3 Wit, 5 Dft) (7+ Dft to use in off hand)
Small Shield (5 Str, 3 Wit, 5 Dft) (7+ Dft to use in off hand)
ABs often use their Fists, because they get a bonus to their ability to dodge.
As with style choice, weapons selection often does not matter for these fights. The
fight outcome is more a function of your opponent's ability to take you down or wait
you out, not on your abilities or skills.
Main hand weapon is whatever you are well suited to. For low wit warriors, BA or
one of the spears are decent choices.
4) Strategy and Tactics
For your parry based pure defensive, 1-1 Parry or 1-1 Open works great. The response
tactic has some interesting uses, especially in minute 1 or minute 6. Note that this
strategy will usually make your fights quite boring to read, especially the 1-1 parry
strategy. This strategy and type of warrior is not meant to be fun, but good ones
can amass amazing records, especially before Advanced Duel2. Your best challenges
are styles that burn their endurance fastest (Lungers, Wall of Steels, and Parry
Lungers).
For the dodge based pure defensive, High Activity Level is important. How high
depends largely on your warrior. Experiment to find what works best. Offensive
Effort is typically low. Dodge or Open for tactics.
Once again, the line between pure defensive and hybrid can become very blurred. Not
attacking at all may not be your best way to win fights. What if in a later minute
you raise your offensive effort and do not use a defensive tactic? You're suddenly
not fighting as a pure defensive. For many warriors, this is a much better strategy
than simply trying to wait until your opponent drops from exhaustion. The mechanics
of the game can allow for some very strange results. I had a basher with very little
endurance and 3 will refuse to drop from exhaustion and finally won after 6 minutes
against a total parry. This is probably more important for dodge based defensives,
but can also be true for parry based defensives.
5) Armor
APA/F is the norm. ASM/x is a nice choice, especially against that nasty SC.
For dodging defensives, it is not a good idea to wear more than you can carry.
Hopefully you have lots of strength and can carry APA and a F.
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
STYLE WT WL DF ST CN COMMENTS
AIMED BLOW++ 17+ 9+ 17+ 9+ 9+ 21 WT / DF preferred
BASHER* 15+ 11+ 9+ 13+ n/a more WT, ST, or DF a great help
LUNGER* 13+ 17+ 11+ 9+ n/a Extra ST & SP helps
SLASHER* 13+ 17+ 13+ 11+ n/a Extra SP and DF helps
STRIKER* 17+ 9+ 11+ 11+ n/a Higher WT= more decisive/ Extra ST or DF a
big plus
P-LUNGE$ 15+ 15+ 13+ 11+ 9+ If WT higher, DF can be lower
P-STRIKE$ 17+ 13+ 11+ 11+ 11+ Will get hit early on; SP helps
P-RIPOSTE$ 17+ 13+ 15+ 9? 11+ 11+ ST gives more weapon choices; SP helps
TOTAL PARRY$ 11+ (less if scum)
17+ 11+ 11+ 13+ The less WT, the more WL & CN, and vice/versa
WASTE++ 15+ 17+ 13+ 11+ 11+ The less WT, the more WL & CN, and vice/versa
* = Offensive style
$ = Defensive style
++ = Hybrid style
Higher is always better
If <9, D.A.
If <9, D.A.
If <9, D.A.
If <9, avoid defense
In all instances, I'm referring to AFTER your 14 pts are added.
I wish to offer this rudimentary chart and my opinions to new players because I think
it may help design their fighters, and choose an appropriate style for them. I'm not
saying this is the BEST way, or the only way. There are many worthwhile articles and
opinions floating around re: fighter design. This works for me, but this is just the
starting point; as experience is gained other nuances come into play. Remember, a
successful career in the arena requires more than just a good design. Challenges,
avoids, activity level, rhythms, strategies, etc. all have their part to play. I
urge new players to do some research and ask questions. Now, before everyone begins
to disagree with these parameters...
I created this chart because I caught myself ALWAYS choosing certain styles,
even when the design was poorly suited for it. Also, I was reluctant to discard
fighters, though realistically it made poor economic sense to 'carry' a poor design.
So after lots of time, and research, and much ruminating, this is MY general overview
for designing new warriors. I look at the basic design; I add as many points as I
can to WT, WL, and DF, then I look at this chart for ideas re: style choices. That
said, a few more 'disclaimers' must be specified.
a) This is MY way of navigating through the choices and making sound decisions
when I'm designing a new fighter. I've picked a lot of brains and read a lot of D-2
articles, but this is how I boil it all down for ME. Obviously, much of it is
tainted by my personal preferences and opinions. OTHER MANAGERS' OPINIONS WILL VARY.
b) This chart represents my minimum IDEAL standards for each style. Please pay
special attention to the two words: MINIMUM and IDEAL. I hope it is understood that
sometimes one is forced to sacrifice the ideal because the available stats demand it.
For example, looking at the chart I realize that a P-Lunge can get along
satisfactorily with an 11 DF if the WT and WL are 15+. However, I know that this
style would benefit from a higher DF, though a VERY high DF is unnecessary. I 'tweak
it' as I go along. I see a 15 WT, 17 WL, 11 DF P-Lunger as being quite viable. For
that matter, according to my chart, it would also make a satisfactory T-Parry or
Slasher, depending on the CN. Re: The Big 3 (WT, WL, DF) I'm willing to bend on one
attribute as long as the other two are high enough to pick up the slack. Overall, if
The Big 3 are too low, there are only two choices: either stat raises OR the Dark
Arena.
c) There is no column for SP or SZ. Generally, I feel that these stats are
irrelevant to the design process. Or, more precisely, I don't believe in adding any
points to SP. SZ can't be altered; SP is a significant factor in only a few styles.
At any rate, the most important attributes are WT, WL, and DF; when designing a
warrior all 14 'discretionary' points should go into these areas FIRST. I make a note
of styles that I feel would benefit significantly from a higher SP--but I'm not
advocating ADDING points to SP. What I'm suggesting is that if the initial design
had a double-digit number in SP, certain styles automatically come to mind.
d) ALL styles do better with a higher WT. If I had to choose one attribute
above all others, I choose WT. It is the most significant, vital, and essential
attribute. (Thank you Mr. Thesaurus!) The argument might be made that ANY attribute
increase raises a fighter's abilities. While this is true, WT earns the most
dramatic (and long term) benefit. However, the requirement for a high WT is somewhat
conditional. Some styles can compensate successfully for a lower WT by emphasizing
WL/CN, or ST/SP combinations, but generally this is a poor substitution for a high
WT. I listed the lowest numbers acceptable to me, assuming WL & DF are high enough to
compensate. (Good luck with that.) Again, I realize that OTHER MANAGERS' OPINIONS
WILL VARY.
e) Of course, odd numbers represent 'breaking points' re: skills. This is not
to say that even numbers are bad; however, one should aim for the highest odd number
possible. Note that a 14 WL isn't significantly better (in terms of skills /
abilities) than a 13 WL unless one was planning on raising that stat to 15 in order
to pick up a few skills and perhaps enhance ability. However, 'bumping' stats DOES
affect a 'long term' fighter. [See item (g)] If the last column suggests "Extra
SP/ST a plus" then consider placing any extra points you have on SP or ST. But
first, WT, WL, and DF!!
f) My three favorite maxims re: D-2:
(1) A great design doesn't equal a great manager. (Everyone gets lucky once
in a while.)
(2) Even the greatest manager is limited
(a) by the quality of the fighters in his stable, and
(b) by the quality of the other managers in his arena. (Maybe this is why
some managers prefer smaller arenas??)
(3) It is what it is. In other words, don't keep running a poorly designed
fighter just to make a point or support your role-playing persona. It costs money to
play. Make intelligent decisions that make the best use of your cash.
g) Long Term vs Stat Raises (or "Burning" or "Bumping" stats): For me, an
excellent analogy for stat raises is steroid use. Steroids have been documented to
raise an athlete's abilities (short term) at the expense of long-term health. (The
documentation is available; I don't want to argue about it. Please let's just take
this as a given for the purposes of this analogy.) Similarly, raising stats enhances
a design, but at the cost of skills further down the road. If a warrior remains in
the Basic arena and retires when advanced, no harm is done. HOWEVER, if a manager
should decide to run that fighter in ADM, the loss of a handful of skills would
eventually become a significant factor in that fighter's career. A very EXPENSIVE
proposition: running a fighter for years, only to discover that there are skills that
are out of reach because of stat raises early in Basic, thereby limiting the
effectiveness / winning potential. OUCH!!
h) THAT SAID... understand that I don't play in tournaments; everything I'm
running is with BASIC play in mind. Therefore, I don't mind bumping stats if I feel
it would give a significant boost to a design. I'm not concerned with hurting a
fighter's 'long term potential'. OTHER MANAGERS' OPINIONS WILL VARY.
i) Which leads me back to the money. D-2 is an investment in time and money.
Yes, it's fun, and yes, I realize most players spend money on a variety of other
recreational activities such as movies, music, theater, fast food, bar hopping, etc.
However, I believe that most people prefer to extract the most 'fun' and enjoyment
from their discretionary cash as possible. I know I do! Therefore, I won't waste a
dime in a restaurant I don't enjoy; I won't pay to see a movie that holds no interest
for me; I won't waste time and money on a design that will probably lose more than
50% of its fights. Winning is fun too, and there are monetary prizes to be had
besides, so discard fighters that aren't helping your win/loss average.
That said, I prefer to run a terrible set of numbers [See item (j)] at least
once in the arena, taking the risk that it might win its first fight and thereby
cancel out its inevitable Dark Arena match. Sometimes this works, sometimes it
doesn't. Most managers will D.A. their dead weight immediately. Either way, don't
allow sentimentalism or ego to cloud your judgment. (Why pay to see a Brittany
Spears concert when the sound of her voice makes you gag?)
j) Someone might query: "What does 'a terrible set of numbers' look like?"
Well, you'll probably know it when you see it, but some clues might be... (I'm
referring to the initial rollup sheet... w/o adding any of your 14pts)
1) Either the SP or the SZ is >15. (If BOTH are large numbers...)
2) At least two of The Big 3 (WT, WL, DF) start out as single digits. The
smaller those digits, the more likely it's a terrible set of numbers. If
all of the big 3 were single digits, I'd have to take a hard look at ST
and CN.
k) Burning, Bumping, and Raising the Dead: I have a handwritten chart from 1992
that attempts to plot the skills gained by raising attributes. For instance,
(according to this chart) raising WL from 13 to 14 doesn't gain any skills, though it
might cause an increase in endurance rating. However, raising WL from 14 to 15 nets
one skill each in attack, decisiveness, and parry. (One stat raise = 3 new skills.
Woo Hoo!!) This is the driving motivation for burning/bumping/raising stats. Not
only is basic ability somewhat enhanced, extra skills can be gained! WT and DF, in
particular, yield good dividends, though ALL attributes (save CN) have skills to
offer at certain break points. These break points are (as far as I know) all odd
numbers. However, I don't rely on this chart; it is out of date and inaccurate. I
simply keep this concept in mind when I'm designing a fighter. I might add the
maximum of 6 points to WL even though I'm only raising it to 14, KNOWING that I'll
bump it to 15 in order to raise my endurance level and pick up some skills. It's a
viable strategy, particularly for fighters with <17 WT. The lower the WT, the higher
the WL should be, because raising attributes figures into my strategy for this sort
of warrior design. OTHER MANAGERS' OPINIONS WILL VARY.
The formula for raising attributes (as far as I know) is WL x (5) = %
likelihood. This is halved each time you raise a given attribute.
Example: My fighter with a 16 WL is attempting to raise WL to 17. (I'm expecting to
raise the endurance rating and learn 3-5 skills.) So, 16(5)= 80% probability the
attribute will be raised. Let's say it works the first time. Now I want to raise it
again because I didn't get the extra endurance rating I was expecting. (There's a
formula for this endurance ratings involving ST, CN, and WL) Remember, every time
you attempt to raise an attribute the likelihood is cut in half. Now the formula is
17(5)(0.5) = 85(0.5) = 42.5% probability. That's not too bad, really. If I had a
fighter with a 17 WL and a low WT, I would probably attempt to bump WL to 19. It
would take four or five turns to do so. In the meantime, the fighter is not learning
any skills. If this were a low WT (<13) then I wouldn't worry about that too much.
But if I had a high WT (17+) I'm more cautious. Skills are VERY important; don't
divert your fighter from trying to learn skills each time they fight UNLESS you have
a good reason to do so. (Generally, I don't attempt to raise attributes until my
fighter earns at least one Expert rating.) Again, OTHER MANAGERS' OPINIONS WILL
VARY.
Conclusion: I made this chart for myself. I thought I would throw it out to the
community for dissection (and I KNOW it'll be dissected) and to help the novice
players get a handle on the game. I ended up justifying what I had written, and even
though I left out a lot, this is longer than I anticipated. Well, why not repeat the
three most important ideas, eh? Okay:
1) The Consortium would say: "Design to a rollup's strengths." I say: "Pay
attention to The Big 3 (WT, WL, DF) and the rest will fall into place." Either
strategy works, but HAVE A STRATEGY! Randomly adding numbers is pointless and
foolish. Remember: break points= skills. Skills are good and highly desirable.
2) Once the numbers are in place, give careful consideration to the style
choice. RSI's overview/description of each fighting style is a good place to start.
I believe my chart is also helpful, but whatever you do, DON'T CHOOSE A STYLE BECAUSE
YOU LIKE IT; CHOOSE A STYLE THAT WORKS BEST WITH THE DESIGN YOU HAVE!!
3) Winning is fun. Losing is inevitable, and not so much fun. Therefore: DON'T
KEEP A POOR DESIGN; EITHER RAISE THE ATTRIBUTES (starting with WL) OR SEND IT TO THE
DARK ARENA! Don't hesitate to get rid of a fighter simply because he has a cool
name, or you have some other emotional attachment to it. Play to win!!
4) I'll throw this in as a bonus: HAVE FUN! Write personal ads for every
newsletter. Write a spotlight article to introduce your team, spoof another team,
role play, or give some advice / opinion about the game you want to share. This is
supposed to be a game (it is) and fun (it is). You'll enjoy it more if you
participate more. Managers feed off each other; arenas with lively managers are the
popular spots!! Dead arenas abound; don't contribute to that phenomenon. HAVE FUN!!
[Again, OTHER MANAGERS' OPINIONS WILL VARY.]
Kid Arcane
>)]H[(< + -----:----- + >)] *IHI* [(< + -----:----- + >)]H[(<
Profile of a Style
Parry-Riposte
When you read about the parry-riposte style in the rulebook, it looks like it
might be a lot of fun to run, and it is. But it's also really tricky. The plain
offensives: basher, lunger, slasher, striker, and the total parry, are easier. I
don't think I've ever heard a manager say that he really understands the parry-
riposte style, I certainly don't myself. But I've run a lot of them, and some have
survived, and they ARE fun.
So just for a basic introduction to warriors of the parry-riposte style, known
to one and all as rippers, here's what I know.
Design: This is tough. The ripper needs it all! Especially important, though,
are endurance from constitution (CN) and will (WL), plus skill from wit (WT) and
deftness (DF), and it doesn't hurt to have enough strength (ST) to do a decent amount
of damage... and what does that leave that you can go short on? Size (SZ), okay, a
ripper can be--usually is--small. Speed (SP), well, I just don't know. It wouldn't
hurt them to have speed, but where are all the points going to come from?
I have made a lot of rippers over the years, some of them from roll-ups that
were spectacularly unsuited to the style. These are ones who lived to graduation:
Santee 13- 7-14-17-15- 8-10 LO mod/mod slash
Toryn 9-12- 7-13-15-11-17 EP vlo/mod
Scovellie 9-13- 8-17-17- 5-15 SH low/mod
Chia 10-13- 5-17-17- 5-17 SS low/high
Saba 5-17- 9-15-17- 4-17 EP mod/low
Bali 9- 6-14-15-17- 8-15 LO vlo/mod
Jane 9-10- 9-17-17- 5-17 SS mod/mod lunge/riposte
Cedar 15- 6- 7-15-17- 9-15 LS mod/mod
Azureen 9-12- 8-17-10-11-17 SC high/mod riposte
Similde 6- 6- 5-17-17-16-17 LO low/mod
Tailida 9-13- 5-15-17- 8-17 SH low/mod
Korlo 9- 8-12-17-15- 8-15 LS vlo/mod
Tilona 9- 9- 7-15-17-10-17 SH low/mod lunge
You'll see my biases at work here.
Strength is usually at least nine; in the cases where it started lower, the
warriors were cursed with little damage, and I trained it up as soon as I could.
(The numbers shown here are all original, before stat trains.)
Constitution generally moderate. Most of these warriors could take a hit or two
and survive.
Size mostly small, but not always. I did try a couple six-footers, and they didn't
do as badly as one might expect.
Wit is 15 or 17, except in one case. I always look for brains in a gladiator, and
this style needs it.
Will is, except in one case, 15 or 17. High will improves endurance, an important
factor for a parry-style, and makes it easier to train stats when the time comes.
Speed may be anything. I generally did not add any points to speed during the
design phase.
Deftness is 15 or 17 again, except in one case. Deftness, and the skills that go
with it, are important to a finesse style like the ripper. Plus, where strength may
be a problem, accuracy helps.
Weapon selection: There are six weapons well suited to the parry-riposte style,
listed below with the minimum stats required for their best use.
Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15
Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9
Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11
Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11
Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7
Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3
Only weapons well suited to the style will show up as favorite weapons when a warrior
graduates. Yes, you CAN put other weapons in their hands, but you aren't likely to
get the best results that way. (You may note that some of my graduated rippers
listed above were initially unable to use their favorite weapon to best advantage.
This is one of the sneaky things the Gladiatorial Commission does to keep you on your
toes.) I STRONGLY advise that when you design a ripper, consult the weapon chart and
make sure that your warrior will have the stats to use at least one of the weapons
listed to its best advantage.
Armor selection: This depends on how you plan to run the warrior. If he's
going to be fast, and/or he can take a few hits (takes normal damage, for instance,
signified by no comment on the overview) but maybe has low endurance, put him in
light armor. If you plan to run him slow, or he can take little damage but maybe has
high endurance, put him in medium to heavy armor.
Strategy: This is always a tricky thing to advise people on, which is why I've
listed the favorite rhythms on the warriors above. Very low (vlo) is 1 or 2, low is
3 or 4, moderate (mod) is 5 or 6, high is 7 or 8, and very high (vhi) is 9 or 10.
Offensive effort is listed first, then activity level. You can see that most rippers
in this sample prefer to run at middling speeds, usually with the activity level
higher than the offensive effort. Not all of them, but a majority. You can ignore
that--I sometimes do--and run them fast and hard, as though they were simple
offensive warriors. Some take to this treatment, others burn out. The medium speeds
are safe, and a place to start from.
You'll note I haven't mentioned kill desire here. There is no such thing as a
warrior or style having a favorite kill desire. Your kill desire can have a profound
effect on how the warrior fights, but it is strictly a personal decision. However, I
can say that my own experience has been that if a warrior has a high KD in
desperation, he will tend to go berserk, and if he has a low KD in desperation, he
will surrender. Warriors who surrender lose fights, but generally they survive to
fight again. I can't say the same of warriors who go berserk in desperation.
Tactics: I don't use tactics much, myself, but that's just me. You'll note
that out of the thirteen warriors listed above, two have favorite offensive tactics
(slash and lunge) and one has a favorite defensive tactic (riposte) and one has both
an offensive and a defensive tactic (lunge/riposte). All this tells us for sure is
that slash, lunge, and riposte are tactics that rippers can use well (or they
wouldn't appear as favorites). Experiment with them, but don't try to use an
offensive AND a defensive tactic in the same minute; it confuses the warrior.
And to go from the general to the specific--
Profile of a Warrior
Tailida Dawnrain
Tailida is one of the rippers listed above.
She's left-handed
She's intelligent
Makes the most of her enemy's mistakes
Has an unusual fighting style that confuses many opponents
Rarely makes mistakes
Is always thinking ahead
She plans out every move that she makes, seldom wasting any effort
She is very quick (the DF more than the SP, I think)
She cannot carry a lot of weight in armor and weapons
(more a question of her SZ than her ST)
She is incredibly quick and elusive on her feet
Making even dangerous opponents look harmless
She does little damage with each blow
(curses! I had hoped that the ST of 9 would offset her small SZ. It didn't.)
ST 9 CN 13 SZ 5 WT 15 WL 17 SP 8 DF 17
If I decide to run her on the Isle, I will train up her ST until I get normal
damage. (Note, no skills will be burned between ST 9 and ST 14, skill-wise, this is
a barren stretch. But it WILL increase the amount of damage a warrior can do.)
She graduates with a master in riposte, an expert in attack, a master in parry, and
an advanced expert in defense.
She is naturally adept with the shortsword, which I don't think she tried
She favors a fighting rhythm of low offensive effort and moderate activity level
And she tends to learn parry skills most easily.
She received her graduation notice when her record was 21-9-2,96 in Tricorus (dm 51).
On the same turn as her graduation notice arrived, she was challenged by a total
parry in plate armor and a full helm, carrying a broadsword and a medium shield.
Tailida herself was in leather armor and a helm, carrying a scimitar (and a
backup).
Tailida was running 7-7-x, faster than she would have liked, but that's how
she's being running straight along, and it kept her alive and with a winning record,
so I don't want to hear her complain.
Tailida got the jump and hit her opponent twice in the first minute, several
other blows being parried, hit once each in the second and third minutes, with other
blows being parried, was parried completely in the fourth minute, was showing signs
of weariness in the fifth minute but still managed to land a few blows in the fifth,
sixth, and seventh minutes. Then she collapsed with exhaustion at the end of the
seventh minute and lost the fight without being hit once. This is why you find
managers speaking harshly of "scum": we all hate to see our warrior work hard, do all
the right things, and lose because the opponent wasn't doing anything but standing
there in heavy armor.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #7 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
From turn 414:
All -- In case last cycle's personals don't make it: What are the advantages and
disadvantages of using one or two weapons. I'm particularly interested in Riposte
effects. -- Q.O.W. Hanibal
Q.O.W. -- Two Weapons. That's a good subject.
Disadvantages: Few if any, but it has been suggested that some weapons give
bonuses to attack if you use them in two hands instead of one, such as SC. An
obvious one is you can't use two handed weapons. If you don't have the attribute
requirements (which are more stringent for off-hand weapons), then you may suffer
penalties when using certain combinations. Last, you may swing with an off-hand more
than you want, say if you are using a shield. It's usually prefered to have a real
weapon in your off-hand.
Advantages: You have a second weapon already in hand if one breaks. If you are
ambidextrous, this is the biggest advantage, because they will swing with that off-
hand weapon almost as if it were their on-hand. My ambi-warriors will win fights
with off-hand weapons. An off-hand weapon is not bound to a warrior's style
suitability, so a LU could use a SC in their off-hand without penalty if they have
the attribute requirements. Another advantage is suggested in that it assists in
parrying. I tend to think highly coordinated warriors are better at parrying with
their second weapon than those who aren't. I rarely use shields, so I can't comment
extensively on their benefits over a real weapon, especially in AD, but in basic,
shields seem to make it easier to parry attacks.
Riposte and 2-Weapons: I have not noticed any specific variance in the ability
of a warrior to riposte if they are using two weapons. Once in AD, riposting is more
often than not following a dodge. I don't think there is much correlation here, but
it is definitely something to look into. -- Adie
The Question of the Week is posed in Aruak City (DM 11) by Hanibal, a manager
who is himself an alumnus of Noblish Island. The answers are provided by other
managers in that arena. Any manager here in Noblish who wishes to pose a question to
the more experienced managers of Aruak City, feel free to do so, either by sending in
a personal directed to DM 11 and identifying yourself as a manager from Noblish
seeking enlightenment, or by posting the question here, in which case I will be glad
to see that it reaches Aruak.
Also, Hanibal sends you greetings and asks that we remind you that all arenas do
not have the same attitude and local conventions. Aruak City is an Andorian arena
and subscribes to the doctrine of Honorable Play, meaning, no down-challenging except
from the throne or in bloodfeuds, no deliberate attempts to kill the warriors of
other managers, and a general attitude of friendly respect toward the other members
of the arena. It is, in fact, a fine arena, and one where you would all be welcome
(though there are plenty of others--just ask, and I'll be glad to tell you about my
favorites).
If you have questions that you would like answered by the experienced managers
of the game, don't hesitate to ask--we can't answer if you don't ask. Questions can
be posed in the personals here, or by email to me (jputney@zianet.com) or Pagan
(pagan@gte.net), or by diplo to Jorja/The Middle Way 4 here in DM 93.
Question from turn 415 of Aruak City:
All -- Do you think you get negative modifiers when you go desperate? What about "is
dangerously stunned" or "is bleeding badly" or "is on the verge of shock"? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers from turn 416:
Hanibal -- That's a good question! I honestly don't have much of an opinion on that.
In the old days, warriors could get permanent wounds that would affect their fighting
in later matches (but not anymore), and it's been suggested that getting hit in
certain locations affects what your character can do during a match (obvious cases
are losing the use of an arm or being knocked down), but the sorely wounded comments?
It probably just has to do with giving a hint as to how close that warrior is to
going down if it gets hit in that badly wounded spot again. -- Adie
QOW -- After 'bleeding badly', 'dangerously stunned', 'sorely wounded', 'verge of
shock', etc., a warrior's ability to defend themselves is penalized. Desperation by
itself may not represent an ability penalty as much as a time to check for surrender
and a switch to the desperation strategy. Often, with a drastic strategy switch in
desperation, a warrior's performance can improve. -- Carmen
QOW -- I've noticed that by the time I get somebody to that point they're finished.
But I've also noticed that some of my more defensive comrades will give their
opponent a moment to recover and they're still able to. Despite this I would say
that by the time the comments you listed come into play the warrior who's getting
beat is in really bad shape. Whereas statements like "fights with the cunning of
desperation" or "eyes flare with renewed determination" still leave plenty of room
for the warrior to make a comeback. Therefore I would say that the earlier
desperation statements don't carry any significant penalties. -- Maxwell Honorblade
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 702): VENTRIIE of DARK WARDS (Dark Warden, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 704): MAC THE SPOON of THE SYNDICATE (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 638): FLOYD CASTAWAY of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 698): INKED PIG of INK & STEEL RETRO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 700): SNAKE of SERPENTS HOLD 114 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 691): SENLUM NOSH of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 692): 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 689): CAPTAIN KIRK of TREKKERS (Deep Thought, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 346): VENGEANCE of THE STORM REAVERS (?, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 686): ROTTING ROLAND of THE WALKING DEAD (Deep Thought, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 683): SHELLBACK of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 675): SMILE WAFFLE of HAPPY FUN TIME (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 633): KIRVINJ of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 323): ANDROMEDA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 318): FROSTY of FAST FOOD (Madwand, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 304): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Coach, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 565): LOIS THUG of STRAIGHT UP THUG (?, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 550): DIGGITY DOG of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 532): HORSE D'OEVRE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 526): XYLOID of SCRABBLE (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 253): BOOB of PALINDROMES (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 487): SPIDERPIG of HOMER'S PETS (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 482): MOUNTAIN STORM of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 473): CALEAM CHOWDER of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 590): WILD THANG! of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 702): DARK WARDS (Dark Warden, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 704): BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 638): ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 698): INK & STEEL RETRO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 700): REALLY? (Dr. Grimley, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 691): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 692): THE MAGNIFICIENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 348): DODGE BULLETS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 689): STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 346): THE STORM REAVERS (?, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 685): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 683): SUMMERTEETH (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 675): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 633): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 323): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 318): VEGAN CANNIBALS (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 304): THE MYRMIDONS (Sigurd Fafnisbane, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 565): INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 550): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 532): STAR WARS (Sir Jessie Jest, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 526): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 252): SUPER STARS (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 487): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 482): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 473): SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 590): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 703): WHERE of GUESSING GAME (A-sop, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 638): FLOYD CASTAWAY of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
(turn 637): MICKEY HANDS of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, 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 689): CAPTAIN KIRK of TREKKERS (Deep Thought, mgr.)
CAPT. ANTSY PANTS of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
(turn 688): KICKER MURPHY of CLAN CROW (Owsly, mgr.)
SULU of TREKKERS (Deep Thought, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 633): KIRVINJ of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
(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 318): SALAD SLAYER of VEGAN CANNIBALS (The Anarchist, mgr.)
(turn 317): ARTICHOKE ON THIS of VEGAN CANNIBALS (The Anarchist)
SPAWN of FANTASTIC FIVE (?, 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.)
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.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 473): RALTUMAN OMELETTE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
UNBELIEVABLE of THE WILLBURYS 78 (Rascally Rabbit)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
As I sit her on MY THRONE looking at all you warriors staring at me with hatred
and envy, it makes me think; when was the last time I had something to smile about.
I'm unsure what you all wish to hear so I will just say whatever I want. Drink-up--
come get some! Bash Bro's maybe next life time! Low Road--Toys-R-Us called, they
want their Barbies back! Herquloids--where you at? Dragon Disciples--are you with
the Herquloids? Rest of my team--man, you all suck! Uncle D--coach? Yeah, right
more like a roach! Unknown Spymaster--call me a bum again and we shall see if you
fit an unknown grave! Have I left anyone out? If so, you are not worth my time.
See you next week!
Ken Do
SPY REPORT
Ready for some action-packed adventure, some thrills, chills and spills? Well
fergit it, cause this is the Spyreport for NOBLISH ISLAND. MVP award for ENDURANCE
BURN? BASH BROS BASHERS' proud of him after beating THE USEROUS MERCHANT and getting
17 points. Talk about yer big time losers! PEN STEELSLASH got smashed by DIET
MOUNTAIN DEW, and lost 9 points! Our last turn's Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to
KUNG-FU MASTER, and KEN DO has made the way for a new Duelmaster! DIET MOUNTAIN DEW
of DRINK UP takes KEN DO's place. (But seriously, who could ever take the place of
KEN DO? Oh, all right.) Who was the wiseguy that said NOBLISH ISLAND's Duelmaster
was paying for drinks at The Dripping Blade? 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? THE HERQULOIDS was the most avoided team. Is a
18-13-2 record really that scary? Hhmph! What kind of warriors are DRINK UP? THE
HERQULOIDS, an easy team to beat if I ever saw one, can't get them to accept an
invitation! Can THE HERQULOIDS' SULL be more popular than me? He was challenged the
most, but is that really the same?
Challenges, revenges, Bloodfeuds. All NOBLISH ISLAND ever talks about is
fighting! Me, I'm more laid back. Pinch me, I must be dreaming!!! AVERAGE JOE
returns from the Dark Arena, maybe a "little upset" at his PARKS AND REC teammates...
Hey you guys, don't you think your families would like to hear from you? Write! (Or
have someone write for you.)
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! Remember you guys, ease up sometimes! Chill out! Later, Debby
Tonte
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315 6 0 0 54 DRINK UP (1604)
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 6 0 0 52 DRINK UP (1604)
KEN DO 9274 6 3 0 49 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
-POKER 9219 6 4 0 45 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
ENDURANCE BURN 9326 4 2 0 45 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
-CONTRACT BRIDGE 9218 7 3 0 36 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
QUEENIE PAROE 9345 4 0 0 36 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
PEN STEELSLASH 9328 4 2 0 34 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
UGHH 9292 5 2 1 33 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
STRIKER MATCHUPS 9324 4 2 0 30 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
-CHESS 9220 7 3 0 29 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE 9325 5 1 0 29 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
AVERAGE JOE 9360 1 0 1 27 PARKS AND REC (1611)
KONANN CEE 9296 4 3 0 25 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
LOSING INITIATIVE 9327 3 2 0 25 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
WEAPONS 9323 4 2 0 24 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
TSINGTAO 9316 2 3 0 23 DRINK UP (1604)
TAB 9314 3 3 0 21 DRINK UP (1604)
SULL 9294 4 3 1 18 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
ZOE YATES 9349 2 2 0 15 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
ZANE 9352 2 0 0 15 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
-DUNCAN 9338 1 0 0 15 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
AIMING AMANDA 9357 1 0 0 13 PARKS AND REC (1611)
CY LENT 9305 2 3 0 9 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
-BARBRA JEAN 9273 2 3 0 9 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
QUICK HIT HARRY 9356 1 0 0 9 PARKS AND REC (1611)
SALOME RYAN 9346 1 3 0 6 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
URBIN TILL 9347 1 3 0 6 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
TY CHE 9339 0 2 0 6 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
FOLGERS 9353 0 3 0 3 DRINK UP (1604)
LEAPING LILAC 9359 0 1 0 1 PARKS AND REC (1611)
NEUTER NELL 9358 0 1 0 1 PARKS AND REC (1611)
KIM POC 9366 0 1 0 1 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
MOUNTAIN TROLL 0 0 0 DARK ARENA AVERAGE JOE 9360 357 NONE
MAXWELL HOUSE 9313 1 2 0 DRINK UP 1604 SULL 9294 354
WAYLON VOLE 9348 0 3 0 THE LOW ROAD 4 1610 UGHH 9292 356
PERSONAL ADS
Congrats to Ken Do of Knight Life, Duelmaster of Noblish. Kudos! -- Dr. Deydrate
Uncle D. -- I see that you and your teammates did make the turf wars. Superb! Certs
are in and you and Alexander are all set to score the first round. But your third
partner needs to declare in the persads (alliance, team, manager name) and then be
confirmed by you, the captain, for his scoring to count. Both the declaring and the
confirming can be in the DM47 newsletter--hopefully the next so all three of you are
scoring on round two. -- Doc (for Oz and Master Darque in DM47)
Alliances? In the olden days there were alliances and they mattered. Nowadays,
there are no real working alliances--more like groupings of friends. Perhaps The BOB
is the only real acting alliance. The alliance in Turf Wars are temporary things for
that event. For example--our affiliate, Oz, is in a scoring alliance for TW8 with
Mannequin, Slugbait, and Le Pentarque--yet none of those four are in real alliances.
We call them independent. The articles you read about alliances are older articles.
-- Doc Dehydrate
It might be worth pointing out that ALL of the articles, the material at the END
of the newsletter here, are old. Some of them very old. -- the Editor
Kell Brakestone -- I did not mean to "talk down" to others when I explained about the
bloodfeuding. As an Andorian by nature, that was the natural method that we
Andorians employ. Taking advantage of newbies is not in our nature. We thrive by
HELPING them. So I apologize if I hurt your feelings. -- Dr. Dehydrate
Zoe Bates -- I am a beer. A quality beer. And I speak Mandarin quite well. --
TsingTao
All -- I do not know why I did not fight last turn, but I think I am here now. It
was probably my manager's fault. He was drinking Miller Lite when he should have
been sipping the real thing. -- TsingTao
Pen Steelslash -- Does your thrashing of me mean that the pen is mightier than the
sword? -- Tab (now feeling even less than his zero calories)
Zoey Yates -- I am beginning to believe this is NOT the arena for coffee. I wish I
were milk, but the boss is alergic to milk. Go figure. -- Folgers
Losing Initiative -- What a terrible thing to lose. Or, did you ever have it in the
first place? -- Diet Big Red
Konan Cee -- Thanks for the challenge. I like challenges that result in my winning.
Was it my "if-challenged" strategy? But, anyway, I appreciate you allowing me to Do
The Dew! -- Diet Mountain Dew
Sull -- What the heck, Folgers is below you, is certainly an underdog, and he wants
revenge for his coffee buddy. Perhaps you can put two coffee notches in your belt?
Or.... -- Doc Dehydrate
HAVE FUN, but drink, drink, drink. -- Doc
All -- Howdy, ya'll. Bobby Boy here talkin' about me team Parks & Rec. Hopin' ya'll
be ready to be fighting out on dem dar sands, cause my gals and guys are up to it.
As they say down South here, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" -- Bobby Boy, mgr Parks
& Rec
Dr D -- I see you be pickin' on my buddy who me mmanagin' dem Herqul-things. I don't
be knowin just what day be, but I won't be having you pickin' on dem. So, ungird, or
whatever you'll be sayin. I'm gonna come for you! -- Bobby Boy, mgr Parks & Rec
Striker Matchups -- That was an unfair fight, you never stood a chance. But it is
nice to know I taught you something. -- Ken Do
Fave Learn Reposte -- My first fight and they put me with a bully. Thanks for the
one hitter quiter welcome. -- Ty Che :P
Assur -- It might be possible for the Consortium to be one person if it was not for
the fact this is "Reality." Could you imagine all of those personalites having an
argument inside one mind. Bet that would be fun to watch. -- Uncle D
Dr. D -- I will be the capatin of "Shiv Art" coaching the team Knight-club. I had to
pull 2 friends into Duel to compete. I was the one you sent the rules to you could
not read my name (D.B.) -- Uncle D
Assure, Dr. D, and Jorja -- Thanks for the help, I have some more questions.
1. Is an 11 wit really bad if that's the highest you can get?
2. If a warrior has very strange stats, that go against everyone's ideas of a
fighter, yet does good in his fights, would he have a shot at ADM? (stats are
9-9-10-17-9-21-9 slasher, who does good damage.)
3. Would DM 11 or DM 31 be a good place to go after here? I enjoy writing team
spotlights and personal ads, so I would like to know where's the place to be. --
Uncle D
You might want to take note that 11 is regular speed (two-week turn-around) and
31 is slow (four-week turn-around).
Drink Up -- I see you coming! -- Ken Do
Doc Dehydrate -- Um... I'm glad you thought so. Nothing but the truth. -- Jorja
Uncle D -- I'd let the alliance question ride for the moment. Wait till someone
invites you to join one. I've got the idea that most of them communicate on-line, if
they still exist at all.
As to "books on Duel 2," this is it: the Noblish Island newsletters. In the past,
various players have put out their own handbooks, but they are now out of print (they
were never published professionally and should not be expected in second-hand
bookstores) or otherwise unavailable. The best of the material has eventually ended
up in the Noblish Island newsletters. A complete set of ten consecutive newsletters
will contain: all the articles, and all the Question of the Week material, as they
are on a ten-turn rotation, and whatever Doc Dehydrate (or other Consortium manager)
and Assurnasirbanipal have added. It's a good beginning. -- Jorja
Folgers -- Damn, made me too nervous. -- Zoe Yates
Sull -- You're certainly a wildcat in the arena, but I'll bet you're a big old
pussycat at home. -- Queenie Paroe
P.S. The weapon seems to work for you, but, hmm. Maybe you should try some other
weapons suited to your style and stats, just in case?
P.P.S. Are you training skills?
Ughh -- Yeah. -- Ghost of Waylon Vole
Endurance Burn -- I had to get away from you, we're still under Fire Watch rules.
I'd hate to catch fire. -- Salome Ryan
Weapons -- Got me that time. Ouch. -- Urbin Till
Jorja (and others) -- Countertactics are definitely hit and miss and yes, you are
making an assumption on how your opponent is coming into the arena. Most often, you
would use a counter tactic as a challenge or if challenged strategy. They can also
be useful in mail in tournaments as your alternate strategy. But I have used counter
tactics if I'm surrounded by members of a certain style and expect to face one of
them (and think they might be using the tactic in question)
As far as styles you might expect to use the tactics that can be countered?
Lunge -- Most often used by lungers, probably also used by parry lungers, aimed
blows, and strikers
Counter with dodge
Decise -- Most often used by strikers, slashers, and bashers, probably also used by
lungers
Counter with response
Dodge -- Most often used by lungers and aimed blows
Counter with slash
If anyone wants to try one out, I will run all 5 of my bashers with the decise tactic
next turn.
Realize that a way to not allow yourself to be caught by a counter tactic is to
change your strategy (if challenged). Most importantly, even if you catch your
opponent with a counter tactic, it isn't an automatic win. It only counters the
tactic being used. Their desperation or later minute strategy might not be using the
tactic and luck can turn a fight any way. -- Assur
P.S. Jorja, your typical strategy of sending warriors out with the same strategy
every turn does NOT lend itself well to using counter tactics. And if you were to
start filling out strategy sheets with if challenged strategies, it would make waves
across Alastari.
Could be fun!
Jorja -- Thanks for pointing out the most obvious thing about whether to dark arena a
fighter or not. If he is fun, then you're achieving the most important part of any
game. -- Assur
Ken Do -- Good win and I'm glad to have helped you to achieve the Duelmaster's
throne! Congratulations. -- Striker Matchups
Ty Che -- Is it really fair that you had to face a warrior with 4 fights experience?
No, not really. Good luck going forward. -- Fave Learn Riposte
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
AVERAGE JOE viciously butchered MOUNTAIN TROLL in a 2 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
FOLGERS slimly lost to SULL in a action packed 1 minute Bloodfeud battle.
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW demolished PEN STEELSLASH in a 1 minute Challenge Title fight.
TSINGTAO was bested by UGHH in a popular 1 minute Challenge contest.
KEN DO was overpowered by KUNG-FU MASTER in a 1 minute mismatched match.
DIET BIG RED slimly won victory over FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE in a 2 minute duel.
STRIKER MATCHUPS overpowered OSKSI NOBLE in a 1 minute one-sided struggle.
ENDURANCE BURN viciously subdued THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 4 minute competition.
QUEENIE PAROE won victory over TAB in a 2 minute gruesome duel.
WEAPONS won victory over CY LENT in a 1 minute fight.
KONANN CEE vanquished URBIN TILL in a 1 minute gory one-sided duel.
LOSING INITIATIVE overpowered KIM POC in a 1 minute one-sided melee.
TY CHE was overpowered by AIMING AMANDA in a 1 minute one-sided match.
SALOME RYAN was bested by QUICK HIT HARRY in a exciting 1 minute amateur's conflict.
ZOE YATES savagely defeated NEUTER NELL in a 3 minute bloody novice's brawl.
ZANE overcame LEAPING LILAC in a popular 1 minute beginner's fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 8 SLASHING ATTACK 34 - 20 - 2 63 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 6 - 0 63 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 PARRY-STRIKE 12 - 8 - 1 60 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 4 STRIKING ATTACK 29 - 22 - 4 57 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 AIMED BLOW 20 - 16 - 2 56 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 BASHING ATTACK 55 - 56 - 4 50 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 LUNGING ATTACK 8 - 12 - 0 40 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 TOTAL PARRY 11 - 17 - 0 39 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 2 - 1 33 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 9 - 0 25 |
Turn 357 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:
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 4 SLASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 3 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 6 - 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 2 1 PARRY-STRIKE
SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 2 TOTAL PARRY 0 - 2 1 LUNGING ATTACK
1 AIMED BLOW
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
BASHING ATTACK DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315 6 0 0 54 DRINK UP (1604)
PARRY-STRIKE DIET BIG RED 9317 6 0 0 52 DRINK UP (1604)
SLASHING ATTACK KEN DO 9274 6 3 0 49 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
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
ENDURANCE BURN 9326. The ten other most popular fighters were AVERAGE JOE 9360, DIET
BIG RED 9317, ZOE YATES 9349, SULL 9294, QUEENIE PAROE 9345, WEAPONS 9323, QUICK HIT
HARRY 9356, FOLGERS 9353, DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315, and TSINGTAO 9316.
The least popular fighter this week was NEUTER NELL 9358. The other ten least
popular fighters were TY CHE 9339, KIM POC 9366, URBIN TILL 9347, CY LENT 9305, KEN
DO 9274, PEN STEELSLASH 9328, SALOME RYAN 9346, KONANN CEE 9296, LEAPING LILAC 9359,
and ZANE 9352.
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Thank you. We wish you the best of luck in your games! -- RSI
A NOTE ON MAILMEN
In response to the articles on new fighting styles, those were good, but how can
you forget our most favorite warrior who has a style all his own? The Mailman! To
Duelmasters he is our most sacred person. I mean, how many of you managers out their
have sat down and calculated what day your Duelmasters will arrive and have sat
waiting for it to arrive, while unknown to you, your mailman is fighting away to get
your Duelmasters delivered. Let's review him...
ST - should be around 19. He needs to heft two medium bags, cloth mail armor and
a ton of rubber bands.
CN - 13, give or take a few. He does get bitten by dogs often.
SZ - Any.
WT - At least 10. He often likes to read the mail.
WL - Try about 20. He must endure all kinds of weather.
SP - 16 is good. He needs to run across streets in traffic.
DF - 10 is good. Sometimes he has to carry packages.
This setup should get you a good mailman but they are hard to come by. If you
can come up with any better, diplo me. I am:
Staple Gun
mgr. of Technet (3)
The New Deal (23)
I am currently working on the U.P.S. and Federal Express warriors.
"Strikers R Us"
Greetings, everyone. It is I, Talon, again. I am very glad to see everyone
participating in the arena and sharing their thoughts on styles and strategies. This
turn I will take on the striking attack style, which is certainly one of my favorites.
I believe the striker is one of the easiest styles to run, and one in which no
team should be without. A high-powered striker can diversify and empower your team.
A well run striker can beat any other style, period, at any level in regular
Duelmasters. In arenas where scum TPs are rampant, strikers are just the answer as
they can attack for up to 12 minutes or more. Strikers are versatile. They can do
exceptionally well with a dagger as a weapon or with a halberd. They can do well with
no armor or with plate armor.
Stats:
Biff Primal Solid Perfect
ST 5-21 9-17 13 15
CN 3+ 3+ 6 3
SZ 9-21 3-17 9 5
WT 3-17 17 + 17 21
WL 9-17 13 + 17 15
SP 5+ 5-13 9 8
DF 9+ 9-17 13 17
With the way I design strikers, there are essentially two strikers that evolve.
The BIFF and the PRIMAL. The Biff striker is typically one that is not looking long-
term, but one which I want to run and have fun with. With this striker, I try to have
one stat (wit, will, or deftness) which is extraordinary, one which is average, and
the other ends up being at some non-normal level. Some examples of the Biff are: 10-
10-11-4-17-17-15, 7-11-17-17-11-6-15, 9-5-14-17-11-13-15, 4-8-17-15-13-10-17, and 21-
3-15-21-5-8-11. With these warriors, the emphasis is on having fun and learning more
about the style.
The Primal is essentially a Primus-quality warrior. In this category, the
striker will be designed with stats that most other managers will gasp, "OH MY, WHY
DID YOU MAKE HIM A STRIKER?" It is also the warrior that will be Duelmaster for 8
straight turns and will go to ADM with a 16-4-2 record, with 4 Masters and an Ad Ex.
The key here is to create a warrior with AT LEAST a 17 wit and 15 deftness, along with
a 13+ will and who will do normal damage or better. The goal with the Primal is a 21
wit and 17 deftness, because this will ensure a great warrior.
Weapons and Armor: As for weapons, the best striking weapons that I have found
and used are the dagger, epee, scimitar, broadsword, quarterstaff, greatsword,
longsword, war hammer, and sometimes the short spear. I don't run my strikers with
shields or off-hand weapons, as it takes away from their attack. The heaviest armor I
will use is padded leather. Always wear a steel cap or a helm.
Strategy (general):
Min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Desp
OE 10 8 6 6 6 5 5
AL 10 5 4 2 2 1 8
KD 6 8 6 6 6 5 5
attack arms/legs/head -- take your pick
protect arms/legs/head -- take your pick
off tactic decise, slash, bash, depending on weapon
def tactic response is best; try dodge though.
With this strategy, a striker with a normal endurance should fight for eight
minutes as a scum TP and come out on top, outrageously victorious. Just match your
weapon with your tactic and only use the tactics in minute one or desperation.
If you have any further questions on this or any other style, feel free to diplo
me.
Talon, mgr. Eagle's Claw
HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS
OR
a new look for Aimed Blows
Greetings and salutations, all. Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen
before....one that works, at least for me! Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
ST: 17 (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
CN: 13 (gonna need every hit point he can get)
SZ: 4 (smaller the better!)
WT: 4 (overrated for aimed blows!)
WL: 21 (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
SP: 4 (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
DF: 21 (better max this one out too, at least a 19)
You laugh at me? I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky,
I didn't expect either one of em.) But both are in reach with a little luck. Hey, if
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit
more CON would be nice.
But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask? Why, I'm glad you inquired!
LOTS of armor. The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character
a lot of fights. But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not
really what this character does best.
I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand. With an offhand
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating. So:
FI-SH, APM-H.
And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level. He can
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a
good waste. And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this
warrior!
I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7
generally. Now, how to become Duelmaster?
Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON. Step two, now
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the
Duelmaster's team... and kill them. (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him. Badly. Once
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
There are drawbacks, of course. Once you get to that level, odds are you're
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this
trick... Oo! I love mixed metaphors...) But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills
against gladiators with 50 fights!
Rex is now 7-3-1. All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack. And boy, is it fun
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
What else can one do with this warrior? Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to
an off-hand epee! He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner? Who knows? He's probably
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD!
Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke. We entered a similar warrior
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON). That warrior, Jalon, is
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now...
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's
another story...
--Khyron
mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
Jayhawks (70)
Silent Storm (65,74,75)
and numerous others....
THE WALL OF STEEL AS A BERSERKER
This article is for newer players; more experienced managers will, I'm sure, have
much more sophisticated ideas about warrior design and strategy. This will enable a
newbie to design a competent warrior who should be able to achieve a better than 50/50
record.
The wall of steel, or "waste," is often considered the second scummiest style in
Duelmasters. I love the style, but I don't run mine that way; I prefer to think of
the waste as a fierce dervish ripping into his opponent like an airplane propeller.
In accordance with this view, most walls of steel that I design couldn't scum if they
wanted to (well all right, sometimes it happens by accident if the opposing warrior is
going all-out and can't last very long). It's fun to run them fast; they get the jump
on people who don't expect it of them, and their fights are exciting. Mind you, they
don't win as much as if they ran more defensively, but the ones with good stats still
do okay (I'll make practically anything a waste and run it, but this article isn't
about the ones that a sane manager would DA).
So, here is a design for a competent wall of steel:
ST 13+ Needed for endurance, damage doing, and weapon selection.
CN 9+ You need a passably good con for endurance.
SZ 7+ Teeny weenie wastes don't hit hard enough or take enough damage. Real big
(15+) is bad because it hurts endurance.
WT 13+ Preferably 17. Like any other style, the smarter they are, the better.
WL 17+ Needed for endurance, damage-taking, and sheer grit. 21 is recommended.
SP 3+ Whatever.
DF 7+ Higher deftness is better, but you can get by without it.
As you can see, these are fairly easy requirements. Of course, the more wit,
will, and deftness, the better your waste will be (same as any other style). If you
don't end up with at least good endurance on the overview, the warrior probably isn't
going to do very well. With that high will, though, you can bump con a couple of
times and you might get good endurance, so there's still a chance.
Choose your weapons based on deftness, and your opponent's armor weight. I
normally use something like 0-8 SC, 9-12 BS, 13+ GA, backup SC or BS. No shield.
Some other good weapons for the waste are QS (only takes 11 ST, and can hit heavy
armor), MS, and BA. The war flail isn't a very good weapon, but you can play with it
against leather armor. For armor, I usually choose something middling like ARM & H,
but will go with APL & H if he has a lot of con.
For strategy--I heard a rumor (NOT confirmed) that a wall of steel gets a bonus
if his OE equals his KD. Since I don't like to use a kill desire above 6, I don't go
by that in the first couple of minutes. Keep the activity level moderate to low; the
waste doesn't need to jump around a lot and the way he keeps his weapon moving, he's
burning a lot of endurance without that added drain. Attack and defend the arms, like
a slasher; a waste is a sort of parry-slasher. A typical strategy for my wastes might
look like this:
Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Offensive 9 8 7 6 5 5 2
Activity 6 5 4 3 2 1 6
Kill des. 6 6 6 6 5 5 2
Att. loc. RA LA RA LA RA LA RA
Pro. loc. AM AM AM AM AM AM HE
Off tac. none -- -- -- -- -- --
Def tac. -- -- -- -- -- -- P
I play with the numbers a lot, depending on what the warrior seems to like. For
example, if he doesn't parry too well, I'll give him a more offensive desperation
strategy, like 8-4-8-slash. (If I really like a warrior I sometimes use a 7+ KD to
try and save his life.) If he never manages to get the jump on anybody, I'll try
running him more defensively, like with a first minute of 3-6-3. It's not as much fun
as going all out, but it's more fun than losing all the time.
You can challenge pretty much any style (lungers aren't recommended). When
fighting a warrior you know to be very defensive (a TP, or a scummy variety of PS, PR,
PL, or WS), slow down or you will be scummed. For the most part, though, an offensive
waste is very versatile and can beat any style. The better his important qualities
are (WT, WL, DF, endurance), the better the quality of warriors he can defeat. In
other words, if you have a so-so rollup that barely made the minimum requirements,
challenge so-so opponents. If you have a good rollup, go for the gold. Challenge
warriors with a few more fights than you, so you'll learn plenty of skills--but don't
challenge way way up in experience, because it's no fun to lose a good warrior.
For the most part, train skills--especially on your challenge strategy, when
you're going after someone with more fights! And for sure on the first fight, because
you'll likely be matched against someone who can teach you a lot. It's okay to train
con once in a while if you need more endurance and damage-taking; and if you have bad
luck on the rollup and get "does little damage" or something, you might have to train
strength once or twice (no more!). But it's best not to train any other stats until
way, way down the road.
Ask your DM sponsor or any experienced manager in your arena for more advice (if
they tell you I'm full of hot air, they're probably right). A little bit of good
advice from a more advanced player can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the
game!
If you have any questions or suggestions, you can diplo: the She-Puppy, mgr.
Mordant Prison DM-1, and others.