DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 08/25/2012 Duedate: 09/07/2012
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-358
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
DIET BIG RED
DRINK UP (1604)
(93-9317) [7-0-1,66]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
KEN DO DIET BIG RED
KNIGHT LIFE (1597) DRINK UP (1604)
(93-9274) [6-4-0,27] (93-9317) [7-0-1,66]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
ENDURANCE BURN ASHER
BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
(93-9326) [5-2-0,54] (93-9337) [1-0-0,6]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. DRINK UP (1604) 52
2. OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612) 43 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
3. PARKS AND REC (1611) 33 Unchartered Team
4. BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 24
5. THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 16 PARKS AND REC (1611)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 4*PARKS AND REC (1611) 7 3 2 70.0 1/ 1*BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 10 5 0
2/ 2*BASH BROS BASHERS (1606) 23 11 0 67.6 2/ 3*DRINK UP (1604) 8 6 1
3/ 1*DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608) 4 2 0 66.7 3/ 6*PARKS AND REC (1611) 7 3 2
4/ 3*DRINK UP (1604) 22 12 1 64.7 4/ 4*THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 6 8 0
5/ 0*OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612) 3 2 0 60.0 5/ 2*THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 5 7 1
6/ 5*THE HERQULOIDS (1601) 18 17 2 51.4 6/ 0*OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612) 3 2 0
7/ 6*THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610) 10 14 0 41.7 7/ 5*DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608) 2 1 0
8/ 7 KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 10 22 0 31.3 8/ 7 KNIGHT LIFE (1597) 1 7 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 Weapon Requirement Chart (Without the inaccuracies)
Over the years, many people have published weapon charts. Most of them have had
mistakes. This is the correct weapon chart and you should discard all others.
STR SIZ WIT DFT STR SIZ WIT DFT
Battle Axe 15 3 7 9 Maul 15 9 5 7
Broadsword 11 3 9 7 Morning Star 13 3 9 11
Dagger 3 3 7 7 Quarterstaff 11 9 11 11
Epee 7 3 15 15 Scimitar 9 3 11 11
Great Axe 13 3 9 11 Shortsword 5 3 11 3
Greatsword 15 9 9 11 Shortspear 9 3 5 7
Hatchet 7 3 5 7 War Flail 11 3 5 5
Halberd 17 9 9 11 War Hammer 13 3 5 7
Longsword 11 3 13 11 Large Shield 13 7 3 7
Longspear 11 9 5 9 Medium Shield 9 3 3 5
Mace 13 3 3 5 Small Shield 5 3 3 5
---Battle Axe requires 9 size if you are carrying an off hand weapon
Off Hand No Wit Requirement
Strength Requirement same as for Main Hand
No Size Requirement
Off Hand Deftness Requirements
For this section, you look at the weapons you want to use in your main hand (MH)
and off hand (OH). From the chart above find their deftness requirements. Use these
values in the chart below (MH on the left, OH on the top) and the result is the
deftness to use them together.
Examples: Suppose your scum wants to use ME in your main hand and LG in your off
hand. Cross referencing, 5 on the left, 7 on the top, you'll see that the required
deftness to use them together is 9.
MH\OH 3 5 7 9 11 15
3 4 6 8 10 12 16
5 5 7 9 11 13 17
7 6 8 10 12 14 18
9 7 9 11 13 15 19
11 8 10 12 14 16 20
15 10 12 14 16 18 22
Caveats: In finding the values for this chart, there have been inconsistencies. The
chart shows the value that we believe will always be well suited. Some warriors seem
to be able to use weapons in both hands with lower deftness than the chart shows. So
far, I have not seen evidence for a warrior requiring more than the value shown.
Note that some values make little sense. (While you can use an EP with an off hand
SH together with 10 deftness, you would still lack 5 points of deftness to use the
Epee.)
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
A SCUM IS A SCUM IS A SCUM
Or
TP'S, THE ENERGIZER BUNNY
Or
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
Oh, no! An article dedicated to Total Parries? Not just TPs, but the real
thing--scum TPs. But I hate TPs! They suck! They don't really fight. They are
cowardly! They are, they are, well, they just plain stink!
My, my. One can negatively rant and rave about Scum TPs, but they are one of
the 10 styles, they do occasionally fight, and THEY WIN. And, maybe of utmost
importance, they are easy to design, and easy to strategize. Perhaps the disgust
with Scum is losing to one. That IS a pretty sad, but common, feeling. However,
winning by scumming can be quite the thrill--especially when it is against that
manager you just plain dislike. Gotcha!
So here's what I am going to do. I will first give some real life examples and
results of some most recent graduating, then retired, TPs from The Consortium
records. Then I will discuss basic design of scum. Last, I will offer thoughts on
methods--weapons, armor, strategies, challenges, and avoids.
Here is the info on nine recent TPs graduated by The Consortium managers. The
10th TP warrior is a warrior who has run in ADM and now in Primus who just TV'd the
Contenders (lower Primus) class at the recent summer 2012 Philadelphia FTF.
12-19-10-5-18-12-7 ... to ... 15-21-10-7-21-12-9
31-9-0 arena; 8 DM Titles; skill learn rate = 1.28; expert Parry only at grad
Faves: EP, Very Low/Low; Initiative tactic
14-16-14-5-20-5-10 ... to ... 16-18-14-7-21-6-12
30-10-0 arena; 0 DM Titles; skill learn rate = 0.73; expert Parry only at grad
Faves: SC; Moderate/Low; learns attack
10-18-9-3-20-16-8 ... to ... 13-21-9-5-21-17-11 (hosed damage)
29-11-0 arena; 2 DM Titles; skill learn rate 1.04; expert parry, expert rip at grad
Faves: LO; Very low/Very low; Responsiveness tactic; learns Riposte
17-15-18-4-15-10-5 ... to ... 19-17-18-6-17-11-7 (hosed damage)
31-12-0 arena; 0 DM Titles; skill learn rate = 1.38; expert Parry only at grad
Faves: SM; Low/Moderate; learns parry
10-17-14-9-19-9-6 ... to ... 12-20-14-11-21-10-9
25-9-0 arena; 1 DM Title; 1.81 skill learn rate; adex parry at grad
Faves: = SC, Very low/Very low; learns defense
12-18-10-10-19-5-10 ... to ... 14-20-10-11-21-6-11 (hosed damage)
26-6-0 arena; 8-8-0 tourneys; 2 DM Titles; skill learn rate = 1.33; adex Parry, experts Attack and Defense at grad
Faves: BS; Low/Moderate, Riposte tactic, learns Attack
10-17-7-5-20-15-10 ... to ... 12-20-7-7-21-15-11 (bonused +4 Riposte)
20-1-0 arena; 16-12-0 Tourneys; 1 DM Title; skill learn rate = 1.47; adex Parry; expert Riposte at grad
Faves: LG, Very low/Low; learns Defense
13-18-9-9-19-10-6 ... to ... 15-21-9-11-20-10-9
26-14-0 arena; 1 DM Title; 1.57 skill learn rate; expert Parry only at grad
Faves: SM, Very low/Low, Initiative tactic
10-19-10-4-17-10-14 ... to ... 13-21-10-5-19-11-15
37-3-0 arena; 10 DM Titles; Skill learn rate 0.80; expert Parry only at grad
Faves: SC, Very low/Low, Parry tactic, learns Defense
11-18-9-7-19-7-13 ... to ... 12-20-9-9-21-9-15 at grad (ambidextrous)
37-4-0 arena; 24-10-0 Tourneys at graduation; 16 DM Titles; Skill learn rate = 1.73
at grad; master Parry, expert Riposte at grad
Faves: SH, Low/Very low, learns Parry
Currently: 25-25-9-16-25-17-25; 100-25-2 arenas; 145-80-2 Tourneys
TV'd Fresh, ADM, Elig, Cont
First, before I get into the design discussion, let's summarize what might be
the common characteristics of the above small collection of Scum. Here is what I see:
1. Very high WL and CN
2. High ST
3. Low WT
4. Do not necessarily seem to be designed at skill break points
5. Many stat increases (bumping)
6. Low skill learn rates; minimal ratings at graduation (e.g. only exp Parry common)
7. Terrific won-loss records
8. Lots of Duelmaster Titles
With that summary in mind, let's explore the design theory of a scum total
parry. A good design starts with the question, "What do I plan for this warrior to
do?" In the case of scum, we Consortiumites expect the warriors to "win by
attrition." We want the opponent to wear out, and either drop from exhaustion or to
be smacked out by a last minute swing from the scum. Therefore, we want lots of WL,
CN, and ST, the drivers of endurance. We plan to use our hefty physicals and top
notch armor to sponge hits from opponents. That means lots of CN, and some ST to
optimize carrying capacity. We do not really need much SP or WT as they do not aid
our primary method of attrition-by-sponging. If the scum needs one attribute or
skill to help himself, it is parry. We get base parry from WL, ST and DF. So as
much parry as we can get would help. Because we foresee low WT, our scum will learn
skills early on by training stats (burning). That means a very high WL is
invaluable. We will compliment our warrior with the best sponge/parry weapons
available--shields. Shields require medium ST, and not much else in the way of
stats.
What, then, does that mean for a solid TP design?
ST - 11 min, could burn to get 11. As much ST as the points allow is great
CN - a large amount is required, 16+; we want "can take tremendous damage" at least
after the first CN stat raise, preferably on the roll
SZ - While size really doesn't matter, very large size guys are probably not great
scum as they tend to have minimal points to use on WT, CN, ST. But by being
careful, big could work. Size 5,4,and 3 warriors have additional parry and
defense skills in their base, while size 15 and above lose parry and defense
skills in their base. (A SZ 21 loses 4 parries and 4 defenses, while gaining 4
Initiative. Not the best makeup for our scum!) Therefore SZ 3-14 is best.
WT - 3 is fine. A little WT helps qualify a weapon of lunge, slash, and bash, but it
is not necessary for success. Use as few points as possible here.
WL - This is THE primary stat of a TP scum. As high as possible. 16 min, bumped to
17 right away is minimal. (However, in a pinch, The Consortium has designed 12
WL scum with very high ST and CN. They, too, can win lots.)
SP - 3 is fine--don't need any. (However, some managers eliminate a rollup with
higher speed from their scum considerations, thinking it cannot succeed being
"fast." Pshaw! We Consortiumites disagree. See the above 10 successful Lord
Protector designs for reference.)
DF - As much DF as the points allow after maximizing WL, CN, ST. A scum can win
without DF. Even a 3 can work. The Consortium minimum thought is 6, bumped to
7 early. We like those parry skills given at odd numbers in DF.
MISC - Other thoughts on design are:
1. While a 21 WL is superb, settling for 19, which is great, allows two points to
place elsewhere--usually CN, ST, or even DF--and still having a terrific design.
This fits the scheme of bumping all stats, which is our primary train method.
After all, if one is going to bump, he may as well bump WL also.
2. A TP can use marginal weapons effectively. They parry reasonably well with
anything. Remember, this warrior is a sponge.
3. Do not design a TP, by plan or error, to be over encumbered. His endurance and
attrition are his greatest weapons. Over encumbering wears any warrior out fast.
4. When bumping stats, it is usually best to train up WL first, as that raises the
training probability of a stat. However, if another stat is almost mandated (e.g.
bumping 10 ST to 11 or CN to get tremendous damage taking, etc), the mandates
should come first.
All that said, if we could, we would make every scum a 21-21-3-3-21-3-12 perfecto;
but none of The Consortiumites have been yet able to make even one such godling in
the arena.
Now let's talk about all that other stuff important to a scum's success--weapons
armor, training, challenges and avoids, plus strategy. Are you ready?
Weapons? The TP has a rather interesting assortment. Suited well for the total
parry are the following: (ST, SZ, WT DF requirements)
BA 15-9-9-9 LS 11-9-5-9 SH 5-3-11-3
BS 11-3-9-7 LO 11-3-13-11 LG 11-7-5-5
EP 7 -3-15-15 QS 11-9-11-11 ME 9-3-5-5
GS 15-9-9-11 SC 11-3-11-11 SM 5-3-5-5
One can readily see that our scum design is not readily going to accommodate the EP,
GS, LO, QS, SC, and SH, usually due to wit, deftness, or both. However, they are all
quite usable weapons to the scum, if you have the requirements. Hence, the primary
scum weapons will be the BS and ME, plus the BA and LG, if one has the strength. The
SM is always usable, but seldom needed as the ME fits so well, and is a bigger,
better parrying weapon. The LS is an interesting alternative, and would not seem to
fit the idea of scumming, but it does work.
A Consortium TP would be weaponed something like this. BS/ME, b/u DA. (Why DA?
Because, in general, with a BS/ME, APA/F warrior, there is only one point of weight
left, and only the DA fits. We Consortiumites never over encumber.) The 2nd most
common would be ME/ME and everything else the same. The LG is a better scum weapon
than the ME, but it is heavier and hence, tends to over encumber. If one has the ST,
and if one can keep from over encumbering, BS/LG, and LG/LG are preferred combos.
Always stick a b/u in place, if you have the carry point/s, as TP weapons can break
somewhat regularly due to all the attacking that occurs. Lastly, there is nothing
wrong with using only one weapon, such as LG, ME, and BS. (Shields preferred for
parrying.) Consortiumites often do it. Why? To use the most preferred LG or to
avoid over encumbering. It is not unusual to see a Consortium scum looking like
this: LG/-, APA/F. b/u DA, ,off hand b/u DA or any 1 or 2 weight weapon.
Armor? Well that is obvious from our design intent and the discussion above.
All you can get. That means the APA/F combo. There is hardly any reason to wear
anything else.
Training? As has already been implied, with such low wits, the scum is not
likely to earn skills at as rapid a pace as other designs. But, the TP scum does not
really need a lot of skills to succeed. It needs physicals. So a TP trains stats,
and burns, burns, burns. A typical Consortium scum trains WL, CN, and ST two times
for sure and sometimes three. (Unless, of course, 21 is reached first.) DF is
trained once, or twice, ending at an odd-numbered break point. SP is usually trained
once, but maybe not at all. WT, is often trained 1, 2, or 3 times. Why, for the
great skills at the odd points; to give a better weapon selection in some cases; and
because sooner or later the warrior is going to begin training skills.
Let's use one of the example warriors above (#9) to explore what his stat
training might (not necessarily what was) look like, and the resultant of it.
10-19-10-4-17-10-14.
This warrior would typically start as follows:
Good endurance (not enough, we want much more)
Can take tremendous damage
Cannot Carry a lot -- B carry (this is not enough for 2 shields and APA/F--need
more ST)
Normal or good damage (prefer good, of course, but not a major issue if norm)
Weapon availability -- only SM and ME (5 WT brings the LS and 13 ST the LG)
-3 Initiative
5 Riposte
-2 Attack
10 Parry (a pretty nice starting parry for a scum)
0 Defense
4 Decisiveness
Negative skills? The starting skill levels look AOK to me, as only parry really
counts much for a scum. Do not let the low skill base bother you one bit,
So, what then would make a good training schedule?
With the 17 WL start, the warrior's chance of learning any 1st stat is 85%.
1st ST, as we have a mandate to get to C carry quickly and ST will do that. It may
also give us good damage doing if we had normal.
2nd WL, with no other mandates, let's gain endurance and bump the stat % to 90%
3rd CN, the more hit points, the merrier (The first 3 are almost always WL, ST, CN
for Consortium scum.)
4th is either DF or WT for the skills. I prefer DF as it gives a parry skill.
4th DF, hitting a nice break point at 15 for Init, Init, Att, Par skills
5th WT, hitting the 5 break point and Init, Att, Rip, Def, Decise skills
6th SP We could ignore the SP raise, but we may as well take it because it is an easy
90% train and 11 SP does provide an Init and Decise skill (neither of which does
the scum much good)
Now we start the 2nd round of stat training, realizing that a 2nd stat train of the
same type is WLx5%/2 or 45% in our case.
7th, so we train WL first for more endurance AND to raise the train % to 47.5%
(19x5%/2)
8th lets max the CN at 21, getting more hit points. (Hit points and endurance, with
a touch of Parry--that's the name of the game for our scum!)
9th ST again, which provides a little more endurance, and will most likely assure
good damage, if we do not already have it.
10th of the three left (DF, WT, SP) none are that valuable for us, as they do not add
physicals or many skills, but the WT will increase our probable skill learn rate
later on when we are going to be training skills exclusively.)
10th WT for the reason I just stated; it also improves our Intelligence from "stupid"
to "not very bright", which, if nothing else, reads a little better.
11th DF We Consortiumites, realizing this has become an optional, train the DF and
get a riposte skill. Surely more deftness helps any warrior?
We choose not to train the SP, as it does not help a scum at all, and the decise
skill that comes at 12 SP is also useless.
At this point, one could consider getting the 3rd ST, the 3rd WT, 3rd WL, and/or the
3rd DF. All have good value, with the ST and WL enhancing physicals, and the WT and
DF hitting nice skill break points. Just realize that the training probability is
19x5%/4 = 22.5%. It would not be unusual for a Consortiumite to train some 3rd
stats, and a 4th stat has also been acquired.
12th skills all the way forward. Expect an average of appx 0.75 to 1.25 skills per
turn, depending on a lot of things.
So now we have a 12-21-10-6-19-11-16 warrior. (Unless we tried the 3rd train
options)
Challenges and avoids? In a nutshell, the aimer is a scum's worst nightmare,
and a lunger is his best friend. Challenge LU warriors. Avoid teams with ABs.
Below are the "theoretical" lists that The Consortium uses to consider scum
challenges and scum avoids.
General order of challenge speculation:
1. Are there any known light hitting offensives in range?
2. What lungers are in range?
3. Are there other scum, whom I am sure I can out-endure in range?
4. Are there any known scummy, non TP types in range? (I can sponge and out-endure
them.)
5. Are there any light hitting WS or PS in range?
Avoid speculations:
1. Are there any ABs that can challenge me?
2. Have I really looked closely for ABs? (obviously avoiding ABs is ultra important)
3. No matter what, if there are aimers in range, make sure to challenge someone. (If
the challenge goes through, those aimers CANNOT get a challenge through to you.)
4. Are there any known hard hitting warriors that can slow down and take me out with
hard hits on a challenge?
5. Are there any slashers in range? (Slashers seem to do reasonably well against
scum.)
6. Are there any warrior in range that can out scum me? (better TPs, and superscum
pikers fit this bill)
That is a lot of thinking, and a lot of theorizing, but good challenges and avoids
can greatly enhance the w/l record.
Lastly, we come to strategy. How does one run a total parry scum? First, what
is the plan for a scum to do. Conserve energy; be conservative; parry everything
possible; don't worry about attacking; get the opponent tired from all his own
activity; then the opponent drops or give him a last minute hit which hurts so bad
because the opponent is so exhausted. Yep; that's a total parry scum.
So how do we do that. OE (Offensive Effort) would need to be quite low as our
scum is the opposite of offensive effort. AL (Activity Level) would seem to equate
with being conservative, not attacking, and not moving around much. That means like
quite low also. KD (Kill Desire) has no need to be high as our scum is not trying to
whack someone; we want him conservative and passive. Tactics? Do you really want
your scum to do something other than parry? If that is all you want, then you
probably do not want him choosing on his own to slash, or dodge, or bash, or lunge,
or even riposte. Those actions take energy! If you want him to think "parry" (Every
time he thinks, which will probably not be often with a wit like that.) then use the
P (Parry) tactic. What about desperation, you say? Well, we Consortiumites
generally want our scums doing what they do best in desperation--conservatively
parrying. One would think then, that a typical strategy might look like
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
P-P-P-P-P-P-P
And, indeed, that will probably work just fine. But somewhere along the line you
will find that you might want your scum to be a little more active, and even use some
kill desire, just in case he does swing. It is true that some scum will swing even
at 1-1-1-P! But, in general, you will probably find that he fights best using his
"favorites." (Which, of course, you do not yet know, as those are not announced
until his graduation.) If you examine the faves of the ten examples above, you will
see that OE and AL both range from very low to moderate, with very low being
prevalent for OE and low being prevalent for AL. I find this to be the mode in D2
life. Since VL equates to 1 or 2, LO equates to 3 or 4, and MOD equates to 5 or 6,
these examples might indicate that a scum could run from 1 to 6 on both OE and AL,
with OEs of 1 or 2, and ALs of 3 or 4 being most common. That would indicate a
strategy similar to:
2-2-2-2-2-2-2 or 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
4-4-4-4-4-4-4 3-3-3-3-3-3-3
x-x-x-x-x-x-x x-x-x-x-x-x-x
where x = unknown, maybe also from 1 to 6?
In actuality, we Consortiumites have five differing strategies, using 1 to 5,
with lots of Ps, and an occasional responsive tactic. In none of the five strategies
are all the KDs a 1.
So there you have it--TOTAL PARRY SCUM, the disliked winner. If he is not in
your repertoire, you have a serious gap. (or you don't read French)
Doctor Dehydrate, Consortium affiliated
P.S. You will note that this article is long, thorough, conservative, and winning,
just like the total parry scum.
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
"Tinkering strategies?" Jorja glanced around the common room of the Lighthouse
quickly. None of her gladiators were near by, but she leaned forward and lowered her
voice anyway. "The team here doesn't believe I ever do that, and I don't want them
to hear me saying differently, Diaretic. They'd get expectations, and I don't have
any plan to make life that easy for 'em. But here's the way I go at it when I'm
feeling generous with my warriors. Mind you, this is just the way *I* do it, and
there are plenty of other approaches.
"Say I've got a warrior who's a pure offensive style, which means a basher, a
lunger, or a slasher. I don't count strikers, as they're versatile and sometimes
unpredictable. Say I've started him out fast, maybe 8-6-x. Unless he's fighting
another pure offensive, he should be first off the mark. So I look for the problem.
If it's a problem with his numbers and style and he should have been some other kind
of fighter, well, too bad, we're both stuck with it. I can boost his offensive
effort to ten--sometimes it already IS ten, of course, but if it isn't, then that
goes up to the top. I can drop his activity level, say to four. I know some people
start their offensive warriors going 10-10-x, but to my mind, this is just asking for
early burnout in a fight. I've seen that kind of thing--a warrior comes out of the
starting gate like his socks are on fire, and by the MIDDLE, not the end, of the
first minute, he's panting and staggering, and losing. Sure, some warriors can take
that kind of energy burn, but most can't.
"So I tinker with his numbers, and it doesn't help, he still gets jumped when he
shouldn't. The next thing to try is dropping the weight he's carrying. Maybe I've
got him in some kind of mail, okay, I drop that to leather. This reduces his
protection against blows from his opponent, of course, but everything's a trade-off.
If he gets out there first and deals a shrewd blow or two, it won't matter; he'll win
before he gets hurt. If he's already in leather, or if I want to lighten him up
further, I'll drop his backup weapon and give him a lighter one. Say he's got a
scimitar with a backup same, maybe I'll drop the backup to a shortsword or even a
dagger. I'll always leave him SOME backup weapon--"
"He'd have his fists, if you didn't give him a backup weapon, wouldn't he?"
Diaretic asked.
Jorja shrugged. "Well... yes, but none of the pure offensives do well with
their fists. Strikers, maybe, but not bashers, lungers, or slashers. They can and
will use 'em if they have nothing else, but they won't do well. And frankly, I
wouldn't even send out an aimed blow, the CLASSIC unarmed style, with nothing but his
fists for backups. I've seen too many of them 'struck in the arm with the parry'.
It's too risky for a warrior who's already got problems. Unless, of course..." she
looked suddenly thoughtful, "I'm hoping he'll get killed...."
Diaretic raised his eyebrows. "Do you do that much?"
"Send them out hoping they'll die?" Jorja shrugged. "Well, yes and no. I run
everything, maybe send one warrior in a hundred to the Dark Arena--after he's fought
for a year or two. There are often warriors that I would LIKE to see die, even
though I hate the hassle of recruiting new ones. But I've never sent a warrior out
unarmed, unarmored, and with the basic 1-1-1 default strategy. At least, not
deliberately. There's a team I have in Murska that was running on maintenance once.
I wasn't paying attention, and no less than THREE new warriors started up there
without strategies--and survived! They had horrible records by the time one of the
other managers managed to get my attention, 0-19 I think it was, but they survived.
Tough men, and they eventually made it to graduation, once I gave them 'sharp pointy
things' to use on their opponents. But I don't do that deliberately." She paused
and signaled for one of the waiters to bring Diaretic a fresh drink.
"Where was I? Warriors getting jumped when they shouldn't be, right. As a last
resort, because I don't really care for tactics, I might give such a warrior
decisiveness in the first minute, also.
"But if none of this works, if he still gets jumped regularly, then I have to
think about taking a different approach. Maybe he'd be better off running slowly,
despite his style. So I put more armor on him, some kind of mail, usually, and I
slow down his first minute, maybe invert it: 4-6-x or 4-8-x or something. And then
in the second minute pop him up to eight or ten offensive effort, on the idea that
he'll catch the faster offensives when they're tired. Sometimes it works.
Especially with beginning warriors, winning can often be a game of endurance. He who
is still standing, wins."
Diaretic nodded and sipped his drink. Half-formed ideas of how he might use
these ideas on his own warriors revolved in his mind. "What about the opposite case,
a defensive warrior who can't last long enough to win as he should?"
"The total parry who collapses from exhaustion in the second minute?" Jorja
laughed. "I've had a few of those over the years. I call 'em 'the warriors of
exasperation'. It isn't easy running everything, you know--I end up with some
warriors that not even a mother could love, and with them, I tend to do really dumb
things, just for the heck of it. The aimed blow with a deftness of three or four,
for instance, or the total parry with no con.
"But for the, hmm, 'legitimate' cases of warriors running too fast, well, there
are signs as obvious as an offensive getting jumped. 'Fighting to conserve energy',
'straining to hold his weary arms at guard', stuff like that in the fight report is a
sure sign. You can take two approaches to that, lower the weight they're carrying so
as not to burn their energy that way--lighter armor, lighter weapons. Or slow 'em
down. Say I've got a ripper going 6-8-x and stumbling with exhaustion in the second
minute. I might slow this warrior down to 4-6 and see if that helps. Heck, I've
even done that with offensives. Back when I started slashers out going 10-10-x, I'd
get them stumbling with exhaustion and losing because of it in the second or even the
FIRST minute, and I'd slow 'em down. Activity level comes down first for an
offensive warrior--I think of that as the 'dodging and parrying' number. Offensive
effort comes down first for the defensives."
"Hmm." The younger manager frowned, making a series of linked rings on the
table top with the wet bottom of his glass. "What about warriors who flail wildly?"
"I've been told that this is due to lack of attack skills, and unless you're
going to train stats and burn those skills, nothing but time will cure it. But I've
found that sometimes--not always--lowering kill desire helps. Drop it to five, say,
if it's higher. Dropping the offensive effort a notch might help, too. I think of
'flailing wildly' as 'trying too hard'. You can never be sure, of course, because
managing gladiators is an art, not a science." She paused and half stood, looking
toward a center of commotion. "Do you want Wednesday to get falling down drunk on
the night before the fights?"
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #8 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
Question, turn 417:
All -- Here's last cycle's question that didn't make it in (along with page two of my
personals). What are the top five weapons to be successful in Advanced? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 418:
Q.O.W. Response -- The top weapons in AD, or even basic DM, are generally agreed upon
to be the SC, LO, BS, and BA. The scimitar is an all round great weapon. Seems
easier to crit with, and even against heavy armor, still dishes out a lot of damage.
Because it's a slashing weapon, it seems to pull a lot of critical damage on normal
hits. The longsword is the second best, though that could be contended, for its one
great ability, the knockdown! The broadsword is heavy, but it dishes out heavy
abuse, it doesn't break often, and it is pretty good at smashing through parries.
The battle axe is just plain cool, and it is very painful! After those four, it's
difficult to say which weapon is better. I like daggers, though shortswords are
strong, and the halberd is really fun if your warrior can throw crits with it. --
Adie
I must have missed the question this is answering, or it was part of an ongoing and
sometimes heated discussion on winning and killing and aiming locations in Aruak
City.
Q.O.W. Response -- Other than the obvious ability of aiming at the
chest/abdomen/head to gain death intent statement, I think that it's more difficult
to win when aiming at the body because there are more hit-points there. This is
especially the case against tough, armored warriors. Attacking the body with lunging
weapons can get knockdowns, but I think that it's even easier if you aim at the legs.
If you consider protect locations though, maybe the body is better to aim at because
maybe fewer people protect it.
The limbs, and head especially, have less hit points, so if struck, such a
warrior usually gives up sooner. Aiming at the head can get quick victories and
death intent statements, but results in more deaths, obviously. But I think a lot of
people routinely protect the head. Aiming at the arms allows the defeat of a warrior
when they lose their weapon, or use of their arm, and can't draw a back up. -- Adie
P.S. I only advocate aiming at the arms and legs in Aruak City. Elsewhere is a
different story.
Question for turn 418, to be answered next turn:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Adie's QoW -- Striking arms can cause an opponent to drop their weapon and
(temporarily) lose the use of the limb. Striking the legs can increase the chance of
a knockdown. Striking at head, chest, or abdomen can allow for a kill on the sands.
Chest and abdomen seem to be the locations best protected by armor. Head can have a
different level of armor protection than the rest of the warrior's body, which can
make things tactically interesting. From what I've seen, managers usually have their
warriors protect their vital hit locations by default, so to me it makes more sense
to aim at non-vitals. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Is Generalissimo Puerco psychic? Tune in next turn and find out!
Hanibal's QoW -- All of the one-handed swords make up the top tier of weapons, with
the axes and spears on the second tier (consider halberd in this group), and all the
bludgeoning weapons (and the greatsword) at the bottom. Quarterstaves, war hammers,
and mauls are liked by some, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have them.
Unfortunately the quarterstaff recently became tied (with longsword) among my LPs for
most popular favorite weapon. Also, interestingly, I only have one LP that favors
the scimitar, and it's a total parry! -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Top five weapons? Hm, scimitar, scimitar, scimitar.... Oh, you mean
DIFFERENT weapons? A lot depends on the style of the warrior in question and his or
her favorite. But scimitar is up there near the top of the list for many styles. --
Leeta
The question from turn 418:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Answers from turn 419 and 420:
Q.O.W. Answer: I have had all sorts of s#&t (not sure what word this was
supposed to be) happen regarding arms falling uselessly at their side: some warriors
give up, some continue on, I've even had a warrior lose his use of an arm twice in
one fight (and he still won!!!). One thing is certain...the weapon in the useless
hand always drops in the sand. -- Dr. Strange
Refers to last turn's question--
QOW -- Weapons? We agree that SC seems tops with LO and BS highly desirable. The
Consortium clan has a great affinity for these also: BA, DA, QS, SH, WH and GA. Not
the normal "feelings," but... -- Kennelworth
QOW -- A useless arm is a statement and since it normally comes at the end, it
"seems" to mean something, but it is similar to a dropped weapon. -- Kennelworth
Answer Q.O.W. (arms) -- When arms are struck in combat, I too have seen a variety of
things occur. I've seen them get hit, forcing a weapon to be dropped, but then a
back up pulled immediately. I've seen them get hit, drop a weapon, and be too hotly
engaged to pull a new one. Also, they can hang useless after being struck. The
weirdest thing I've ever seen is a warrior lose the use of their arm, drop their
weapon, strike with their fists, and then have one of those fists get parried, AND IT
WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WAS USELESS THAT WAS INJURED BY THE PARRY! Strange eh? So if
both arms went useless, you could still fight with fists? Hmm... -- Adie
New question, turn 419:
All -- I recently tried an experiment where I gave a warrior a Primary weapon
(Broadsword) and the same off-hand back-up. She pulled the back-up when things
slowed down in min. 2. Does this mean she prefers two weapons or do they always do
that? If you give a warrior two back-ups will they pull the one they prefer or
whatever you list first? -- Hanibal -- Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 420:
Answer Q.O.W. (backups) -- When things slow down in a fight and neither warrior is
eager to hold the initiative, they will usually pull any off-hand or back up weapon
they have, whether they need it or not. It has no relation to whether that warrior
prefers to fight with two weapons or not.
Drawing back-ups also can occur when the fight is intense. If your weapon
breaks while on the offense, often such a warrior will draw their back up and attempt
a riposte to hold the init. Also, if you're on the defensive and you attempt to
riposte, but you have a back-up weapon or off-hand weapon to draw, your warrior may
try to pull it. Success is not always guaranteed in either case though since your
warrior may be 'to hotly engaged'. Even if a defending warrior succeeds, drawing a
weapon after a riposte forces that warrior to give up the init they could have taken.
But if they pull a back-up and THEN riposte, then can take the init.
If you give a warrior two back-ups, they pull the one listed first, and if it
breaks or is dropped, they'll pull the second. It is not random. -- Adie
QoW -- If the warrior has a free off-hand, and a backup off-hand weapon, it usually
isn't long before they decide to make use of it. I'm guessing that OE and
coordination (anonymous source) are factors that affect the likelihood of drawing a
backup in the off-hand. Wanna Be, manager of A Savage Few here in Aruak, once hosted
a fast draw contest where contestants had to start the fight unarmed but could have
backup weapons. The all-out offensives would sometimes spend a full minute or more
with their fists before deciding to draw steel. The defensives would usually draw
something the first chance their opponent would give them. -- Generalissimo Puerco
New question, turn 420:
All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal --
Q.O.W.
We're now caught up with Aruak City (dm 11) on the Questions of the Week; they are
about to run turn 421 as I write this. So if Hanibal misses a turn in asking, or the
managers there miss a turn in answering, we'll have to miss a turn in looking over
their shoulders. Amazing how things follow one another like dominoes falling, isn't
it? There is NO REASON AT ALL why you here can't pose Questions of the Week of your
own. Send them as a personal to DM 11, identify yourself as a new manager seeking
enlightenment, and you should get a helpful response. -- Jorja
Note that Hannibal's Questions of the Week stopped some time ago and Aruak City is
now in the 700s.
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 703): VENTRIIE of DARK WARDS (Dark Warden, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 705): DIZZY GILLESPIE of BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 641): NIMBLE DANCER of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 699): INKED PIG of INK & STEEL RETRO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 701): SNAKE of SERPENTS HOLD 114 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 693): BARNUM CHELLS of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 694): DONKEY HOTAY of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 349): MADELINE of DODGE BULLETS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 691): WENIEN of MID EARTH (Visionist, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 347): BUZZ-BUZZ of BAD NEWS BEES (Stinger, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 687): ROTTING ROLAND of THE WALKING DEAD (Deep Thought, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 684): KARNINIRINA of THE SEWING CIRCLE (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 676): SMILE WAFFLE of HAPPY FUN TIME (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 635): A BAD LIE of IS THAT A CLUE? (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 324): ANDROMEDA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 318): FROSTY of FAST FOOD (Madwand, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 305): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Coach, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 566): POW! of THEM (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 551): DIGGITY DOG of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 533): HORSE D'OEVRE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 528): LINDIS TYL SARRO of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 254): SUN RAY of SUPER STARS (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 489): 867-5309 of NUMB-ERS (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 483): KOGAN DJIAN of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 475): CALEAM CHOWDER of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 592): KOOKABURRA of GIRL SCOUT COOKIES (Emerald Orbs, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 703): DARK WARDS (Dark Warden, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 705): BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 641): ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 699): BLIND MELON (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 701): SERPENTS HOLD 114 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 693): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 694): JESSIE'S SPUDS (Sir Jessie Jest, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 349): DODGE BULLETS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 691): MID EARTH (Visionist, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 347): THE STORM REAVERS (?, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 686): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 684): SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 676): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 635): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 324): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 318): VEGAN CANNIBALS (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 305): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 566): INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 551): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 533): SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 528): THE MOTHERSHIP CE (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 253): SUPER STARS (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 489): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 483): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 475): EL CAMINO:HOT SAUCE (Floyd, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 592): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 693): BARNUM CHELLS of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
(turn 692): ARAGON of IN MIDDLE EARTH (Emerald Orbs, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 348): TAXES of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 690): PUB O'CONNOR of CLAN CROW (Owsly, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 635): A BAD LIE of IS THAT A CLUE? (Sherlock, mgr.)
(turn 633): KIRVINJ of THE FAMILY (Jorja, 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 60 ARADI (turn 551): DIGGITY DOG of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 253): BOOB of PALINDROMES (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
There are several reasons why I am here talking (Well, really writing) to you
today. They are:
I am Duelmaster, I have the honor and duty to offer a DM Column.
Writing DM Columns is a form of "doing the dew".
You all need to listen to someone bold and brave and smart like me.
The Consortium bosses would dump me if I didn't.
The Olympics are over and now there is me.
I am six and oh! What are you?
I am a better basher than all five of Assur's put together.
I bow to no man.
Jorja has so many newsletter space openings, she needed me to fill one.
I am a testimony that 11 WT is plenty. (Wish I had 11.) So there you are. And
here I am. Catch me if you can.
Diet Mountain Dew, Duelmaster I
SPY REPORT
Greetings, warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Once again I've been called out of
retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting. Up 'n down. Up 'n down.
Rankings always change. Up 'n down. I think I'm gonna be... Well, PARKS AND REC's
3rd moved them up to 4-1-1 place. DRINK UP showed NOBLISH ISLAND what they were made
of as they fought with a vengeance to walk off with 4-1-1. NOBLISH ISLAND's got
someone new to push around. C'mon everyone, challenge OLYMPUS MAXIMUS. Let's see
how long they last. What's with WEAPONS? He actually beat KNIGHT LIFE's KEN DO, and
walked away with 25 more points from the fight. Major screwup at KNIGHT LIFE. KEN
DO lost 22 points to WEAPONS. Some new strategies, perhaps? Maybe KEN DO will
provide more easy wins... NOBLISH ISLAND, set your sights on KUNG-FU MASTER. He'll
be happy to entertain all requests after defeating DIET MOUNTAIN DEW. DIET BIG RED
looked pretty Duelmasterlike as it took NOBLISH ISLAND's top spot with 66 points.
Now, what will DIET MOUNTAIN DEW do? Wouldn't it be nice to have live subjects to
practice on? I hear some team is looking into the uses of convicted prisoners.
If at first you don't succeed, avoid. That'll get you in the Spyreports. How
well I know the feeling of being in the most avoided team! Don't fall out of
practive, KNIGHT LIFE! Management must be dealin', as the boys at DRINK UP ain't
reelin'! KNIGHT LIFE's mad! How well I know the feeling of being the most
challenged warrior, DIET BIG RED! Don't make idle boasts, they may come back to
haunt you. UGHH of THE HERQULOIDS knows how to pick 'em. It challenged DIET BIG RED
of DRINK UP who is up by 19. Now was this a wise move? UGHH perhaps got its just
desserts, seeing as it was dispatched by DIET BIG RED and ended up with 30
recognition points.
Warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND unite. You have only your games to lose! DIET BIG
RED of DRINK UP got 14 points for removing another young punk. Tough luck, THE
HERQULOIDS! Yeah, yeah, AVERAGE JOE killed ZANE, who was "too young to die." Well,
he was a fighter, and that's what you have to face. How long have I been here? I
got people to see, places to go...
Who knows what the future holds for a warrior. More fights, there's no doubt.
The end of another Spyreport! That's cause for celebration in my book! Remember--a
good fighter needs both good skills and good luck. Until next time,-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DIET BIG RED 9317 7 0 1 66 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 MOUNTAIN DEW 9315 6 1 0 54 DRINK UP (1604)
ENDURANCE BURN 9326 5 2 0 54 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
WEAPONS 9323 5 2 0 49 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
-POKER 9219 6 4 0 45 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
QUEENIE PAROE 9345 5 0 0 44 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
STRIKER MATCHUPS 9324 5 2 0 40 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
AVERAGE JOE 9360 2 0 2 38 PARKS AND REC (1611)
-CONTRACT BRIDGE 9218 7 3 0 36 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
TSINGTAO 9316 3 3 0 33 DRINK UP (1604)
TAB 9314 4 3 0 32 DRINK UP (1604)
-CHESS 9220 7 3 0 29 FAVORITE GAMES (1587)
PEN STEELSLASH 9328 4 3 0 28 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KEN DO 9274 6 4 0 27 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
AIMING AMANDA 9357 2 0 0 21 PARKS AND REC (1611)
FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE 9325 5 2 0 20 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
FOLGERS 9353 1 3 0 20 DRINK UP (1604)
KONANN CEE 9296 4 4 0 17 THE HERQULOIDS (1601)
NEMESA 9365 1 0 0 16 OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612)
LEAPING LILAC 9359 1 1 0 15 PARKS AND REC (1611)
-DUNCAN 9338 1 0 0 15 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
ANTONIUS 9361 1 0 0 15 OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612)
LOSING INITIATIVE 9327 3 3 0 14 BASH BROS BASHERS (1606)
VINCE YARE 9367 1 0 0 12 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
DOMITIUS 9362 1 0 0 10 OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612)
ZOE YATES 9349 2 3 0 9 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
-CY LENT 9305 2 3 0 9 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
-BARBRA JEAN 9273 2 3 0 9 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
SALOME RYAN 9346 1 4 0 7 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
URBIN TILL 9347 1 4 0 7 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
ASHER 9337 1 0 0 6 DRAGON DISCIPLES (1608)
NEUTER NELL 9358 1 1 0 6 PARKS AND REC (1611)
-TY CHE 9339 0 2 0 6 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
QUICK HIT HARRY 9356 1 1 0 4 PARKS AND REC (1611)
-KIM POC 9366 0 1 0 1 KNIGHT LIFE (1597)
HONORIA 9363 0 1 0 1 OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612)
METALLUS 9364 0 1 0 1 OLYMPUS MAXIMUS (1612)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
ZANE 9352 2 1 0 DRAGON DISCIPLE 1608 AVERAGE JOE 9360 358
MAXWELL HOUSE 9313 1 2 0 DRINK UP 1604 SULL 9294 354 NOT REVENGED
SULL 9294 4 4 1 THE HERQULOIDS 1601 BANDIT PRINCE 358 NONE
UGHH 9292 5 3 1 THE HERQULOIDS 1601 DIET BIG RED 9317 358
WAYLON VOLE 9348 0 3 0 THE LOW ROAD 4 1610 UGHH 9292 356
PERSONAL ADS
Herquloids -- Why am I apologizing to you for being nice to rookies? Sheesh! You
plastered me 2-1 this past turn, you dirty, rotten cretin! Perhaps I will send a
disease your way!? Hah! -- Doctor Dehydrate
P.S. Well fought. Well done.
Ughh -- I guess your name describes it perfectly from my viewpoint. Now we are even.
-- Tsingtao
Sull -- Well, I knew you were probably too much for me, but I had to try the
bloodfeud. What the heck, I may just try it again, Killer! -- Flogers (good to the
last drop, just like Maxwell House was)
Queenie Paroe -- You took the low road and I took the high road and you got there
before me. -- Tab (sort of running off at the mouth in his loss)
Fave Learn Riposte -- I wish I had a fave learn, but I will take wins instead. How I
got this lucky, I just do not know. -- Diet Big Red
Pen Steelslash -- You had your shot at a Duelmaster Column, now I get one. Hah! --
Diet Mountain Dew (having "done the dew" quite well, thank you)
Well, I liked your DM Column, Ken Do. Maybe you will get to write another. Kudos!
-- Doc Dehydrate
P.S. Thanks for noticing us coming. We still are.
Can't beat that Bash Bros record of 70%. Sheesh! Who IS this guy?! -- Dr. Dehydrate
(frustrated, but offering his kudos to whatsisname)
Bobby Boy of Parks & Recs -- Welcome. Glad to have you here. Have fun. Win. Get
ready to choose a fine arena after Noblish that you can call home. If there is any
way I can help, please ask. Meanwhile, read, read, read; the newsletters here, past
and present are filled with information you want. -- Doctor Dehydrate, Drink Ups
Uncle D -- You are right, Boss Consortium's head is often filled with lots of
opinions. Too many personalities. -- Doc Dehydrate (one of)
Eleven WT? Nothing wrong with 11 WT, Uncle D. The Consortium runs warriors with 3
WT, etc, etc. WT may be the most important stat, since it "defines" your learn rate.
It also gives nice skills at break points (like 11). It is easier to run warriors
who have high wits and learn a lot, but physicals and low wits have their place. --
Doc Dehydrate
P.S. I asked The Consortium to pull a random team being run, and Bulldogs, in DM11,
a very successful long term team, was chosen. These are the starting wits of the
current five warriors-- 1WT striker, 6WT total parry, 21WT ripper, 11WT basher, 16WT
slasher.
Since a 1 WT is not possible, I would guess that first is a typo. But whether
it should be x1 or 1x I have no idea.
Uncle D. asks... Can weird fighters make it to ADM and be successful? Like a 9-9-10-
17-9-21-9 slasher, who does good damage? Dr. D says -- ABSOLUTELY! Both Assur and
The Consortium have been designing, running, enjoying, and winning with "weird stuff"
for years. (Too many years.) Do not let the common design philosophies become laws.
They are concepts, and maybe not the perfect concepts. You can give me that slasher
of yours to run in an arena any day. It's MINE! -- Doc D.
Again from Uncle D... Are arenas 11 and 31 good choice arenas to play-- especially
for one liking to read/write personals? Both are fine arenas, and as Jorja pointed
out, DM31 is a slow arena. The best slow arena, in my opinion, for personals is
highly competitive DM47, but you are already there, Uncle D. DM11 offers lots of
personals and roleplaying, due to multiple Consortium teams there. It is ANDORIAN,
and plays by a highly sportsmanlike group of "rules'.expectations. There are many
good arena choices in D2. -- Doctor Dehydrate
Uncle D -- Eleven wit is better than nine. Of course, I run everything I get. But
don't junk a warrior for having an eleven wit.
For a freakish warrior, it's hard to tell how he'd do in adm. But it takes twenty
turns, nearly a year, to get him there at the probable earliest, so that might be a
premature question. You say he's doing well now. Good. Let him continue to do
well. You can always send him to the Dark Arena *later*, but if you send him now,
that's the end of it. So long as you're enjoying him, don't throw him away.
Arenas 11 (Aruak City) and 31 (Chimlevtal) both have their good points. Aruak is
active, very chatty. Chimlevtal is smaller, but there are at least SOME personals
(mine) every time. I would recommend the smaller slow arena 31, but that's partly
just my taste in arenas. If you DID chose 31, you could also run in one of the slow
arenas that is "opposite" it, by which I mean, that runs two weeks later: 39
Xochithlan or 50 Snowbound. -- Jorja
Assur and commenting Editor -- Yeah, maybe it would be fun making waves across all
Alastari, but I don't have TIME for that. -- Jorja, sometimes frustrated
Tab -- Ack, hideous stuff. -- Queenie Paroe
Konann Cee -- Ah, the joys of getting an uneven random match! You did well, which
did not make me happy. -- Urbin Till
Quick Hit Harry -- You know, it wasn't supposed to work like that. -- Salome Ryan
Neuter Nell -- I think your main problem there was to be matched against someone with
more experience. Inevitable, but now that you're "on the rankings," you can
challenge and avoid, which ought to help. -- Zoe Yates
Bobby -- Welcome to Duel2! Just the one I've been wanting to talk to. The parks
I've recently visited have troubles. How do we get them fixed? Some don't have
bathrooms, some are rodent infested, we need stricter rules (and probably penalties)
for pets off leashes, and being closed on Mondays is really annoying. -- Assur
P.S. (I do welcome you, but I am being cute with my team in DM 47, Bash Bros Park,
which highlights annoying things about parks).
Uncle D -- Some new answers.
1. I am a big fan of lower wits (more so than most managers). The only real
drawback is that your warrior learns slower. For offensives, wit is probably the
most important stat, since it gives attack, decise, and initiative, but I've run many
11 wit offensives and don't have an issue with them. I would like 7 wit a lot more
if there were better weapons available for certain styles. Seven wit is a good
riposte breakpoint. Eleven wit is a huge skill breakpoint. I'll try and get my
weapon chart posted this turn (which is MORE ACCURATE than other charts posted on
occasion in this newsletter).
2. Enjoy those 'strange' warriors. They are what get me excited about this game
after so long. As far as ADM goes, any warrior, with enough time, can train all
their stats up. There is no reason such warriors cannot compete if they truly are
superior. And many managers look for warriors with 21s to create a 'bust out'
tourney. The idea is to save the 21 until you are at the top of one of the ADM
classes. Enter the tourney training to 25 and enjoy the huge skill boost during the
tourney, hopefully helping you to succeed in that tourney.
An addendum to my counter tactic notes. You also want to use a strategy that makes
sense with the 'counter-tactic'. If you are dodging, it doesn't hurt to wear some
armor (but not too much) and run with high activity level. If you are slashing, high
offensive effort is probably a good thing. If you are using responsiveness, I
recommend at least some armor. Responsiveness is the most fickle of the counter
tactics in my experience. You often get hit and if your hit points are low, you
might want to use the tactic in desperation, also. (That has been my practice and how
I often use the counter tactic) -- Assur
Ken Po -- Ha! You called out Drink-up and they whooped you with Diet Mountain Dew.
It really stinks up there with all that Po-Pew. I'll be there to air it out soon. --
Zane
Leaping Lilac -- I'm glad you bowed out. After two shots to the left cheek my arse
was beginning to sting. I know I got your elbow twice, so to make up I'll kiss your
elbow if you kiss my arse. *smiling* Now, how aboutletting me buy you a drink? --
Zane
Uncle D -- If you are looking for a slow arena, DM 28 Morya is the only place to be.
Good fight, great ale, and awesome bar maids. -- Norman Rankin
Ken Do -- Nope, sorry, bloke, I don't know Herquloids. -- Norman Rankin
All -- Thank you for your heart-felt welcomes to me and my team. Good day. -- Norman
Rankin
All -- Olympus Maximus is here! Come one and all and witness the crimson spectacle!
Doc Dufus (Dehydrate) -- Keep sending your canned warriors and I'll pop their tops
and put the empty cans on my mantle, or better yet, display them at the Dripping
Blade. STOP talking down to me--I have beaten the majority of your fighters and Pen
is up for round 2 with Diet Dont. -- Kell Drakestone, mgr. Herquloids
Low Road 4 -- It is too bad that Waylon went to be with the gods so soon. He didn't
get a chance to shine. -- Ughh!
Drink Up -- As I go to the Dark Arena I want to say dumping out that Maxwell Mouse
was great! He was bitter. :) If I come back, maybe I bring a troll to be your new
manager--it would definitely be a better choice! -- Sull
Diet Spew -- Diet is nasty especially when fighting naked and hitting on you, so your
distraction was only good because you made me throw up lunch. When we rematch, put
on armor or at least a loincloth, dude! -- Pen Steelslash
Tsing Tao -- Hey, are they going to be able to save your right arm? Well, it may
help you if your manager is a doctor. Too bad he's a vet! -- Ughh
Urbin Till -- Well met! But next time, move around a little, okay? Go with grace.
-- Konann Cee
P.S. You might want to apply ice to that.
All -- Does anyone have any info on the original race known as golems? -- Ughh
Jorja -- Could you rate weapons for damage? Also, can you share any info about any
other arenas? Thank you much. -- Kell Drakestone
Assur has a spotlight concerning weapons which you will have already seen. Info
about arenas next time.
Kung-fu Master -- At least I lost the throne to a master and not to some fruity
drink. -- Ken Po
Weapons -- It seems your staff was bigger. I tried to parry it with my body and
found out it hurts. -- Cy Lent
Aiming Amanda -- Really!! Well, good aim. -- Ty Che
Losing Initiative -- I guess Bash Bros likes giving each member of Knight Life their
first loss. Glad I could be part of the tradition. -- Kim Poe
All -- We should be going to DM 11. It has been fun and very helpful being here
these last ten turns. Once again, thank you, teachers. -- Uncle D, mgr. Knight Life
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
SULL was butchered by BANDIT PRINCE in a 2 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
UGHH was slaughtered by DIET BIG RED in a 1 minute uneven Challenge Title battle.
FOLGERS overpowered ZOE YATES in a crowd pleasing 1 minute mismatched Challenge duel.
ZANE was assassinated by AVERAGE JOE in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge fight.
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW was bested by KUNG-FU MASTER in a 2 minute brawl.
PEN STEELSLASH was vanquished by ENDURANCE BURN in a 1 minute mismatched fight.
KEN DO was devastated by WEAPONS in a 1 minute one-sided competition.
QUEENIE PAROE viciously subdued CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute beginner's melee.
LOSING INITIATIVE was overpowered by TSINGTAO in a 1 minute uneven duel.
FAVE LEARN RIPOSTE was defeated by TAB in a exciting 1 minute fight.
KONANN CEE was handily defeated by STRIKER MATCHUPS in a 1 minute one-sided bout.
SALOME RYAN was demolished by LEAPING LILAC in a 1 minute mismatched match.
URBIN TILL was outwaited by NEUTER NELL in a unpopular 7 minute novice's battle.
QUICK HIT HARRY was beaten by VINCE YARE in a popular 1 minute amateur's conflict.
AIMING AMANDA vanquished METALLUS in a 1 minute mismatched bout.
ASHER won victory over HONORIA in a 2 minute novice's fray.
ANTONIUS bested EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 2 minute amateur's brawl.
DOMITIUS defeated PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 3 minute novice's bout.
NEMESA beat EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 3 minute novice's bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 9 SLASHING ATTACK 33 - 20 - 2 62 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 PARRY-STRIKE 12 - 8 - 1 60 |
|AIMED BLOW 5 STRIKING ATTACK 28 - 23 - 3 55 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 4 AIMED BLOW 20 - 17 - 2 54 |
|TOTAL PARRY 3 WALL OF STEEL 8 - 7 - 0 53 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 BASHING ATTACK 57 - 51 - 3 53 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 TOTAL PARRY 10 - 18 - 0 36 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 LUNGING ATTACK 7 - 13 - 0 35 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 2 - 1 33 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 9 - 0 31 |
Turn 358 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 TOTAL PARRY 1 - 2 4 BASHING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 3 3 STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 4 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 SLASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 3 - 2 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 2 1 PARRY-STRIKE
BASHING ATTACK 5 - 4 1 LUNGING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
PARRY-STRIKE DIET BIG RED 9317 7 0 1 66 DRINK UP (1604)
BASHING ATTACK DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315 6 1 0 54 DRINK UP (1604)
SLASHING ATTACK QUEENIE PAROE 9345 5 0 0 44 THE LOW ROAD 4 (1610)
STRIKING ATTACK AVERAGE JOE 9360 2 0 2 38 PARKS AND REC (1611)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is ENDURANCE BURN 9326. The most popular warrior this
turn was ASHER 9337. The ten other most popular fighters were DIET BIG RED 9317,
FOLGERS 9353, DIET MOUNTAIN DEW 9315, ENDURANCE BURN 9326, QUEENIE PAROE 9345,
LEAPING LILAC 9359, VINCE YARE 9367, AIMING AMANDA 9357, NEMESA 9365, and AVERAGE JOE
9360.
The least popular fighter this week was NEUTER NELL 9358. The other ten least
popular fighters were URBIN TILL 9347, HONORIA 9363, METALLUS 9364, KONANN CEE 9296,
LOSING INITIATIVE 9327, KEN DO 9274, ZANE 9352, UGHH 9292, ANTONIUS 9361, and QUICK
HIT HARRY 9356.
The Defensive Lunger
Perfect Minimums Actual Characters
ST 13 11 11 13
CN 7 3 3 11
SZ 4 4 10 6
WT 21 17 17 17
WL 17 13 17 19
SP 5 5 9 5
DF 17 13 17 13
The lunger, in my opinion, makes a much better defensive fighter than offensive
fighter. Fighting defensively will compensate for the speed at which lungers burn
endurance. They will still attack whenever possible but their defensive ability will
allow them to dodge most attacks. The most important part is their initiative. When
they do dodge, they'll usually steal the initiative and attack. I haven't been
fighting lungers defensively for long but my record is 14-5-0. Don't fight
defensively against other lungers as they will usually win.
The strategy I use is:
Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Off 4 -------------------------> 9 Weapon: Any lunging
Act 6 4 --------------------> 9 No armor if low con
KD 4 -------------------------> 9 APL/H if average con
O.T. ---------------------------> L
D.T. -------------------------------->
You can attack any location you wish but I suggest protecting the body. The
third character listed started with experts in attack, defense and initiative. The
last character had an expert in attack.
The Wild Boar, manager of Things (5) and many inactive teams.
WARRIOR ENDURANCE
Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone! I hope you have had pleasant dueling.
This article is about endurance and some things to think about when you're designing
your warriors. Below is a chart showing the different endurance levels a warrior may
have. This chart may be a little off of due to the fact it isn't possible to have all
the variables as a manager, but it does give you idea of the amount of endurance a
warrior should have.
The formula for endurance is: E = (ST+CN)WL
With the result of that number use the chart below.
000-180 = Very Poor
181-240 = Poor
235-390 = Normal
391-509 = Good
510-639 = Great
640-699 = Tremendous
770+ = Awesome
Here are some examples of warriors with their Endurance ratings:
1) Slasher ST 5 CN 7 WL 15 (5+7)15 = 180 Poor
2) Striker ST 7 CN 13 WL 9 (7+13)9 = 180 Poor
3) Parry-Rip ST 7 CN 10 WL 11 (7+10)11 = 187 Poor
4) Basher ST 13 CN 9 WL 9 (13+9)9 = 198 Very Poor
5) Striker ST 13 CN 9 WL 9 (13+9)9 = 198 Poor
6) Aimed-Blow ST 9 CN 15 WL 9 (9+15)9 = 216 Normal
7) Striker ST 10 CN 5 WL 15 (10+5)15 = 225 Normal
8) Slasher ST 13 CN 10 WL 10 (13+10)10 = 230 Normal
9) Wall/Steel ST 13 CN 12 WL 17 (13+12)17 = 425 Great
There are several factors such as warrior style, RSI random factor, and there is
some evidence that SIZE has some effect on a warrior's endurance. In any case the RSI
LUCK factor can be around 7 to 8% in your favor or 2-3% worse than average. These are
just estimates, but are still factors nevertheless.
Some styles that are HIGH BURN endurance, like lungers, slashers and walls of
steel, are more likely to be UNLUCKY with the endurance rating.
Every action your warrior does consumes endurance. Attacking seems to use more
endurance than any other action. Once a warrior's endurance is used up, he will make
an endurance check against his WILL. If he fails the roll, he will either stop to rest
or collapse to the sand, depending on how badly he failed the roll. When a warrior
stops to rest, he gets back some endurance. When he gets enough endurance back, he
will start attacking again. This is just a theory that I have developed from
observations. It maybe completely off, but it gives one something to ponder.
That's it for now lords and ladies, I must go entertain elsewhere. If you would
like to chat about DM or other things, you can EMAIL me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com
or visit my DM website at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessisjest/homepage.htm
You can also diplo me at DM 11 "The Lords Of the Abyss (319)" or any of the
Joker's Wilds scattered about.
Cheerio,
Sir Jessie Jest
Member of the Ivory League
Presenting, by Popular Demand (from 1989)...
THE NUMEROLOGY OF DUELMASTERS
by The Ghost of Eldrid
Character Generation
Hello, I am the Ghost of Eldrid, and I have an important message that directly
effects how well your team may do in the future. Some managers will not take this
important article seriously (some people don't believe in ghosts, either), and their
records will suffer for it. I have played Duelmasters for four years and searched
through all of my old turns and painstakingly researched every important fact in this
article, and I have discussed my conclusions with about ten different managers (named
managers such as Phido, Doctor LeGrand, Silk, Russ, and Biff Frothingslosh) who all
agree on the validity of my arguments. The results of my research are both startling
and magnificent. THERE IS NUMEROLOGY IN DUELMASTERS!!! Whether it was programmed in
or it exists on a higher plane, it matters not. IT EXISTS!!! And I plan to share
some of its amazing secrets with you, starting with character creation.
Remember in the realm of character generation the powers favor odd number stats.
NEVER, EVER have an even number on stats, except, of course, for size, which,
obviously should be even since everyone can tell what size your character is by his
description in the fight. Do you want people thinking your warrior is odd? I should
hope not!! But in case you decide to keep your odd warrior, DO NOT MAKE ANY OTHER
STATS EVEN!! Write a letter to the commission stating that you forgo the rights to
the last point and you want it to be sacrificed to the benefit of Alastari.
Always start adding points to wit and will first. Either make them 13, 17, or
21. Why? Under 12 wit is worthless, as any good manager will tell you. A 13
understandably gives your opponent bad luck, a 17 has the ever-lucky "7" in it, and 21
is BLACKJACK, and you get twice the number of winnings you would normally get. Why
not 15 or 19? Is it not obvious to everyone that 15 is unlucky? The only President
of the United States not married was the 15th, James Buchanan (who?). Lincoln was
shot on April 15th, and the clincher... my brother was born on the 15th of May. If
these "coincidences" don't prove to you that 15 is unlucky, I don't know what will.
19 is an evil number. It tries to deceive you into thinking it is better than 17, but
actually, it is an "11" with a small zero placed on the second pole, and we all know
that a zero is nothing. So what do we get for our extra eight points? In effect,
something smaller than nothing.
Next, make every other stat odd. Add the other points to make the style you
want. Deftness is the key to character generation.
Deftness (min)
5 to make a basher (ST 13+)
7 for a lunger
9 for a striker
11 for a wall of steel (ST 11+, WL 17+)
13 for a parry lunge (ST 11+), slasher (SP 11+), parry-strike, and total
parries (these styles depend on the opponent's bad luck.
17 for a parry-riposte (WT 17+)
21 for an aimed blow (this style needs the double winnings)
The last thing to remember is that luck is a big factor in this game and I don't
know if you noticed, but when warriors have even ID numbers they are luckier than odd
ID characters. Look at the best warriors in Primus: Wallbanger, Donatello, Epitaph,
Chaos Knight, Villiage Idiot, Silverflash, Khorga Khan, Jake the Snake, Sly, Max,
Stormbringer, Teetotaler, Raphael, Selleque, Kiri, Constance, Hangover, Eve, and Sam
Spade. All have even-numbered IDs. Now you say, "But Yoda and Necron-99 both have
odd IDs, and they are the best aimed blows of the game!" Yes, but they are AIMED
BLOWS and they are members of an odd style, so of course they do better with odd
numbers. So remember if you want your warriors to be best in all Alastari someday,
Dark Arena all your odd-numbered characters, unless of course they are aimed blows.
Good luck, and may the numbers fall your way.
-- The Ghost of Eldrid,
retired
PARRY-STRIKE, ANOTHER FUN STYLE
There have been several articles about fighting styles, some say theirs is the
best, or ultimate, one said theirs is the most fun style. Well, I feel that parry-
strikers are just as much fun to play as any other style.
First, let's start with the run down of what they say in the "RED BOOK". The
book says that parry-strikers are defensive, using small quick movements in their
actions (sounds like you could say that about some other styles as well.) The book
says that some managers swear that a high wit is critical to the style (only those who
have no brains would disagree with that.)
Let's get to business. First and foremost this style is deceptively aggressive,
making them a very good offensive type of fighter, or deadly type of defensive
fighter. Offensively they tend to get the jump on their opponent. I had a parry-
striker that was only jumped 3 out of 11 fights, before he died. To prepare and run a
parry-striker can be quite confusing, so I will try to help make it as simple as
possible. Here are my feelings on roll-ups for the parry-strike style:
ST: 11-15, I'll explain later.
CN: who cares.
SZ: 10-14, don't go over 14.
WT: 13-17, 17 is the best.
WL: 13-17, to get good endurance.
SP: not important.
DF: 11-15, I'll explain later.
Here are some good roll-ups for a parry-striker: 11,7,10,17,17,7,15;
15,7,11,17,16,7,11; 11,7,14,17,13,7,15; 15,7,14,17,13,7,11. Now, if you have a decent
wit, the way you run this fighting style will depend on strength and deftness. For
example: if your fighter has a high DF and a low ST it would be to his/her advantage
to be defensive, since the speed would benefit the ability to move in reaction to
their opponent. If the ST is high, and DF low, it would be better to fight
offensively like a striker, trying to get the first, and only blow in. If they don't
have a decent wit, you're on your own. I can't help you on that. Remember this style
of fighting is the same as a striker except for added knowledge of parrying, as well
as bein a little more aggressive. I would not suggest a low ST and DF, it will take
away from your WT & WL, and you don't want to do that, but if you do, good luck. You
don't need much CN if you have a good WL, which gives you your endurance. SZ; you
don't want it to be above 14, it would hurt your fighting style more than your
attributes. WT; it is the same as it is with strikers, the higher the WT the faster
and deadlier they become. Raise WT to 17 if you don't have it at the start, then
don't worry about it again until ADM. WL; this is where you get your endurance. 13
is fine to start out, but I would suggest 15, then bump it up to 17 in basic. SP; it
is what you need to riposte, but PSers have this "one strike one kill" attitude.
Meaning that there isn't much time to riposte with a killing attitude, so do whatever.
DF; what is there to say, it helps, but is not crucial to be a great PSer. Now to
running a PSer. If he is an offensive fighter 10-10-10 Dec. all the way through the
fight, even in desperation. If Defensive, 1st 10-10-10 Resp., 2nd 10-7-10 Dec., 3rd
10-10-10, 4th 10-10-10 Dec., 5th 10-10-10 Dec., 6th 10-10-10, Desp. 10-10-10 Resp.
Remember, first you want to assure your defense, and to do that, you should go
defensive the first minute. By the second minute you will be secure enough to go on
the offensive, but experiment. 6th minute on, leave blank, for by that time he/she
will know what to do (if their WT is high that is.) The best thing you could do for
your fighter is watch the fights, if you are getting more defensive skills than
offensive, run the def., or change weapons. That is the best advice I can give you
about PSers. About armor, I like to use ringmail or nothing, but experiment. I know
that there is someone that will disagree with me, but I feel that I have given you
some ideas about this fighting style that can be used, even though I am a new manager,
playing for just over a year. No matter who writes a style article, it is just
advice, not the bible. Just use the articles as a point of reference, not as sworn
law.
This is a very fun fighting style, try it out. I have written this in answer to
Foreign Legion Arena 31, and The Spartans Arena 8. I challenge any Primus Manager to
correct my writing of PSers. It is not my favorite style, but it is as fun as any
other that I have used, including my favorite one (Which is a STRIKER!!) If there are
any comments, please Diplo The Priest, the manager of The Heroes of XIAN DM-10, or The
Crucifiers DM-46.
THE ARMOR PIERCING PARRY-LUNGE
When you think "attack" what style comes to mind? Bashing? Definitely lunging?
Of course. Parry-Lunging? Excuse me? Yes, the parry-lunger! Few people realize the
fact that parry-lungers are attack gods waiting to be born. All it takes is the right
warrior and lots of guts. This warrior is not for the weak of heart. We'll begin
with stats.
Range Perfect
ST 9-11 11
CN 5-9 5
SZ 6-11 8
WT 17or21 21
WL 17or21 17
SP 5-8 5
DF 15-17 17
Why?
ST(11): This is your optimum PL strength. It puts your warrior in the normal to
good damage range. Also, you have the best PL weapon at your disposal--the LO!
CN(5): Yes, his life expectancy is low. What'd I tell you? Guts, right? He
gets his endurance from WL. If you want to make trains, make them here.
SZ(8): Our most flexible stat. A high SZ (i.e.11) allows you to skimp a bit on
Str (9).
WT(21): If it's not a 21 you're not going to get the attack this fellow counts
on. His learns will be awesome and a 21 WT will make him a better warrior out of the
chocks.
WL(17): End/Att are dependent on this one being high. Keeps you on your feet
when you should drop from exhaustion.
SP(5): Not a big requirement. Init and Parry will come from elsewhere (WT/DF).
This is not a lunger mimic.
DF(17): Combine this DF with a 21 WT and you will have a massive attack.
Pinpoint accuracy is the byword. Parry, init, def and riposte will all benefit
immeasurably. At 15 you have access to the EP, a fine lunging weapon this style can
put to devastating use.
Strategy (General, but effective in most cases)
2 9 9 7 6 5 10
6 9 9 7 6 5 10
2 7 7 7 5 5 10
HE ---------------------------->
HE BD ----------------------->
- - - - - - -
P - - - - - -
Minute 1: This fellow won't get the jump on offensives, so we'll just go
defensive and render their "mad minute" fruitless. This PL's counterattack will be
amazing at even 2-6-2 P due to the high AL. Keep the parry tactic until Adv Expert
parry is gained.
Minutes 2 and 3: These two will end most of his fights. When he starts landing
precision blows in his opponent's face it will usually be over quickly. Keep the kill
desire relatively low as to avoid sloppy attacking.
Minutes 4 through 6: If you haven't won by now you've got to depend on your WL
to carry you until you finish the job. He'll probably top out at the five min. mark.
But we want to keep the attacks coming so we do so at his endurance's expense.
Desp: If your opponent is an offensive he's probably blasted through your min. 1
defense. Your best bet is to go spastic and hope to take him out in one shot or so.
If he's some super-defensive (scum) this PL is probably exhausted and you're hoping
the super-offense will put him over the edge. After all, it's better to burn out than
fade away.
Always aim for the head to maximize the impact of your blows. If it tickles your
fancy, aim for your opponent's weapon arm and beat him senseless when he's unarmed.
Protecting the head in min. 1 is strictly odds playing on my part. My offensives aim
head so I assume everyone else's do too. After min. 1, we forget defense.
Weapons and armor are simple. APL/H or ARM/H (if you're challenging a real
heavy-hitter). I prefer swords for armament. My combos are usually LO/SM, LO/SH,
SC/DA etc. Against heavy armor go with LO/SH. Always aim for the head.
Philosophy: This guy clings to life by luck, early on, and will never be free of
the spectre of death. In his first few fights stay away from lungers and bashers.
Both have high attacks and usually do substantial damage. Prey on strikers, PS, PR
and slashers. As he progresses, his attack, parry and defense will equip him with the
tools to handle most everybody but always remain cautious of those bashers and
lungers.
A PL of this calibre should begin with around a 90 att, 70 par/init and 60-70
def. Decise and riposte will be slightly lower. Riposte 50 and decise anywhere from
35-50 depending on how lucky you get. Train skills exclusively from fight one and on.
Use tourneys if you must raise anything at all (including con).
Don't be discouraged if he's around .500 early on. By ten fights he'll be
sporting three Adv Experts at least (att, par and init) and will begin to dismantle
those scum/finesse styles that managed to beat him. Feel free to write or diplo me
with comments/criticisms/or questions.
Fight the Good Fight,
or: Agath
CPL Michael Dockus Lunatic Fringe (23)
H Co BLT 2/8 Circle of Five (51)
24 MEU (Det F) Slaves of Power (52)
FPO NY NY 09502-8531