DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/09/2013 Duedate: 03/22/2013
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-372
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
ABRAM CROSS
LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
(93-9420) [5-3-1,54]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY ABRAM CROSS
LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
(93-9420) [5-3-1,54]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
DAISY FRYE MAKESMELOOKBAD
LOW ROAD 5 (1620) BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
(93-9417) [4-4-0,47] (93-9446) [0-1-0,1]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) 34
2. LOW ROAD 5 (1620) 33 DARK TOADS II (725)
3. BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 24 Unchartered Team
4. WARRIORS FIVE (174) 7
5. TRIBES (1621) -6 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 0*USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) 4 1 1 80.0 1/ 0*LOW ROAD 5 (1620) 10 5 1
2/ 0*LOW ROAD 5 (1620) 22 18 1 55.0 2/ 0*USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) 4 1 1
3/ 0*BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 2 2 0 50.0 3/ 0*BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 2 2 0
4/ 1*TRIBES (1621) 1 1 0 50.0 4/ 4*TRIBES (1621) 1 1 0
5/ 0*WARRIORS FIVE (174) 0 1 0 0.0 5/ 0*WARRIORS FIVE (174) 0 1 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
START-UP DESIGN REVIEW
or
NEW TEAM UNFOLDED
or
HOW THIS 25-YEAR VET DESIGNS
I do have a purpose for writing this spotlight. It is offered to provide
newer/inexperienced D2 managers with warrior design concepts and to assist newbies in
observing the details of a "real-time" team who will be competing against them in
their Noblish Island arena. I will discuss the following:
1. An experienced manager's general design principles
2. The real five-warrior design (original team roll-up) ready to compete on Noblish
Island
3. Summary and comments relevant to those designs
First you might ask, "Who is writing this? And I answer that I am "Smithy,
manager of Useful Weapons", a member of The Consortium, a long, long time (25+ year)
player in Duelmasters/D2. I will be overseeing this new team and will be offering
you advice each round on Noblish Island. Feel free to ask me (or Jorja, or Assur)
questions in the personal ads. You will get answers; most probably several answers.
There is no one-and-only perfect design for any warrior. You will often find
that when asking for experienced design advice, varying opinions and concepts are
offered. However, there are some guidelines that each manager uses. Here are The
Consortium generic design principles:
1. Design to strengths/excesses, making high roll numbers higher
2. Offensive oriented warriors need WT high to last. Design to 15, 17, 21 for skill
breaks
3. All warriors except AB must have normal damage and really need good. Make
certain that ST/SZ allow that and have high enough WL to bump stats if not.
4. 9 WL is the acceptable low for offensives. Some warriors can do well with 7 or
8. No lower.
5. Do not add to CN for offensives.
6. Defensive style warriors need solid WL and CN.
7. Physicals never hurt any warrior. Warriors can win early with lesser skill, but
good physicals.
8. If all else fails, make the design a TP. They can win under almost any
circumstance. However, they need a higher combination (total) of CN, WL, ST.
9. If the warrior is to be long-term (meaning a godling or really nice roll), do not
design a burner. (A burner is one where the manager intends to raise stats and
physicals as a major strategy to winning.)
10. However, there is not a thing wrong with making a burner.
11. Design each warrior with the idea of winning 60%+ of its fights.
12. Have variation in styles in arenas. This allows for better challenging and
matchups (and fun trough variety).
Pretty simple, it would seem. Well, let's see how I applied these principals to the
Useful Weapon Team.
Next are listed the starting statistics (from the roll-up sheet) and the design
statistics (filled out and sent in by Smithy) of this team starting shortly on
Noblish Island.
A. 10-16-8-13-5-10-8 to 13-16-8-17-9-10-11 BA (basher) Design to strengths
(concept #1), which is either CN or WT. Because of the low starting WL, this is
likely to be an offensive rather than a defensive. Hence, concept #5, don't add to
CN applies and I take the WT to 17. (concept #2) Need to make WL @ 9 per concept
#4. That leaves six points. I choose 3 to ST for physicals (giving myself a better
chance at good damage and applying concept #3) and three to DF because 11 DF is one
of the best skill points available. Could have made this warrior a ST or BA, but
chose BA due to the high CN on the warrior. A striker is pretty much an "all out"
warrior and the CN is rather invaluable. Bashers can work with the CN and even
become tank-type or scummyish warriors.
B. 11-11-5-11-19-9-4 to 13-11-5-17-21-10-7 SL (slasher) This is the "nicest"
warrior of the group. A 17 WT, 21 WL warrior (or vice versa 21WT, 17 WL) is good
because WT and WL are the most important stats. Concept #1, design to strengths--
hence 21 WL, also fitting concept #2. Six points to WT, because the 17/21 is so nice
and again applying concept #2. Three points go to DF, as 7DF is normally the lowest
DF workable (because of weapon selection mostly). Note that I cannot get DF to 11 or
I would have done so. The three remaining points go two to ST, (I am worried that 11
ST and SZ 5 will not give me good damage, hence the bump to 13). Even at this 13/5,
there is more possibility of normal damage than I would like. The remaining one
point goes on SP. Why? Speed will always help an offensive warrior and at 10SP
there is a decise skill, and my offensive wants it!
C. 16-9-8-4-14-9-10 to 18-15-8-4-20-9-10 TP (total parry) Not much WT at all and
CN/ST are strengths. Already it looks like concept #8 (coupled with #1) so all
points will go on WL/ST/CN for a pretty good total parry.
D. 11-5-13-3-9-13-16 to 11-5-13-9-9-16-21 AB (aimed-blow, or "aimer" for short.)
DF is the clear strength, and most designers that can get a 21DF warrior are thinking
aimed-blow. I do not recommend aimers for newbies. They can be "difficult." With
the 3 WT start, I must either concede that this will be a very low WT warrior, but
with the 21DF, I am going to give my aimer some chance to learn skills--hence the
adding of 6. The last 2 skills are going to SP since this warrior really has little
going for it in WT/WL, so I will accentuate its already high speed with the last 3
points. Not the best aimer in the world, but I gave it a chance. This will probably
be the weak link on the team to getting a 60% W/L record. And aimers die more often
than other styles.
E. 4-9-12-9-15-8-13 to 8-9-12-14-20-8-13 SL (slasher) There were lots of options
here, but you can see that the first thing I did was (Concept #1) optimize WL. I
initially made the WL 21, but then saw that I could not get a warrior I really wanted
(due to low ST) so I decided on a burner, and why not burn WL also, then? Five were
added to WT and ST, making a decent offensive, especially after I later burn/bump the
design to 9-9-12-15-21-8-13. I will bump stats in this order, WL, ST, WT, and then
train skills. I made this offensive a slasher because it looks like a slasher with
the high will, decent decisiveness start, and the ability, after the bump, to use the
best slashing weapon, the scimitar. Indeed, the scimitar is considered the best
weapon in the game by many. BUT, now I have two slashers on the team. Arghh! My
recommendation to you, then, is to make one of the slashers a striker. It will
enhance both your learning and your fun! Meanwhile, I already made them both
slashers, so I am stuck with them.
Good luck competing against my Useful Weapons. They will be a competitive team
and they do both challenge and avoid.
Let's take a look at the overall design tendencies for this team in this
situation. We had 70 points to add to the designs. Totaled, they look like this:
ST = 11 (More than usual, probably, but starting ST of 4, and the average
sizes smaller than usual, probably make this appropriate)
CN = 6 (SP and CN are usually the least added stats; the one TP caused the
whole six; sounds right.)
SZ = 0 (Cannot add to size.)
WT = 21 (Probably the most valuable stat. And this team had some low WT
starts. Looks okay to me.)
WL = 17 (Important stat; it is difficult to win without WT AND WL--unless
there are lots of TP scum on the team--and there is only one.)
SP = 4 (SP and CN are usually the least added stats; looks good)
DF = 11 (DF additions are quite variable.)
The tendencies look reasonable to me, as WT and WL are prime stats, ST and DF are
probably next, and CN/SP are usually least added. (Well, except for SZ!)
So there you have it: a new team; insight to warrior design; useful tidbits from
an old-timer. May your stay in D2 be long and prosperous, and fun.
Smithy, Useful Weapons
Consortium affiliated
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
Profile of the Bash Bros Brothers
Many of us have experienced life with a brother. Some of us have had fantastic
brothers that have never caused the least trouble. Others of us have had the kind of
brother that irks you in ways you'd rather not think about. Here is what my brothers
in arms look like and my reasoning as to why I decided to train them the way I
trained them.
The Black Sheep of the family came in as 9-11-9-12-10-10-9. A nice flexible
setup that you can do anything you want with. So as I often do with such warriors, I
choose my favorite fighting style, the basher. 11 strength, 17 wit, and 11 deftness
are the obvious points. At this point, I have a choice to make, speed or will.
While it is often correct to not add 5 points to will to make it 15, in this case, it
actually seems to be the correct thing to do. Final result: 11-11-9-17-15-10-11 B.
I'm concerned about the damage rating (really want him to do good damage). If he
comes back normal damage I will train strength once (and maybe even twice) to
increase is damage rating.
Do you really want to lend money to a family member? Well, there are many
brothers that borrow money. Coming to me as a 5-10-13-10-12-9-11 setup, I have
another flexible guy to work with. Things I know up front: I'm adding at least 4 to
strength and 5 to will, and 1 to wit. Those are too valuable to not do. With the
mid-level wit and nothing else really going for him, he'll be a better hybrid than he
will be an offensive. And he definitely doesn't look like a defensive warrior. So
as a hybrid, I quickly add 2 to strength (I'm a big fan of 11+ strength on most
warriors). The last two points could easily be added to either wit or con. I choose
to lend him more wit. His stats aren't spectacular in any area, so I choose one of
the 'stronger' hybrid styles, WOS. L or TP would also have been fine choices. Final
result: 11-10-13-13-17-9-11 WOS
Everyone who has a brother has likely been embarrassed by him. This
embarrassment came in looking 13-7-18-10-12-4-6. This guy has offensive written all
over him. So being me, it becomes another basher. Normally, I'd go 14-7-18-11-17-6-
11. But as I looked closer, I realized I could do something very fun with just a
minor modification. 16-7-18-11-17-4-11 B. At the cost of 1 decisiveness skill, I am
one train away from a size 18 warrior that is well suited to the HL. Now that is an
intimidating and fun sight! Watch out for this monster. When he hits you with his
Halbard, it is going to hurt.
Others have had the experience of brothers that they couldn't measure up to.
They Make You Look Bad. In this case, 9-4-12-11-14-10-10. Most managers wouldn't
hesitate to make some version of x-x-12-17-17-10-11. A fine setup. Some other
managers (such as myself) have played this game long enough that the 17-17 guys,
while fine and dandy, aren't as exciting as 21s. No, this guy can't get 21, but he
can get to 20. And 20 is just an easy 'burn' away from 21. And if you're gonna burn
skills via stat trains, most managers tell you to burn extra crispy. So... I end up
with 9-7-12-16-20-10-10 L. Three trains (Wit, Will, Deftness) nets me 18 extra
skills. That is how you make someone look bad. 18 skills in 3 turns. See my
personal ad this turn about 'burning skills'
And finally, a few of us have Drug Users for brothers. This one is 7-3-16-10-6-
12-16. There are two obvious routes. One (the 'more obvious' route) is to make an
offensive. Something like 11-3-16-15-10-12-17 would be my design. However, this
design has such little endurance that I'd want to choose STK or PS for style. That
doesn't excite me, so... AB time! ABs want 21 deftness (they get double attack
skills for higher deftness). Once adding to wit, will, and deftness, I only have one
point left, which goes to strength. Final result: 8-3-16-15-9-12-21 AB. He'd be a
better striker, but I wasn't a fan of that warrior, so I made something that is more
interesting for me. ABs are considered the best style in Advanced Duelmasters. This
guy probably won't ever make it there, but it does give him more of a potential
future than a striker or parry striker I really don't like. As an AB, he'll need
some good drugs to succeed.
So as you see, I make decisions that I find fun, but also are reasonable choices
with the warriors in question.
-- Assur
>)]H[(< + -----:----- + >)] Getting the Jump [(< + -----:----- + >)]H[(<
One of the most common questions that new players ask is what they can do to
defeat a certain warrior from another team who always attacks first and beats their
own warrior before he can get an attack in. Attacking first in a fight is called
"jumping" your opponent, and it decides the victor in a majority of fights between
two offensive warriors. By offensive, I mean Strikers, Bashers, Lungers, Slashers,
and Aimed Blows, although any style can be run offensively.
In this article, I will teach some of the more common things you can do to make
your warrior get the jump.
Part 1, the setup: To design a fast warrior, you must take into account Decisiveness
skills. Decise is gained from only three statistics: Wit, Will, and Speed. Of these
three, Speed is the only stat that has a large number of Decise skills in it. So if
you design a rollup with a high Speed stat and/or a high Wit and Will, it will be
fast.
Styles are also an important consideration. Strikers, Bashers, and Aimed Blows
start with more Decise skills than any other style. Slashers and Lungers have
slightly less, followed by Parry-Strike, Parry-Lunge, and Wall of Steel. Total
Parries and Parry-Ripostes have very low starting Decise scores.
Each style also learns Decise skills at different speeds. Strikers learn Decise
the fastest. Parry-Strikes also learn it quickly, and Bashers learn it reasonably
well. The other styles fall into the "don't count on learning it unless it's your
favorite learn" category.
Part 2, the strategy: What you put on your strategy sheet drastically affects your
chances of getting the jump.
Offensive effort: As high as possible (10). The more your warrior tries to
attack, the more likely he is to take the first opportunity offered him.
Activity level: As high as possible (10). The more your warrior moves around,
the more chances he will see to attack.
Note that running at these levels will tire your warrior out very quickly, and
your warrior may not fight at his best. Most styles prefer a much lower activity
level as their "favorite". But this article is about getting the jump, not fighting
efficiently. :)
Kill Desire: Kill desire is one of the most intangible factors in Duelmasters,
but one of the common theories is that each number of KD corresponds to a certain
skill, maximizing that skill. Seven is supposed to be the magic number for
Decisiveness. Try it and see if it works for you.
Tactics: Obviously, the Decisiveness (D) tactic increases your Decise. Other
tactics may increase your Decise, like the Bash tactic, but they don't increase it as
much as Decisiveness does.
Armor: None. Nada. Zilch. Armor weighs you down. Even if you have the
ability to carry a large load, you will still be faster running naked. Of course,
you will take much more damage if you get hit, so you'd better make sure you can put
your opponent down before he hits you back. With this strategy, you either win big
or you die.
Faster weapons: Lighter weapons are faster than heavier ones, but there are
certain weapons that are considered to be "faster" in general. Warhammer and Hatchet
are some of the best. Dagger and Bare Fist (FI) are probably the fastest, but
fighting bare-handed is dangerous.
So you've designed your warrior, probably a Striker or Basher with a good speed, wit,
and will. You're running him 10-10-7 Decise with no armor and a Warhammer. And that
same enemy warrior *still* outjumps you. If that's the case, he's probably running a
similar strategy and just has more Decise skills than you. So you have one more
trick up your sleeve: the Responsiveness tactic ('S' in the defensive tactics
section). If your opponent is using Decise and you use Response, you will probably
win. If your opponent is not using Decise, you will probably lose. It's like a
rock-scissors-paper relationship:
Decise beats no tactic; no tactic beats Response; Response beats Decise.
There are some other minor factors in getting the jump that are beyond the scope of
this article. Hopefully this will give you a better idea of how the warrior who
attacks first in a fight gets chosen.
Captain K., manager of Men of the Sea in DM 12 and assorted others
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question of the Week #2 +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
For those of you who came in after I started posting this series of questions
And answers, they are being taken from the newsletter for Aruak City, DM 11. The
questions were being posed by Hanibal, a relatively new player and Noblish alumnus,
and the answers were offered by any members of that arena who cared to respond.
Question, turn 400:
All -- I think I have a basic grasp on most aspects of this game, but one Thing I
have no clue about is how to maximize skill learning. I had an 18 wit TP challenge
up to a warrior who had 21 more fights than me and I only learned 2 skills. The next
fight I was matched up against a less experienced warrior And I learned 5 skills.
This is not an isolated incident. Any tips on skill learning? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 401:
ADIE'S ANSWER -- Theoretically I think, learning has so many variables affecting it,
that sometimes the number of learns appears random. Some suggested variables include
fight experience differences between combatants, total skill differences,
intelligence level of one or both combatants, what each's favorite learn may be, what
styles the two warriors are.... There are so many, it's difficult to say. Sometimes
you can see the effect of one variable more than another. Other times, one has
absolutely no clue. -- Adie
Hanibal -- In your example of warrior learns, did you lose the fight against the more
experienced opponent, but win the fight against the less experienced opponent? The
outcome of a fight may affect learning, with the winner being bonused and the loser
being penalized. I believe that the best way to make a warrior learn well is to give
them a 21 wit. That's why wit is my favorite stat to have a 21 in! (Not to mention
all the base skills it gives.) -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hannibal -- Skill learning is mainly a derivative of the warrior's wit--obviously the
higher the better. But luck (die roll) plays a big part, as do what the other
warrior can teach, how many skills yet to learn and a few lesser factors. --
Kennelworth
Hanibal, re the question of the week -- The main thing is to TRAIN skills. Okay,
everybody stop laughing. You people (Hanibal, too) already realize this, but there
may be a new manager reading this reply who doesn't. Seriously, I once had a manager
whose team had just chartered (i.e., he'd been playing for ten turns) diplo me and
ask why one of his warriors hadn't learned any skills. He sent me the warrior's
numbers, and a little simple math revealed that this warrior had eight stat increases
in those ten fights! He hadn't been TRAINING skills. Lesson there, never overlook
the obvious.
As to a more useful answer, I don't have one, but I do have some secondary
questions.
For instance, I was once told that a warrior learns better with an odd-numbered
WT. Since I have never personally run a warrior with an even-number WT that I can
recall, I don't know. It sounds unlikely, but then, who knows how a computer thinks?
Challenging up increases the ODDS of learning but is not guarantee. Does
anybody have any information as to whether a lower-ranked warrior who teaches well is
one with lots of skills? My own information would tend to contradict that, as I have
some excellent teachers in other arenas who have yet to receive their first rating.
I have heard that there is an increased chance of learning when the fight is a
long one. Anybody know whether this is true or just wishful thinking on the part of
those matched against scum?
Is the caliber of a warrior's teaching on a given fight reflected in his point
gain in the rankings? I have been given to understand that points gained in excess
of the basic minimum reflect how well above the average the warrior performed. In
theory, a good performance means better demonstration and thus better teaching, but
does it work out that way?
Do warriors of a given style tend to teach a specific skill or group of skills
better than other skills, as for instance, do total parries teach parry and defense?
I've heard it said that when facing an opponent who has only one skill left to
learn, a warrior teaches best that skill he learns best. Does this hold true in
other circumstances? -- Leeta
Question, turn 402:
All -- I understand that Deftness is the ability to better protect and attack your
chosen location. I could care less if I hit my attack location as long as I hit.
Does Deftness have any effect on connecting? I believe it is your attack skills vs.
your opponents def/parry skills that determines this. -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 403:
Hanibal -- Deftness contributes a lot of attack skills to a warrior's base skills.
This will increase your warriors' chances of hitting. Shot placement accuracy is
said to be based on coordination (DF+SP), but I think having a good attack rating can
lead to better shot placement as well. Kill desire may well influence shot placement
also. It has been suggested that a warrior's chosen location to protect is the
source of the "luck parry" comment that often results in broken weapons. While I
personally fancy this theory, I think it would be difficult to prove or disprove. It
sounds like a good project for some LP aimers to tackle. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Re the QOW, probably. At least, I notice that those of my warriors with
very low DF (and I've got some doozies here and there) spend a lot of time flailing
wildly and missing. -- Leeta
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 717): FANG of SERPENTS HOLD 3 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 719): ELEVENTH of BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 668): SHOCK TOP of MMM BEER! (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 713): LUCK DEVIL of THE DEVIL'S OWN (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 715): GOLDPLATED of GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 706): FENSTER GOLLY of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 707): BULL HALSEY of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 356): THE INFLUENCER of LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 704): THE CLEAR of ARCANE PHARMACY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 353): DRONE-ON of BAD NEWS BEES (Stinger, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 701): TRUST BUSTER 1 of SEGUE CARTEL (Zalgor Prigg, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 698): WARTLESS WITCH of HALLOWIENERS (The Dark One, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 690): MADON AP LLEW of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 645): ARCHERS OF LOAF of UNC COLLEGE RADIO (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 331): ROSELYN of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 325): SOUTH SPOON of OTTODROME TW (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 312): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 580): KULGAN of MEN OF STEEL (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 565): BIG DOG of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 547): VINDA YARRO of MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 541): IRONIC TWIST of THE MOTHERSHIP CE (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 261): MRALISSA LOON of MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 502): JACK PENDELTON of MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 497): XAVIER of RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 488): STEAMED MUSCLES of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 605): NIGHTCAP of DARKLINGS (She-Puppy, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 717): SERPENTS HOLD 3 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 719): DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 668): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 713): CRUCIAL TAUNT (Daikkan, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 715): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 706): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 707): MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 356): LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 704): THE TAKEN (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 353): BAD NEWS BEES (Stinger, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 701): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 698): SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 690): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 648): EPIC RAP (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 331): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 325): OBG! (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 312): LIFE IMAPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 580): INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 565): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 547): STAR WARS (Sir Jessie Jest, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 541): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 261): BASH BROS SUITCASE (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 502): MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 497): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 488): SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 605): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 717): BLUE FUNK of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 718): HERMIAS of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 712): DEANO of MARKS PARTY (JE, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 715): SNAKE of SERPENTS HOLD 114 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 355): POSTAGE of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 353): DRONE-ON of BAD NEWS BEES (Stinger, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 697): HULL SCRUBBER of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 689): GRINCH of BAD GUYS (Mr. Bad Guy, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 325): TALKEETNA of ALASKAN PIPELINE (Storm Lord, mgr.)
TEMPTRESS of LUROCIAN DEVILS (The Greek Guy, mgr.)
SCOMSSS'S NIGHTMARE of THE OPERA (Manager, mgr.)
(turn 324): LATKA of SECOND BANANAS (Mannequin, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 546): DARTH VADER of STAR WARS (Sir Jessie Jest, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 540): LINDIS TYL SARRO of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
SPY REPORT
So why do I have this bag over my head? Because I am The Unknown Spymaster and
I'm going to give you a spy report!. USEFUL WEAPONS seems to have it's eye on the
top team spot, and if they continue having 4-1-1 weeks they may get it! Hey
everybody, watch out for BLACK SHEEP, who flew up 16 points in the rankings after
mashing PIMA like a melon. Keep your eye on this guy. And falling like a basher in
the top ten was PIMA, who dropped 6 points after a disappointing (to say the least)
bout with BLACK SHEEP. It's a proud day for the LOW ROAD 5 stable, as their warrior,
ABRAM CROSS, ascended the Duelmaster's throne. An apple a day keeps the doctor away,
but an onion a day keeps T.P.s at bay.
Let's dig a little deeper into what's happening in the NOBLISH ISLAND arena.
Remember that an arena is not always a safe place to be, but it is one of the
most interesting, though! Knowing when to use the right tactics at the proper time
is a very important step on the road to Duelmaster.
I think I had better cut this one short. It's been nice chatting to those of
you whom I have not offended yet. C'mon, Leadfoot, let's make some tracks. Its been
fun, and I'm sure you enjoyed it (boos). Now that I've got you worked up for Snide
Clemens, I'll be leaving-- The Unknown Spymaster
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ABRAM CROSS 9420 5 3 1 54 LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DAISY FRYE 9417 4 4 0 47 LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BENNY DOGGE 9419 5 3 0 27 LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
ELMER GREEN 9416 4 4 0 26 LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHARLOTTE ELLIS 9418 4 4 0 21 LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
BLACK SHEEP 9443 1 0 0 16 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
PITCHFORK 9437 1 0 1 12 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623)
HARSH WORDS 9436 1 0 0 10 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623)
KILY 944 0 1 0 7 WARRIORS FIVE (174)
DRUG USER 9447 1 0 0 6 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
BASEBALL BAT 9433 1 0 0 6 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623)
TRASH CAN 9435 1 0 0 5 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623)
PIMA 9424 1 1 0 4 TRIBES (1621)
MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
POCKET KNIFE 9434 0 1 0 1 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623)
EMBARRASSING 9445 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
PERSISTANT BEGGA 0 0 0 PITCHFORK 9437 372 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Personals, you want personals? Okay, then, I really wasn't with it on this last and
final round. It was my pleasure to allow Assur to get some wins and feel better
about himself. I retained the Duelmaster Crown, of course. Coudn't let him have
THAT. Good bye all. I had fun. -- Coach Rah Rah and his NCAA Football Team
Greetings one and all. (Is there an all, or is it just one?) I am here on Noblish
Island to do battle. If you want to know more about my team, read the spotlights!
Meanwhile, good luck to all. -- Smithy -- plus Pitchfork, Baseball Bat, Harsh Words,
Trash Can, and Pocket Knife
Pima -- You beat my ugly basher. Congrats. -- Assur
Consortium -- It looks like you have the better managers. This time, you beat me by
a single win. I could try and make excuses like I don't challenge or avoid while you
do, but that is a cop out. I choose to fight the way I do and the results are shown.
My 10 turn records are typically just below your managers'. -- Assur
I spoke briefly about 'burning' skills. In Duel2, warriors can learn 20 skills in
each area (attack, decisiveness, defense, initiative, parry, and riposte). This
total is 120 skills. However, if you do a stat train that teaches skills with it,
the number of skills you can learn is reduced by the skills you learned through
training. If you'd learned all 120 before doing the train, you'll have more total
skills. Doing it early gets those skills now, but you won't learn them later (until
MUCH MUCH later in Primus, when you can relearn burned skills). Burning skills is a
great tool, but also reduces somewhat the warrior's medium-long term potential. But
realize that it will be a year of fighting or more before that potential could be
seen otherwise. Certain numbers give a lot of skills (WT 11, DF 11, WT/WL/SP/DF 21).
If you have question about what to train, train skills. It is safe. But if you
learn how to use 'burns' to your advantage, it will make you a better warrior. --
Assur
Footballers, suitcases, standbys. And we went 4-1, which was pretty good. But the
footballers and the suitcases are LEAVING? Who we gonna fight with now? Just
standbys? -- the mournful members of the Low Road
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
ABRAM CROSS devastated AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 2 minute gruesome mismatched Title fight.
ELMER GREEN was subdued by CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute melee.
DAISY FRYE demolished CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute bloody uneven fight.
BENNY DOGGE bested OSKSI NOBLE in a 1 minute fight.
CHARLOTTE ELLIS overpowered MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute mismatched match.
PIMA was devastated by BLACK SHEEP in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
KILY was bested by BASEBALL BAT in a 1 minute amateur's match.
POCKET KNIFE was overcome by DRUG USER in a 2 minute beginner's fight.
TRASH CAN won victory over MAKESMELOOKBAD in a action packed 4 minute beginner's duel.
HARSH WORDS overpowered EMBARRASSING in a 1 minute uneven duel.
PITCHFORK slew PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 2 minute novice's fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 5 SLASHING ATTACK 13 - 8 - 2 62 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 BASHING ATTACK 26 - 19 - 0 58 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 21 - 16 - 0 57 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 TOTAL PARRY 9 - 7 - 0 56 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 7 - 6 - 0 54 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 11 - 1 48 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 AIMED BLOW 10 - 14 - 0 42 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 372 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 2 - 3 3 SLASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 BASHING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 WALL OF STEEL
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
WALL OF STEEL ABRAM CROSS 9420 5 3 1 54 LOW ROAD 5 (1620)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is DAISY FRYE 9417. The most popular warrior this turn
was MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446. The ten other most popular fighters were PITCHFORK 9437,
DRUG USER 9447, ABRAM CROSS 9420, DAISY FRYE 9417, BENNY DOGGE 9419, BASEBALL BAT
9433, CHARLOTTE ELLIS 9418, BLACK SHEEP 9443, POCKET KNIFE 9434, and HARSH WORDS
9436.
The least popular fighter this week was EMBARRASSING 9445. The other ten least
popular fighters were TRASH CAN 9435, KILY 944, PIMA 9424, ELMER GREEN 9416, HARSH
WORDS 9436, POCKET KNIFE 9434, BLACK SHEEP 9443, CHARLOTTE ELLIS 9418, BASEBALL BAT
9433, and BENNY DOGGE 9419.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Here are a few tricks of the trade I've found out.
15, 17, and 21. Those are the magic numbers for stats; any fighter who starts
with a stat (except Con and Size) at any of those numbers will have more beginning
skills than normal.
Stats: The stats in order of importance with regard to skills, most to least,
are wit, will, deftness, speed, and strength, with con giving you no skills, just hit
points and endurance. The higher you can start any of these, especially the first
three, the more skilled your fighter will be. Logically, therefore, what you really
want is a fighter who has wit, will, and deftness at 21. This will be a GOD! And
probably go out and get killed immediately due to low con...
Raising stats: Care must be taken in doing this. All fighters start out with
the ability to learn 20 skills in the categories of Defense, Parry, Riposte, Attack,
Decisiveness, and Inititive. When you learn all 120 skills, you've maxed out. You
can get skills though normal learns, or by raising stats; however, if you raise stats
BEFORE you max out (except for Con), anything gained will count as one of the 20.
This is called "burning" skills. If, on the other hand, you wait until you've maxed
out, then raising stats will add those skills to the ones you've learned, enabling you
to exceed your limits. But raising stats will give an immediate boost to your
abilities. It's a question of short term vs. long term gain, you see.
And aiming at vital areas - head, chest, and abdomen - will increase your chances
of getting kills. And being bloodfeuded, and maybe getting your fighter killed in
return. Keep in mind that what you send forth will come back to you. Sometimes
redoubled.
Roku
Warrior Handedness, is he a Righty, Lefty or Ambi?
Greetings, Joy and Happiness to everyone!!!! I hope everyone that reads this
article is doing well and remembering not to drink and duel. This article discusses
things about the handedness of a warrior. Most managers only worry about things like
skill, weapons and trains. Handedness is not a major factor in playing the game but
it's nice to know some things about it.
Most warriors will be right handed, with a small percentage left handed. Even
more scarce is the ambidextrous warrior. I believe that the defensive styles have a
higher percentage chance to be a lefty or an AMBI than offensive styles do. It's just
an observation that I made in the 513 warriors surveyed. Another note on that, I
notice that out of 211 parry-ripostes that I was using for a PR article, about 43% of
them were AMBIs. The highest percent of AMBIs out of all the styles polled.
When a manager puts weapons into his warriors hands and also when he tells his
warrior where to strike, handedness plays a key role in the manager's decision making.
I had a team with 4 AMBIs on it, and I started to do some experiments with them to see
how the AMBI thing worked. I noticed that in general the AMBI favors using the left
hand more than the right hand. But, there are a small percentage of AMBI warriors
that are reversed, where the right hand is used more than the left.
There also seems to be some confusion amongst managers that get the USE of a hand
mixed up with which hand the weapons go in (IE which is primary and which is off-
hand). Right handed warriors USE the RIGHT hand the most and the primary weapon is
the RIGHT hand, off hand is the left hand. For left-handed warriors, it is the
opposite of right-handed warriors, of course. The confusion comes with the AMBI
handed warriors. AMBIs USE the left hand more BUT the RIGHT hand holds the primary
weapon, and the left hand holds the off hand weapon. Every so often you will get an
AMBI that this is reversed, where the RIGHT hand is USED more and the PRIMARY weapon
is held in the LEFT hand. But this kind of ambi is extremely rare.
Well, that's it for now. Have fun, and watch out for that right hook... 'cause
it might be a left hook!!!!!
For more DM info, or just to chat you can DIPLO me at ADM 103, THE JOKER'S WILD.
You can also email me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com or visit my DM web site at the
following address: http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessiejest/homepage.htm
Ta-Ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
Top 10 Things to Do to Have a Better FTF!
10. Have at least one meal that doesn't involve either McDonalds or Domino's Pizza.
Bonus points if that meal includes the use of utensils. (Double bonus points if you
already knew how to use utensils)
9. Recycle all those cover sheets and unwanted roll-ups into ammunition for the next
great paper ball fight! (And don't assume that because you don't have any ammo,
you're not in the game. When these things break out, ANYONE is a potential target!
Don't assume that I'm going to throw AROUND you to get to my target, if you're sitting
there in the middle of things trying to read your fights as the paper balls fly in all
direction, you're not only likely to get hit by a misfired projectile, but I will be
aiming for you!)
8. Showering at least once a day is not an option. REPEAT: Showering at least once
a day, is NOT AN OPTION!!!
7. Much like a watched pot never boils, asking if your overviews or reprints are
there yet every three minutes will only make the person sitting behind the desk
irritable (or even more so than usual). They'll be there when they get there.
6. Yes, the printer will break down, the hard drive will crash, and RSI will undergo
some sort of catastrophe. This is normal. Be prepared for long delays. Some people
like to play Magic while waiting, some of us prefer heavy drinking.
5. For you first timers, it is customary to do a triumphant little war dance each
and every time you win a fight, complete with whoop-whoops. That's what the raised
platform is for, so the rest of us can see you. If you don't do the dance, RSI will
take away your TVs and you will forever get 3 WT roll-ups. Would I lie to you?
4. Converse with your fellow managers. Take the time to chat, and introduce
yourself to at least one complete stranger. "Have you seen this warrior?" is not a
good way to introduce yourself. "Hi, my name is _______ and I run _______; nice to
meet you!" is a much better way to introduce yourself.
3. When the run off fights are being read, I want to hear a lot of noise! Cheer
every time a brilliant parry is made, shudder at the impact of a horrific blow, laugh
derisively when a warrior falls down. Cheer those who read a good fight, and heckle
those who can't. Get crazy. MAKE SOME NOISE GOLDURNIT!!!
2. Conversely, if you insist on reading your fights out loud and you don't have an
audience, go back to your room until the urge passes.
1. Buy your good ol' buddy Forge a beer!
As always, your own tips and comments are appreciated. *LOL!* Hope to see you all
there!
-- Forge
The Arcane Slasher
I love the Slashing Style! Slashers are finesse artists, but they're much more
aggressive than your aimed-blow. Well-designed slashers are formidable opponents;
they are as ready to defend as to attack, though they prefer the latter. Fate has
been to kind to this style, perhaps too kind. Even a badly-designed slasher may do
well in basic, prompting many well-intentioned managers to promote questionable set-
ups as "the slasher ideal." After reading another `Eureka!' article, I am compelled
to add my 2 cents. I've learned how to design great slashers, and I'd like to pass on
my ideas to the rest of Alastari. I can't tell you how to keep them alive (in four
years I've only gotten one to ADM) but I can outline guidelines for creating a spooky
character that will win for you--until they die or get to ADM. Just remember that
decent opportunities to make a slasher aren't very common!
WT, WL, & DF--15 pts each at least. Period. If you don't have it, you don't
have a great slasher. Believe me, you can't afford to skimp anything here!
ST--Anything from 7-11 is fine. The smaller the character the higher the number,
but anything with a +9 size can get by with a 7 ST. For light armor use an epee, for
anything heavier use a pair of hatchets, a scimitar, or a broadsword, depending on ST.
CN & SP--Ideally, both are single-digit; if your con is high you're probably
looking at a WASTE. Whatever else you do, don't add them.
SZ--Since this is something we can't change anyway, don't worry about it. The
bigger they are the less points to spread around to other areas, though.
My slashers come up with the best overviews when I follow these guidelines. Most
earn at least four wit statements; about 50% either start out with an Expert or two,
or they pick them up within a couple of skills. One of my very best died in a
tourney: 6-3-11-15-51-11-17. He started out doing good damage; picked up Experts in
att, init, def, and rip. in two skills or less. This is an extreme example, but it
seems to me that the well-designed slasher gets more than their fair share of luck on
their overview. I've run one a lot worse that did fairly well--a winning record,
until he was killed by a veteran lunger: 11-7-14-15-15-7-15, good bases in attack and
init, four wit statements, great damage.
Running them?
Start out with an offensive effort of 10, and never let the OE drop below 7. How
quick you taper down depends on the endurance rating. Slashers burn endurance very
quickly; if you don't have good endurance drop right away from 10 to 7 and leave it
there unless desperate, then go back to 10. Otherwise try 10, then 9, then 7.
Remember, these are aggressive beasts; keep 'em on the offensive!
Keep the activity level fairly low except in the very beginning, when you should
be running 10. Then drop to 5 or 6, then 3 or 4m then 1. Go back up to 7 or 10 in
desperation.
Match your kill desire to your offensive effort, always.
Summary: 10-10-10, 9-5-9*, 7-3-7, 7-1-7 across. Desperation: 10-10-10 or 10-7-
10.
Avoid armor unless you MUST, but no higher than ARM and H.
Don't use tactics--they seem to inhibit the slasher's ability to riposte and
respond well to their opponent. Exception: to take out scum pick the heaviest weapon
your character can lift and use the slash tactic--go for the legs or the arms: 7-1-7.
Slash all the way!
These `rules' have worked for me. The biggest problem I've had is that my
slashers rise too high too quickly. Within five or six fights they're fighting
warriors with 15 fights' experience. So be forewarned; give them sometime off every
few turns so that they won't get clobbered by some old-timer looking for an easy win!
Good Luck!
The Arcane Kid, of Astral Kin, Osksi DM-3
*Remember, with `good' endurance only!
"The Basher"
My friends would laugh if they knew I was writing this, but who cares what they
think? The basher is not a bad style in my opinion. It starts with the same base
decisiveness as the striker, but has 4-5 more skills in initiative, and 3-4 more
skills in att. That's what makes this style so good. I mean, you have the ability to
get the jump on your opponent, you have the ability to hit your opponent, and who
cares about their high riposte with your high att rating combined with your exp+ in
initiative, they won't know what train hit them, much less think about the counter
attack.
O.K. I only make two types 1st the WL Basher:
#1 #2
12 13
10 11
10 9
21 16
15 15
9 13
7 7
Example #1--Currently 8-3-1 in Firehold (68) has Master+1 att, Master +1 init., and
Adv.Exp. dec., and is already sitting pretty with 80 recognition points.
Example #2--Currently 8-3-0 in Jhans (36) has Exp.+3 att, Adv.Exp. init., and Exp+3
dec. with 87 recognition points.
O.K., the other kind I like to call it the "High damage, low will, needs to end
the fight before he passes out with exhaustion" Basher. This type of basher relies on
his high damage capabilities to make up for his low WL. I've not had the best of luck
with these types of bashers, but I do know they can win (Warbeast has proved that to
me). The key is to get at least great damage on the roll-up. O.K. some examples:
#1 #2 #3
11 13 17
11 9 12
16 17 10
17 17 17
7 10 11
11 11 10
11 7 7
Example #1--I DA'ed, he didn't win
Example #2--Killed in round 1 of the winter FTF, went 4-3 in the Oct. Tournament,
learned 6 skills 5 being Att.
Example #3-1-0 in Jhans(36)
I run both styles ALE +L, WH light armor, mace medium armor, and WH heavy armor.
Go 10-10-7 dec 1st minute, and after min 1, go 8-8-5. WL basher, and the other kind
drop down drastically. Always aim for the head (it gets you an att bonus and could
score you a kill every now and then) unless you know you're gonna be up against a TP
or waste, then aim for a leg. Well that's gonna be it. Somebody write me and tell me
what you think.
Uncle Charlie Mgr.
Genocide (68)
Helter Skelter (36, 100)
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE TOURNEY...
'Twas the night before Tourney, And all through the place
Many managers were drinking, Getting smashed at the Face;
The staff were all busy, The computers were humming,
Rollups were bought, for the deadline was coming;
Soon managers were nestled, all smug at their tables,
With visions of TC's coming from their stables;
And NAIMT doing massages, while A-Sop caused trouble,
An hour before deadline, the workload just doubled,
When by the computers, there arose such a clatter,
All eyes turned to them, to see what was the matter.
Sue glaring at the screen, Lee's fingers just flew,
Oh, the computer was down, so what else was new?
The lights in the room were too bright, someone said,
Nah, it's just the reflection from off Hoffa's head,
Then, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But Soultaker and Sentinel, once again here this year,
Yes, we heard "No more Faces!", We hear this each time,
But we know it's a farce, like this parody's rhyme.
More rollups are bought, more warriors are made,
Names are thought up, and carefully weighed;
"How 'bout FREE WILLY? Or RODMAN? Or PUSSY? Or KNOCKERS?
Or SHEIK T'WEEZEL? Or BALLSY? Or TAKE OFF THEM DOCKERS!?
Not a chance say the censors! Nice try, bub, but no!
Now it's HAPPY, and BARNEY, and WE LOVE YOU SO!
The managers groan, but undaunted keep trying,
The censors all laugh, and just are not buying,
The RUGS altars are burning, offerings are gifted,
With hopes that the rollup curses soon will be lifted.
And then, in a twinkling, we hear down the hall,
A Lunat!k roar and Fusion chased with a maul.
You see, he'd heard about Fusion's campaign for the Prez,
Now it's "Off with his Head!", so Lunat!k says.
At the Dark Circle table, 6'7" down in height,
With their arrogant statures, their great show of might.
Yet amidst all the notebooks, are nerf toys and giraffe,
Such silliness there, NAIMT can't help but laugh.
At Aradi's table -- how they giggle, at the cartoons and stories
Of the FONZ done by Nuln, in his infinite glories!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a ring,
And Barb drew his beard as straggly as string;
The new guys at Duelmasters, some call them a rookie,
Making names for themselves like Jessie and Bookie;
The regulars are here, The Boss, PUG, and TUM
Carapace, Sensei, and lots more to come
Doc Steele and his legends, even now in the making,
If there weren't many witnesses, I'd think he was faking.
The paperball fight, and the chaos ensues,
Clean it up, says Lee, or your heads you will lose!
The independents and alliances, speaking more than a word,
NAIMT's resounding giggles can also be heard;
But the hour before deadline is soon at a close,
And giving a nod, on a chair Sandy rose;
Okay guys, she says, no more inputs to be made,
And away goes some managers for a Bourbon Street raid.
But ere I end this bad poem, I just want to say,
"GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY!"
****Hey, what do you expect for a quickie?... <grin>
The Anti-Thesis Slasher
Greetings all. No, this is definitely not another "Perfect" article. In fact,
it actually is just the opposite--finding success with a warrior whose stats were just
average. I am not an expert at this game and do not have near the experience that
some managers have. What I do have is some now solid experience with Slashers thanks
to this guy. So what I will do with this article is show you how my first attempt at
building a Slasher went, what it taught me, and maybe I can show a new or old manager
something about the style that can help their game.
This Slasher was my first attempt at the style. His starting stats were average
at 13-11-12-10-16-11-11. Definitely no Primus-quality warrior. By most people's
standards, he wouldn't have even been thought of as an ADM warrior because of his low
wit and will combo. Today, I don't know if I would even keep this guy, but at the
time I didn't know any better and kept him. I'm glad I did because he turned out to
be a good warrior, not great, but good and a fun one to watch.
He had three statements to start: "...learned how to be decisive and quick",
"...conserve his endurance past what might normally be expected", and "does great
damage". The last statement I think helped him a lot in many of his fights.
Weapons and Armor
Weapons-wise, all I knew about the Slashing style at the time was that a scimitar
was good, so I gave him one. He did well with it, so I kept using it. I didn't use
any off-hand weapon because I knew that an offensive-styled warrior could make quicker
attacks with a weapon using two hands. I gave him one back-up scimitar, knowing that
scimitars break though not that often.
Early on, I may have given him light armor and a helm, but later I discovered
that if he didn't get the first hit, he almost had no hope of winning. After all, the
credo of an offensive warrior is to "hit first, hit hard" and hope it ends the fight
quickly. I also started to realize he would never be a "great" warrior. My
philosophy changed and I could only hope to get him to ADM. So, I decided to use no
armor or helm, which slows warriors down.
Strategy:
Ah, the most important part of this warrior's winning ways. Looking back at his
early strategy, I wonder how he did so well. I started him going 10-10-10, attack and
protect the head with no tactics. My desperation strategy was usually 10-10-5, which
did nothing to help him. I used the decisiveness tactic since his overview said he
was decisive.
Through observing his fights and looking at what he preferred, I ironed out a
general strategy which I think is good for a lot of Slashers:
min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ desp
OE 10 8 6 4 4 4 5
AL 10 4 2 2 2 2 8
KD 6 8 6 4 4 4 5
AL RA HE ----------------------->
PL AM BD -------------------> HE
Against more parry-type warriors like WOS and TP's, I've used a 10-6-6 min. One
strategy that he seems to like.
Design and Trains:
I started him off training skills only. But I soon learned that his average
stats meant that he wasn't going to learn very well. I decided late to train skills,
then stats, every other turn. The training of his will to 17 really helped his
endurance out. He finally went to ADM at 15-11-12-12-17-12-11. If I had recognized
earlier that he would not be a great warrior, and accepted that, then I might have
been about to train everything twice like in the "old" days and he would have gone at
15-13-12-12-18-13-13.
Record:
He started out great at 4-0-0, then was 8-4-1. He hit a rut and was soon 9-7-1.
He was mediocre in his middle fights but was above .500% at 14-12-2. He was under
.500% once at 14-15-2. Near the end of his regular DM career, with some careful
challenges and strategy changes, he went 5-0-0 and ended up 21-16-2. He was
Duelmaster for three turns in Cliffhome.
Final Notes:
So, what's the purpose of all this? It's to show that anyone can take a mediocre
warrior and through careful strategy and design build them into a formidable warrior.
I recognized long ago that this Slasher would never be great and accepted it. That's
what turned him into the warrior he is today. I was willing to take the risks
necessary to make him win. His name is E.G.B.D.F. (Every Good Boy Does Fine) and in
this case his name is true. I couldn't have asked more from him in his
accomplishments. He can be found fighting occasionally in Darkholm. He's taught me
an incredible amount about this style and has contributed to my 65% overall win-loss
record with them.
I'm open to feedback, positive or negative, and hope in some way that I've helped
someone learn more about this style.
So, good luck to all and may your swords ring true!
Brought to you by Talon, mgr. of
Eagles Claw (38,104), Farfignewtons (32)
where I'm known as Volksie, and other teams
throughout Alastari.