DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 07/13/2013 Duedate: 07/26/2013
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-381
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
MAKESMELOOKBAD
BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
(93-9446) [8-2-1,52]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
MAKESMELOOKBAD ATLANTEA
BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) GODS AND HEROES (1627)
(93-9446) [8-2-1,52] (93-9453) [4-0-0,51]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
BLACK SHEEP BLACK SHEEP
BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
(93-9443) [6-4-0,42] (93-9443) [6-4-0,42]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. GODS AND HEROES (1627) 18
2. THE HIGH WAY (1626) 15 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
3. MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) 0 Unchartered Team
4. BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) -16
GODS AND HEROES (1627)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*GODS AND HEROES (1627) 4 0 0 100 1/ 1 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 10 5 0
2/ 4 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 30 19 1 61.2 2/ 0*THE HIGH WAY (1626) 9 6 1
3/ 0*THE HIGH WAY (1626) 17 18 1 48.6 3/ 4*GODS AND HEROES (1627) 2 0 0
4- 0*MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) 3 25 0 10.7 4- 0*MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) 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
WHAT THEY DIDN'T TEACH YOU IN D2 101
a. Any warrior that loses a fight can die. One can die by being killed by the
opponent, and every loser has a small chance (estimated odds 1 in 50) of dying in the
infirmary. Note: There is no chance of dying if one wins!
b. Any warrior can use any weapon. However, there are undefined penalties for
using marginal, unsuited, inadequate wit, inadequate size, inadequate strength, and
inadequate deftness weapons.
c. Warriors are born with certain skills which are dependent on the base 70
point stat sheet and the style selected. The 14 points of added stats add to those
base skills.
d. RSI seldom makes input errors. I said seldom. The best thing a manager can
do to help avoid input errors is to fill out the strategy sheet accurately and
legibly with good penmanship.
e. These are considered the three best ways to acquire information, knowledge
and "secrets" about D2:
* Terrablood.com
* Reality.com
* Noblish Island newsletters
f. There is more to strategy than filling out the warrior's initial armor and
weapon selection and offensive effort and activity level and kill desire and tactic
selection. Challenges and avoids are an important way to attempt to give your
warrior an advantage. Challenge warriors (warrior ID) that your warrior is likely to
defeat and learn a lot from, and avoid teams (team ID) with warriors whom are likely
to defeat you. Indeed, your warrior can be provided with an alternate strategy for
challenging or when being challenged or both. A warrior does not have to challenge,
bloodfeud, or avoid, but it is in his best interest to do so.
g. Ask dumb questions! Often managers, especially new managers, have a doubt or
a question, but they feel "asking for help/advice" is a sign of weakness or lack of
intelligence or knowledge about D2. Do not let this be you! Ask! We veteran
managers ask each other "dumb" questions all the time. What are the best ways to
ask?
* On the Reality.com site
* On the D2 Chatzy blog site
* In personal ads in the arenas (especially Noblish Island)
* By diplo to another manager in D2 (Certain managers will almost always
respond; some may not
h. No matter what any veteran, friend or expert tells you about design or
strategy, it is not necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth. It may be good or great or common advice, but it is not necessarily the only
good (or bad) advice.
i. D2 is a normally a friendly atmosphere. While managers are very competitive,
most of the vets know each other, see each other at Faces, chat with each other on
line, and even help each other out with advice and ideas. The fount of knowledge
available now, about D2, was acquired by a collective "working together" and sharing
info. Be advised that an overly mean, overbearing, threatening, haughty, unfriendly
character/manager is likely to be colluded against and ostracized by D2 regulars.
Smack talk is desirable and a part if the game. Personal threats, harsh meanness, or
overbearingness is not.
j. Noblish Island is a great learning atmosphere. What comes after Noblish?
Chose wisely an arena to next participate in. (Fast--two week turnaround or slow--
four weeks) (Large--15+ teams participating, medium--8-14ish, small--7 or less)
(friendly--usually Andorian arenas are up for role-playing and up for helping
newbies, and down on down challenging or taking advantage of newbies; cutthroat--
Delarquan arenas tend to be win-at-all-cost). You can participate in as many arenas
as you want. You can also participate in separate tournaments, held quarterly, which
allow warriors from all arenas to compete with each other for acclaim and prizes.
Smithy (Consortium affiliated) here. Contact me for help. Ask me dumb questions. I
tutor and coach--all too often for free.
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
Basics of Strategy, part 2
Pure Defensive, parry based:
These are the next easiest warrior type to design, master, and create a strategy
for. There is a well known 'catch all' strategy for this type of warrior as well.
It is 1 OE, 1 AL, parry tactic. In the hands of the right warrior (typically TPs),
it is a very difficult strategy to beat.
You can play around with numbers and Assur has run parry based defensives from
anywhere from 1-6 OE, and anywhere from 1-6 AL. I'd love to hear the Consortium's
thoughts and musings on how to best optimize these warriors, because he runs more
parry based pure defensives than most. You also don't have to use the parry tactic.
These warriors typically don't need it.
Armor: Usually APA/F or APM/F. Assur rarely goes below ASM/H.
Weapon: Off-Hand shield! Many of these also use main hand shields, but you can
also use a weapon. Sometimes you might even attack with it.
Countering the parry based pure defensive.
Option 1: If you can't beat them, join them. It is always an option to try and
counter with the same strategy. Fights like this can end up going a long time
(typically in the 30 minute range in basic and can extend 100s of minutes in
Advanced). In basic, Assur has had success using a single big weapon and lighter
armor so that when both warriors are so tired they can barely hold their hands up,
you might win by attacking.
Option 2: Slow Down! The pure defensive isn't going to try and attack you, so
you can normally slow down to 1 AL. This conserves your endurance. Then, if you
think you know your favorite OE, use that. Also use the biggest weapon you are well
suited to.
Option 3: Avoid! These guys can be tough to beat, especially for Lungers.
There is no shame in avoiding parry based pure defensives with obscene records.
They've beaten lots of others before you.
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Where do you go when you leave Noblish Island?
After ten turns, just when you're getting used to the everlasting rain here on
Noblish Island, you're going to have to leave forever. Everyone (except me) leaves
after ten turns.
You have to go, but you get to choose your destination. Out of sixty or so
possible arenas, how do you choose?
Some of you will be following friends who have already gone, and for you this
question is moot. Otherwise....
Fast or slow? Noblish Island is a "fast" arena in that the fights are run every
two weeks. For some of you, this may not allow enough turn-around time. "Slow"
arenas run every four weeks. The slow arenas are 8, 28, 31, 39, 45, 47, 50, 52, 54,
59, and the three slow transfer arenas, 71, 72, and 73. You may have an unlimited
number of teams in a transfer arena, and many managers do; I would not recommend
choosing a transfer arena for your first non-Noblish home.
Regions--the world of Duelmasters is divided into four regions, which have
slightly different preferred style of management.
The Andorian region as a general rule tends toward a role-playing, non-killing
style of play. By "non-killing," I mean that Andorian managers perfer not to seek
kills and disapprove of down-challenging. In most (but not, alas, all) cases,
Andorian arenas will have lively personals. The Andorian arenas currently open are:
8 (slow), 11, 14, 22, 24, 25, 26, 30, 40, 41, 46, 52 (slow), 63, and 71 (slow
transfer).
The Delarquan region, except in the case of some of the slow arenas, is not much
prone to role-playing and convesation. For Delarquans, the win is all. Down-
challenging is an accepted tactic used when desired by any manager. Deaths may be
more frequent than elsewhere. The Delarquan arenas currently open are: 1, 2, 3, 5,
6, 7, 10, 18, 21, 36, 38, 39 (slow), 42, 51, 54 (slow), 59 (slow), 62, and 72 (slow
transfer).
The Free Blades region tends to be very active in the slow arenas and less
dogmatic in either direction about style of play. Free Blades arenas currently open
are: 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 28, 29, 31 (slow), 32, 33, 35, 43, 45 (slow), 47 (slow),
50 (slow), 56, 61, and 73 (slow transfer).
The Lirith Kai region is the youngest and is currently very small, having only
arenas 65, 74, 75, and 78 open at the present time. There is a tendency to prefer
the Andorian-style, "no down-challenges and no deliberate killing," but the managers
seem to be less dogmatic about it.
Note that currently contests of various kinds are being held in some arenas,
which I can't list for sure, they keep changing. If you're interested in a contest
arena, let me know (a personal ad will do), and I'll look around. Contest arenas
will tend to be bigger than others while the contest is going on, and full of
often-confusing personals.
Large arenas or small ones?
There are advantages for a new manager in either choice. In a large arena,
there are lots of managers who will be willing to help a novice. There will be a lot
of variety in the kind of competition your warriors come up against--varieties in
style, management, levels of skill. You can learn a lot in large arenas. But there
are drawbacks, too. You can get lost in the crowd, maybe find no one or only a few
of the available managers responding to your personals. You can get caught between
feuding factions.
In small arenas, you soon get to know every manager's playing style and what to
expect from their warriors. If you write personals, they will be noticed and
probably responded to. But just as you get to know all the managers and warriors
sharing the arena with you, so will they get to know you. You may see a lot of
standbys fighting, and while they are relatively easier to beat, they don't teach as
well. After a while, you won't meet with many surprises.
If you have access to the internet, I strongly recommend that you check out
RSI's website and sample the newsletters of various arenas to get the flavor of them.
If not, ask for advice. Diplo managers mentioned in the Regional Arena News from
arenas you're interested in, as they are likely to be leaders in those arenas. Ask
questions here, in the personals or by diplo. I'd like to see you all have the best
possible Duelmasters experience that's consistent with other people doing the same,
and I ALWAYS have opinions!
Jorja
The Middle Way
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question of the Week #1 +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
Hanibal, manager of Cannibalz in Aruak City (DM 11) and formerly of Noblish
Island, has asked a series of questions of the experienced managers of that arena. I
believe you might find these questions and answers instructive, or at least
interesting. Feel free to comment or question in response. That goes for other
experienced managers, too; I'm sure your input would be valuable. -- Jorja, The
Middle Way
Question, turn 396:
All -- If 2 identical warriors (theoretically) ran 10-10-2 and 10-10-8, who
would swing first? Would they both have an equal chance? -- Hanibal's question of
the week
Replies, turn 397:
Hanibal -- Of the three numbers, I think KD is least influential in determining
who swings first. I'm not discounting its involvement entirely, but there are many
factors that weigh more heavily. I ran aimers 10-10-1 for a long time, when it was
the 'in' thing to do, and they fought quite aggressively. KD might be more important
in determining who swings LAST. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hannibal -- I firmly believe that 10-10-2 will sometimes outjump 10-10-8. And
vice versa. -- Kennelworth The Seasoned
See also Captain K's article on "Getting the Jump." It was printed in this
newsletter a few turns ago, but if you want a copy and don't have it, email me at
jputney@zianet.com and I'll send it to you. Okay, okay, if you don't have email,
request it in the personals or even send me a diplo. -- Jorja
P.S. I believe this may now be included in the regularly cycling articles.
Question, turn 397:
All -- If two warriors have a good damage rating, one has 11 str. and one has 13
str., would it make a difference in the amount of damage they do? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
P.S. Warriors are same size.
Replies, turn 398:
Hanibal -- Regarding your QoW, it is a very good question. I think that there
is a difference in damage done between warriors with different strengths but similar
damage comments. Of course the attack rating a warrior has can make a world of
difference too. I've got a piker (the Consortium may know Lustra from DM 52) that
has a 5 str. and does normal damage with a blow. Yet, she performs like a warrior
that does little damage. (And I have a lot of experience with those.) Not only
that, she has normal endurance, too, but she seems to get tired awfully quick for a
piker with normal endurance. So that's one example. Another is my overall look at
warriors that do 'little' damage.
If you take one with 9 str. and another with 13 str. I think a clear Difference
can be discerned. On the high end, my experience doesn't go much past 'good' damage.
But what I can say is that my warriors that do 'good' damage seem to do more damage
than my few warriors that have done 'tremendous' damage. That is probably because
those big strong warriors have relatively lousy attack ratings. So in a nutshell I
would say yes, there is a minor but still noticeable effect. What you might be
finding is that there seems to be differences within those broad categories given on
the warrior overview. It's just like if you raise con you improve your warrior's
ability to sustain damage a little bit, even if the comment on the overview stays the
same. Your questions are getting at some of the interesting subtleties of the game.
Keep asking them! -- Generalissimo Puerco
Q.O.W. (Hanibal) -- I don't think so. -- Adie
Pagan's replies:
Question, turn 396:
All -- If 2 identical warriors (theoretically) ran 10-10-2 and 10-10-8, who
would swing first? Would they both have an equal chance?
This is a loaded question. There are a number of factors which will determine which
warrior swings first. In speaking of this I can only tell you what I have a 'feel'
for. In no way does anyone know all the factors or how this works exactly unless
someone gets to look at the source code for the program. I will ignore the KD
dispute simply because I don't know.
The Factors:
1. At warrior creation, the program initiates a random string class to be used for
your warrior. Each string has a series of numbers that are pre-generated and always
the same. It however appears random except for the facts that some strings are good
for some warriors and bad for others. You'll notice this only over time. This
string class is permanent and not all of them are created equal. This is above and
beyond any total number of skills.
2. At fight time, the program calls a random string to be used for BOTH warriors.
This string affects the string of the warrior. This is why you will never see two
fights that are line-by-line exactly the same. But if the fights were constantly run
with exactly the same string, and no strategy changes are made then you will
consistently have the same fight line-by-line.
3. Fight-String modified Warrior-String# are taken for each warrior and #Decise-
skills + OE + string# + tactic + weapon-weight + style-adjustment equates to a
number.
4. These bonuses could be negative in adjustments also: IE. Running responsiveness
would be the addition of a negative number equal to warrior's Decise. Running decise
would increase a lot, running lunge, slash, or bash use initiative instead of Decise
if higher than current #decise skills.
4. Biggest controllable factors are OE, tactic, & weapon-weight
5. If the number for JUMP does not have a disparity of a specific number then a
continued clash will occur until that disparity is shown. Then the fight actually
begins. You can have a series of 8+ clash statements until the program finds who
starts and initiates the fight sequences. Example: fighterA ends up with a jump# of
60 and fighterB ends up with a jump# of 65; if the disparity had to be 10 points then
what would happen is a clash statement would be printed and the steps repeated. The
next number from the Fight-String is called along with the next number in each of the
Warrior-strings ; the computation is done again until the disparity (for the computer
anyway) becomes true. Then the fight sequence is activated. -- Pagan
Question, turn 397:
All -- If two warriors have a good damage rating, one has 11 str. And one has 13
str., would it make a difference in the amount of damage they do? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
P.S. Warriors are same size.
Most definitely. Weapon damage is equated to Strength + damage class. So damage is
done like this:
1. Armor weight + 12 + any bonus it has vs weapon type is a negative to the damage
done. (How the hell did he get 12!?)
2. Damage done is strength + damage class variable + weapon variable.
3. Slashing & Bashing increase the damage done.
4. When the damage done equals 1 or less then there is a weapon bounce statement.
The minimum damage a blow can do is 1 point of damage. The program knows there's a
hit before it knows damage so you can't reverse a hit, you merely take a minimum of 1
point of damage to your hit-points.
5. The lower your strength then more bounces you will see. The lower your damage
class the more bounces you will see. The lighter weight a weapon is vs the armor its
hitting the more bounces you will see.
6. In reverse to #5, all of those secondary-damage statements (often referred to as
extra-damage statements) such as "it was a devastating blow"... "what a massive blow"
-- these merely show that you hit your opponent with enough damage to exceed the
computer secondary-damage statement threshold. Your warrior caused enough damage to
exceed a programmed set number (whatever that number may be) and the fight is only
showing that you exceeded that number. The programmed number for the secondary-damage
threshold is a Hard number: it is constant within the program and is used for all
fights and all warriors. It is not random. It has nothing to do with how much
damage you did in relation to your opponent's hit-points either. If you exceed that
number in damage, you get a printed statement showing that to be the case. There is
no such thing as Extra-Damage. -- Pagan
Question, turn 398:
All -- If you lower your kill desire in desperation, do you have less of a chance of
being killed? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Replies, turn 399:
Q.O.W. -- I think that if your KD is lower in desperation, you're more likely to
surrender than draw out the fight. Drawing out the fight by having a higher KD gives
the attacker more chance to kill you. But you could defend and make a come-back.
But that higher KD also lowers your defensive ability somewhat. -- Adie
Hanibal's Q.o.W -- Yes, lowering your own KD helps keep you alive and allows you to
surrender...hopefully in time. -- Armalias
Hanibal -- The choice of kill desire in desperation seems to be a very tactically
important one. I do believe that lowering kill desire will tend to preserve a
warrior's life by making him give up (and end the fight) sooner. This also means
the warrior may end up losing fights he could have won if he had hung around. I
think scum strategy is a good example of this. While it may be counterintuitive, a
good scum strategy involves using a moderate to high kill desire. This is done to
prevent them from giving up prematurely. Also, most managers don't care too much if
their scum gets killed, so there's no point to running with a low KD. There's a very
good article on the total parry written by Scrag, in which this scheme is discussed.
Maybe you saw it in Noblish. Personally, I either lower or raise KD in desperation,
based on my expectations for a particular warrior. I think it was Miles that first
wrote on this way of looking at kill desire, and I believe it to be the most correct.
Other published theories, such as Jessie Jest's, are variably more questionable.
(But then, everything Jessie Jest wrote should be taken with a grain of salt.) --
Generalissimo Puerco
Question, turn 399:
All -- If you have 18 HP and cannot take a lot of punishment and raise con once to
normal--20 HP, does the rating affect the rate at which you take damage or do you
just have 2 more Hit Points? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Replies, turn 400:
Hanibal's QOW -- I think you just get a bump in hit points. But that little bump
makes a big difference. I think armor and warrior experience are the only factors
that affect the rate of damage per blow. -- Adie
P.S. There's a new chart for hit points that is more accurate and does not involve a
luck factor.
Hanibal -- I think the amount of damage a warrior can take is not variable but
constant. The variables in the equation are: the weapon being struck with and the
armor it is striking, and the attack and damage-dealing ability of the warrior doing
the swinging. Not to mention kill desire, as discussed last turn. -- Generalissimo
Puerco
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 725): ODDLY ELEGANT of DEVIATION (Marma Duke, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 728): AESARA of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 687): BOUTTE of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 722): DUSKBLOOD PUDDING of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 724): GOLDPLATED of GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 716): JIMI APPENDIX of BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 717): WALTER PIDGEON of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 360): CAPEX of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 714): CALYPSO of BOHICA (Scruffy Puff, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 358): KATANA of AVENGERS (Huckle Cat, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 710): OBLITERATION of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 707): FLOUR CHILD of BAD BREAD (The Baker, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 699): JOCK MACBEAGH of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 658): KHARIJANH of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 336): ROSELYN of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 330): LEGION of LUROCIAN DEVILS (The Greek Guy, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 317): C IS FOR COOKIE of OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 589): GERHART ERVIN of MIDDLE WAY WO (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 724): BEERZILLA of INGRATE WHITE NORTH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 556): ZENSU LASAGNA of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 551): LORAND TEN SORN of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 265): KITTY of WAY BACK WHEN (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 512): GEORGE PETERSON of MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 506): ANDA of FALSE OVERTURES (Guido, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 498): STEAMED MUSCLES of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 615): GIMME SOME SUGAR of ARMY OF DARKNESS (The Dark One)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 726): SERPENTS HOLD 3 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 728): DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 687): ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 722): TERMINUS (Carick, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 724): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 716): BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 717): MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 360): EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 714): THE TAKEN (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 358): AVENGERS (Huckle Cat, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 710): URT'S DURT URCHINS (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 707): KNIGHTS OF LEGEND (?, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 699): FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 658): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 336): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 330): ERRATA! (JE, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 317): LIFE IMAPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 589): MEDAL OF HONOR Z11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 774): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 556): MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 551): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 265): THE FLYING FISH (?, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 512): I HATE TOURNEYS (Anti-Tourney, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 506): FALSE OVERTURES (Guido, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 498): MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 615): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 28 MORYA (turn 360): CAPEX of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 714): CALYPSO of BOHICA (Scruffy Puff, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 358): KATANA of AVENGERS (Huckle Cat, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 707): FLOUR CHILD of BAD BREAD (The Baker, mgr)
PANDORA of OBSIDIAN HALL (Dameon Darkheart, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 336): ROSELYN of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 329): FRASIER of CHEERS (Otis, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 316): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 589): GERHART ERVIN of MIDDLE WAY WO (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 723): CHOPPED RABBIT of UNNAMEABLES (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 265): FRISBEE of FOUND IN THE SAND (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
(turn 264): MRALISSA LOON of MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 506): LING of FALSE OVERTURES (Guido, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 498): STEAMED MUSCLES of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
(turn 497): URIK DARKHEART of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
One more fight to go. My last on Noblish Isle. It has been my honor being your
Duelmaster. Despite my name, "Harsh Words" I am not such a bad sort, just another
gladiator, like yourself, slaving away for a living. After Noblish, I plan to become
a Stand-Up Comic. Perhaps you will allow me to practice on you?
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do a "practice"?
A sandwich walks into the bar, The barman says, "Sorry, we don't serve food here."
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other, "Does this taste funny to
you?"
A rabbit raised indoors is an ingrown hare.
Show me a good loser and I'll show you a fellow playing golf with his boss.
Remember: You are unique, just like everyone else.
I am in great shape. Round is a shape, isn't it?
No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
Everyone has a photographic memory. They do. Some just don't have film.
The older you get, the better you realize you were.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
With that, I shall pass the hat and ask that you be generous.
Harsh Words, DMII
SPY REPORT
Greetings, warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Once again I've been called out of
retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting. I can barely restrain my
enthusiam for BASH BROS BROTHER's outstanding member, Duelmaster MAKESMELOOKBAD. I
suppose you want to hear some rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow fighters?
Tough!
Speaking of cowardly avoiders and unfair challenges... ATLANTEA of GODS AND
HEROES knows how to pick 'em. She challenged BLACK SHEEP of BASH BROS BROTHER who is
up by 20. Now was this a wise move? ATLANTEA perhaps got hers just desserts, seeing
as she defeated BLACK SHEEP and ended up with 51 recognition points.
There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit. Do you want the fighters
to walk away, or not? Many a warrior has met his fate in a hungover stupor. You
young rapscallions, take note!
Many other cities have retirement homes for aged warriors. Any plans here? The
end of another Spyreport! That's cause for celebration in my book! I don't want to
overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446 8 2 1 52 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ATLANTEA 9453 4 0 0 51 GODS AND HEROES (1627)
DRUG USER 9447 6 4 0 47 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
BLACK SHEEP 9443 6 4 0 42 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
GALLATIN HUGHES 9451 5 2 0 38 THE HIGH WAY (1626)
BORROWS MONEY 9444 7 2 0 36 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-MAT TUKHOLT 9438 3 3 0 33 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
INNISFREE JONES 9452 5 2 0 22 THE HIGH WAY (1626)
ALBUQUERQUE BOONE 9448 3 4 1 20 THE HIGH WAY (1626)
EMBARRASSING 9445 3 7 0 18 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
EDINBURG FINN 9450 2 5 0 11 THE HIGH WAY (1626)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHICAGO DAWES 9449 2 5 0 11 THE HIGH WAY (1626)
-ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN 9441 0 6 0 6 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)
-YAR'KEN TILLBIN 9440 0 6 0 6 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
MORDANT DESERTER 0 0 0 ALBUQUERQUE BOON 9448 381 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
To whomever I fought -- Missed last turn's fight results. Not my fault.
Congratulations on a good win (if you beat me) or good fight (if I
won). Hoping I'm not dead! -- Atlantea
Atlantea -- You're alive, but you did not fight on turn 380.
All -- Like Atlantea said, I didn't get the turn 379 newsletter or her fight results,
but I already requested a copy from the Commission; I hate missing out on info,
especially since I asked some questions on the prior turn and would guess they were
answered. Snail mail. Tell me about it. So this turn, no fights for me (I will be
back on turn 381).
I'm also assuming this gets printed on turn 380... so that my questions can get
printed and I can read answers, if any, later on... here goes...
#1) It seems my fighters swing more often with their off-hand weapon if that off-
hand weapon is NOT a shield; if I put a dagger or shortsword there, it's used more
offensively than say, a small shield. Two things:
a) Is this an accurate observation or an isolated fluke, and
b) Is the trade-off, if this is the case, that the fighter pays less attention to
defense? I suppose it boils down to this: Does an off-hand shield "urge" a
fighter to be more defensive?
#2) The ability of a ripper to riposte... I read Jorja's article on them, and though
she runs here 7-7-x, I really don't want to run my rippers (total record 3-11;
sheesh) like offensives. Kinda kills the point of being a finess style. Also,
I've read a low offensive effort will make them attack (or properly,
counterattack) more. My rippers often "ducks low, seeking the counterstrike,"
then do nothing afterwards. How do I make them counter more often after receiving
that statement? I've tried really low OE, high KD, low KD, the parry and the
riposte tactics. And they still let opportunities slip away...
#3) Can a warrior be too small for a favorite weapon?
That's it (for now)...
Thanks for helping and continuing to churn out answers, advice, articles, and
being, in general, the Alastari equivalent of an information kiosk. I DO plan on
having a nice long stay here as well. I don't know about 20 years like some of
y'all, but I can try! Your helpfulness--and I'm speaking to all the helpers on
Noblish Island, those who write ads and articles--is a good incentive for me to stay.
So yeah. Thanks for making a noob feel welcome.
Oh yeah. Before I forget, can we list what styles are considered best for a
Primus run? I know there's no hard and fast rule here, but I've heard aimers, as
opposed to bashers, would be good Primus fighters. Stuff like that. Where do the
other styles fit in, if we had to rank them as Primus-worthy styles?
That's it. I mean it this time. -- Mr. Mister, mgr, G&H
Mr. Mister -- I'm sorry to say that you will not be able to stick around Noblish
Island for long. Every team, and every manager except sanctioned teachers, gets
evicted after ten active turns.
What a great, great article on "strategy" by Assur last round! Kudos. Very, very
well done, and highly valuable. -- Smithy and Consortiumites everywhere
P.S. And that was only Part One! Much to look forward to!
Mountain Troll -- Thank you. I wanted to die. Nobody liked me. -- Pocket Knife (a
lost and unloved art)
Black Sheep -- I am glad our fight was reported as a "crowd pleasing one minute." I
surely thought it was! -- Pitchfork
Convicted Thief? You didn't deserve a title shot, you filthy villain! -- Harsh Words
Zidrit Du'Orden, thanks for the match. I guess I hit the winning home run early? --
Baseball Bat
Yar'ken Tillbin -- Slow and easy; slow and easy; slow and easy.... You have been
trashed. -- Trash Can
As we Useful Weapons depart from Noblish Island, having completed out ten "training
battles," we must say thanks to everyone. You made our stay FUN. We will miss you.
Assur has invited The Consortium to participate in building DM31, and we Useful
Weapons are transferring there. Come and visit. -- Smithy
P.S. Catch Harsh Words as he competes in the Initiates Level competition at The
Orlando Face.
Assur -- How true. I deserved every negative I got. I should have kept my stupid
mouth shut. Open mouth... insert foot.... -- Smithy
Makes it easier to bite your toenails.
To whom it may concern....
"How about high riposte, or high attack? The Red Book states somewhere a
fighter can feint (a "series of breathtaking feints," to be exact) and "leap into the
air." Does this kick in when I'm a master of one-thing-or-another?"
The high level and exciting comments/actions you mentioned occurr randomly and
more often, as you become more skilled. They are more common than non-crits in
Primus. They are typically "criticals." There are criticals offensively and
defensively. I listed the offensive criticals for you last newsletter. The
defensive criticals are less common and not yet "collected." Assur reviewed what
skills really do in his interesting "strategy" article part 1 last round. -- Smithy
All -- Arrgh. Missed a turn. Not my fault. Snail mail screw up. Now there's a
chance that two of my personals will run on the same newsletter. If in case it does,
my questions might be redundant...
To begin with, in just three turns I have learned tons! Of course it doesn't
mean I'm applying them. Also my records improved. I am now 7-28-0 in my regular
arena, winning three fights on the last turn. Thanks, guys (I've discovered the 10-
10-x offensive strategy)!
Now thinking caps on.
#1) Skills. There are six of 'em. Got it. But what do they do? "Parry" is pretty
self-explanatory. But what is "initiative," and why would I want "decisivness?"
And "attack..." does it make me hit more often, or more accurate, or both? Feints,
leaps, "twisting his sword around a parry," are these because a warrior has a high
one-skill-or-another?
#2) I have a ripper. 9-9-10-15-12(+1)-11-19. I like him a lot, and even though he
was designed before I learned ANYTHING, I believe his numbers to be workable; even if
his WL might be a little low. The question: How do I make him counter? I've tried
low OE, medium OE, high OE, low KD, medium KD, etc. I thought the counterstrike was
the signature of a good ripper. I ran him 7-7-x like in Jorja's ripper article, and
he won that, but he ran like an offensive, and I'd rather he use his AdEx in Riposte
to, well, riposte. He often "ducks low, seeking the counterstrike," then do nothing
afterwards. Well, except get beat up.
#3) the Red Book is vague on the Decisiveness and Responsiveness tactics. Or maybe
I just don't get it. Can someone explain it a little better?
There you guys go. Also I know everyone says not to build the finesse styles, and
that ABs aren't for newbies, so naturally I designed four of themfor my new (and soon
to be flagship stable, once they're housed in some slow arena somewhere) team. Using
a few (well, most) of your advice, here's the team and my reasoning behind my
designs, publicized for critiques, comments, violent reactions, etc.
A. 10-10-5-7-14-9-15 to 10-10-5-13-16-9-21 PL. I will bump WL to 17, ST to 11, and
(maybe) WT to 15. I could've made this an AB or a PR, bu since he probably won't do
a lot of damage, I wanted him accurate. Also, the low skill base for the AB
frightens me.
B. Which is why my second guy's an AB. 9-11-14-10-9-3-14 to 9-13-14-16-9-3-20.
Burner, as well, even with 9 WL (DF to 21, WT to 15). I JUST saw Jorja's rhythm and
Blues article (AFTER I've designed these guys) and I won't think that this dude's
gonna be able to run L/L; I wanted high WT and DF and run him hard, 8-8-x, like a
striker. With his (hopefully) decent damage output, a few shots to the head and he
should win. I think.
C. Another burner: 7-9-9-9-14-9-13 to 10-9-9-14-17-9-16. DF, WT, and ST get a bump
each. Kinda modeled, in theory, after a few of Jorja's graduated rippers. So the
explanation for this is his article. (Translation: it's Jorja's fault if this guy
sucks). This is a PR.
D. Another burner: 9-10-7-12-13-9-10 to 14-10-7-16-17-9-16. After a bump to WT and
ST, she'll usa a BA and (probably) heavy armor. I'm still waiting for a definitive
PS article. I've seen one in the DM93 turm 378 newsletter, but there's no way I'm
running this guy 10-10-10 Decisiveness every minute. This guy's a PS by the way.
E. And a striker, no bumps on this one: 6-10-16-17-9-7-5 to 9-10-16-21-9-8-11.
Mainly because SOMEONE's got to have a winning record on this squad.
A long personal. Thanks for the patience. And for inputting the whole thing,
inputter, I say again, thanks. -- Gods and Heroes.
Mr. Mister -- It may simply be a matter of time before the critical sentences appear.
Or, of course, it may be that none of your current warriors are "up to crits" yet. --
Jorja
Which is pretty much saying the same thing.
Regarding your questions:
1) The function of the skills. I hope Smithy or Assur answers that, because I don't
think anyone ever told me, except the backhanded statement that attack skills
increase your accuracy. (Something along the lines of, "Your guy makes flailing
attacks? Oh, that means he doesn't have enough attack skills.)
2) The warrior census form, answered in the previous newsletter.
Two losses to Brothers, three wins over standbys. Not worth talking about on this
extra-busy weekend. -- the High Road
If you sent personals to hal and they do not appear in this newsletter, it's
due to the disruptions associated with the tourney. Probably your personals
will appear next time the newsletter prints. Sorry.
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
ATLANTEA slimly won victory over BLACK SHEEP in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
MAKESMELOOKBAD demolished INNISFREE JONES in a 1 minute one-sided Title melee.
DRUG USER was defeated by DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a crowd pleasing 1 minute duel.
EMBARRASSING was devastated by GALLATIN HUGHES in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
BORROWS MONEY demolished EDINBURG FINN in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
ALBUQUERQUE BOONE slaughtered MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute mismatched fight.
CHICAGO DAWES was beaten by MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute brawl.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 3 SLASHING ATTACK 19 - 2 - 1 90 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 TOTAL PARRY 7 - 2 - 0 78 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 9 - 6 - 0 60 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 12 - 8 - 2 60 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 12 - 0 52 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 AIMED BLOW 19 - 19 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 25 - 1 48 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 6 - 0 0 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 5 - 0 0 |
|TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 381 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:
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 AIMED BLOW
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 2 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 0 - 3 2 WALL OF STEEL
TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446 8 2 1 52 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
STRIKING ATTACK ATLANTEA 9453 4 0 0 51 GODS AND HEROES (1627)
AIMED BLOW DRUG USER 9447 6 4 0 47 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
BASHING ATTACK BLACK SHEEP 9443 6 4 0 42 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
WALL OF STEEL BORROWS MONEY 9444 7 2 0 36 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is BLACK SHEEP 9443. The most popular warrior this
turn was BLACK SHEEP 9443. The ten other most popular fighters were ATLANTEA 9453,
MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446, DRUG USER 9447, GALLATIN HUGHES 9451, BORROWS MONEY 9444,
ALBUQUERQUE BOONE 9448, CHICAGO DAWES 9449, INNISFREE JONES 9452, EMBARRASSING 9445,
and EDINBURG FINN 9450.
The least popular fighter this week was EDINBURG FINN 9450. The other ten least
popular fighters were EMBARRASSING 9445, INNISFREE JONES 9452, CHICAGO DAWES 9449,
ALBUQUERQUE BOONE 9448, BORROWS MONEY 9444, GALLATIN HUGHES 9451, DRUG USER 9447,
MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446, ATLANTEA 9453, and BLACK SHEEP 9443.
The Effects of Coordination
Coordination has long been ruled as having no effect on a warrior. I have
noticed a few things that may be the cause of certain coordination levels. So I
decided to write this article to give the general DM populace something to ponder.
Below is the coordination table:
Coordination = SP + DF
06 - 16 = Clumsy
17 - 20 = Slightly Uncoordinated
21 - 27 = Normal
28 - 31 = Highly Coordinated
32 - 39 = Very Highly Coordinated
40 - 42 = Marvel of Fighting Coordination
Since I run a lot of bashers that have a clumsy rating most of the time, I
noticed a few things that happen to them and not the high coordination warriors I
have. Most people don't have clumsy warriors, save some bashers and TPs, so it may
not be paid that much attention to.
The first thing I have noticed is that a clumsy warrior seems to drop his weapon
more often than a higher coordination warrior. So I think that maybe he has a higher
chance to do this than normally coordinated warriors.
Second, I noticed that clumsy warriors have harder time trying to quick draw
their back-up weapon, causing them to fumble around trying to get it.
Third is that the clumsy warrior also is slower to get up after he has been
knocked down. It may also influence the roll on whether you get knocked down or not,
along with other factors.
These things aren't as noticeable the higher the coordination becomes. That's
probably why a lot of people don't place any value on coordination. At the higher
levels of the game there aren't any clumsy warriors, so coordination isn't noticed.
You can still get knocked down, lose your weapon, and draw your back-up quickly, but
the odds are more in your favor with a higher coordination in my opinion.
Well, may joy and happiness be with you. If you would like to chat , I can be
reached at 103260.3347@compuserve.com
You may diplo me at LORDS OF THE ABYSS, in DM 11, or any of the JOKER'S WILDS
scattered about.
Ta-Ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
(He who always gets the last laugh......)
The Basic Ripper
Why isn't one of basic's most entertaining styles, a style capable of beating all
others, a common sight upon the sands? The myth that rippers are difficult to run and
inherently prone to dying is widely accepted. True, the graveyard is full of rippers
that began their careers running little numbers and the parry tactic. This is no
mystery given that very few rippers start with great defenses and the parry tactic
destroys a young ripper's offense. In their efforts to make better punching bags,
many managers have turned to big constitutions and heavy armor. A dose of sanity is
long overdue. If you would like to run some rippers who will survive and win, read
on.
DESIGN: My approach is somewhat unorthodox. I maintain an evolving list of
physical requirements for each style, i.e., endurance, punishment, damage, and carry
capacity. If you don't have the means to accurately forecast these ratings, ask
around. If at all possible, I first max out a new rollup's WL at a value of 15, 17,
or 21 and then compare the rollup's physical potential with each style's physical
requirements. Generally, the style that matches up best and requires me to add the
least number of points to ST and CN is the one I want. It isn't absolutely necessary
for a fighter to be physically fit at the beginning of his career. Plan ahead. Will
a few preselected attribute trains make him so? Must points be added to the rollup's
ST or CN so that he can make the grade with no more than two trains per attribute?
Which weapons will he use? With these questions answered, it's simply a matter of
taking WT to the highest odd value possible (avoid 19) and then doing the same with
DF. Godlings are not born as a results of how many points you can pump into WT, WL,
and DF; that's luck's job.
Young rippers need to be able to go fast for two minutes without tiring. If your
ripper isn't physically fit, he will slow down. If he slows down, you are gambling
with his life. The more frail the warrior, the greater the gamble. That said, if
your ripper can quickly meet the following criteria and learn reasonably well, you
will get your money's worth.
Endurance: Something in the neighborhood of 350 (that's {ST+CN}WL)
Punishment: Anywhere from the high end of very frail to midrange normal
Damage: Normal
Capacity: Cannot carry a lot (minimum ST/CN combos: 9/8, 10/7, 11/6, 12/5)
ST: 9 + Midgets need an 11 or better.
CN: See Endurance, punishment, and capacity requirements
SZ: Small (3-8) to medium (9-14)
WT: 15+ If your ripper doesn't learn, he's toast.
WL: 15+ See endurance and punishment requirements.
SP: Though frequently unimportant, it helps to have points here if you're stuck
with a few 15's in WT, WL, and DF.
DF: 15+ 13 will do if you're fortunate to have a big WT and/or WL.
Strats: X 8 9 5 5 5 8
X 8 5 3 3 3 10
X 6 7 7 7 7 5
ARM ------------------------- >
HE -------------------------- >
N --------------------------- >
N ------------------------ > R
Why the missing numbers in the first minute? You'll want to find what works for
your new ripper and possibly change his numbers as he develops. 8-8-6 is probably the
best opening minute for a young ripper. If your youngster has a high speed, try 10-
10-6. 6-8-6 is a bit slow for my taste. Nevertheless, this might be the way to go
even if your ripper doesn't need to build up his endurance. Something I call "the
change" occurs when your ripper approaches his master in riposte, his AD Ex in parry,
and Experts in attack, defense and initiative. This is a moment of decision. If your
ripper takes normal punishment, this is when you can opt to slow him down. I don't do
this, but I have seen 5-7-5 and 5-5-5 parry work rather well. It's probably wise for
a slow-running ripper to run fast in desperation. If your ripper continues to run
fast after "the change," a first minute strat of 8-10-4 often works well.
WEAPONS: A scimitar or longsword belongs in your ripper's hand. After he starts
critting, check to see if the epee is his favorite. I don't believe in heavy backups
for youngsters; a dagger will do. Most youngsters will benefit from an offhand dagger
(preferred), hatchet, or shortsword. After "the change," rippers who don't slow down
can improve the quality of their attacks by getting rid of their off hand weapons.
These guys will need a backup scimitar, longsword, or epee. Rippers who do slow down
should keep their offhand weapons.
ARMOR: Very frail rippers should debut in ASM/H. After ten fights or so, it's
probably best to go with APL/H. Guys who cannot take a lot of punishment belong in
ARM/H for their entire basic careers. Put them in ALE/H if you're feeling gutsy.
Rippers who take normal punishment can debut in APL/H, ARM/H, or ASM/H. After ten
fights or so, it's definitely time for APL/H. If you decide to slow one of these guys
down, you'd better put him back in ARM/H or ASM/H.
CHALLENGES: Scummers deserve numbers like 4-1-6; keep that big desperation,
though. If you know that an opponent is out to kick you when you're down, go with 5-
8-5 or 5-5-5 while he's playing dead and 8-8-5 and 9-5-7 when he's active. Good aimed
blows are a pain. Still, like every other style, they can be beaten with standard
strats.
Many people have contributed indirectly to the content of this article. Foremost
in my mind are The Lunatic, Scrag, Voo-Doo, U-Star, Shark, Moriarty, and Wormtongue.
Thanks. If you have a bone to pick or a story to tell, you know where to find me.
Cadmus
Wild Oats (479)
Solven, DM 22
Stimpy's Thoughts on Total Parries
part II
Well, when we last spoke I gave you a rundown on I feel TPs should be designed.
Now I will give you my ideas on how to run them.
First, you need to consider what type of warrior you now have. A total parry is
what its name suggests. Total defense. The idea around a TP is to concentrate on
defense first and utmost. Only when the situation arises will the TP decide to
attack. With this in mind NEVER run a TP with an offensive effort (OE) above 5. In
doing so you have just told your TP to do what they weren't designed to do. Go
offensive. If you want to run your TP above 5, you should have made an offensive
styled warrior, NOT a TP. By using a high OE, you cause your TP to ignore defense and
go offense. This results in numerous "flailing" and "wild" attacks. So don't do it.
While running your TP, you may find that he tends to really turn on the offense
often. That is typical, typical of a warrior who favors initiative skills. This does
not mean that you should boost your OE. What is happening is that one of your
warrior's favorite learns is initiative. So he/she will be naturally adept in
initiative. And remember that initiative is the skill that allows you to continuously
make attacks on your opponent. Since your TP decided to attack, your opponent should
be relatively worn down. So it will be hard for your opponent to steal that
initiative back from you. Hence the reason that your TP looks like an offensive
killer. But that's good. It means that you have a very dangerous warrior on your
hands. High endurance burning styles, look out!
I know, I know!!! There are managers out there still that believe in the
offensive TP and suggest using higher OE. That's all fine and dandy. Let those
managers do just that. I personally guarantee that if you run your TP with a low OE
like the style was designed to do, you'll win fights. Experiment with unorthodox
strategies when you get a better hang of the game.
Activity level (AL) is the variable in TP strategies. I would definitely begin
running a TP with a moderate/low AL. Try a 3 at first. After a few fights you'll see
if your TP likes to dodge more or parry more. It should be quite obvious; your TP
will learn more skills in his "favorite" area. Chances are, though, if your TP has
received the statement: "avoiding rather than trading blows," or "relying on his speed
to stay out of danger," your TP would rather dodge than parry. And that's just fine.
Boost your AL to about a 4 or 5. If you choose to use the dodge tactic in defense,
use AL up to 7. Beyond that tends to hurt your warrior more than it helps.
So why not go with an AL of 7 all the time if your TP likes to dodge more than
parry, you might ask? That's simple; your TP may like to dodge more, BUT HE STILL
PARRIES. So you'll need to be less active to allow your TP that choice. With an AL
of 4-5, your warrior will dodge when it is more advantageous, parry when it isn't.
Kill desire varies greatly from warrior to warrior. To be on the safe side, I
always go low KD with my TPs, until they gain expert in attack. After that point, I
may begin to experiment, seeing how my warrior reacts to various KDs. Generally, if
your warrior learns attack skills relatively well, then a higher KD won't inhibit them
at all. If this is the case, I believe that your warrior is not looking for landing
several blows to win the match (favoring initiative skills), but is instead looking to
land a few good blows (favoring attack skills). In the latter case, a moderate to
high KD may help. Keep in mind though that your TP is still defensively oriented. An
extremely high KD will cause any warrior to behave like a berserker, and may cause
your TP to make lots of bad attacks. With this in mind, stay below 7.
Now to place it all together...
Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6on Desp
OE 2 ------------------------ > varies
AL 2 ------------------------ > "
KD 2 ------------------------ > "
or
Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6on Desp
OE 2 ------------------------ > varies
AL 4 ------------------------ > "
KD 2 ------------------------ > "
These show my general strategies for parry and dodging oriented warriors,
respectively. Seldom do I use any tactics, unless I am making a challenge and wish my
warrior to behave differently to that challenge (i.e., using the dodge tactic against
a lunger). At that point I would refer to the paragraphs in the beginning to
customize that particular minute to fit the tactic.
Attack and protect locations are totally up to you. I like to protect the head
and body, while attacking the head, arms, and legs. This protects my vitals, yet can
allow my warrior to land blows on parts of the body that can cause a warrior to lose a
fight with the minimum number of hits.
Desperation is my opposite area. If I was relying on a low AL in the regular
minutes, I will boost it in desperation. While going vice versa if I had a high AL in
regular minutes.
Now the one tactic I haven't touched on is the riposte tactic. Occasionally your
TP will favor this tactic. When he does, I like to raise my OE to 3, sometimes 4, and
the AL to 4. If I use the riposte tactic, I will use 4-5 OE and a 3-5 AL. When these
numbers are any lower, your TP may refrain from attacking in a riposte situation in
favor of more defense.
I have found that these strategies work well whether your warrior fights as a
SCUM or skilled TP. If you remember from my last article, the difference between the
schools of thought are the amount of damage the warrior is willing/able to take.
Well, I hope that this has been informative for the newer players, and the older
ones, too. Good luck and see you on the sands.
Stimpy
MORE ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS
Many essays dwell on style specifics. This piece describes a playing philosophy.
When you just want to WIN, create scum TPs and size 17 monsters with impunity. Don't
worry about getting these warriors into ADM! YOU'RE concerned with winning those "Top
Team" and "Team on the Move" awards.
By comparison, managers with an excellent setup shouldn't be too concerned with
the team win/loss record. Their character must develop, gain every skill possible, in
order to blossom into a deadly duelist. THEIR goal is to advance this fighter into
ADM, and eternal life.
Here are some broad parameters for assessing a warrior's value, and a few
representative samples:
Primus Bound:
- WT, WL and DF total 49+.
- 4 or more wit statements.
- Start with Expert rating or gain it in one or two skills.
- [13-5-5-21-13-10-17, 6-6-9-17-21-9-17, 11-7-9-17-17-6-17, etc.]
Basic/ADM Only:
- WT, WL and DF total to 35+.
- At least 3 wit statements.
- Gain Expert rating in no more than five skills.
- [17-9-10-17-9-9-13, 13-11-11-17-13-8-11, 9-13-10-15-21-5-11, etc.]
Dark Arena: [Any two of these qualify the character as "expendable"]
- WT less than 13.
- Less than 3 wit statements.
- Is clumsy.
- Has very little endurance.
- [15-15-16-11-13-5-9, 7-18-13-17-5-13-11, 13-15-13-13-17-6-7, etc.]
The Primus Bound setups are rare; they are coddled, protected and sometimes
sandbagged for a year or so in order to build up a few Ad Experts to help them survive
in the arena.
The Basic/ADM Only fighters have mediocre to decent stats, and are going to be
very dependent on their overview for that elusive "luck factor." This class of
warrior should be highly competitive. Most of the fighters seen in the arena are in
this category.
Finally, the Dark Arena fighters: conceived from pitiful setups with little
chance of being competitive. However, these rollups might prove useful. Don't fight
the system; learn to use it to your advantage! Many managers send fighters to the
D.A. who might have provided them with a successful (if brief) career in Basic.
Give BIG numskulls lots of ST and SP; these are your killer LUs and STs. More WL
= LU; Higher DF = ST. (I don't advise making Bashers unless you have a 17+ wit and 15+
points in WL.) Give LITTLE morons a boost to WL, ST and CN; these are your TP scum.
If they have absolutely no WT or WL, escort them to the Dark Arena.
Of course, some fighters have good stats and decent overviews yet still lose most
of their fights in the beginning of their career. The "old" method of dealing with
this phenomenon was to bump all stats by two or more. Now, it's generally agreed that
this increases performance at the cost of future skill learns. This takes away from a
duelist's competitive abilities in the higher levels of play. Competitive fighters
should be making as few stat raises as possible until they have "maxed out" in at
least three of four skill areas. (Some managers advocate waiting until a character is
completely "maxed out" before raising stats; this will take a long time for most
warriors.)
Some warriors (particularly the finesse styles: AB, PR, PL, PS) take a little
longer to develop. If they DON'T have the stats or the overview to raise visions of a
Primus inductee, take a HARD look at their potential. Will stat raises help? Well
they come easily? Is the rest of the team strong? How much money are you willing to
invest in this character?
ANYONE can create an awe-inspiring fighter by adding a couple of points to key
stats. It means the fighter may lose some of its long-term potential, but so what?
Duelmaster, Most Popular Fighter, Best Win/Loss Record, etc. all equate into free
fights and recognition. If you don't have that Godling in your stable, what other
goal might you have but to excel in your arena?!!
I urge new managers to run EVERY setup at least once in the arena. Look on
rollups as a challenge; try to make the best killer or scum possible out of Dark Arena
material. There's a tremendous amount of experience to be gained by this.
See what effect a high ST or DF has on specific styles; compare overviews to find
what works and what doesn't; gain new insights on character design. You will enjoy
playing far more than you do now! You might even come up with a better way of
designing a character for a specific style, and write an article to share your views.
The point is, DON'T wait around for the "right" rollup, or waste time and money
(or sentiment) on characters who aren't doing anything for you. Play the percentages.
If a promising warrior is losing repeatedly, be patient. Once a few AdExperts are
gained he will probably turn things around. If you Dark Arena Mutant loses a lot and
his scumminess or killer-design aren't working, either bump a couple of stats or DA
him. If your scum/killer goes out there and wins a few, start paying attention to
challenges/avoids (which you SHOULD be doing anyway). Send that scum against a LU or
ST; send that monster ST against a midget Parry-whatever. Style vs. style matchups
are crucial in the early careers of EVERY fighter.
Generally, even lousy STs, LUs, BAs and TPs do well starting out. Later the
finesse styles--PL, PS, PR, AB--usually take over. Summary: Recognize the difference
between playing "to win" and playing "longterm." Start noticing which teams have high
win/loss percentages: what kind of warriors are they running? Start sending diplos;
don't be bashful. You can bring that win/loss to a respectable level with careful
play, short-term Mutant killers and scum, and the occasional stat-bump for those
mediocre fighters whom you plan on retiring later. Try it and see. It gives the game
more spice, you win more often, and you have more FUN! And just remember... I told
you so!
Diplo me with comments, questions, rebuke:
-- The Arcane Kid, of Astral Kin in Osksi (DM-3)
"Favorite Weapons"
One of the best ways to improve a warrior's record in basic is to find his
favorite weapon. The effect of using a favorite weapon is that a warrior's attack
ability will improve. A warrior will throw more critical attacks, improve the odds to
inflict critical damage, and make attacks that are more difficult to dodge and parry.
There are two methods used to find a favorite weapon. The first is, "Don't worry
about it. They tell you when you get to ADM anyway." While some managers have the
patience to wait that long, I would rather have my favorite in hand in fight one!
The second method is called, "Charting." The way I chart weapons is I break
down, statistically, my warrior's attacks with a particular weapon. (No, it's not
difficult to do!) I chart 4 categories, (1) Total number of attacks, (2) Total number
of crit attacks, (3) Total number of crit damages, (4) Total number of knockdowns.
(1) Total number of attacks (#ATT) -- Record the total number of attacks with the
weapon in question, including hits, crits, misses, parried attacks, dodged attacks,
and wild swings.
(2) Total number of crit attacks (C ATT) -- Record the total number of critical
attacks with the weapon in question. Do not get good attacks confused with critical
attacks. A good attack is a statement that is more descriptive than, "strikes with
dagger," but is not as spectacular as a critical. An example of a good attack is,
"Bats outward with her quarterstaff," or, "Makes a lunging attack wielding a short
spear." These are more descriptive but are not outstanding. A critical attack is
exemplified by spectacular statements such as; "Catapults forward, longsword stabbing
cruelly at his foe," "Punches with piston-like horsefelling power," or "Hatchet
flashes with snake-like speed and accuracy." As you can see, crit attacks are very
obvious.
(3) Total number of crit damages (C DAM) -- A crit damage statement will signify
a significant amount of additional damage and is typified by a statement such as;
"Spectators cringe as the horrific power of the blow strikes home" or "It was a
devastating attack."
(4) Total number of knockdowns (# KD) -- Record every time an opponent is knocked
off his feet with the weapon in question.
The next step is to convert this data into a usable format. To do this I divide
the last three categories by the first. This gives a "batting average" of sorts.
EXAMPLE: Dark One fights his first three fights with a scimitar. In those three
fights Dark One made 16 attacks, 2 crit attacks, 4 crit damage, and 1 knockdown. This
breaks down as such:
C ATT = .125
C DAM = .25
# KD = .06
Remember, the more fights with the weapon, the more accurate your chart will be.
Looking at Dark One's performance with the scimitar we can conclude that it is
not his favorite weapon. I determine this by looking at the three categories in order
of precedence.
First I look at C ATT:
.00-.25 Doubtful
.25-.35 Slight possibility
.35-.50 Very possible
.50 + BINGO!
If your warrior is critting 50% of the time, stick with that weapon. Favorite or
not, it is VERY effective.
Next is crit damage. This is trickier to look at, as the primary chance to do
critical damage is primarily based on strength.
Does little 0%
Normal 1-5% (style dependent)
Good 10%
Great 25%
Tremendous 50%
Awesome 75%
Look for increases in the expected average crit rate. These numbers may be a
little off as I don't have a large enough sample of warriors with high damage ratings.
In the example, Dark One rated at 25%, and with his great damage rating it appears he
is not doing any additional crits.
Finally, knockdowns. I don't have a fast and easy rule for this, but anything
over 15% or 20% if attacking the legs, could bear investigating. It's best to look at
all three and infer a weapon's performance.
Dark One switches to a short spear and after 4 fights has 15 attacks, 7 crit
attacks, 6 crit damages and 2 knockdowns.
C ATT = .466
C DAM = .40
# KD = .13
This weapon suits him much better. His crit percentage is up for all categories.
This weapon has a very good chance to be his favorite weapon. In this example it
wasn't, but his W/L record improved with 6 straight wins. (By the way, the names and
weapons have been changed but the numbers are from one of my ADM warriors.)
Okay, I've figured out that the weapon I'm using is not my favorite. What now?
There are some indicators to help you. Look at how your warrior uses his current
weapon. If he likes to slash a lot, stay with a slashing weapon. Also, look at good
attacks. If a warrior makes quite a few good attacks with the weapon, try a weapon
that is used in a similar fashion. I.E. epee is used in similar fashion to a long
sword. Dark One loved to lunge with his scimitar at a 3:1 ratio. Try weapons that
fit your stats at first but don't be afraid to try a weapon that is out of your stat
parameters. Should you find your favorite and you don't have the strength, size and
deftness to use it, who cares. The fact that it's your favorite will nullify or
minimize all those penalties.
I know that this is a question on the mind of new managers, as it was for me when
I was new to the game. I hope someone can get some good use out of this article and
expand upon the charting method in their own way. If you have any questions,
comments, additions, or criticism please feel free to Diplo.
-- Abe
Ango (DM 64, 103)
Imploding Ducks (DM 19, 103)