DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 04/19/2014 Duedate: 05/02/2014
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-401
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
LOSING TO AIMERS
BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
(93-9525) [9-1-1,90]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
LOSING TO AIMERS DEL CURVE
BASH BROS WASTE (1640) THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
(93-9525) [9-1-1,90] (93-9535) [5-2-0,51]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
SHADY LANE CIUDAD JUAREZ
THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) OLD EL PASO (1641)
(93-9537) [3-4-1,21] (93-9529) [9-1-0,69]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
(-1)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 47
2. X-MEN! (1644) 26 OLD EL PASO (1641)
3. ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 19 Unchartered Team
4. ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648) 17
5. SCORPIONS (1646) 16 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2 OLD EL PASO (1641) 34 16 1 68.0 1/ 1 OLD EL PASO (1641) 11 4 1
2/ 0*ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 2 1 1 66.7 2/ 3*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 11 4 1
3/ 3 BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 30 19 1 61.2 3/ 2 BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 8 6 0
4/ 4*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 20 15 1 57.1 4/ 4*X-MEN! (1644) 6 9 1
5/ 5*X-MEN! (1644) 9 11 1 45.0 5/ 5*BEYOND THE WALL (1647) 4 6 0
6/ 1*BEYOND THE WALL (1647) 4 6 0 40.0 6/ 0*ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 2 1 1
7/ 0*ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648) 2 3 0 40.0 7/ 0*ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648) 2 3 0
8- 6*THE LIFE FORCE (1645) 3 7 1 30.0 8- 6*THE LIFE FORCE (1645) 1 4 0
9/ 7*SCORPIONS (1646) 0 8 0 0.0 9/ 7*SCORPIONS (1646) 0 8 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
CHALLENGING AND AVOIDING
THE STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
In the last newsletter, only two of the seventeen fights was a "challenge".
Challenges, and their partner "avoids" are underused strategic weapons. Don't be
left home without them!
An avoid is an attempt to prevent a warrior from challenging you. Why allow a
warrior the advantage of selecting you for a match? Why allow a warrior to decide on
a special strategy just for you? One great thing about avoids is that you may avoid
THE WHOLE TEAM of any warrior you want to avoid. You are allowed to avoid two whole
teams. There is no use double-avoiding as it does not improve your chances to avoid
that individual team.
A challenge is an attempt to fight a specific warrior. Why not attempt to fight
a specific warrior of choice? Why leave the opponent selection to the MUGS (match-up
gods) or, worse yet, an opponent who chooses/challenges you? You are allowed to
challenge two warriors. You may, indeed, challenge the same warrior twice. (Double
challenge) It DOES improve your chances of a match to double challenge a same
warrior.
Of utmost importance is to understand that you must challenge and avoid NUMBERS,
not names. Challenge WARRIOR NUMBERS. Avoid TEAM NUMBERS. Challenge individual
warriors; avoid whole teams.
No challenge or avoid is 100 percent effective. Challenges can be further
enhanced by winning a TV or TC (Tournament Victor; Tournament Champion) in a Mailer
or Face-to-Face Tournament. The TV/TC effectiveness lasts six months. So, in a
normal arena, the warrior who won the TV gets 12 or 13 turns of enhanced challenging.
The most effective challenge, The Blood Feud, is nearly 100 percent effective. A
four turn BLOOD FEUD is awarded to your TEAM (Any member can use it each turn.) when
an opposing warrior kills one of yours. Blood feuds transcend classes. (E.g. a
Challenger can BLOOD FEUD an Adept or an Initiate can BLOOD FEUD a Challenger
Champion, etc.) To use a TV or Blood Feud, simply write BF or TV on the challenge
line with the to-be-challenged warrior number and circle it all for emphasis.
How does one choose whom to challenge and what to avoid? That's a good question
and like many decisions, they are more of an art than a technology. This is the
methodology used by The Consortium managers. It works well for them.
1. Always avoid two teams
2. Actively seek to challenge twice. (If only one good choice is available, double
challenge.)
3. Challenge for these situations
a. A probable win
b. A warrior you have beaten before
c. To tie up a warrior you do not want to fight one of your fellow warriors--
especially the Duelmaster
d. To take advantage of a Blood Feud (4 rounds)
e. For a good style match up.
4. Avoid for these situations - always
a. Emphasis on a team who is bloodfeuding you
b. Emphasis on a team who just beat you
c. Emphasis on a team with warriors in range who are far more experienced or skilled
than you
d. Emphasis on a team you just cannot seem to beat.
e. Emphasis on teams with warriors whose styles are difficult for your style
Often there will be more warriors to challenge or more teams to avoid than the
strategy sheets allow. Choose wisely.
Most of the circumstances are straightforward, and it is easy to select the
challenges and avoids. However, in many cases, especially those with little
knowledge of nearby opponents, it will come down to what style or type of warrior is
best to challenge/avoid.
There are available charts "out there" which prioritize which styles have advantages
over other styles. Beware of them. The data is based on warriors over the years and
those managers who submitted data for those charts. The warning - today's lunger is
not yesterday's lunger, and my aimed blow is not your aimed blow, and today's basher
is not yesteryear's basher, and a tourney warrior is not necessarily an arena
warrior, etc, etc, etc. The Consortium offers their generic style considerations for
challenges and avoids:
1. Fast offensives challenge AB, slower BA, SL, ST
2. Aimers challenge scummy/tanky warriors
3. Scums challenge LU and softer hitting/smaller offensives
4. Scum hunters (need special strategy ) are good damage/endu LU, hard hitting BA,
critting or hard hitting ST, hard hitting SL with good endu, good PS
5. Consortium-style wastes challenge LU and softer hitting/smaller offensives
6. Lungers challenge AB, PR, PS
7. Rippers, if skilled, challenge ST, faster BA's
The Consortium always avoids and almost always challenges.
One final note. The challenging will bring into play and discussion: What is an
appropriate challenge?" The "rules"/"D2 system" allow you to challenge anyone in your
class and the class just above you. Your class is defined, interestingly, as Inits,
Adepts, Champs, and Duelmaster. A "Challenger" Init is an Init - challenge wise. A
"Challenger" Champ is a Champ -challenge wise. Hence the higher level challenger
category can challenge the lower level "non-challenger" class. (Simply put, a
Challenger Init can challenge an Init, a challenger Init, and an Adept. An Adept can
challenge Adepts or Challenger Adepts.) This system can allow/cause challenges from
very high experience and recognition point warriors to very low recognition point and
experience warriors. Some regular arenas foster the belief that challenges
may/should ONLY be parallel or up in recognition points. These are usually Andorian
arenas. The rules/system may allow otherwise, but the environment and the beliefs of
sportsmanship of Andorian types differ. This can cause some "discussion
altercations".
Challenges and avoids are there to be used to your advantage. Do so.
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Where do you go when you leave Noblish Island?
(note that this article is old, but still mostly relevant)
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 746): CHANTAL of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 748): JOY OF LOSING of WHO DA MAN? (Var, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 726): SKYFIRE of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 742): SIR TOO DUMB of THE GRAIL KNIGHTS (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 744): HORI BULL of PUNNY AMINALS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 735): LIMB BIZKIT of BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 736): RAMEX of VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 370): EYE BAGS of BASH BROS BODY (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 733): VAGAN of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 638): MALICE of ASSASSINATION (Ghab, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 730): APOCALYPSE of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 727): SSINK! Of F/X (Mannequin, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 719): NO TURN of FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 677): LYRICAL DRUGGIST of ORL 2013K (The Muffin Man, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 345): LAPUR BISQUE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 340): WITCHCRAZE of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 326): NEFARA of PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 609): NIGHT CRAWLER of THEM (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 594): SERGEANT 6 of MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 576): RACK OF LAB of CANINE CUISINE (Chuck, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 570): CAUSEY of THE CAUSEY WAY (Mordraith, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 275): WONTON NOT NOW of PALINDROMES (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 531): HOGSHEAD of COUNTRY PIE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 526): IRON HANDED of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 517): ROSS F. GRAY of MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 634): ABSOLUTION of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 746): QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 748): FANTASTIC FIVE II (?, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 726): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 742): GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 744): BLOOD ON THE TRACKS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 735): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 736): VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 370): DODGE BULLETS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 733): THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 368): BASH BROS OCEAN (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 730): OTTOMAN EMPIRE (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 727): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 719): FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 677): TOLBIN'S X-MEN (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 345): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 340): GARBAGE PAIL KIDS (Kharadmon, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 326): LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 609): MEDAL OF HONOR A11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 594): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 576): CANINE CUISINE (Chuck, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 570): BASH BROS EVANGELIST (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 275): MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 531): MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 526): RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 517): MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 634): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 746): CHANTAL of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
KING RAT of QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 726): SKYFIRE of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
PARAGON ORCA of 7TH SANCTUM (Hombre, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 744): HORI BULL of PUNNY AMINALS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 369): KOROSHIYA ICHI of LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 733): VAGAN of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 725): INIGO MONTOYA of BIG LAKE BANDITS (Den, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 719): SAVAGE BEATING of HAPPY FUN TIME (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 340): MANDORALLEN of PAWN OF PROPHECY (Gentleben, mgr.)
(turn 339): PETIT JARDINIA of LES TURFISTES (Le Pentarque, mgr.)
NORM of CHEERS (Otis, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 608): FRANKLIN E. SIGLER of MEDAL OF HONOR A11 (The Anarchist)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 275): WONTON NOT NOW of PALINDROMES (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 526): IRON HANDED of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
(turn 525): ANGEL of RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 617): RIB IAYE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Cuidad Juarez ended one point short to have a shot at the throne. I can't say
I'm upset! While I did beat him before and while I am 3-0 versus Aimed Blows, the
style advantage is clearly not mine. There was a reason Assur named me "Losing to
Aimers," and that is because typically that is what Wall of Steels do when they face
Aimed Blows. But nothing is a sure thing when you go out to the sands. Not even the
assurance that you'll walk back off them.
The Wastes are not heading to retirement. It's been fun. Assur will be
bringing a new team next turn.
-- Losing to Aimers
SPY REPORT
Thankyouthankyou. It's great for me, The Unknown Spymaster to be back in
NOBLISH ISLAND. Hope you enjoy the show. Oh, who am I kidding? I already got paid!
Don't these new hotshots make you sick (or, if they fought you, hurt)? ANVENGEN'S
EDGE, on their very first turn, went 2-1-1. ALLADIN'S ELITE: Not great, but not
bad. Keep up the work and look forward to having better success as your warriors
become more seasoned. Hey everybody, watch out for DEL CURVE, who flew up 24 points
in the rankings after mashing THE RIO GRANDE like a melon. Keep your eye on this
guy. And falling like a basher in the top ten was THE RIO GRANDE, who dropped 19
points after a disappointing (to say the least) bout with DEL CURVE. Well,
everybody's pal LOSING TO AIMERS moved his record to 9-1-1 by defeating VENEMOUS
CONCUBINE in the Duelmaster's Title Bout and gaining 4 recognition points. Can you
believe they are paying me 10 gold to deliver this stuff?
Here is other news that is of note. Here's a song for you: Who's afraid of the
big, bad BASH BROS WASTE? Big bad BASH BROS WASTE. Big bad BASH BROS WASTE.
NOBLISH ISLAND's afraid of the big bad BASH BROS WASTE. Tra la la la la! Okay, so I
may not be funny, but catch OLD EL PASO's act in the arena. Those acrobats seem to
be fairly deft at running from BASH BROS WASTE.
Remember that an arena is not always a safe place to be, but it is one of the
most interesting, though! Here's some advice: warriors with little wit and will may
encounter problems on the trail to the Isle.
Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in NOBLISH ISLAND
have no sense of humor. Or maybe that they were senseless. Okay, so I may not be
the world's best comedian, but then you guys aren't the world's best warriors. And
remember, you can pick your friends and you can pick your--(loud boos), oh, you've
heard that one already!-- The Unknown Spymaster
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
LOSING TO AIMERS 9525 9 1 1 90 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529 9 1 0 69 OLD EL PASO (1641)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PASO DEL NORTE 9532 10 0 0 57 OLD EL PASO (1641)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DEL CURVE 9535 5 2 0 51 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
SPECIAL DISPOSAL 9527 5 5 0 46 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
CONQUISTADOR 9530 4 6 0 45 OLD EL PASO (1641)
STINKS 9526 7 3 0 40 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
THE RIO GRANDE 9534 6 2 1 37 OLD EL PASO (1641)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
GERONIMO FORD 9536 4 3 0 31 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
CHIHUAHUAN DESERT 9531 4 6 0 30 OLD EL PASO (1641)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SHADY LANE 9537 3 4 1 21 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
XUNA 9548 3 1 1 21 X-MEN! (1644)
XAVIER 9546 1 3 0 18 X-MEN! (1644)
-MILLZ 9554 2 0 0 17 THE LIFE FORCE (1645)
ALLEN BRIDGER 9538 4 3 0 16 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
DEAN END 9539 4 3 0 16 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
ENDURANCE BURN 9528 3 7 0 16 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
THEODORE PRESCOTT 9573 1 0 1 12 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
XOOMA 9547 3 1 0 10 X-MEN! (1644)
OLA SHAITAN 9570 1 0 0 8 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
DINGUS NIVEN 9576 1 0 0 6 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
SULI JANN 9569 1 0 0 6 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
-JOHN 9551 1 1 1 5 THE LIFE FORCE (1645)
BRIX 9566 1 1 0 4 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
KNEEDLINYA 9567 1 1 0 4 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
TOYTLES 9563 1 1 0 4 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
XANDER 9549 0 4 0 4 X-MEN! (1644)
-TIMER 9550 0 2 0 2 THE LIFE FORCE (1645)
-PRINCESS KAYLA 9552 0 2 0 2 THE LIFE FORCE (1645)
-FORCER 9553 0 2 0 2 THE LIFE FORCE (1645)
PING 9564 0 2 0 2 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
-SIR CODY STORM 9559 0 1 0 1 SCORPIONS (1646)
CHAZ IFREET 9572 0 1 0 1 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
SYL DJINN 9571 0 1 0 1 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
ANVENGEN KALE 9577 0 1 0 1 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
-BRYSON MOSSBERG 9555 0 1 0 1 SCORPIONS (1646)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
URSALA MARID 9568 0 1 0 ALLADIN'S ELITE 1648 XUNA 9548 401
MODE SKILLS 9524 6 3 0 BASH BROS WASTE 1640 THE RIO GRANDE 9534 400
PONG 9565 1 1 0 BEYOND THE WALL 1647 SHADY LANE 9537 401
ALEXIS SYNDROME 9556 0 2 0 SCORPIONS 1646 SPYMASTER 401 NONE
ELDRIC RUNESTONE 9557 0 2 0 SCORPIONS 1646 SHEWISH GIANT 401 NONE
KITANA SUKI 9558 0 2 0 SCORPIONS 1646 BANDIT PRINCE 401 NONE
XERXES 9545 2 2 0 X-MEN! 1644 THEODORE PRESCOT 9573 401
PERSONAL ADS
Welcome Beyond The Wall and Scorpions. May you do well and prosper. -- Ponce de
Leon, Old El Paso
P.S. Great first turn, Wall. Nice.
The Life Force and X-men -- I am glad you are here too! -- Ponce de Leon
Well, shucks, Assur and Jorja, you guys, too! -- Ponce de Leon (who has apparently
been at the sauce today....)
I like a good bechamel, myself.
There is ONLY one true Duelmaster here, the undefeated Paso del Norte. -- Paso del
Norte
Mode Skills -- You shouldn't have drunk the water. -- Rio Grande
Losing To Aimers -- I WANT you! -- Ciudad Juarez
Ambitious Guard -- You were EASY! -- Ciudad Juarez
Special Disposal -- What was that? You dirtball! Ruined another Old El Paso round,
didn't you? -- Conquistador
Good bye to all. this will conclude our 10th round here. Who knows what The
Consortium will next bring. -- The Old El Paso Clan
Hello All!! This is Scorpio here. Noblish Island is new to me and my warriors, but
let me assure you that while I come here with nothing, I plan to leave one day with
everything. I'm open for discussions or talks. Please holla. -- Scorpio, Team
Scorpions
Xyxlstyx (Mr. X) -- You asked "what is the difference between a crit and an extra
value blow?" I would respond that a crit (You read the massive list in the DM93
newsletter.) is indicated relating to a weapon, while an extra value statement reads
something like "it was a massive blow." The EHV, when it occurs, it usually a last
statement about that particular swing. I tend to equate them in golf terms--crit--
using your favorite club you hit the ball on the sweet spot and EHV--your swing was
so smooth and you created such greater than normal clubhead speed that you hit it
farther than normal. It is not so unusual to get both a crit and an EHV on the same
swing, however each does also occur separately. -- Ponce de Leon (Consortium
affiliated)
Mr. X -- You also asked what the penalties were for marginal weapon use or use of
weapons with inadequate ST, SZ, WT, or DF. Well, specifically, I do not know, nor do
I think anyone does. There are penalties, but what? Whether, reduction in crits or
EHV potential, less hit points when making contact, more missing swings, or loss of
initiative or momentum... I can only say there is a negative impact. Sometimes that
impact seems quite significant, and sometimes it seems pretty insignificant. I,
personally consider those impacts enough to prevent me from placing my warriors in
that position if at all possible, but not feeling "life-threatened" if I had to.
Many warriors have won fights despite those impacts, whatever they are. -- Ponce de
Leon (Consortium affiliated)
All -- For those anxiously awaiting the newest Consortium affiliate in Noblish
Island, allow me to welcome SPORTS FILMS, managed by "The Producer" and warriors...
Rocky, Tin Cup, Hoosiers, Cutting Edge, and Major League. You will hear more about
them in The Producer's first spotlight. -- The Noblish Isle Consortium Publicist
Greetings All! -- It looks like my warriors had their keesters handed to them. Tut
tut. I'm new, so ya'll bear with me. Nice to meet you all. -- Scorpio
Xooma -- Perhaps next time we shouldn't fight blind folded! Or at least we could
agree to say "Marco!" and the other "Polo!" to have better odds of hitting each
other before getting too tired/dizzy to continue. *hahaha* Thanks for the dance! --
Ping
Xavier -- Oopsies! Better luck next time. *smile* -- Kneedlinya
Scorpions -- Well met and well fought. Might I suggest not carrying quite so much in
future fights? The backup weapons are optional--not mandatory to be walking weapons
shops! *hehe* -- Keyoke, mgr Beyond the Wall
Zontani Sharp Eyes -- Well, so much for us coming in "under the radar." *smile*
Thanks for the honorable mention. -- Beyond the Wall
Ponce De Leon -- 1-1 in my favor last turn ;) But the series is 1 fight in my favor
going into this the last turn! Best of luck to you. -- Assur
I replace a 17-9-15-11-17-4-11 WOS (maybe fave learn init) with the following
warrior: The recruit came back 14-12-7-13-10-9-5. If I was going to make this into
a Wall of Steel, I'd have trained him into 14-12-7-16-16-9-10 (and soon after burned
him to 15-13-7-17-17-9-11. But the garbage truck is leaving, I've decided to go with
a potential rookie basher (my favorite of all styles). So, I go 15-12-7-17-10-12-11
B.
Two-three, bah. Especially since the wins were over the less-experienced beginners
from X-Men. Still, we do what we can. -- Those of Us Along the Third Highway
Chihuahuan Desert -- May you be overgrown with creosote bushes. -- Allen Bridger
P.S. My favorite bridge in the whole Chihuahua Desert is one over the Mimbres River
north of Deming. There's a sign that says, "No fishing from bridge." As if anyone
would! There's no WATER in it at that point, not unless they get a cloudburst and
flashflood.
Stinks -- Well, if you put your wastes into sealed bags, you might alleviate that
problem a little. -- Dead End
Endurance Burn -- BAD plan! It's been so dry and windy this month, you're liable to
set off a wildfire! -- Shady Lane
Xerxes -- Wear armor, even if it's just leather armor. It helps. I know that real-
world logic suggests that leather armor wouldn't protect you from a hit to the hand,
but don't TRUST real-world logic. Armor helps. -- Geronimo Ford
Xander -- Train the brain. I know you could go for some weapon that takes less WT,
but they generally take MORE ST and DF, and I don't know what you have in that line.
And, hmm, I can't see that you made any effort to defend yourself or hit back. Maybe
you need to increase your fight numbers (offensive effort and/or activity level)?
I've attacked TREES that fought back more than you did. -- Del Curve
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
ALEXIS SYNDROME was butchered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
ELDRIC RUNESTONE was slaughtered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena battle.
KITANA SUKI was murdered by BANDIT PRINCE in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena fight.
KNEEDLINYA was unbelievably bested by ALLEN BRIDGER in a 1 minute Challenge contest.
TOYTLES was overpowered by GERONIMO FORD in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge match.
BRIX was bested by DEAN END in a 3 minute Challenge duel.
LOSING TO AIMERS defeated VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a exciting 3 minute Title struggle.
CIUDAD JUAREZ viciously subdued SPECIAL DISPOSAL in a action packed 3 minute fight.
THE RIO GRANDE lost to DEL CURVE in a action packed 1 minute duel.
PASO DEL NORTE overpowered FRATSFA SLAVE in a slow 7 minute uneven duel.
CHIHUAHUAN DESERT was narrowly defeated by STINKS in a 2 minute gruesome match.
CONQUISTADOR overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute brutal one-sided fight.
ENDURANCE BURN slimly lost to XAVIER in a 2 minute bloody conflict.
SHADY LANE killed PONG in a crowd pleasing 1 minute match.
XOOMA beat ANVENGEN KALE in a 6 minute amateur's conflict.
XUNA assassinated URSALA MARID in a 2 minute one-sided duel.
XANDER was viciously subdued by OLA SHAITAN in a 2 minute brutal beginner's duel.
XERXES was dealt death by THEODORE PRESCOTT in a 3 minute gory amateur's brawl.
PING was outlasted by SULI JANN in a 7 minute novice's match.
SYL DJINN was beaten by DINGUS NIVEN in a 2 minute novice's match.
CHAZ IFREET was viciously subdued by EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 3 minute competition.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|WALL OF STEEL 6 TOTAL PARRY 17 - 7 - 0 71 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 5 SLASHING ATTACK 12 - 8 - 1 60 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 4 WALL OF STEEL 40 - 28 - 2 59 |
|BASHING ATTACK 4 PARRY-RIPOSTE 10 - 8 - 1 56 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 LUNGING ATTACK 12 - 10 - 0 55 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 10 - 9 - 3 53 |
|TOTAL PARRY 3 AIMED BLOW 13 - 13 - 0 50 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 BASHING ATTACK 9 - 13 - 0 41 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 3 PARRY-STRIKE 2 - 12 - 0 14 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 401 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 2 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 4 WALL OF STEEL
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 1 AIMED BLOW 1 - 3 2 LUNGING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 4 - 2 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW
PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 3 1 TOTAL PARRY
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 2 1 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 2 - 2 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 STRIKING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
WALL OF STEEL LOSING TO AIMERS 9525 9 1 1 90 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
AIMED BLOW CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529 9 1 0 69 OLD EL PASO (1641)
TOTAL PARRY PASO DEL NORTE 9532 10 0 0 57 OLD EL PASO (1641)
SLASHING ATTACK THE RIO GRANDE 9534 6 2 1 37 OLD EL PASO (1641)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is SHADY LANE 9537. The most popular warrior this turn
was CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529. The ten other most popular fighters were LOSING TO AIMERS
9525, CHIHUAHUAN DESERT 9531, OLA SHAITAN 9570, DEL CURVE 9535, STINKS 9526, SHADY
LANE 9537, PING 9564, DINGUS NIVEN 9576, KNEEDLINYA 9567, and ALLEN BRIDGER 9538.
The least popular fighter this week was PASO DEL NORTE 9532. The other ten least
popular fighters were URSALA MARID 9568, XOOMA 9547, CHAZ IFREET 9572, SYL DJINN
9571, XERXES 9545, XANDER 9549, XUNA 9548, ANVENGEN KALE 9577, DEAN END 9539, and
TOYTLES 9563.
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)