DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 06/28/2014 Duedate: 07/11/2014
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-406
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
POSITION IS EMPTY
Chartered Recognition LeaderUnchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY POSITION IS EMPTY
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
KNEEDLINYA ANVENGEN KALE
BEYOND THE WALL (1647) ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
(93-9567) [3-4-0,13] (93-9577) [2-3-0,17]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. SCORPIONS (1646) 51
2. ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 31 DYSERAY (312)
3. X-MEN! (1644) 22 Unchartered Team
4. SPORTS FLICKS (1651) 21
5. BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650) 18 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650) 20 5 0 80.0 1/ 1*SPORTS FLICKS (1651) 12 3 1
2/ 2*SPORTS FLICKS (1651) 18 7 3 72.0 2/ 2*BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650) 12 3 0
3/ 3*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 33 22 1 60.0 3/ 5*X-MEN! (1644) 7 8 0
4/ 4*X-MEN! (1644) 19 26 1 42.2 4/ 3*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 5 5 0
5/ 5*BEYOND THE WALL (1647) 12 23 0 34.3 5/ 6*SCORPIONS (1646) 5 10 1
6/ 7*ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 7 14 1 33.3 6- 7*NEO POLITY (1652) 4 6 0
7- 6*NEO POLITY (1652) 5 10 0 33.3 7/ 8*ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 3 7 0
8/ 8*SCORPIONS (1646) 9 24 1 27.3 8/ 4*BEYOND THE WALL (1647) 3 12 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
Assur's Guide to Tank Hybrids
Today's subject is one of Assur's favorite type of hybrids. They may not be the best
warriors to grace the sands, but they are a lot of fun. The idea is that you can't
take them down and at some point they will attack back and when they hit, they will
hit hard!
1) Design
Tank Hybrids (hereafter referred to as simply tanks) are hybrids that wear lots
of armor and have lots of hit points. There are lots of variations of this type of
hybrid, but typically they are not depending on anything other than their physical
prowess to win.
Encumbrance and Hit Points are amongst their most important attributes. Skills
are nice, but in some cases almost a forethought. Attack is probably the most useful
skill to have, followed by Parry and Defense.
Endurance, Wit, and Will are all nice to have, but you can create a tank without
any of these. Typically they will have minimum 14 in strength and constitution,
often much more. Historically Assur has made high will versions of tanks, but has
seen others succeed with very low will tanks as well. Usually at least one of speed
or deftness is quite low. Most of Assur's tanks have also been stat trainers, so
some of them have started lower than 14 in strength or constitution.
2) Style Choice
Any style can tank it up, but the higher attack styles work better, simply
because when you do attack, you want to hit. But any style can work. Lungers have
the highest attack base. Aimed Blows with 21 deftness are just below Lungers. Next
is a four way tie between Parry Lungers, Wall of Steels, Bashers, and Slashers.
Parry Strikes, Parry Ripostes, and Strikers are all considered lower attack styles,
but the lowest starting attack style is, of course, the Total Parry (a full 8 attack
skills lower than the same Lunger). Advantages/disadvantages of tanking styles:
Lunger: Highest total skills, but learns are not the best and high endurance burn.
Aimed Blows: High deftness requirements means designs are very limited.
Wall of Steels: High total skills, learns (att/par/ini) are awesome for tanks.
High Endurance burn.
Basher: Learn attack and decise, reasonable endurance burn. A more offensive type
of tank.
Parry Lungers: Similar to Wall of Steels, with slightly worse learning and skills.
Slashers: Similar to Bashers, but don't learn decise as fast and slightly higher
endurance burn.
Parry Strikes: One of the few warrior types where their learns work together
(decise and parry). Conserve endurance very well. The best tanking style of
the lower attack styles.
Strikers: Again similar to bashers, but with fewer attack skills, but better
endurance conservation.
Parry Ripostes: Only 2 attack more than total parries, worse learning, and worse
weapon selection suggests that Total Parries would be a better choice.
Total Parries: Horrible attack, but can use most of the big weapons and the best
defenses in the game makes them a good choice for a more defensive tank.
3) Weapon Selection
Typically you will choose the highest damage weapon you can use for your Tank.
Some nice choices (with relatively low stat requirements) are: Maul (15 Str, 5 Wit,
7 Dft), Broadsword (11 Str, 9 Wit, 7 Dft), Battle Axe (15 Str, 7 Wit, 9 Dft), and
Long Spear (11 Str, 5 Wit, 9 Dft)
Feel free to choose other weapons, even if you lack the requirements to use
them.
4) Strategy and tactics
Tanks are fun to run, because you can really play with their strategies and see
different results. Typically you will run in the upper range of offensive effort
(5+), but in certain minutes, you very well might go more defensive depending on your
tank. As mentioned last turn, some warriors will actually attack more with lower
offensive effort (usually if it is their favorite rhythm). To start, though, play
with 5-10 offensive effort. Activity level can be anything. I have literally run
tanks with 10 activity level in one fight and 1 activity level in the next.
I have used almost every tactic with Tanks. I can't remember using the Riposte
tactic, but no reason you can't try it. And some styles are not well suited to some
tactics.
5) Armor
APA/F is the norm.
Assur's Guide to Tank Hybrids
Today's subject is one of Assur's favorite type of hybrids. They may
not be the best warriors to grace the sands, but they are a lot of fun.
The idea is that you can't take them down and at some point they will
attack back and when they hit, they will hit hard!
1) Design
Tank Hybrids (hereafter referred to as simply tanks) are hybrids that
wear lots of armor and have lots of hit points. There are lots of variations
of this type of hybrid, but typically they are not depending on anything other
than their physical prowess to win.
Encumbrance and Hit Points are amongst their most important attributes.
Skills are nice, but in some cases almost a forethought. Attack is probably
the most useful skill to have, followed by Parry and Defense.
Endurance, Wit, and Will are all nice to have, but you can create a tank
without any of these. Typically they will have minimum 14 in strength
and constitution, often much more. Historically Assur has made high will
versions of tanks, but has seen others succeed with very low will tanks as
well. Usually at least one of speed or deftness is quite low. Most of Assur's
tanks have also been stat trainers, so some of them have started lower than 14
in strength or constitution.
2) Style Choice
Any style can tank it up, but the higher attack styles work better, simply
because when you do attack, you want to hit. But any style can work.
Lungers have the highest attack base. Aimed Blows with 21 deftness are
just below Lungers. Next is a four way tie between Parry Lungers, Wall of
Steels, Bashers, and Slashers. Parry Strikes, Parry Ripostes, and Strikers
are all considered lower attack styles, but the lowest starting attack style
is, of course, the Total Parry (a full 8 attack skills lower than the
same Lunger). Advantages/disadvantages of tanking styles:
Lunger: Highest total skills, but learns are not the best and high endurance burn.
Aimed Blows: High deftness requirements means designs are very limited.
Wall of Steels: High total skills, learns (att/par/ini) are awesome for tanks. High
Endurance burn.
Basher: Learn attack and decise, reasonable endurance burn. A more offensive
of tank.
Parry Lungers: Similar to Wall of Steels, with slightly worse learning and skills.
Slashers: Similar to Bashers, but don't learn decise as fast and slightly higher
endurance burn.
Parry Strikes: One of the few warrior types where their learns work together
(decise and parry). Conserve endurance very well. The best tanking style
of the lower attack styles.
Strikers: Again similar to bashers, but with fewer attack skills, but better
endurance conservation.
Parry Ripostes: Only 2 attack more than total parries, worse learning, and
worse weapon selection suggests that Total Parries would be a better choice.
Total Parries: Horrible attack, but can use most of the big weapons and the
best defenses in the game makes them a good choice for a more defensive tank.
3) Weapon Selection
Typically you will choose the highest damage weapon you can use for your Tank.
Some nice choices (with relatively low stat requirements) are:
Maul (15 Str, 5 Wit, 7 Dft), Broadsword (11 Str, 9 Wit, 7 Dft),
Battle Axe (15 Str, 7 Wit, 9 Dft), and Long Spear (11 Str, 5 Wit, 9 Dft)
Feel free to choose other weapons, even if you lack the requirements to use
them.
4) Strategy and tactics
Tanks are fun to run, because you can really play with their strategies
and see different results. Typically you will run in the upper range of
offensive effort (5+), but in certain minutes, you very well might go
more defensive depending on your tank. As mentioned last turn, some
warriors will actually attack more with lower offensive effort (usually
if it is their favorite rhythm). To start, though, play with 5-10 offensive
effort. Activity level can be anything. I have literally run tanks with
10 activity level in one fight and 1 activity level in the next.
I have used almost every tactic with Tanks. I can't remember using the
Riposte tactic, but no reason you can't try it. And some styles are not
well suited to some tactics.
5) Armor
APA/F is the norm.
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
The topic I've chosen to address today is The Obvious. There are some obvious
mistakes that new players can and sometimes do make. I've seen it happen. I'm sure
none of YOU have made these mistakes, but just in case....
Choice of weapon, there's a good area for mistakes. Every style has its
preferred weapons, NO weapon can be used by every style, nor can every style use all
weapons. At some point in your ten turns here in Arena 93, you will see the chart
that separates out weapons by style. Pay attention to that, this is not just whim,
opinion, or personal taste. This has been tested, over and over again. The fights
are monitored by a computer, and a computer doesn't care about "this should work" or
"that should be cool." If your weapon is unsuited to your style, you will be
penalized in the fight. This is more than just "doesn't seem to have the
strength/wit/deftness to use his weapon." That handicaps you, but not as badly. In
fact, just to confuse people, sometimes a warrior's "favorite" weapon, chosen by the
computer at the time the roll-up is first input, will be one for which he lacks the
perfect numbers. But it will ALWAYS be one suitable for his style.
Don't trust real-world logic in picking weapons, this is a game and has its own
rules. My stock example, which is TRUE, is bashers and fists. You'd think--many
have--that a basher would be a natural going in with his fists. No. Bashers are
unsuited to this weapon and will not do their best with it. Do not trust logic,
trust the charts.
Also, weapons have weight and bulk. If you go in loaded like an armory cart, as
I have seen characters in a role-playing game do, you will be at a disadvantage. The
computer is merciless when it comes to encumbrance. Always carry a backup, yes.
That's common sense. But do NOT carry a backup that's heavier than your primary
weapon, it's for emergencies, and you may not be able to draw it in time anyway.
Don't even THINK about carrying a two-handed weapon as a backup, the computer will
not allow this. The input program rejects this. Always. Yes, sure, if you go to
the Dark Arena, you might see the Shewish Giant with backup mauls. He's a special
case, he exists only to kill your warriors, and he is allowed more weapons than any
managed warrior will ever be able to carry. When you're looking for a backup, pick
something relatively light: dagger, shortsword, scimitar, if you want a sword,
hatchet, shortspear, warhammer. Maybe a mace.
Training. This is one of my stock cautionary tales, and it's true. It happened
back before Noblish Island was opened. A new manager who had run three turns and
pulled 0-15 wrote and asked me what was wrong. Not only were his warriors losing,
they hadn't learned a skill in the whole time. He sent me their stats to demonstrate
that they SHOULD have learned skills. Five warriors, three fights each, and between
them, they had TWELVE stat increases. They hadn't learned skills because they hadn't
been training skills. Read the rule book, read ALL of your Noblish Island
newsletters, and pay attention! It's depressingly easy to overlook the obvious, and
this can mean a disaster.
Armor. The offensive styles, basher, lunger, slasher, striker, are geared to
run fast, fight fast, move fast, get in and win and get out before they're hit. If
you put them in full plate, yes, you will probably reduce their chance of death. But
you will also reduce their chance of winning. They should not need the heavy armor
to keep them alive; their offensive capabilities should be doing that, by winning the
fight before they're in danger.
Perhaps not so obvious, but... you can often surrender when a fight is going
badly. If your desperation strategy is set up for that. Raising any of your fight
numbers, much less all of them, in desperation, will often cause your warrior to go
berserk, and it increases his chance of doing something stupid and getting killed.
Dropping the numbers, on the other hand, makes him feel that he doesn't want to fight
so hard, and he might surrender before his hit points drop to zero and he dies. No
guarantee, but it's worth a try in many cases.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Profile of a Team
Middle Way 7
Instead of giving you the profile of a graduating warrior this week, I'm going
to show you what I started with and what I did to make the Middle Way 7.
Warrior #1 I made a parry-riposte, as much because I like making rippers as
because I thought this was an "ideal" ripper. (Hint, it is NOT an "ideal" ripper.)
13 + 0 = 13 I left the ST at 13 because that's enough to use any ripper's
5 + 0 = 5 weapon. I didn't raise the CN, though an "ideal" ripper would have
12 + 0 = 12 more, because I didn't have the points to spare. I can raise this
13 + 2 = 15 warrior's CN later, and in fact I did so on the first fight. Why
7 + 6 = 13 didn't I raise the WT to 17 or 19, as I could have done? Again, I
13 + 0 = 13 needed the points more elsewhere, and 15 is sufficient for any of
7 + 6 = 13 the ripper's preferred weapons. Learning with a 15 WT is fine,
also. I raised WL to 13, the maximum allowable addition of points, because that is
THE most important stat. Without a decent WL, you can't raise any of the other
stats, and 13 is marginal anyway. If this warrior survives to graduation, it will go
into automatic retirement because of that low WL. SP I left alone because that's
more than enough for any ripper to start with. DF I raised by the maximum six points
because it's so useful for a) getting initial skills (this warrior was born with an
expert in riposte) and b) hitting on target and winning fights before the low CN
loses them. This warrior is very frail--mostly the low CN, but incredibly quick
(relatively high SP and DF combined). She can't carry much weight, but she does do
good damage.
Warrior #2 I made a wall of steel, which may be my favorite style. I added
6 + 3 = 9 three to ST because I HATE warriors who do little damage. Also,
10 + 0 = 10 raising ST to 9 will allow this warrior to use the SC, one of my
16 + 0 = 16 favorite weapons. Nothing to CN, 10 is okay. Not great, but okay.
12 + 5 = 17 Five to WT, since I have the points to spend there, gives me 17,
7 + 6 = 13 just about the ideal starting WT. The full six to WL for the same
6 + 0 = 6 reason as above--gotta get it as high as possible, and this is
13 + 0 = 13 still just marginal for a long term warrior. I left the SP at 6,
because I never know what to do with SP anyway. And DF left at 13 because the points
were needed more urgently elsewhere, and 13 will give this warrior the SC, the wall
of steel's best weapon. This warrior came out slightly uncoordinated (the low SP)
but at the same time quick on his feet. He can trip faster than anyone you ever saw!
Again, can't carry much weight but does good damage.
Warrior #3 I made another ripper. Hey, I warned you I'm doing rippers right
9 + 0 = 9 now! It would probably have made a better lunger, but I didn't
8 + 0 = 8 feel like making a lunger, and besides, the idea of a seven-foot
20 + 0 = 20 tall ripper tickled my fancy. I left ST untouched, as 9 will
14 + 3 = 17 give this warrior the SC. CN is acceptable, though low for a
4 + 6 = 10 ripper. Raised WT to 17, because WT is always useful to have; if
4 + 1 = 5 I could have put the two extra points on WL, I'd have settled for
11 + 4 = 15 a WT of 15, though. Six points to WL for the same reason as above
--this team is cursed in the WILL department. Oh, well, you work with what you've
got. Four added to DF for starting skills and accuracy, and the final one point I
dropped on SP because it looked so desperately low. This warrior came out with
"slightly uncoordinated" but is not listed as "slow and inactive," possibly thanks to
that extra point on SP. At least, that's what I choose to tell myself. This one
came out slightly uncoordinated but incredibly quick and active, can't carry much
weight but does great damage (the SZ).
Warrior #4 has perhaps the best potential, in my view. I made it a wall of
11 + 0 = 11 steel (you're not surprised, are you?). Left ST and CN alone;
9 + 0 = 9 they're high enough to go with. Raised WT to 15, which is a good,
13 + 0 = 13 meaty WT. Why not 16? Because that wouldn't give me anything I
10 + 5 = 15 can't get at 15, and save the extra point for use elsewhere. WL to
12 + 5 = 17 seventeen--gotta love it. If this warrior survives, that 17 WL
5 + 1 = 6 means long-term possibilities in the form of relatively easy stat
10 + 3 = 13 raises later on. One point on SP because I had it and that seemed
more useful than any other place I might put it. Three to DF, because the extra
accuracy is always useful, though I could have stopped at 11 (the minimum needed to
use a SC) and put the other two points elsewhere. If I had chosen to do that, they
would probably have gone to ST for more damage. Slightly uncoordinated but active
and very quick on his feet, can't carry much weight but does good damage. A familiar
pattern, eh?
Warrior #5 is a total parry. Somehow he just didn't look like anything else.
4 + 5 = 9 Points to ST to reach my minimum preferred of nine, so that he will
14 + 1 = 15 not be cursed with little damage. After all, he MIGHT strike a
16 + 0 = 16 blow some day. Also, I wanted him to be able to stand up under his
9 + 0 = 9 armor. An extra point to CN, because total parries can always use
12 + 5 = 17 more of that. Nothing on WT, as skills are not important for him,
9 + 0 = 9 and 9 isn't too bad... for a total parry. Five to bring WL to 17;
6 + 3 = 9 this is as important for a total parry as for any other style, and
maybe more so, since it affects endurance. Left SP alone; he won't be moving much.
Three to DF to bring that up to 9 so that he can use some weapons other than the
shields. I have a hard time thinking of shields as weapons, frankly. Normal
intelligence--no statement as to how intelligent he is, but then again, no statement
that he is "very stupid" either. A compromise I--and he--can live with. He's got
good endurance and can take a lot of damage, thanks to CN, SZ, and WL. Can't carry
much weight (the low ST) but does great damage (the high SZ). I've already raised
his ST by one and plan to up it another point to 11, as I have chosen to arm him with
a longspear (they use 'em like quarterstaves for parrying and may, on rare occasions,
even attack with them); also, if I am reading the chart correctly, there are no
skills to be burned by stat trains from 9 to 11.
You'll note that only one of them won its first fight. This is not unusual, nor
is it distressing to me. In fact, I like for them to lose their first fight, as it
teaches them a little humility! But seriously, the first fight gives you a chance to
get the feel of the warrior and decide what adjustments to make to each one's
standard strategy.
Number 1 was going 6-6-6 straight across, not fast enough to burn out early, not
slow enough to scum. She got the first blow, which is good, but I don't expect her
to do it again; her opponent should probably be cranking up his Offensive Effort to
grab the first blow for himself. She didn't start showing exhaustion statements, so
she can handle this speed, at least; it was damage (that low CN) that took her down.
The second was going 8-6-6 and did NOT get the first blow, which was appropriate
considering his opponent's style. He went down to damage, the wimp, before I could
tell if he could sustain this speed.
The third, my seven-foot ripper, went 6-6-6 and had no trouble dealing with the
Persistent Beggar. I really can't call that a test.
The fourth was jumped, knocked down, went desperate, and quit, all in the space
of a few seconds. He's going to get some teasing for that from his teammates! He
was going 8-6-6, but there wasn't time to see how he liked that.
The last one, the total parry, went down to damage, having made no attempt to
parry, dummy that he is. I may set him the parry tactic in minute one. He was going
6-6-6, for all the good it did him. If he'd bothered to parry and hung on a little
longer, he could have had that fight, because his opponent was staggering with
exhaustion in the first minute.
Jorja
Middle Way 7
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[+ Question of the Week #6 +]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
From turn 412:
AK's Q.O.W. -- There's no single trick to keeping warriors alive. Constitution and
armor probably helps the most because it's more difficult for them to run out of hit
points and die in the infirmary, plus they don't go desperate as easy which is
usually when the death intent comment comes. Warrior experience is a big help, but
it takes time to earn, of course. Tourneys could help with this, but you can die
there too. It may be at half chance, but you get so many.... It really comes down
to the death intent statement usually. Skill, and toughness (including armor) help
to keep you from getting to that point, and once there, only warrior experience makes
a difference in reducing the chance of failing the survival role after that death
intent statement. -- Adie
AK's Q.O.W. #2 -- It takes a lot more than three master ratings once you get to the
middle ranks of ADM. In the lower end, that could be enough. But success is much
more attributed to the sum of the warriors' capabilities. Are they tough? Do they
have staying power/endurance? Do they defend well, even with low skills? Do they
have good rythyms? Do they 'like' their rythyms? How bout their favorite weapon?
Is it good and do they love it or hate it? Sometimes a warrior, for a reason not
easily definable, just wins. Other super skilled ones can just lose regularly. Of
course, each warrior may win at one level of the game, like basic and as freshmen,
but maybe lose like crazy higher up. Godlings will commonly come into their own as
champions and freshmen. The very rare few can win ALL the way. Those warriors are a
true joy.... -- Adie
Another Q.O.W. -- Perhaps it is not the fact that your good roll-ups never get
blessed and the others do. But it may be the fact, that you only get few great ones,
and it is EASY to remember them not getting gifted. Kind of like that syndrome where
people find it easy to remember all the negative things in their life, but find it
difficult to point out the equal or more numerous good things. However, if this is
not the case, keep those better gifted average roll-ups. Especially those that can
win in basic. You may find them winning in ADM later too, especially once they start
training stats. Also, if you get enough great roll-ups, you will eventually get
gifted ones. Remember, some styles find it easier to be more gifted. -- Adie
AK47 -- Let's see... <shuffling through paperwork> It says here that the three
recently deceased warriors from my team had 'normal', 'a lot', and 'very frail' hit
points. The 'very frail' one died in the infirmary, which is a little different.
The hit points, if you will, just determine how much damage can be sustained before
the warrior goes desperate/frantic/careless/you-name-it. Once that happens, con
ceases to matter. I've seen all types of warriors buy the farm, from 7 will to 21,
from no armor to APA/F. You hit upon the most important point, winning as much as
possible, but beyond that it's all about luck. Running in a friendly arena can help
the statistics of dying, but it doesn't mean any individual is safe and unkillable.
Tournies aren't that safe, in my opinion. FEs are helpful, but I think they are just
a visible artifact of being a developed fighter. A warrior with a lot of FEs but a
lousy learn rate probably isn't much more survivable just due to those FEs. -- Axly
AK47 -- Three masters sounds like a good rule of thumb, but that would vary depending
on what the warrior's physicals were like. I might say two masters and two ad exes
for defensives, but I'm no expert on them. -- Axly
Hanibal, QoW -- I have no idea. Some styles get gifted more than others, and in
certain areas. If you want the best bonuses, run aimers! -- Axly
QOW / AK 47 -- I've found skills keep a warrior alive better than anything. My best
learners have all lived. Especially offensives who learn a lot of init and decise
quickly. Swing first and keep swinging. I'd take WL over CN for its skills. I fear
mentioning this that it may jinx me, but I've never lost a warrior past about 10
fights. Armor has helped me at times, but it robs warriors of much of their finesse.
If a good defensive warrior can live through about 5-10 fights and learn well
he/she/it should be well on the way to success. -- JRK
QOW / AK 47 -- I think it's an oversimplification to say three masters are needed in
AD. I also think it depends on the arena. Andorak is very competitive right now. I
have warriors with three advanced masters who can't seem to win much anymore. As to
what the requirement is... I think it depends on a number of factors, where you are
in the rankings, what your favorites are, what you get in the way of challenges,
matchups and where your attributes fall. Three masters and tremendous
damage/endurance would be much different from three masters and normal in both areas.
I'm not sure a good benchmark can be set. But it is certainly and interesting
question. -- JRK
QOW -- Overall, I would lean toward saying the reverse is true as far as giftedness.
Most of my average warriors have come out very close to average, usually a little
above. While many of my good warriors have been at least +3, often +5 or more. On
my all star team of long ago (Maxwell Honorblade, Monica Virtueshield, Michael
Honorblade, Corina Honorblade, and Angela Silverblade) all of my warriors were gifted
(four of them by +3 or more, 3 by +5 or more), average or not. I also tend to do
well in attack and poorly in init. Giftedness seems to be a fickle thing, I suspect
this is because the RUGS are involved. -- JRK
P.S. I apologize if it seems I am bragging, but my record and I have never gotten
over the graduation of all those warriors.
Axly -- Damned if I know. I found the style-linked starting points very curious.
Looks to me like there was an attempt to balance styles that resulted in drastic
imbalances! -- Leeta
Hanibal -- Once you've gotten the death-intent statement, only luck will keep you
alive. The thing you need to do is avoid getting the death-intent statement. No,
this is serious. You can up a warrior's hit points in the design stage, by adding to
CN and, I think WL (but maybe ST), and having a large SZ helps. Of course, if you
pile the points on there, he may be dumb and clumsy. You can pile on the armor,
which will help keep him alive but may lose him fights unless he can scum; some
warriors are totally immobilized by armor.
On a more positive note, if I have a warrior who is "very frail" that I really
don't want to die, I will use armor, and I will attempt to keep him alive by using
the "surrender in desperation" tactic. No, no, it isn't a joke! Honest! Say I've
got a frail warrior, probably with normal or lower endurance. I send that boy out
running hard, 10-10, even. Sometimes, especially if he's smart and deft, he wins
right off. But if he doesn't win right off, he rapidly becomes exhausted and quits.
I forget who it was who suggested this to me, years ago--Phido, maybe. It doesn't
always work (nothing ALWAYS works), but it may help. And I'd rather have good
warriors lose than die; if they stay alive long enough, they build up skills and
start winning. -- Leeta
P.S. Yes, CN keeps you alive better than WL. WL sometimes leads a low-CN warrior to
go on fighting a little too long.
P.P.S. Yes, warriors who can take a lot of damage do die, sometimes, because some
warriors can dish out a lot of damage.
P.P.P.S. The survival of low-CN high skill warriors is more a matter of strategy
than anything else. And, obviously, if you don't lose, you don't die.
P.P.P.P.S. Picking your arena does contribute to warrior survival, but it can be
tricky, since a warrior has, as a normal minimum, a year to go before graduation and
the character of an arena may change in the course of a year. Andorian is not always
a guarantee of relative safety; you need to look at the actual managers present and
evaluate THEM for propensity to run killing styles and strategies. In my opinion,
tourneys are of limited value in building up a warrior for the regular arena. Sure,
the chance of dying is only half that in regular dueling, but the chance of learning
skills or training stats is also only half. And that's what increased FE is about:
more skills, more stat trains.
P.P.P.P.P.S. There is NO number of fights that will preserve you from being killed,
and if you fight equally experienced opponents who happen to be "headhunters," it
won't improve your chances much, either! Pick your fights with care, challenge and
avoid every time. The only absolute guarantee against death is a potion of
immortality (a tourney prize) or graduation.
AK47 -- It depends on the advanced arena you're fighting in. And by "hold your own,"
do you mean have a 50% winning percentage, or rise rapidly through the ranks, or make
it to the top, or what? I have run warriors in Lirin Kiv (ADM 107) from the day it
opened, and in that arena, no, you don't have to have three masters. Oh, sure, it
HELPS, especially now that the arena has aged enough so that some of the foundation
warriors DO have those masters. But it happens to be a small advanced arena fed by
small basic arenas, and while the competition among the fossils in the upper levels
is stiff, the lower levels aren't that bad. Heck, even MY warriors win sometimes!
Or, try 101, Home Guard. Yes, the current status lets in warriors who are
potentially good, but I doubt anyone there has three masters, and if they do, they're
probably on their way out. -- Leeta
P.S. And no amount of innate ability on the part of a warrior can overcome for long
the effects of careless management. Management may not be ALL, but it's at least
half.
Hanibal -- Regarding blessed warriors and great rollups, the law of averages says
everybody has a chance to be blessed. But it takes a LOT of warriors for the law of
averages to operate visibly. I have had great (in stats) warriors who were blessed
and the same who were cursed, ditto for average ones. -- Leeta
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 751): MERCURY of QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 753): WARFARIN of PURE POISON (?, mgr>)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 736): LAME OX of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 747): SIR TOO DUMB of THE GRAIL KNIGHTS (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 749): JUDGEMENT of PANDORA'S CARDS (Var, mgr,)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 740): LEAD BELLY of BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 741): PUTRID DEFILER of KARNHORN KARNAGE (Var, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 373): TRAVEL of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 738): ZOT of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 640): PITCHFORK of USEFUL WEAPONS (Smithy, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 735): SYCAMORE STYLE of B.I.G. (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 732): HUSTLER of CLASSIC CHARACTERS (Coach, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 724): URCHIN of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 682): BIG SIX of FAMOUS HURLERS (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 348): ERMINE of NORTHERN LIGHTS (Jorja, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 342): EXPOSED of HORNY GOAT X (Grimm, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 329): NEFARA of PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 614): RATTLER of SERPENTS' HOLD (Khisant, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 599): CLARENCE G. CRAFT of MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 581): SYBO of TREXTRAS (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 575): GORBAN TEN SKORA of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 278): F.U.B.A.R. of ALPHABET SOUP (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 539): BOOMER of TOLBINS LADIES (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 531): RAGE of RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 522): SILVER SLIM of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 639): NIGHTCAP of DARKLINGS (She-Puppy, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 751): QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 753): PURE POISON (?, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 736): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 747): THE GRAIL KNIGHTS (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 749): PANDORA'S CARDS (Var, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 740): BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 741): THE MAGNIFICENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 373): EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 738): THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 370): BASH BROS OCEAN (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 735): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 732): OBSIDIAN HALL (Dameon Darkheart, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 724): FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 682): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 348): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 342): NUKE TEST (Malaquar, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 329): PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 614): MIDDLE WAY 20 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 599): UNNAMEABLES (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 581): MEDAL OF HONOR G10 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 575): TOLBIN'S GEMS (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 278): MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 536): I HATE TOURNEYS (Mr. Anti-Tourney, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 531): RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 522): MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 639): BEERBARIANS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 751): GALILEO of QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 741): RAMEX of VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
MOTHER GHEA NEWS of THE MAGNIFICENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 373): MERCURY of PLANETS (Stargazer, mgr.)
POP TARGET of DODGE BULLETS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 738): ZOT of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
(turn 737): SERENA of SHADOWMIST (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 639): MALICE of ASSASSINATION (Ghab, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 735): APOCALYPSE of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 723): FINN MAC KARMEK of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 681): SHADOW FROGGY of BATTLE FROGS 12-15 (Grimm, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 347): BENEZIA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 341): WITCHCRAZE of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
CHICKEN A LA KING of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 329): NEFARA of PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 614): NICHOLAS of MEN OF STEEL (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 599): CLARENCE G. CRAFT of MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist)
(turn 598): DAISY DAWG of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 581): CELINE DEE of MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 574): DRIVING A ROLLS of BASH BROS EVANGELIST
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 531): RAGE of RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
(turn 530): JADE LOTUS of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 522): SILVER SLIM of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr)
SPY REPORT
You elder fighters surely remember me. The younger ones may call me Olaf
Modeen. I return to NOBLISH ISLAND once again! Hmmmph! I always thought BEYOND THE
WALL was an over-rated team and they proved it with a 0-5-0! BB BASEBALL MONEY
showed NOBLISH ISLAND what they were made of as they fought with a vengeance to walk
off with 4-1-0. What's with HOOSIERS? He actually beat NOBLISH ISLAND's CAPTURED
ORC, and walked away with 16 more points from the fight. Laughs were big at BB
BASEBALL MONEY while they watched GUARANTEED clobber GORGORE. It lost 11 points and
got bruised from objects thrown from the stands. NOBLISH ISLAND, set your sights on
KHALHUMS DWARF. He'll be happy to entertain all requests after defeating CUTTING
EDGE. I suppose you want to hear some rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow
fighters? Tough!
If at first you don't succeed, avoid. That'll get you in the Spyreports.
NOBLISH ISLAND thinks BB BASEBALL MONEY and their 20-5-0 is too much! If at first
you don't succeed, give up... The bums at SPORTS FLICKS couldn't face the challenges
from BB BASEBALL MONEY! No excuse for that! What do people see in KNEEDLINYA? Hers
3-4-0? BEYOND THE WALL ain't talkin', but she's got 13 points.
There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit. Do you want the fighters
to walk away, or not? How long have I been here? I got people to see, places to
go...
Well, I'm pretty much through. You guys need to get back practicing. All work
and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter. Work and play no fighter dull Olaf.
Olaffighterwork and no play. I don't want to overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
HOOSIERS 9585 5 0 0 45 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
CUTTING EDGE 9584 3 2 1 45 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
GUARANTEED 9581 5 0 0 38 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
XEPHYR 9603 4 0 0 33 X-MEN! (1644)
THE NATURAL 9587 4 1 0 31 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
LORD MASONKLITZ 9616 1 1 0 29 SCORPIONS (1646)
OUT OF CONTROL 9579 4 1 0 27 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
XOOMA 9547 4 5 0 22 X-MEN! (1644)
LONGTERM CONTRACTS 9580 4 1 0 21 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
TV CONTRACTS 9583 4 1 0 19 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
THEODORE PRESCOTT 9573 3 2 1 19 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
XUNA 9548 4 5 1 18 X-MEN! (1644)
XIVECK 9602 2 2 0 18 X-MEN! (1644)
-SYMPHONICA 9592 2 1 0 18 NEO POLITY (1652)
GORGORE 9599 3 2 0 17 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
ANVENGEN KALE 9577 2 3 0 17 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
-JOHN CUTLY 9590 2 1 0 16 NEO POLITY (1652)
SANJI 9632 1 0 1 16 SCORPIONS (1646)
-DYSOFONIA 9591 1 2 0 16 NEO POLITY (1652)
ROCKY 9586 3 2 1 15 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
KNEEDLINYA 9567 3 4 0 13 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
TOYTLES 9563 3 4 0 13 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
TIN CUP 9588 3 2 1 12 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
LEFTY & PULSE 9582 3 2 0 12 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
BRIX 9566 2 5 0 11 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
BRUTUS TIMBLIN 9623 1 0 0 10 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
XABOO 9597 2 3 0 9 X-MEN! (1644)
KOKO BELLA 9618 1 0 0 9 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
PING 9564 0 7 0 7 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
MIGGY OWENS 9621 1 0 0 6 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
HEPHAESTUS 9630 1 0 0 5 SCORPIONS (1646)
-EMILE RUHAN 9593 0 3 0 3 NEO POLITY (1652)
-JIMMY DENS 9589 0 3 0 3 NEO POLITY (1652)
OGRE THE PALE 9609 0 2 0 2 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
MONNA KOPI 9620 0 1 0 1 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
JOHN ASAZI 9617 0 1 0 1 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
DRASGAR FINCHLY 9622 0 1 0 1 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
CHORLYNDYR 9629 0 1 0 1 SCORPIONS (1646)
LUCKY CHUCKY 9619 0 1 0 1 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
KYRIA 9631 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?
EMBEZZLING SCRIB 0 0 0 SANJI 9632 406 NONE
MS. SMOKE 9594 0 1 0 SCORPIONS 1646 TIN CUP 9588 402 JUST REVENGED
SPIRAL FLAME 9595 0 1 0 SCORPIONS 1646 ROCKY 9586 402 REVENGED
TAMINA BLAZE 9596 2 1 0 SCORPIONS 1646 CUTTING EDGE 9584 404
PERSONAL ADS
By the gods... 0-5? Maybe Gladiatorial Combat isn't for us... [Probably would have
helped to have the C.I.C. BEFORE I made my rollups.] Any feedback would be
appreciated. -- Anvengen's Edge
P.S. I think the "separate papers comment" on personals was aimed at me...
What style is the best? Some important aspects to the answer:
-- All styles are not equal.
-- All styles are not as easy to learn and run.
-- Some warrior types require more tinkering with strategy to find the optimal way
to
run.
Strikers are clearly the strongest offensive style. Their weakness is lower starting
attack, so usually you want minimum 11 deftness and as much wit as possible.
Total Parries have long been the bane of many otherwise fine warriors. Tack on the
Will and Constitution with reasonable Strength and 11 Deftness and you've got a
beautiful scum. Just stay away from ABs!!!
Lungers with 17 or 21 will are fairly easy to master and run.
Aimed Blows with 21 deftness can be magical.
Bashers and Slashers are the poor cousins to Strikers, but are easy to learn to run.
Wall of Steels are a very strong style once you learn how to design them and only a
little trickier to run than Aimed Blows or Lungers.
Parry Ripostes are much tougher to learn and have clear needs in design to make them
good. A great Parry Riposte can make strikers look really bad.
Parry Lungers and Parry Strikers are the toughest two styles to succeed with.
However... Every style can succeed and especially in the basic arena (before
Advanced Duel2), there is some balance between warrior types (realizing that many
styles can run as different types). I've listed the style in the approximate order
of how easy it is to succeed initially along with the power of the individual style.
It isn't a perfect list, but especially as you begin to manage gladiators, you could
do a lot worse than the advice I give above (My list is a mix of how easy it is to
run each style as compared to how good the style is relative to what you typically
see in an arena). Starting your career with those bottom styles is not the 'easy'
route to success. -- Assur
John Cutly -- Definitely not a traditional way for a slasher to win, but it worked
for you so I won't say anything. Good win! -- Lefty Pulse
Xiveck -- Fantastic fight! Not sure if it was your strategy or that you just don't
have as much endurance, but that decided who won, clearly. So you know, my
strategies, by minute, were: 7-3, 6-1, 6-1. And 8-4 in desperation. -- TV Contracts
Lord Masonklitz -- Assur considers the MS to be the single worst weapon in the game.
For a warrior of your caliber, Assur would recommend SS against light armor, SC or LO
against medium, and SC against heavy -- Guaranteed
Xooma -- Tough break for you. -- Out of Control
Rocky -- Just like in the movie! At the end of the fight, YOU LOSE! -- Longterm
Contracts
Jimmy Dens -- It is only natural that I hit the ball out of the park. Thanks for
providing the opposition. -- The Natural
Yoytles -- I knew you were my kind of guy when I challenged. And I was right. My
putting was exceptional, wasn't it? -- Tin Cup
Long Term Contracts -- You are one dirty rotten scoundrel, only exceeded by that
really dirty rotten scoundrel of a manager of yours! -- Rocky
Kneedlyinya -- I enjoyed our fight. I let my mind wander and it felt like I was
right back in Butler Fieldhouse winning the IHSAA Championship! What a day! --
Hoosiers
Osksi Noble -- Well, I am convinced I will make a better Duelmaster than you would
have. Can I hold on to the title? I heard that Big Bad Assur has all his warriors
gunning for me. -- Cutting Edge
Cutting Edge -- One of the cutest of all Sports Flicks is Duelmaster? I am proud. --
Producer
Assur The Competitor -- How very kind of you to stimulate others to place losses on
my record. I am amazed that you feel the need to beg for help, since you are doing
so well at it yourself. -- Producer
Lord Masonklitz and Scorpion -- Again I apologize for the unintended kills. I am
appreciating the way you are handling this. And also, as Assur said, feel free to
bloodfeud all you want/can. Just be careful. My ego can handle you killing one of
mine, but it may need a therapist if I were to somehow "off" another of yours. Also,
when you move on through Noblish to other arenas, you can count on The Consortium
Folk for any help or assistance you need. -- Producer
Questions asked:
CHARTER -- when a team has fought sufficient fights, they become chartered.
(Allows newer teams to compete for an honor separately of older teams. I am sure
Assur or Jorja will post the exact number of fights necessary to reach chartered.
GRADUATE -- when a warrior reaches 20+ fights and has 14+ wins and 17+ political
points they become Graduates or Lord Protectors and are inducted to The Isle. That
warrior can fight (or not) in Advanced arenas alone (or with partners from other
arenas when you get more graduates). There are no real "teams in ADM. Your arena
team receives a replacement for your graduate, so it can continue with 5 warriors.
There are more details on graduating especially if the warrior has tournament
experience, and Assur is an expert on that. -- Producer
Consortium Family -- Thanks, guys, for the pep talks (subtle trash talking) and
insights. I dunno if I should tip my hat or hide behind a wall. -- Scorpio
It looks like my baby (Team Scorpions) won't be able to really get involved like I
want it to, because thanks to The Producer, I've had to hit the reset button. But my
other two teams are doing well, so that's good. *smile* -- Scorpio
Assur -- I didn't know you could bloodfeud more than once! I feel like a real retard
now. *frown* Tin Cup & Rocky are lucky. -- Scorpio
Scorpio -- Your new team is assembled, sor! I bring you CHORLYNDR, HEPHAESTUS,
KYRIA, and SANJI; I've traveled near and far, and they will serve Scorpions well.
*smiles proudly* -- MASONKLITZ
RIP Cody, Bryson, Franky and Melina. *hiccup* I drink tonight in your memory. --
Scorpio
Producer & Assur -- Tell me of some crunk, fast, Andorian arenas, 'cause my time here
is almost over in three more turns. Thanks. -- Scorpio
Producer -- You really suck, dude, but it's alright; we'll bump into each other one
day, and I'll get my chance to fight your warriors. I wish I had a proxy for the FTF
tournaments. Those are gonna hurt. Oh well. -- Scorpio
If you send your tourney warriors with their basic strategy to the Commission,
they will "house proxy" you. There won't be any strategy changes, but your
warriors will run.
Assur -- Now, now, I *have* changed the training on warriors now and then. I've been
trying to pay more attention to that lately. -- Jorja
P.S. My new team got sidetracked due to some glitch or experiment in the office but
should be here THIS time.
Scorpio -- When a warrior "graduates," he becomes immortal (will be resurrected
automatically if he dies) and is forced out of regular play into AD. You can run him
there solo, or not; that is entirely optional. Some players are completely focused
on "high-end play" (immortal AD warriors), and others never run a warrior after
graduation. Others run both high-end and "basic" (regular-arena mortal) warrriors.
When you reach that point, experiment a little to see what suits you. -- Jorja
Yep, requirements. It used to be simple: twenty total fights in a regular arena,
fourteen of them resulting in wins; seventeen "political points" (designed to prevent
someone hanging around down in the Initiates for twenty turns, they are awarded as
two points for every turn spent in the Challenger Champions, five points for being
Duelmaster or a tourney Champion); and two ratings for skills relevant to the
warrior's style. Now... things are more uncertain, but the above-mentioned should
get a warrior out. Tourney fights count in some ways but not others; I am not clear
on this. In some instances, stat trains MIGHT make a difference (I graduated a
couple of warriors with no ratings but several "relevant" stat raises <raising CN ten
times won't do it>). So far as I *know*, the only guaranteed-to-cause-graduation
condition is to have a warrior survive ONE HUNDRED fights in a regular arena. I've
graduated a couple of those (I'm patient beyond many managers over this) and lost one
at ninety-seven fights. -- Jorja
Chartering isn't something you seek out, particularly, it just happens to your team
after ten active turns. Note this does not mean fifty fights! Ten fights will do it
if they're all on different turns. I'm not sure you could say it has a point, as
such, but it shifts your team and warriors from being eligible for the "unchartered"
awards to qualifying for the "chartered" awards. There is usually less competition
for the unchartered awards, simply because there are fewer new teams than old ones.
And it is difficult to graduate a warrior from an unchartered team--not enough
fights! Although even that might be possible if you focus on tourney play with
warriors from an unchartered team. I wouldn't do it, but I don't do tourney play at
all. -- Jorja
Cutting Edge/Producer -- Congratulations on attaining the throne. I've been able to
take it for the last couple cycles, so good job in wresting it back from me! -- Assur
P.S. Don't let it be said that I've never said anything nice to you or about one of
your warriors.
P.P.S. Don't expect it to continue in the future.
All -- I wish I could go to the FTF... Stupid prison gates. -- Anvengen Kale
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
LORD MASONKLITZ devastated TIN CUP in a 1 minute mismatched Bloodfeud fight.
XEPHYR won victory over LONGTERM CONTRACTS in a 2 minute beginner's Challenge battle.
XUNA was defeated by OUT OF CONTROL in a 2 minute Challenge duel.
PING was devastated by XOOMA in a 4 minute gory one-sided Challenge contest.
XIVECK demolished BRIX in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge competition.
THE NATURAL vanquished KNEEDLINYA in a 3 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
CUTTING EDGE was beaten by KHALHUMS DWARF in a 3 minute amateur vs. veteran brawl.
GUARANTEED vanquished GORGORE in a 1 minute uneven duel.
HOOSIERS vanquished CAPTURED ORC in a 3 minute uneven fight.
TOYTLES was viciously subdued by ANVENGEN KALE in a popular 8 minute brutal fight.
TV CONTRACTS overcame MONNA KOPI in a 5 minute novice's bout.
LEFTY & PULSE subdued DRASGAR FINCHLY in a crowd pleasing 1 minute amateur's match.
ROCKY bested LUCKY CHUCKY in a crowd pleasing 1 minute novice's battle.
THEODORE PRESCOTT beat XABOO in a 1 minute amateur's conflict.
OGRE THE PALE was outlasted by KOKO BELLA in a crowd pleasing 8 minute novice's duel.
JOHN ASAZI lost to HEPHAESTUS in a 1 minute novice's fray.
MIGGY OWENS bested CHORLYNDYR in a 2 minute amateur's brawl.
BRUTUS TIMBLIN overpowered KYRIA in a 1 minute one-sided bout.
SANJI killed EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute novice's bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 7 SLASHING ATTACK 20 - 9 - 2 69 |
|WALL OF STEEL 7 WALL OF STEEL 44 - 25 - 1 64 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 5 TOTAL PARRY 16 - 14 - 0 53 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 21 - 1 52 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 LUNGING ATTACK 12 - 13 - 0 48 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 16 - 18 - 3 47 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 AIMED BLOW 14 - 20 - 1 41 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 11 - 21 - 1 34 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 PARRY-STRIKE 2 - 17 - 0 11 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 406 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 3 3 WALL OF STEEL
BASHING ATTACK 5 - 2 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 2 STRIKING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 5 - 2 AIMED BLOW 0 - 4 2 BASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK
PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY
LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
1 AIMED BLOW
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
WALL OF STEEL HOOSIERS 9585 5 0 0 45 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
STRIKING ATTACK CUTTING EDGE 9584 3 2 1 45 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
BASHING ATTACK GUARANTEED 9581 5 0 0 38 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is KNEEDLINYA 9567. The most popular warrior this turn
was ANVENGEN KALE 9577. The ten other most popular fighters were CUTTING EDGE 9584,
KOKO BELLA 9618, XEPHYR 9603, OUT OF CONTROL 9579, KNEEDLINYA 9567, TV CONTRACTS
9583, MONNA KOPI 9620, MIGGY OWENS 9621, LORD MASONKLITZ 9616, and PING 9564.
The least popular fighter this week was TOYTLES 9563. The other ten least popular
fighters were KYRIA 9631, OGRE THE PALE 9609, XABOO 9597, GORGORE 9599, THE NATURAL
9587, BRIX 9566, XUNA 9548, TIN CUP 9588, SANJI 9632, and BRUTUS TIMBLIN 9623.
A SACRED LORD'S SLASHER
Well, this article/spotlight is for Seal at 7th Order, so here goes.
ST: If he's huge (15+), 3 is okay, and use HA. I prefer 7 for epee. 9 gets scimitar
and 11 gets broadsword. Anything above 11 is a WASTE!!!
CN: Whatever they send you.
SZ: Any.
WT: 15, 17, or 21. 13 is workable, but I hate slow learners! 21 will probably take
a lot from other areas, so 17 is best.
WL: 17, 17, 17!!!! You need endurance, lots of endurance. Some of my friends use
15, but I prefer not to.
SP: 9+ They use SP as well as most, but don't add here until after WT/WL/DF.
DF: 15+, 15+, 15+. Once again, I have high standards. The reason? Have you ever
had a slasher come out w/ "relying on his speed to stay out of trouble"? That's
'cause his parry is in the negative. With a 15 DF your slasher will have a much
better parry and will probably be about 1-3 trains from a Master parry in advanced.
Later on, you'll see!
Now, how to run them:
10 9 7 -------------------------> 10
10 4 2 -------------------------> 10
7 9 7 -------------------------> 1
CH/HE -------------------------------------------- >
HE ----------------------------------------------- >
Off: D at first, open later, min 2 +, open
Def: D/S (preferably Dodge)
Min two+ is in case of a TP or WoS coming after you. This setup works, so good
luck!
Mike Bookout
Bookie, Sacred Lord of the Black Regime
Memphis Mafia (36,100)
P.S. Anybody want to join the Regime?
The Dark Arena: A Fighter's Perspective
(sung to the hymn: Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the dawn
I am walking down the tunnel
After everyone is gone
I step into the torchlight
And I see the blade he's drawn
My mind, it sings this song:
CHORUS
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
My mind continues on
The crowd is chanting praises
But all I hear are growls
Mine enemy's upon me
So I strike him and he howls
Parry, parry, slash, and parry
I smell his breath so foul
And death, he sings this song:
(CHORUS)
Now we both are tired
And my strength is fading fast
Oh, let me give that fatal blow
Oh, let me be the last
I swing my sword with all my might
The crowd it stands, aghast
As he dies, I sing my song:
(CHORUS x2)
Scotlan (28, 31, 39, 50, ?)
Kill Desire: "Patience."
Many times I have lost warriors, and the manager claimed the KD was only five.
As if KD had anything to do with the death of my fighter. It was really the battle
axe to the head that killed him.
I was quite disturbed at the widespread belief that kill desire has something to
do with killing an opponent. But they have good reason to believe this: the
Duelmasters Handbook definition of kill desire has a tendency to cast a "confusion
spell" on the reader to make them think that way. The wording is very misleading.
The name "kill desire" is also misleading. A more correct word would be "patience."
Yes, kill desire is actually how much patience your fighter had before taking a
shot. KD doesn't add damage or tell your fighter where to aim at.
Damage is calculated by weapon and strength. (Of course, favorite weapon also
affects damage.)
You let your warrior know where you want him to aim at by filling out the attack
location boxes on the fight sheets.
Hit location and damage are the main two things that will kill warriors. Hit
locations to vital areas such as head, chest, and the abdomen repeated times increases
your chance to kill. The amount of damage inflicted to these vital areas also
increases your chance to kill an opponent.
As you see, none of this has anything to do with kill desire.
Now, I will tell you what kill desire, or patience, as I call it, actually is.
If you run your warrior with an 8-10 KD, you're telling him to swing like a
drunken wildman. You'll see statements in his fights that say "swings wildly" or
other things to that effect. He is not waiting for a good opening. He is swinging at
everything! This is bad for several reasons.
With his KD that high, he is very easily dodged and parried. Also, he can be
feinted into bad dueling decisions as well.
I think that KD between 5-7 for offensive styles and 3-6 for defensive styles is
perfect.
You get a lot more hits with a 5-7 KD, and feint a lot less. But you also get
more kills in this range. Reason being, you're waiting for a good shot that is hard
to dodge or parry. The example I used earlier about the manager with the 5 KD and
battleaxe is the point I am trying to make. If his warrior's KD was 10, my warrior
could have dodged or parried the attack and still be alive today. But since it was a
5 KD, he waited for a good shot that my warrior had trouble defending against, and
cleaved his head off! (Well, not literally.)
Defensive styles run about 3-6 KD. Defensive styles swing wildly a lot in the
beginning, but that is natural. They will get better. 3-4 KD, they still have a
tendency to let attacks go by. Of course, if you're scumming, go with a 1 KD.
In short, having an 8-10 KD means your warrior is doing all that swinging and
hitting less. Not to mention all the endurance he is burning up to no avail.
Any comments, you can diplo me.
ta-ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
DM 11: Lords of the Abyss
DM 61: Pit Fiends
DM 67: Storm Wizards
DM 5: Bad Girls
SOME INFO ON THE RIPPER
Being that the parry-riposte is my favorite style, I thought I'd share a few
things I've learned.
General design:
ST: 7-11 Strength isn't all important to the P.R. An 11 will gives you all well
suited weapons. I'll even go as high as 17, but with no dramatic
effect.
CN: Any A higher con will give a better endurance and make survival easier.
SZ: Any Although a smaller size gives you a defensive bonus.
WT: 15-21 As with all other styles the higher the better. 15 will give the epee.
A P.R. needs to learn skills to survive.
WL: 13-21 Will is as important as wit. It helps endurance and life expectancy.
A higher will allows you to pick apart most scum.
SP: 5-13 13 is a major breakpoint but it's not necessary to go that high. A
combo of 15 wit, 15 deftness and 11 speed will give you an expert in
riposte with any luck.
DF: 13-21 The higher the coordination the easier it is to hit your attack
location. A 15 will give you the epee.
The perfect P.R. would look something like this: 9-4-5-17-21-11-17 with starting
skill bases like:
Ini: 60%
Rip: 90%
Att: 75%
Par: 70%
Def: 75%
Dec: 40%
One of my first PRs looked like this: 15-10-9-15-15-6-14, Thror the Dark. He was
extremely unlucky as far as starting skills. He now looks a little different: 17-11-
9-17-16-7-15 with 90% Init, 145% Rip, 130% Att, 130% Par, 115% Def and 80% Dec. I
destroyed him with early stat raises.
I had a similar design that was luckier, at least until he got X-ed by a slasher
in a tourney. He died with a 12-3-1 record. But enough of that. You're probably
wanting to get on with the strategies.
So getting on with it, I've tried both offensive and defensive strategies.
Generally defensive has worked better for me. Something like: 3-6-6 going offensive
in minute 3 or 4 with a 10-8-6 or a 9-7-6 and then backing off to a 6-4-6 or a 4-5-6.
As far as tactics go I don't use 'em very often. If you use any offensive tactic
use the lunge or nothing. Defensively use dodge and parry sparingly, if at all, and
don't use the riposte tactic after you've achieved a master.
Okay, now on to weapons and armor. A parry-riposte is somewhat limited when it
comes to weapons. The longsword is their best choice against heavier armors. I once
tried the halberd (I'll wait until you finish laughing.) Anyway, Thror the Dark
savagely slew Spymaster with it. I only give the PR an off hand weapon with epee,
shortsword or the longsword.
I've done varying things with armor, but I've found that lighter armor works
better, personal favorites being APL, ARM, and ASM. I read an article about the
parry-riposte of coom that made me laugh. It said something about wearing more armor
than expected of a PR, listing nothing higher than ACM+F. Imagine what he would have
thought fighting Thror the Dark in APA+F.
This is just an opinion brought to you by Necrom, manager of Knightmares (33),
Pentad Paladins (55), Northlanders (70) and a couple of others.
Crimson Strikers
Greetings, fellow managers, I, Crimson Strategist, shall share my thoughts with
you on the striking attack style.
This style developed in cultures where weapon quality surpassed that of the
armors, this made landing the first blow vital. This blow is usually delivered in a
downward fashion quickly, surely, and with power in a minimal of wasted motion.
Here's how I rate the stats:
ST 11-15: Never go below 11, strikers are well suited to ALL the weapons in the
game and 11 allows the use of the majority of them. They also need to hurt their foe
when they hit, thus making this an important consideration for damage rating.
CN 3-9: This whole style revolves around finishing your foe quickly, if your foe
has time to develop a complex formal attack on your striker, then you're not fighting
him properly. A properly run striker should never be hit more than four or five
times, any more than this and the whole concept behind this style gets thrown right
out the window, therefore I rate con as the least important attribute for this style.
SZ 9-16: A size of 9 allows use of all the weapons and it is important in
determining your damage rating, plus, it also adds to your init and this style thrives
on init.
WT 13+: As with any style, the higher the better. 13 is rock bottom, it allows
the use of all weapons except the epee and you'll still learn at a decent pace.
WL 7-13: This style conserves endurance which allows this attribute to go
considerably less than most styles and still fight effectively for a respectable
length of time. I've had strikers with a 13 ST, 3 CN, and 5 WL get poor endurance
ratings and ones with 11 ST, 6 CN, and 9 WL get normal. However, if you want some
long term potential, you'd want to be around 13 or so.
SP 10+: This is very important for decise and init skills which are the heart of
this style. Landing the first blow and finishing the fight quickly is hinged on your
striker's speed.
DF 15+: This is crucial attribute for this style, they NEED to be precise with
their blows, plus, it also adds to their init. Get to 17 or 21 if possible.
Now let's take a look at the style itself. The striking attack is one of the
easiest styles to run, yet they have adversity that many styles lack. As I've said
before, a striker can use ALL the weapons in the game. They can fight effectively
wearing plate armor and no armor, they can use EVERY tactic in the game be it
offensive or defensive, a striker can fight like a lunger or basher, ripper or
slasher, etc... provided that you match up their strategy with the appropriate tactic
and weapon. They can beat ALL the styles in DM and beyond if you choose their
strategy correctly for that particular style vs. style matchup.
Here are some examples of style vs. style matchups for strikers and various
tactic selections vs. the different styles.
High decise strikers over slashers and lungers, strikers over total parry and
wall of steel, rippers over strikers, etc...
Using the decise tactic vs. lungers, slashers, and aimed blows. Using the lunge
tactic vs. rippers and aimed blows, using no tactic and having a moderate offensive
effort and moderate activity level vs. total parries and wall of steel, etc...
The possible variations for this style are virtually endless.
Now let's take a brief look at your striker overview and glean some helpful hints
on how to fight them. If you see statements like "relying on speed to stay out of
danger" or "avoiding rather than trading blows," this is telling you that your AL
should be moderate to high. If he does great damage, then don't use weapons like the
epee or shortsword, this would be an underutilization of his strengths. If he learns
attack skills easily, then this is telling you that he likes to take his time and pick
his shots so don't send him out with a 10 OE! If you see statements like "has learned
how to be a decisive and quick fighter," then by all means USE the decise tactic with
a high OE. Don't send him out with offhand weapons unless he's ambidextrous, if you
do, it will take away from his attack. As you can see, the various statements on your
overview are very helpful in telling you how your striker likes to fight.
Here's a very general strategy that has worked well for my strikers.
OE 10 8 7 7 7 6 6 Armor: ARM to ACM
AL 4 3 2 1 1 1 8 Weapons: BS,LO,SC,GS,BA
KD 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
ATT LOC Head, body, arms
PRO LOC Head or body
OFF TCT Decise or bash
DEF TCT Response or dodge
Before I close there is one last point I wish to emphasize, USE the
challenge/avoid system, it will help control who you fight and when. In closing, I
would like to thank the following managers for their diplos and articles which helped
me learn the game: Sir Jessie Jest, Talon, Tex, the managers on the roundtable, and
numerous others who took their time to put quill and ink on parchment and pass their
knowledge on to others, thanks!
Many of you know the Crimson Death stables or soon will know them since I plan to
have quite a few of them up and running, however, some of them will be on and off due
to monetary fluctuations so if you wish to diplo me with any comments, criticisms,
whatever, send them to my home arena, which, from here on out, will always be active.
Later,
Crimson Strategist
Crimson Death DM 61