DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 01/24/2015 Duedate: 02/06/2015 NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA DM-93 TURN-421 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS BRIENNE DARK LOTUS (1659) (93-9657) [8-2-1,66] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader BRIENNE RIAS GREMORY DARK LOTUS (1659) GREMORY DEVILS (1667) (93-9657) [8-2-1,66] (93-9704) [3-0-0,33] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite BRIENNE BRIENNE DARK LOTUS (1659) DARK LOTUS (1659) (93-9657) [8-2-1,66] (93-9657) [8-2-1,66] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM BASH BROS SCUM (1663) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 38 2. THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 29 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 3. THE HEATHENS (1664) 18 Unchartered Team 4. DARK LOTUS (1659) 15 5. BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 12 GREMORY DEVILS (1667) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 34 15 1 69.4 1/ 2 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 9 5 0 2- 2*MY 60'S TV (1661) 28 17 0 62.2 2- 1*MY 60'S TV (1661) 7 3 0 3- 3*EINHERJAR (1665) 13 9 1 59.1 3/ 4 DARK LOTUS (1659) 7 5 2 4/ 4*GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 8 7 0 53.3 4/ 7*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 6 9 0 5/ 6 DARK LOTUS (1659) 23 24 4 48.9 5- 3*THE BRAIN BUSTERS (1671) 5 5 0 6- 5*THE BRAIN BUSTERS (1671) 8 9 1 47.1 6/ 6*GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 4 11 0 7/ 7*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 13 17 0 43.3 7/ 9*GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 3 2 0 8- 9*KULLISAARS (1670) 4 7 0 36.4 8- 5*EINHERJAR (1665) 3 5 0 9/ 8*GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 7 13 0 35.0 9/10*THE HEATHENS (1664) 3 6 1 10/11*THE HEATHENS (1664) 3 10 1 23.1 10- 8*KULLISAARS (1670) 2 4 0 '*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn (###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank TEAM SPOTLIGHT HOW'S THIS D2 THING ACTUALLY WORK? Or THINGS YOUR MAMA SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU D2, the game of Duelmasters, is just plain fun. It is so good that there has even been a published book written about it! It must be great, then! Do you want to have the fun and pleasures that hundreds of other managers before you have experienced? Can't blame you! I have been enjoying Duelmasters-to-D2 for nearly 30 years. Perhaps this article will assist or simplify your introduction to this game and speed up your enjoyment process. It goes something like this.... ACQUIRE A D2 ROLL UPS sheet from RSI. (Reality Simulations Inc., P.O. Box 22400, Tempe AZ 85285-2400, 480-967-7979) The first sheet/team is free. Subsequent teams cost $5. Later, after your introductory 10 turns in the Noblish Island (DM93) arena, you can transfer your starting team to another arena, or you may find you even want to start up a new team/s in other arenas, or both. Actually, you can start new teams any time, even while going through your learning process in DM93; but you may want to "learn the ropes" first. FILL OUT THE ROLL UPS and send the sheet to RSI. Other than the normal personal information, the most important things to decide are: Team name, Manager Name, and 5 individual warrior designs. Let's discuss each of those briefly. Team name and manager name can be anything you like that fits you. (RSI will edit inappropriate naming.) They can be gladiator driven, silly ideas, great play on words, or whatever. The warrior names can be closely tied to the team name, or not. My very first team was: Bulldogs, manager Kennelworth, and names like--Tiger Lily, Sir Smythe, Wild Wayne, and Flash. Etc. A team I admire in the game is Azure Clouds, manager Slugbait, warrior names like--Black Bile, Violent Orange, Blue Note.... We could spend hours and hours on warrior designs, (Where to place the 14 points on the fixed 70 points and what style to choose?) and there are many articles available examining design, so I will offer only a few basic comments: Offensive styles are easier to learn for a newbie. (Or anyone, for that matter) Gender does not matter at all in the fight process. Generally, fast & quick or brawny & strong rule the day. I said generally. WT and WL are the most important stats. There are reasons to design to odd numbers. (Exclude CN from that statement.) Read newsletters and other RSI info, especially DM93 for design reviews You have received your 5 warrior profiles. Time to fill out DUEL II STRATEGY FORMS and send them in to RSI. "Goodness!" you say; "I wish I had a lot more information about weapons and strategies and what the warrior profile means, and...." Here are a list of places and methods for getting additional info: "Phone a friend." Diplo, e mail, call, write, etc., beg from other players, especially experienced players in the game. "Put on your newbie outfit." Ask RSI, or better yet, diplo the teachers/coaches in Noblish Island (DM93) the "starter's arena" and ask for information provided there. If you are already in Noblish Island, ask Jorja or anyone there to make sure you get the CIC or "fact sheets." "Go electronic." The best information in the game is available at reality.com/dm, or terrablood.com, or even try chatzy.com/42003746228981 as Dmers chat there from appx 9AM to 2AM EST. and they seem to welcome inexperienced questions. So back to the strategy sheets. One for each warrior you plan to fight. Write legibly! You would be very disappointed to have a code inputted improperly because your scribbles were not so discernible. The basic stuff like warrior name and ID, or game # and account # don't need discussion [But don't leave them out!]. But weapon selection, strategy, armor and challenging do. Weapon choice is your chance to select a best weapon against the opponent's probable armor. Bigger weapons are probably needed against heavy armor. Some weapons do especially well against certain armor types. (Hmmm; that information mentioned earlier would help.) The most common weapon arrangements are a single primary weapon and a small backup primary for offensive types, and a primary/ /secondary (secondary could be a shield) and zero to two backups for defensives/ /finesse warriors. Strategy is more difficult to decide. Offensives usually start "hot and heavy" and then slow down, as they will wear down/tire due to weight being carried and a high activity level. Defensives tend to run moderately, but current arena defensive warriors can be found fighting anywhere from "hot and heavy" to very slow. The desperation strategy is important, because if your warrior is nearing defeat or exhaustion, you may want to do something different in a last-ditch effort to pull out the win. Armor is really a matter of preference, but like every other choice in the game, there are trade-offs. Heavy armor, while providing more protection, can slow down and wear down warriors. Naked or light armor may be less restricting and faster but offers little protection. It is easy to think, "I need lots of armor." but over- encumbering a warrior greatly impacts his fighting ability. Training is simple. The most common training is "skills," but stats can be and are trained also. In general the amount of skills learned is based on your WT (the higher the better), but it is also impacted by the knowledge of the warriors you fight. (And other things) Stat training is very highly dependent on WL, as the odds of getting a first stat train of a stat type are 5% times the WL. (E.g. a WL of 15 = 5%x15 or 75% chance.) There can be a luck roll impact also in almost everything that occurs in Duel 2. Attempting to get a 2nd stat raise in a certain stat is halved. (E.g. a WL of 15 = 5%x15x 0.5 = 37.5%) Challenging and avoiding are very strategic components of the game. There are quite a few managers who do not challenge or avoid or both. You can use that to your best advantage. Challenge warriors (the warrior ID number) and avoid teams (the team ID number). Several points about challenging/avoiding): 1. Challenging and avoiding do not work until after you have fought your first fight in the arena. 2. Challenge warriors or styles you think you can beat, or who will teach you well, or to attempt to advance in the rankings. 3. Avoid those teams who have warriors that can probably beat you, or who are likely to challenge you. 4. Remember: challenge warrior ID numbers (not names) and avoid team numbers 5. Some arenas, usually Andorian, frown on down-challenging. (Usually defined as challenging someone with fewer recognition points that oneself.) Beware of the arena environment, history, and politics. You have the option to use an alternate "special strategy" either (or both) when you challenge someone, or when someone challenges you. You can use this alternate to prepare a specific strategy for that challenge you just made, or surprising an opponent who will likely challenge or blood feud you. To use these alternatives, "x" the proper box or boxes and fill out the strategy info on the back of the strategy form. This alternative strategy will not be used unless the conditions you selected occur. That was easy, wasn't it!? After sending in your strategy sheets, (in plenty of time for the due date--or last minute via fax; no internet submittals allowed) the computer utilizes everyone's inputs and the fights proceed. A few days after the arena run date, the actual fights and arena newsletter will arrive in your mailbox. Before submitting the new warrior strategies for the next round of fights, there is much a manager can/should examine and review. Here are generic things that this old- time manager evaluates: 1. Have I collected/recorded all the information I want from the fight so I can access it quickly? (Ed Sullivan and his Consortium cronies record this for every fight--opponent's name, stable, arena and ID number, size, handedness, record, style, armor, and weapons plus my warrior's train results, armor, weapons, swing info (criticals/swings/extra value hits). W or L, how many minutes, recognition points, and political point status--if any. Also recorded are who, if anyone challenged. This is manually recorded on a sheet with my warrior's name, ID, and size, handedness, plus style. 2. Did each warrior fight as I expected from the strategy? Do I need to adjust or change any strategies? 3. Did any warrior act over encumbered or tire faster than I thought? Do I need to adjust strategies, armor, or weapons? 4. Did each warrior fight well with the weapon? (e.g. hit when he swung and had critical hits--which are strongly stated weapon hit statements compared to the norm) Do I need to change weapon selections? 5. Did another warrior out jump me when I did not expect it? Do I need to adjust strategies or weapons? 6. Did the warriors learn what I expected and learn well? (e.g. earn lots of skills) If not, what can I do about it? (Switch to learning stats/skills? Challenge a very experienced warrior?) 7. Do I know anything about the arena warriors that I can challenge? (Have I and my friends accumulated style and other information on opponents?) Should I challenge or take the luck of the draw? (Remember--challenge warrior #s.) 8. Likewise, is there someone within range I just do not want to fight? (A warrior that has beaten me? A warrior with lots more experience than me? A team that has my number? Should I avoid the team with that warrior? (Remember--avoid team #s) 9. Have I written some personal ads or a spotlight to add to the enjoyment of the arena? Then it is time to turn in those strategy sheets again! Duel 2 is a game of gladiators, comprised of knowledge, strategy, and a little luck. Above all, it is fun. See you on the sands! Ed Sullivan, Consortium affiliated * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * Assur's Guide to Pure Defensives After the offensives, parry-based defensives are the easiest style to master, though there are also dodge-based defensive warriors out there (the dodge-based defensives are harder to win with in basic). 1) Design In creating a pure defensive, the things that you should be concerned about are: Hit Points, Carry Ability, Endurance, and your skills in parry and/or defense. Again, other attributes and skills can't hurt, but those are the vital attributes for how you'll be fighting. Hit Points come from Constitution (mostly), Size, and Will Carry Ability comes from Strength and Constitution, though if your Strength is lower than your Constitution, the carry ability only comes from your Strength. Endurance comes from Strength, Constitution, and Will (especially Will) You get Parry Skills at Str: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Siz: (5), (7), (15), (17), (21), (21) Wil: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Dft: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21 You get Defense Skills at Siz: (5), (7), (15), (17), (21), (21) Wit: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21 Wil: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Spd: 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 21 Dft: 5, 7, 9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 21 Note that for parry and defense skills in size, you get penalized for having higher sizes. For parry based styles, it is highly recommended to have 11+ strength and as much will as you can get. Eleven deftness is also very nice. You can't have too much constitution. It is recommended to not be too big, because you don't typically have enough points for the stats you really want. Wit is nice, but not necessary. Almost always, 1 point of con is better than 1 parry skill. For dodge based styles, it is much tougher. ABs are usually made with 21 deftness because they get attack skill bonuses, but for a pure defensive dodging AB, the deftness isn't as vital. If you're going open handed, strength can be sacrificed. I do not know as much about pure defensive AB's, especially in basic. For Lungers, you want lots and lots of endurance. Twenty-one will and as much strength and constitution as you can get. Low size is highly recommended for dodge based defensives. Somehow you also need to have enough defense skills from your other stats to be able to dodge. High speed is not desired either, simply because you want those points elsewhere. Simply because of all the parry & defense skills, 11 deftness is suggested as a minimum. 2) Style Choice For parry based defensives, any style that learns parry naturally works fine. Style is almost irrelevant, because in most of these fights, a couple of parry skills or endurance burn doesn't come in to play. There are times when it does, which is what makes Total Parries the king (good endurance conservation and best natural parry in the game), but all of these styles can be very, very successful as pure defensives. Total Parries are the most common pure defensive on the sands. There are plenty of nicknames for Total Parries who are pure defensives, because of how frustrating it can be to face them. They learn parry and defense skills naturally, are well suited to all of the shields, and often ignore opportunities to attack. They also have the highest parry base in the game. Parry Strikers would be my next choice. They conserve endurance better than any of the other parry based pure defensives. They learn parry naturally. They are well suited to the Small Shield. Parry Ripostes conserve somewhere around the same level as Total Parries. They learn parry skills naturally. Because they also learn so many riposte skills, even running defensive strategies they will tend to try to gain the initiative. They are one of the best natural hybrids, but they make fine pure defensives as well. Parry Lungers burn endurance much faster than the styles listed above. They have much higher skill bases overall, but their parry is the same as Parry Ripostes and Parry Strikers. They learn parry naturally. Wall of Steels have the potential for the highest parry in the game. Total Parries will never be bonused in parry skills, so while they start with the most, a Wall of Steel can be bonused and start with two more parry skills than any other style can. On the other side of things, they burn endurance faster than any of the other styles listed and typically use heavier weapons. Like Parry Lungers, they have a higher overall skill base, but for the discussion of the pure defensive, those other skills don't matter as much. The other option is a dodge based Pure Defensive. Most of the time, these styles are run as hybrids in later minutes, but they both have the ability to run as pure defensives for an entire fight. Lungers are the king in basic. They learn defense naturally and have the highest starting defense in the game. In fact, they are the only style other than Total Parries that learns defense naturally. On the down side, they burn endurance fast. Aimed Blows are the other style that typically runs as a pure dodge defensive. I do not know much about these warriors, but watching them is a thing of beauty. In ADM, when they can start going open handed without concern, they rule the game, but even in basic, they can be very successful. The down side for them is that they do not learn defense skills naturally, so you're really hoping it is their favorite learn. As always, any style can be run as a pure defensive, for part of a fight or an entire fight. The styles listed above are merely the traditional choices. And realize that the dodge based styles I list are often run as hybrids in later minutes. The line between a pure defensive and a hybrid is often blurred, because even some Total Parry pure scum will attack and win fights after their opponent is exhausted (which is one of the hybrid strategies I will mention later). 3) Weapon Selection (with requirements) If you aren't planning to attack, it hardly matters what weapon you use, right? Typically, parry based pure defensives use an off hand shield (and often a main hand shield) Large Shield (13 Str, 3 Wit, 7 Dft) (10+ Dft to use in off hand, depending on Main hand weapon) Medium Shield (9 Str, 3 Wit, 5 Dft) (7+ Dft to use in off hand) Small Shield (5 Str, 3 Wit, 5 Dft) (7+ Dft to use in off hand) ABs often use their Fists, because they get a bonus to their ability to dodge. As with style choice, weapons selection often does not matter for these fights. The fight outcome is more a function of your opponent's ability to take you down or wait you out, not on your abilities or skills. Main hand weapon is whatever you are well suited to. BA (requies 15 str, 7 wit, and 11 deft; plus 9 size if using an off hand) is a nice high damage/low wit choice. SS is a nice low wit choice for some other styles (9 str, 5 wit, and 7 deft). For a dodging warrior, LS might also be a good choice (11 str, 9 siz, 5 wit, and 9 deft). 4) Strategy and Tactics For your parry based pure defensive, 1-1 Parry or 1-1 Open works great. The response tactic has some interesting uses, especially in minute 1 or minute 6. Note that this strategy will usually make your fights quite boring to read, especially the 1-1 parry strategy. This strategy and type of warrior is not meant to be fun, but good ones can amass amazing records, especially before Advanced Duel2. Your best challenges are styles that burn their endurance fastest (Lungers, Wall of Steels, and Parry Lungers) or any warrior that does average damage and runs hot (Many bashers, slashers and strikers). Stay away from Aimed Blows!!! Really not recommended for a parry based defensive to run higher than 6-6 in minute 1. For the dodge based pure defensive, High Activity Level is important. How high depends largely on your warrior. Experiment to find what works best. Offensive Effort is typically low. Dodge or Open for tactics. Once again, the line between pure defensive and hybrid can become very blurred. Not attacking at all may not be your best way to win fights. What if in a later minute you raise your offensive effort and do not use a defensive tactic? You're suddenly not fighting as a pure defensive. For many warriors, this is a much better strategy than simply trying to wait until your opponent drops from exhaustion. The mechanics of the game can allow for some very strange results. I had a basher with very little endurance and 3 will refuse to drop from exhaustion and finally won after 6 minutes against a total parry. This is probably more important for dodge based defensives, but can also be true for parry based defensives. 5) Armor APA/F is the norm. ASM/x is a nice choice, especially against that nasty SC. For dodging defensives, I've experimented a lot and don't have a conclusion as to what armor is best. I try not to overencumber for a dodge warrior, but even though warriors don't dodge as well with APA/F, it is not clear to me that you shouldn't wear APA/F. + ]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 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN Notes from the arena champ. Day is done. Gone the sun. Gone is me. I am so outta here! By the time you read this, I will have completed my tenth fight and me and the whole My 60's TV team will be gone. Gone, I say. Where? Who knows, maybe into the Outer Limits. For those who forgot that Ed Sullivan posted all our designs at the beginning of our run, I may be a beautiful horse, but I am but a mediocrely designed warrior: 11-9-8-15-9-21-11 striker, bonused in decise, and lucking into normal endurance. Not a very good skill learner at a 1.38 skill per fight rate. Only an expert in decise. I may have found my favorite weapon, either the SC or BS with a combined 9/40/3. I wish you all the best. In all likelihood, you will not see the Consortium team or The Bash Bros team on the podium for quite a while. That is a good thing! Fury, ive-time Duelmaster SPY REPORT Greetings warriors! It is I, Zontani Sharp Eyes, here to bring report of the clash and bustle of the weekly NOBLISH ISLAND games. Former top team MY 60'S TV was unseated this week as BASH BROS SCUM moved up from 2nd ranking to take the top spot with a 2-2-0 record for the round. Warriors--remember that glory waits always around the corner! Witness how this week THIRD HIGHWAY went 3-2-0 to move up 3 in the rankings. Did only my eyes note the 3-1-0 record which DARK LOTUS managed to post this round? I don't doubt that such a record will draw challengers! GASPER VLADI caught the eye of many in the gladiatorial commission as he skillfully bested KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL and was awarded 20 points in recognition. In one of the week's more notable duels, GASPER VLADI put down KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL, causing her to lose 11 points of recognition in the process. Due to his absence and inability to defend the throne, FURY has lost the title of Duelmaster. The city has turned out in honor of BRIENNE, for with hers arena victory she may now lay claim to the highest position in the city! Heed this! A seer has warned that if exactly 6 die in duels this week, the whole city shall perish! Just remember...5 or 7! I have been in deep conclave with my spies who watched all that has recently transpired. Indeed there is much I would report. I saw one fighter that warriors avoided when this week's challenge seeking began. THIRD HIGHWAY is feared. This much I can say. If you didn't look down dark alleys you'd have been hard pressed to find any of GOAT'S HAI-5 last week. Busy avoiding THIRD HIGHWAY? Vendettas. Bloodied blades and broken spears. Indeed the city has seen more than its fair share of red in recent times. Dark alleys may hide both secrets and assassins. In the arena there is only the brightness of steel. Keep vigil always! A thought before I go. Each warrior practices one style, but must not the wise manager learn the secrets of them all? Sadly warriors, now longer can I keep thy company nor savor the ale of thy fine city. Depart I must and soon! Till next we meet remember - the pen is mightier than the sword, but a maul is a different story!-- Zontani Sharp Eyes DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BRIENNE 9657 8 2 1 66 DARK LOTUS (1659) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -FURY 9671 5 4 0 66 MY 60'S TV (1661) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -PERRY MASON 9670 5 4 0 44 MY 60'S TV (1661) -ASTRID 9696 4 1 1 41 EINHERJAR (1665) DO NOTHING 9679 6 4 0 40 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) MODE PARRY 9683 8 2 0 35 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) THE RED VIPER 9659 5 5 0 35 DARK LOTUS (1659) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME RIAS GREMORY 9704 3 0 0 33 GREMORY DEVILS (1667) VIOLENT J 9658 6 3 2 29 DARK LOTUS (1659) -ROLLO 9694 3 2 0 29 EINHERJAR (1665) BORING 9681 8 2 0 28 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) YUUTO KIBA 9707 3 0 0 28 GREMORY DEVILS (1667) -ACEOTIS 9729 4 0 1 27 THE BRAIN BUSTERS (1671) -BATMAN 9736 2 2 0 26 MY 60'S TV (1661) GASPER VLADI 9706 2 1 0 26 GREMORY DEVILS (1667) SARATOGA LEE 9726 4 2 0 25 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) TALLAHASSE MOON 9727 3 3 0 25 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -BRAZZ 9740 2 0 0 25 THE BRAIN BUSTERS (1671) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 9669 6 3 0 23 MY 60'S TV (1661) QUINCY JONES 9724 4 2 0 21 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) ROOKIES AND DONE 9680 5 5 0 20 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) -STONG BELWAS 9685 2 4 1 19 DARK LOTUS (1659) MORI-ZUMA GRL 9745 2 0 0 19 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) -BERYLLIOSIS 9719 2 1 0 19 KULLISAARS (1670) -LAETHA 9693 3 2 0 18 EINHERJAR (1665) -OUTER LIMITS 9735 4 0 0 13 MY 60'S TV (1661) -DREWSKI 9731 2 2 0 13 THE BRAIN BUSTERS (1671) SHAGGY 2 DOPE 9684 1 8 0 13 DARK LOTUS (1659) -AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL 9717 3 1 0 10 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) ROCHESTER KING 9725 2 4 0 10 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) MORGUE-FILLER 9691 1 2 0 8 THE HEATHENS (1664) WIDOW-MAKER 9688 1 2 1 7 THE HEATHENS (1664) -DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) -TAMAGRAMAFLU 9722 1 1 0 7 KULLISAARS (1670) -SVEN 9734 1 2 0 5 EINHERJAR (1665) SIX FOOT DOWN 9689 1 2 0 5 THE HEATHENS (1664) -EL GUARDO 9720 1 1 0 4 KULLISAARS (1670) -SEARRUS 9645 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) -PERSEPHONE 9642 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) -AGRISEL 9646 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) VERMONT OLSON 9738 0 4 0 4 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) AKENO HIMEJUMA 9705 0 3 0 3 GREMORY DEVILS (1667) ISSEI HYOUDOU 9703 0 3 0 3 GREMORY DEVILS (1667) -SUBLIME MAX 9718 0 2 0 2 KULLISAARS (1670) -TOMASTICUS 9721 0 2 0 2 KULLISAARS (1670) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? TERRIBLE ATTACKE 9682 7 2 1 BASH BROS SCUM 1663 BRIENNE 9657 420 HERGER 9692 2 1 0 EINHERJAR 1665 VIOLENT J 9658 418 REVENGED HARI-YUKU GIRL 9716 0 1 0 GOAT'S HAI-5 1669 ACEOTIS 9729 418 PINK-YOMI GIRL 9715 1 3 0 GOAT'S HAI-5 1669 SPYMASTER 421 NONE PUFFY-AMI GIRL 9741 0 3 0 GOAT'S HAI-5 1669 SHEWISH GIANT 421 NONE SANGO-GOTH GIRL 9713 0 4 0 GOAT'S HAI-5 1669 SPYMASTER 421 NONE YUMI-KAI GIRL 9714 1 1 0 GOAT'S HAI-5 1669 STONG BELWAS 9685 419 B TWO 9733 0 1 0 THE BRAIN BUSTE 1671 ROMULUS 9712 417 NONE BRAXIUS 9737 0 1 0 THE BRAIN BUSTE 1671 WIDOW-MAKER 9688 419 CORPSE 1 9748 0 1 0 THE HEATHENS 1664 SHEWISH GIANT 421 NONE CORPSE 1 9747 0 1 0 THE HEATHENS 1664 MASTER SEN GANAM 421 NONE PERSONAL ADS Me and you, Assur. One and one this round. (sigh) I will never catch you. Perhaps the next Consortium rep will fare better. -- Ed Sullivan Strong Belwas -- Let's get something clear; a 7 or even a 6 are solid high kill desires. While KD is not the only, and probably not the most important, requisite of a kill, it matters. Probably more important is the attack location. (HE, CH, AB are kill zones.) -- Ed Sullivan, My 60s TV P.S. Let's get something else straight; you have every right to choose any strategy number or location you wish. M. Chardinee -- I reared up and kicked you to the ground. It was smart of you not to get up. -- Fury, My 60s TV Mode Parry -- You and Assur and all the scum you rode in on are a bunch of no-good, rotten jerks. But Ed says he loves you anyway and will see you in Tempe at The Face. -- Batman My 60s TV (Whose "biff, bam, pow" didn't work so well.) Tomasticus -- First let me greet you and The Kullisaars as you enter Noblish Island. Howdy. Secondly, let me say that it was my pleasure to beat you. Yay! Third, let me say good-bye as My 60's TV is soon out of here. -- Outer Limits, My 60s TV Quincy Jones -- You made my day. Thanks for losing to me. Now you can come and collect your ears. -- Mickey Mouse Club, My 60s TV Boring -- There was nothing at all boring about that fight. It was exciting, wasn't it? Nanana. -- Perry Mason, My 60s TV Hey all you new teams and managers out there, thanks for coming to Noblish Island. Read the spots and personals. Ask questions. Jorja or Assur or The Consortium Rep or all three will answer. -- Ed Sullivan, My 60s TV and Consortium Rep All -- Could you please diplo me a copy of the "Enchiridion Handbook" and the "lavender activity statement chart"? Many thanks from team Dark Lotus (1659), in DM 93 right now but transferring to Blackstone (most likely) this next turn, so ask RSI where they've imprisoned--I mean placed us. *smile* Tallahasse Moon -- Although my experiments are FAR from complete (for it has only been a FEW fights with you as a 'control') since the 'powers that be' seem to be having a coniption fit over me continuing to challenge you, I shall graciously grant you a reprieve and challenge someone else this time as my team must leave this arena afterwards and thus, I shall have to acquire a NEW 'control' anyway. (By the way, there does NOT seem to be ANY connection between challenging someone well above or well below oneself and how many SKILLS one will learn whether one wins or loses those disparate matches!!) Hope to see you around, sweetheart! -- The Red Viper ALL -- Wait, wait, wait, please Violent J. I must confess! My love for you has consumed my passion for the fight. Before our graduation you must acknowledge me or I will fall on my blade. -- The Red Viper The scum will now depart (and good riddance). While they may be highly effective, they are not the most enjoyable fighting style out there. My next team should be much more 'normal' -- Assur Red Viper -- The Inputter asked a good question. Attack skills aren't just accuracy, and deftness does figure into that. -- Tallahasse Moon One-four. Bummer. But at least *I* got a win, and you'd better believe it! -- Saratoga Lee Red Viper -- Yep, the old "knock-down win." Good work, though I didn't like it much myself. -- Tallahasse Moon Sven -- Wow, a one-shot! That's my slightly greater experience (maybe) and getting the first blow. Some days you've got to be REALLY fast off the mark. -- Saratoga Lee Drewski -- Drat. That was my "Achilles hand." -- Rochester King Mori-Zuma Grl -- Shows you what experience will do: My experience is in losing, and I lose really well.... -- Vermont Olson P.S. It's probably the snow. Zodiac Goat -- Ey Cimmit Seepukoo Toe Reestoor Me Uner. -- Pink-Yomi Girl Zodiac Goat -- I will commit sepaku, to restore my honor. -- Puffi-Ami Girl Zodiac Goat -- I will commit sepaku, to restore my hoor. -- Sanyo-Goth Girl LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS SANGO-GOTH GIRL was butchered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight. PINK-YOMI GIRL was slaughtered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena battle. PUFFY-AMI GIRL was murdered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight. CORPSE 1 was slaughtered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena brawl. CORPSE 1 was butchered by MASTER SEN GANAMIR in a 2 minute gory Dark Arena fight. BRIENNE savagely defeated DO NOTHING in a crowd pleasing 10 minute Title competition. MODE PARRY outlasted SHAGGY 2 DOPE in a tiresome 10 minute struggle. THE RED VIPER viciously subdued ROCHESTER KING in a popular 4 minute competition. VIOLENT J viciously subdued ROOKIES AND DONE in a action packed 9 minute duel. BORING overpowered AKENO HIMEJUMA in a 2 minute uneven duel. SARATOGA LEE overpowered MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided fight. QUINCY JONES slimly won victory over WIDOW-MAKER in a 2 minute gory bout. TALLAHASSE MOON demolished EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute mismatched match. GASPER VLADI handily defeated KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL in a 1 minute one-sided contest. YUUTO KIBA demolished PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 1 minute one-sided brawl. RIAS GREMORY handily defeated SIX FOOT DOWN in a 4 minute one-sided conflict. ISSEI HYOUDOU was devastated by MORI-ZUMA GRL in a 1 minute uneven duel. MORGUE-FILLER beat VERMONT OLSON in a 1 minute amateur's brawl. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |TOTAL PARRY 6 PARRY-LUNGE 4 - 2 - 0 67 | |AIMED BLOW 5 TOTAL PARRY 52 - 29 - 1 64 | |STRIKING ATTACK 5 SLASHING ATTACK 22 - 15 - 2 59 | |LUNGING ATTACK 4 AIMED BLOW 25 - 20 - 3 56 | |PARRY-STRIKE 3 LUNGING ATTACK 16 - 13 - 1 55 | |BASHING ATTACK 2 STRIKING ATTACK 28 - 29 - 2 49 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 BASHING ATTACK 18 - 25 - 1 42 | |PARRY-LUNGE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 9 - 14 - 2 39 | |SLASHING ATTACK 0 WALL OF STEEL 8 - 18 - 0 31 | |WALL OF STEEL 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 5 - 18 - 0 22 | Turn 421 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are: PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 3 TOTAL PARRY BASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 2 2 STRIKING ATTACK AIMED BLOW 3 - 2 TOTAL PARRY 2 - 4 2 BASHING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 2 2 AIMED BLOW SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME STRIKING ATTACK BRIENNE 9657 8 2 1 66 DARK LOTUS (1659) TOTAL PARRY DO NOTHING 9679 6 4 0 40 BASH BROS SCUM (1663) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is BRIENNE 9657. The most popular warrior this turn was BRIENNE 9657. The ten other most popular fighters were VIOLENT J 9658, THE RED VIPER 9659, RIAS GREMORY 9704, QUINCY JONES 9724, WIDOW-MAKER 9688, BORING 9681, SARATOGA LEE 9726, TALLAHASSE MOON 9727, GASPER VLADI 9706, and YUUTO KIBA 9707. The least popular fighter this week was MODE PARRY 9683. The other ten least popular fighters were ROOKIES AND DONE 9680, SHAGGY 2 DOPE 9684, VERMONT OLSON 9738, ISSEI HYOUDOU 9703, SIX FOOT DOWN 9689, KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL 9717, AKENO HIMEJUMA 9705, DO NOTHING 9679, CORPSE 1 9748, and PUFFY-AMI GIRL 9741. FACE-TO-FACE TOURNEY LIV 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) NEW TEAMS IN THE TEMPORARY TOURNAMENT ARENA (DM 85) Please note that all new teams created at the Face-to-Face were temporarily placed in a temporary Tournament Arena, DM 85. If you requested that your team be placed in a specific arena, it has already transferred to that arena. Effective immediately, any teams placed in DM 85 and not transferred out to another arena, will be automatically deleted a month after the tournament. If you have questions about any of your teams, please contact Customer Service. -- RSI