DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 02/21/2015 Duedate: 03/06/2015
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-423
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
RIAS GREMORY
GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
(93-9704) [4-0-0,35]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY RIAS GREMORY
GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
(93-9704) [4-0-0,35]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
QUINCY JONES RIAS GREMORY
THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
(93-9724) [5-3-0,33] (93-9704) [4-0-0,35]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS PAINTING (1673) 44
2. THE HEATHENS (1664) 35 BANE'S CHILDREN (235)
3. THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 33 Unchartered Team
4. FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672) 28
5. EINHERJAR (1665) 0BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*BASH BROS PAINTIN (1673) 8 2 0 80.0 1/ 4*BASH BROS PAINTIN (1673) 8 2 0
2- 1*EINHERJAR (1665) 17 10 1 63.0 2/ 2*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 7 8 0
3/ 3*FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672) 6 4 1 60.0 3/ 7*FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672) 6 4 1
4/ 4*GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 9 11 0 45.0 4- 1*EINHERJAR (1665) 4 1 0
5/ 6*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 17 23 0 42.5 5/ 9*THE HEATHENS (1664) 4 6 0
6/ 8*GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 10 20 0 33.3 6/ 5*GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 4 6 0
7/ 9*THE HEATHENS (1664) 6 12 1 33.3 7/ 3*GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 4 11 0
8/ 7*KULLISAARS (1670) 4 8 0 33.3 8/ 8*KULLISAARS (1670) 0 1 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
CHALLENGE AND AVOID
A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
In the last newsletter, half of the twenty plus fights were challenges or blood
feuds. I am PROUD of everyone on Noblish Isle for "getting it"! Challenges, and
their partner "avoids" are underused strategic weapons. Don't be left home without
them!
An avoid is an attempt to prevent a warrior from challenging you. Why allow a
warrior the advantage of selecting you for a match? Why allow a warrior to decide on
a special strategy just for you? One great thing about avoids is that you may avoid
THE WHOLE TEAM of any warrior you want to avoid. You are allowed to avoid two whole
teams. There is no use double-avoiding as it does not improve your chances to avoid
that individual team.
A challenge is an attempt to fight a specific warrior. Why not attempt to fight
a specific warrior of choice? Why leave the opponent selection to the MUGS (match-up
gods) or, worse yet, an opponent who chooses/challenges you? You are allowed to
challenge two warriors. You may, indeed, challenge the same warrior twice. (Double
challenge) It DOES improve your chances of a match to double challenge a same
warrior.
Of utmost importance is to understand that you must challenge and avoid NUMBERS,
not names. Challenge WARRIOR NUMBERS. Avoid TEAM NUMBERS. Challenge individual
warriors; avoid whole teams.
No challenge or avoid is 100 percent effective. Challenges can be further
enhanced by winning a TV or TC (Tournament Victor; Tournament Champion) in a Mailer
or Face-to-Face Tournament. The TV/TC effectiveness lasts six months. So, in a
normal arena, the warrior who won the TV gets 12 or 13 turns of enhanced challenging.
The most effective challenge, The Blood Feud, is nearly 100 percent effective. A
four turn BLOOD FEUD is awarded to your TEAM (Any member can use it each turn.) when
an opposing warrior kills one of yours. Blood feuds transcend classes. (E.g. a
Challenger can BLOOD FEUD an Adept or an Initiate can BLOOD FEUD a Challenger
Champion, etc.) To use a TV or Blood Feud, simply write BF or TV on the challenge
line with the to-be-challenged warrior number and circle it all for emphasis.
How does one choose whom to challenge and what to avoid? That's a good question
and like many decisions, they are more of an art than a technology. This is the
methodology used by The Consortium managers. It works well for them.
1. Always avoid two different teams
2. Actively seek to challenge twice. (If only one good choice is available, double
challenge.)
3. Challenge for these situations
a. A probable win
b. A warrior you have beaten before
c. To tie up a warrior you do not want to fight one of your fellow warriors--
especially the Duelmaster
d. To take advantage of a Blood Feud (4 rounds)
e. For a good style match up.
4. Avoid for these situations--always
a. Emphasis on a team who is bloodfeuding you
b. Emphasis on a team who just beat you
c. Emphasis on a team with warriors in range who are far more experienced or
skilled than you
d. Emphasis on a team you just cannot seem to beat.
e. Emphasis on teams with warriors whose styles are difficult for your style
Often there will be more warriors to challenge or more teams to avoid than the
strategy sheets allow. Choose wisely.
Most of the circumstances are straightforward, and it is easy to select the
challenges and avoids. However, in many cases, especially those with little
knowledge of nearby opponents, it will come down to what style or type of warrior is
best to challenge/avoid.
There are available charts "out there" which prioritize which styles have advantages
over other styles. Beware of them. The data is based on warriors over the years and
those managers who submitted data for those charts. The warning--today's lunger is
not yesterday's lunger, and my aimed blow is not your aimed blow, and today's basher
is not yesteryear's basher, and a tourney warrior is not necessarily an arena
warrior, etc, etc, etc. The Consortium offers their generic style considerations for
challenges and avoids:
1. Fast offensives challenge AB, slower BA, SL, ST
2. Aimers challenge scummy/tanky warriors
3. Scums challenge LU and softer hitting/smaller offensives
4. Scum hunters (need special strategy ) are good damage/endu LU, hard hitting BA,
critting or hard hitting ST, hard hitting SL with good endu, good PS
5. Consortium-style wastes challenge LU and softer hitting/smaller offensives
6. Lungers challenge AB, PR, PS
7. Rippers, if skilled, challenge ST, faster BA's
The Consortium always avoids and almost always challenges.
One final note. The challenging will bring into play and discussion: What is an
appropriate challenge?" The "rules"/"D2 system" allow you to challenge anyone in your
class and the class just above you. Your class is defined, interestingly, as Inits,
Adepts, Champs, and Duelmaster. A "Challenger" Init is an Init--challenge wise. A
"Challenger" Champ is a Champ -challenge wise. Hence the higher level challenger
category can challenge the lower level "non-challenger" class. (Simply put, a
Challenger Init can challenge an Init, a challenger Init, and an Adept. An Adept can
challenge Adepts or Challenger Adepts.) This system can allow/cause challenges from
very high experience and recognition point warriors to very low recognition point and
experience warriors. Some regular arenas foster the belief that challenges
may/should ONLY be parallel or up in recognition points. These are usually Andorian
arenas. The rules/system may allow otherwise, but the environment and the beliefs of
sportsmanship of Andorian types differ. This can cause some "discussion
altercations".
Challenges and avoids are there to be used to your advantage. Do so.
John Wooden (Consortium affiliated)
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Assur and His Bashers
If you get to know Assurnasirbanipal at all, you will learn that his favorite
style is the bashing style. Before going any further, you need to know that it is
not one of the 'best' styles in the game and that not all styles are created equal.
'Most' warriors that make good bashers could likely be made into a better something
else. There are a few notable exceptions which I will talk about briefly.
Jorja's Profile of a Basher is a solid article. The only things I'd say to
'add' to it are:
1) For weapons, I highly recommend WH and QS first and foremost. And I virtually
never use MS or WF. But the first two are the bread and butter weapons for Bashers
2) Design comments: Jorja undervalues wit. For bashers, don't undervalue wit.
11 or more. For Will, I recommend 9, 15, 17, or 21. That is where you get skills.
I'll typically add to Strength, Speed or Deftness once my Will is at one of those
values. If your setup starts with 9-11 will, I'd consider carefully whether adding
4-6 points is really worth it. There are other ways to make bashers, but her article
is a great place to start.
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Profile of a Style
Bashers
I make no claims to being exhaustive in this study of Bashers. There are
managers who know more about the style, managers who have better Bashers, managers
whose Bashers win more consistently. But this is a place to start.
I have the details of twenty-eight immortal Bashers under my hand here, Bashers
who, good, bad, or indifferent, survived long enough to graduate and discover their
favorites. In those favorites lie clues to how the Gladiatorial Commission expects
Bashers to operate. This does not mean that Bashers HAVE to operate that way, and it
can be fun to force a style to do the unexpected and take everyone by surprise, but
this could be said to be "what comes naturally."
Favorite weapons. You will find that only weapons that may be received as
favorites are ever described as "well-suited" to the style. For instance, an epee
never occurs as a favorite weapon for a Basher, and any Basher who uses one will find
he "is unsuited to his weapon" or "uses this weapon in an unorthodox style" at the
top of his fight report. There is little, if anything (well, okay, surprise), to be
gained from using a weapon unsuited to the style in question.
The eleven weapons suited to use by Bashers, and the minimum stats required for
their best use (information courtesy of Pagan's Enchiridion), are:
Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11
Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11
Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9
Large Shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 5 DF 5
Mace ST 13 SZ any WT 3 DF 5
Maul ST 15 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 7
Medium Shield ST 9 SZ any WT 5 DF 5
Morningstar ST 13 SZ any WT 7 DF 13
Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11
Warflail ST 11 SZ any WT 7 DF 5
Warhammer ST 13 SZ any WT 5 DF 7
Assurnasirbanapal offers the following alternate requirements for some of these
weapons:
Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11
Large Shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 3 DF 5
(not sure about size, but I believe wit is 3)
Morningstar ST 13 SZ any WT 7 DF 11
Warflail ST 11 SZ any WT 5 DF 5
(I can see that some warriors in my future are going to have to test these weapons.)
Study this chart, and never make a Basher who doesn't have the stats to use at
least one of the weapons well! I've made the mistake more than once (and more than
once done it deliberately, but then, I'm perverse) of creating a warrior who is
unable to use well any weapon to which his style is suited. This is enormously
frustrating. Take my advice and DON'T DO IT.
You may notice that the Fist is not listed as a weapon suited to the Bashing
attack. This is an example--one of the most glaring ones--of the fact that sometimes
intuition and real-world experience are "not well suited" to Duelmasters.
Two weapons not listed on this chart are the Broadsword and the Battleaxe. If
you arm a Basher with one of these weapons, the fight report will inform you that
your warrior is not well suited to the weapon or uses it in a marginally effective
manner. A manager I consulted informs me that he has had good results anyway with
the Broadsword and is still experimenting with the Battleaxe. So you CAN ignore the
weapon suitability chart above, though I would not recommend doing it until you have
enough experience to know what risks you're taking. And don't do it with a warrior
who adds the disadvantage of having inappropriate stats for the weapon to the
disadvantage of unsuited style.
As you can see from this list, the most important stat for a Basher, from the
standpoint of weapon use, is Strength. A Basher who is dumb and on the clumsy side
will find weapons he can use appropriately, provided he has the strength to lift
them. This has led to the creation of a lot of dumb, clumsy Bashers. My own
personal feeling--and I've run a lot of these depressing warriors--is that a dumb,
clumsy Basher is doomed in the long run. And often very boring, as well. Boring is
even worse than doomed.
My immortal Bashers, their relevant stats, and their favorite weapons:
Madoc ST 11 SZ 11 WT 13 DF 9 Mace
Wanda the Blonda ST 17 SZ 8 WT 9 DF 15 Warflail
Kenda Teegue ST 19 SZ 7 WT 11 DF 11 Greatsword
Al Kore ST 13 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 13 Quarterstaff
Broken Nose ST 17 SZ 18 WT 11 DF 9 Quarterstaff
Hogar ST 13 SZ 13 WT 21 DF 7 Maul
Ski Mask ST 13 SZ 15 WT 15 DF 9 Maul
Crabby Appleton ST 19 SZ 11 WT 13 DF 6 Warflail
Lissette ST 14 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 15 Greataxe
Velendeis ST 9 SZ 14 WT 13 DF 7 Maul
Hoftalj ST 21 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 7 Mace
Cadal ST 14 SZ 15 WT 15 DF 11 Mace
Caramella ST 13 SZ 13 WT 14 DF 11 Quarterstaff
Lulu ST 17 SZ 11 WT 15 DF 9 Morningstar
Franklin ST 15 SZ 6 WT 5 DF 17 Morningstar
Bam Bam ST 13 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 9 Medium Shield
Dune ST 19 SZ 17 WT 4 DF 3 Halberd
Old Maid ST 17 SZ 7 WT 15 DF 11 Halberd
Pelis the True ST 13 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 15 Large Shield
Joe ST 15 SZ 10 WT 15 DF 13 Medium Shield
Claudius ST 19 SZ 13 WT 10 DF 7 Quarterstaff
Ekkar ST 17 SZ 15 WT 13 DF 7 Mace
Jomon ST 11 SZ 17 WT 11 DF 15 Greatsword
Dijanna ST 17 SZ 12 WT 17 DF 7 Mace
Khora the Small ST 15 SZ 9 WT 17 DF 11 Warhammer
Sweet Jorja ST 13 SZ 13 WT 15 DF 7 Quarterstaff
Tarok ST 7 SZ 18 WT 11 DF 9 Warflail
Kelan ten Salth ST 14 SZ 15 WT 17 DF 11 Greatsword
You will notice that some of these warriors did not have the initial stats to
use their favorite weapon efficiently. That's a little trick the Commission plays on
us to keep us from getting too cocky. Only one of them (Tarok) was initially unable
to use ANY of the bashing weapons well, and I trained up his strength early in his
career. My personal favorites among the bashing weapons are the warhammer, the mace,
and if the warrior has the wit for it, the quarterstaff, as these seem to me to
produce the most interesting fights. If I'm going to train a warrior as a Basher, I
try to make him able to use one or another of those weapons; it saves me a lot of
stress.
Which brings up the question of Basher design. In almost all cases, the advice
routinely given is to put the points on WT, WL, and DF in preference to other stats.
But to use any of the weapons listed above, the warrior DOES NOT NEED a WT of more
than 11, and depending on which version of the stats for Morningstar you accept, he
doesn't need more than 11 or 13 in DF. Do not put points on these stats beyond the
necessary.
ST: A Basher needs strength, and lots of it--who wants a Basher who "does
little damage"? Besides, he needs a minimum strength of 9 for the least of his
weapons, and that's a medium shield. Who wants to send a Basher out with a medium
shield? Pile 'em on here.
CN: No. A Basher wins by attacking, not defending. He should be keeping his
opponent too busy to fight back, and he should not have to worry about his hit
points. Generally speaking, go with whatever you've been given on the roll-up. The
time to experiment with the creation of a Scum Basher is later, after you have more
experience.
SZ: You can't do anything about this, but a large size is not such a handicap
for a Basher as for some of the more finicky styles. And it will increase the damage
he can do--a Basher is all about doing damage.
WT: No more than is needed for the weapon you've chosen. If you have extra
points after satisfying other requirements, sure, go ahead and put them on wit, but
you can get a decent learning rate with a wit of 11 so why waste the points here?
Besides, if he survives long enough, you can train up more wit later.
WL: I would always put points on will (unless it was 17+ already), but for me,
that's reflex, not conscious planning. In theory, a Basher wins fights fast by
attacking all out, and so he doesn't need will for the stick-to-it effect. But
then... if he's a good Basher, wins a lot, graduates, and you want to keep on running
him, a high will does make it easier to train up stats once you get around to it.
SP: I don't really have a feel for the effects of high or low speed on ANY
style. I would cautiously suggest that if you can get the speed into the moderate
range (8-12?) without sacrificing anything important, then do it. But if you can't,
then don't.
DF: Enough to use the weapon of choice, or perhaps two or three weapons for
variety. No more.
And a note on armor: A Basher should NOT be loaded down with heavy armor. He
isn't supposed to get hit, so what does he need that armor FOR?
Favorite rhythms. Sometimes it's expedient to ignore a warrior's favorite
rhythm, once you know it, but it does give you a guideline for running the style.
Rhythm is given as Very High or VH (10-9), High or H (8-7), Moderate or M (6-5), Low
or L (4-3), and Very Low or VL (2-1), for Offensive Effort first, and then for
Activity Level. For the warriors listed above, the favorite rhythms are:
H/VL H/L H/L H/M VH/M VH/L M/L M/VL H/VL H/VL VH/VL M/VL
H/VL H/L H/L VH/VL VH/VL VH/VL H/L M/L VH/M VH/VL VH/VL H/L
H/VL H/L VH/M H/M.
You'll notice that there is no Offensive Effort lower than Moderate, and no
Activity Level higher than Moderate, and that Offensive Effort is usually at least
two steps higher than Activity Level. Not always--some of those listed above are
only one step apart, and another manager tells me that he has some Bashers with
favorite rhythms of Moderate/Moderate. But from the sample I have, it seems that
Bashers favor a higher Offensive Effort than Activity Level, often considerably
higher. While you may not always want to run a Basher this way, it appears that
nature and the Gladiatorial Commission intended them to run very offensively. With a
newly entered Basher, this kind of speed is a place to start. Once you get a feel
for the warrior in question and for his likely opponents, you can tinker with the
numbers for the ideal strategy. But be warned that running so offensively, the
average Basher won't be able to keep going for long! Especially, he won't be able to
go for long with a heavy weapon (one requiring more ST to handle) and heavy armor.
When I think of the Bashers I have seen come out in Plate and struggle to last a
single minute at high speed, I could weep. High speed burns endurance. Bashers go
out to win fast, or they become easy prey for a slower-paced, more deliberate
warrior.
Of course, sometimes you'll run up against a Basher who ignores the stereotype,
the so-called "Scum Basher." He differs from most of his kind by having a high
endurance which allows his manager to run him slowly and take people by surprise.
But this warrior is a freak. I distrust freakish warrior designs as a matter of
principle.
There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that warriors have a favorite
Kill Desire.
There is no convincing evidence to support the hypothesis that warriors or
styles have a favorite attack location. Managers have argued that the nature of the
bashing attack lends itself to overhead blows to the head and upper body. However, I
suspect that this is one of those intuitive things which turn out not to work, just
as one would intuitively expect a Basher to do well with his fists, and he does not.
Some managers have pointed out that a Basher aiming at the head tends to end his
fight quickly. ANY style striking the head tends to end the fight quickly.
(Consistently aiming at the head will increase the chance of killing, which will, in
the long run, decrease the chance of your Basher's survival. Managers bloodfeud
dedicated killers with hostile intent.) I consider this a case of "Not Proven."
Favorite Tactics. Of the twenty-eight Bashers listed above, only eight had
favorite tactics. Two favored the offensive tactic of Decisiveness, and the rest
favored the offensive tactic of Bash. It seems reasonable to assume that the
offensive tactics of Lunge and Slash are inappropriate for a Basher. (Of course, you
can't always count on reason here, but....) There were no defensive tactics favored
(granted, this is not a large sampling of warriors), which suggests that they should
be used sparingly, if at all--a Basher is a purely offensive style.
Proceeding from the general to the specific, here's a basher who had a very
unpromising beginning--
Profile of a Gladiator
Turo the Brick
Lord Protector and Pain in the Rear
Turo, a seven-foot Troll, just graduated from Lin Tirian, my own home arena, at
16-44-2, 94. He's a basher. And I suspect that most other managers would have sent
him straight to the Dark Arena.
At graduation, he is 11(2)-9-20-6(2)-17(2)-10-17.
According to his overview, even after those stat raises, he
Is not very bright
The more subtle points of the riposte simply escape him, which I could have
told anyone right off
Stands around making himself a target, which we noticed
Cannot carry a lot of weight in weapons and armor (that low ST)
Is slow on his feet (Does size have an effect here?)
Can do tremendous damage with a blow (mostly SZ, I suspect)
Turo is "naturally adept" with a maul (well, okay, he's probably pulled up a few
trees and swung 'em around to bat at pesky people), favors a rhythm of very high/low,
and has an innate ability to use the bash tactic. None of this comes as a great
surprise--it fits his character. He's aggressive by nature (definitely) and most
readily learns initiative skills. (Doesn't that require BRAINS?) Ah, well. I've
been running him lately as follows:
Mace, backup war hammer, offhand medium shield, plate mail and a full helm.
9 8 7 6 7 8 10
3 2 1 1 1 1 1
8 8 7 8 7 8 10 which I wouldn't swear is the strategy I sent in
for him originally, but it is what he's using. Attacking right arm, protecting head,
no tactics. Maybe this was based on something another manager suggested to me.
He graduated with no ratings at all. Yes, really.
Obviously, he's not anybody's ideal warrior, but he's been surprisingly fun to
read. And it seems at least possible that if I'd paid more attention to his
strategies, issued challenges and avoids, he might have taken a better record out of
the arena. He is headed for retirement, obviously. I think he has some idea of
going back to his home in the foothills of the Khriatrin Mountains and terrorizing
his kin.
And another example of a basher, a much more successful one:
Khora the Small
Lady Protector
Contender for the Throne in Lirin Kiv (ADM 107)
Basher
I don't have her graduation overview here, as that was a long time ago. But she
started as 15-12-9-17-11-9-11. Now, after years of fighting, maxed on skills and
training stats, she is 25-12-9-17-17-13-16. Her record at the present is 94-129-3,
and despite doing devastating damage, being incredibly quick and elusive, and having
an Advanced Master rating in attack and Masters in all the other skills, she is still
not woman enough to take the throne in this smallest of the Advanced Duelmasters
regions. Her favorite weapon is the war hammer, her favorite rhythm high offensive
effort and very low activity level, which are good favorites. So why isn't she
Duelmistress, or as it is called in Lirin Kiv, Champion of the Horn? Because there's
an even better basher up there already. Her most serious problem is that low CN, I
think. Maybe she should train that up....
Here's their most recent fight, a short one, so I'll give it to you in full--
Phetmolge is 8' tall, right-handed, fights with no armor or helm, carries a war
hammer and a large shield, to which he is well suited.
Khora is 5'7" tall, ambidextrous, in leather armor and a helm, carrying a war
hammer and an off-hand war hammer, to which she, too, is well-suited. Khora is
running 8 4 7 RA BD no tactics; about Phetmolge we can only guess.
Both warriors move with snake-like speed around each other.
The weapons lock together in a test of strength.
Phetmolge is moving constantly without pause!
He sweeps his large shield in a sudden unexpected assault!
A spectator exclaims, "Brilliant!" Phetmolge smiles briefly.
Khora parries the blow with her war hammer.
She disengages her foe's weapon arm and tries to steal the initiative!
She makes a lightning-quick backhand smash with her war hammer!
Phetmolge is struck in the belly.
Khora says admiringly (this is irony), "How much damage can you take, anyway?"
(Lots. Lots and lots. More than she can, anyway.)
She launches a brilliant attack with her war hammer.
Phetmolge stops the blow with his large shield.
He sidesteps, trying to throw his opponent off balance.
He launches a brilliant attack with his war hammer!
Khora is hit on the right hip!
It is a tremendous blow!
Khora winces, obviously feeling great pain.
She mutters a desperate prayer and is stopped by the herald.
She is determined to become top basher in Lirin Kiv and will keep fighting
until she is Inducted into Primus.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question of the Week #3 +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
Question, turn 403:
All -- I've read that once you have an AE in a skill area you don't need to use a
tactic in that area. What if you have a favorite tactic? Would it benefit your
warrior to use it even if he is maxed in that area? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 404:
Q.O.W. -- Tactics. It's generally believed that using a tactic, at any level of
skill, increases something (init, attack, damage, etc. though no one's sure) at the
expense of one or more other abilities. Usually it seems you lose more for using the
tactic than you gain, so they should be used sparingly. However, favorite tactics
are a bit different. I've noticed, generally, that the penalties usually imposed by
using the tactic are greatly reduced or eliminated, making it more useful. I run a
piker in AD who has response as a favorite and run her with it. She seems to do
great with it against everybody. My decise running striker still defends well
(though she's got favorite learn defense), and she still jumps everyone with a poor
decise rating. My advice is to give it a try if it's a tactic you think your warrior
needs, or can use based on their current point of development. -- Adie
Hanibal -- It really is almost like flicking a switch the way you can (usually)
prevent death intent statements if you want to. Dartor is the arena expert on
killing and he too agrees. Most new managers gain pleasure from seeing their
warriors kill, and it's not something to be ashamed of. But there is a better way of
going about things. I think as you gain more experience and experiment with lower
KD, you'll find that running with a 4 where you used to run with a 6 will have little
effect on a warrior's performance other than decreasing the chance of death intent.
This is especially true in the first minute, or before your warrior would get tired.
-- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Each tactic has some benefits and some drawbacks. I can't tell you
exactly what those are because I don't know myself. If a tactic only provided the
equivalent of extra skills, then it might be true that a warrior wouldn't need them
after a certain level of skill is achieved. But let's say that your warrior has an
AE+3 and his opponent has a MA. Then there might still be good cause to use a
tactic.
I believe tactics grant benefits that can't always be translated into more
skills. I think the best example of this is what happens when response is used
against decise. Tactics have their value at all levels of the game, but the most
valuable tactics might change. I don't think many would run with decise at the top
of AD, though lunge and dodge remain popular. But for a new warrior, decise can be
very important. Tactics are not well documented in the literature, and for that
reason you may do well to learn first-hand and develop some instincts regarding the
use of appropriate tactics. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Regarding the latest question: if you have an advanced expert in an area
that equates to a given tactic, is there any point in running the tactic. Yes, if
the tactic is a useful one. I don't THINK that there is a one-to-one equivalence
between types of skills and types of tactics. For one thing, there are eight tactics
and only six types of skills! -- Leeta
Question, turn 404:
All -- Do you think you are faster with your favorite weapon? If your fav is a
Halberd would you be quicker with a War Hammer? I've read you get +4 in each area if
you are using your favorite. -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 405:
Hanibal -- I strongly doubt that a favorite weapon gives four extra skills in each
category. I don't see how anyone could know that unless it was said by a credible
source within the GC. I'm terrible at finding favorite weapons. I can tell you that
the one large favorite weapon I've had experience with is the greatsword, and it is
still lousy even as a favorite. I really enjoy longsword as a favorite. --
Generalissimo Puerco
Q.O.W. -- With regard to favorites, the only really obvious effect is that you are
automatically well suited to it, and the warrior using it almost always throws more
critical attacks with that weapon than if it wasn't their favorite. That pretty much
gives me the impression it only helps attack. -- Adie
Q.O.W. -- I would be amazed if you would receive +4 in each area for a favorite
weapon. And we do not believe the fave adds to the speed with the weapon. The fave
greatly aids attack and parry, hit %, and ability to hold onto the weapon. And, of
course, criticals increase. -- Kennelworth
Hanibal -- I don't know about specific bonuses for using a favored weapon. However,
I do believe that if your favored weapon is something that you aren't otherwise
suited for (for example, a broadsword for someone lacking the necessary attributes),
you can often get good results by going for a lower version of that weapon. From the
halberd of your example, for instance, "down" to a great axe, or even farther down to
battle axe and then to hatchet. Experiment with them and see what might work. I
have no specific numbers to support this, but it is the impression I've gathered over
the cycles. -- Leeta
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
A New Duelmaster
So, warriors of the Noblish arena. I am now the top fighter. I am surprised.
We Einherjar take off a fortnight to honor our dead and when I come back I find a
notification from the fight commission that I am Duelmaster. It is a shame I would
have preferred to gain this honor by taking it... as it should be done. Though that
was not an option due to some shake ups in teams.
Well, as your current Duelmaster I vow that I will have an open door policy. I
will duck no teams. I will fight all challengers. So good fortune to you all. I
now must go to work with my lads & lasses of training.
Astrid
Duelmaster
Warrior of the Einherjar
SPY REPORT
Hail and well met warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Know me for who I am, Zontani
Sharp Eyes, Spymaster extraordinaire of all Alastari. Former top team EINHERJAR was
unseated this week as BASH BROS PAINTING moved up from 4th ranking to take the top
spot with a 5-0-0 record for the round. There were bitter words at GOAT'S HAI-5's
guildhouse after a 1-4-0 showing this week which dropped the stable into 7th. Dark
Arena anyone? Warriors--remember that glory waits always around the corner! Witness
how this week FAMOUS HOOSIERS went 3-2-1 to move up 4 in the rankings. Did only my
eyes note the 5-0-0 record which BASH BROS PAINTING managed to post this round? I
don't doubt that such a record will draw challengers! MISSED A SPOT caught the eye
of many in the gladiatorial commission as he skillfully bested AMELIA EARHART and was
awarded 18 points in recognition. In one of the week's more notable duels, QUINCY
JONES put down GASPER VLADI, causing him to lose 13 points of recognition in the
process. Due to hers absence and inability to defend the throne, ASTRID has lost the
title of Duelmaster. The city has turned out in honor of RIAS GREMORY, for with hers
arena victory she may now lay claim to the highest position in the city! Would you
believe that over half of the old women in NOBLISH ISLAND seem to feel that they
could fight better than you gladiators?
I have been in deep conclave with my spies who watched all that has recently
transpired. Indeed there is much I would report. NOBLISH ISLAND, city of
gladiators! Mighty among the names of thy guilds is BASH BROS PAINTING, a guild
shunned and avoided by many in the weekly duels. 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
BASH BROS PAINTING? Mighty fighters cannot but expect competition from those below.
TALLAHASSE MOON take warning! You have more than a few enemies in NOBLISH ISLAND.
At the gambling halls I have started to bet money on NEGA-AMI. She has got the
courage it takes. Witness hers challenge this turn against TALLAHASSE MOON! Truth
to tell, NEGA-AMI did not come out of the fight a winner, but she managed to capture
much attention, gaining 4 in recognition.
What warrior does not hone his years, impatiently waiting for the moment of his
foe's mortality? 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? Ahh, but I can hear the spires of a far off
city calling to me. I must away! 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
RIAS GREMORY 9704 4 0 0 35 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-ASTRID 9696 5 1 1 49 EINHERJAR (1665)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
QUINCY JONES 9724 5 3 0 33 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
SARATOGA LEE 9726 5 3 0 33 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
TALLAHASSE MOON 9727 5 3 0 32 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
-ROLLO 9694 4 2 0 31 EINHERJAR (1665)
TIME CONSUMING 9755 2 0 0 31 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
-LAETHA 9693 4 2 0 29 EINHERJAR (1665)
DAN QUAYLE 9750 2 0 1 28 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL 9717 4 2 0 22 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
MISSED A SPOT 9758 1 1 0 19 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MORGUE-FILLER 9691 2 2 0 17 THE HEATHENS (1664)
YUUTO KIBA 9707 3 1 0 15 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
MORTICIOUS 9762 1 0 0 15 THE HEATHENS (1664)
LARRY BIRD 9753 1 1 0 14 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
GASPER VLADI 9706 2 2 0 13 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
ROCHESTER KING 9725 2 6 0 13 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
JOHN DILLINGER 9751 2 0 0 13 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
MISTAKES 9757 2 0 0 12 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
CLEAN UP 9756 2 0 0 11 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
DREAD SKEWER 9763 1 0 0 10 THE HEATHENS (1664)
MORI-ZUMA GRL 9745 2 2 0 8 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
NEGA-YOMI 9760 1 1 0 8 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
WIDOW-MAKER 9688 1 3 1 7 THE HEATHENS (1664)
MESSY 9754 1 1 0 7 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-TAMAGRAMAFLU 9722 1 1 0 7 KULLISAARS (1670)
-SVEN 9734 1 3 0 6 EINHERJAR (1665)
SIX FOOT DOWN 9689 1 3 0 6 THE HEATHENS (1664)
VERMONT OLSON 9738 0 6 0 6 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
-GEIR 9744 1 0 0 5 EINHERJAR (1665)
NEGA-AMI 9759 0 2 0 5 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
NEGA-SANGO 9761 1 1 0 4 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
AMELIA EARHART 9752 1 1 0 4 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
-EL GUARDO 9720 1 1 0 4 KULLISAARS (1670)
AKENO HIMEJUMA 9705 0 4 0 4 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
-SEARRUS 9645 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-PERSEPHONE 9642 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
ISSEI HYOUDOU 9703 0 4 0 4 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
-AGRISEL 9646 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-SUBLIME MAX 9718 0 2 0 2 KULLISAARS (1670)
JAMES DEAN 9749 0 2 0 2 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
-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?
BERYLLIOSIS 9719 2 2 0 KULLISAARS 1670 DAN QUAYLE 9750 423
BRAXIUS 9737 0 1 0 THE BRAIN BUSTE 1671 WIDOW-MAKER 9688 419 NOT REVENGED
PERSONAL ADS
Congratulations to the mighty Astrid of Einherjar, Duelmistress of Noblish Isle.
Kudos. -- All us Famous Hoosiers
Famous Hoosiers, take note:
Bash Bros Painting 36 -- Famous Hoosiers -- 33
Assur 2-1, Wooden 1-2
We must all work harder and smarter, else we do not succeed. -- John Wooden
Clean Up -- My three's wouldn't drop and you blocked me out all day. Shucks! --
Larry Bird, Famous Hoosier
Mistakes? Mistakes? It was MY mistake to take on this role. I do better at the
teenage heartthrob role than I do the warrior role. -- James Dean, Famous Hoosier
Messy -- Everything I did as VP was messy, so it is no wonder that I handled you with
ease. -- Dan Quayle, Famous Hoosier
Vermont Olsen -- I flew high and raced to a victory. -- Amelia Earhart, Famous
Hoosier
Kygomai-Lovegrl -- I enjoyed adding you to my hit list. You were lucky to come out
alive. -- John Dillinger, Famous Hoosier
All -- ASK SOME QUESTIONS! This arena is known for teaching, coaching, and training.
Use it or lose it. -- John Wooden Famous Hoosier
Rochester King -- I think you should carry a shield as well as your blade. Armor is
good but it is passive a shield is a more active defense. -- Rollo
Saratoga Lee -- Sorry about the strike to the groin. I don't like to ruin art. --
Astrid
Missed A Spot -- No I don't believe I did. -- Geir
Quincy Jones -- That was a lovely fight. I think you just helped me find my favorite
implement of war. -- Laetha
Tallahassse Moon -- Thank you for accepting my challenge. It showed me some
weaknesses in my style. It was an honor. -- Sven
John N. Mitchell -- "The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire."
Glory -- Sometimes, all you can do is draw your weapon, say "Fuck It," and see what
happens.
Not in this arena. I allow you the one use of the forbidden word, and
that's it.
Two-three for us, and no standbys. It'll do. Well, it has to, it's over already. --
Quincy Jones for those of us out on the Highway
Sven -- Well, you got hit with the experience difference, for a start. And then you
should have been faster off the mark, given our respective styles and what I know MY
fight speed to have been. -- Tallhasse Moon
P.S. Were you training skills? You should have learned SOMETHING from that, but if
you weren't training skills... oh, well.
Astrid -- See if I ever invite YOU over for coffee and crumpets. -- Saratoga Lee
Rollo -- Damn, I don't like being attacked with a shield. It's so embarrassing. --
Rochester King
P.S. Especially when I lose.
Laetha -- Seems like we aren't fighting much of anybody except your team. And, quite
frankly, you don't seem to need advice. -- Quincy Jones
Amelia Earhart -- No wonder they never found you in the South Pacific, you came back
and landed on ME. -- Vermont Olson
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
JAMES DEAN was viciously subdued by MESSY in a 2 minute amateur's Challenge fight.
LARRY BIRD demolished VERMONT OLSON in a popular 1 minute one-sided Challenge melee.
NEGA-AMI lost to TALLAHASSE MOON in a 2 minute Challenge brawl.
DAN QUAYLE butchered BERYLLIOSIS in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge fight.
GASPER VLADI was demolished by QUINCY JONES in a 2 minute mismatched competition.
YUUTO KIBA was vanquished by SARATOGA LEE in a exciting 1 minute mismatched fight.
RIAS GREMORY viciously subdued ROCHESTER KING in a popular 6 minute Title competition.
KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL vanquished PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 2 minute uneven duel.
AKENO HIMEJUMA lost to CLEAN UP in a action packed 1 minute beginner's fight.
ISSEI HYOUDOU was overpowered by MORGUE-FILLER in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
SIX FOOT DOWN was viciously subdued by MISTAKES in a 2 minute brutal novice's bout.
WIDOW-MAKER was subdued by JOHN DILLINGER in a 3 minute amateur's competition.
MORI-ZUMA GRL was unbelievably bested by DREAD SKEWER in a 1 minute novice's battle.
AMELIA EARHART was overpowered by MISSED A SPOT in a 1 minute mismatched conflict.
TIME CONSUMING overpowered NEGA-YOMI in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
NEGA-SANGO was bested by MORTICIOUS in a 3 minute brutal beginner's duel.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 6 PARRY-LUNGE 6 - 4 - 0 60 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 6 AIMED BLOW 27 - 18 - 3 60 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 42 - 30 - 1 58 |
|TOTAL PARRY 4 BASHING ATTACK 26 - 20 - 2 57 |
|AIMED BLOW 3 SLASHING ATTACK 18 - 15 - 2 55 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 3 STRIKING ATTACK 28 - 32 - 2 47 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 18 - 1 45 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 7 - 13 - 1 35 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 3 - 8 - 0 27 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 17 - 0 19 |
Turn 423 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:
AIMED BLOW 3 - 0 TOTAL PARRY 1 - 3 5 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 6 - 0 LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 5 3 AIMED BLOW
PARRY-LUNGE 2 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 2 2 STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 3 - 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1
WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
AIMED BLOW RIAS GREMORY 9704 4 0 0 35 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is QUINCY JONES 9724. The most popular warrior this
turn was RIAS GREMORY 9704. The ten other most popular fighters were QUINCY JONES
9724, MISTAKES 9757, WIDOW-MAKER 9688, NEGA-SANGO 9761, MESSY 9754, SARATOGA LEE
9726, CLEAN UP 9756, LARRY BIRD 9753, NEGA-AMI 9759, and TALLAHASSE MOON 9727.
The least popular fighter this week was NEGA-YOMI 9760. The other ten least popular
fighters were AMELIA EARHART 9752, ISSEI HYOUDOU 9703, BERYLLIOSIS 9719, JAMES DEAN
9749, JOHN DILLINGER 9751, SIX FOOT DOWN 9689, AKENO HIMEJUMA 9705, ROCHESTER KING
9725, YUUTO KIBA 9707, and GASPER VLADI 9706.
Article for Newbies
This here is an article aimed mostly at you new managers to the game out there.
This chart is a consensus of managers on the internet about how they felt each style
fairs against all other styles at the beginning levels of the game. Of course, once
you get ten or so fights under your belt the whole scenario changes and you can throw
this right out the window. But in the meantime, use this chart to help you get a
feel for the game, how the different styles interact with each other and to hopefully
dispel those 5-25 starts that can make you drop the game. Hope this helps you some.
KEY FOR ODDS OF WINNING:
1 - ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE 6 - BETTER THAN EVEN
2 - HARDLY LIKELY 7 - GOOD CHANCE
3 - NOT MUCH 8 - HIGHLY PROBABLE
4 - SLIGHT CHANCE 9 - MOST DEFINATELY
5 - 50/50 10 - ALMOST GUARANTEED
Reminder: Left Row vs Top Column
BA ST LU SL AB TP PS PL PR WS
BA 5 2 6 6 8 9 7 6 5 6
ST 8 5 8 9 9 6 7 5 6 4
LU 4 4 5 6 10 5 7 7 9 6
SL 4 1 5 5 8 6 8 7 8 9
AB 2 2 2 4 5 10 6 6 6 7
TP 3 4 6 4 1 5 7 8 6 5
PS 3 3 3 4 5 4 5 4 5 4
PL 5 4 3 3 6 2 7 5 7 6
PR 7 5 2 2 4 5 6 3 5 4
WS 5 8 6 2 4 6 7 5 6 5
There you have it folks. I would personally like to thank all the managers on the
internet who made a contribution to this effort. You know who you are. Also a big
nod of appreciation goes out to the mighty PUG (Ben Hitz) who organizes and runs the
roundtable and without whose effort little projects like this would prove quite
difficult.
David Gottwald - Magic Man
The Crew - Monuntial (34)
Rocky's Heroes - North Fork (47)
Tragedy Strikes - Andor (57) (inactive)
Natural Born - Illis (59)
Slow & Easy - Aradi (60)
Omega Squadron - Dragonhead (72)
MAKING YOUR CHALLENGES GO THROUGH
First, you need to be sure you are making your challenges correctly.
1. Are you writing down the warrior I.D. number of the warrior you want to
challenge?
2. Is your handwriting clear?
3. Is the warrior you are challenging within range of your warrior? Warriors
can challenge within their own class and the next higher class, plus the "Challenger"
classes can also challenge the next lower class. So, an Adept can challenge Adepts
and Challenger Adepts. A Challenger Adept can challenge Adepts, Challenger Adepts,
and Champions. (Try not to challenge down, though. Besides being unsportsmanlike and
making everyone mad, it isn't advantageous to your warriors. They need to fight more
experienced warriors so they will learn.)
4. Are your warriors eligible to make challenges? If they didn't fight within
the last two turns, then they can't challenge.
5. Are the warriors they want to fight eligible to receive challenges? If they
didn't fight within the last two turns, then they can't be challenged.
Next, adjust your choices for the maximum likelihood of getting your challenges.
There are several things that will help:
1. Have each of your warriors challenge two different opponents from two
different teams. That way, if the first opponent's team doesn't fight that turn, you
still might get your second challenge.
2. Use your avoids. Have each warrior avoid the teams of whoever you think
might be likely to challenge him. If you can get out of being challenged, that
increases your chance of getting your own challenge through.
3. Don't challenge warriors who didn't fight last turn. The odds are higher
that they won't be fighting this turn.
4. Don't challenge warriors who might be involved in a bloodfeud (either as the
killers, or the avengers). A bloodfeud challenge has priority over all other
challenges.
5. Don't challenge Tournament Victors. A TV challenge has priority over all
other challenges except bloodfeuds. You'll need to do a little research in back
issues of the newsletter to find out who the TVs are.
6. Don't challenge warriors who you know are going to challenge someone else, or
are going to get challenged by someone else. Your challenge has a better chance of
getting through if it is the only challenge to that particular warrior.
7. Don't challenge the "easy pickings." That is, warriors above you who have
way too few fights or very bad records for where they are ranked. They will tend to
get challenged a lot.
8. Don't challenge warriors who are likely to be avoiding your team. This
includes any warrior your team fought within the last two turns.
Well, it sounds like I've eliminated just about everybody, doesn't it? Of course
you can challenge opponents who fit into one or more of those categories; just try to
find ones who don't. Your idea candidate for a challenge is: A warrior ranked
somewhat above your warrior in the same class, or in the next higher class, with a few
more fights than your warrior, and a winning record, who isn't a TV and isn't
currently at war with anyone.
I hope this will be of some help to you.
The Rogue She-Puppy
MAXIMIZING THE DUELMASTERS EXPERIENCE: WHAT THE RULES DIDN'T SAY
When you get your turn results in the mail it is very important that you squeeze
as much enjoyment as possible out of that envelope! I recommend (and also use!) the
following procedures.
First, open the envelope lengthwise with a letter opener. Remove the blue-sheet
BUT DON'T LOOK AT IT! It may tell you that you are broke and owe RSI a lot of money.
Flip it over instead! The blue-sheet will be used as a "hider" when you read the
fight results line by line, so you don't see the end of the fight by mistake and ruin
the excitement.
Remove the rest of the sheets in one smooth maneuver and place the flipped-over
blue-sheet on top of the pile, without looking at anything. You don't want to
accidentally uncover an unexpected replacement rollup. This is a traumatic experience
that should be avoided at all costs, as it indicates that one of your battles didn't
go exactly as planned.
Now you must prepare your room, or whever you are, for the battles. If you are
suicidal, or a lousy manager, or a suicidally lousy manager, remove all sharp objects
from the area. If you happen to manage an entire team of scummy warriors it is okay
to leave a loaded musket nearby.
The next step is to put on music. It definitely adds to the experience to have
your favorite tunes playing in the background, preferably AS LOUD AS YOU CAN GET AWAY
WITH! I christen each new warrior with a song that is his and his alone, and play
that song whenever it is his turn upon the sands. It is a personal choice but I
recommend Judas Priest, Manowar or Metallica. Avoid Abba and Barry Manilow (like I
had to say it). It is also important to match the song length with the expected
length of the fight. Don't choose "The Immigrant Song" for your 21-con Ultra-Scum.
Likewise, don't choose "Stairway to Heaven" for your quick lunger. Finally, sometimes
it is nice to choose an exceptionally violent alternate selection for those
Bloodfeuds.
Now you are almost ready! The final preparatory step (optional) is to prepare a
pot of coffee. Beer also works well, especially on Fridays, but I understand that
some managers are not Well-Suited to that particular beverage. I've heard the Duke
Malibu in Solven drinks goat blood, but mind you this is only a rumor. For the final
touch, try putting on any handy armor you have. Or a loin-cloth. I put on most of my
hockey gear.
The fights are on! The music is loud! The coffee is good! Read the fights
slowly, line by line using your blue-sheet as a guide. Don't go too fast, now. Yell,
"Yeah!" if your warrior scores an especially gruesome hit. Cringe if your warrior
feels the joys of a great axe connecting with his face (that means you, Marilith).
Raise your fist in the air when that total parry realizes that his last shield has
broken! And cry when your favorite gladiator is gravely injured and then takes ten
consecutive war hammer shots to the head...
When the end of the fight comes you will be emotionally drained, so yell out,
"Huzzah!!!" or "Damnnn!!!" or whatever, to take the edge off. When the fighting is
ended take a breather before preparing for the next cycle's fights. Reflect on what
has transpired and make a few notes. You'll be a better person (and manager) for it!
Isn't Duelmasters great?
Brought to you by ICE (the deranged): DM-49 (Vithicar) Rotting Livers (205)
DM-10 (Kolact) Beermacht
DM-22 (Solven) Steel Warriors
DM-24 (Zorpunt) No Escape
Winning With the Average Warrior
Hi! The Master of Anime here... Yeah, yeah, I know, you're all doing a
collective, "Who the Hell is this character?" Well, my claim to fame, if you can call
it that, is that I run Eve, one of the more popular, if not completely unspectacular,
warriors to fight in Alastari. I am a micro-manager (you've heard of mega-managers?
Well, think in reverse) who has been mainly running only one team during my 8+ years
of Duelmasters. This little write-up is aimed towards the less experienced managers,
the ones that can be brainwashed from some of the "How to build the perfect
warrior..." spotlights that tend to appear from time to time.
Many of the "How to build..." spotlights tend to deal with roll-ups that are
quite ideal, but in reality, rarely come out of RSI's number crunching machine,
commonly referred to as "the Roll-Up Gods". There have been a few good articles on
how to design skillful warriors from 'average' roll-ups. Those articles, in my
opinion, are the most helpful to new managers for the simple fact that you will almost
always get an 'average' roll-up. Occasionally, that 'average' roll-up might turn out
to be something special, and that is what I would like to key in on.
I know a lot of managers who will continually DA their warriors until they get
something that is as close to perfect as possible. You know, the warrior with three
or four 17s or the warrior with a couple of 21s or that size 3 or 4 warrior, etc...
If you are a relatively new manager and you are also doing this, I think you are
missing out on one of the more intriguing aspects of this game and that is warrior
development.
Being a micro-manager, I do not have an army of warriors like the mega-managers
do, but I'd like to think that I can hold my own against them (hey, if you're gonna
dream, dream big). Anyway, back to the point. One of my 'average' warriors seems to
have achieved a form of notoriety in Advanced Duelmasters to the extent that even the
ever quiet Mirage (manager of Donatello) has had something to say (it was at the last
Tempe FTF and my warrior, at the end of the 6th or 7th round, was listed as the top
Primus warrior on the tourney list.) Mirage pointed at my warrior on the list and
said, "That, is embarrassing..." I took it as a compliment. In case you're
wondering, my warrior is Akira (the reason I'm writing this article is that I've been
approached many times of late by managers who wanted to see Akira's numbers, thinking
he had some sort of godlike roll-up. I set them straight).
I'm not going to print Akira's numbers in this article for the main reason that I
don't have them with me at this time (it'll probably tick-off a lot of managers whose
warriors Akira has beaten anyway), but I do know this... he has about 30 attribute
increases and only one attribute is in the 20's, that one being WL (he even got gypped
by not getting some skills that you normally think he'd get by raising WL up the
20's). He won't be getting another attribute above 20 for a long, long time. (I
think his next highest attribute is 17... note that this is after the 30 or so
increases...) You should have a pretty good idea how generic this roll-up is... a
roll-up that would probably be DA'd by most managers looking for a good roll-up... a
roll-up that I even said, "I'll run him for kicks, but will probably retire him once
he gets to AD."... a roll-up that entered AD with a less-than-stellar 14-10 record...
a roll-up currently on a 20 fight win streak... a roll-up with three consecutive
Primus TVs.
So, before you give up on that average warrior, think again about giving him a
chance to flourish... he might suprise you as Akira has surprised me. Good luck in
the arena!
M.A., a proud member of GAPPDA
P.S. If you want to know Akira's original roll-up, diplo Anime Legends (Arena 102,
104).
P.P.S. Swift -- We GAPPDA members are NOT slugs!!! At least, I don't think we are...
TWELVE TIPS
A rookie manager asked me a question recently which prompted my "teaching juices"
to flow. I quote: "Just give me a dozen hints, and I'll leave you alone!" Obviously,
his challenge prompted me to organize my thought creating my Twelve Tips.
"Now wait a minute!" I hear you asking. "Why should I read on?" Simply put:
-- If you're an experience manager, you'll want to "clue me in" on other valuable tips
I missed.
-- If you're a "newbie," these tips will enhance your W-L record and compound your
fun.
"But, are they GOOD tips?" you ask. Believe me, fellow opponents, after 5000+
fights, dozens of "tutored pupils," many A.D. warriors, and a rather lofty W-L record,
they're GOOD tips. So here we go, in no particular order.
(I) ASK FOR HELP--Ask RSI about the Sponsor Program. Diplo "good" managers in your
arena. Proclaim your willingness to learn in a personal ad. You'll get some
conversation.
(II) OFFENSIVES FIRST--This is not an easy game, and the basher, lunger, striker can
be readily designed and more easily "mastered." (Whatever that means.) Avoid the most
difficult finessives, such as aimers (AB), rippers (PR), and probably wastes (WS).
Get some confidence first! Most of us old-timers yet struggle with a good aimed-blow.
(III) SKILLS, SKILLS, SKILLS--One of the most prevalent rookie errors is training too
many stats. Skills win fights, and in the long run, you will regret certain stat
raises.
(IV) COLLECT DATA--The more you know about your own warrior (And even with the same
stats, warriors differ) and the more you know about your opponents, the more likely
you can cause something "good" to happen. In the military/political world, we call
this "intelligence." (Clue: ask about a D.M. handbook filled with info.)
(V) PERSONAL ADS--Don't be a jerk! But write some every time. Let me assure you that
an unliked rookie cannot succeed in an arena against the local "Powers-in-control."
You want to create friendly opponents. (When you know what you're doing--then you can
try the jerk routine!)
(VI) TURN SHEET--Accuracy counts. Fill it out perfectly (and legibly) pal! Know what
each section is for. (Reread the instructions.) Many have been the surprised and
frustrated manager who caused his or her own problem! (Even us "megas" blow it now and
then!)
(VII) NO CON--Don't ever (well maybe 1% of the time) add points to constitution on an
offensive rollup. Other attributes may add skills; con won't. (Just wait until you
hear someone shout never add to con--ever. I didn't say that.)
(VIII) ONE WEAPON--For offensives. When you get to finesse styles, you'll understand
why you may want one in your off-hand also. But, almost always carry a backup. (Hands
can be hurt both striking and defending.)
(IX) CHALLENGE/AVOID--Always! A manager's prime purpose is to optimize his warrior's
chances. Challenge those you'll have a good shot at beating and avoid teams who can
cause you the most difficulties. (Challenge warriors--avoid teams.)
(X) ENTER TOURNAMENTS--What a way to acquire skills and experience without impacting
your arena W-L record. Actually, you will create a positive impact in that those
"tournament earnings" are "hidden" from other arena warriors. Plus, tournaments are a
real "rush!"
(XI) FIND A FRIEND--In every arena find at least one "friendly" foe. Share opponent
info. With two, or more, of you sharing, look how much more "intelligence" you'll
have.
(XII) STAY COOL--Don't let any problem (loss, death, personal ad, error, etc.) anger
you. (This is fun, right?) The cool head wins more matches than the emotional one.
So good luck, rookie! We were all in your shoes once. (And for some of us that
was a long, long time ago.)
THE CONSORTIUM
DM 8 Smithsonian (Curator)
DM 11 Bulldogs (Kennelworth)
DM 20 Animal Farm (Mino)
DM 46 Fandils (Fandil the Wise)
(and many, many more)