DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 04/04/2015 Duedate: 04/17/2015
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-426
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
ASTRID
EINHERJAR (1665)
(93-9696) [7-2-1,58]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY ASTRID
EINHERJAR (1665)
(93-9696) [7-2-1,58]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
LAETHA GEIR
EINHERJAR (1665) EINHERJAR (1665)
(93-9693) [6-3-0,39] (93-9744) [2-2-0,8]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. THE HEATHENS (1664) 39
2. GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 17 IRON DRAGON (495)
3. PUPPET LORDS (1675) 12 Unchartered Team
4. FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672) 11
5. BASH BROS PAINTING (1673) 10 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672) 16 8 1 66.7 1/ 1*FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672) 10 4 0
2/ 3*BASH BROS PAINTIN (1673) 16 9 0 64.0 2/ 4*EINHERJAR (1665) 8 7 0
3/ 2*EINHERJAR (1665) 25 17 1 59.5 3/ 2*BASH BROS PAINTIN (1673) 8 7 0
4/ 0*STARBRIGHTS (1583) 3 3 0 50.0 4/ 5*GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 6 3 1
5- 4*GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 12 13 0 48.0 5/ 8*PUPPET LORDS (1675) 4 6 0
6/ 7*GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669) 16 23 1 41.0 6- 7*GREMORY DEVILS (1667) 3 2 0
7/ 6*PUPPET LORDS (1675) 4 6 0 40.0 7/ 6*THE HEATHENS (1664) 3 7 1
8/ 0*THIRD HIWAY 2 (1679) 1 2 0 33.3 8/ 0*STARBRIGHTS (1583) 1 1 0
9/ 9*THE HEATHENS (1664) 9 19 2 32.1 9/ 0*THIRD HIWAY 2 (1679) 1 2 0
10-10*RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674) 1 3 0 25.0 10- 9*RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674) 1 3 0
11- 0*THE HEARD (1164) 0 1 0 0.0 11- 0*THE HEARD (1164) 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
The CIC (Consortium Information Collection)
Noblishers Should Ask RSI for it
Once upon a time there was a long-time manager who decided to collect a lot of
valuable information, in irregular small print form, on only three pages of 8.5x11.
That manager, or group of managers, use said data information when:
1. The internet is down and the Terrablood/RSI sites are unavailable
2. Traveling around the world and "working D2 strategies" in unusual places
3. Quick information is needed
4. They feel like it
The information is not necessarily the prettiest, but it can be quite invaluable to
D2ers especially D2ers with no internet accessibility. Copies of that information are
now available for Noblish Island managers. Contact the RSI office to request it by
mail.
Most of the information on the data sheets is self-explanatory. Some will
require explanation. Most has been gathered from various sources over time in the old
DM community. Much of it has been gathered empirically. (Meaning that the information
is not programming code, or from the designers, but rather gathered by users and
players of the game.) The information may not always be "perfect", but it is widely
used in this or similar fashion.
I will explain the information by placing it into two categories -
straightforward, and intricate. First let's cover what is in the first category.
The following charts/info fit the straightforward category. Some include simple
calculations.
1. WEAPON SUITABILITY - shows which weapons are suited, marginal, or unsuited to a
style.
2. WEAPON REQUIREMENTS - indicates the ST, SZ, WT, DF limitations for a weapon. It
also covers the weapon weight, the armor it is best used against, and whether it is a
slash, bash, lunge weapon.
3. INTELLIGENCE - defines the WT needed for each rating.
4. DAMAGE - reveals the approximate damage rating one should expect for all ST/SZ
combinations. Note: a luck roll factor can both hose and bless damage rating.
5. ENCUMBRANCE - a table which shows what level of "carry" (encumbrance rating) one
should expect at all SZ/CN combinations.
6. HEIGHT - a simple conversion between the SZ number and height.
7. COORDINATION - which is defined as SP + DF; the chart provides a summary of each
coordination rating and the "points" range for each
8. ENDURANCE - most still use this calculation, although a "luck roll factor" can
alter the results slightly. The endurance rating which is WL x (ST+CN) is defined for
each rating.
9. HIT POINTS - sometimes called "damage taking" is broken down in this chart. The HP
is defined as 3.75CN + 1.1SZ + 0.4 WL. The rating levels are defined by "points".
And now for the more difficult to explain charts which interact with each other.
The three intricate charts are:
1. BAGMAN2 SKILL CHART - this chart explains how many and what skills are added to
the warrior base for each stat point. (All stats, including SZ, add or subtract
skills at certain levels except CN.)
2. STYLE SKILL MODIFIER - indicates the modification, by style, of skills per type.
This occurs "at birth" of the warrior.
3. HIGH WIT STATEMENTS - a chart of phrases which indicate, at birth, the skill
level, by skill type, of your warrior. Note: there is a Low Wit Statement chart for
warriors with less than 8 WT, but it is very inaccurate (minimal empirical data) and
seldom used. It is not included in this collection of charts. (A good low WT
statement chart was later developed by Assur.)
These three charts work together to help a warrior determine his anticipated starting
skills. They also define at which skill levels, per stat, that skills are added
during the warrior's development. Note: Depending on the warrior's style, it is
possible to be blessed or hosed by up to 4 skills by the "luck of the roll". The
other thing to remember is that an ambidextrous warrior gets one attack skill added
to his base at birth.
These intricate three charts, and the interaction between them, can seem quite
complicated. After a certain amount of trial-and-error, and/or by absorbing enough
advice, a manager finally "gets it". Use them well.
DETAILS OF USING THE CIC
What can you do with the Consortium Information Collection (CIC)? How does one use
all that info? (Noblish Island managers can contact RSI for a copy.)
You can use the information to:
1. Predict what your designed warrior is going to look like. (Indeed, you can use the
info to "try out" several design ideas, before you choose your final design.
2. Review the overview of the warrior you received to see if he/she is bonused/hosed.
3. Help keep track of the warrior's skills, including those earned from certain stat
raises.
4. Determine advantageous and usable weapons and armor for certain situations.
One note: Use of this information can be meticulous, detailed and exasperating at
first. It will take practice. So let's examine the CIC in detail.
1. ***DAMAGE CHART*** This chart shows you the range of expected damage doing your
character will yield. For example, a SZ16, 10ST warrior yields "-R+", meaning great
damage is typical, but lower and higher are not uncommon. Damage doing is dependent
on SZ, ST, and luck of the roll. If a warrior is much below, or much above, the chart
predictions, he is "hosed" or "blessed". This chart is more of generic reference than
most of the other information.
2. *** HIT POINTS*** HP is calculated as (3.75xCN)+(1.1xSZ)+(0.4xWL) . This chart
shows the HP needed for each rating. For example, an 11-10-8-15-17-12-11 warrior
would have (3.75x10)+(1.1X8)+(0.4x17)=53.10 HP and his "hit point rating" would be
"cannot lot", meaning cannot take a lot of damage. One raise of CN elevates him to
56.85 and "normal HP".
3. ***ENDURANCE*** By this chart's definition, endurance equals (WL)x(ST+CN) Using
the warrior mentioned above, endurance is (17)x(11+10) = 357. Based on the chart,
this warrior should have "normal endurance. It is possible to be hosed/blessed in
endurance, which would be the case if this warrior did not have normal. Note: On a
warrior profile sheet, the lack of any comment about endurance, means the warrior has
normal.
4. ***COORDINATION*** Coordination is merely SP + CN. There is no hosing or
blessing. The warrior listed above has 12+11 = 23 or normal coordination.
5. ***ENCUMBRANCE*** is often called "carry". Carry is a non-hosed/blessed attribute
dependent on ST and CN and it indicates how much weight a warrior can carry without
penalizing the endurance. Checking the chart for the above listed warrior shows
11ST/10CN yields "B" carry, or "cannot carry a lot of weight". Each level of carry
adds 9 points of weight that can be carried. A = 9; B = 18; C = 27, etc. Items to be
carried are armor, helm, and weapon/shields. Check the WEAPON REQUIREMENT chart to
see the weights of weapons and armor. As an example, a warrior wearing ASM/H, and
carrying BS/ME and a backup SH, has the following weights of 8 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 2 = 19.
That amount of carry is more than the 18 indicated for "B carry", hence, the warrior
wears out much quicker than normal. (Drop the back up to DA and carry is 18 points!)
6. ***HEIGHT*** this is a simple conversion chart showing what heights equate to what
SZ. While the warrior fight summary may list the warrior in ft.-in, the D2 program
really runs using the SZ number. Size may limit weapons or shields that may be used
without penalty, and as seen above, it impacts certain other characteristics.
7. ***INTELLIGENCE*** This chart indicates the intelligence statement you will
receive at each numeric WT. In general, only the numeric value is of importance.
8. ***STYLE SUITABILITY*** This is a chart which summarizes which weapons/shields are
suitable, marginal, or unsuitable for which styles.
9. ***WEAPON REQUIREMENTS*** This chart only refers to primary-hand weapons, and it
is a terrific summary of weapon requirement and impact. This chart reveals all of the
following and more:
a. weapon weights
b. ST requirements for a weapon
c. SZ limitations for a weapon
d. WT requirements for all weapons
e. DF requirements for a weapon
f. Weapon impact vs. armor type
g. Kill "ratings" for weapons (Take this rating with a "grain of salt" as it is not
really supported by empirical results, and it appears to say heavy weapons kill
better.)
h. Whether the weapon is a slash, bash, or lunge type weapon.
10. ***BAGMAN 2 SKILL CHART AND STYLE MODIFIERS*** This chart is a doozy! It took
years of data and development, and has become a highly important tool in D2. The
SKILL CHART explains what skills are earned at each stat level. For example: at 5 WL
the warrior gets 1 each Attack, Parry, Defense, and Decisiveness skill; at 6 WL, no
more skills are earned; but bumping the 7WL again adds one each of those same four.
Note also that SZ does impact skills. A SZ3 warrior gets two each defense and parry
skills and loses two initiative, while a SZ21 earns 4 initiative but loses four each
defense and parry. This chart is prepared in an accumulative fashion, showing the
total skills at each stat.
Coupled with that chart the STYLE MODIFIER chart shows the "at birth" style of
modifications. (All negative or zero. Each style starts with a different base
of skills. Let's take our previously mentioned 11-10-8-15-17- 12-11 warrior for
example, and let's say he is a slasher. The skill chart shows 2 each attack and
parry skills at 11 ST; no skills for CN and no skills for SZ; at 15WT 9
initiative, 3 riposte, 7 attack, 7 defense, and 2 decisiveness; 4 each attack,
parry and defense plus 5 decise at 17WL; 3 init, 4 riposte, 2 defense, and 5
decise at 12SP; and at 11DF there are 3 Init, 4 Riposte, and 5 each attack,
parry and defense skills. Add those all together to get a 15Init-11Rip-18Att-
11Par -18Def-12Dec total of skills for that design. Now you must apply the style
modifier chart, and a slasher has as follows: -2 Init, -4Rip, -8Att, -10Par,
-12Def, -2Dec. Putting them both together yields a slasher who should expect
starting skills of 13 Init, 7 Rip, 10 Att, 1 Par, 6 Def, and 11 Dec.
11. ***HIGH WIT STATEMENTS*** These statements apply to those warriors with 8+ WT.
(There are also Low Wit Statements, but that information summary is inaccurate due to
lack of input data.) This list indicates what "statements" should appear on your
"warrior profile" for each of Initiative, Riposte, Attack, Parry, and Defense per
each level of wit. Using our warrior above, as stated, he is expected to start with
13 Initiative skills. He has 15 WT. Examining the chart, under Initiative and across
from 15 WT (which also applies for 16WT, since the next listed level is 17), the left
side (high order) is for 13+base init skills, and the right side (low order 10-12
base init). We determined that he should start with 13, so we should expect the
statement "Nothing short of genius ...". If we do get this statement as expected, we
DO have 13+ Initiative skills. (13 min) Hence, we could be bonused with skills above
13. We would know if we were bonused 3 Init skills, as we would start with an expert
in Initiative. However, if, indeed, we received the other statement "With a very
aggressive .....", we would know we started with 10-12 Initiative skills, and were
hence hosed 1 to 3 initiative skills.
Let's try one more example - for Riposte. Our skill evaluations showed him to
have 7 skills. Looking at the HIGH WIT chart at 15WT, he has fewer skills than
the low order amount of 10-12, so he should expect no riposte statement. If he
did get the low order statement, then he truly has at least 10 riposte skills,
so he is bonused +3 or +4 (4 is max skill hose or bonus.) Evaluating the high
wit statements of all five skill areas (There is none for decisiveness.) will
lead to a true and actual understanding of the starting skill set of any
warrior.
NOTE: With internet accessibility, use The Terrablood site for ALL this info.
***** Brought to you by Coach John Wooden and CONSORTIUM affiliates everywhere. *****
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
Assur's Guide to High Skill Hybrids
The last of the Hybrid types is perhaps the most unclear of the warrior types in
terms of getting them to win. High Skill Hybrids don't really have a clear path to
victory, but expect to win by virtue of the fact that they have more skills than
their opponents.
Assur is far from an expert in this type of warrior, but it has been shown many times
that pure skills CAN win. Sometimes, they are called skill whores, becuase they
sacrifice everything for more skills.
1) Design
As Hybrids, they want a bit of everything, but their focus is on high skills with
some balance of physicals (often meaning as long as you don't have little damage or
little endurance, you're good to go). But you especially want to make sure you hit
major skill breakpoints and always want a decent wit to ensure they keep learning
skills as fast as their peers around them.
Most commonly these Hybrids start with 8-11 Strength, but higher strength versions
are definitely possible, but since strength is not a main skill stat, 8-11 is most
common. You almost always want more constitution on this type of hybrid, but because
you're focusing on skills, you almost never add points here. Size and Speed are
usually very low, but there are plenty of high speed versions (usually made into
Lungers).
High wit and deftness are the norm; 17 or 21 wit is highly recommended. High Will is
also nice. I recommend not trying this type of hybrid with less than 11 wit or less
than 11 deftness (both major skill breakpoints). Will of 9 (or even 7) is just fine
for endurance conserving styles.
The most 'extreme' examples of this type of hybrid look something like:
9-7-7-21-17-6-17, 12-3-9-21-17-5-17, and 11-4-5-21-17-9-17
More realistic versions (i.e. the chance of getting a set of stats that can make the
extreme versions is very small, you'll see these types of stats more often)
15-8-6-17-17-6-15, 12-3-13-17-17-5-17, 8-9-7-17-17-11-13, and 11-9-13-17-9-4-21
2) Style Choice
With 21 wit, pretty much any style can attempt to win with skills. Otherwise, the
following styles are recommended.
Lungers: The highest skill style, the highest base attack and defense, and the
highest favorite fighting rhythms all make for a very strong style. When you're
looking for a high skill style, Lungers should always be in the running. The
downside is that they require lots of endurance to run.
Wall of Steels: Wall of Steels start with the same initial skill total as a Lunger,
though the distribution is dramatically different. They also run well with lower
fighting rhythms, so do not need as much endurance as their lunger counterparts.
Still, it is a good idea to have high endurance for Wall of Steels.
Parry Lungers: This style falls just short of Lungers and Wall of Steels in the
traditional power rankings. But they are definitely on the higher side of of the
skill totals and built correctly can be powerful opponents.
For both Wall of Steels and Parry Lungers, their reluctance to learn riposte skills
suggests that hybrids of this style either start with some riposte, have a bit more
defensive oomph (parry, carry, and hit points), or are augmented in strategy with the
Riposte Tactic.
Aimed Blows: (With High Deftness, usually 17 or 21). Aimed Blows round out the
styles that naturally perform well as high skill hybrids. Aimed Blows are unique in
that they can do very well with extremely low strength (even 3) or will (7+) and
still have lots of skills. The do not need the endurance that the other high skill
styles need. The downside of hybrid AB's is that they can be extremely vulnerable to
death given the way they are typically designed.
And with 21 wit (or even 17), any of the ten fighting styles can learn fast enough to
outpace opponents in the skill race. Realize that wit is a high commodity stat, and
many of your opponents may also have 17 or 21 wit, especially teams run by managers
that focus on the tournament game.
3) Weapon Selection
Weapon selection for high skill hybrids varies by manager and design. The first
choice will normally be one of the top weapons in the game (SC, BA, BS, LO), but
there are other situations where your warrior may be better with another weapon.
Maybe your warrior likes to run fast (QS, HA, SS). Maybe your warrior wants a better
riposting weapon (EP). Maybe you want to strive for Knockdowns (LS). Perhaps you
want to look for your favorite weapon and get bonus skills that way!
Almost every weapon has its uses. I will warn once again that weapons that only deal
crushing damage tend to be underpowered. They do quite well against Scale Mail, but
otherwise are clearly outclassed by other weapons in the game. This is built into
the game mechanics.
4) Armor
You are a hybrid. You'll want to wear armor. How much needs to be a balance of your
endurance, carry ability, and your specific warrior's strengths. More defensive and
you might wear a bit extra armor. A faster hybrid (like the Lunger) will often wear
a bit less armor. A super low strength hybrid will wear very little.
Most importantly, unless you're expecting a certain type of fight, DO NOT
OVERENCUMBER YOUR HYBRID! This is the easiest way to make a hybrid perform poorly as
the overall encumbrance penalties are harsh.
5) Strategy and Tactics
Option #1: Look for your favorite rhythm. Warrior naturally fight better when they
are running at or near their favorite rhythm. You don't know what your favorite
rhythm is initially, but each style has rhythms that are common to the style and each
style as limits on what is possible to get. It is amazing what some warriors do when
running on their faves.
Option #2: Run hot (or semi-hot). Having your warrior going out hot is not a bad
strategy. There may be better strategies for your hybrid, but at least you'll know
he's going out with the intention to attack. Bad idea for most hybrids against pure
defensive warriors.
Option #3: Run defensive minute 1. This is especially effective for Wall of Steels,
but can be used by any of the style mentioned above. It also conserve endurance
better than option #2.
Option #4: Run a riposting strategy. This is highly dependent on your warrior, but
you don't need a lot of riposte to get the counterstrike. Generally this is a
moderate type strategy (too low and most warriors won't try to attack, unless those
low numbers happen to be their faves and then all bets are off)
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
The topic I've chosen to address today is The Obvious. There are some obvious
mistakes that new players can and sometimes do make. I've seen it happen. I'm sure
none of YOU have made these mistakes, but just in case....
Choice of weapon, there's a good area for mistakes. Every style has its
preferred weapons, NO weapon can be used by every style, nor can every style use all
weapons. At some point in your ten turns here in Arena 93, you will see the chart
that separates out weapons by style. Pay attention to that, this is not just whim,
opinion, or personal taste. This has been tested, over and over again. The fights
are monitored by a computer, and a computer doesn't care about "this should work" or
"that should be cool." If your weapon is unsuited to your style, you will be
penalized in the fight. This is more than just "doesn't seem to have the
strength/wit/deftness to use his weapon." That handicaps you, but not as badly. In
fact, just to confuse people, sometimes a warrior's "favorite" weapon, chosen by the
computer at the time the roll-up is first input, will be one for which he lacks the
perfect numbers. But it will ALWAYS be one suitable for his style.
Don't trust real-world logic in picking weapons, this is a game and has its own
rules. My stock example, which is TRUE, is bashers and fists. You'd think--many
have--that a basher would be a natural going in with his fists. No. Bashers are
unsuited to this weapon and will not do their best with it. Do not trust logic,
trust the charts.
Also, weapons have weight and bulk. If you go in loaded like an armory cart, as
I have seen characters in a role-playing game do, you will be at a disadvantage. The
computer is merciless when it comes to encumbrance. Always carry a backup, yes.
That's common sense. But do NOT carry a backup that's heavier than your primary
weapon, it's for emergencies, and you may not be able to draw it in time anyway.
Don't even THINK about carrying a two-handed weapon as a backup, the computer will
not allow this. The input program rejects this. Always. Yes, sure, if you go to
the Dark Arena, you might see the Shewish Giant with backup mauls. He's a special
case, he exists only to kill your warriors, and he is allowed more weapons than any
managed warrior will ever be able to carry. When you're looking for a backup, pick
something relatively light: dagger, shortsword, scimitar, if you want a sword,
hatchet, shortspear, warhammer. Maybe a mace.
Training. This is one of my stock cautionary tales, and it's true. It happened
back before Noblish Island was opened. A new manager who had run three turns and
pulled 0-15 wrote and asked me what was wrong. Not only were his warriors losing,
they hadn't learned a skill in the whole time. He sent me their stats to demonstrate
that they SHOULD have learned skills. Five warriors, three fights each, and between
them, they had TWELVE stat increases. They hadn't learned skills because they hadn't
been training skills. Read the rule book, read ALL of your Noblish Island
newsletters, and pay attention! It's depressingly easy to overlook the obvious, and
this can mean a disaster.
Armor. The offensive styles, basher, lunger, slasher, striker, are geared to
run fast, fight fast, move fast, get in and win and get out before they're hit. If
you put them in full plate, yes, you will probably reduce their chance of death. But
you will also reduce their chance of winning. They should not need the heavy armor
to keep them alive; their offensive capabilities should be doing that, by winning the
fight before they're in danger.
Perhaps not so obvious, but... you can often surrender when a fight is going
badly. If your desperation strategy is set up for that. Raising any of your fight
numbers, much less all of them, in desperation, will often cause your warrior to go
berserk, and it increases his chance of doing something stupid and getting killed.
Dropping the numbers, on the other hand, makes him feel that he doesn't want to fight
so hard, and he might surrender before his hit points drop to zero and he dies. No
guarantee, but it's worth a try in many cases.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Profile of a Team
Middle Way 7
Instead of giving you the profile of a graduating warrior this week, I'm going
to show you what I started with and what I did to make the Middle Way 7.
Warrior #1 I made a parry-riposte, as much because I like making rippers as
because I thought this was an "ideal" ripper. (Hint, it is NOT an "ideal" ripper.)
13 + 0 = 13 I left the ST at 13 because that's enough to use any ripper's
5 + 0 = 5 weapon. I didn't raise the CN, though an "ideal" ripper would have
12 + 0 = 12 more, because I didn't have the points to spare. I can raise this
13 + 2 = 15 warrior's CN later, and in fact I did so on the first fight. Why
7 + 6 = 13 didn't I raise the WT to 17 or 19, as I could have done? Again, I
13 + 0 = 13 needed the points more elsewhere, and 15 is sufficient for any of
7 + 6 = 13 the ripper's preferred weapons. Learning with a 15 WT is fine,
also. I raised WL to 13, the maximum allowable addition of points, because that is
THE most important stat. Without a decent WL, you can't raise any of the other
stats, and 13 is marginal anyway. If this warrior survives to graduation, it will go
into automatic retirement because of that low WL. SP I left alone because that's
more than enough for any ripper to start with. DF I raised by the maximum six points
because it's so useful for a) getting initial skills (this warrior was born with an
expert in riposte) and b) hitting on target and winning fights before the low CN
loses them. This warrior is very frail--mostly the low CN, but incredibly quick
(relatively high SP and DF combined). She can't carry much weight, but she does do
good damage.
Warrior #2 I made a wall of steel, which may be my favorite style. I added
6 + 3 = 9 three to ST because I HATE warriors who do little damage. Also,
10 + 0 = 10 raising ST to 9 will allow this warrior to use the SC, one of my
16 + 0 = 16 favorite weapons. Nothing to CN, 10 is okay. Not great, but okay.
12 + 5 = 17 Five to WT, since I have the points to spend there, gives me 17,
7 + 6 = 13 just about the ideal starting WT. The full six to WL for the same
6 + 0 = 6 reason as above--gotta get it as high as possible, and this is
13 + 0 = 13 still just marginal for a long term warrior. I left the SP at 6,
because I never know what to do with SP anyway. And DF left at 13 because the points
were needed more urgently elsewhere, and 13 will give this warrior the SC, the wall
of steel's best weapon. This warrior came out slightly uncoordinated (the low SP)
but at the same time quick on his feet. He can trip faster than anyone you ever saw!
Again, can't carry much weight but does good damage.
Warrior #3 I made another ripper. Hey, I warned you I'm doing rippers right
9 + 0 = 9 now! It would probably have made a better lunger, but I didn't
8 + 0 = 8 feel like making a lunger, and besides, the idea of a seven-foot
20 + 0 = 20 tall ripper tickled my fancy. I left ST untouched, as 9 will
14 + 3 = 17 give this warrior the SC. CN is acceptable, though low for a
4 + 6 = 10 ripper. Raised WT to 17, because WT is always useful to have; if
4 + 1 = 5 I could have put the two extra points on WL, I'd have settled for
11 + 4 = 15 a WT of 15, though. Six points to WL for the same reason as above
--this team is cursed in the WILL department. Oh, well, you work with what you've
got. Four added to DF for starting skills and accuracy, and the final one point I
dropped on SP because it looked so desperately low. This warrior came out with
"slightly uncoordinated" but is not listed as "slow and inactive," possibly thanks to
that extra point on SP. At least, that's what I choose to tell myself. This one
came out slightly uncoordinated but incredibly quick and active, can't carry much
weight but does great damage (the SZ).
Warrior #4 has perhaps the best potential, in my view. I made it a wall of
11 + 0 = 11 steel (you're not surprised, are you?). Left ST and CN alone;
9 + 0 = 9 they're high enough to go with. Raised WT to 15, which is a good,
13 + 0 = 13 meaty WT. Why not 16? Because that wouldn't give me anything I
10 + 5 = 15 can't get at 15, and save the extra point for use elsewhere. WL to
12 + 5 = 17 seventeen--gotta love it. If this warrior survives, that 17 WL
5 + 1 = 6 means long-term possibilities in the form of relatively easy stat
10 + 3 = 13 raises later on. One point on SP because I had it and that seemed
more useful than any other place I might put it. Three to DF, because the extra
accuracy is always useful, though I could have stopped at 11 (the minimum needed to
use a SC) and put the other two points elsewhere. If I had chosen to do that, they
would probably have gone to ST for more damage. Slightly uncoordinated but active
and very quick on his feet, can't carry much weight but does good damage. A familiar
pattern, eh?
Warrior #5 is a total parry. Somehow he just didn't look like anything else.
4 + 5 = 9 Points to ST to reach my minimum preferred of nine, so that he will
14 + 1 = 15 not be cursed with little damage. After all, he MIGHT strike a
16 + 0 = 16 blow some day. Also, I wanted him to be able to stand up under his
9 + 0 = 9 armor. An extra point to CN, because total parries can always use
12 + 5 = 17 more of that. Nothing on WT, as skills are not important for him,
9 + 0 = 9 and 9 isn't too bad... for a total parry. Five to bring WL to 17;
6 + 3 = 9 this is as important for a total parry as for any other style, and
maybe more so, since it affects endurance. Left SP alone; he won't be moving much.
Three to DF to bring that up to 9 so that he can use some weapons other than the
shields. I have a hard time thinking of shields as weapons, frankly. Normal
intelligence--no statement as to how intelligent he is, but then again, no statement
that he is "very stupid" either. A compromise I--and he--can live with. He's got
good endurance and can take a lot of damage, thanks to CN, SZ, and WL. Can't carry
much weight (the low ST) but does great damage (the high SZ). I've already raised
his ST by one and plan to up it another point to 11, as I have chosen to arm him with
a longspear (they use 'em like quarterstaves for parrying and may, on rare occasions,
even attack with them); also, if I am reading the chart correctly, there are no
skills to be burned by stat trains from 9 to 11.
You'll note that only one of them won its first fight. This is not unusual, nor
is it distressing to me. In fact, I like for them to lose their first fight, as it
teaches them a little humility! But seriously, the first fight gives you a chance to
get the feel of the warrior and decide what adjustments to make to each one's
standard strategy.
Number 1 was going 6-6-6 straight across, not fast enough to burn out early, not
slow enough to scum. She got the first blow, which is good, but I don't expect her
to do it again; her opponent should probably be cranking up his Offensive Effort to
grab the first blow for himself. She didn't start showing exhaustion statements, so
she can handle this speed, at least; it was damage (that low CN) that took her down.
The second was going 8-6-6 and did NOT get the first blow, which was appropriate
considering his opponent's style. He went down to damage, the wimp, before I could
tell if he could sustain this speed.
The third, my seven-foot ripper, went 6-6-6 and had no trouble dealing with the
Persistent Beggar. I really can't call that a test.
The fourth was jumped, knocked down, went desperate, and quit, all in the space
of a few seconds. He's going to get some teasing for that from his teammates! He
was going 8-6-6, but there wasn't time to see how he liked that.
The last one, the total parry, went down to damage, having made no attempt to
parry, dummy that he is. I may set him the parry tactic in minute one. He was going
6-6-6, for all the good it did him. If he'd bothered to parry and hung on a little
longer, he could have had that fight, because his opponent was staggering with
exhaustion in the first minute.
Jorja
Middle Way 7
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[+ Question of the Week #6 +]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
From turn 412:
AK's Q.O.W. -- There's no single trick to keeping warriors alive. Constitution and
armor probably helps the most because it's more difficult for them to run out of hit
points and die in the infirmary, plus they don't go desperate as easy which is
usually when the death intent comment comes. Warrior experience is a big help, but
it takes time to earn, of course. Tourneys could help with this, but you can die
there too. It may be at half chance, but you get so many.... It really comes down
to the death intent statement usually. Skill, and toughness (including armor) help
to keep you from getting to that point, and once there, only warrior experience makes
a difference in reducing the chance of failing the survival role after that death
intent statement. -- Adie
AK's Q.O.W. #2 -- It takes a lot more than three master ratings once you get to the
middle ranks of ADM. In the lower end, that could be enough. But success is much
more attributed to the sum of the warriors' capabilities. Are they tough? Do they
have staying power/endurance? Do they defend well, even with low skills? Do they
have good rythyms? Do they 'like' their rythyms? How bout their favorite weapon?
Is it good and do they love it or hate it? Sometimes a warrior, for a reason not
easily definable, just wins. Other super skilled ones can just lose regularly. Of
course, each warrior may win at one level of the game, like basic and as freshmen,
but maybe lose like crazy higher up. Godlings will commonly come into their own as
champions and freshmen. The very rare few can win ALL the way. Those warriors are a
true joy.... -- Adie
Another Q.O.W. -- Perhaps it is not the fact that your good roll-ups never get
blessed and the others do. But it may be the fact, that you only get few great ones,
and it is EASY to remember them not getting gifted. Kind of like that syndrome where
people find it easy to remember all the negative things in their life, but find it
difficult to point out the equal or more numerous good things. However, if this is
not the case, keep those better gifted average roll-ups. Especially those that can
win in basic. You may find them winning in ADM later too, especially once they start
training stats. Also, if you get enough great roll-ups, you will eventually get
gifted ones. Remember, some styles find it easier to be more gifted. -- Adie
AK47 -- Let's see... <shuffling through paperwork> It says here that the three
recently deceased warriors from my team had 'normal', 'a lot', and 'very frail' hit
points. The 'very frail' one died in the infirmary, which is a little different.
The hit points, if you will, just determine how much damage can be sustained before
the warrior goes desperate/frantic/careless/you-name-it. Once that happens, con
ceases to matter. I've seen all types of warriors buy the farm, from 7 will to 21,
from no armor to APA/F. You hit upon the most important point, winning as much as
possible, but beyond that it's all about luck. Running in a friendly arena can help
the statistics of dying, but it doesn't mean any individual is safe and unkillable.
Tournies aren't that safe, in my opinion. FEs are helpful, but I think they are just
a visible artifact of being a developed fighter. A warrior with a lot of FEs but a
lousy learn rate probably isn't much more survivable just due to those FEs. -- Axly
AK47 -- Three masters sounds like a good rule of thumb, but that would vary depending
on what the warrior's physicals were like. I might say two masters and two ad exes
for defensives, but I'm no expert on them. -- Axly
Hanibal, QoW -- I have no idea. Some styles get gifted more than others, and in
certain areas. If you want the best bonuses, run aimers! -- Axly
QOW / AK 47 -- I've found skills keep a warrior alive better than anything. My best
learners have all lived. Especially offensives who learn a lot of init and decise
quickly. Swing first and keep swinging. I'd take WL over CN for its skills. I fear
mentioning this that it may jinx me, but I've never lost a warrior past about 10
fights. Armor has helped me at times, but it robs warriors of much of their finesse.
If a good defensive warrior can live through about 5-10 fights and learn well
he/she/it should be well on the way to success. -- JRK
QOW / AK 47 -- I think it's an oversimplification to say three masters are needed in
AD. I also think it depends on the arena. Andorak is very competitive right now. I
have warriors with three advanced masters who can't seem to win much anymore. As to
what the requirement is... I think it depends on a number of factors, where you are
in the rankings, what your favorites are, what you get in the way of challenges,
matchups and where your attributes fall. Three masters and tremendous
damage/endurance would be much different from three masters and normal in both areas.
I'm not sure a good benchmark can be set. But it is certainly and interesting
question. -- JRK
QOW -- Overall, I would lean toward saying the reverse is true as far as giftedness.
Most of my average warriors have come out very close to average, usually a little
above. While many of my good warriors have been at least +3, often +5 or more. On
my all star team of long ago (Maxwell Honorblade, Monica Virtueshield, Michael
Honorblade, Corina Honorblade, and Angela Silverblade) all of my warriors were gifted
(four of them by +3 or more, 3 by +5 or more), average or not. I also tend to do
well in attack and poorly in init. Giftedness seems to be a fickle thing, I suspect
this is because the RUGS are involved. -- JRK
P.S. I apologize if it seems I am bragging, but my record and I have never gotten
over the graduation of all those warriors.
Axly -- Damned if I know. I found the style-linked starting points very curious.
Looks to me like there was an attempt to balance styles that resulted in drastic
imbalances! -- Leeta
Hanibal -- Once you've gotten the death-intent statement, only luck will keep you
alive. The thing you need to do is avoid getting the death-intent statement. No,
this is serious. You can up a warrior's hit points in the design stage, by adding to
CN and, I think WL (but maybe ST), and having a large SZ helps. Of course, if you
pile the points on there, he may be dumb and clumsy. You can pile on the armor,
which will help keep him alive but may lose him fights unless he can scum; some
warriors are totally immobilized by armor.
On a more positive note, if I have a warrior who is "very frail" that I really
don't want to die, I will use armor, and I will attempt to keep him alive by using
the "surrender in desperation" tactic. No, no, it isn't a joke! Honest! Say I've
got a frail warrior, probably with normal or lower endurance. I send that boy out
running hard, 10-10, even. Sometimes, especially if he's smart and deft, he wins
right off. But if he doesn't win right off, he rapidly becomes exhausted and quits.
I forget who it was who suggested this to me, years ago--Phido, maybe. It doesn't
always work (nothing ALWAYS works), but it may help. And I'd rather have good
warriors lose than die; if they stay alive long enough, they build up skills and
start winning. -- Leeta
P.S. Yes, CN keeps you alive better than WL. WL sometimes leads a low-CN warrior to
go on fighting a little too long.
P.P.S. Yes, warriors who can take a lot of damage do die, sometimes, because some
warriors can dish out a lot of damage.
P.P.P.S. The survival of low-CN high skill warriors is more a matter of strategy
than anything else. And, obviously, if you don't lose, you don't die.
P.P.P.P.S. Picking your arena does contribute to warrior survival, but it can be
tricky, since a warrior has, as a normal minimum, a year to go before graduation and
the character of an arena may change in the course of a year. Andorian is not always
a guarantee of relative safety; you need to look at the actual managers present and
evaluate THEM for propensity to run killing styles and strategies. In my opinion,
tourneys are of limited value in building up a warrior for the regular arena. Sure,
the chance of dying is only half that in regular dueling, but the chance of learning
skills or training stats is also only half. And that's what increased FE is about:
more skills, more stat trains.
P.P.P.P.P.S. There is NO number of fights that will preserve you from being killed,
and if you fight equally experienced opponents who happen to be "headhunters," it
won't improve your chances much, either! Pick your fights with care, challenge and
avoid every time. The only absolute guarantee against death is a potion of
immortality (a tourney prize) or graduation.
AK47 -- It depends on the advanced arena you're fighting in. And by "hold your own,"
do you mean have a 50% winning percentage, or rise rapidly through the ranks, or make
it to the top, or what? I have run warriors in Lirin Kiv (ADM 107) from the day it
opened, and in that arena, no, you don't have to have three masters. Oh, sure, it
HELPS, especially now that the arena has aged enough so that some of the foundation
warriors DO have those masters. But it happens to be a small advanced arena fed by
small basic arenas, and while the competition among the fossils in the upper levels
is stiff, the lower levels aren't that bad. Heck, even MY warriors win sometimes!
Or, try 101, Home Guard. Yes, the current status lets in warriors who are
potentially good, but I doubt anyone there has three masters, and if they do, they're
probably on their way out. -- Leeta
P.S. And no amount of innate ability on the part of a warrior can overcome for long
the effects of careless management. Management may not be ALL, but it's at least
half.
Hanibal -- Regarding blessed warriors and great rollups, the law of averages says
everybody has a chance to be blessed. But it takes a LOT of warriors for the law of
averages to operate visibly. I have had great (in stats) warriors who were blessed
and the same who were cursed, ditto for average ones. -- Leeta
SPY REPORT
Greetings, warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Once again I've been called out of
retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting. Ya gotta be quick on yer
feet! Keep your elbow off the table! Thrust! Block out the pain! PUPPET LORDS is
now ranked 5th with a 2-3-0 turn. What's with WIDOW-MAKER? He actually beat BASH
BROS PAINTING's TIME CONSUMING, and walked away with 25 more points from the fight.
Laughs were big at THE HEATHENS while they watched WIDOW-MAKER clobber TIME
CONSUMING. He lost 22 points and got bruised from objects thrown from the stands.
Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to M. CHARDINEE, BUT ASTRID is still the
Duelmaster because she has the most recognition points! I suppose you want to hear
some rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow fighters? Tough!
Speaking of cowardly avoiders and unfair challenges... The most avoided team
was GREMORY DEVILS. In my day, no team with a 12-13-0 would scare me off! What's
the problem, GOAT'S HAI-5? What do people see in JAMES DEAN? His 3-2-0? FAMOUS
HOOSIERS ain't talkin', but he's got 22 points.
There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit. Do you want the fighters
to walk away, or not? I like to see warriors put young whippersnappers in their
place. I guess you could say THE HEATHENS'MORTICIOUS did just that. Right FAMOUS
HOOSIERS? Many a warrior has met his fate in a hungover stupor. You young
rapscallions, take note!
Well, I'm pretty much through. You guys need to get back practicing. All work
and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter. Work and play no fighter dull Olaf.
Olaffighterwork and no play. I don't want to overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ASTRID 9696 7 2 1 58 EINHERJAR (1665)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MORI-ZUMA GRL 9745 5 2 0 54 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
LAETHA 9693 6 3 0 39 EINHERJAR (1665)
ROLLO 9694 6 3 0 39 EINHERJAR (1665)
MORTICIOUS 9762 3 0 1 38 THE HEATHENS (1664)
MISTAKES 9757 5 0 0 35 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
WIDOW-MAKER 9688 2 4 1 33 THE HEATHENS (1664)
-RIAS GREMORY 9704 4 1 0 31 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL 9717 5 4 1 26 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-JOHN DILLINGER 9751 4 0 0 23 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
-YUUTO KIBA 9707 4 1 0 22 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
JAMES DEAN 9749 3 2 0 22 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
DAN QUAYLE 9750 3 2 1 20 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
-GASPER VLADI 9706 3 2 0 20 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
AURORA BOREALIS 9192 2 0 0 20 STARBRIGHTS (1583)
NEGA-SANGO 9761 3 2 0 19 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
LARRY BIRD 9753 3 2 0 19 FAMOUS HOOSIERS (1672)
MESSY 9754 3 2 0 17 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
SAJAN 9772 2 0 0 17 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
CLEAN UP 9756 3 2 0 16 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
MISSED A SPOT 9758 2 3 0 15 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
SVEN 9734 2 5 0 14 EINHERJAR (1665)
-AKENO HIMEJUMA 9705 1 4 0 13 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
TIME CONSUMING 9755 3 2 0 11 BASH BROS PAINTING (1673)
-TIGER MOTHER 9767 1 0 0 11 RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674)
GEIR 9744 2 2 0 8 EINHERJAR (1665)
RINDRA 9769 1 1 0 8 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
TRAICA 9773 1 1 0 8 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
-NEGA-YOMI 9760 1 1 0 8 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
DREAD SKEWER 9763 1 2 0 5 THE HEATHENS (1664)
BENNY STREETER 9790 1 0 0 5 THIRD HIWAY 2 (1679)
-NEBULA 9196 1 0 0 5 STARBRIGHTS (1583)
-NEGA-AMI 9759 0 2 0 5 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
-ISSEI HYOUDOU 9703 0 5 0 5 GREMORY DEVILS (1667)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-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)
-URSA 9195 0 1 0 3 STARBRIGHTS (1583)
ORION 9193 0 2 0 2 STARBRIGHTS (1583)
VALEROS 9770 0 2 0 2 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
EZREN 9771 0 2 0 2 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
-SUGAR BELLY 9766 0 1 0 1 RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674)
AXEFACE 9794 0 1 0 1 THE HEATHENS (1664)
CHARLENE WAYE 9791 0 1 0 1 THIRD HIWAY 2 (1679)
-LENNY VENITO 9768 0 1 0 1 RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674)
-HAWAIIAN SHADOW 9765 0 1 0 1 RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674)
-REGULON 6764 0 1 0 1 THE HEARD (1164)
ANDREA RHODES 9789 0 1 0 1 THIRD HIWAY 2 (1679)
BRAINOR 9795 0 1 0 1 THE HEATHENS (1664)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
AMELIA EARHART 9752 3 2 0 FAMOUS HOOSIERS 1672 MORTICIOUS 9762 426
BERYLLIOSIS 9719 2 2 0 KULLISAARS 1670 DAN QUAYLE 9750 423
MORGUE-FILLER 9691 2 3 0 THE HEATHENS 1664 KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL 9717 425
PERSONAL ADS
Famous Hoosiers, take note:
Bash Bros Painting 84 -- Famous Hoosiers -- 86
Bash Bros Painting 12-8 -- Famous Hoosiers -- 13-7
Assur 4-3, Wooden 3-4
We Hoosiers must all work yet harder and smarter, else we do not succeed. -- John
Wooden, Famous Hoosier
My opinion, Einherjar? A downchallenge (higher to lower recognition points) is a
spineless, cowardly act, although being "legal" and a seemingly tactically wise move.
Some arenas (e.g. Andorian Aruak City) completely and totally frown on the act and
consider it grounds for hate, dislike and ostracism. Some arenas, especially
Darkholm arenas consider it not the least abnormal and often expect it. -- John
Wooden, Famous Hoosier and Consortium Representative
Widow-Maker -- You are barking up the wrong tree, Pup. -- John Dillinger, Famous
Hoosier
All -- Don't look for me next round. I am resting up for a maxed-out Mailer entry.
You can wish me luck and send money. -- John Dillinger, Famous Hoosier
Rochester King -- You were just too good for me. I need to practice, practice,
practice. -- Larry Bird, Famous Hoosier
Dread Skewer -- Silly you. You thought you could out-fly an aviatrix? Let's stop
this meaningless fighting an have tea. -- Amelia Earhart, Famous Hoosier
Talahasse Moon -- I think you paid for some extra votes and upset me. I am glad you
will be gone. -- Dan Quayle, Famous Hoosier
Rindra -- Next time maybe I will let you touch my leather jacket. -- James Dean,
Famous Hoosier
The Wanderer -- Shadowspire is a neat and active arena. It's specialty is not
allowing any warrior to have tournament (hidden) FEs. (fight equivalents) No
tournament fights! It also has the expectation that the manager will fight all five
warriors each and every turn. It is called a throwback arena, as that was the way it
was in arenas way back when. -- John Wooden, Famous Hoosier
The Wanderer -- A crit is a blow that is "extra descriptive." One of the more common
questions is "Just what is a crit"? We Consortiumites define it as a swing which
reads "with extra ferociousness"! For example, using the shortspear--lunges with the
SS is a normal swing while "shortspear moves like angry lightning" is a critical
swing. An extra value blow is one which causes extra hitpoint damage and will have a
line which reads "it was a massive blow" or similar. -- John Wooden, Famous Hoosier
Assur -- My friend, we Consortiumites hope and pray all "gets well soon." Yu a man.
-- John Wooden, Famous Hoosier
Health. Humility. Honor. (The Consortium motto.) -- John Wooden, Famous Hoosier
and Consortium Rep
Astrid -- Down-challenging is a difficult question and has been debated hotly since
the first arena opened. The first difficulty is the definition! Do you mean
challenging a warrior with a lower ranking, or one with fewer visible fights? If
warrior Al has four fights and a rank of eight points, and Bo has five fights and a
rank of six points, which would be down-challenging to get a match of Al versus Bo?
Al challenges down two points and up one fight. Bo challenges up two points and down
one fight. This may seem trivial, but people get hot under the collar over it. I
tend to go by recognition points, and if the difference is minor, I ignore it. If
it's a big difference, I get annoyed, and then ignore it. If there are frequent big
down-challenges in some particular arena, I might go inactive. It isn't worth it *TO
ME* to make a big deal over it and start a personal feud.
And then there's situation. Are you in a large thriving arena where you have several
possible challenges both up AND down? Or in a small arena with maybe ten active
warriors total? In a big arena, it would be annoying, but I might not be active in a
big arena anyway; that isn't my job. In a small arena, I accept it, because what
else can you do if you don't want to gamble on a random match?
And there are regional preferences. A down-challenge in an Andorian arena is an
unwelcome surprise. A down-challenge in a Delarquan arena is unwelcome, but not a
surprise.
Obviously, I do think about down-challenges sometimes, but not often and not
urgently. Back in the days when I issued challenges, I did not go down in rankings.
Fights... a different matter, since a warrior may, and these days probably does, have
"hidden tourney fights"--experience not visible in the newsletter. -- Jorja, trying
to remember the Good Old Days, with mixed success
The Wanderer -- Shadowspire is one of the most active arenas around. Competition is
fierce, and the personals often see flying insults. -- Jorja
Three-two, and one standby! Not bad for our final turn. -- Quincy Jones for those of
us about to get off of the Highway
Mori-Zuma Grl -- I won't miss you. -- Saratoga Lee
Morticious -- That was certainly heathenish of you. Glad I'm leaving. -- Quincy
Jones
The Wanderer -- Here are my recommendations for arena choice after Noblish Island--
Regular Arenas:
DM 21 -- Has the longest history of high participation, current activity, and
not 'too hard' or 'too easy.'
DM 33 -- A strong arena, but not for everyone. The personal ads are abusive.
Killing is encouraged. Different from any other arena in the game, though.
DM 32 / DM 11 -- Strong arenas but not as much history or consistency as DM 21.
DM 32 is pretty hard, as there are many tourney prize modified warriors in this
arena.
Slow Arenas:
DM 47 -- Home to the Turf War. When the Turf War is running, this arena gets as
much or more participation as any arena in the game. It is highly competitive though
(i.e. hard).
DM 31 -- Unique arena with a human written spy report each turn (as opposed to
the computer generated ones in most arenas). Not a large arena, but well supported.
DM 8 / DM 28 -- Another couple of well supported slow arenas, though DM 28 has
an arena contest currently, so is artificially big.
No-Tourney Arena:
DM 81 -- This arena is very competitive, highly supported, and fun. There are
restrictions to play here, though. You may NOT enter warriors in tourneys and you
are expected to run 5 warriors any turn you play in this arena. If you can live with
those restrictions, it is a great choice.
STAY AWAY FROM THE FOLLOWING ARENAS:
DM 71, DM 72, DM 73, DM 85 -- These arena are primarily filled with tourney
warriors. They really are not fun places and are not good places to learn how to
play. Even if your goal is to compete in tourneys, don't put regular teams here.
Well designed warriors are the norm, 21 wit is commonplace, warriors get retired
quickly if they have any flaws showing. In fact, I will add DM 18 to this list, even
though it isn't strictly intended as a tourney warrior arena. It has become a
wasteland for mostly tourney warriors as well.
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
LAETHA was bested by MORI-ZUMA GRL in a crowd pleasing 2 minute Challenge fight.
VALEROS was demolished by MISSED A SPOT in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge melee.
GEIR was overpowered by JAMES DEAN in a 8 minute mismatched Challenge duel.
NEGA-SANGO defeated TRAICA in a 1 minute novice's Challenge fight.
AMELIA EARHART was butchered by MORTICIOUS in a 1 minute uneven Challenge brawl.
ASTRID was overpowered by M. CHARDINEE in a 2 minute one-sided Title struggle.
ROLLO viciously subdued KYGOMAI-LOVEGRL in a 2 minute gory competition.
TIME CONSUMING was handily defeated by WIDOW-MAKER in a 1 minute uneven melee.
MISTAKES vanquished SVEN in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
DAN QUAYLE viciously subdued ORION in a 2 minute gory novice's duel.
LARRY BIRD overpowered BRAINOR in a 1 minute one-sided melee.
MESSY overpowered CHARLENE WAYE in a 1 minute one-sided match.
AURORA BOREALIS devastated EZREN in a 1 minute mismatched conflict.
CLEAN UP demolished ANDREA RHODES in a 1 minute mismatched match.
DREAD SKEWER was overpowered by SAJAN in a 1 minute mismatched conflict.
RINDRA defeated MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute novice's duel.
BENNY STREETER bested AXEFACE in a 2 minute beginner's duel.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK 9 PARRY-LUNGE 11 - 4 - 1 73 |
|BASHING ATTACK 8 AIMED BLOW 27 - 18 - 2 60 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 33 - 24 - 0 58 |
|AIMED BLOW 3 BASHING ATTACK 32 - 25 - 2 56 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 2 LUNGING ATTACK 19 - 19 - 1 50 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 SLASHING ATTACK 13 - 14 - 1 48 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 PARRY-STRIKE 8 - 9 - 1 47 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 STRIKING ATTACK 27 - 43 - 2 39 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 6 - 16 - 0 27 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 5 - 0 17 |
Turn 426 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 2 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 7 2 LUNGING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW
AIMED BLOW 2 - 1 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 2 2 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 5 - 3 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 3 - 2 1 PARRY-LUNGE
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK
1 TOTAL PARRY
1 PARRY-STRIKE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
SLASHING ATTACK ASTRID 9696 7 2 1 58 EINHERJAR (1665)
LUNGING ATTACK MORI-ZUMA GRL 9745 5 2 0 54 GOAT'S HAI-5 (1669)
AIMED BLOW LAETHA 9693 6 3 0 39 EINHERJAR (1665)
BASHING ATTACK ROLLO 9694 6 3 0 39 EINHERJAR (1665)
PARRY-LUNGE MORTICIOUS 9762 3 0 1 38 THE HEATHENS (1664)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is LAETHA 9693. The most popular warrior this turn was
GEIR 9744. The ten other most popular fighters were MORI-ZUMA GRL 9745, WIDOW-MAKER
9688, DAN QUAYLE 9750, AURORA BOREALIS 9192, LAETHA 9693, MISSED A SPOT 9758,
NEGA-SANGO 9761, ROLLO 9694, MISTAKES 9757, and LARRY BIRD 9753.
The least popular fighter this week was JAMES DEAN 9749. The other ten least popular
fighters were DREAD SKEWER 9763, ANDREA RHODES 9789, EZREN 9771, BRAINOR 9795, ORION
9193, SVEN 9734, TIME CONSUMING 9755, ASTRID 9696, AMELIA EARHART 9752, and TRAICA
9773.
CHALLENGES AND AVOIDS
To clarify: You issue Challenges to warriors, but Avoid teams.
To Challenge, write that warrior's name and ID# in the space provided.
To Avoid, write the team's name and Team ID in that space.
Make sure you include the ID!
SEAM (DM 20) REOPENS AS A NEW NO-TOURNEY ARENA!
Seam (DM 20) will be re-opening soon as a no-tourney DM arena! If you enjoy arena
play without tournament interference, this arena is for you! Only rookie teams may
enter this arena, and all managers must sign the "no-tourney" pledge. Turn 0 is due
on May 4 (overviews only) and Turn 1 is due on May 18.
To avoid confusion, all old inactive teams which were in Seam have travelled to
Mazgourrah (DM 77).
Seam is the newest arena to join the no-tourney group of arenas and will process on
opposite weeks with Shadowspire (DM 81), the original no-tourney arena. Other no-
tourney arenas include Telorinthe (DM 83), a slow arena, and Storm Rock (DM 107), for
ADM warriors.
Join in the fun! Send in your new rollup along with the pledge soon so you can get in
on the ground floor of this new arena!
********************************************************************************
NO-TOURNEY ARENA PLEDGE
* I pledge that I will not send warriors from this team to a tournament, nor
will I use a tournament prize on a warrior from this team.
* I pledge to run a full team when I run turns in this arena. If circumstances
preclude my running less than a full team, I will notify the Player Committee.
* I agree to abide by the decisions of the Player Committee.
* I understand that any warrior that participates in a tournament or receives
a tournament prize shall be sent to the Dark Arena until they are dead.
[Sign your name]
********************************************************************************
A SACRED LORD'S SLASHER
Well, this article/spotlight is for Seal at 7th Order, so here goes.
ST: If he's huge (15+), 3 is okay, and use HA. I prefer 7 for epee. 9 gets scimitar
and 11 gets broadsword. Anything above 11 is a WASTE!!!
CN: Whatever they send you.
SZ: Any.
WT: 15, 17, or 21. 13 is workable, but I hate slow learners! 21 will probably take
a lot from other areas, so 17 is best.
WL: 17, 17, 17!!!! You need endurance, lots of endurance. Some of my friends use
15, but I prefer not to.
SP: 9+ They use SP as well as most, but don't add here until after WT/WL/DF.
DF: 15+, 15+, 15+. Once again, I have high standards. The reason? Have you ever
had a slasher come out w/ "relying on his speed to stay out of trouble"? That's
'cause his parry is in the negative. With a 15 DF your slasher will have a much
better parry and will probably be about 1-3 trains from a Master parry in advanced.
Later on, you'll see!
Now, how to run them:
10 9 7 -------------------------> 10
10 4 2 -------------------------> 10
7 9 7 -------------------------> 1
CH/HE -------------------------------------------- >
HE ----------------------------------------------- >
Off: D at first, open later, min 2 +, open
Def: D/S (preferably Dodge)
Min two+ is in case of a TP or WoS coming after you. This setup works, so good
luck!
Mike Bookout
Bookie, Sacred Lord of the Black Regime
Memphis Mafia (36,100)
P.S. Anybody want to join the Regime?
The Dark Arena: A Fighter's Perspective
(sung to the hymn: Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the dawn
I am walking down the tunnel
After everyone is gone
I step into the torchlight
And I see the blade he's drawn
My mind, it sings this song:
CHORUS
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
My mind continues on
The crowd is chanting praises
But all I hear are growls
Mine enemy's upon me
So I strike him and he howls
Parry, parry, slash, and parry
I smell his breath so foul
And death, he sings this song:
(CHORUS)
Now we both are tired
And my strength is fading fast
Oh, let me give that fatal blow
Oh, let me be the last
I swing my sword with all my might
The crowd it stands, aghast
As he dies, I sing my song:
(CHORUS x2)
Scotlan (28, 31, 39, 50, ?)
Kill Desire: "Patience."
Many times I have lost warriors, and the manager claimed the KD was only five.
As if KD had anything to do with the death of my fighter. It was really the battle
axe to the head that killed him.
I was quite disturbed at the widespread belief that kill desire has something to
do with killing an opponent. But they have good reason to believe this: the
Duelmasters Handbook definition of kill desire has a tendency to cast a "confusion
spell" on the reader to make them think that way. The wording is very misleading.
The name "kill desire" is also misleading. A more correct word would be "patience."
Yes, kill desire is actually how much patience your fighter had before taking a
shot. KD doesn't add damage or tell your fighter where to aim at.
Damage is calculated by weapon and strength. (Of course, favorite weapon also
affects damage.)
You let your warrior know where you want him to aim at by filling out the attack
location boxes on the fight sheets.
Hit location and damage are the main two things that will kill warriors. Hit
locations to vital areas such as head, chest, and the abdomen repeated times increases
your chance to kill. The amount of damage inflicted to these vital areas also
increases your chance to kill an opponent.
As you see, none of this has anything to do with kill desire.
Now, I will tell you what kill desire, or patience, as I call it, actually is.
If you run your warrior with an 8-10 KD, you're telling him to swing like a
drunken wildman. You'll see statements in his fights that say "swings wildly" or
other things to that effect. He is not waiting for a good opening. He is swinging at
everything! This is bad for several reasons.
With his KD that high, he is very easily dodged and parried. Also, he can be
feinted into bad dueling decisions as well.
I think that KD between 5-7 for offensive styles and 3-6 for defensive styles is
perfect.
You get a lot more hits with a 5-7 KD, and feint a lot less. But you also get
more kills in this range. Reason being, you're waiting for a good shot that is hard
to dodge or parry. The example I used earlier about the manager with the 5 KD and
battleaxe is the point I am trying to make. If his warrior's KD was 10, my warrior
could have dodged or parried the attack and still be alive today. But since it was a
5 KD, he waited for a good shot that my warrior had trouble defending against, and
cleaved his head off! (Well, not literally.)
Defensive styles run about 3-6 KD. Defensive styles swing wildly a lot in the
beginning, but that is natural. They will get better. 3-4 KD, they still have a
tendency to let attacks go by. Of course, if you're scumming, go with a 1 KD.
In short, having an 8-10 KD means your warrior is doing all that swinging and
hitting less. Not to mention all the endurance he is burning up to no avail.
Any comments, you can diplo me.
ta-ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
DM 11: Lords of the Abyss
DM 61: Pit Fiends
DM 67: Storm Wizards
DM 5: Bad Girls
SOME INFO ON THE RIPPER
Being that the parry-riposte is my favorite style, I thought I'd share a few
things I've learned.
General design:
ST: 7-11 Strength isn't all important to the P.R. An 11 will gives you all well
suited weapons. I'll even go as high as 17, but with no dramatic
effect.
CN: Any A higher con will give a better endurance and make survival easier.
SZ: Any Although a smaller size gives you a defensive bonus.
WT: 15-21 As with all other styles the higher the better. 15 will give the epee.
A P.R. needs to learn skills to survive.
WL: 13-21 Will is as important as wit. It helps endurance and life expectancy.
A higher will allows you to pick apart most scum.
SP: 5-13 13 is a major breakpoint but it's not necessary to go that high. A
combo of 15 wit, 15 deftness and 11 speed will give you an expert in
riposte with any luck.
DF: 13-21 The higher the coordination the easier it is to hit your attack
location. A 15 will give you the epee.
The perfect P.R. would look something like this: 9-4-5-17-21-11-17 with starting
skill bases like:
Ini: 60%
Rip: 90%
Att: 75%
Par: 70%
Def: 75%
Dec: 40%
One of my first PRs looked like this: 15-10-9-15-15-6-14, Thror the Dark. He was
extremely unlucky as far as starting skills. He now looks a little different: 17-11-
9-17-16-7-15 with 90% Init, 145% Rip, 130% Att, 130% Par, 115% Def and 80% Dec. I
destroyed him with early stat raises.
I had a similar design that was luckier, at least until he got X-ed by a slasher
in a tourney. He died with a 12-3-1 record. But enough of that. You're probably
wanting to get on with the strategies.
So getting on with it, I've tried both offensive and defensive strategies.
Generally defensive has worked better for me. Something like: 3-6-6 going offensive
in minute 3 or 4 with a 10-8-6 or a 9-7-6 and then backing off to a 6-4-6 or a 4-5-6.
As far as tactics go I don't use 'em very often. If you use any offensive tactic
use the lunge or nothing. Defensively use dodge and parry sparingly, if at all, and
don't use the riposte tactic after you've achieved a master.
Okay, now on to weapons and armor. A parry-riposte is somewhat limited when it
comes to weapons. The longsword is their best choice against heavier armors. I once
tried the halberd (I'll wait until you finish laughing.) Anyway, Thror the Dark
savagely slew Spymaster with it. I only give the PR an off hand weapon with epee,
shortsword or the longsword.
I've done varying things with armor, but I've found that lighter armor works
better, personal favorites being APL, ARM, and ASM. I read an article about the
parry-riposte of coom that made me laugh. It said something about wearing more armor
than expected of a PR, listing nothing higher than ACM+F. Imagine what he would have
thought fighting Thror the Dark in APA+F.
This is just an opinion brought to you by Necrom, manager of Knightmares (33),
Pentad Paladins (55), Northlanders (70) and a couple of others.
Crimson Strikers
Greetings, fellow managers, I, Crimson Strategist, shall share my thoughts with
you on the striking attack style.
This style developed in cultures where weapon quality surpassed that of the
armors, this made landing the first blow vital. This blow is usually delivered in a
downward fashion quickly, surely, and with power in a minimal of wasted motion.
Here's how I rate the stats:
ST 11-15: Never go below 11, strikers are well suited to ALL the weapons in the
game and 11 allows the use of the majority of them. They also need to hurt their foe
when they hit, thus making this an important consideration for damage rating.
CN 3-9: This whole style revolves around finishing your foe quickly, if your foe
has time to develop a complex formal attack on your striker, then you're not fighting
him properly. A properly run striker should never be hit more than four or five
times, any more than this and the whole concept behind this style gets thrown right
out the window, therefore I rate con as the least important attribute for this style.
SZ 9-16: A size of 9 allows use of all the weapons and it is important in
determining your damage rating, plus, it also adds to your init and this style thrives
on init.
WT 13+: As with any style, the higher the better. 13 is rock bottom, it allows
the use of all weapons except the epee and you'll still learn at a decent pace.
WL 7-13: This style conserves endurance which allows this attribute to go
considerably less than most styles and still fight effectively for a respectable
length of time. I've had strikers with a 13 ST, 3 CN, and 5 WL get poor endurance
ratings and ones with 11 ST, 6 CN, and 9 WL get normal. However, if you want some
long term potential, you'd want to be around 13 or so.
SP 10+: This is very important for decise and init skills which are the heart of
this style. Landing the first blow and finishing the fight quickly is hinged on your
striker's speed.
DF 15+: This is crucial attribute for this style, they NEED to be precise with
their blows, plus, it also adds to their init. Get to 17 or 21 if possible.
Now let's take a look at the style itself. The striking attack is one of the
easiest styles to run, yet they have adversity that many styles lack. As I've said
before, a striker can use ALL the weapons in the game. They can fight effectively
wearing plate armor and no armor, they can use EVERY tactic in the game be it
offensive or defensive, a striker can fight like a lunger or basher, ripper or
slasher, etc... provided that you match up their strategy with the appropriate tactic
and weapon. They can beat ALL the styles in DM and beyond if you choose their
strategy correctly for that particular style vs. style matchup.
Here are some examples of style vs. style matchups for strikers and various
tactic selections vs. the different styles.
High decise strikers over slashers and lungers, strikers over total parry and
wall of steel, rippers over strikers, etc...
Using the decise tactic vs. lungers, slashers, and aimed blows. Using the lunge
tactic vs. rippers and aimed blows, using no tactic and having a moderate offensive
effort and moderate activity level vs. total parries and wall of steel, etc...
The possible variations for this style are virtually endless.
Now let's take a brief look at your striker overview and glean some helpful hints
on how to fight them. If you see statements like "relying on speed to stay out of
danger" or "avoiding rather than trading blows," this is telling you that your AL
should be moderate to high. If he does great damage, then don't use weapons like the
epee or shortsword, this would be an underutilization of his strengths. If he learns
attack skills easily, then this is telling you that he likes to take his time and pick
his shots so don't send him out with a 10 OE! If you see statements like "has learned
how to be a decisive and quick fighter," then by all means USE the decise tactic with
a high OE. Don't send him out with offhand weapons unless he's ambidextrous, if you
do, it will take away from his attack. As you can see, the various statements on your
overview are very helpful in telling you how your striker likes to fight.
Here's a very general strategy that has worked well for my strikers.
OE 10 8 7 7 7 6 6 Armor: ARM to ACM
AL 4 3 2 1 1 1 8 Weapons: BS,LO,SC,GS,BA
KD 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
ATT LOC Head, body, arms
PRO LOC Head or body
OFF TCT Decise or bash
DEF TCT Response or dodge
Before I close there is one last point I wish to emphasize, USE the
challenge/avoid system, it will help control who you fight and when. In closing, I
would like to thank the following managers for their diplos and articles which helped
me learn the game: Sir Jessie Jest, Talon, Tex, the managers on the roundtable, and
numerous others who took their time to put quill and ink on parchment and pass their
knowledge on to others, thanks!
Many of you know the Crimson Death stables or soon will know them since I plan to
have quite a few of them up and running, however, some of them will be on and off due
to monetary fluctuations so if you wish to diplo me with any comments, criticisms,
whatever, send them to my home arena, which, from here on out, will always be active.
Later,
Crimson Strategist
Crimson Death DM 61