DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 06/27/2015 Duedate: 07/10/2015
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-432
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
SAJAN
PUPPET LORDS (1675)
(93-9772) [5-2-0,48]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY SAJAN
PUPPET LORDS (1675)
(93-9772) [5-2-0,48]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
SAJAN APOLLA
PUPPET LORDS (1675) GUARDIANS (303)
(93-9772) [5-2-0,48] (93-1682) [0-1-0,1]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
PUPPET LORDS (1675)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. PUPPET LORDS (1675) 38
2. FARM ANIMALS (1682) 37 BRUTE STRENGTH (491)
3. BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685) 33 Unchartered Team
4. KRAKEN'S DEN (1681) 10
5. RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674) 6BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 0*BASH BROS LEFTOVE (1685) 4 1 0 80.0 1/ 0*PUPPET LORDS (1675) 6 4 1
2/ 0*FARM ANIMALS (1682) 3 1 0 75.0 2/ 0*BASH BROS LEFTOVE (1685) 4 1 0
3- 2*LUDUS VIRTUS (1668) 4 2 1 66.7 3/ 0*FARM ANIMALS (1682) 3 1 0
4- 4*THE DAMNED (301) 1 1 0 50.0 4/ 0*RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674) 3 8 1
5/ 0*PUPPET LORDS (1675) 17 18 1 48.6 5- 5*THE DAMNED (301) 1 0 0
6/ 0*RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674) 4 16 1 20.0 6/ 0*KRAKEN'S DEN (1681) 1 4 0
7/ 0*KRAKEN'S DEN (1681) 1 4 0 20.0 7- 6*LUDUS VIRTUS (1668) 0 1 0
8/ 0*GUARDIANS (303) 0 1 0 0.0 8/ 0*GUARDIANS (303) 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
WARRIOR & NEW TEAM DESIGN
HOW A DM/D2 VETERAN DOES IT
The purpose of this spotlight is to provide newer/inexperienced D2 managers with
warrior and team design concepts and to assist newbies in observing the details of a
real-time team who will be competing against them in their Noblish Island arena. I
will discuss the following:
1. An experienced manager's general design principles (over 100,000 warriors
designed)
2. Some thoughts on team balance
3. The real five-warrior design (original team roll-up) just starting to compete on
Noblish Island
4. Summary and comments relevant to those designs
First you might ask, b Who is writing this? And I answer that I am Friendly
Farmer, manager of FARM ANIMALS, a member of The Consortium, and a long, long time
(30+ year) paying competitor in Duelmasters/D2. I will be overseeing this new team and
will be offering you advice each round on Noblish Island. Feel free to ask me
questions in the personal ads. You will get answers; often, very interesting answers.
There is no one-and-only perfect design for any warrior. You will often find that
when asking for experienced design advice, varying opinions and concepts are offered.
However, there are some guidelines that each manager uses. The Consortium general
design principles are:
1. Design to strengths/excesses, generally making high roll numbers higher
2. WT is the first factor examined, followed by WL, which then determines the design
and style direction.
3. Offensive oriented warriors need higher WT to last. Design to 15, 17, 21 for
skill breaks
4. 21 WT, 21DF, and 21 WL are coveted. The 21DF makes an aimed-blow almost
inevitable.
5. All warriors except AB must have normal damage and really need good. Make certain
that ST/SZ allow that, and have high enough WL to bump stats if not.
6. 9 WL is the acceptable low for offensives. Some warriors can do well with 7 or 8.
Maybe.
7. Do not add to CN for pure offensives.
8. Defensive style warriors need solid WL and CN.
9. Physicals never hurt any warrior. Warriors can win early with lesser skill, but
good physicals.
10. If all else fails, make the design a TP. They can win under almost any
circumstance. However, they need a higher combination (total) of CN, WL, and ST.
(especially WL)
11. If the warrior is to be long-term (meaning a godling or really, really nice
roll), do not design a burner. (A burner is one where the manager intends to
raise stats and physicals as a major strategy to enhanced winning.)
12. However, there is not a thing wrong with making a burner.
13. Have variation in styles in arenas. This allows for better challenging and
matchups. (Adding also fun and learning through variety.)
14. PRIMARY PRINCIPAL: Design each warrior with the idea of winning 60%+ of its
fights. Period.
Pretty simple, it would seem. Well, we will see how I applied these principals to the
FARM ANIMALS Team. But first some comments on team design.
A variety of styles is important. Why? (a) The more differing styles you
experiment with, the more you learn. (b) It is more fun to run differing types. (c)
Certain styles are susceptible to other styles and having a variety allows you to take
advantage (or avoid) some of those susceptibilities. (d) Testing multiple styles
allows you to more quickly find the style/s that you enjoy most or are best with.
I believe a manager, especially a new manager, should have at least these two
warriors on his team b an especially fast/quick, decent damage offensive (striker,
basher, or maybe slasher) and a scummy warrior with lots of physicals and who wins by
wearing down foes while parrying or sucking up hit points. (Total parry or maybe wall-
of-steel or parry strike.) It is important to learn how to win with both types, and
the ST (striker) and TP (total parry) are excellent designs to do both -- teach and
win. This combination is invaluable because each tends to challenge and avoid
different styles, and most importantly, they are both easy to work with. The other
warriors on the team can/should be different, but I least recommend these more
difficult styles for rookie managers. AB = aimed blow, PR = parry riposte, PS = parry
strike, PL = parry lunge, and WS = wall of steel.
Now on to a real life example. Below are listed the starting statistics (from
the roll-up sheet) and the design statistics (filled out and sent in by me, Friendly
Farmer) of this FARM ANIMALS team just started on Noblish Island.
15-8-11-10-6-4-16 to 15-8-11-15-9-5-21 AB (aimer) Design to strengths (concept
#1), which is moving DF up 5 to 21. This almost for sure means it will be an aimed
blow. Eliciting concepts 2 & 3 adds 5 to WT (10 to 15) almost for sure leading to an
offensive warrior, and assuring it will be an aimer. Concept #6 leads me to move WL up
3 to 9. The final point goes to SP, the only stat that will now get me any skills.
Perhaps I could have raised ST up 2 to 17 (or 6 to 21) (concept #1) but I felt the 15
ST was enough for this offensive and the points would be more helpful elsewhere.
11-12-16-9-10-4-8 to 11-12-16-15-15-4-11 LU (lunger). With CON being the highest
stat, and no other stat really standing out, I bypass concept one and add 6 and 5, to
WT and WL. (Concept 2) That leaves 3, which fit nicely on DF to 11 for optimal skills
and weapons for this offensive. I make him a lunger. (This design could have been any
offensive, and most defensive styles, so I stay with the easier-to-understand
offensives.)
12-14-10-7-10-4-13 to 14-20-10-7-16-4-13 TP (total parry). Concept #1 makes this
design pretty clear. The strengths are ST and CN and WL and DF, and that has the
makings of a total parry. (Read concepts 8, 9, and 10.) My first add is 6 to WL.
(Concept 1) and the rest go to WL (6) and ST (2), leaving a 7 WT, so it will be a
b burnerb . (Concept 11) I will be training exclusively stats early on. I am glad to
have a TP on the team; read concepts 10 and 14.
10-9-7-12-16-7-9 to 11-9-7-17-21-8-11 SL. (slasher) When WL and WL are the
highest numbers, applying concepts #1, 2, 3 and 4 is an easy decision. I add 5 each to
WT/WL, making a 17/21 which is a wonderful base for almost any style. I add 1 to ST
(to 11) for a good weapon selection, 2 to DF (to 11) for the great skills and the last
to SP (to 8). (acquiring an important decisive skill for this likely offensive.) I
could make this almost any style, but choose the easier offensives and since I already
have a LU, I choose slasher.
8-12-5-9-9-14-13 to 13-13-5-15-9-16-13 BA. (basher) This one does not fit the
concepts above as well as most. (Which is why the word b generallyb is in the
concept #1.) Making the high numbers - SP and DF- higher, is not an optimal basis for
design. Rather, I start with concept #2 and add 6 to WT raising it to 15. I see
another offensive coming and since I do not yet have a basher, I add 5 to 8 strength
to get 13 and the best basher weapons. That leaves 3 skills which I add 2 to SP and 1
to CN for a respectable basher.
Good luck competing against FARM ANIMALS warriors. I suspect this team will meet
the 60% objective and each warrior will do its part. They will be a competitive team
and they will both challenge and avoid.
Now let's take a look at the overall design tendencies for this team in this
situation. We had 70 points to add to the designs. Totaled, they look like this:
ST = 8 (Looks about right. About 11% of the points)
CN = 7 (More than I would normally like, but with the one TP design uses 6.)
SZ = 0 (Cannot add to size.)
WT = 22 (One of two most valuable stats. Many points added here makes sense.)
WL = 19 (One of two most valuable stats. It is difficult to win without WT
AND WL.)
SP = 4 (SP and CN are usually the least added stats; minor adds to enhance
decisiveness of offensives)
DF = 10 (DF additions are often quite variable and this amount looks
reasonable)
The tendencies look solid to me, as WT and WL are prime stats, ST and DF are probably
next, and CN/SP are usually least added. (Well, except for SZ!)
So there you have it: a new team; insight to warrior and team design; useful
tidbits from an ancient veteran. May your stay in D2 be long and prosperous, and, most
of all, fun. (As mine has been.)
-- Friendly Farmer
Consortium affiliated
***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***
Bash Bros Leftovers
We have all had them, hopefully most of the time enjoyed them, likely sometime
suffered through them. I speak, of course, about leftovers. There is nothing really
wrong with them, but ordinary is just the beginning of an accurate description of
them. Similar to the recruits the commission gave me to work with. Nothing really
wrong with them, bur ordinary in the utmost.
9-10-8-7-11-13-12. This one is a tough one. Is it an offensive, with high
speed? Is it a hybrid with low wit? Do you go the defensive route? Nobody really
knows, which makes this guy just like leftovers that you aren't really sure what they
are. Mysterious! You practically have to add two to strength (a chance for great
damage). Because it could also roll normal damage, I choose a hybrid design. I like
my pure defensives to win more than this guy will and the chance for normal damage
suggests to me that a hybrid would be better. At that point, you have a choice
between strength (for BA suitability) or wit (big skill breakpoint at 11). I chose
wit and end with 11-11-8-11-17-13-13 PL.
9-16-15-4-13-9-4. Normally you wouldn't want someone else to eat your leftovers,
but in this case, I'd gladly give him to someone else. With the high con and size, I
am going to go for a tank offensive hybrid. He'll wear heavy armor and take lots of
damage. Basher and lunger are the typical style choices. I prefer bashers. Add most
of the points to str, con, and will. Final design: 13-18-15-4-19-9-6 BA (to be
trained to 15-20-15-5-21-9-7).
10-16-8-9-5-10-12. At least this one clearly suggests an endurance conserving
hybrid style. TP, PR, PS, and AB are the normal style choices. Since I can get
deftness high, I choose AB and add points to hit as many breakpoints as I can: 15-16-
8-11-7-10-17 AB. Hopefully that low wit and will doesn't make him as unappealing as
moldy leftovers.
13-11-5-9-13-10-9. Is that actually a good looking warrior? Can't have too many
of those, but you can have too many leftovers sitting in your fridge. Many managers
would recommend adding most of the points to wit and will, but if I can't get to 17
wit, I'll gladly leave it at 11 (or 13 for a lunger). Also, 17 strength ensures good
damage, so is a great use of points to add. Lots of style choices here, and I end
with a 17-13-5-11-17-10-11 WOS.
9-8-10-13-9-12-9. And this one clearly suggests an offensive warrior, with high
speed, low con, and high wit. Most of the time, I don't recommend adding points to
will when it starts at 9 or 10. In this case, because you have plenty of 'extra'
points, you can go many different ways after taking 17 wit and 11 deftness. I love
will and in this case, I actually do add to will. And just as most of us don't have
enough of our favorite leftovers, I don't have enough bashers. 11-8-10-17-15-12-11.
See you on the sands. -- Assur
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
It is funny how fights can be so different from turn to turn. I managed to draw
Veteran Mercenary (not one of the harder Champ level NPC's) a second turn in a row and
what does he go and do but embarrass me!!! I am humiliated. I am embarrassed. And
now I am the owner of a loss to my record.
However... (And Wooden take note - since you embarrassed most of the rest of my
teammated) I still hold the throne!!! I am the Duelmaster!
-- Mistakes
Another loss, but another title for me. -- Mistakes
SPY REPORT
The sages err'd not in their foretelling of a god descending upon NOBLISH
ISLAND, for I, Novgorodny Vir, have returned! FAMOUS HOOSIERS? Who? PUPPET LORDS
is the top team these days, buddies! Like a new team fighting for the first time and
entering the official rankings, FARM ANIMALS got 3-1-0 to come in 3rd. I doubt many
are quaking in their boots, but BASH BROS LEFTOVERS comes out of nowhere to get
4-1-0. What does the future hold? Watch this space... Practice pays for PRETTY
KITTY, who pummelled EMBEZZLING SCRIBE, to pocket 21 points. A certain someone
should cut down on the drinking and practice more, after losing 9 points to TRAICA.
(Discrete enough, TIGER MOTHER?) In NOBLISH ISLAND, nothing is permanent (except
Death), and we find ourselves a new Duelmaster, SAJAN. So who's the team that's been
walking into taverns last week and ordering milk? Sounds like a PR stunt to me.
And how sociable are NOBLISH ISLAND's warriors? Come, let us see.
Like the wind whispering among the pines, do hearest I many disquieting rumors.
Justice was served as HAWAIIAN SHADOW fought BELLINOS in bloodfeud. Well done,
RAINBOW BRIGADE! Ask not for whom the sword slashes; it slashes for thee.
Do not think spyreporting in NOBLISH ISLAND is the highlight of my life. As if
buffeted by forces of nature beyond my control, I must take my leave of this place.
NOBLISH ISLAND, I leave you now. The Duelmaster has agreed to foot my bill at The
Dripping Blade. 'Til next time-- Novgorodny Vir
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SAJAN 9772 5 2 0 48 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
VALEROS 9770 3 4 0 44 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
TRAICA 9773 3 4 0 31 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PRETTY KITTY 9815 1 0 0 21 FARM ANIMALS (1682)
RINDRA 9769 4 3 0 20 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
-CHUCKUS NORICUS 9711 1 0 0 20 LUDUS VIRTUS (1668)
HAWAIIAN SHADOW 9765 1 4 0 19 RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
TIGER MOTHER 9767 2 3 1 11 RAINBOW BRIGADE (1674)
MYSTERIOUS 9831 1 0 0 11 BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685)
NOT ENOUGH 9834 1 0 0 10 BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685)
ROOSTER 9813 1 0 0 10 FARM ANIMALS (1682)
-REMUS 9710 1 0 0 10 LUDUS VIRTUS (1668)
BELLINOS 9802 2 1 1 8 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-ZED 1676 1 1 0 7 THE DAMNED (301)
-ROMULUS 9712 1 0 1 6 LUDUS VIRTUS (1668)
SPICULUS 9808 1 0 0 6 KRAKEN'S DEN (1681)
MOLDY 9830 1 0 0 6 BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685)
PLOW HORSE 9816 1 0 0 5 FARM ANIMALS (1682)
TOO MANY 9832 1 0 0 5 BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685)
-TEMPUS 9708 1 1 0 4 LUDUS VIRTUS (1668)
-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)
APOLLA 1682 0 1 0 1 GUARDIANS (303)
MOCKINGBIRD 9814 0 1 0 1 FARM ANIMALS (1682)
ATTILIUS 9810 0 1 0 1 KRAKEN'S DEN (1681)
PRISCUS 9807 0 1 0 1 KRAKEN'S DEN (1681)
-DRUTUS REX 9709 0 1 0 1 LUDUS VIRTUS (1668)
TETRAITES 9809 0 1 0 1 KRAKEN'S DEN (1681)
CARPOPHORUS 9811 0 1 0 1 KRAKEN'S DEN (1681)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SOMEONE ELSE ATE 9833 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS LEFTOVERS (1685)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
SUGAR BELLY 9766 1 3 0 RAINBOW BRIGADE 1674 BELLINOS 9802 431 JUST REVENGED
PERSONAL ADS
Puppet Lords, it looks like it is your time to claim the Duelmaster. As I leave, I
wish you good luck. -- John Wooden, Famous Hoosiers
Those pesky Puppet Lords wanted a piece of The Hoosiers badly, it seems. Three
challenges? Traica did manage to take down Larry Bird. The Celtics are done, for a
while. -- John Wooden, Famous Hoosiers
Valeros, Sajan, Clean Up, thanks for the fights and the wins. -- James Dean, John
Dillinger Dan Quayle, Famous Hoosiers one and all
Messy, messy, messy. I hate a mess! Especially one who kills a Famous Hoosier like
Mick Foley. (sigh) Mick was 9(+1)-10-8-17(+1)-18-15-9 +4 Decise and +4 Attack lunger,
with, sadly, only normal damage. He, too, had trouble with Messes. -- John Wooden
Health. Humility. Honor. And with that last word, the Famous Hoosiers whisk away to
return to Noblish no more. -- JW (Consortium affiliated)
And, howdy all. Now you get me and my farm animals. Watch for the spot defining my
animal crew and explaining The Consortium design methodology. -- Friendly Farmer
P.S. My true name is Michaelangelo Alexander Francisco Hadjerchdoorn, hence, my
nickname seems to have stuck.
We all say "hello" and ask that you take it easy on us poor hard-working farm animals.
Fat Cow
Plow Horse
Pretty Kitty
Mockingbird
Rooster
And with that las
John Wooden -- Very, very satisfying finish between us. -- Assur
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
HAWAIIAN SHADOW bested BELLINOS in a 3 minute amateur's Bloodfeud fight.
SAJAN viciously subdued DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a action packed 1 minute Title battle.
VALEROS overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a crowd pleasing 1 minute gory mismatched duel.
RINDRA overpowered CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute mismatched match.
TRAICA devastated TIGER MOTHER in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
APOLLA was bested by PLOW HORSE in a crowd pleasing 3 minute amateur's match.
PRISCUS was overpowered by NOT ENOUGH in a 1 minute uneven melee.
SPICULUS viciously subdued SOMEONE ELSE ATE in a 2 minute gory beginner's duel.
TETRAITES was vanquished by ROOSTER in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
ATTILIUS was defeated by TOO MANY in a 2 minute gory beginner's match.
CARPOPHORUS was overpowered by MYSTERIOUS in a 1 minute one-sided match.
MOCKINGBIRD was bested by MOLDY in a exciting 1 minute amateur's conflict.
PRETTY KITTY demolished EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute one-sided brawl.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 4 WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 - 0 100 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 TOTAL PARRY 18 - 5 - 0 78 |
|AIMED BLOW 3 PARRY-LUNGE 11 - 5 - 2 69 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 BASHING ATTACK 35 - 29 - 1 55 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 AIMED BLOW 15 - 14 - 1 52 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 SLASHING ATTACK 7 - 8 - 0 47 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 19 - 0 44 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 STRIKING ATTACK 23 - 34 - 2 40 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 7 - 12 - 0 37 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 5 - 0 17 |
Turn 432 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 AIMED BLOW 1 - 2 2 BASHING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 2 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW
WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 1 STRIKING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 WALL OF STEEL
BASHING ATTACK 2 - 2 1 PARRY-LUNGE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK SAJAN 9772 5 2 0 48 PUPPET LORDS (1675)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is SAJAN 9772. The most popular warrior this turn was
APOLLA 1682. The ten other most popular fighters were SPICULUS 9808, SAJAN 9772,
HAWAIIAN SHADOW 9765, VALEROS 9770, MYSTERIOUS 9831, MOLDY 9830, PRETTY KITTY 9815,
TRAICA 9773, NOT ENOUGH 9834, and ROOSTER 9813.
The least popular fighter this week was CARPOPHORUS 9811. The other ten least
popular fighters were ATTILIUS 9810, TETRAITES 9809, SOMEONE ELSE ATE 9833, PRISCUS
9807, TIGER MOTHER 9767, TOO MANY 9832, PLOW HORSE 9816, RINDRA 9769, BELLINOS 9802,
and MOCKINGBIRD 9814.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Here are a few tricks of the trade I've found out.
15, 17, and 21. Those are the magic numbers for stats; any fighter who starts
with a stat (except Con and Size) at any of those numbers will have more beginning
skills than normal.
Stats: The stats in order of importance with regard to skills, most to least,
are wit, will, deftness, speed, and strength, with con giving you no skills, just hit
points and endurance. The higher you can start any of these, especially the first
three, the more skilled your fighter will be. Logically, therefore, what you really
want is a fighter who has wit, will, and deftness at 21. This will be a GOD! And
probably go out and get killed immediately due to low con...
Raising stats: Care must be taken in doing this. All fighters start out with
the ability to learn 20 skills in the categories of Defense, Parry, Riposte, Attack,
Decisiveness, and Inititive. When you learn all 120 skills, you've maxed out. You
can get skills though normal learns, or by raising stats; however, if you raise stats
BEFORE you max out (except for Con), anything gained will count as one of the 20.
This is called "burning" skills. If, on the other hand, you wait until you've maxed
out, then raising stats will add those skills to the ones you've learned, enabling you
to exceed your limits. But raising stats will give an immediate boost to your
abilities. It's a question of short term vs. long term gain, you see.
And aiming at vital areas - head, chest, and abdomen - will increase your chances
of getting kills. And being bloodfeuded, and maybe getting your fighter killed in
return. Keep in mind that what you send forth will come back to you. Sometimes
redoubled.
Roku
Warrior Handedness, is he a Righty, Lefty or Ambi?
Greetings, Joy and Happiness to everyone!!!! I hope everyone that reads this
article is doing well and remembering not to drink and duel. This article discusses
things about the handedness of a warrior. Most managers only worry about things like
skill, weapons and trains. Handedness is not a major factor in playing the game but
it's nice to know some things about it.
Most warriors will be right handed, with a small percentage left handed. Even
more scarce is the ambidextrous warrior. I believe that the defensive styles have a
higher percentage chance to be a lefty or an AMBI than offensive styles do. It's just
an observation that I made in the 513 warriors surveyed. Another note on that, I
notice that out of 211 parry-ripostes that I was using for a PR article, about 43% of
them were AMBIs. The highest percent of AMBIs out of all the styles polled.
When a manager puts weapons into his warriors hands and also when he tells his
warrior where to strike, handedness plays a key role in the manager's decision making.
I had a team with 4 AMBIs on it, and I started to do some experiments with them to see
how the AMBI thing worked. I noticed that in general the AMBI favors using the left
hand more than the right hand. But, there are a small percentage of AMBI warriors
that are reversed, where the right hand is used more than the left.
There also seems to be some confusion amongst managers that get the USE of a hand
mixed up with which hand the weapons go in (IE which is primary and which is off-
hand). Right handed warriors USE the RIGHT hand the most and the primary weapon is
the RIGHT hand, off hand is the left hand. For left-handed warriors, it is the
opposite of right-handed warriors, of course. The confusion comes with the AMBI
handed warriors. AMBIs USE the left hand more BUT the RIGHT hand holds the primary
weapon, and the left hand holds the off hand weapon. Every so often you will get an
AMBI that this is reversed, where the RIGHT hand is USED more and the PRIMARY weapon
is held in the LEFT hand. But this kind of ambi is extremely rare.
Well, that's it for now. Have fun, and watch out for that right hook... 'cause
it might be a left hook!!!!!
For more DM info, or just to chat you can DIPLO me at ADM 103, THE JOKER'S WILD.
You can also email me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com or visit my DM web site at the
following address: http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessiejest/homepage.htm
Ta-Ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
The Arcane Slasher
I love the Slashing Style! Slashers are finesse artists, but they're much more
aggressive than your aimed-blow. Well-designed slashers are formidable opponents;
they are as ready to defend as to attack, though they prefer the latter. Fate has
been to kind to this style, perhaps too kind. Even a badly-designed slasher may do
well in basic, prompting many well-intentioned managers to promote questionable set-
ups as "the slasher ideal." After reading another `Eureka!' article, I am compelled
to add my 2 cents. I've learned how to design great slashers, and I'd like to pass on
my ideas to the rest of Alastari. I can't tell you how to keep them alive (in four
years I've only gotten one to ADM) but I can outline guidelines for creating a spooky
character that will win for you--until they die or get to ADM. Just remember that
decent opportunities to make a slasher aren't very common!
WT, WL, & DF--15 pts each at least. Period. If you don't have it, you don't
have a great slasher. Believe me, you can't afford to skimp anything here!
ST--Anything from 7-11 is fine. The smaller the character the higher the number,
but anything with a +9 size can get by with a 7 ST. For light armor use an epee, for
anything heavier use a pair of hatchets, a scimitar, or a broadsword, depending on ST.
CN & SP--Ideally, both are single-digit; if your con is high you're probably
looking at a WASTE. Whatever else you do, don't add them.
SZ--Since this is something we can't change anyway, don't worry about it. The
bigger they are the less points to spread around to other areas, though.
My slashers come up with the best overviews when I follow these guidelines. Most
earn at least four wit statements; about 50% either start out with an Expert or two,
or they pick them up within a couple of skills. One of my very best died in a
tourney: 6-3-11-15-51-11-17. He started out doing good damage; picked up Experts in
att, init, def, and rip. in two skills or less. This is an extreme example, but it
seems to me that the well-designed slasher gets more than their fair share of luck on
their overview. I've run one a lot worse that did fairly well--a winning record,
until he was killed by a veteran lunger: 11-7-14-15-15-7-15, good bases in attack and
init, four wit statements, great damage.
Running them?
Start out with an offensive effort of 10, and never let the OE drop below 7. How
quick you taper down depends on the endurance rating. Slashers burn endurance very
quickly; if you don't have good endurance drop right away from 10 to 7 and leave it
there unless desperate, then go back to 10. Otherwise try 10, then 9, then 7.
Remember, these are aggressive beasts; keep 'em on the offensive!
Keep the activity level fairly low except in the very beginning, when you should
be running 10. Then drop to 5 or 6, then 3 or 4m then 1. Go back up to 7 or 10 in
desperation.
Match your kill desire to your offensive effort, always.
Summary: 10-10-10, 9-5-9*, 7-3-7, 7-1-7 across. Desperation: 10-10-10 or 10-7-
10.
Avoid armor unless you MUST, but no higher than ARM and H.
Don't use tactics--they seem to inhibit the slasher's ability to riposte and
respond well to their opponent. Exception: to take out scum pick the heaviest weapon
your character can lift and use the slash tactic--go for the legs or the arms: 7-1-7.
Slash all the way!
These `rules' have worked for me. The biggest problem I've had is that my
slashers rise too high too quickly. Within five or six fights they're fighting
warriors with 15 fights' experience. So be forewarned; give them sometime off every
few turns so that they won't get clobbered by some old-timer looking for an easy win!
Good Luck!
The Arcane Kid, of Astral Kin, Osksi DM-3
*Remember, with `good' endurance only!
"The Basher"
My friends would laugh if they knew I was writing this, but who cares what they
think? The basher is not a bad style in my opinion. It starts with the same base
decisiveness as the striker, but has 4-5 more skills in initiative, and 3-4 more
skills in att. That's what makes this style so good. I mean, you have the ability to
get the jump on your opponent, you have the ability to hit your opponent, and who
cares about their high riposte with your high att rating combined with your exp+ in
initiative, they won't know what train hit them, much less think about the counter
attack.
O.K. I only make two types 1st the WL Basher:
#1 #2
12 13
10 11
10 9
21 16
15 15
9 13
7 7
Example #1--Currently 8-3-1 in Firehold (68) has Master+1 att, Master +1 init., and
Adv.Exp. dec., and is already sitting pretty with 80 recognition points.
Example #2--Currently 8-3-0 in Jhans (36) has Exp.+3 att, Adv.Exp. init., and Exp+3
dec. with 87 recognition points.
O.K., the other kind I like to call it the "High damage, low will, needs to end
the fight before he passes out with exhaustion" Basher. This type of basher relies on
his high damage capabilities to make up for his low WL. I've not had the best of luck
with these types of bashers, but I do know they can win (Warbeast has proved that to
me). The key is to get at least great damage on the roll-up. O.K. some examples:
#1 #2 #3
11 13 17
11 9 12
16 17 10
17 17 17
7 10 11
11 11 10
11 7 7
Example #1--I DA'ed, he didn't win
Example #2--Killed in round 1 of the winter FTF, went 4-3 in the Oct. Tournament,
learned 6 skills 5 being Att.
Example #3-1-0 in Jhans(36)
I run both styles ALE +L, WH light armor, mace medium armor, and WH heavy armor.
Go 10-10-7 dec 1st minute, and after min 1, go 8-8-5. WL basher, and the other kind
drop down drastically. Always aim for the head (it gets you an att bonus and could
score you a kill every now and then) unless you know you're gonna be up against a TP
or waste, then aim for a leg. Well that's gonna be it. Somebody write me and tell me
what you think.
Uncle Charlie Mgr.
Genocide (68)
Helter Skelter (36, 100)
The Anti-Thesis Slasher
Greetings all. No, this is definitely not another "Perfect" article. In fact,
it actually is just the opposite--finding success with a warrior whose stats were just
average. I am not an expert at this game and do not have near the experience that
some managers have. What I do have is some now solid experience with Slashers thanks
to this guy. So what I will do with this article is show you how my first attempt at
building a Slasher went, what it taught me, and maybe I can show a new or old manager
something about the style that can help their game.
This Slasher was my first attempt at the style. His starting stats were average
at 13-11-12-10-16-11-11. Definitely no Primus-quality warrior. By most people's
standards, he wouldn't have even been thought of as an ADM warrior because of his low
wit and will combo. Today, I don't know if I would even keep this guy, but at the
time I didn't know any better and kept him. I'm glad I did because he turned out to
be a good warrior, not great, but good and a fun one to watch.
He had three statements to start: "...learned how to be decisive and quick",
"...conserve his endurance past what might normally be expected", and "does great
damage". The last statement I think helped him a lot in many of his fights.
Weapons and Armor
Weapons-wise, all I knew about the Slashing style at the time was that a scimitar
was good, so I gave him one. He did well with it, so I kept using it. I didn't use
any off-hand weapon because I knew that an offensive-styled warrior could make quicker
attacks with a weapon using two hands. I gave him one back-up scimitar, knowing that
scimitars break though not that often.
Early on, I may have given him light armor and a helm, but later I discovered
that if he didn't get the first hit, he almost had no hope of winning. After all, the
credo of an offensive warrior is to "hit first, hit hard" and hope it ends the fight
quickly. I also started to realize he would never be a "great" warrior. My
philosophy changed and I could only hope to get him to ADM. So, I decided to use no
armor or helm, which slows warriors down.
Strategy:
Ah, the most important part of this warrior's winning ways. Looking back at his
early strategy, I wonder how he did so well. I started him going 10-10-10, attack and
protect the head with no tactics. My desperation strategy was usually 10-10-5, which
did nothing to help him. I used the decisiveness tactic since his overview said he
was decisive.
Through observing his fights and looking at what he preferred, I ironed out a
general strategy which I think is good for a lot of Slashers:
min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ desp
OE 10 8 6 4 4 4 5
AL 10 4 2 2 2 2 8
KD 6 8 6 4 4 4 5
AL RA HE ----------------------->
PL AM BD -------------------> HE
Against more parry-type warriors like WOS and TP's, I've used a 10-6-6 min. One
strategy that he seems to like.
Design and Trains:
I started him off training skills only. But I soon learned that his average
stats meant that he wasn't going to learn very well. I decided late to train skills,
then stats, every other turn. The training of his will to 17 really helped his
endurance out. He finally went to ADM at 15-11-12-12-17-12-11. If I had recognized
earlier that he would not be a great warrior, and accepted that, then I might have
been about to train everything twice like in the "old" days and he would have gone at
15-13-12-12-18-13-13.
Record:
He started out great at 4-0-0, then was 8-4-1. He hit a rut and was soon 9-7-1.
He was mediocre in his middle fights but was above .500% at 14-12-2. He was under
.500% once at 14-15-2. Near the end of his regular DM career, with some careful
challenges and strategy changes, he went 5-0-0 and ended up 21-16-2. He was
Duelmaster for three turns in Cliffhome.
Final Notes:
So, what's the purpose of all this? It's to show that anyone can take a mediocre
warrior and through careful strategy and design build them into a formidable warrior.
I recognized long ago that this Slasher would never be great and accepted it. That's
what turned him into the warrior he is today. I was willing to take the risks
necessary to make him win. His name is E.G.B.D.F. (Every Good Boy Does Fine) and in
this case his name is true. I couldn't have asked more from him in his
accomplishments. He can be found fighting occasionally in Darkholm. He's taught me
an incredible amount about this style and has contributed to my 65% overall win-loss
record with them.
I'm open to feedback, positive or negative, and hope in some way that I've helped
someone learn more about this style.
So, good luck to all and may your swords ring true!
Brought to you by Talon, mgr. of
Eagles Claw (38,104), Farfignewtons (32)
where I'm known as Volksie, and other teams
throughout Alastari.