DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/03/2017 Duedate: 03/16/2017
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-473
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
THUNDER WONDER
DARK CLOUDS (1719)
(93-10029) [3-0-0,56]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY THUNDER WONDER
DARK CLOUDS (1719)
(93-10029) [3-0-0,56]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
VIOLET HENRY MORGAN
GREYSKULL (1710) FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
(93-10004) [5-0-0,43] (93-10032) [1-1-0,7]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 35
2. DARK CLOUDS (1719) 35 AVENGERS (287)
3. FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 32 Unchartered Team
4. DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 31
5. HI NO UMI (1715) 11 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 3*FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 7 3 2 70.0 1/ 1*LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 9 6 0
2/ 1*LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 9 6 0 60.0 2/ 2*DARK CLOUDS (1719) 8 7 0
3/ 4*BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 6 4 0 60.0 3/ 5*FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 7 3 2
4/ 2*DARK CLOUDS (1719) 8 7 0 53.3 4/ 7*DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 7 8 0
5/ 7*DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 7 8 0 46.7 5/ 6*BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 6 4 0
6- 5*THE EXILED (1716) 4 5 0 44.4 6/ 3*GREYSKULL (1710) 4 5 0
7/ 6*GREYSKULL (1710) 11 18 0 37.9 7/10*HI NO UMI (1715) 1 1 0
8/10*HI NO UMI (1715) 1 2 0 33.3 8- 4*THE EXILED (1716) 1 3 0
9- 8*ODD SQUAD (1712) 2 7 0 22.2 9- 8*ODD SQUAD (1712) 0 5 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
D2. WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT??
D2, the game of Duelmasters, is just plain fun. It is so good that there have
even been three published books written about it! It must be great, then! Do you want
to have the fun and pleasures that hundreds of other managers before you have
experienced? Can't blame you! I, personally, have been enjoying Duelmasters-to-D2
for over 30 years. Perhaps this article will assist or simplify your introduction to
this game and speed up your enjoyment process. It goes something like this ....
ACQUIRE A D2 ROLL UP sheet from RSI. (Reality Simulations Inc., P.O. Box 22400,
Tempe AZ 85285-2400, 480-967-7979) The first sheet/team is free. Subsequent five-
warrior teams cost $5. Later, after your introductory 10 turns in the Noblish Island
(DM93) arena, you can transfer your starting team to another arena, or you may find
you even want to start up a new team/s in other arenas, or both. Actually, you can
start new teams any time, even while going through your learning process in DM93; but
you may want to "learn the ropes" first.
FILL OUT THE ROLL UPS and send the sheet to RSI. Other than the normal personal
information, the most important things to decide are: Team name, Manager Name, and 5
individual warrior designs. Let's discuss each of those briefly. Team name and
manager name can be anything you like that fits you. (RSI will edit inappropriate
naming.) They can be gladiator driven, silly ideas, great plays on words, or
whatever. The warrior names can be closely tied to the team name, or not. My very
first team was: Bulldogs, manager Kennelworth, and names like Tiger Lily, Sir Smythe,
Wild Wayne, and Flash, etc. A team I admire in the game is Azure Clouds, manager
Slugbait, warrior names like Black Bile, Violent Orange, Blue Note, etc.
We could spend hours and hours on warrior designs, (Where to place the 14 points
on the fixed 70 points and what style to choose?) and there are many articles
available examining design, so I will offer only a few basic comments:
Offensive styles are easier to learn for a newbie. (Or anyone, for that matter)
Gender does not matter at all in the fight process. Generally, fast & quick or brawny
& strong rule the day. I said generally.
WT and WL are the most important stats.
There are reasons to design to odd numbers. (Exclude CN from that statement.)
Read newsletters and other RSI info, especially DM93 newsletters, for design
reviews.
You have received your 5 warrior profiles back from RSI. Time to fill out DUEL
II STRATEGY FORMS and send them in to RSI. "Goodness!" you say; "I wish I had a lot
more information about weapons and strategies and what the warrior profile means,
and...."
Here are a list of places and methods for getting additional info:
1. "Phone a friend". Diplo, e mail, call, write, etc., beg from other players,
especially experienced players in the game.
2. "Put on your newbie outfit." Ask RSI, or better yet, diplo the teachers/coaches
in Noblish Island (DM93), the "starter's arena" and ask for information provided
there. If you are already in Noblish Island, ask RSI to make sure you get the CIC
or "fact sheets."
3. "Go electronic." The best information in the game is available at reality.com/dm,
or terrablood.com, or even try chatzy.com/42003746228981 as DMers chat there from
appx 9AM to 2AM EST. And they seem to welcome inexperienced questions.
So back to the strategy sheets. One for each warrior you plan to fight. Write
legibly! You would be very disappointed to have a code inputted improperly because
your scribbles were not so discernible. The basic stuff like warrior name and ID, or
game # and account # don't need discussion. But weapon selection, strategy, armor and
challenging do.
Weapon choice is your chance to select a best weapon against the opponent's
probable armor. Bigger weapons are probably needed against heavy armor. Some weapons
do especially well against certain armor types. (Hmmm; that information mentioned
earlier would help.) The most common weapon arrangements are a single primary weapon
and a small backup primary for offensive types, and a primary/secondary (secondary
could be a shield) and zero to two backups for defensives/finesse warriors.
Strategy is more difficult to decide. Offensives usually start "hot and heavy"
and then slow down, as they will wear down/tire due to weight being carried and a high
activity level. Defensives tend to run moderately, but current arena defensive
warriors can be found fighting anywhere from "hot and heavy" to very slow. The
desperation strategy is important, because if your warrior is nearing defeat or
exhaustion, you may want to do something different in a last-ditch effort to pull out
the win.
Armor is really a matter of preference, but like every other choice in the game,
there are trade-offs. Heavy armor, while providing more protection, can slow down and
wear down warriors. Naked or light armor may be less restricting and faster but
offers little protection. It is easy to think, "I need lots of armor", but over
encumbering a warrior greatly impacts (diminishes) his fighting ability.
Training is simple. The most common training is "skills", but stats can be and
are trained also. In general the amount of skills learned is based on your WT (the
higher the better), but it is also impacted by the knowledge of the warriors you fight
(and other things). Stat training is very highly dependent on WL, as the odds of
getting a first stat train of a stat type are 5% times the WL (e.g., a WL of 15 =
5%x15 or 75% chance). There can be a luck roll impact also in almost everything that
occurs in Duel 2. Attempting to get a 2nd stat raise in a certain stat is halved
(e.g., a WL of 15 = 5%x15x 0.5 = 37.5%).
Challenging and avoiding are very strategic components of the game. There are
quite a few managers who do not challenge or avoid or both. You can use that to your
best advantage. Challenge warriors (use the warrior's ID number) and avoid teams (use
the team's ID number). Several points about challenging/avoiding):
1. Challenging and avoiding do not work until after the warrior has fought his/her
first fight in the arena and is listed in the newsletter.
2. Challenge warriors or styles you think you can beat, or who will teach you well,
or to attempt to advance in the rankings.
3. Avoid those teams who have warriors that can probably beat you, or who are likely
to challenge you.
4. Remember: challenge warrior ID numbers (not names) and avoid team numbers (not
names).
5. Some arenas, usually Andorian, frown on down-challenging. (Usually defined as
challenging someone with fewer recognition points than oneself.) Beware of the
arena environment, history, and politics.
You have the option to use an alternate "special strategy" either (or both) when
you challenge someone, or when someone challenges you. You can use this alternate to
prepare a specific strategy for that challenge you just made, or surprising an
opponent who will likely challenge or blood feud you. To use these alternatives, "x"
the proper box or boxes and fill out the strategy info on the back of the strategy
form. This alternative strategy will not be used unless the conditions you selected
occur.
That was easy, wasn't it!? After sending in your strategy sheets, (in plenty of
time for the due date -- or last minute via fax; no internet submittals allowed) the
computer utilizes everyone's inputs and the fights proceed. A few days after the
arena run date, the actual fights and arena newsletter will arrive in your mailbox.
Before submitting the new warrior strategies for the next round of fights, there is
much a manager can/should examine and review. Here are generic things that this old-
time manager evaluates:
1. Have I collected/recorded all the information I want from the fight so I can
access it quickly? (Commodore Perry and his Consortium cronies record this for
every fight b opponent's name, stable, arena and ID number, size, handedness,
record, style, armor, and weapons plus his warrior's train results, armor,
weapons, swing info (criticals/swings/extra value hits), W or L, how many minutes,
recognition points, and political point status- if any. Also recorded are who, if
anyone challenged. This is manually recorded on a sheet with my warrior's name,
ID, and size, handedness, plus style.
2. Did each warrior fight as I expected from the strategy? Do I need to adjust or
change any strategies?
3. Did any warrior act over encumbered or tire faster than I thought? Do I need to
adjust strategies, armor, or weapons?
4. Did each warrior fight well with the weapon (e.g., hit when he swung and had
"critical hits," which are strongly stated weapon hit statements compared to the
norm)? Do I need to change weapon selections?
5. Did another warrior out jump me when I did not expect it? Do I need to adjust
strategies or weapons?
6. Did the warriors learn what I expected and learn well (e.g. earn lots of skills)?
If not, what can I do about it? (Switch to learning stats/skills? Challenge a
very experienced warrior?)
7. Do I know anything about the arena warriors that I can challenge? (Have I and my
friends accumulated style and other information on opponents?) Should I challenge
or take the luck of the draw? (Remember: Challenge warrior #'s.)
8. Likewise, is there someone within range I just do not want to fight? (A warrior
that has beaten me before? A warrior with lots more experience than me? A team
that has my number? Should I avoid the team with that warrior? (Remember: Avoid
team #'s.)
9. Have I written some personal ads or a spotlight to add to the enjoyment of the
arena?
Then it is time to turn in those strategy sheets again!
Duel 2 is a game of gladiators, comprised of knowledge, strategy, and a little
luck. Above all, it is fun. See you on the sands!
-- Old Pegleg, Famous Pirates Consortium Affiliated
SPY REPORT
Greetings, warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Once again I've been called out of
retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting. Phhbltt! Too much
drinking and too little dodging gave THE EXILED a 0-0-0! I got a good laugh out of
it! Up 'n down. Up 'n down. Rankings always change. Up 'n down. I think I'm
gonna be... Well, DRIFTY DREAMS' 4th moved them up to 4-1-0 place. It seems so
recently people were saying FAMOUS PIRATES was washed up, finished. But 4-1-1 moved
them up 2. I guess they're washed no more... What's with VIOLET? She actually beat
NOBLISH ISLAND's DANGEROUS CRIMINAL, and walked away with 19 more points from the
fight. Major screwup at GREYSKULL. KAR'RYN lost 13 points to RAN OUT. Some new
strategies, perhaps? Maybe KAR'RYN will provide more easy wins... VENEMOUS
CONCUBINE was reminded on the sands why THUNDER WONDER is Duelmaster. I suppose you
want to hear some rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow fighters? Tough!
Speaking of cowardly avoiders and unfair challenges... NOBLISH ISLAND thinks
GREYSKULL and their 11-18-0 is too much! If at first you don't succeed, give up...
Management must be dealin', as the boys at DARK CLOUDS ain't reelin'! GREYSKULL's
mad! What do people see in VIOLET? Hers 5-0-0? GREYSKULL ain't talkin', but she's
got 43 points.
A fighter's lot is filled with strife, revenge, and killing. Some fighters
don't accept this. The best do. Many a warrior has met his fate in a hungover
stupor. You young rapscallions, take note!
Many other cities have retirement homes for aged warriors. Any plans here?
NOBLISH ISLAND is a nice place to live, but I don't like to live in nice places. I
don't want to overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
THUNDER WONDER 10029 3 0 0 56 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
VIOLET 10004 5 0 0 43 GREYSKULL (1710)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ANNE BONNY 10030 2 0 1 33 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
RAN OUT 10035 2 0 0 26 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-AVACYN 10012 2 0 0 22 THE EXILED (1716)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BLACKBEARD 10031 2 0 0 21 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
JINGLE BELL 10015 3 0 0 20 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
ELYTRA 10025 2 1 0 15 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
GOING WITHOUT 10037 2 0 0 14 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
HASAMI 10016 1 2 0 14 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
NOT ENOUGH 10038 1 1 0 14 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
TONARION 10024 2 1 0 13 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
FRENAR 10022 3 0 0 11 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
KAR'RYN 9974 2 4 0 10 GREYSKULL (1710)
OTOKO 10008 1 0 0 10 HI NO UMI (1715)
CLOUDSPICE 10018 2 1 0 8 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
ONIHANA 10017 1 2 0 8 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
-JINXEE 9988 2 1 0 7 ODD SQUAD (1712)
KIRENN 10020 2 1 0 7 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
RAIN STORM 10028 2 1 0 7 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
HENRY MORGAN 10032 1 1 0 7 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
FRANCIS DRAKE 10033 1 1 0 7 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
CAPTAIN KIDD 10034 1 1 1 5 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
JOPAR 10023 1 2 0 5 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
-SELYSNA 10014 1 1 0 5 THE EXILED (1716)
BONGO 10027 1 2 0 5 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
FILL THE SHAKER 10036 1 1 0 4 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
-KRUPHIX 10010 1 1 0 4 THE EXILED (1716)
-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)
CANDY CANE 10019 0 3 0 3 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
DAKUROZU 10026 0 3 0 3 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
-IONA 10011 0 2 0 2 THE EXILED (1716)
NOTHING 10039 0 2 0 2 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
ORTHAR 10042 0 2 0 2 GREYSKULL (1710)
SANCHOO 10006 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
-YOSHI 10007 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
-TROKAR 10013 0 1 0 1 THE EXILED (1716)
-CRISPEN 9987 0 1 0 1 ODD SQUAD (1712)
POKEY 10040 0 1 0 1 GREYSKULL (1710)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
FENRIS WULFE 10041 0 1 0 GREYSKULL 1710 MOUNTAIN TROLL 473 NONE
ZENZA 10021 1 2 0 LINKS OF TERROR 1718 ANNE BONNY 10030 473
BIXIE 9989 0 3 0 ODD SQUAD 1712 CAPTAIN KIDD 10034 472
PERSONAL ADS
Ahoy ye,Thunder Wonder -- Landlubber Duelmaster! Ye ole scalliwag! -- Old Pegleg,
Famous Pirates
Blow me down, Odd Squad! Cleaved ole Bixie to the brisket! Aye. Blimey! 'Tweren't
'tentional. Naye. -- Captain Kidd
Blige-sucking Tonarian! Ye hornswaggled this'n ole pirate. Aye, ye scurvy dog! --
Henry Morgan
Orthar, gotcha, bucko! Savvy? -- Blackbeard
Blow me down, Jingle Bell! Lucky ye! Soon ye feed yon fish! -- Francis Drake
Embezzling Scribe? A landlubbin' son-of-a-biscuit-eater! Aye. -- Anne Bonny
Give me yer ear 'n don't make a frown; way, hey, blow the man down. -- Old Pegleg
Heard these, landlubbers?
How do pirates make their money? By hook or crook.
What killed Captain Hook? Jock itch!
Why did the pirate not enjoy golf? He had a severe hook.
-- Old Pegleg (Har har har)
All, a not too uncommon thing happened last turn. Sadly, a Famous Pirate warrior
killed an Odd Squad warrior. However, it was not one of those "warrior whacked him so
hard and so much he killed him" fights. Instead, the losing warrior surrendered, only
to be taken to the infirmary, where death later occurred. This "kill" was a pure luck
of the roll. A die/dice roll is made of all LOSING warriors and appx 2% lose the roll
and die. This is why we veteran managers say, "You cannot die if you don't lose."
Any losing warrior can randomly die in a fight. So DO NOT LOSE. -- Old Pegleg
[Interpreted and written for him by the typing pool.]
P.S. Of course, there are also the type of deaths where the winner greatly overcomes
the loser and kills him on the spot! Ah, the life of a gladiator. (Or the death.)
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
FENRIS WULFE was butchered by MOUNTAIN TROLL in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
FRANCIS DRAKE viciously subdued ORTHAR in a 1 minute beginner's Challenge battle.
ANNE BONNY assassinated ZENZA in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge duel.
HENRY MORGAN bested NOTHING in a exciting 1 minute novice's Challenge fight.
BLACKBEARD devastated RAIN STORM in a 1 minute uneven Challenge brawl.
THUNDER WONDER overpowered VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute one-sided Title struggle.
VIOLET viciously subdued DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 1 minute competition.
KAR'RYN was vanquished by RAN OUT in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
HASAMI vanquished MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
ONIHANA defeated JOPAR in a 3 minute beginner's match.
CLOUDSPICE luckily beat FILL THE SHAKER in a tiresome 13 minute bloody novice's fight.
CANDY CANE was viciously subdued by ELYTRA in a 2 minute brutal novice's contest.
KIRENN was bested by NOT ENOUGH in a crowd pleasing 1 minute amateur's bout.
FRENAR luckily beat SANCHOO in a 5 minute bloody novice's duel.
TONARION unbelievably bested CAPTAIN KIDD in a 1 minute bloody novice's fray.
DAKUROZU was devastated by JINGLE BELL in a 1 minute one-sided brawl.
BONGO was savagely defeated by GOING WITHOUT in a exciting 1 minute novice's match.
POKEY was overpowered by OTOKO in a 1 minute mismatched conflict.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|AIMED BLOW 6 LUNGING ATTACK 23 - 9 - 1 72 |
|BASHING ATTACK 6 PARRY-STRIKE 10 - 4 - 0 71 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 18 - 10 - 0 64 |
|TOTAL PARRY 4 STRIKING ATTACK 23 - 15 - 1 61 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 SLASHING ATTACK 15 - 14 - 1 52 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 3 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 32 - 3 42 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 AIMED BLOW 15 - 23 - 1 39 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 2 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 8 - 0 27 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 5 - 14 - 0 26 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 473 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-STRIKE 1 - 0 AIMED BLOW 2 - 4 3 STRIKING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 2 - 4 2 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 4 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 2 2 BASHING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 1 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 2 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 PARRY-STRIKE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK THUNDER WONDER 10029 3 0 0 56 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
LUNGING ATTACK VIOLET 10004 5 0 0 43 GREYSKULL (1710)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is VIOLET 10004. The most popular warrior this turn
was HENRY MORGAN 10032. The ten other most popular fighters were ELYTRA 10025,
SANCHOO 10006, VIOLET 10004, NOT ENOUGH 10038, GOING WITHOUT 10037, FENRIS WULFE
10041, FRANCIS DRAKE 10033, ANNE BONNY 10030, BLACKBEARD 10031, and RAN OUT 10035.
The least popular fighter this week was CLOUDSPICE 10018. The other ten least
popular fighters were FRENAR 10022, POKEY 10040, DAKUROZU 10026, KIRENN 10020,
KAR'RYN 9974, RAIN STORM 10028, NOTHING 10039, ZENZA 10021, ORTHAR 10042, and OTOKO
10008.
Article for Newbies
This here is an article aimed mostly at you new managers to the game out there.
This chart is a consensus of managers on the internet about how they felt each style
fairs against all other styles at the beginning levels of the game. Of course, once
you get ten or so fights under your belt the whole scenario changes and you can throw
this right out the window. But in the meantime, use this chart to help you get a
feel for the game, how the different styles interact with each other and to hopefully
dispel those 5-25 starts that can make you drop the game. Hope this helps you some.
KEY FOR ODDS OF WINNING:
1 - ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE 6 - BETTER THAN EVEN
2 - HARDLY LIKELY 7 - GOOD CHANCE
3 - NOT MUCH 8 - HIGHLY PROBABLE
4 - SLIGHT CHANCE 9 - MOST DEFINATELY
5 - 50/50 10 - ALMOST GUARANTEED
Reminder: Left Row vs Top Column
BA ST LU SL AB TP PS PL PR WS
BA 5 2 6 6 8 9 7 6 5 6
ST 8 5 8 9 9 6 7 5 6 4
LU 4 4 5 6 10 5 7 7 9 6
SL 4 1 5 5 8 6 8 7 8 9
AB 2 2 2 4 5 10 6 6 6 7
TP 3 4 6 4 1 5 7 8 6 5
PS 3 3 3 4 5 4 5 4 5 4
PL 5 4 3 3 6 2 7 5 7 6
PR 7 5 2 2 4 5 6 3 5 4
WS 5 8 6 2 4 6 7 5 6 5
There you have it folks. I would personally like to thank all the managers on the
internet who made a contribution to this effort. You know who you are. Also a big
nod of appreciation goes out to the mighty PUG (Ben Hitz) who organizes and runs the
roundtable and without whose effort little projects like this would prove quite
difficult.
David Gottwald - Magic Man
The Crew - Monuntial (34)
Rocky's Heroes - North Fork (47)
Tragedy Strikes - Andor (57) (inactive)
Natural Born - Illis (59)
Slow & Easy - Aradi (60)
Omega Squadron - Dragonhead (72)
MAKING YOUR CHALLENGES GO THROUGH
First, you need to be sure you are making your challenges correctly.
1. Are you writing down the warrior I.D. number of the warrior you want to
challenge?
2. Is your handwriting clear?
3. Is the warrior you are challenging within range of your warrior? Warriors
can challenge within their own class and the next higher class, plus the "Challenger"
classes can also challenge the next lower class. So, an Adept can challenge Adepts
and Challenger Adepts. A Challenger Adept can challenge Adepts, Challenger Adepts,
and Champions. (Try not to challenge down, though. Besides being unsportsmanlike and
making everyone mad, it isn't advantageous to your warriors. They need to fight more
experienced warriors so they will learn.)
4. Are your warriors eligible to make challenges? If they didn't fight within
the last two turns, then they can't challenge.
5. Are the warriors they want to fight eligible to receive challenges? If they
didn't fight within the last two turns, then they can't be challenged.
Next, adjust your choices for the maximum likelihood of getting your challenges.
There are several things that will help:
1. Have each of your warriors challenge two different opponents from two
different teams. That way, if the first opponent's team doesn't fight that turn, you
still might get your second challenge.
2. Use your avoids. Have each warrior avoid the teams of whoever you think
might be likely to challenge him. If you can get out of being challenged, that
increases your chance of getting your own challenge through.
3. Don't challenge warriors who didn't fight last turn. The odds are higher
that they won't be fighting this turn.
4. Don't challenge warriors who might be involved in a bloodfeud (either as the
killers, or the avengers). A bloodfeud challenge has priority over all other
challenges.
5. Don't challenge Tournament Victors. A TV challenge has priority over all
other challenges except bloodfeuds. You'll need to do a little research in back
issues of the newsletter to find out who the TVs are.
6. Don't challenge warriors who you know are going to challenge someone else, or
are going to get challenged by someone else. Your challenge has a better chance of
getting through if it is the only challenge to that particular warrior.
7. Don't challenge the "easy pickings." That is, warriors above you who have
way too few fights or very bad records for where they are ranked. They will tend to
get challenged a lot.
8. Don't challenge warriors who are likely to be avoiding your team. This
includes any warrior your team fought within the last two turns.
Well, it sounds like I've eliminated just about everybody, doesn't it? Of course
you can challenge opponents who fit into one or more of those categories; just try to
find ones who don't. Your idea candidate for a challenge is: A warrior ranked
somewhat above your warrior in the same class, or in the next higher class, with a few
more fights than your warrior, and a winning record, who isn't a TV and isn't
currently at war with anyone.
I hope this will be of some help to you.
The Rogue She-Puppy
MAXIMIZING THE DUELMASTERS EXPERIENCE: WHAT THE RULES DIDN'T SAY
When you get your turn results in the mail it is very important that you squeeze
as much enjoyment as possible out of that envelope! I recommend (and also use!) the
following procedures.
First, open the envelope lengthwise with a letter opener. Remove the blue-sheet
BUT DON'T LOOK AT IT! It may tell you that you are broke and owe RSI a lot of money.
Flip it over instead! The blue-sheet will be used as a "hider" when you read the
fight results line by line, so you don't see the end of the fight by mistake and ruin
the excitement.
Remove the rest of the sheets in one smooth maneuver and place the flipped-over
blue-sheet on top of the pile, without looking at anything. You don't want to
accidentally uncover an unexpected replacement rollup. This is a traumatic experience
that should be avoided at all costs, as it indicates that one of your battles didn't
go exactly as planned.
Now you must prepare your room, or whever you are, for the battles. If you are
suicidal, or a lousy manager, or a suicidally lousy manager, remove all sharp objects
from the area. If you happen to manage an entire team of scummy warriors it is okay
to leave a loaded musket nearby.
The next step is to put on music. It definitely adds to the experience to have
your favorite tunes playing in the background, preferably AS LOUD AS YOU CAN GET AWAY
WITH! I christen each new warrior with a song that is his and his alone, and play
that song whenever it is his turn upon the sands. It is a personal choice but I
recommend Judas Priest, Manowar or Metallica. Avoid Abba and Barry Manilow (like I
had to say it). It is also important to match the song length with the expected
length of the fight. Don't choose "The Immigrant Song" for your 21-con Ultra-Scum.
Likewise, don't choose "Stairway to Heaven" for your quick lunger. Finally, sometimes
it is nice to choose an exceptionally violent alternate selection for those
Bloodfeuds.
Now you are almost ready! The final preparatory step (optional) is to prepare a
pot of coffee. Beer also works well, especially on Fridays, but I understand that
some managers are not Well-Suited to that particular beverage. I've heard the Duke
Malibu in Solven drinks goat blood, but mind you this is only a rumor. For the final
touch, try putting on any handy armor you have. Or a loin-cloth. I put on most of my
hockey gear.
The fights are on! The music is loud! The coffee is good! Read the fights
slowly, line by line using your blue-sheet as a guide. Don't go too fast, now. Yell,
"Yeah!" if your warrior scores an especially gruesome hit. Cringe if your warrior
feels the joys of a great axe connecting with his face (that means you, Marilith).
Raise your fist in the air when that total parry realizes that his last shield has
broken! And cry when your favorite gladiator is gravely injured and then takes ten
consecutive war hammer shots to the head...
When the end of the fight comes you will be emotionally drained, so yell out,
"Huzzah!!!" or "Damnnn!!!" or whatever, to take the edge off. When the fighting is
ended take a breather before preparing for the next cycle's fights. Reflect on what
has transpired and make a few notes. You'll be a better person (and manager) for it!
Isn't Duelmasters great?
Brought to you by ICE (the deranged): DM-49 (Vithicar) Rotting Livers (205)
DM-10 (Kolact) Beermacht
DM-22 (Solven) Steel Warriors
DM-24 (Zorpunt) No Escape
Winning With the Average Warrior
Hi! The Master of Anime here... Yeah, yeah, I know, you're all doing a
collective, "Who the Hell is this character?" Well, my claim to fame, if you can call
it that, is that I run Eve, one of the more popular, if not completely unspectacular,
warriors to fight in Alastari. I am a micro-manager (you've heard of mega-managers?
Well, think in reverse) who has been mainly running only one team during my 8+ years
of Duelmasters. This little write-up is aimed towards the less experienced managers,
the ones that can be brainwashed from some of the "How to build the perfect
warrior..." spotlights that tend to appear from time to time.
Many of the "How to build..." spotlights tend to deal with roll-ups that are
quite ideal, but in reality, rarely come out of RSI's number crunching machine,
commonly referred to as "the Roll-Up Gods". There have been a few good articles on
how to design skillful warriors from 'average' roll-ups. Those articles, in my
opinion, are the most helpful to new managers for the simple fact that you will almost
always get an 'average' roll-up. Occasionally, that 'average' roll-up might turn out
to be something special, and that is what I would like to key in on.
I know a lot of managers who will continually DA their warriors until they get
something that is as close to perfect as possible. You know, the warrior with three
or four 17s or the warrior with a couple of 21s or that size 3 or 4 warrior, etc...
If you are a relatively new manager and you are also doing this, I think you are
missing out on one of the more intriguing aspects of this game and that is warrior
development.
Being a micro-manager, I do not have an army of warriors like the mega-managers
do, but I'd like to think that I can hold my own against them (hey, if you're gonna
dream, dream big). Anyway, back to the point. One of my 'average' warriors seems to
have achieved a form of notoriety in Advanced Duelmasters to the extent that even the
ever quiet Mirage (manager of Donatello) has had something to say (it was at the last
Tempe FTF and my warrior, at the end of the 6th or 7th round, was listed as the top
Primus warrior on the tourney list.) Mirage pointed at my warrior on the list and
said, "That, is embarrassing..." I took it as a compliment. In case you're
wondering, my warrior is Akira (the reason I'm writing this article is that I've been
approached many times of late by managers who wanted to see Akira's numbers, thinking
he had some sort of godlike roll-up. I set them straight).
I'm not going to print Akira's numbers in this article for the main reason that I
don't have them with me at this time (it'll probably tick-off a lot of managers whose
warriors Akira has beaten anyway), but I do know this... he has about 30 attribute
increases and only one attribute is in the 20's, that one being WL (he even got gypped
by not getting some skills that you normally think he'd get by raising WL up the
20's). He won't be getting another attribute above 20 for a long, long time. (I
think his next highest attribute is 17... note that this is after the 30 or so
increases...) You should have a pretty good idea how generic this roll-up is... a
roll-up that would probably be DA'd by most managers looking for a good roll-up... a
roll-up that I even said, "I'll run him for kicks, but will probably retire him once
he gets to AD."... a roll-up that entered AD with a less-than-stellar 14-10 record...
a roll-up currently on a 20 fight win streak... a roll-up with three consecutive
Primus TVs.
So, before you give up on that average warrior, think again about giving him a
chance to flourish... he might suprise you as Akira has surprised me. Good luck in
the arena!
M.A., a proud member of GAPPDA
P.S. If you want to know Akira's original roll-up, diplo Anime Legends (Arena 102,
104).
P.P.S. Swift -- We GAPPDA members are NOT slugs!!! At least, I don't think we are...
TWELVE TIPS
A rookie manager asked me a question recently which prompted my "teaching juices"
to flow. I quote: "Just give me a dozen hints, and I'll leave you alone!" Obviously,
his challenge prompted me to organize my thought creating my Twelve Tips.
"Now wait a minute!" I hear you asking. "Why should I read on?" Simply put:
-- If you're an experience manager, you'll want to "clue me in" on other valuable tips
I missed.
-- If you're a "newbie," these tips will enhance your W-L record and compound your
fun.
"But, are they GOOD tips?" you ask. Believe me, fellow opponents, after 5000+
fights, dozens of "tutored pupils," many A.D. warriors, and a rather lofty W-L record,
they're GOOD tips. So here we go, in no particular order.
(I) ASK FOR HELP--Ask RSI about the Sponsor Program. Diplo "good" managers in your
arena. Proclaim your willingness to learn in a personal ad. You'll get some
conversation.
(II) OFFENSIVES FIRST--This is not an easy game, and the basher, lunger, striker can
be readily designed and more easily "mastered." (Whatever that means.) Avoid the most
difficult finessives, such as aimers (AB), rippers (PR), and probably wastes (WS).
Get some confidence first! Most of us old-timers yet struggle with a good aimed-blow.
(III) SKILLS, SKILLS, SKILLS--One of the most prevalent rookie errors is training too
many stats. Skills win fights, and in the long run, you will regret certain stat
raises.
(IV) COLLECT DATA--The more you know about your own warrior (And even with the same
stats, warriors differ) and the more you know about your opponents, the more likely
you can cause something "good" to happen. In the military/political world, we call
this "intelligence." (Clue: ask about a D.M. handbook filled with info.)
(V) PERSONAL ADS--Don't be a jerk! But write some every time. Let me assure you that
an unliked rookie cannot succeed in an arena against the local "Powers-in-control."
You want to create friendly opponents. (When you know what you're doing--then you can
try the jerk routine!)
(VI) TURN SHEET--Accuracy counts. Fill it out perfectly (and legibly) pal! Know what
each section is for. (Reread the instructions.) Many have been the surprised and
frustrated manager who caused his or her own problem! (Even us "megas" blow it now and
then!)
(VII) NO CON--Don't ever (well maybe 1% of the time) add points to constitution on an
offensive rollup. Other attributes may add skills; con won't. (Just wait until you
hear someone shout never add to con--ever. I didn't say that.)
(VIII) ONE WEAPON--For offensives. When you get to finesse styles, you'll understand
why you may want one in your off-hand also. But, almost always carry a backup. (Hands
can be hurt both striking and defending.)
(IX) CHALLENGE/AVOID--Always! A manager's prime purpose is to optimize his warrior's
chances. Challenge those you'll have a good shot at beating and avoid teams who can
cause you the most difficulties. (Challenge warriors--avoid teams.)
(X) ENTER TOURNAMENTS--What a way to acquire skills and experience without impacting
your arena W-L record. Actually, you will create a positive impact in that those
"tournament earnings" are "hidden" from other arena warriors. Plus, tournaments are a
real "rush!"
(XI) FIND A FRIEND--In every arena find at least one "friendly" foe. Share opponent
info. With two, or more, of you sharing, look how much more "intelligence" you'll
have.
(XII) STAY COOL--Don't let any problem (loss, death, personal ad, error, etc.) anger
you. (This is fun, right?) The cool head wins more matches than the emotional one.
So good luck, rookie! We were all in your shoes once. (And for some of us that
was a long, long time ago.)
THE CONSORTIUM
DM 8 Smithsonian (Curator)
DM 11 Bulldogs (Kennelworth)
DM 20 Animal Farm (Mino)
DM 46 Fandils (Fandil the Wise)
(and many, many more)