DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 07/07/2017 Duedate: 07/20/2017
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-482
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
OLIVE
ODD SQUAD (1712)
(93-10061) [3-1-0,43]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY OLIVE
ODD SQUAD (1712)
(93-10061) [3-1-0,43]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
LADYHAWKEYE MILFORD, MA
MISFIT KINGS (1722) HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
(93-10044) [4-4-0,22] (93-10090) [1-0-0,9]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. HOME SWEET HOME (1728) 50
2. ODD SQUAD (1712) 23 S.O.N. (28)
3. MISFIT KINGS (1722) 20 Unchartered Team
4. BASH BROS APPLES (1727) 18
5. HI NO UMI (1715) 2 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 0*HOME SWEET HOME (1728) 5 0 0 100 1/ 1*LEGIONS OF FATE (1724) 8 7 2
2/ 3*ODD SQUAD (1712) 16 13 0 55.2 2/ 0*HOME SWEET HOME (1728) 5 0 0
3/ 2*LEGIONS OF FATE (1724) 18 17 3 51.4 3/ 5*MISFIT KINGS (1722) 4 6 0
4/ 5*MISFIT KINGS (1722) 16 24 0 40.0 4/ 4*ODD SQUAD (1712) 3 2 0
5/ 0*BASH BROS APPLES (1727) 2 3 0 40.0 5/ 0*BASH BROS APPLES (1727) 2 3 0
6/ 0*HI NO UMI (1715) 1 8 0 11.1 6/ 0*HI NO UMI (1715) 0 4 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
WARRIOR & NEW TEAM DESIGN
HOW A DUELMASTER VET 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 with
you on Noblish Island
4. Summary and comments relevant to those designs
First you might ask, "Who is writing this?" And I answer that I am Hobo, manager
of HOME SWEET HOME, a member of The Consortium, who is 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 too. (Free advice!) 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 11 (min), need 15,
17, 21 for skill breaks
4. 21 WT, 21DF, and 21 WL are coveted. The 21DF makes an aimed-blow almost
inevitable. Most managers automatically think Aimed-Blow when they can get 21
deftness. Not always, but usually. If not an aimer, then 11 DF is really what most
designs need.
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 reasonable min for offensives. MUST have some WL. Some warriors can do
ok with 7 or 8. Barely.
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 an intended strategy to enhanced winning. Burners require high WL
as stat raises are dependent on WL.)
12. However, there is not a thing wrong with making a burner.
13. Have variation in styles in arenas. This allows for better challenging, avoiding,
and matchups. (Adding also fun and learning through variety.)
14. Design to the numbers, then choose style, rather than predetermine style, then
design.
15. 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 HOME SWEET HOME 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 -- 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/aimer), PR (parry riposte/ripper), PS (parry
strike/piker), PL (parry lunge/plunger), and maybe WS (wall of steel/waste).
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, Hobo) of this
HOME SWEET HOME team just started on Noblish Island.
An initial comment this roll up sheet and roll up sheets, in general. It can be
hardest to design with radical numbers. Unusually low ST or WL or super big SZ usually
requires the most design manipulation and variance from the design principles above.
Very high WT and WL and/or sometimes DF, plus very small SZ are treasured! Hence my
consternation when I received this rollup sheet with a 3 and a 5 ST plus a 3 and a 4
WL Yikes, you might say, but I am sure I can make winners of them!
13,5,12,7,9,14,10 to 17,5,12,11,10,18,11 BA (basher) Design to strengths (concept
#1), which means I add four each to ST and SP. The remaining six points, I add 4 to WT
taking it to 11. DF gets 1 to 11. (Read concept 4 above.) And the final could be
dumped either on CN or WL, so I chose WL. (Read concept 7.) Note the adherence to
concepts 5 and 6 also. This is clearly an offensive type warrior and I choose to make
it a BA (basher).
16,9,7,12,4,9,13 to 21,9,7,17,8,9,13 ST (striker). Looking at the rollup, I see
ST, WT and DF are the highest stats. Note concept #4 comments about DF. So if I employ
concept #1, #3, and #4, I max ST to 21 and up WT to 17, but don't increase DF. I add
the other 4 to WL (Concept #6.), wishing I had 5 to add. Notice that concepts #2 and
#5 have also been taken into consideration. The end result is a pretty nice and
interesting offensive, and I choose striker. (He has a slightly better than 50/50
chance of getting great or even tremendous damage, but I may have to be satisfied with
good.)
3,10,11,14,12,9,11 to 9,10,11,17,17,9,11 SL (slasher). It would be hard to pass
up a 17WT/17/WL otherwise solid warrior! Concepts #1, #2, #3, #5, and #7 come into
play adding 3 to WT and 5 to WL. Next, noting the last line in concept #4, I add one
to DF. Six are left for ST, (Check out concept #5.) and I have a warrior that could be
one of many styles (LU, PL, PR, PS, SL, ST, even an offensive TP.) I chose slasher.
5,13,17,9,3,10,13 to 5,13,17,11,7,14,17 ST (striker) This could be defined as a
just plain ugly recruit. Why? It is overly large and has weak wit and low will;
indeed, no WL at all! Ugh! But applying principle #1 gives it the best chance for
success. And since I know the WL will be low, it will be an offensive and concept #7
applies too, so I emphasize SP and DF adding 4 each. I also add 4 to WL (check concept
#6). Concept #4 causes me to add the last 2 points to WT. It is true that this warrior
will learn minimally and has a low chance of training stats. But it's speed and high
decisiveness, coupled with decent damage (due to size), should get it a lot of early
wins. Making it a striker further enhances the decisiveness. I would have preferred
more variety in styles (This is the 2nd striker.) but understanding concept #14 is
quite important.
11,12,10,12,9,7,9 to 13,17,10,17,9,7,11 BA. This could easily have been an
11,12,10,17,15,8,11 LU. But, remember that I suggest one scummy type warrior on the
team, and adding to strengths, which are CN and WT, led me to a basher, commonly
called a tank basher. 5 points each to CN and WT, and 2 to ST, all adhere to concept
#1. Concept #4 leads me to adding 2 to DF, and I have a high CN tank. Other than TPs,
I think bashers make the best tanks.
Good luck competing against HOME SWEET HOME warriors. I suspect this team will
struggle a little to meet the 60% objective and each warrior will have to 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 = 17 (Looks OK. Strength is not usually this high, but with two very low to start
and one opportunity for 21 ST, it seems reasonable. )
CN = 5 (Note how principle was applied as all the warriors, are offensive types,
albeit one is a tank.)
SZ = 0 (Cannot add to size.)
WT = 19 (1 of 2 most valuable stats. Adding lots of points here is a good sign.)
WL = 14 (1 of 2 most important stats.)
SP = 8 (SP and CN are usually least added stats.)
DF = 7 (DF additions are often quite variable and this amount looks good for this
group, which has average starting DF at 11.)
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.)
-- Hobo, HOME SWEET HOME
Consortium affiliated
SPY REPORT
Greetings, Warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND. Allow this humble servant Novgorodny Vir
to give you a respite from the fights in the form of this Spyreport. Like a new team
fighting for the first time and entering the official rankings, HOME SWEET HOME got
5-0-0 to come in 2nd. HOME SWEET HOME had cause to celebrate, after LENEXA, KS got
14 points by beating KORLAN. Win some, lose some. Speaking of which, OLIVE was
winsome, after beating LADYHAWKEYE and seeing her lose 9 points. A certain someone
saw ANNE BONNY at The Warty Toad with the shakes, and now she fails to show up to
defend hers throne. What a pathetic slob! What can be a greater victory? OLIVE has
taken hers place as the top, as NOBLISH ISLAND's new Duelmaster. So who's the team
that's been walking into taverns last week and ordering milk? Sounds like a PR stunt
to me.
A Zenmaster once told me, 'Does not the spinning wheel turn? And do not the
little birds cry out?' Any ideas? Perhaps the warriors of LEGIONS OF FATE should
take up some hobbies, as they are the most avoided team... As a woman of good
breeding scorns the "warriors" of MISFIT KINGS, so did that sorry team shy from
LEGIONS OF FATE If challenges were horses, LUTHIEN could open up a fast food joint!
The moving sword slashes, and having slashed, moves on... Justice was served as
BEOWULFISH fought LUTHIEN in bloodfeud. Well done, MISFIT KINGS! Ask not for whom
the sword slashes; it slashes for thee.
Leave me now, you base fools! Keep those sands bloody and the buzzards fat! Do
not despair! I shall return!-- Novgorodny Vir
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
OLIVE 10061 3 1 0 43 ODD SQUAD (1712)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-ANNE BONNY 10030 7 3 1 66 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-LONG JOHN SILVER 10063 6 1 1 52 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
-CAPTAIN KIDD 10034 7 3 1 42 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
-BLACKBEARD 10031 7 3 0 37 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
JINXEE 9988 6 1 0 37 ODD SQUAD (1712)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BEOWULFISH 10043 4 4 0 33 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
CZAR URLIK 10075 3 1 0 27 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
ODDO 10060 3 1 0 26 ODD SQUAD (1712)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SYMGARA 10056 4 3 1 25 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
LADYHAWKEYE 10044 4 4 0 22 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
NIKODEMUS 10076 2 2 0 17 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
LUTHIEN 10059 4 3 1 16 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
DUNCAN 10058 4 3 1 16 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
-HENRY MORGAN 10032 2 8 0 14 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
LENEXA, KS 10092 1 0 0 14 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
OAK 10062 3 1 0 12 ODD SQUAD (1712)
EASLEY, SC 10091 1 0 0 12 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
KORLAN 10077 3 1 0 10 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
UNRIPE 10086 1 0 0 10 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
KOKOMO, IN 10093 1 0 0 10 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
MILFORD, MA 10090 1 0 0 9 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
MS. O 10073 1 2 0 9 ODD SQUAD (1712)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
RACINE, WI 10089 1 0 0 5 HOME SWEET HOME (1728)
SOFT 10085 1 0 0 5 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
-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)
SANCHOO 10006 0 2 0 2 HI NO UMI (1715)
-YOSHI 10007 0 2 0 2 HI NO UMI (1715)
ONNA NO KO 10009 0 2 0 2 HI NO UMI (1715)
PESTICIDES 10087 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
QUEEN LIZ 10095 0 1 0 1 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
SOUR 10088 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
ROTTEN 10084 0 1 0 1 BASH BROS APPLES (1727)
-KIMIKO 10005 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
CHUKA ZUFU 10094 0 1 0 1 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
OTOKO 10008 1 1 0 HI NO UMI 1715 SYMGARA 10056 481
BASILISCUS 10049 0 3 0 LIZARD DEN 1723 DUNCAN 10058 479
SIR TALON 10046 3 4 0 MISFIT KINGS 1722 LUTHIEN 10059 481 JUST REVENGED
PERSONAL ADS
To my fellow managers I bring grave news. War has beset my homeland and all warriors
have been recalled. My apologies to all who were looking forward to being defeted at
the hands of my fighters. We will return in time. -- The Lizard Den
Howdy, all. I am sure happy The Consortium hired me to manage the Home Sweet Home
stable. They ain't much, but, then, neither am I. But I know some things, and I do
welcome any questions about this here D2 you all might be asking. I do. So ......
welcome all you rookies and newbies, and a salute to my good friend, Assur.
-- Hobo
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
BEOWULFISH devastated LUTHIEN in a 1 minute mismatched Bloodfeud fight.
LADYHAWKEYE was vanquished by OLIVE in a 1 minute uneven Challenge Title battle.
CZAR URLIK narrowly defeated NIKODEMUS in a 4 minute beginner's Challenge fight.
ODDO was viciously subdued by DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 3 minute fight.
JINXEE devastated DUNCAN in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
SYMGARA viciously subdued MS. O in a crowd pleasing 1 minute bloody match.
ONNA NO KO was overpowered by EASLEY, SC in a action packed 1 minute uneven melee.
SANCHOO slimly lost to MILFORD, MA in a action packed 3 minute gruesome novice's duel.
OAK luckily beat PESTICIDES in a 5 minute gruesome novice's fight.
KORLAN was savagely defeated by LENEXA, KS in a exciting 1 minute novice's fight.
ROTTEN was handily defeated by KOKOMO, IN in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
SOFT subdued QUEEN LIZ in a 2 minute novice's brawl.
UNRIPE handily defeated CHUKA ZUFU in a 6 minute gruesome one-sided conflict.
SOUR was defeated by RACINE, WI in a 1 minute gruesome beginner's struggle.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 5 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 4 - 0 71 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 4 LUNGING ATTACK 21 - 13 - 1 62 |
|WALL OF STEEL 4 TOTAL PARRY 25 - 19 - 2 57 |
|AIMED BLOW 3 AIMED BLOW 33 - 27 - 1 55 |
|TOTAL PARRY 3 BASHING ATTACK 37 - 32 - 0 54 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 29 - 28 - 2 51 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 SLASHING ATTACK 12 - 15 - 1 44 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 11 - 23 - 0 32 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 4 - 11 - 1 27 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 6 - 0 0 |
Turn 482 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:
BASHING ATTACK 4 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 BASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 2 - 1 SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 AIMED BLOW
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 1 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 3 2 WALL OF STEEL
STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 2 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 2 1 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY
PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
BASHING ATTACK OLIVE 10061 3 1 0 43 ODD SQUAD (1712)
AIMED BLOW JINXEE 9988 6 1 0 37 ODD SQUAD (1712)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is LADYHAWKEYE 10044. The most popular warrior this
turn was MILFORD, MA 10090. The ten other most popular fighters were NIKODEMUS
10076, SYMGARA 10056, EASLEY, SC 10091, PESTICIDES 10087, OLIVE 10061, LENEXA, KS
10092, BEOWULFISH 10043, CZAR URLIK 10075, ODDO 10060, and SOFT 10085.
The least popular fighter this week was CHUKA ZUFU 10094. The other ten least
popular fighters were ROTTEN 10084, OAK 10062, ONNA NO KO 10009, DUNCAN 10058,
LADYHAWKEYE 10044, LUTHIEN 10059, SOUR 10088, QUEEN LIZ 10095, KOKOMO, IN 10093, and
KORLAN 10077.
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.