DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 04/27/2018 Duedate: 05/10/2018
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-503
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
IGGIE THE SCUM
CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
(93-10141) [4-3-1,56]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY IGGIE THE SCUM
CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
(93-10141) [4-3-1,56]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
IGGIE THE SCUM IGGIE THE SCUM
CLOAK WARRIORS (1737) CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
(93-10141) [4-3-1,56] (93-10141) [4-3-1,56]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. CLOAK WARRIORS (1737) 54
2. BASH BROS DL (1744) 41 DYSERAY (312)
3. CARD SHARKS! (1743) 17 Unchartered Team
4. CROM'S CHOSEN (1741) 0
BASH BROS DL (1744)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*BASH BROS DL (1744) 7 3 0 70.0 1/ 1*CLOAK WARRIORS (1737) 9 1 2
2/ 2*CLOAK WARRIORS (1737) 19 16 3 54.3 2/ 2*BASH BROS DL (1744) 7 3 0
3/ 3*CARD SHARKS! (1743) 4 6 1 40.0 3/ 4*CARD SHARKS! (1743) 4 6 1
4- 4*CROM'S CHOSEN (1741) 6 14 0 30.0 4- 5*CROM'S CHOSEN (1741) 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
Basics of Strategy, part 1
Lots of articles focus on how to make the best warrior of a certain style, but fewer
articles describe the magic boxes in your strategy sheet and what numbers to put in
them to win win win. I attempt to give managers some guidance. Abbreviations:
OE=Offensive Effort, AL=Activity Level, KD=Kill Desire.
Most of this series of articles will focus on OE and AL and not as much on tactics,
but I will give counters to each strategy. A future article (or articles) will talk
about weapon selection.
Caveat: This article is largely how Assur thinks of strategy and not everything in it
is proven or scientific fact.
The first thing to consider is how you want your warrior to win. There are three main
warrior types. Pure Offensive, Pure Defensive, and Hybrid. Once you know that
answer, you have a better idea on how you want to fight.
OE: How much effort your warrior wants to put into attacking. For many warriors,
finding your 'favorite' is a goal. The advantages of using your favorite OE is pretty
high. But sometimes, depending on how you fight, you'd rather simply fix the OE to
certain numbers. More on OE on the warrior types.
AL: How much movement you put into the fight. Things Assur believes: Higher AL: More
Initiative/Decisiveness, More Dodging. Lower AL: More Parry. The advantages of using
your favorite AL are not nearly as clear as using your favorite OE. For many
warriors, simply using 10AL is often better than your favorites. Unless you are a
parry style, 1 AL tends to not be very effective (Unless you're fighting a pure
defensive)
Higher #'s on both OE and AL use endurance faster.
KD: A note to the arena master on your warrior's willingness to keep the fight going.
Higher=Greater chance for a death in the fight. Lower=Lesser chance for a death in the
fight. Recommended for most warriors to keep it between 3 and 8 inclusive. 9-10
makes warrior fight somewhat strangely and while you will kill more, it affects your
abilities in detrimental ways. Lots of theories on what KD actually does. Assur has
no real clue, so he simply recommends 3-8.
Favorites: Every warrior has a 'favorite' rhythm. You find out your approximate
favorite rhythm when you graduate. Many people try to 'figure' it out before they
graduate their warriors to ADM. You can't be sure you've got the right rhythm, but
sometimes you'll find that sweet spot. There are other articles that talk about
possible ranges per style.
Pure Offensive:
These are by far the easiest types of warriors to master and create a strategy for.
The tried and true strategy is 10 OE, 10 AL. Go out fast and hard! Feel free to
modify with Lunge, Decise, Bash, or Slash Tactics. This strategy is very fast, very
effective, and very taxing. But most fights are over quick, so endurance isn't
typically a factor.
10-10-x Decise Tactic is the fastest strategy you can use.
If endurance is a factor for your warrior or because your expected opponent is going
to try for a longer fight to wear you out, start lowering those numbers. Assur
usually lowers AL first, then OE. After minute 1, Assur lowers AL very fast in the
fight.
Assur rarely runs pure offensives lower than 7 OE, but runs virtually all AL's in
different situations / with different warriors.
Question: Would it be better to try and find my warrior's favorites than to run with
the tried and true strategy?
Answer: Some warriors do fight better at somewhat lower numbers. But for a pure
offensive, 10-10 is tough to beat. Assur has not had success with pure offensives
without at least one of OE or AL on the high side (8+). The other is typically
moderate or higher (5+).
Armor: Usually light or none. There are exceptions (tank offensives) but because of
the endurance issues, Assur typically goes ALE or none for armor and no higher than S
for helm (maybe a H on a warrior he really loves and doesn't want to die).
Countering the tried and true strategy.
Option 1: If you can't beat them, join them. It is always an option to try and
counter with the same strategy. A huge factor in attacking first is 'luck,' so
countering with the tried and true strategy gives at least a chance to 'luck' into a
win.
Option 2: Counter Tactic. If your opponent is using the Lunge tactic or Decise
tactic, you can attempt to counter using the 'counter' tactic. Response is the
counter tactic to Decise. Dodge is the counter tactic to lunge. Counter tactics are
not automatic wins, but they do work.
Assur's best results with the response tactic is to use standard pure offensive
numbers (5-10 OE/5-10 AL), wear armor, and use the response tactic in both minute 1
and desperation. When I say 'best results,' I mean exactly that. Response is a
fickle mistress. I've seen huge upsets using response as well as fights where my
opponent ignored my 'counter strategy.'
For the Dodge counter tactic, high AL, max of moderate armor and dodge.
Option 3: Wait for an opportunity. Wear some armor and either fight on favorites or
use the standard pure offensive numbers (5-10/5-10). This works best if you have some
con and your opponent isn't just going to thrash you up.
Option 4: The fancy riposte tactic. The riposte tactic is tricky, because you have
to successfully parry or dodge and then you have the chance to riposte. Assur uses
the riposte tactic warriors who have good defenses but don't have good riposte.
Option 5: Avoid! You will most likely encounter at some point a warrior that comes
out really fast and either starts a string of crit attacks and/or hits hard enough to
simple thrash you up fast. As much as you may want to stroke your ego by beating the
best, some times it is better to concede that your opposing manager has found a
special warrior that you just shouldn't mess around with. Most commonly, these
warriors are Strikers or Aimed Blows, but you may encounter Slashers or Bashers (or
even another style) that you don't want to mess with. Duel2 has evolved and there are
a lot of managers that are looking for and trying to create monster offensives.
Sometimes, these warriors will have lots of tournament experience and learning that
doesn't show on their record (See that 5-0 record that is the Duelmaster? He could
easily have 20 or more fights from tournaments, and typically 21 wit to go with those
fights).
SPY REPORT
Greetings warriors! It is I, Zontani Sharp Eyes, here to bring report of the
clash and bustle of the weekly NOBLISH ISLAND games. My praise to BASH BROS DL for
their 4-1-0 week this time out. Indeed, it was a skillfully fought round deserving
of notice! TRUMP caught the eye of many in the gladiatorial commission as it
skillfully bested EMBEZZLING SCRIBE and was awarded 20 points in recognition. In one
of the week's more notable duels, PHANTOM INJURY put down ROOK, causing it to lose 7
points of recognition in the process. Although VENEMOUS CONCUBINE made a valiant
effort, it did not suffice to topple the reign of victorious IGGIE THE SCUM. Would
you believe that over half of the old women in NOBLISH ISLAND seem to feel that they
could fight better than you gladiators?
Many and various are the arts of battle. In NOBLISH ISLAND "art" is a word that
has long since passed from the language! My inside sources tell me that the team to
beat in NOBLISH ISLAND these days is CLOAK WARRIORS. At least, most blades in town
are looking to avoid them. If you didn't look down dark alleys you'd have been hard
pressed to find any of CARD SHARKS! last week. Busy avoiding CLOAK WARRIORS?
Is not Death a warrior's foremost adviser? Warriors, may this counselor stand
ready at your right hand forever! Fate is a fickle mistress. She showers the
miserable with fortune but sets enemies against the victorious. Remember this!
If it were not for my skills as a spy I would have been mugged three times
already in NOBLISH ISLAND. Nice atmosphere you have here! More than a sharp eye
must I keep, indeed a stout pair of legs must I keep as well! The endless paths of
Alastari await me! Till next we meet remember - the pen is mightier than the sword,
but a maul is a different story!-- Zontani Sharp Eyes
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
IGGIE THE SCUM 10141 4 3 1 56 CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
RIVERSIDE SHAKEPERE 10142 4 3 0 43 CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
AQUA-KNOT 10144 6 1 0 31 CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
SOCCER-PANTS 10140 4 3 2 30 CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PHANTOM INJURY 10199 2 0 0 23 BASH BROS DL (1744)
TRUMP 10190 1 1 0 21 CARD SHARKS! (1743)
TOOL 10200 1 1 0 18 BASH BROS DL (1744)
CRUSHED HOPE 10196 2 0 0 17 BASH BROS DL (1744)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
FAVORITE PLAYER 10197 1 1 0 11 BASH BROS DL (1744)
HASSAN 10143 1 6 0 9 CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
CRAZY 8'S 10189 1 1 1 8 CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
DUECE 10191 1 1 0 6 CARD SHARKS! (1743)
FULL ROSTER 10198 1 1 0 5 BASH BROS DL (1744)
ROOK 10188 1 1 0 4 CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-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)
POKER 10187 0 2 0 2 CARD SHARKS! (1743)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
CONVICTED THIEF 0 0 0 CRAZY 8'S 10189 503 NONE
CULT MEMBER 0 0 0 SOCCER-PANTS 10140 503 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Mr. Assur, thank you very much for your prayers and well-wishes for Johnny Appleseed.
He is resting well, now, in a Nursing Home on The Isle. They say he was full of prunes
rather than apples. -- Dealer, Consortium Rep
Whoa, Assur! You thumped me 2-3. What a brute you are! -- Dealer
Crushed Hope, well, you sure crushed mine. I hope they send you all back down to the
minors. -- Crazy 8's
Phantom Injury, yeah, sure. You looked pretty darn quick and strong to me, you lazy
bat boy. -- Trump
Favorite Player, you are NOT mine!, you loser! -- Duece (who shoulda been a deuce)
Tool, har, har, har. I rooked ya! -- Rook
Full Roster, that was really not so fair of you to take a whole roster against me.
Your manager, Assur, is like that, I hear. -- Poker
Well, that round felt like trying to draw to an inside straight. Sorta helpless. --
Dealer
I will try and get my next style article in next time. My view of the striker. The
final style I will address is the basher, my favorite style, a style I have studied
and played more than any other. -- Assur
In the mean time, I hope to beat up the false Dealer (everyone knows that the real
Dealer quit playing years ago) some more! -- Assur
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
DUECE was bested by CRUSHED HOPE in a 2 minute amateur's Challenge fight.
IGGIE THE SCUM vanquished VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a 2 minute brutal uneven Title battle.
SOCCER-PANTS slew CULT MEMBER in a 2 minute duel.
RIVERSIDE SHAKEPERE devastated CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
HASSAN was overpowered by TOOL in a crowd pleasing 1 minute gruesome mismatched match.
AQUA-KNOT overpowered FULL ROSTER in a 2 minute one-sided struggle.
POKER was devastated by FAVORITE PLAYER in a 2 minute one-sided competition.
ROOK was handily defeated by PHANTOM INJURY in a 1 minute uneven melee.
CRAZY 8'S dispatched CONVICTED THIEF in a 6 minute novice's duel.
TRUMP vanquished EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 4 SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 - 0 100 |
|AIMED BLOW 3 WALL OF STEEL 5 - 2 - 0 71 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 AIMED BLOW 22 - 11 - 1 67 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 STRIKING ATTACK 26 - 21 - 5 55 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 14 - 1 52 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 TOTAL PARRY 6 - 6 - 1 50 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 BASHING ATTACK 20 - 26 - 0 43 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 6 - 8 - 1 43 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 0 PARRY-LUNGE 4 - 6 - 2 40 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 5 - 0 38 |
Turn 503 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 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 BASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 3 WALL OF STEEL
WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW
AIMED BLOW 2 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY
BASHING ATTACK 2 - 2 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 PARRY-LUNGE
1 STRIKING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
AIMED BLOW IGGIE THE SCUM 10141 4 3 1 56 CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is IGGIE THE SCUM 10141. The most popular warrior this
turn was IGGIE THE SCUM 10141. The ten other most popular fighters were TOOL 10200,
FULL ROSTER 10198, PHANTOM INJURY 10199, RIVERSIDE SHAKEPERE 10142, POKER 10187,
DUECE 10191, CRUSHED HOPE 10196, SOCCER-PANTS 10140, HASSAN 10143, and AQUA-KNOT
10144.
The least popular fighter this week was CRAZY 8'S 10189. The other ten least popular
fighters were ROOK 10188, TRUMP 10190, FAVORITE PLAYER 10197, AQUA-KNOT 10144, HASSAN
10143, SOCCER-PANTS 10140, CRUSHED HOPE 10196, DUECE 10191, POKER 10187, and
RIVERSIDE SHAKEPERE 10142.
TOURNAMENT PRIZE CLARIFICATION: SPRING 2018 MAIL-IN
The prize for this most recent tournament was a Clone / Twin prize:
One potion, which when applied on any Natural Warrior, dead or alive, which will
either make a Clone or Twin of that warrior at birth. A clone is one exact copy of
the warrior; a Twin may be a different style and will be rolled ten times and the best
shall be chosen. The new warrior may be added to any team. A Natural Warrior is
defined as a warrior that was not created with the use or a prize, nor has ever had a
prize used on it at any time in the past. Warriors may be cloned only once by their
own manager, and once by another. The owner of the warrior that is cloned or twinned
must give permission. Please remember, you must use all prizes within six months of
the tourney when they were won.
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)