DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 08/13/2021    Duedate: 08/26/2021

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93    TURN 589

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

GREED
BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)
(93-10621) [6-2-0,76]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              GREED
                               BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)
                               (93-10621) [6-2-0,76]

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

BAD FAITH                      FAREN END
BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)           THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)
(93-10622) [5-3-0,53]          (93-10631) [3-6-0,16]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

FLOWERS! (1816)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. PHARANOMICON (1823)           33 
2. BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)          29    THE NEST (286)
3. SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)        26    Unchartered Team
4. BEER BELLIES (1821)           25 
5. FINAL FANTASY (1819)          23    PHARANOMICON (1823)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 0*PHARANOMICON (1823)        4   0  1 100.   1/ 1*FLOWERS! (1816)          11  4 0
 2/ 0*TMNT (1822)                1   0  0 100.   2/ 3*BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      8  7 0
 3/ 1*PHOENIX FORCE (1811)      11   4  0 73.3   3/ 2*VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  7  8 0
 4/ 3*FLOWERS! (1816)           23  12  0 65.7   4/ 6*BEER BELLIES (1821)       6  9 1
 5/ 4*BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      23  17  0 57.5   5/ 4*THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    6  9 0
 6/ 2*VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  13  12  0 52.0   6/ 5*PHOENIX FORCE (1811)      5  1 0
 7/ 5*THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    18  27  0 40.0   7/ 7*SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    5  8 0
 8/ 6*BEER BELLIES (1821)        6   9  1 40.0   8/ 0*PHARANOMICON (1823)       4  0 1
 9/ 0*FINAL FANTASY (1819)       2   3  0 40.0   9/ 0*FINAL FANTASY (1819)      2  3 0
10/ 7*SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)     5  11  0 31.2  10/ 0*TMNT (1822)               1  0 0
11/ 0*LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)     0   5  0  0.0  11/ 0*LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    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

                                My Nightmare Come True
                      by Palinc Kalverus, mgr. of Final Fantasy

Lady Sheila Greywand told me it would be great, an awesome new experience... to manage 
a team of warriors at Noblish Island. Oh my Gods of Ghea was she wrong!

First, she sapped my magical energy. So all I can cast now are mundane spells. Does 
anybody need a light? Or something no bigger than a mug of ale moved? That comes very 
handy, being able to still drink, when I have to fill out all of these loan requests 
because my lunatics... sorry, "Warriors" aren't making squat while they train for the 
arena.

Next, she stuck me with four promising misfits and one outright insane prospect. He 
keeps ranting about "sin" and large chickens that they ride like horses. That one is 
hopeless, I wonder if the Dark Arena could knock him back from his fantasy. The other 
four I hope will bring me... uh, I mean, the team, much renown and riches to purchase 
better equipment. If not better equipment, maybe for a ticket off this waterlogged 
island. I could only drink so much at the Puking Pug (was that the name of this 
tavern? Oh well... no one cares).

And lastly, a word of advice. If you ever find yourself in the presence of the radiant 
Enchantress herself, Lady Greywand, DO NOT suggest that she should loosen up, get over 
her ex-lovers, and have a drink with you... well at least not in the same sentence. 
She just might bind your magic and force you to manage teams at Noblish Island FOREVER 
and EVER and EVER. Damn this one time will be a nightmare, I give my deepest sympathy 
to those poor souls.

I hope this first week in the arena isn't really final or a fantasy. They must win, if 
I ever want to get back to the Academy of the Eye. Wish me luck. May the Gods be in 
your favor.

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

                   CONSORTIUM RESPONSES TO RECENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Asking questions in the Noblish Newsletter or via diplo note are both great ways to 
get information and to better learn the game. Kudos to those who do so.

Note 1: A few of these questions were asked some time ago, but several (most) are from 
recent DM93 newsletters. (e.g. D2 Arena93 NL588)

Note 2: The following style coding is used: AB, BA, LU, PL PR, PS, SL, ST, WS, TP. 
(And occasionally nicknames aimer, basher, lunger, plunger piker, ripper striker, 
waste, scum.)

1. Should I take the Red Book and the CIC papers for their word? Do I need them?

The Red Book is mostly helpful, occasionally misleading, and often called The Red Book 
of Lies. Use it carefully. The CIC, available in the Noblish Isle arena, is a 
compilation of empirical data by many managers working together. It can be "trusted", 
but it has a minor error here and there. The best information is available on line. 
Realize this:  There is nothing out there which is perfect. Note: ALL newbies in 
Noblish Isle should request the free CIC package from RSI. It will be invaluable.

2. If you put your fighter's favorite weapon on their side, as a backup weapon, will    
   they still grab it, even though they have a weapon in their hand?

Backups are interesting. If you put a backup in the primary hand and the warrior is 
already holding a primary weapon, he will not try to pull the backup. If you put a 
backup in the off-hand, and he already is holding an off-hand weapon, he will not try 
to pull the backup. (E.g. primary backups ONLY go in the primary hand and off-hand 
backups ONLY go in the off-hand.) Realize, though, that a warrior will not 
automatically draw a backup when that hand is empty. The draw is dependent on many 
things like luck rolls, heat of the action status, his deftness and/or coordination 
etc. He most will likely, but not always, try to draw the backup.

3. When you go to ADM, do you still "burn" skills or is that only during BASIC

Any time, whether basic or ADM, you raise a stat which contains skills, you are 
burning those skills. Burnt skills are not really a "bad" thing, especially in basic 
where any skill one can get is a good thing. Burning skills is only a potential bad 
thing for warriors who plan to earn all twenty skills of a type.

4. Can I down-challenge? What is down-challenging, anyway?

A down-challenge occurs when one challenges a warrior lower in recognition points than 
oneself. There is nothing in the "rules" which precludes this. In some arenas and some 
circles (usually those Andorian leaning) down-challenging is considered 
unsportsmanlike and a "no no". In others, especially Delarquan-leaning, it is 
considered perfectly appropriate. Note: Some believe the recognition ranking system is 
a farce or near farce. Consortium members feel it is a very appropriate rating system.

5. When should I DA a warrior?

That is a very difficult question to answer, because the real answer is that DAing is 
a very personal decision. The Consortium very, very seldom uses the DA, thinking that 
any warrior can win; there is much to be learned from running "difficult" warriors; 
and being unwilling to take that nearly automatic loss to the record. Other managers 
and groups DA freely. Perhaps these are the most common reasons? "... I do not know 
how to/cannot make that warrior win. It is an ugly design. I want only godlings in my 
stables. The warrior is greatly hosed. It is just not a good enough design. It is not 
a tournament quality warrior. It just will not win. Etc. ..." So, there is no real 
answer for when you SHOULD DA; rather it is a question of when or if you WANT TO DA.

6. What makes a "scum" really a scum?

"Scum" tends to apply to a warrior that wins by absorbing hit point damage, wearing an 
opponent out rather than damaging him, and seldom swinging (and often not even 
carrying) a real weapon. Shields tend to be a scum's best friend. While the Total 
Parry style is considered the best scum style, other styles can scum. Very high CN, 
WL, and ST plus near zero offensiveness, are common attributes for a scum.

7. Can a high will "15, 17" and a low wit "9" make it to ADM?

Most certainly warriors as such can graduate. (Make it to ADM) Almost any design can 
make it to ADM. The Consortium finds a 3 will warrior to be the most difficult. Here 
are a few of the most recent of the 1000+ Consortium graduates which fit your 
question:

     11-5-11-11-9-16-21 AB
     11-16-14-5-16-9-13 TP
     11-16-15-7-16-5-14 BA
     10-10-10-4-17-9-14 TP

All graduated with winning records.
Of course, it would be "easier to manage and graduate warriors with better designs 
than these.

8. What numbers should I watch out for, and where should I place them to make my    
   warriors more lucky?

We Consortium Managers do not believe one can make or design luck into a warrior. WE 
know of no model for such. Luck or blessing or hosing is just that, the luck of the 
roll.

9. What do I need to do to make my fighter want to wield two weapons, rather than one?

All, or virtually all, warriors can wield a weapon in each hand. All it takes is 
listing a primary and a secondary weapon on the strategy sheet. If the question is 
"how to get a warrior to wield two weapons without a penalty message then you must 
make sure your warrior has the strength, size, and deftness to do so. A warrior may 
not wield a two-handed weapon (such as a HL or a GS, etc.) in one hand, hence cannot 
wield two such weapons together. The real question might be, should a warrior have a 
weapon in each hand? Our answer is usually "no". Having only one weapon can allow a 
warrior to use certain weapons two-handed (e.g. BS) making it more powerful. Having 
one weapon means less carry/weight. Having one only means the warrior will not attempt 
to swing with a "lesser" weapon. (Off-hand is lesser than primary.) BUT, some warriors 
do better with a shield to parry alongside a true weapon. There are other reasons to 
wield two, but I rate wielding one best in 80%+ of the circumstances.

10. How can I kill?

Killing can be more complicated than it seems. To kill, first, you have to win. A 
warrior can be killed outright by another warrior. Also a losing warrior can go to the 
infirmary and randomly die. Approximately 2% of all warriors that lose a battle can 
die randomly. While that "kill" was somewhat randomly caused, it still goes on the 
winner's record, and the loser is dead. So, DO NOT LOSE. It can be life threatening. 
Direct killing is highly dependent on the death die roll. High kill desires and aiming 
for vitals (HE, AB, CH) optimize the warrior's potential to kill. A blow to a vital, 
whether aimed there or not, may (die roll) cause the hitter to get a death intent 
statement. A direct kill will not occur without getting this death statement. (Example 
statement: "wants to be the only one to come out of this fight alive".) Death after 
the statement is dependent on many things, some, dependent on the loser's makeup. 
After a death intent, the loser may die, or the loser may give up, or, the seemingly 
loser can even fight back and possibly win or even kill for a victory. Feel free to 
ask us questions, not only in DM93, or in any arena where you find Consortium folk. We 
like questions. It can make this spotlight longer!

11. What are Bloodgames and DYOs?

Bloodgames are special events that are run periodically. Each team starts with 10 
(ten) warriors, one of each style. These warriors are designed from scratch (DYO = 
design your own)with the normal 84 points and all stats within 3-21. The fights have 
kill possibilities doubled by RSI. If a warrior dies, there is no replacement. The 
idea is to kill, as the three best warriors (must be of different styles) as defined 
by (a) most kills (b) tiebreaker is wins, are then immediately immortalized and moved 
to the ADM-level games. (Just as though graduated to the Isle)All other still alive 
warriors are "deleted" and no longer playable. Some interesting points about the 
Bloodgames are: most warriors are size 3; it is not unusual to have several to many 
warriors quickly killed/eliminated; the only challenging is bloodfeuding. The cost of 
bloodgames is $10 to rollup a team (roll as many as you want, but only run one team) 
and $49 (one time) to play in the arena.

12. What does 0/10/0 mean in defining weapon results?

The Consortium family uses this measure to evaluate weapon results for warriors. The 
first number is the number of Critical attacks, the second the number of swings, the 
third the number of extra value hits. Examples are (using a scimitar): critical -- 
"leaps into the air and takes a furious slash with his scimitar"; swing -- any swing, 
hit or miss; extra value hit -- "what a massive blow"; the idea being, the higher the 
percentage of criticals and extra values, the better the weapon is for that warrior.

13. What are Political Points? (Pps)

Political points are a method of defining how close the warrior is to graduating 
(becoming a Lord Protector) and moving on to The Isle. A warrior acquires 2 Pps for 
each time it is listed in Challenger Champs. It acquires 5 Pps for achieving 
Duelmaster or a Tournament Victor. Typically 17 points are needed for graduation. 
(Note, usually there are other requirements for Lord Protectorship, such as skill 
levels, number of fights, and number of wins.)

14. What styles best use two weapons at once?

Well, any style can decide to use two weapons. Seldom, if ever, will one see long-time 
managers use more than one weapon for offensive warriors. (AB, BA, LU, SL, ST) Almost 
always a scum warrior (usually TPs)will hold two weapons. (Usually 1 or 2 being 
shields) The finesse style warriors (PL, PR, PS, WS) are the ones likely, but 
certainly not always, to hold two weapons, with the idea that the off-hand weapon is 
mostly used for parrying. Combos such as SC/DA, SC/HA, LO/DA, DA/DA, FI/SC, SC/ME, 
BS/ME are some of the more common.

15. Which styles can work with low strength such as 3-6?

Extremely low strength is a bane to all styles, due to lack of damage doing, 
endurance, and weapon fit. Styles that can either attack first (and keep on attacking) 
or who can avoid being hit and wear down an opponent (which is difficult due to its 
own weak endurance) would be the best bet. ABs and possibly STs come to mind.

16. Explain the skill levels.

Warriors are born with basic skills because of class, and add skills based on the 
application of the 84 stat points. They then learn skills in fights or train stats 
that also provide skills. When the warrior acquires 16 total skills in any area 
(initiative, riposte, attack, parry, defense, decisiveness) he has reached "expert". 4 
skills later at 20 total, he reaches "advanced expert". 6 more skills later at 26 
total, he reaches "master, and 8 more skills later he reaches "advanced Master". There 
are even higher levels, but that is a discussion for later when one reaches the upper 
stages of the game.

17. What info can one decipher from the fight report?

These are some of the things the things that Consortium managers look for in the fight 
report:

Opponent makeup (recorded): SZ, HN, armor, weapon, unfit weapon info
Opponent fight methodology: e.g fast, crits, hits hard/soft, finesses, scums My    
   warrior:  Did it fight as I intended via the strategy; what change, if any, in    
   armor, weapon, or strategy might improve him.
My warrior:  (recorded) crits vs swings vs extra value hits (for best weapon search)
My warrior:  How did he handle endurance with the armor and weapon weight
Opponent warrior:  If not recorded in the Terrablood database, do so
Skills learned (recorded):  Is he learning enough, and earning the right stuff
Strategy:  Is that the strategy I entered? (or was there an error on my or RSI's    
   part?)
Who won? If my warrior, perhaps I want to immediately or soon challenge this opponent?
My warrior:  How did he react if he went desperation to that desperation strategy.

There you have it. Note that several of these 17 questions and/or answers relate to 
each other. And some beg for more questions. (So ask!)

          -- Rose of Sharon, Flowers (A Consortium affiliate) Aug 2021

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

            +)]H[(+-----+)]H[(+ Question of the Week #1 +)]H[(+-----+)]H[(+

      Hanibal, manager of Cannibalz in Aruak City (DM 11) and formerly of Noblish 
Island, has asked a series of questions of the experienced managers of that arena.  I 
believe you might find these questions and answers instructive, or at least 
interesting.  Feel free to comment or question in response.  That goes for other 
experienced managers, too; I'm sure your input would be valuable. -- Jorja, The Middle 
Way

Question, turn 396:
      All -- If 2 identical warriors (theoretically) ran 10-10-2 and 10-10-8, who 
would swing first?  Would they both have an equal chance? -- Hanibal's question of the 
week

Replies, turn 397:
      Hanibal -- Of the three numbers, I think KD is least influential in determining 
who swings first.  I'm not discounting its involvement entirely, but there are many 
factors that weigh more heavily.  I ran aimers 10-10-1 for a long time, when it was 
the 'in' thing to do, and they fought quite aggressively.  KD might be more important 
in determining who swings LAST. -- Generalissimo Puerco

      Hannibal -- I firmly believe that 10-10-2 will sometimes outjump 10-10-8.  And 
vice versa. -- Kennelworth The Seasoned

      See also Captain K's article on "Getting the Jump."  It was printed in this 
newsletter a few turns ago, but if you want a copy and don't have it, email me at 
jputney at zianet dot com and I'll send it to you.  Okay, okay, if you don't have 
email, request it in the personals or even send me a diplo. -- Jorja
P.S.  I believe this may now be included in the regularly cycling articles. 

Question, turn 397:
      All -- If two warriors have a good damage rating, one has 11 str. and one has 13 
str., would it make a difference in the amount of damage they do? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
      P.S.  Warriors are same size.

Replies, turn 398:
      Hanibal -- Regarding your QoW, it is a very good question.  I think that there 
is a difference in damage done between warriors with different strengths but similar 
damage comments.  Of course the attack rating a warrior has can make a world of 
difference too.  I've got a piker (the Consortium may know Lustra from DM 52) that has 
a 5 str. and does normal damage with a blow.  Yet, she performs like a warrior that 
does little damage.  (And I have a lot of experience with those.) Not only that, she 
has normal endurance, too, but she seems to get tired awfully quick for a piker with 
normal endurance.  So that's one example.  Another is my overall look at warriors that 
do 'little' damage.
      If you take one with 9 str. and another with 13 str. I think a clear Difference 
can be discerned.  On the high end, my experience doesn't go much past 'good' damage. 
But what I can say is that my warriors that do 'good' damage seem to do more damage 
than my few warriors that have done 'tremendous' damage.  That is probably because 
those big strong warriors have relatively lousy attack ratings.  So in a nutshell I 
would say yes, there is a minor but still noticeable effect.  What you might be 
finding is that there seems to be differences within those broad categories given on 
the warrior overview.  It's just like if you raise con you improve your warrior's 
ability to sustain damage a little bit, even if the comment on the overview stays the 
same.  Your questions are getting at some of the interesting subtleties of the game. 
Keep asking them! -- Generalissimo Puerco

      Q.O.W. (Hanibal) -- I don't think so. -- Adie

Pagan's replies:

Question, turn 396:
      All -- If 2 identical warriors (theoretically) ran 10-10-2 and 10-10-8, who 
would swing first?  Would they both have an equal chance?

This is a loaded question.  There are a number of factors which will determine which 
warrior swings first.  In speaking of this I can only tell you what I have a 'feel' 
for.  In no way does anyone know all the factors or how this works exactly unless 
someone gets to look at the source code for the program.  I will ignore the KD dispute 
simply because I don't know.
The Factors:
1.  At warrior creation, the program initiates a random string class to be used for 
your warrior.  Each string has a series of numbers that are pre-generated and always 
the same.  It however appears random except for the facts that some strings are good 
for some warriors and bad for others.  You'll notice this only over time.  This string 
class is permanent and not all of them are created equal.  This is above and beyond 
any total number of skills.
2.  At fight time, the program calls a random string to be used for BOTH warriors. 
This string affects the string of the warrior.  This is why you will never see two 
fights that are line-by-line exactly the same.  But if the fights were constantly run 
with exactly the same string, and no strategy changes are made then you will 
consistently have the same fight line-by-line.
3.  Fight-String modified Warrior-String# are taken for each warrior and #Decise- 
skills + OE + string# + tactic + weapon-weight + style-adjustment equates to a number.
4.  These bonuses could be negative in adjustments also: IE. Running responsiveness 
would be the addition of a negative number equal to warrior's Decise. Running decise 
would increase a lot, running lunge, slash, or bash use initiative instead of Decise 
if higher than current #decise skills.
5.  Biggest controllable factors are OE, tactic, & weapon-weight
6.  If the number for JUMP does not have a disparity of a specific number then a 
continued clash will occur until that disparity is shown.  Then the fight actually 
begins.  You can have a series of 8+ clash statements until the program finds who 
starts and initiates the fight sequences.  Example: fighterA ends up with a jump# of 
60 and fighterB ends up with a jump# of 65; if the disparity had to be 10 points then 
what would happen is a clash statement would be printed and the steps repeated.  The 
next number from the Fight-String is called along with the next number in each of the 
Warrior-strings ; the computation is done again until the disparity (for the computer 
anyway) becomes true.  Then the fight sequence is activated. -- Pagan

Question, turn 397:
      All -- If two warriors have a good damage rating, one has 11 str. And one has 13 
str., would it make a difference in the amount of damage they do? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
P.S.  Warriors are same size.

Most definitely.  Weapon damage is equated to Strength + damage class. So damage is 
done like this:
1.  Armor weight + 12 + any bonus it has vs weapon type is a negative to the damage 
done.  (How the hell did he get 12!?)
2.  Damage done is strength + damage class variable + weapon variable.
3.  Slashing & Bashing increase the damage done.
4.  When the damage done equals 1 or less then there is a weapon bounce statement. The 
minimum damage a blow can do is 1 point of damage.  The program knows there's a hit 
before it knows damage so you can't reverse a hit, you merely take a minimum of 1 
point of damage to your hit-points.
5.  The lower your strength then more bounces you will see.  The lower your damage 
class the more bounces you will see.  The lighter weight a weapon is vs the armor its 
hitting the more bounces you will see.
6.  In reverse to #5, all of those secondary-damage statements (often referred to as 
extra-damage statements) such as "it was a devastating blow"... "what a massive blow" 
-- these merely show that you hit your opponent with enough damage to exceed the 
computer secondary-damage statement threshold.  Your warrior caused enough damage to 
exceed a programmed set number (whatever that number may be) and the fight is only 
showing that you exceeded that number. The programmed number for the secondary-damage 
threshold is a Hard number: it is constant within the program and is used for all 
fights and all warriors.  It is not random.  It has nothing to do with how much damage 
you did in relation to your opponent's hit-points either.  If you exceed that number 
in damage, you get a printed statement showing that to be the case.  There is no such 
thing as Extra-Damage. -- Pagan

Question, turn 398:

All -- If you lower your kill desire in desperation, do you have less of a chance of 
being killed? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.

Replies, turn 399:

Q.O.W. -- I think that if your KD is lower in desperation, you're more likely to 
surrender than draw out the fight.  Drawing out the fight by having a higher KD gives 
the attacker more chance to kill you.  But you could defend and make a come-back. But 
that higher KD also lowers your defensive ability somewhat. -- Adie

Hanibal's Q.o.W -- Yes, lowering your own KD helps keep you alive and allows you to 
surrender...hopefully in time. -- Armalias

Hanibal -- The choice of kill desire in desperation seems to be a very tactically 
important one.  I do believe that lowering kill desire will tend to preserve a 
warrior's life by making him give up (and end the fight) sooner.  This also means the 
warrior may end up losing fights he could have won if he had hung around.  I think 
scum strategy is a good example of this.  While it may be counterintuitive, a good 
scum strategy involves using a moderate to high kill desire.  This is done to prevent 
them from giving up prematurely.  Also, most managers don't care too much if their 
scum gets killed, so there's no point to running with a low KD. There's a very good 
article on the total parry written by Scrag, in which this scheme is discussed. Maybe 
you saw it in Noblish.   Personally, I either lower or raise KD in desperation, based 
on my expectations for a particular warrior.  I think it was Miles that first wrote on 
this way of looking at kill desire, and I believe it to be the most correct. Other 
published theories, such as Jessie Jest's, are variably more questionable. (But then, 
everything Jessie Jest wrote should be taken with a grain of salt.) -- Generalissimo 
Puerco

Question, turn 399:

All -- If you have 18 HP and cannot take a lot of punishment and raise con once to 
normal--20 HP, does the rating affect the rate at which you take damage or do you just 
have 2 more Hit Points? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.

Replies, turn 400:

Hanibal's QOW -- I think you just get a bump in hit points.  But that little bump 
makes a big difference.  I think armor and warrior experience are the only factors 
that affect the rate of damage per blow. -- Adie
P.S.  There's a new chart for hit points that is more accurate and does not involve a 
luck factor.

Hanibal -- I think the amount of damage a warrior can take is not variable but 
constant.  The variables in the equation are:  the weapon being struck with and the 
armor it is striking, and the attack and damage-dealing ability of the warrior doing 
the swinging.  Not to mention kill desire, as discussed last turn. -- Generalissimo 
Puerco

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                                 ASSUR'S LUNGER MODEL

     In order to better serve new and returning players to gain a better understanding 
of our favorite game, The Consortium and Assurnasirbanipal have undertaken a project 
to give more current designs that work in today's game as it has changed over so many 
years. But even though we believe these articles are more accurate and helpful, every 
design article is loaded with biases and opinions. There is no absolute right and 
wrong. This particular article is Assur's opinion of the Lunging style.
     Lungers are one of the strongest styles in the game with the highest base skills 
of any style (and better distributed than Wall of Steels, who share the same total 
base skills). Because Lungers are so strong, there are many ways to make them. Assur's 
model of the Lunger is a good one, but by far not the only one.
     This particular model is a hybrid warrior (a warrior who wins with a combination 
of attack and defense). There have been successful lungers run as pure defensives and 
as pure offensives as well. Lungers really can do it all.
     I can describe my goals with my lunger model with a small set of desired 
requirements: Ability to wield the LO well suited (11 str, 13 wit, 11 dft), Good 
damage, Good endurance, and 21 will. Technically, I also say 5 or more speed, but this 
may be a superstition. I have not seen an unsuccessful lunger with the actual 
requirements (though realize with 13 wit, your tourney success is more limited after 
Apprentices). However, because Lungers are so strong, the requirements are less set in 
stone than many other styles.
     For design, the numbers look like this:

        STR: 11+ (11 for LO, after that only needed for damage/endurance)
        CON: 8ish++ (more is better, for taking damage and endurance)
        SIZ: any (Less is better, but really want good damage or better)
        WIT: 13+ (13 is what is required for LO)
        WIL: 21 (The model says 21, but you 'can' go lower)
        SPD: 5+ (Assur falls in the superstitious camp)
        DFT: 11+ (Need 11 for LO, really don't want much more)

     Weapons: LO is the only weapon you 'need.' Often Assur will use SC against plate, 
especially earlier in the lunger's career. But the lazy mode is just to use LO against 
everything and not have to think.
     Armor: ALE or APL and whatever helm you like. Higher hinders your dodge more than 
you want, while the advantages of a little armor far outweigh the extra dodge you get 
wearing nothing. Certainly there are exceptions (the most obvious being against scum 
Total Parries, when no armor is recommended).
     Strategy: I start almost every lunger like this running 7-10 in minute 1. Once 
again, if I'm lazy, I leave it like this for the warrior's entire basic career (until 
I know his actual favorites). I also use 7-10 in desperation. If I'm not lazy, I 
tinker with it and try to find where the lunger runs 'best.' (More often I'm lazy). I 
lower the activity level quickly as the fight progresses (to conserve endurance), but 
often leave the offensive effort at 7 or somewhere around there. I typically do not 
use tactics on this lunger. (Once again, laziness is king, since tactics do help 
situationally).
     Examples:
The model, while it has extra points available, is not trivial to find. I have not 
graduated a single lunger that 'MET' all the standards, but many very good examples of 
lungers that were 'close.' I list ALL my graduated lungers that I consider 'close'. As 
you see from their records, they do VERY well.

12-13-8-13-21-6-11 - He only did normal damage, even after two trains to strength, but 
   he was fantastic. He graduated 17-6 in a difficult arena.
9-15-11-14-20-5-10 - After two trains to strength he did good damage and graduated 19-
   12. Didn't train the wit/will/deftness, but this warrior TC'd freshman in April 
   2017 by 'busting' those stats.
9-11-8-15-21-7-13 - Graduated 14-7 without any trains (did normal)
10-10-4-16-20-14-10 - Luck is a good thing!!! This warrior rolled good damage and did 
   no trains during basic, graduating 16-5. Since he didn't train deftness, he 
   'missed' the standard because of not being well suited to the Longsword.
9-11-13-13-19-9-10 - Quickly trained to 11-13-13-14-21-9-11 and then rocked the arena, 
   graduating 18-6. After the training, he DID meet all the standards.
9-9-13-17-21-4-11 - In an easy arena, graduated 17-4 with good damage and normal 
   endurance.

     Advantages: This model can win just about any fight. You have enough endurance to 
get to minute 3. The skills/physicals are well balanced. You are running the one of 
the top styles in the game.
     Disadvantages: Hard to beat good defensives. Wit is critical for basic tourney 
success and this model doesn't ensure that. 
     Best Matchups: This lunger can beat just about anyone, but won't win every fight 
against them, either. Other hybrids and strikers/bashers are probably your best 
matchups, especially if they aren't ready for you.
     Worst Matchups: Pure scum in Plate Armor!!! Avoid like the plague! Very high 
attack offensives and/or very high init offensives can also cause problems, but 
nothing like the pure scum.

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

                                 EXPLORING TERRABLOOD

When you first type in www.terrablood.com and hit 'Enter' your cyber-space journey 
will take you to a page titled Terrablood's PBM Archives, where you will notice Info 
and data for fans of the play-by-mail games Duel II, Forgotten Realms, and Hyborian 
War from Reality Simulations, Inc.

I have not played either Forgotten Realms or Hyborian War, mainly because when I had 
extra money to play either game in addition to playing Duel 2, I chose rather to start 
one or more teams in other Duel 2 arenas, reasoning that my money was better spent 
playing a game that I knew to be an enjoyable choice for me!

Consortium currently plays in a couple of Hyborian War games, so if you have any 
questions, you should direct them to him.

Click your mouse on Duel II and it will take you to another page where you will notice 
a narrow column on the right-hand side of the page with the following headings: Latest 
Duel II Articles, Duel II Article Topics and Related Duel II Links.

I suggest you explore those articles and links at your leisure, which will greatly 
enrich your appreciation for the game!

The main column taking up most of the page includes Sections One thru Five which you 
may find to be an absorbing reading experience, especially while you are waiting for 
your next arena newsletter to arrive via snail mail.

Section One is titled: Duel II Warrior Design and Warrior Overview Breakdown.

The first link directly below this Section One title is Simulate Warrior Creation b 
Use this online tool to create a Duel II warrior and estimate his abilities. It uses 
data from the following sources: Intelligence WIT statements, Terrablood / Bagman II / 
Bagman / WEEN, Good WIT statements / Bad WIT statements, Endurance WIT statements, 
Warrior activity ratings, Coordination statements, Warrior endurance chart, Hit point 
chart, Encumbrance chart, Warrior quickness statements and Warrior damage chart.

Each of these listed Sources have a brief explanation and you can click on the Sources 
to take you to the related page of the Source that you are exploring for further 
information to assist you in becoming a more informed and hopefully a better Duel 2 
manager!

Be sure to click on the Simulate Warrior Creation, especially if you have any new team 
roll ups or a replacement rollup, before you decide on a finalized version of a 
warrior or warriors that you intend to run in an arena or tourney!

This will take you to another page where you will enter your 84 points into the ST, 
CN, SZ, WT, WL, SP and DF boxes. Then you will enter the Style box where you will 
notice it says Aimed Blow, but by clicking on the Arrow and you can scroll down to the 
Style that you are thinking of creating. This is also good for comparing Styles when 
you are trying to decide between two or more possibilities!

I usually just use the Bagman II without clicking to use either Bagman or Terrablood. 
Consortium or Assur could probably enlighten you as to which of the 3 is best to use. 
Of course, you could always check your warrior creation using all 3 if you so choose!

When I submitted the stats for my Aimed Blow warrior named The Alligator Gar a page 
was produced revealing a normal Over view sheet with stats and info, but when I 
received the hard copy of The Alligator Gar sheet it stated that he had achieved an 
Expert rating in Attack, so I knew from the generated normal info that he had 15 
Attack skills, but was actually blessed with at least 1 Attack skill.

Turns out that he is blessed +4 in Attack, as I have mentioned in a previous article!

Enjoy the game and be sure to utilize the Simulate Warrior Creation link often, while 
further exploring the Terrablood site to enhance your Duel 2 experience! 

 				   -- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Vicious Fish 2021

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

Now that was a nice way to win and keep the throne.

For those that don't know, WS vs ST favors the WS.  I am a striker. Khalhums Dwarf is 
a WS.  It is also my first win against a champion level NPC.

It also gives me a little bit of room to lose next turn and keep the throne from the 
undefeated Omni.

                                      SPY REPORT

     Thankyouthankyou.  It's great for me, The Unknown Spymaster to be back in 
NOBLISH ISLAND.  Hope you enjoy the show.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I already got paid! 
PHARANOMICON seems to have it's eye on the top team spot, and if they continue having 
4-0-1 weeks they may get it!  Hey everybody, watch out for DANIEL CRAIG, who flew up 
19 points in the rankings after mashing LILY like a melon.  Keep your eye on this 
guy.  Ya know, some days it doesn't pay to walk out on the sands.  LILY was overcame 
by DANIEL CRAIG and drops 16 points.  Going for the gusto and coming up with aught 
but bloody knuckles was NOBLISH ISLAND's CONVICTED ASSASSIN, who was turned away from 
the Duelmastership by GREED.  4 out of 5 gladiators surveyed protect the body, so try 
and avoid aiming at that location.   
     Let's dig a little deeper into what's happening in the NOBLISH ISLAND arena.  
Here's a song for you:  Who's afraid of the big, bad VICIOUS  FISH 2021?  Big bad 
VICIOUS FISH 2021.  Big bad VICIOUS FISH 2021.  NOBLISH ISLAND's afraid of the big 
bad VICIOUS FISH 2021.  Tra la la la la!  Okay, so I may not be funny, but catch BB 
CBA NEGOT.'s act in the arena.  Those acrobats seem to be fairly deft at running from 
VICIOUS FISH 2021.  Well dang howdy, but if challenges were votes, LOCKOUT would be 
president.  Although it may be a contest he doesn't want to win.  DRINK EM UP of BEER 
BELLIES had better have a good reason for challenging down 9 points in a challenge 
which she won.  I thought DRINK EM UP showed great skill and promise when she bested 
DON CRESCENT.  All right, so I slept through it!  Big deal!   
     Being a spy is great--other people die and you spend the rest of the day 
drinking to their memory.  Better tanked than dead!  Remember:  alliances are great, 
but try and take your ally in the arena with you and see what happens.   
     I think I had better cut this one short.  It's been nice chatting to those of 
you whom I have not offended yet.  Well, there goes another Spy Report.  Good luck in 
next week's fights.  Its been fun, and I'm sure you enjoyed it (boos).  Now that I've 
got you worked up for Snide Clemens, I'll be leaving-- The Unknown Spymaster  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 GREED 10621                   6   2  0  76         BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BAD FAITH 10622               5   3  0  53         BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      
 OMNI 10596                    7   0  0  47         PHOENIX FORCE (1811)      
 POPPY 10633                   6   1  0  39         FLOWERS! (1816)           

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 UGLY 10639                    4   3  0  31         BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      
 GREAT WHITE SHARK 10648       4   1  0  31         VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  
 IRIS 10635                    5   2  0  30         FLOWERS! (1816)           
 BRUTAL BARRACUDA 10650        3   2  0  29         VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  
 DANIEL CRAIG 10659            1   1  0  28         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 DRINK EM UP 10664             3   0  0  27         BEER BELLIES (1821)       
 CROCUS 10634                  3   4  0  25         FLOWERS! (1816)           

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 STRIKE 10623                  7   1  0  23         BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      
 BOOZIE SOOZIE 10693           2   0  1  23         BEER BELLIES (1821)       
 CASEY BOONE 10638             4   4  0  21         THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    
 DAISY 10636                   4   3  0  20         FLOWERS! (1816)           
 CHUCK BYWAY 10628             5   4  0  19         THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    
 LILY 10632                    5   2  0  17         FLOWERS! (1816)           
 THUNDERHAMMER 10597           4   3  0  16         PHOENIX FORCE (1811)      
 FAREN END 10631               3   6  0  16         THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    
 DON CRESCENT 10629            3   6  0  15         THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    
 EDGAR DETOUR 10630            3   6  0  15         THIRD HIGHWAY 3 (1815)    
 BENNAKYL 10673                1   0  1  11         PHARANOMICON (1823)       
 BUD THE WISER 10692           1   1  0  11         BEER BELLIES (1821)       
 FURIOUS INHALER 10674         1   0  0  11         PHARANOMICON (1823)       
 PERILOUS PIRANHA 10647        2   3  0  10         VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  
 THE ALLIGATOR GAR 10649       2   3  0  10         VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  
 LOCKOUT 10625                 1   7  0  10         BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)      
 ROGER MOORE 10657             1   1  0  10         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 TIMOTHY DALTON 10660          2   2  0   9         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 PUFFER FISH PERIL 10646       2   3  0   9         VICIOUS FISH 2021 (1818)  
 SEAN CONNERY 10656            1   3  0   8         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 PIERCE BROSNAN 10658          0   4  0   8         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 BARRET WALLACE 10655          1   0  0   7         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 YUFFIE KISARAGI 10653         1   0  0   7         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 DIEBUPROFEN 10676             1   0  0   6         PHARANOMICON (1823)       
 DR: TMNT 10671                1   0  0   6         TMNT (1822)               
 DY-QUIL 10675                 1   0  0   5         PHARANOMICON (1823)       
 CLOUD STRIFE 10651            0   1  0   5         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 PAPPY BLUE RIBS 10666         0   3  0   3         BEER BELLIES (1821)       
 XXX 10662                     0   3  0   3         BEER BELLIES (1821)       
 DIERDRE 10685                 0   1  0   1         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 OSRIC 10682                   0   1  0   1         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 DALT 10686                    0   1  0   1         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 BLEYS 10684                   0   1  0   1         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 JULIAN 10683                  0   1  0   1         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
CAIT SITH 10654         0  1 0 FINAL FANTASY 1819   STONE GOLEM           589  NONE
TIFA LOCKHART 10652     0  1 0 FINAL FANTASY 1819   BENNAKYL 10673        589   

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Great ripper spot, Assur! And a fine explanation of using the Terrablood newsletters, 
Hammer. -- Rose Of Sharon

Casey Boone, it's o.k. I would never want to deposit you in Flanders Field. -- Poppy

Great White Shark, that was a fine fight. (By you.) Me? I am not in your class. Kudos. 
-- Iris

Lockout, that challenge and win made my day. Rose Of Sharon says it made hers, too. 
The Consortium? He just laughed. -- Crocus

Chuck Byway, it was: 
My day
to make hay
on the Byway.
 -- Lily

XXX, fooled you now, did I? -- Daisy

Flowers are the Romeos and Juliets of nature. -- Rose Of Sharon

ALL -- Can anyone help me with any information about which weapons are better against 
which armors? -- Yuffie Kisaragi

ALL -- YES!  I get to fight first. Wait... what... I have to fight who? ... -- Cait 
Sith

ALL -- Lost Materia. Description: little round precious stones. -- Cloud Strife

ALL -- Looking for a new job. Will work for food. -- Barret Wallace

ALL Mangers -- SWF (Strong Willing Fighter) seeking new manager, preferably sane and 
sober. Currently with unpredictable "wizard." -- Tifia Lockhart

Final Fantasy -- No, no, no. This is not that kind of personals. Yuffie has the fight 
idea. The rest of you get back to training. -- Palinc

ALL Teams and Managers -- Sorry you had to witness that. Good luck in the arena. -- 
Palinc Kalverus, reluctant manager of Final Fantasy

All -- The Pharmanomicon is open and Warriors of Arena 93, you've all been prescribed 
30 tabs of DEATH! Please take once a day with food and your IMPENDING DOOM! Side 
effects include TOTAL HUMILIATION and DRY MOUTH! If symptoms continue PLEASE CONSULT 
YOUR INFIRMARY. -- Furious Inhaler, Champion of Pharmanomicon

All -- Are these statements Critical Attack, Extra Damage, or something else?

1. The tiny gladiator is driven back toward the arena wall by the energy of her foe's 
attack. (using a War Flail)

2. (using short spear) The Karnhorn warrior is being forced back under the weight of 
his opponent's blows.

3. (using a long spear) He unleashes a brilliant attack that brings the crowd to their 
feet.

Thanks, Shawn

Thanks for the article about rhythms. -- Shawn

We salute the tourney participants. -- Third Highway

Poppy -- Bah.  Fine clothes aren't everything. -- Casey Boone

Shawn -- Political points are awarded for being high in the ranks.  I forget the exact 
numbers, but their value, so far as I know, is that you have to have some certain 
amount to graduate. As regards fighting with two weapons, I don't see it as a question 
of style, but of deftness.  Otherwise you get statements that XXX doesn't have the 
deftness to use the weapons together, or some such. Re low strength, my personal 
reaction is "none of them."  It isn't a question of style as of what weapons you can 
use, and yes, of what weapons will work well with what style.  Everything is 
connected.  The only thing to do with a low strength is to raise it. It's impossible 
to send you a diplo without your team name.  Looks like you might be Phoenix Force? -- 
Jorja

Fellow sponsors -- We may be making a mistake to focus on style.  Yes, it's important.  
But other things matter, too. -- Jorja
P.S.  Do you think it would help to post the old Duelmasters for Dummies article?

Lily -- I'm not a plant, you can't bury me in the sand and expect good results. -- 
Chuck Byway

Pappy Blue Ribs -- Are you Pictish, to dress in woad? -- Don Crescent

Bad Faith -- It seems WRONG that you should be successful.  What kind of lessons are 
we teaching people here? -- Faren End

Drink Em Up -- Not before a fight, please! -- Edgar de Tour

I can't seem to find my other two fights, so these'll have to do. -- Jorja

All -- Does "Frantic" mean the same thing as "Desperation" during a fight? When this 
happens are we seeing the desperation numbers used? -- mgr, Shakn- Not-Stired

All -- Is there a list of what the different fight descriptions mean and what they all 
are?  How can I best interpret them? -- mgr, Shakn-Not-Stired

Daniel Craig -- YOu performed brillantly at the Tournament.  You made us proud. -- M

Roger Moore -- Glad to see you made it 007, your fellow agents could use your support. 
-- M

All -- Hope you all enjoyed the Tournament as much as I did. -- Daniel Craig

Rose of Sharon -- I don't need an entire spotlight to admit that Consortium managers 
are better than I am at winning!  Fortunately, there is no shame in that fact, either!  
The Consortium is incredible!  Awesome!  No sarcasm there.  Simply admitting and 
admiring facts!  It is very satisfying to earn wins against your group! -- Assur
PS. I will note that Phoenix Force (and Vicious Fish) are both above you right now

Shawn -- Sorry, missed your questions, likely while I was on vacation.

1) PP's (or political points) are 'points' earned from
  A) Sitting on the Duelmaster's throne (5 points)
  B) Being in the Challenger Champion Class (2 points)
  C) Earning a Tournament Victor or Tournament Champion award in a tournament (5 
     points)
     (Doesn't include dead tournaments)
They are only important for your warrior graduating to the Advanced Duel arenas.  You 
normally need 17 PP's to graduate (plus some other stuff).

2) Tougher question as to whether to use two weapons, one weapon, or one weapon and a 

shield.  Certain weapons are believed to have bonuses for using them with two hands 
rather than one.  SC and LO are among those weapons, so people often recommend using 
them without an off-hand weapon.

Any style that parries a lot (PL/PR/PS/TP/WS) does well with an off hand weapon or 
shield.

I also sometimes use off hand weapons with other styles so that if my main weapon 
breaks, I'll still have a weapon.

3) Regarding low strength (3-6), there are about 3 styles I'd say can deal with it and 
only one that I really do much at all.  The only weapons you have are FI, DA, and SH.
  Aimed Blow -- the exception to many rules.  AB's can win with FI or DA (or SH) just 
     fine.  Because you aren't going to be wearing armor, though, the strategy options 
     are more limited.  I don't love them, but I don't hate them, either.
  Strikers -- Strikers learn so well that they can deal with low strength as well. 
     Especially if they are size 16+ and have damage from size.  DA & SH
  Lungers -- Because you are only well suited to SH, you'll want to do at least good 
     damage.  You'll be relying on skills, but fortunately lungers start with the most 
     skills in the game.

I haven't tried a Slasher, but theoretically, they could win as well.

My graduates with 3-6 str:
     1 Basher (silly goal to graduate a 3 str basher -- used DA, 3-14-10-15-15-12-15)
     1 Wall of Steel (another silly goal, design was 6-13-13-13-13-13-13)
     1 Parry Strike (6-5-8-17-21-16-11)
     1 Parry Lunger (5-8-10-21-17-12-11)
     1 Striker (3-13-9-17-21-10-11)
     2 Lungers (5 str, 21 wit, 17 will and 5 str, 19 wit, 20 will)
     6 Aimed Blows (several designs)

With the exception of the silly goals, the rest are all super high wit/will or aimed 
blows.
Ratings:
     16 Expert
     20 Advanced Expert
     26 Master
     34 Advanced Master
     44 Grandmaster
     56 Archmaster

Gathering information from fight result strings:
The number of minutes is very telling, especially over time.
A warrior that always goes 2 minutes is likely fighting defensively minute 1 and 
coming alive in minute 2.

A warrior that viciously subdues warriors in 2-6 minutes is probably a total parry (or 
equivalent)

A warrior whose fights are always 1 minute long are typically pure offensives or aimed 
blows with low con.

Be very careful trying to deduce information from 1-2 results.  I've been completely 
wrong MORE than a few times doing this!

Shawn -- In the Basic Arena the Political Points are earned when a warrior is in the 
Challenger Champions rankings or on the Duel-Master Throne. You get 2 Political Points 
for each turn your warrior is in the Challenger Champions rankings and 5 Political 
Points for each turn your warrior is ruling on the Duel-Master Throne! You usually 
need 17 Political Points, 14 Wins and an Expert skill rating and an Advanced Expert 
skill rating to qualify for graduation! -- Hammer

Shawn -- Usually the Defensive Styles are the ones that work well with 2 weapons or a 
weapon and a shield, but I have seen Bashers be effective running with a weapon and a 
shield, but that is not normally how most managers run Bashers! -- Hammer
P.S. Defensive Styles are WS, TP, PL, PS and PR / Offensive Styles are BA, SL, LU, ST 
and AB [some managers run Aimers with Fist and an off-handed Dagger or Scimitar]

Shawn -- Aimers are okay with low Strength numbers as long as they have a preferable 
21 DF or no less than a 17 DF and are usually running with a Dagger! -- Hammer
P.S. I defer to both Consortium and especially Assur who can answer your question with 
more informed insight that I can, due to the number of warriors that they have 
graduated or fought against over the years!

MI6 -- I am counting on Consortium and Assur to answer your 3 questions! Your Blood 
Games question was addressed by RSI in the personal ads last cycle! -- Hammer

Rose of Sharon -- Glad you could see some Valuable Info in the Spot that I wrote! -- 
Hammer
P.S. I figured you had Tourney Lag which is why you did not write an article that 
cycle!

Rose of Sharon -- Most flowers have a time when they just wilt away! We will enjoy 
their company until they retire! -- Hammer and his Vicious Fish 2021
P.S. My 5 Card Draw stable was sent to DM 71 by RSI and may have probably retired too! 
I can sense your pain!

Assur -- Yes it was an amusing mistake! -- Hammer
P.S. Feel free to spar against my TP with your weapon-less Aimer any time!

Pierce Brosnan -- Glad I did not get pierced with your weapon! I needed that win! 
Salute! -- The Alligator Gar

Iris -- Glad I won! I did not even hit you where I was aiming! Thanks for the skill 
learns! Salute! -- Great White Shark

Bud The Wiser -- Lucky win for me! Salute! -- Perilous Piranha

Daniel Craig -- Lucky win for me also! Salute! -- Brutal Barracuda

Roger Moore -- Lucky loss for me? Definitely your win! Time to try something new! At 
least for me! Salute! -- Puffer Fish Peril

New Players -- Welcome to the Noblish Island training arena! May you find hidden 
treasure from reading the articles and personal ad pontifications! May you also learn 
and grow in the coming months and years of your young and maturing managerial careers! 
-- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Vicious Fish 2021

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

CAIT SITH was butchered by STONE GOLEM in a 2 minute Dark Arena fight.
BAD FAITH devastated GREAT WHITE SHARK in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel.
BUD THE WISER subdued LOCKOUT in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
PAPPY BLUE RIBS was unbelievably bested by TIMOTHY DALTON in a 2 minute brawl.
DRINK EM UP defeated DON CRESCENT in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
XXX was luckily beaten by SEAN CONNERY in a 6 minute amateur's Challenge competition.
BOOZIE SOOZIE overpowered PUFFER FISH PERIL in a 5 minute Challenge struggle.
GREED overcame CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a action packed 3 minute gruesome Title fight.
OMNI viciously subdued BRUTAL BARRACUDA in a action packed 1 minute gory duel.
UGLY was viciously subdued by CAPTURED ORC in a popular 4 minute gory duel.
POPPY overpowered THUNDERHAMMER in a 1 minute one-sided melee.
LILY was defeated by DANIEL CRAIG in a exciting 1 minute match.
EDGAR DETOUR was devastated by IRIS in a 1 minute mismatched conflict.
FAREN END was outlasted by STRIKE in a crowd pleasing 9 minute gory match.
CHUCK BYWAY overcame PIERCE BROSNAN in a 1 minute conflict.
CROCUS overpowered ROGER MOORE in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
DAISY unbelievably bested PERILOUS PIRANHA in a 3 minute duel.
CASEY BOONE overcame THE ALLIGATOR GAR in a 1 minute bout.
TIFA LOCKHART was butchered by BENNAKYL in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
CLOUD STRIFE was overpowered by FURIOUS INHALER in a exciting 1 minute one-sided bout.
BARRET WALLACE beat BLEYS in a 2 minute novice's match.
YUFFIE KISARAGI overcame DIERDRE in a popular 6 minute amateur's competition.
DY-QUIL defeated DALT in a 2 minute novice's duel.
DIEBUPROFEN beat JULIAN in a action packed 1 minute beginner's fray.
OSRIC was bested by DR: TMNT in a popular 1 minute novice's bout.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   9         BASHING ATTACK    32 -  19 -  0      63  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  8         LUNGING ATTACK    25 -  16 -  0      61  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   7         TOTAL PARRY       22 -  15 -  0      59  |
|AIMED BLOW                       6         STRIKING ATTACK   31 -  28 -  1      53  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      5         SLASHING ATTACK   13 -  14 -  2      48  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  5         AIMED BLOW        17 -  22 -  3      44  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    3         WALL OF STEEL      7 -  17 -  0      29  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    2         PARRY-RIPOSTE      2 -   8 -  0      20  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      1         PARRY-STRIKE       0 -   1 -  0       0  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   3 -  0       0  |

Turn 589 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     6 -  3     SLASHING ATTACK    2 -  3         4  LUNGING ATTACK 
TOTAL PARRY        3 -  2     AIMED BLOW         2 -  4         3  BASHING ATTACK 
LUNGING ATTACK     4 -  3     WALL OF STEEL      1 -  2         2  STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -  1     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  1         1  WALL OF STEEL  
STRIKING ATTACK    4 -  4     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  1         1  SLASHING ATTACK

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
STRIKING ATTACK  GREED 10621                 6   2  0   76 BB CBA NEGOT. (1814)
LUNGING ATTACK   OMNI 10596                  7   0  0   47 PHOENIX FORCE (1811)
BASHING ATTACK   POPPY 10633                 6   1  0   39 FLOWERS! (1816)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is BAD FAITH 10622.  The most popular warrior this turn 
was FAREN END 10631.  The ten other most popular fighters were DIERDRE 10685, GREED 
10621, UGLY 10639, XXX 10662, PERILOUS PIRANHA 10647, PAPPY BLUE RIBS 10666, DRINK EM 
UP 10664, BOOZIE SOOZIE 10693, DIEBUPROFEN 10676, and BAD FAITH 10622.

The least popular fighter this week was PUFFER FISH PERIL 10646.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were JULIAN 10683, DALT 10686, BLEYS 10684, TIFA LOCKHART 10652, 
DAISY 10636, ROGER MOORE 10657, PIERCE BROSNAN 10658, STRIKE 10623, EDGAR DETOUR 
10630, and THUNDERHAMMER 10597.