DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 08/09/2024    Duedate: 08/22/2024

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93    TURN 667

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

BLUE BARBARIAN
DRAGON BLOOD (1914)
(93-11206) [4-1-1,41]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              BLUE BARBARIAN
                               DRAGON BLOOD (1914)
                               (93-11206) [4-1-1,41]

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

BLACK BARD                     WHITE WARLOCK
DRAGON BLOOD (1914)            DRAGON BLOOD (1914)
(93-11208) [2-3-0,9]           (93-11205) [3-2-0,33]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

DRAGON BLOOD (1914)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. EMU'S STRAIN (1931)           40 
2. HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)      26    ONLY HUMANS (147)
3. DRAGON BLOOD (1914)           25    Unchartered Team
4. FRESH MEAT (1929)             24 
5. BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)        7     FRESH MEAT (1929)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*FRESH MEAT (1929)          7   3  2 70.0   1/ 1*DRAGON BLOOD (1914)      12  3 1
 2/ 2*DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       17   8  1 68.0   2/ 3*BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)    9  6 0
 3/ 3*HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  13   7  0 65.0   3/ 2*HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  8  7 0
 4/ 4*BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)     9   6  0 60.0   4/ 4*FRESH MEAT (1929)         7  3 2
 5/ 5*LEGIONARII (1927)         12  18  0 40.0   5- 5*FIEND FACTION (1930)      2  3 1
 6- 6*FIEND FACTION (1930)       2   3  1 40.0   6/ 0*EMU'S STRAIN (1931)       2  3 0
 7/ 0*EMU'S STRAIN (1931)        2   3  0 40.0   7/ 7*LEGIONARII (1927)         2  8 0
 8/ 7*VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)     4  27  0 12.9   8/ 6*VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    2 11 0
 9/ 8*GOTHIC HORRORS (1926)      0   5  0  0.0   9/ 8*GOTHIC HORRORS (1926)     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

                                   Staying Alive

     Death is part of dueling.  This sport is dangerous!  But there are things that a 
manager can do to help keep his warriors alive.  Nothing is a sure thing, and a 
warrior with maximum hit points (21 con/siz/will) can still die.  There is some luck 
involved regardless, and luck can run both ways.  But here are the experiences of 
Assur with keeping warriors alive.

     One interesting stat is kill %.  Note that I use a kill % that is kills/wins. 
Some people prefer kills/fights, but since you can't kill if you don't win, losses are 
irrelevant to killing.  In the same way, deaths/losses would measure mortality. I can 
say with certainty that a manager who runs a 10% kill ratio over a lot of fights is 
trying to kill his opponents.  In the one arena where I try to kill, I have been able 
to keep my kill % just over 10% (without a lot of augmentation from killing in the 
Dark Arena).  At the time of this writing, my other arenas have a 3.95% kill ratio 
(which includes sending most of my lord protectors to the DA when they graduate).  In 
that one arena, I don't run scum and all my warriors run 10 kill desire in every 
minute and desperation.  They also aim for HE, CH, or A every minute.  Contrast that 
where I will run scum and every warrior uses 5 (usually) or less kill desire in every 
minute and always attacks limbs.  These numbers (and similar in other teams/managers) 
are what makes me conclude that 5% is on the low side while 10% is on the high side. 
Why do I share all this?  Because if you lose 10 times in the arena (for example, a 
20-10 warrior), you can expect your warriors to die somewhere between 34% and 65% of 
the time.  (1-.96^10 to 1-.90^10 -- using a range from 4% to 10% chance of dying with 
every loss, 10 losses)

     1) WIN!  It is impossible to die unless you lose a fight.  In fact, some of the 
        suggestions later on may hinder your ability to win somewhat, so this should 
        be the first and highest priority in keeping your warriors alive.

     2) Wear armor.  Any armor.  Especially a helm.  It is Assur's experience that 
        warriors with NO armor die way more often than warriors who wear armor.  On 
        the other side of that, Assur has no conclusive proof that APA gives any 
        additional protection against death than ALE.  It likely does (damage 
        mitigation is damage mitigation), but the benefit from none to ALE is much 
        greater than ALE to higher armors.  SO...  ALE/L at minimum.

     3) Lower your KD, especially in desperation.  There are tons of theories about 
        what different KD does, but nobody is completely sure.  Assur has found that 
        is does change your ability to kill and be killed.  Want to live? Go low, 
        really low. Want to die?  Go high, really high.  Assur guesses that it changes 
        your desire to keep fighting (both winning and losing) and the arenamaster 
        respects that and lets the fight continue or ends it sooner. 

     4) Protect HE and/or BD.  If it is a warrior that Assur really wants to live, 
        he'll often protect one of these areas during minutes 1-6, and another in 
        desperation.

     5) Hit Points, especially Size and Will.  Smaller warriors seems to die more 
        often.  it is also believed that Will is directly related to the stat the is 
        checked when your warrior enters the infirmary.

     6) Stay away from known killers.  See that 3rd number in your opponent's record? 
        It means something.  If that number is anything greater than 0, it means your 
        opponent has killed before.  When that number is 2 or higher, it suggests that 
        you may not want to fight that warrior (or if you do, make sure you win).

     7) Look for managers that aren't killers.  You will definitely see patterns over 
        time.  Divide kills by wins for a team's career record.  That is a great 
        indicator as to how bloodthirsty a manager is.  .10 is a very high kill ratio. 
        .05 is a manager who probably tries NOT to kill. 

     8) Stay away from huge mismatches.  For whatever reason, it happens over and over 
        again.  Young upstart challenges or is matched against very old veteran.  The 
        end is an early demise for the arrogant young upstart. (Dinosaurs are 
        dangerous) 

     9) Fight warriors that aren't going to kill.  The opposite of #6, but this goes 
        one further.  Pure scum Total Parries that let a warrior run himself to 
        exhaustion don't kill very often (since they don't attack very often).  
        However, see the next item.

    10) Stay out of exhaustion.  Warriors seem to die much more often when they are 
        completely exhausted.  Your opponent starts hammering down the blows and your 
        warrior takes blow after blow.

    11) Higher total fights.  As your warrior gets older (more fight experience) and 
        will mitigate damage better from his experience.  This has a side effect of 
        lowering death.  I really notice this around 25 fight equivalent (arena wins + 
        arena losses + roughly half of tourney fights).  Again, something that don't 
        really control other than by continuing to fight warriors.  The good thing is 
        that this means warriors you invest time and money into don't die as often.

As I began, you can't ensure your warriors will never die, but you can do everything 
in your power to prevent it.  If you can't handle the death of your favorite warriors, 
I recommend you find another pastime.  Death happens, sometimes to your favorites. 
Even if you do everything on this list, you sometimes can't prevent the worst. 

                                      SPY REPORT

     Well, what are you looking at, NOBLISH ISLAND?  Ain't you never seen Snide 
Clemens before?  Ah, shaddup and listen to my news.  Now let's all watch HOGWARTS 
VILLAINS' heads swell from their 4-1-0 this turn.  Haa ha ha ha!  Big shots, big 
talk, big deal.  Of course, we're all terribly impressed to see HELGA win a fight and 
gain 18 points, terribly.  Tsk, tsk, BRASS MONK beat MORGIUS and MORGIUS lost 8 
points.  You're breakin' my heart.  Our last turn's Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost 
to KHALHUMS DWARF, and WHITE WARLOCK has made the way for a new Duelmaster!  With 
WHITE WARLOCK clearing the throne, DRAGON BLOOD of BLUE BARBARIAN takes a proud seat 
as NOBLISH ISLAND's new Duelmaster, by virtue of recognition points.  Kickbacks and 
bribes, kickbacks and bribes, how else do you think some of these guys win their 
fights?  Skill?  Ha!   
     He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day, the coward.  
HOGWARTS VILLAINS, I suppose you'll be glad to know you were this turn's most avoided 
team.  Care to know who is the most afraid of you?  And it looks like BB CONSTRUCTION 
avoided them the most this turn.  What a pack of would be losers, if you ask me.  
Hmph.  Ooh, I'm frightfully impressed, BRASS MONK was this turn's most challenged 
warrior.  Watch that ego swell, sports fans.  And we have BLUE BARBARIAN in a 
challenge, going down 8 points for the fight.  Guess what?  I thought BLUE BARBARIAN 
showed great skill and promise when he killed CAIUS NAVARCHUS.  All right, so I slept 
through it!  Big deal!   
     Some people like volunteer work in the hospitals.  I volunteer for NOBLISH 
ISLAND's morgue.  More variety.  And now a passing thought on a warrior dying young 
(CAIUS NAVARCHUS of LEGIONARII):  You had your chance and now you're dead.  Oh 
well...  Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave team is developing 
these kinds of weapons?   
     There's got to be a better place in NOBLISH ISLAND to get a drink than The Warty 
Toad!  Any suggestions?  Phlllt!  Just had to do that before I leave the fine city of 
NOBLISH ISLAND.  I feel much better now.  I see the crowds are getting restless, I 
must leave now-- Snide Clemens  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BLUE BARBARIAN 11206          4   1  1  41         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BRASS MONK 11285              4   0  0  39         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 WHITE WARLOCK 11205           3   2  0  33         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 NO SHOW 11310                 2   1  0  30         BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)    
 RED ROGUE 11207               4   1  0  27         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 WEATHER DELAY 11309           3   0  0  26         BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)    

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BOBBIE BRISKET 11294          2   0  0  20         FRESH MEAT (1929)         
 GREYBACK 11288                3   1  0  18         HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  
 NAGINI 11290                  3   1  0  18         HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  
 HELGA 11307                   1   0  0  18         EMU'S STRAIN (1931)       
 MARCUS LORICA 11281           4   2  0  17         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 ARAGOG 11287                  3   1  0  17         HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  
 MORGIUS 11252                 3   3  0  17         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
 HERBIE HANBARK 11296          1   1  1  17         FRESH MEAT (1929)         
 SALLY SQUIRREL 11295          2   0  1  14         FRESH MEAT (1929)         
-SPIKE 11299                   1   0  1  14         FIEND FACTION (1930)      
 UMBRIDGE 11289                2   2  0  13         HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  
 DECIMUS PUGIO 11282           2   4  0  10         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 QUINTUS TURRIS 11283          2   4  0  10         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 BLACK BARD 11208              2   3  0   9         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 UNCLE LEO 11254               1   6  0   9         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
 PETTIGREW 11286               2   2  0   8         HOGWARTS VILLAINS (1928)  
 PETER RABBIT 11293            1   1  0   8         FRESH MEAT (1929)         
 WILD BOAR BIN 11292           1   1  0   8         FRESH MEAT (1929)         
 MISTAKES 11313                2   1  0   7         BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)    
 BUDGET OVERRUN 11311          1   2  0   7         BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)    
 BIRTA 11306                   1   0  0   5         EMU'S STRAIN (1931)       
 SHODDY WORK 11312             1   2  0   5         BB CONSTRUCTION (1932)    
-GNOME 11298                   1   0  0   5         FIEND FACTION (1930)      
 HERRINGBONE 11291             0   3  0   3         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
 STAR 11277                    0   2  0   2         GOTHIC HORRORS (1926)     
-POKEY 11301                   0   1  0   1         FIEND FACTION (1930)      
-ZZNOP 11300                   0   1  0   1         FIEND FACTION (1930)      
 ANNA 11305                    0   1  0   1         EMU'S STRAIN (1931)       
-BEAST 11275                   0   1  0   1         GOTHIC HORRORS (1926)     
-ZARD 11276                    0   1  0   1         GOTHIC HORRORS (1926)     
 KATANA 11273                  0   1  0   1         GOTHIC HORRORS (1926)     

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
ELIN 11304              0  1 0 EMU'S STRAIN 1931    MASTER SEN GANAM       667 NONE
FAIDA 11308             0  1 0 EMU'S STRAIN 1931    HERBIE HANBARK 11296   667  
ZERO 11297              0  1 0 FIEND FACTION 1930   SALLY SQUIRREL 11295   666  
CAIUS NAVARCHUS 11280   4  2 0 LEGIONARII 1927      BLUE BARBARIAN 11206   667  
PUBLIUS SICA 11279      0  6 0 LEGIONARII 1927      BANDIT PRINCE          667 NONE

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Wow, Assur! I like your wizard class better than mine! -- the Sorting Hat

Uh, 5-0, 2-3, 2-3, ..... Hogwarts Villains on the decline. -- An embarrassed Sorting 
Hat

Your godlings got me this round, Assur, you Cretin! -- the Sorting Hat

to You Know Who ... breakfast or lunch soon after guests leave Aug 3. Be on the 
lookout! -- the Sorting Hat (posting for a friend)

Weather Delay, what was that?! -- Umbridge (said with a smiling snarl)

No Show, you bit me?! Well, bite you! -- Aaragog

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

PUBLIUS SICA was butchered by BANDIT PRINCE in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
ELIN was slaughtered by MASTER SEN GANAMIR in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena battle.
MORGIUS was demolished by BRASS MONK in a 1 minute uneven Challenge fight.
BLUE BARBARIAN butchered CAIUS NAVARCHUS in a 1 minute Challenge Title contest.
UNCLE LEO was savagely defeated by SALLY SQUIRREL in a 1 minute Challenge match.
ARAGOG viciously subdued BLACK BARD in a exciting 1 minute amateur's Challenge fight.
HERRINGBONE was overcome by BUDGET OVERRUN in a 1 minute beginner's Challenge fight.
UMBRIDGE outwaited MISTAKES in a crowd boring 17 minute beginner's Challenge duel.
WHITE WARLOCK was narrowly defeated by KHALHUMS DWARF in a 3 minute duel.
QUINTUS TURRIS was overpowered by WEATHER DELAY in a 1 minute uneven match.
DECIMUS PUGIO was overpowered by NO SHOW in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
MARCUS LORICA subdued PETTIGREW in a 2 minute competition.
STAR was handily defeated by RED ROGUE in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
GREYBACK subdued ANNA in a 1 minute novice's brawl.
NAGINI overcame WILD BOAR BIN in a 1 minute novice's conflict.
PETER RABBIT was vanquished by HELGA in a 1 minute mismatched bout.
BOBBIE BRISKET vanquished SHODDY WORK in a 1 minute one-sided fray.
HERBIE HANBARK butchered FAIDA in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
BIRTA defeated KATANA in a 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                   8         TOTAL PARRY       28 -  13 -  0      68  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  6         LUNGING ATTACK    27 -  17 -  4      61  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  6         WALL OF STEEL     19 -  13 -  0      59  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   5         BASHING ATTACK    30 -  23 -  1      57  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    3         AIMED BLOW        16 -  15 -  0      52  |
|AIMED BLOW                       3         STRIKING ATTACK   19 -  25 -  0      43  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      2         SLASHING ATTACK   13 -  18 -  1      42  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      7 -  17 -  0      29  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         PARRY-STRIKE       3 -  11 -  0      21  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   6 -  0       0  |

Turn 667 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-RIPOSTE      1 -  0     LUNGING ATTACK     2 -  3         3  SLASHING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL      3 -  0     BASHING ATTACK     3 -  5         2  STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK    3 -  3     AIMED BLOW         1 -  2         2  LUNGING ATTACK 
TOTAL PARRY        1 -  1     SLASHING ATTACK    2 -  4         1  AIMED BLOW     
                              PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         1  BASHING ATTACK 
                              PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  1         1  PARRY-LUNGE    
                                                                1  TOTAL PARRY    

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
SLASHING ATTACK  BLUE BARBARIAN 11206        4   1  1   41 DRAGON BLOOD (1914)
AIMED BLOW       BRASS MONK 11285            4   0  0   39 DRAGON BLOOD (1914)

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is BLACK BARD 11208.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was WHITE WARLOCK 11205.  The ten other most popular fighters were SALLY 
SQUIRREL 11295, ARAGOG 11287, NO SHOW 11310, MARCUS LORICA 11281, GREYBACK 11288, 
HELGA 11307, HERBIE HANBARK 11296, BRASS MONK 11285, BUDGET OVERRUN 11311, and RED 
ROGUE 11207.

The least popular fighter this week was MISTAKES 11313.  The other ten least popular 
fighters were UMBRIDGE 11289, KATANA 11273, FAIDA 11308, SHODDY WORK 11312, PETER 
RABBIT 11293, ANNA 11305, STAR 11277, DECIMUS PUGIO 11282, QUINTUS TURRIS 11283, and 
HERRINGBONE 11291.

                                     GREEN VALLEY

Green Valley, DM 87, will be opening soon!  This arena will process on a two-week 
cycle.  Orders for inaugural battles are due on September 11, 2024.

Storm Point, DM 86 will be closed to new teams, effective August 31. Any new teams 
that arrive after that will be rerouted to Green Valley.  DM 86 will continue to 
process on its normal cycle and teams may continue to add new replacement warriors as 
necessary.

                                          -- RSI