Duel2 - Arena 93 Newsletters

A compilation of Noblish Island Articles

Interesting Factoids

or Useful Knowledge About D-2

I get to lecture or advise or ramble some more. I am just a lucky old Smithy. Who am I really, you ask? Sometimes I'm not sure, but today I remember. I am Smithy, manager of Useful Weapons here on Noblish Island. Maybe more importantly, I am but one of the 40+ Consortium managers who have collectively fought nearly 100,000 fights and graduated almost 1000 warriors to ADM. I am an experienced, 25+ year, DMer andD2er. Yes, while here I will compete with you, but that is secondary to my primary purpose--to help you learn and enjoy this wonderful game of ours. May your stay in our world be long, fun, and successful.

Today, I thought I would list for you a random 25 "Did you know that's?". Tidbits, some people call them. I call them information. Feel free to ask questions in subsequent personal ads. I can be really good about answering them in the Noblish Isle newsletter.

Twenty-five random "what you always wanted to know about D-2" statements:

• The purely offensive styles are the easiest to learn to run well, (BA, SL, ST) while the defensive/finesse styles are most difficult. (AB,PL, PR, PS, WS)
• Stats and physicals are very important, but this is mostly a game of learning skills.
• Gender, race, and role-playing do not in any way affect the strategy and fight mechanics. But they certainly add to the enjoyment of the experience.
• Attending a Face-To-Face tournament is probably the highlight of a D2 career.
• There are three facets to warrior fighting--normal arenas (where warriors can die), advanced arenas (where warriors are immortal, and a warrior must graduate from normal arenas to advanced arenas) and tournament play. Many managers do not participate in all facets.
• There are only two arenas where a manager is mandated to run all five warriors in his stable each turn. (DM81, DM83)
• Yes, a DM arena warrior can occasionally defeat a DA Monster.
• Recognition points (recog), political points (PP), and fight equivalent (FE) are all terms to learn and understand.
• If a warrior plays long enough, and trains every possible stat, it can look like this: 25-25-x-25-25-25-25. (Only 21-21-x-21-21-21-21 pre-ADM.)
• Here are the top (not in order) early goals for a new manager--win more than 50% of the first 20 fights; achieve a Duelmaster; earn a Lord Protector, have a lot of fun.
• In ADM, a warrior is immortal. In Basic DM, it is possible, but very, very improbable that a warrior can be immortal.
• There was a time when a paying manager was known to run 40 teams at once
• The next Face-To-Face tournament is in Orlando, FL, this summer. The last one was in Tempe, AZ this past winter.
• The war flail is known as a "whiffle" for its weak damage-doing. It is reported that a whiffle once bounced off a naked (unarmored) opponent.
• In general, the aimed blow is considered to be the best top-end style today. Once upon a time, it was the lunger. In prehistoric days, the parry-lunger was thought to be the perfect style.
• Nicknames to know: parry-lunge = plunger, advanced expert = adex, war flail = whiffle, parry-strike = piker, sponge total parry = scum, parry-riposte = ripper.
• Yes, you can double challenge a warrior, and it appx doubles the chance of getting the fight. Simply list the to-be-challenged warrior's ID twice in both challenge slots.
• Two sites have significant value and information about the game; Terrablood.com and reality.com/dm
• One of the best events (An event is a special competition in an arena) are the Turf Wars, a year long team competition, in DM47. That event, TW VIII, is nearing an end and TWIX will probably start in a year and a half. Any manager can participate as long as they have a team in DM47.
• There are three mentors in Noblish Island, Jorja, Assur, and The Consortium. Use their expertise.
• Some managers seldom use tactics. (e.g. Assur) Some use tactics often. (e.g. The Consortium)
• A most common offensive strategy opening is 10-10-X. (OE/AL/KD)
• An expert has 16 total skills of the same type. Skills are acquired: at design, by learning skills in a fight, and by training certain stats which also provide some skills. An advanced expert has 20 total skills. There are, indeed, higher levels.
• Many consider the scimitar (SC) the best overall weapon in the game. The top five most commonly used weapons by The Consortium are SS, BS, QS, ME, DA. Their favorite of the weapons is the BA.
• The most popular Consortium armor, in order, is: naked, APA, ASM.

Have fun. Enjoy the competition. Learn, learn, learn. Ask questions. Experiment. The day will come when you, too, are an experienced D2 manager. Good luck.

--Smithy