First and foremost, let me say welcome to all the new managers to Duel2. I have been playing this game for around 8 years and have some experience and knowledge. I've had 6 different teams, yet now I only have 2 active ones. I learned a lot from the Great and Wise Ones in Noblish Island (Assur, Hammer, Jorja, and The Consortium) and through Terrablood.com. However, I have learned mostly through trial and error. Following in the steps of the Great and Wise Ones, I have taken some of the things I have figured out and put them on paper. My first article will be on my favorite style to play (not seen as the best): the Wall of Steel, or the Waste as some managers call it. Let's start by taking a look at what I would call the minimum stats needed to make a decent and good Wall of Steel.
STRENGTH: 9-13
You need to at least be able to use the Scimitar. I try to always get an 11 (even if I need to train up from 10 to get it) because it opens up the Broadsword and the Quarterstaff. If able, without hurting your other stats, I'll go to 13 so I can use the Great Axe. I have found that no more is needed here. Spend your extra points elsewhere.
CONSTITUTION: 8-12
I try to get at least 21 with ST+CN, mostly for the Endurance and Carry. HP is nice, but most of my Wastes will Dodge or Parry. More on that later...
SIZE: 9-14
One reason is I do not like the negative skill points in Defense and Parry. Also pay attention to your Damage, aim for Good--it makes a huge difference.
WIT: 15, 17, or 21
A Wall of Steel that cannot learn will lose non-stop. As with most styles, it's all about learning skills. I've tried lower; you will notice quickly there will be a gap in their Win-Loss record.
WILL: 11, 15, or 17
An 11 is okay if you don't plan on using them in ADM. If you dream of ADM, go for 15 or 17. Aim for Normal Endurance.
SPEED: Any
I've tried low and high, it is okay but not needed.
DEFTNESS: 11+
You will need at least 11 for the weapon requirements, plus the skill gain here is great. Aim to get Normal Coordination if you can. (Normal Coordination is SP+DF=21+.)
Now these are my minimum beliefs, other managers are more than welcome to argue or point out flaws at any time, just drop me a Diplo. As you can see these are not hard numbers to get and there is room to move points around. If you hit the mimimum and still have points to spend (the mimimum point total is 77 out of 84), place them on either WT, DF, WL, CN, ST... in that order. Look for those beautiful skill breaks at 13, 15, 17, and 21.
Here is an example of one of my fighters that is still active. He started out 10-12-9-15-15-10-13. As you can see, he meets all of my requirements. Using the C.I.C. I got from RSI, I was expecting to get four wit statements, one for Initiative (12), Attack (10), Parry (7), and Defense (7). Good Damage (-G+), Cannot Carry a lot, Normal Endurance (330), Normal HPs (60.9), and Normal Coordination.
Once I received his overview, I saw he did get the four wit statements, plus another "rarely wastes his endurance needlessly" -- I believe this to be a blessing in endurance. Which is evident from his Good Endurance, so I know his endurance is above 391. With only Normal damage, I know he got hosed. Everything else was just as I thought. It took his first two fights training strength to get it to 11, luckily it "un-hosed" his damage and improved his carry. As of this writing, he is 14-8-0, has learned 35 skills in the arena, and 11 in tourneys. I can also tell his favorite learn is parry because out of the 46 skills, 14 are parry. Hopefully he graduates to ADM soon.
I have had many other Walls of Steel, but most will look like this. Let's move on to how to equip and run them.
WEAPONS: The C.I.C. says the Battleaxe (BA), Broadsword (BS), Great Axe (GA), Greatsword (GS), Morning Star (MS), Quarterstaff (QS), Scimitar (SC), and the War Flail (WF) are all well-suited for this style. I only use four of them: SC, QS, BS, and GA. I usually go (0-6) SC, (7-12) QS, and (13+) BS or GA. Try them out and find which your fighter does better with, then keep using it.
ARMOR: For me it's either APL/L or ARM/S, depending on who I am fighting. I'll go lighter and quicker vs. slower styles, or put more on vs. faster ones. Remember to always use armor.
STRATEGY: I start them out with 6-4-6 in minute 1, then move the offense and activity up or down by 1 until I found out where they parry the best. A Wall of Steel will attack when he sees an opening and a lot of the times even get the jump. What you wish to see is them parry those fast offensive styles. Nothing brings me greater joy than watching those Bashers, Slashers, and Lungers getting nowhere with all their attacks.
Well, I hope this brings some insight or new ideas about my favorite style. I welcome any and all comments and questions; I can only hope this helps someone in the future.
Enjoy your time on the sands and hope to see you in the arena.!