This article is the result of a fellow Duelmasters manager asking me how to
go about the business of killing. He stated that I was "the resident expert"
on the Duelmasters Round Table (an e-mail chat group) and was therefore the
person to come to for tips. Well, this got me thinking, and the mail that I
sent to him is a subset of this full-fledged article.
As for being an "expert", all I can say is that I hold the record for most
kills in Alastari with any one stable. Merlin's Lot in Sibikhas had a record
of 661-538-72 as of Cycle 283.
So, for all of you who want to strike constant fear in the hearts of your
weak opponents, here's my tips:
1) This is my most important rule, and it is a corollary to Doc LeGrand's
famous "First Rule of Duelmasters", which was "You can't die if you don't
lose." My version is "You can't kill if you don't win." This is obvious,
but many managers design what they believe to be "killers" with all sorts
of scary damage ratings and the ability to swing two mauls, but the likelihood
of these warriors winning is rather slim, because they're brain-dead, or
ponderously slow, or are just as likely to chop their own foot off as to hit
their opponent. Sure, they might get lucky in one or two of their first
few fights, but is one kill worth a 2-6-1 record and five skills learned
followed by a DA? So, first you have to start with a warrior that will
win at least half of his first 10 fights (or however long you think this
warrior will last). That is critical. When all else is equal, the more you
win, the more you'll kill...guaranteed.
2) You have to be offensive. There's no getting around it. You have to run
with at least a 7 KD, and, while I can safely say that I got most of my
kills running 10 KD, I also feel that I could have avoided more than a few
losses by toning that down a little. There is a big trade-off here; raising
KD means more kills, but it can also mean less wins. With a 10 KD, when your
warrior is on the ropes, he'll be way too berserk to even care. I now go
no higher than 9 KD, but the rate I've been getting kills has noticeably decreased.
3) Point #2 does NOT mean that your warrior must be one of the offensive
styles! Defensive warriors can be excellent killers as well, most notably,
parry-lungers, parry-strikers and wastes. Total parries and parry-ripostes
just don't seem to have the knack. Still, though, you can't just change
the KD on your normal defensive strategy and hope to kill. It's just not
that easy. You'll have to completely modify your warrior's strategy to get
that killing edge. This means high offensive effort, but not necessarily
high activity. I've had two parry-strikers that were great killers, but
I ran them 7-7-7, which is out of the bounds of their potential favorite
numbers. Parry-lungers are better suited to killing because they can be
run (relatively successfully) just like lungers. There was a recent
discussion on the Duelmasters Roundtable concerning parry-strikers that
said that many managers run rookie PSs 10-10-6. Well, how much different
is 10-10-9?
4) Your killer will have to do some damage. This does not NECESSARILY mean
that he will have to do at least good damage (although, for my killers,
I prefer at least great). What it DOES mean is that, if your warrior does
only normal damage, he's going to have to hit A LOT to get that kill
intent statement! There's nothing more pleasing than having your great
damage basher send one shot to an opponent's head, get the death intent
statement, and one more swing and the undertaker's already reserving a slab.
This just cannot be accomplished with a normal damage warrior.
5) Obviously, to maximize your killing potential, you have to aim at vitals.
I prefer the head or the chest, although many of my lungers have gotten
their kills aiming for the abdomen. Also, a high deftness will greatly help
in this regard, because it does no good to aim at the head and hit your
opponent six times in six different locations. Sure, you'll get the win,
but you'll have a more difficult time getting the kill.
6) Killing means weeding out the worthless and weak. One of my favorite
sayings is "If a warrior dies, he wasn't meant to live." Of course, I use
this to justify going after warriors that I BELIEVE just don't deserve to
live, like that 2-6 ripper, or that 6-7 aimed blow who has gotten some
lucky challenges through to defensives, but is finally going to have his
luck catch up with him. Or any warrior belonging to the Neon Necromancer....
You have to be merciless to enjoy killing, and to go after the warriors that
deserve to die. That's the Dark Circle way. Also, when you have a chance
to REALLY get a slam dunk on an opponent (and there is no better example
than having a champion bloodfeud an initiate), then, by all means, crank
up that KD all the way to 10. You KNOW you're going to win, and your chance
of killing is maximized. Go for it.
7) When in doubt, at least challenge warriors you know that you can HIT,
not necessarily BEAT, just HIT HARD! This tip is really only good for
warriors that do at least great damage. The more damage you do, the more
likely that one hit will be all you'll need (especially if you hit
where you're aiming, as I stated in Point #5). If there's a great lunger
out there, but he's slow and you've sent him desperate with your faster
striker before the lunger's dodge strategy kicked in and he pounded you,
challenge him again and you'll be more than likely to send him desperate
again! Maybe you got a bad roll last time. Maybe you'll get a really good
roll this time....
8) And, being on the receiving end of a bloodfeud can be a good way to get
those slam-dunks as well. If you kill a warrior who comes from a relatively
new team, or from a team that has no warriors above yours (or, at least,
no warriors that can beat yours), then you're home free. Stack up the
opposition like cordwood as they try to revenge their pathetic loser.
9) As we all know, the younger a warrior is, the more likely he is to die
when he loses. Therefore, the tips on challenging that I have just stated
should practically be ignored for any warrior in the Challenger Adepts or
higher. This does not mean that Champions don't die; far from it! Sibikhas
just lost its Duelmaster, and arenas like Sunset and Talcama (where
bloodlust reigns supreme) have at least one 10+ fight warrior dying
practically every turn. Even warriors with 20 or more fights can be fairly
regularly found on any arena's dead list. But, it's in the rankings of the
Initiates where you will find most of the dead. So, if you want to kill, you
should "make hay while the sun shines", as it were, and try to get in those
notches on your hilt within your warriors' first ten fights.
10) If you're just looking to pad your kill total, then you should challenge
the DA with any of your warriors that graduates to ADM. I would estimate
that about half of the warriors that do this win the fight, and even if you
lose it, all you lose are the skills that you may have gotten if you had
fought a regular opponent. You also don't have to worry about a bloodfeud.
I must admit, though, that I am pretty proud of the fact that my kill total
in Sibikhas has NOT been inflated via this manner. Just think how many kills
I would have had if I had sent all two dozen of my Lord Protectors to the DA
on their last fight! Maybe over 80!
11) As you may well know, there are many managers out there (many of whom call
themselves Andorians) who believe that killing is bad and wrong and all sorts
of other judgemental stuff that has nothing to do with combat. As for me,
I couldn't care less whether you want to kill my warriors (or anybody else's)
or not. Just don't tell me what to do. This is also the Dark Circle way.
Unfortunately, many of these Andorians have banded together in certain arenas,
where the idea of "killing without remorse" is heavily frowned upon. It is in
these arenas where, if you kill and enjoy it (and even SAY so...), your
entire stable will be hunted down for the true warriors that they are, rather
than for the "we all share a common goal, so let's play nice" slumber
party pillow-fighters that all the other warriors in those arenas are.
Therefore, if you wish to be proficient and successful at killing, I suggest
you avoid these arenas like the plague that they are. Trust me. You will
receive more enjoyment from your kills when the manager of your victim vows
revenge in kind, but does not question your morals.
12) And, above all, when that manager of your victim DOES threaten to wipe
out your entire stable, you have to be prepared to die yourself. Some studies
have shown (to varying degrees) that raising your KD also increases your
own likelihood of death. I'm not convinced of this, but I'm not denying it
either. And, of course, when you kill, you invite a bloodfeud upon your
killer, and the opposing manager will have all of the bloodfeuding advantages
that I have mentioned above. Accept that death is part of the game, and
relish the chances to be bloodfeuded, just as much as you relish the kill.
Well, that's about all I can think of. I hope to see all of the undertakers
throughout Alastari very busy! Best of Luck in your headhunting!
Merlin, Warden of the Dark Circle
