Duelmasters: AB article (Byron) From: leeme@cnsvax.uwec.edu Date: Tue, 01 Jun 1993 17:44:19 +0000 Another Aimed Blow article. From 6/19/89 --- Retyped 3/22/90 M.Lee THE COMPLETE AIMED BLOW So, perhaps you've noticed that the AB style has the worst percentage in your arena. You've thought to yourself, "Why bother with a style that stinks?" Well, consider that in most arenas, offensive styles account for almost 2/3 of all warriors--the AB style is ideal for dealing with offensive types. And for precision, power, and grace, nothing beats the AB warrior. And when you look at versatility, you've also got access to an array of offensive and defensive tactics. What more could a manager want? ST: 11+ You need to be able to do at least "good" damage. If you are small, raise ST. You need 11 ST for most of your weapons. CN: 9+ Any lower and you will be unable to withstand the assaults of offensives. You need to last long enough to put someone away. SZ: Any. However, if you are size 8 or smaller this may be a problem as you will never be well suited to the QS or LS, which are your key heavy weapons. WT: 13+ You are a finesse fighter, and will need skills soon. The higher the wit the better. WL: 11+ More points here would be nice, but we need the points for ST, WT, and DF. Try to have your wit and will add up to at least 26 or more. SP: 8+ You aren't in any hurry to beat a foe, but you don't want to be so slow as to never get the initiative. Your defenses, especially dodging, are hurt if speed is low. Besides, if your speed is lower, this might adversely affect your coordination. DF: 13+ For finesse and parrying. If you can, get a 15 or higher DF to get the EP and even better performance, coordination, and precision. I won't go into the ultimate AB warrior, because you will rarely, if ever, get the ultimate rollup. Average sizes from 9-12 seem to work best, but in no way should that stop you from trying a big or small AB-- after all, any warrior can be made into a winner with the right strategy. Big guys should probably go the brawny route, raising ST and going for the bashing weapons. Little guys could go the quick and elusive route, raising DF and using slash and lunge weapons. The only advantage of an average size is that you can use all the weapons and tactics well. Training. You should first try to get your ST, WT, and DF up to fifteens apiece. Of course, you should be within two raises of these numbers at the start. That would give you every weapon, nice damage, and good precision. You should mix in his stat training with skills. Once you get an expert rating or two, return to stats to get better endurance, damage, and coordination. Finishing up your regular DM career with some more skills. Even though you have the stats for almost every weapon, not every weapon is well suited to your style. Bash Slash Lunge Light -- EP,SH EP,SC,DA Medium QS LO,SC LO,SS Heavy GS --- LS If your guy seems like a good parrier, try giving him an off-hand small shield, SH, or DA. If not, just use all your weapons two-handed. Most are good for parrying anyway. How do you run these versatile guys in your ordinary, random matchups? What we need to have is a general strategy that will let you survive the onslaught of other offensive warriors, and yet will make you forceful enough to demolish parriers. You should first decide on what class of weapons you paln on using for the fight; bash, slash or lunger. Choosing weapons of the same type will allow you to use the offensive tactics at your disposal. Here's a strategy if you decide to use a bashing weapon: OE 3 5 8 8 8 5 3 AL 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 KD 3 5 - - - - - Att L Your choice Def L Your choice Off T - - B B B - - Def T P - - - - - P Armor: Wear ASM or ACM plus helm Try to keep the activity level low in minutes 3-5 to preserve endurance and provide better stability for the bashing attack. Use the parry tactic when defensive, and you are slower in this strategy annd aren't dodging very well. The QS and GS are great parrying weapons, too. The Slash and Lunge strategies OE 2 5 8 8 8 5 2 AL 7 6 6 6 6 4 7 KD 3 5 - - - - 3 Att L HE, AM, LE Def L Your choice Off T - - S/L S/L S/L - - Def T D - - - - - D Armor: Wear ARM or ASM plus helm Your activity level is higher here to improve your dodges and general mobility. When using these low-penetration weapons, attack the head or a limb just in case you get matched up against a guy in heavy armor. The slash and lunge tactics seem to work best with an average/high activity level. You should only use this strategy in an arena with a good mix of style-- if youarena is weighted towards heavy armor wearers, you should probably make the QS your usual weapon. Of course, if your favorite weapon is one of the other types, use it most of the time--just don't aim for the body. For specific challenges, you've got it made. Initially you should probably stay away from faster offensive warriors, as your defenses aren't quite up to snuff yet. Even so, you have an enormous advantage in challenge situations because you can become a lunger, slasher, or basher at will! Talk about your options! You should probably bash against heavy armor, which means against most TP's, WS, and bashers. Lunge against light/medium armor parry-styles (PL, PS, PR), who aren't easily able to parry against your lunges. Slash against the strikers, lungers, and slashers--most of these guys wear little armor and have few parry defenses. Lord Byron, Mgr. Valley of Kings (3), Bunion Squad (7), Jetsons (14). [Mr.Lee's note: he mentioned GS use by an Aimed-Blow, please note that Aimed-Blow's use a GS in an unorthodox manner] Up