Post by Rheven on Jul 18, 2007 19:35:32 GMT -5
This 'guide' assumes one already knows the basics of dueling - that is, the general structure and method. What I will be discussing here is how to take your dueling further and make you into a more skilled duelist. Namely, this guide deals with how to improve your attacks.
Attacking
Obviously, attacks in a duel are very important - you're here to put the hurt on your opponent, in a serious way. Therefore, you want your attacks to be layered and strong, but without godmoding or playing out of your characters class.
There are three things I should stress - one being, no amount of writing skill makes up for a boring attack. Cliche, trite attacks such as a simple slash to the neck or a single orb of flame are rather boring, and give your opponent an easy attack to defend, thus giving them more time to write and plan their attacks. Making a layered, difficult to defend attack forces your opponent to think up a reasonable defense and to still have time to pull off an attack of their own.(More on this later)
The second is that you should always duel within your class and race line. If you're a mage, don't go around swinging a sword like a melee master. If you're a warrior, don't go flinging spells left and right. That isn't to say a mage cannot use a sword ,or a warrior cannot cast any spells - however, whatever your character's class is, is what their abilities are best in, naturally. Dueling out of class is a quick way to lose a duel.
The third is that, contrary to popular opinion, not all classes are created equal. Some classes are harder to duel as than others - though, it also comes out to personal preference. It is generally thought that magic classes have an edge in duels, and this is not without truth. This isn't to say an intelligent melee fighter cannot overwhelm a mage, it is very possible, but pure melee fighting, for most people, is far more of a challenge, due to the fact it takes more description and is a bit more difficult to layer attacks.
If you are a beginning duelist, you may find it easier to duel with magic, then try a more melee oriented class.
Layered Attacks
I've been using the term 'layered attacks' throughout my post so far - so, you may ask, what is a layered attack and what makes it so special and different from a normal one?
A layered attack is one that has several 'layers', and is thus harder to defend. This is important because it is far more likely to force your opponent to take damage, and spend more time writing their defense rather than simply brushing away a simple attack and focusing on their own hard hitting move.
A simple example would be this:
Rheven lowers a single hand to his belt, grasping at the hilt of a sword while his free hand moves to his back, pulling forth a shield while his aforementioned sword is unsheathed. Breaking into a sprint toward his foe, he grinds his boots to a halt -suddenly, the shield held within his right hand is thrust toward his foe's face, fully intent on crushing his nose and disorienting him. In a quick follow up, the shield is swiftly pulled away, regardless of success, and in the wake a firm thrust of his blade is sent forth, the razor tip aiming to shred through his hopefully stumbling opponent's neck.
Rather than just a tired, cliche thrust of the sword, the shield is put into the mix; thus, they have to defend both. Additional possibilities would be trying to blind your opponent with a quick spell, or the old kicking dust into the others eye. Use your imagination!
As an additional note - though you do want to layer your attack, you do not want to -over- attack, which is entirely possible. Anything more than two or three attacks in one post would usually be considered over attacking, and a slight bit on the side of overkill.
Enviroment use
Another good way to improve your attacks - or even defenses, for that matter - is to take advantage of your surroundings. Read the room description. Is there anything within it that you could use to your advantage for an attack? For druids, assassins, rangers, and similar classes especially, enviroment use is almost essential. Keep in mind, the person on the recieving end of a challenge gets to pick the location for the duel. Use this to your advantage! If you can pick a place that is very beneficial to your class and possibly even hinder your opponent's, why not choose it?
Auto hits
Ah, probably the most controversial topic in dueling. An auto hit is generally accepted to be determining damage for your opponent without giving them a chance to react. For example:
Rheven swings his fist at Chio's face, connecting with a quite harsh 'crack' as his cheekbone practically turns to mulch.
Which is, of course, unfair. However, simpler autohits can be used, if agreed upon before the duel. It is generally accepted that a thing such as...
Rheven shoves his right hand forward, pressing into Chio's shoulder and hoping to send him off balance...
...Is not a major auto hit(Or even a real one, by definiton). Some, however, still have an issue with allowing another character to do -any- sort of control without their say so. So, if you're going to do any sort of control or auto hit moves, you should definitely clarify this with your opponent before the duel begins.
Hopefully, this proves helpful to those of you that read it - I'll write a seperate one on defenses, and add to this topic if I find anything to be missing. Comments or questions are welcome.
Attacking
Obviously, attacks in a duel are very important - you're here to put the hurt on your opponent, in a serious way. Therefore, you want your attacks to be layered and strong, but without godmoding or playing out of your characters class.
There are three things I should stress - one being, no amount of writing skill makes up for a boring attack. Cliche, trite attacks such as a simple slash to the neck or a single orb of flame are rather boring, and give your opponent an easy attack to defend, thus giving them more time to write and plan their attacks. Making a layered, difficult to defend attack forces your opponent to think up a reasonable defense and to still have time to pull off an attack of their own.(More on this later)
The second is that you should always duel within your class and race line. If you're a mage, don't go around swinging a sword like a melee master. If you're a warrior, don't go flinging spells left and right. That isn't to say a mage cannot use a sword ,or a warrior cannot cast any spells - however, whatever your character's class is, is what their abilities are best in, naturally. Dueling out of class is a quick way to lose a duel.
The third is that, contrary to popular opinion, not all classes are created equal. Some classes are harder to duel as than others - though, it also comes out to personal preference. It is generally thought that magic classes have an edge in duels, and this is not without truth. This isn't to say an intelligent melee fighter cannot overwhelm a mage, it is very possible, but pure melee fighting, for most people, is far more of a challenge, due to the fact it takes more description and is a bit more difficult to layer attacks.
If you are a beginning duelist, you may find it easier to duel with magic, then try a more melee oriented class.
Layered Attacks
I've been using the term 'layered attacks' throughout my post so far - so, you may ask, what is a layered attack and what makes it so special and different from a normal one?
A layered attack is one that has several 'layers', and is thus harder to defend. This is important because it is far more likely to force your opponent to take damage, and spend more time writing their defense rather than simply brushing away a simple attack and focusing on their own hard hitting move.
A simple example would be this:
Rheven lowers a single hand to his belt, grasping at the hilt of a sword while his free hand moves to his back, pulling forth a shield while his aforementioned sword is unsheathed. Breaking into a sprint toward his foe, he grinds his boots to a halt -suddenly, the shield held within his right hand is thrust toward his foe's face, fully intent on crushing his nose and disorienting him. In a quick follow up, the shield is swiftly pulled away, regardless of success, and in the wake a firm thrust of his blade is sent forth, the razor tip aiming to shred through his hopefully stumbling opponent's neck.
Rather than just a tired, cliche thrust of the sword, the shield is put into the mix; thus, they have to defend both. Additional possibilities would be trying to blind your opponent with a quick spell, or the old kicking dust into the others eye. Use your imagination!
As an additional note - though you do want to layer your attack, you do not want to -over- attack, which is entirely possible. Anything more than two or three attacks in one post would usually be considered over attacking, and a slight bit on the side of overkill.
Enviroment use
Another good way to improve your attacks - or even defenses, for that matter - is to take advantage of your surroundings. Read the room description. Is there anything within it that you could use to your advantage for an attack? For druids, assassins, rangers, and similar classes especially, enviroment use is almost essential. Keep in mind, the person on the recieving end of a challenge gets to pick the location for the duel. Use this to your advantage! If you can pick a place that is very beneficial to your class and possibly even hinder your opponent's, why not choose it?
Auto hits
Ah, probably the most controversial topic in dueling. An auto hit is generally accepted to be determining damage for your opponent without giving them a chance to react. For example:
Rheven swings his fist at Chio's face, connecting with a quite harsh 'crack' as his cheekbone practically turns to mulch.
Which is, of course, unfair. However, simpler autohits can be used, if agreed upon before the duel. It is generally accepted that a thing such as...
Rheven shoves his right hand forward, pressing into Chio's shoulder and hoping to send him off balance...
...Is not a major auto hit(Or even a real one, by definiton). Some, however, still have an issue with allowing another character to do -any- sort of control without their say so. So, if you're going to do any sort of control or auto hit moves, you should definitely clarify this with your opponent before the duel begins.
Hopefully, this proves helpful to those of you that read it - I'll write a seperate one on defenses, and add to this topic if I find anything to be missing. Comments or questions are welcome.