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The Greek Basher

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Statistics 
Strength: 9+ 
Constitution: 7-9 
Size: any, depending on st 
Wit: 11-17 
Will: 17-21 
Speed: 5-7 
Deftness: 13+ 

Comments_advice: 

First of all you want to have great damage with your Bashers. So strength 
+ sz should give you great. Bashers dont have to be a genius but give him 
the chance to learn. I like 13 minimum. Would prefer 15. Some people will 
look at the cn and say its too high. You could be right but my Bashers have 
beaten more than one warrior by being able to take a couple of shots and 
then fire back. I like the 9 cn the best. The high will is extremely 
important. I wouldnt go below a 17. Allows stat trains but I think it also 
helps a Basher get the jump on other warriors. It's also important in your 
Basher not quiting when hit a couple of times and fighting back. Sp who 
cares. Df should be good enough to get decent weapons and be able to 
sometimes hit what you aim at. 

Strategey: It really depends on the guy your fighting and what your basher 
likes. I run either 10-10-X Dec. against faster warriors. 10-4-x B or no 
tactic against slower ones. Slow down to 10-4-X or 8-3-X in minute two. 
With great damage most warriors wont be around in minute two anyways and if 
they are they're probably scum so you might as well lower OE and Al. 

Weapons: WH is an awesome Basher weapon. If you have the ability obviously 
you can use a Maul. However I would stick with the WH. Its fast and can 
smash through any armor. 

Armor: I like to wear ALE and a H. This allows the Basher to take a shot or 
two and still fight back. This is not a scum Basher design so dont put him 
in Plate. This is a speed Basher. The highest armor I would go is ARM. 
However its OK to sometimes scum someone thats just too fast for you. You 
have to hope they tire out or you can take enough shots to take the initiative. 

Desp: Well if hes big he probably wont dodge very well. So strategies I use are 

10-4-4 Respon (against strikers) 

10-10-5 Decis ( kick in the butt) 

10-4-X Parry 

You really have to experiment and see which works best for you. 

Thats all I got. If you dont like it then write one yourself. 

The Greek Guy 

Lurocians 57 

Lords of Light 33 

Troll-Bred Bashers

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     The Bashing attack is not, as many of you may have noticed, one of the dominant 
styles in Duelmasters.  There are two reasons for this; one of which I will cover 
here, the other I will cover in an accompanying article.  I will preface this article 
on Bashing attack design and strategy by saying that I have been playing Duelmasters 
for two years, and I have spent most of this time experimenting with and perfecting 
the Bashing Attack.  In my opinion, a Basher needs to possess a monumentally high 
attack percentage, with decisiveness and initiative not far behind.  What follows is 
designed to achieve the desired results.
     Let's get right down to business.  First, the stats:

                                           PERFECT
ST:  13-17                                   15
CN:   3-5                                     3
SZ:   6-9                                     6
WT:  17-21                                   21
WL:  17-21                                   21
SP:   5-9                                     5
DF:  11-15                                   13

     Here's why:
     Strength is arguably the most important attribute for a basher.  A basher with a 
high strength can virtually be assured of a reasonably high attack.  however, excess 
strength takes away points from other vital areas and, as you will see, this Basher 
will not want for attack.  A 13 strength gives the Basher most of the good Bashing 
weapons.
     Constitution is absolutely unimportant to any offensive styles warrior.  Bashers, 
and for that matter, offensives in general, should be designed to dish out damage, not 
absorb it.  If you are designing a Basher to absorb damage, then you are designing him 
wrong.
     Size is an attribute that this game system does not handle well.  As we all know, 
too large a size means that you do not have enough points to allocate to the other 
attributes.  You would think logically that a Basher would need a large size.  I am 
not talking about logic.  I am talking about winning within the parameters of this 
game system.  I give a minimum size of 6 since this is the smallest size that can 
achieve "great damage with a blow."
     Wit, in my opinion, is the most important attribute for every style.  This is 
strictly my opinion and you do not have to agree with me.  Where Bashers are concerned 
however, a Basher without very high wit is garbage.  High wit will greatly effect a 
Basher's initial attack, decisiveness, and initiative.  My research has led me to the 
conclusion that a Basher's initiative is primarily a function of wit.  high wit also 
ensures that the Basher will train consistently.  Also, a Basher with a high wit can 
expect an initial initiative rating somewhere in the 50-60% range.  Note that speed is 
also a modifier for initiative.
     Will is another attribute that the Basher cannot do without.  Will affects a 
Basher's attack and decisiveness, and is responsible for, in conjunction with 
strength, giving the Basher normal endurance, despite the pitifully low constitution.
     Speed has almost no affect on a basher.  I have seen many high speed Bashers, and 
I can tell with 100% certainty that Bashers do not derive strong benefit from speed.  
Slasher, strikers, and to a lesser extent, Lungers, all derive noticeable benefit from 
speed.  I am not saying that a 5 speed Basher will be equally as fast (initially) as a 
19 speed Basher, but I am saying that a Basher can derive greater benefit by placing 
points in other areas.  This Basher will drive his decisiveness from the high wit/will 
combinations: 21-21-5; 19-19-7;  17-17-9.  These combinations, or something similar, 
will generate an initial decisiveness rating of about 50%.
     Deftness is very important to a Basher.  The strength/wit/will/deftness 
combination is where this Basher will generate the awesome attack percentage and his 
attacking precision.  A Basher with the aforementioned minimums in 
strength/wit/will/deftness can expect to achieve an initial attack rating between 60-
80%.  A 13 deftness will also allow the use of my favorite weapon, the morning star.  
In the hands of a Basher, this is a devastating weapon.
     Now that you know how to design a Basher, here's how they should be run.
     This strategy should be used vs. offensive styled warriors:

          1    2    3    4    5    6    Desp
          10   10   10   10   10   10   10
          10    3    3    3    3    3   10
           7    7    7    7    7    7    7
          HE   HE   HE   HE   HE   HE   HE
          HE   HE   HE   HE   HE   HE   HE
           D    B                        D

     The offensive effort is self-explanatory.  If you are not trying to destroy your 
opponent, then you should not be running a Basher.  The activity level requires some 
explanation.  Bashers, as you might expect, perform better with a low activity level.  
This is because the Bashing attack style is a series of overhand, overpowering blows 
which are designed to deliver maximum hitting power.  Running around like a 
decapitated chicken would appear to be counterproductive.  Here is the key.  The 10 
activity level in minute one is designed to help you get the jump on another offensive 
warrior.  If you do get the jump, you will win.  Even if you are hurting the Basher's 
attack percentage, how many offensive warriors do you know of that will be able to 
parry or dodge this Basher's attack?  NONE.  Therefore, the 10 activity level in 
minute one is justified.  The decisiveness tactic in minute one is also there to help 
you get the first shot off.  Assuming you get the jump in minute one and the fight 
somehow manages to make it into minute two, that's where the bash tactic comes in.  
You enter minute two with the initiative, land a bash modified head shot into the poor 
slob in front of you, and down he goes!!!  Minutes 3-6 are basically superfluous as 
not many fights will go that far.  10-3-7 allows the basher to do what he does best.  
The theory behind the desperation configuration is the same as that for minute one.  
Since the bashing attack is a downward motion, attacking the head is logical to say 
the least.  Modify this to the chest if you suspect that you adversary is protecting 
his head.  Defending your head is simply there to ensure that you hold your hands up 
high.  My reasoning is that I am simply trying not to interfere with the Basher's 
attack, as opposed to seriously trying to defend myself.  Against defensive warriors, 
change minute one to 10-3-7 with no tactics: i.e., let the basher do what he does 
best.  I have only lost one fight to a defensive styled warrior with my best basher, 
and that was MY fault.  Minute two can be left the same, or you can drop the bash 
tactic.  I am tempted to leave the desperation minute the same.  If you are desperate, 
it probably means you were just hit.  This design cannot take getting hit.  You need 
to go berserk in order to regain the initiative.
     A high quality Basher should have no trouble with Parry-XYZ's and TPs.  Against 
scum try 7-1-7 with the bash tactic.  You should have no trouble blasting attacks 
through the feeble parries of a scum warrior, and the relatively slow (for a basher) 
tempo will allow you to keep it up for 3-4 minutes, which WILL be more than enough 
time to demolish even the most stubborn APA, F, ME, ME 1-1-1-P Total Parry.  Let me 
also mention that the bash tactic should never be used against PRs.
     Last, but by no means least, is what to wear.  Armor should be APL, ALE, or none 
at all.  DO NOT strap this basher into a suit of plate armor.  The Bashing Attack, 
despite what some other managers say (even those self-proclaimed "highly experienced" 
manager who relentlessly brag about their 600+ winning percentages who only run 
defensives, SCUM, and lungers) is a quick style.  The armor should be correspondingly 
light to allow the basher to get the jump on his opponent.  The same theory applies to 
weapon selection.  Try using the QS, MS, of the WH.  The GA and MA should only be used 
against slower offensives of defensive styled warriors.  Again, the key here is 
quickness.  THIS basher is designed to win his fights, with his tremendous attack 
percentage, not with his tremendous damage bonus.
     This article has been brought to you by.....

Mark Schwartz
280 Middlesex Road                                   aka  Troll King
Matawan,  NJ   07747                                      mgr. Troll Lords
201-583-5150                                              Arena #36  Jhans

JESSIE’S GUIDE TO A GOOD BASHER (3rd Edition)

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Greetings. This is a 3rd edition of “Jessie’s guide to a good BASHER.” I have a little more time to upgrade my second article to give you some more info regarding my favorite style. The major changes are in the weapons and strategies section. But, read the whole thing I’ve made other changes as well. Also, this article doesn’t disscuss the SCUM basher or other mutant variations of this style. It deals mainly with ones meant to last past 10 – 15 fights.

Most new mangers or managers that don’t run bashers that much, don’t understand how to make a good basher. Needless to say, they don’t run them right either. Even with the my hoard of bashers, each one varies somewhat.

The 4 MOST important things to a basher are DECISE skills, ATTACK skills, DAMAGE bonus, and maintaining the INITIATIVE. This is also the order of importance as well. Bashers also learn ATTACK, DECISE and INITIATIVE skills faster than other skills. They are very simular to slashers in many ways.

1. DECISE SKILLS- A basher needs to strike first, and this is why his number of Decise skills must be high. His bigger size will give him bonus DECISE skills, as well as bonus INITIATIVE skills. Bashers have poor defense and parrying abilities, this is why they need to gain the initiative. A BASHERS best defense is a good OFFENSE. Speed also gives decise skills. But, I don’t add to speed, cause speed isn’t vital to a basher or his performance.

2.ATTACK- After gaining the initiative, the number of attack skills will determine when he hits or not. Bashers need to hit what they swing at, cause they may not get another chance to swing. I recommend a 10+ base in attack for a basher. This means he should have a HIGH ORDER WIT statement for attack. The higher the attack rating, the easier it will be to get through the parries and dodges of the opponent. If you check the WIT statement chart, and he doesnt have HIGH ORDER attack, he may not do well.

3.DAMAGE- This is a MUST for any basher. Would recommend a no less than a GOOD DAMAGE rating. I prefer GREAT DAMAGE for my bashers, or more. A basher must be able do do ALOT of damage when he hits, cause he is trying to bring his opponent down fast. Because, he cant afford to let his opponent attack back with the low defensive abilities the basher has. That is why he needs to make every hit count.

4.INITIATIVE- He needs to start with at least a LOW ORDER initiative WIT statement. He needs to maintain his attacks to get enough hits to bring his opponent down, so there is no counter attack. It does no good to strike first if he cant maintain his initiative. Big size, High WIT, and high DEFTNESS will give your basher extra starting INITIATIVE skills.

Designing a good basher doesnt take a rocket scientist. If you’ve been wondering what to do with big guys, BASHER is the answer. Bashers make excellant BASIC warriors. And if you get one that has some defensive abilities as well as offense, he might be good at the higher levels of the game. Smaller bashers that have higher skill bases, fair better at higher levels of the game than bigger ones with less skill. The only problem with small ones is surviving BASIC. Cause, they dont have the DAMAGE or HIT POINTS the big ones have.

Strength- 10-17 Don’t skimp, you need the damage. But WIT is the first concern. Strength is number 3 in the priority race. You might need a little higher if you have a small one. Remember you want to at least get a GOOD DAMAGE rating. You can also train strength later, so don’t worry about starting with it to high. I always try to get odd numbers on strength, cause thats where most of the strength requirements are for basher weapons. 15, 17, 21 STR also give extra skills.

Constitution- 6+ . Try to get it to a least 6. If you already have it above 6, don’t add points here. This is low priority for adding points.

Size- 9+ is recommended, but I wouldnt go below 6 unless you got at least a 15 strength. If you have a size 15+, then you can goe as low as 10 on the strength. A QS, only needs an 11 strength to wield. You can use it till you get a 12 or more Strength to wield the Bashers best weapon the WARHAMMER. Dont forget big size ,12+ get bonus HIT POINTS, DECISE SKILLS, and INITIATIVE SKILLS. But they also get a penality in their starting DEFENSE skills. Smaller ones, 8 or less get bonus defense, but less hit points. They also get hosed on DAMAGE bonus. But, the smaller ones usually start out with more skills than the bigger ones.

WIT- 15, 17 or 21. Since a basher starts out with lower skill bases than most styles, he needs to learn fast. Even if he is only an average basher, he can make up for it buy learning fast. Having a high WIT will help him learn fast. If you have a slow learning basher, he wont be competitive after about 10 to 15 fights. The reason is causes the other styles that start with more skills than a basher will pass him up in the skills department. This will cause many losses and even death. This is a number ONE priority when adding points.

WILL- If you cant get 15, 17, or 21, dont add points here. WILL is not a basher priority. If you want your basher to go to ADM, you need at least a 15 WILL. Bashers are low endurance burn, and don’t need high endurance. But, it is nice to have. Some of the best short term Bashers, have low wills.

Speed- 5+. Speed is not a basher priority. Don’t add points here. I don’t like 3 speeds, I believe there is a voodoo curse that penalizes you to much.

DEFTNESS- Many managers skimp here. DON’T SKIP on deftness. I see many managers see that a roll up has low deftness and automatically say make it a basher. That greatly damages your basher. For a lunger or slasher who already have ALOT of skill to start out with, its OK to have a low deftness. But, not a basher who doesn’t have those skills. Deftness is where most of the bonus skills come from. Don’t ROB your basher of the skills, he needs all he can get. I recommend 13+. 11 is ok if you have a 17 or 21 WIT. I never go below 9 Deftness, period.

BASHERS WEAPONS- After experimenting with all of the basher weapons extensively, I have more info in this area to give.

Basher Weapon Requirements :

Warhammer: STR 13, Size 3, WIT 9, DEF 7
MACE: Str 13, Size 3, WIT 7, DEF 5
Morning Star: Str 13, Size 3, WIT 9, DEF 13
War Flail: Str 11, Size 3, WIT 7, DEF 7
Quarter Staff: Str 11, Size 9, WIT 11, DEF 11
Great Axe: Str 13, Size 3, WIT 9, DEF 11
Great Sword: Str 15, Size 9, WIT 11, DEF 11
Maul: Str 15, Size 9, WIT 5, DEF 7
Halberd: Str 17, Size 9, WIT 11, DEF 11

Those weapons above are well suited to the Basher. Also, weapons that are Marginally Suitable are Battle AXE, Broadsword, and FIST. You do get a little penalty for using Marginally Suitable weapons, but not enough to notice. Your bashers favorite weapon can only be a well suited one.

Besides Strength, other important factors that determine what weapon you equip your basher with are ENDURANCE and current ATTACK skill level.

If your basher has an ENDURANCE problem use the QS or WH. Or if he is fighting against a heavy armored defensive style, these weapons are the best choice. Warhammer is good against plate. Don’t use a ML or HL with an endurance problem, ’cause he won’t last past round one.

If your basher hasn’t gained enough skill yet, and is being parryed most of the time, use BIGGER weapons. If you have the strength and endurance use the ML or HL. Using this weapons will increase the damage you making each hit count. In basic, when weapon speed its a major factor, big weapons aren’t really that slow. It is very easy to a jump your opponent using a HL or ML, I do it all the time.

Another tactic I use often with great success, is using big weapons for light armor and lighter ones for Heavy armor. Most offenses in basic wear lighter armor and has less hit points. Offensive styles are more deadly too bashers than defensive styles. Therefore you need to bring them down as quickly as possible. Using a HL or ML against scale armor or less, usually only takes one or 2 hits to bring an offensive style down. Defensive styles parry and dodge alot of your attacks, so you need a lighter weapon so you wont tire out quickly. Using a warhammer for chainmail and above will let you last long enough to bring a defensive style down. Warhammer also does very good against heavy armor.

WARHAMMER: 13 STR required. This is the BEST weapon for a basher without a doubt. Its light weight and speed are unchalleged against all the other Basher weapons. It also does a surprising amount of damage. Can be used against all armors with great success. This weapon rarely breaks.

MACE: 13 STR required. This is an OK weapon, but doesn’t compare to the WARHAMMER. It has problems inflicting damage.

Morningstar: 13 STR and 13 DEFT required. Does good damage, but is slow and heavy. Isn’t worth the endurance burn.

War Flail: 11 STR required. The is the WORST weapon in the game. DONT USE IT!!!!! Damage for this weapon is very lame and I have see it bounce off of ALE and NO ARMOR opponents. I believe daggers and fist do more damage!

Quarter staff- 11 STR and DEFT required. This two handed weapon is light weight, quick and good against all armors. This is a Bashers fourth best weapon. This weapons main problem it breaks too much. I use the FIST as a backup when I use the QS, so when it breaks he doesn’t have to draw a backup weapon. Offensive styles may not give you a chance to draw your backup weapon. With a fist back-up you will continue attacking after your weapon has broken maintaining his initiative.

Greataxe- 13 STR and 11 DEFT required. This is also much like the QS, but weighs a little more. Does more damage than a QS. It will tire your basher faster. This weapon also breaks a lot.

Maul- 15 STR required. Does massive damage, but is very heavy and tiresome. This weapon is a better all- around weapon between it and the Halberd. This is the 2nd best bashing weapon.

Halberd- 17 Str required. Does the most damage in the game. This weapon also is only for those warriors who have the strength and the endurance for it. This is a bashers 3rd best weapon.

Greatsword- 15 STR required. See WAR FLAIL. This weapon also breaks alot.

Sheilds- Are well suited to bashers, but don’t ever use one. They don’t do hardly any damage. Dont ever use a sheild and any other weapon in a bashers OFF-HAND. They rarely use their OFF-hand to parry and when they do use it to attack with your doing less damage. When the computer gets to the part in the program where it selects which hand to use, you want him to use his PRIMARY weapon to do the most DAMAGE. Not to pick an off-hand weapon that does lessor damage. Also you get an attack bonus for using 2 hands with many weapons.

Bashers favorite weapon. Well out of 90 Basher ADM graduates, the following is a list of their favorite weapons.

MS(9), MA(17), GA(5), GS(9), ML(9), WF(8), HL(8), WH(7), QS(9), ME(2), LG(8)

You have to try each of them if you want to guess which one it is. If your lucky and get the WH, then praise the gods!!

16 of the 90 bashers got the BASH tactic as their favorite tactic. But, I wouldn’t use the BASH tactic, but the DECISE tactic is awesome for a BASHER. I use it with all my bashers. Two Basher got DECISE as a favorite tactic. Bash is only good to use against strong defensive styles after round one. I have used the DEFENSE or PARRY Tactics in DESP. with great success. I will chose the one that the basher has a WIT statement in. IE: If he has a DEFENSE statement I use DEFENSE tactic in DESP. If a Parry statement then PARRY in DESP. IF neither, then PARRY cause its almost always higher than DEFENSE for a basher.

Basher Armor- ALE/S or H to start. If he doesnt seem to get the jump on most of his opponents, then go to heavy armor. You can ‘sponge’ your opponents, buy taking hits and hope to get to hit them when they’re tired. But if they do to much damage to you first, you will lose.

Favorite Rythems- Offense effort should be between 8-10 the first minute and 5-8 there after. In DESP. 5-10. Activity Level should be 5-10 in the first minute and 1-3 thereafter. IN DESP between 1-10. KD between 5-7 all rounds.

Typical Strategy:

MIN:  1    2    3    4    5    6    DESP
========================================
OFF. 10    8    5    5    5    5     10
----------------------------------------
AVT. 10    1    1    1    1    1      6
----------------------------------------
KD.   7    6    6    6    6    6      6
----------------------------------------
Att. RA   RA   RA   RA   RA   RA     RA
----------------------------------------
Pro. HE   HE   HE   HE   HE   HE     HE 
----------------------------------------

TAC. DECISE in minute one. Bash in later minutes against scum or heavy defensive styles. Defense or Parry in DESP.

If you aim for the limbs, you can take your opponent down quick. Bashers tend to hit the upper half of the body more anyhow.

Well, thats a rap. If you would like to chat, get charts, or learn all the stuff RSI doesn’t tell you, drop me a line. You can diplo me in Primus DM102, ” The Joker’s WILD ” or any one of my others teams that are to long to list. Also, you can EMAIL me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com Sir Jessie Jest