Duel Mode Fundamentals
1. MELEE ONLY
2. 1 SHIELD MAXIMUM; CHEAPEST SHIELDS ONLY
3. NO ARMOR
4. NO HORSES
5. DUELS MUST BE MUTUALLY INITIATED
6. A DUEL ENDS WHEN A PARTICIPANT DIES OR WHEN BOTH PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO DISCONTINUE THE DUEL
Schedule: No upcoming duel servers are specifically planned right now. Spontaneous duel servers may pop up when demanded. The schedule will be updated often, so check back every once in a while.
Do you love playing infantry, but find it difficult to function within normal servers? Tired of being shot in the back as you fight other infantry? Do you find yourself getting killed in melee combat more from random cavalry than the infantry you're engaging? ? And even if you get to fight an infantry one-on-one, how many shields will you have to smash through for a manual duel? Fear these no more! Duel Mode is an infantry-lover's dream come true, where you'll be able to fight limitless one-on-one's undisturbed.
A great advantage to this honorable combat is that your skill in Warband will rise at a faster rate than normal Warband multiplayer. In the latter, kills are a very inefficient way of learning, at least relative to one-on-one combat. What do you learn from melee-ganging an infantry along with six of your buddies, mowing down a lone nekked with an archer mass, or trampling a lone inf so many times with a horde of cav that he can't even stand? Group tactics, perhaps, but that's not one-on-one XP! When it comes down to it, normal Warband presents very few one-on-one fights. But in duel mode, you'll get them all the time, which means you'll become better at judging weapon attack range and speed for the purposes of both striking and evading, determining shield cover range and the shield's approximate durability left, prediction and mindgames, etc. And this will end up enhancing your game in normal Warband multiplayer, because you'll be better able to perceive the individual characteristics of each player and apply those more accurate perceptions to the group scenario.
Here are the rules that you must know and abide by in a duel server. There is not currently a list of alternate modes, but any developed in-game will be described to you. To play on a duel server, all you have to know are these main rules.
Duel Mode:
1. MELEE ONLY: This is the main draw of a duel server. If you attack in any non-melee way (ex. throwing a weapon, shooting a bow or crossbow, etc.), you're breaking this rule.
2. 1 SHIELD MAXIMUM; CHEAPEST SHIELDS ONLY: Shields can be a fun part of melee combat, but most people think manual blocking is more fun. To balance the effects of the two, one shield is allowed per player. You may only use the cheapest shields available, which means I don't want to see Heavy Board Shields lying around the dueling field. My personal preference is to not use a shield at all, so feel free to skip the shield. You'll get a lot better at manual blocking without it. It's also rather humiliating to get owned by someone without a shield when you're clinging to one.
3. NO ARMOR: For the fight to be truly equal, both players cannot use any armor. There are two exceptions to the 'No Armor' rule. Any player may wear any helmet, mainly because people won't be getting hit in the head with melee very much (if at all). The other exception is that you may wear the free torso piece and free leg piece if you choose, but know that you are skewing the results of the duel in your favor by doing this, which is dishonorable. This is mainly for people who can't stand being 'nekked.'
4. NO HORSES: You're going to have to get around by running. This rule is in effect for three reasons: A. You don't need a horse. It may be convenient for travel, but you don't need it at all for dueling. B. Riderless horses running around can knock over and damage people in duels. C. It's easier to identify griefers when horses are outlawed.
5. DUELS MUST BE MUTUALLY INITIATED: Yes, it is fun to ambush an unaware opponent with a great axe. But the thing about duel mode is that everyone is only a potential opponent, which means he's not really your opponent until both of you agree to a duel. You can ambush an opponent during a duel, though (if you can somehow give him the slip). For simplification, the dueling signal goes as follows:
-hold right block (if you have a shield, temporarily unequip it), face potential opponent: When one person is doing this, it means he is issuing a challenge to the person he is facing. When two potential opponents hold right block and face each other for more than a second, the duel is mutually accepted by both of them and may begin.
Remember, people aren't considered potential opponents when they're already in a duel.
6. A DUEL ENDS WHEN A PARTICIPANT DIES OR WHEN BOTH PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO DISCONTINUE THE DUEL: If you're losing the duel, you can't quit without the other player's permission. An exception to this rule is cheating. If the other player is cheating, you may end the duel immediately without the other player's consent. If you are the player cheating, an honorable way to end the duel is to switch to spectator mode temporarily, killing yourself (duel mode's version of seppuku).
Repeated rule violations will earn you a kick. If you come back and continue to violate the rules, that will earn you a ban from the server, in which case you'll have to wait for the server to restart before you can join it again. Really, it's not a good idea to destroy your duelist reputation (and perhaps player reputation) by being a douchebag on the duel server. If you don't like the rules, don't join the server.
Alternate Modes list with descriptions is coming soon! I've already done a lot of work on it, but I'd like to polish it more before posting it.
Got a constructive suggestion? Post it here or PM me about it.
Points of Clarification:
-This server is not permanent; it is periodic. At scheduled times and at certain spontaneous times, a US server will be converted to a duel server. When its time is up (basically, when I or another admin overseeing the duel server need to leave), the server will be converted back to a normal US server.
-The admin overseeing the duel server may edit the rules to his liking.
Updates
10/13/09: added 'Schedule,' 'Points of Clarification,' and 'Updates'
11/22/09: added admin clarification under 'Points of Clarification'
1. MELEE ONLY
2. 1 SHIELD MAXIMUM; CHEAPEST SHIELDS ONLY
3. NO ARMOR
4. NO HORSES
5. DUELS MUST BE MUTUALLY INITIATED
6. A DUEL ENDS WHEN A PARTICIPANT DIES OR WHEN BOTH PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO DISCONTINUE THE DUEL
Schedule: No upcoming duel servers are specifically planned right now. Spontaneous duel servers may pop up when demanded. The schedule will be updated often, so check back every once in a while.
Do you love playing infantry, but find it difficult to function within normal servers? Tired of being shot in the back as you fight other infantry? Do you find yourself getting killed in melee combat more from random cavalry than the infantry you're engaging? ? And even if you get to fight an infantry one-on-one, how many shields will you have to smash through for a manual duel? Fear these no more! Duel Mode is an infantry-lover's dream come true, where you'll be able to fight limitless one-on-one's undisturbed.
A great advantage to this honorable combat is that your skill in Warband will rise at a faster rate than normal Warband multiplayer. In the latter, kills are a very inefficient way of learning, at least relative to one-on-one combat. What do you learn from melee-ganging an infantry along with six of your buddies, mowing down a lone nekked with an archer mass, or trampling a lone inf so many times with a horde of cav that he can't even stand? Group tactics, perhaps, but that's not one-on-one XP! When it comes down to it, normal Warband presents very few one-on-one fights. But in duel mode, you'll get them all the time, which means you'll become better at judging weapon attack range and speed for the purposes of both striking and evading, determining shield cover range and the shield's approximate durability left, prediction and mindgames, etc. And this will end up enhancing your game in normal Warband multiplayer, because you'll be better able to perceive the individual characteristics of each player and apply those more accurate perceptions to the group scenario.
Here are the rules that you must know and abide by in a duel server. There is not currently a list of alternate modes, but any developed in-game will be described to you. To play on a duel server, all you have to know are these main rules.
Duel Mode:
1. MELEE ONLY: This is the main draw of a duel server. If you attack in any non-melee way (ex. throwing a weapon, shooting a bow or crossbow, etc.), you're breaking this rule.
2. 1 SHIELD MAXIMUM; CHEAPEST SHIELDS ONLY: Shields can be a fun part of melee combat, but most people think manual blocking is more fun. To balance the effects of the two, one shield is allowed per player. You may only use the cheapest shields available, which means I don't want to see Heavy Board Shields lying around the dueling field. My personal preference is to not use a shield at all, so feel free to skip the shield. You'll get a lot better at manual blocking without it. It's also rather humiliating to get owned by someone without a shield when you're clinging to one.
3. NO ARMOR: For the fight to be truly equal, both players cannot use any armor. There are two exceptions to the 'No Armor' rule. Any player may wear any helmet, mainly because people won't be getting hit in the head with melee very much (if at all). The other exception is that you may wear the free torso piece and free leg piece if you choose, but know that you are skewing the results of the duel in your favor by doing this, which is dishonorable. This is mainly for people who can't stand being 'nekked.'
4. NO HORSES: You're going to have to get around by running. This rule is in effect for three reasons: A. You don't need a horse. It may be convenient for travel, but you don't need it at all for dueling. B. Riderless horses running around can knock over and damage people in duels. C. It's easier to identify griefers when horses are outlawed.
5. DUELS MUST BE MUTUALLY INITIATED: Yes, it is fun to ambush an unaware opponent with a great axe. But the thing about duel mode is that everyone is only a potential opponent, which means he's not really your opponent until both of you agree to a duel. You can ambush an opponent during a duel, though (if you can somehow give him the slip). For simplification, the dueling signal goes as follows:
-hold right block (if you have a shield, temporarily unequip it), face potential opponent: When one person is doing this, it means he is issuing a challenge to the person he is facing. When two potential opponents hold right block and face each other for more than a second, the duel is mutually accepted by both of them and may begin.
Remember, people aren't considered potential opponents when they're already in a duel.
6. A DUEL ENDS WHEN A PARTICIPANT DIES OR WHEN BOTH PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO DISCONTINUE THE DUEL: If you're losing the duel, you can't quit without the other player's permission. An exception to this rule is cheating. If the other player is cheating, you may end the duel immediately without the other player's consent. If you are the player cheating, an honorable way to end the duel is to switch to spectator mode temporarily, killing yourself (duel mode's version of seppuku).
Repeated rule violations will earn you a kick. If you come back and continue to violate the rules, that will earn you a ban from the server, in which case you'll have to wait for the server to restart before you can join it again. Really, it's not a good idea to destroy your duelist reputation (and perhaps player reputation) by being a douchebag on the duel server. If you don't like the rules, don't join the server.
Alternate Modes list with descriptions is coming soon! I've already done a lot of work on it, but I'd like to polish it more before posting it.
Got a constructive suggestion? Post it here or PM me about it.
Points of Clarification:
-This server is not permanent; it is periodic. At scheduled times and at certain spontaneous times, a US server will be converted to a duel server. When its time is up (basically, when I or another admin overseeing the duel server need to leave), the server will be converted back to a normal US server.
-The admin overseeing the duel server may edit the rules to his liking.
Updates
10/13/09: added 'Schedule,' 'Points of Clarification,' and 'Updates'
11/22/09: added admin clarification under 'Points of Clarification'
