I've been wondering this for a while.

What is everyone's opinion on how to train someone 1-on-1?

Do you take their hands and step them through creating a system? Point them to free systems? What works?

I really don't know. I have people come to me all the time and I'm just clueless how to effectively help them.

I have found that most people who ask are after a system. This is a problem for me because as I have a custom built system on an uncommon client that almost every who tries it hates it. When I point said persons to other clients, I think get follow up questions about how to script, which has in turn forced me to learn the basics of MUSH (which I utterly despise, MUSH is the most annoying client ever), MM2K (which I'm likely creating a whole new system on, MM2K is hot), Wintin, and Zmud.

So... my advice has changed over time to either download Ethelon's free client and direct all questions about it to him or obtain a black-market copy of Thorgal's. I've had success.

What client are you on, anyway? A lot of the free ones are pretty similar in terms of nearly everything (Wintin and MM2K specifically, main difference is a few commands and Wintin uses # rather than /. Also Wintin has a few goodies and the same goes for MM2K).

I can't really train people as far as systems go at all unless they use Nexus. I explain combat principles and how a reflex for me would work (like, how I would set something so I don't eat herbs off herb balance) and they're going to have to sort the rest of it out themselves.

as a warrior i find the best way is to make them gather all the required herbs first, and to gain the lvls required.

i won't train anyone seriously unless they are lvl 70 as a base and a minimum of lvl 65 if i can see talent.

As far as systems go, the best way is to have them make their own with your guidance, if they can't do this or at least buy thorgal's and be able to customise it somewhat for themselves then they don't have the base reqs to be trained.

As for training them for 1v1 combat, you need to demonstrate the full extent of your offence, and explain to them how best to manage it. Then you get them to do that same to you, and try to link a few combos together.

After you get them to a reaosnable stage, assign them spars. some of which they will win, some of which they have a chance of winning, and at least one or two in which you know they will get absolutley nailed to the wall just to keep them in perspective.

I've actually written up somewhat of a total training regime which i modify and follow for those who seek it.

OOh you wouldnt happen to have it in a published book format in game would you?

:wub Murphy

The hardest part about helping someone with 1 on 1 combat, imo, is the System. Personally, along with the requirements Murphy put up, I usually make sure they are able to edit their systems to some degree (enough to make a basic trigger, alias, or Echo). I tend to get stumped VERY quickly when I find someone with a pre-bought system they know nothing about and it's not cutting it for them (IMO: If you've spent over 50 credits for a system that can't parry and is too hard to alter you've spent too much. Blah, I dislike ANY system that requires a doctorate to alter).

Beyond that, I focus on each point of the basics (since anyone Intermediate can whack me up and, besides, REALY needs to find Murphy at that point): Spars involving ONLY them raze/hitting, Sessions where they ONLY sit there and try to parry.. so on. I look at what they have and suggest fighting styles that will work for their level (not much you can do with just Arterycuts and Ear cuts but you use what you got).

It won't create a master fighter, but it keeps them from dying to their own weapons.

How about those of us who are unfortunately saddled with fairly inadequate system-making clients? Such as those of us with Macs? Ive attempted several times to create something approximating a 'good' system, with some facsimilie of a storage of afflictions currently had, an order of curing, a way to cure only what I have and only when I can, things like that, but it never works. Ive gone back to replacing certain affliction strings with something akin to OMFGBBQ DRINK SANGUINE!!!!! which works to an extent, but it still requires me to type 'san' rather than have it automatically be fixed. Im likely considered a 'terrible' fighter, but not because I don't know how to cure, or what to cure, but simply because I don't have a programmed system that does most of it for me. I use Rapscallion as my client, since its the most useful one Ive found that actually had (at one point) a good level of support. Now it dosen't, but its still the best, unfortunately.

tf compiles without any problems on Mac and is great for making systems.

no i won't be publishing any works of things such as training methods and other usful information. I may publsh a history of the Dreadlords but...there won't be anything you can garnigh for your own organisations IC anyway.

I'm happy to discuss techniques here, but I mean it depends if you want to train your novies how to swing weapons and nothing too basic its pretty easy. If you want to train someone who has talent to be good, then you need to identify talents.

I consider talents to be system coding, knack for picking up offensive moves, desrie and drive for combat and spars at any opportunity.

And the biggest 2 points are attitude, and balls. If a young'un demontrates the right attitude and the right level of balls i'll take them in and teach them the rest and spend the time needed.

and Cwin (jacquin) is definitley a good novice trainer. With the utter newbies you have to spend a lot of time letting them hit you, learning how to raze and how to try to get around parry. And to let them parry themselves too.

I personally won't even talk to anyone under lvl 65 unles they are damn good, and i won't talk to anyone who hasn't transed their weapon spec and gotten to a decent level in athletics, and who isn't prepared to trans out at leat a couple of skills. If i'm going to train someone then i'm going to do it properly, take a minimum (absolute minimum) of 5 IC years to really get them sorted out so they can continue to learn and better themselves as a Dreadlord.

Still waiting for you to train me...

But, you know, maybe I should go through a novice training program or something. I never really learned combat basics, I just took my large Hp and large weapons, and hoped I'd hit something. I've been told I have huge potential, if I'd actually learn how to fight.

Half of learning is toying around to see what and what doesn't work, it builds instinct . Personally the most fun thing about combat for me was getting trashed until I figured out how to counter it, and putting it into my own strats.

On the note of helping people with systems, where can I find Nexus documentation? I can help with zMUD, can help with MUSH, but everyone with Nexus I've sent off to go get ALC or MUSH. I'd really like to be able to help them with what they have if I can.

log into nexus and you can have all the help files right there!

Besides you need nexus to edit projects and files with ease!

Somehow the whole merchant thing along with the whole feeling bad about killing others at times doesn't go with the way i train people. I wouldn't ask you to submit yourself to my discipline IC either.

Murphy, I just would like a peek at what your hardcore training is like.. We've sparred a bit, but I really get the feeling your holdin back.. what am I gettin into!?

I'll put up something for you guys right here, right now: know EXACTLY what's going on in a 1 on 1 fight.

I'm not talking about being about to, with time, figure out what a message means. I mean this:

Under this text is a snippet of a battle. Close your eyes for a few seconds, then immediately look below at it. Spend NO MORE than 2 seconds looking at it, then scroll down to the Evil smiley.




Go!








Daevos eats a bunch of pennyroyal.
5810h, 6546m, 5141e, 10p exk<>-
Daevos stands up and stretches his arms out wide.
5810h, 6546m, 5141e, 10p exk<>-
Holding the flame fang of the dark dragon poised at an angle overhead, Daevos
unleashes a violent assault at your head. Daevos strikes your neck, and blood
fountains out in a thick spray.
5004h, 6546m, 5141e, 10p exk<>-
The hole in your throat prevents you from swallowing.
5004h, 6546m, 5141e, 10p exk<>- apply mending to head
You take out some salve and quickly rub it on your head.
The salve has no discernable effect.









After 2 seconds, what did you know about the battle? Anything? Did you realize that:

Daevos just Slitthroated you?
The slitthroat isn't cured yet?
Your head is at Heavy wounds at least?
You don't have salve balance?
Daevos used an assault, and has, at best, one more he can throw?
You don't have regular balance?
Daevos has just cured an ailment, perhaps Stupidity?
Daevos was on the ground earlier?
You didn't suffer too much damage for an assault by a pureblade?


And all that in 2 seconds, which is more time than you have in a real fight to realize what's going on.

Unless you can pull all of that information that quick, your system needs to be doing SOMETHING to tell you what's going on. Highlights, Substitutes, Echos, Gags, secondary windows, and whatnot are key for this. Pick a method (or use two, or use them all) that works and then, EVERY time you face a battle where at ANY POINT you were unsure about something, ensure you go back to that spot after the fighting's done and do whatever it takes to make it so clear the blind will catch on.

How's that?

I once walked a couple of people by the hand through the process of creating a basic curing system. While it was a highly frustrating process, mainly because you need to explain every little bit and put into words what you know mainly on an instinctive level, both of them went from zero to becoming competent combatants in about a month. One even got to the point of beating me after another month of training.

My advice would be to try and walk a couple of people through like that, record everything you teach them, the order in which you taught it, the issues they had most trouble with and why, and make a structured tutorial out of that. Then you'll be able to just point others to this tutorial and focus on the actual combat, rather than the mechanics of making a system, answering remaining technical questions and putting them on a separate FAQ along the way.

I give them a system that pretty much tells them what they need to eat even if it hiccups. I remind them that no system is perfect, so they will have to learn to use diagnose to cover those times when things are just not caught. I also tell people that they should familiarize themselves with the curelist. Last, I hope that they will take the initiative and create their own system. When it all comes down to it, no one knows a particular system better than its creator does. If they create their own, then they will have a far better chance of fixing problems that WILL pop up (Refer back to my statement that no system is perfect).

Once they are set defensively, I then give tidbits of information here and there based on what questions they ask me and also on what I’ve seen from my spars with them. The person does have to show initiative though, and actually ask me questions. I try not to waste my time and the time of others with stuff they may not desire to hear about. It is just a simple fact that everyone does not have a desire to learn how to fight.