Athletics?

[Gorath]

How strange. I'm an 18/18 shielder and I usually go blow for blow on the blocks as soon as I close the gap, and generally take down plate users in just a few hits. I mostly only get glances with bad angles, though there is the occasional random bounce, especially against loomed armour.

I also have zero IF and hardly ever get oneshotted; even full STR players usually need two hits, and I only wear heavy mail.

But it does. Oh, how it does.

Weird how so there's such a swap in accounts from the field.  Not that I don't believe your anecdotes because you have just as little reason to fib as I do, yet I wear heavy mail armor (Kuyak), have a balanced build as well (18/18, IF-PS-Ath-WM-Shield all at 6) and I get 1-shotted all the time and require many hits to take down the str builders.  That's usually with a 1x loomed langes messer or a MS warcleaver (2h).  In voip most of us talk about how we should have just gone full str like everyone else, while the guys that did go full str comment about how much easier life has become.

[Casimir]

now i'm lvl 30 with my guy i'll come to NA and see how bad it is, last time i was there i was cav so didn't really notice.

[Cyclopsided]

Cav doesn't care too much about the str builds. A couch will kill most, but you need 2 couches for any pure strength character. 2 or 3 lances is not bad for a cav against a strength build typically. Cav does really well on NA despite the sheer amount of xbows.

[Casimir]

Went on Ootl for a bit today.

My agi build didnt do too badly considering my ping, racked up a few kills and was 2nd highest on my team on one map. Overall i wouldn't say that there is any noticeable difference between na and eu with regards to melee fighting.

I'll try on a more populated server but i fear my ping will distort my ability to play too badly, we'll see.

[Phallas]

bloody Americans and their pounds, the warband system is in metric,  range = cm and weight = kilograms

[Osiris]

pfft metric. be english use both at once!

[SHinOCk]

Casimir go on NA strategus Duel server sometimes i'll fight you if you're there!

[Cyclopsided]

I keep going to the Eu3 duel server with 200 ping trying to duel the better players when I can find them. I apparently have yet to run into them because I keep fighting a bunch of people who can't footwork a damn and keep dying while trying to circle spam me -- but do it wrong and don't block? I must be missing the hours better players warm up on the eu duel server. Going 7-1 against assumedly new players trying to get better isn't any fun.
You guys need a memo saying "holding the S key is a bad idea in duels" or something on the eu duel server, seriously. Holding the S key or holding A or D and trying to circle exclusively is not conducive to learning how to properly block or footwork.

I'm not even good by NA duelist standards.
I'll keep stopping by on random instant level 30s though. blocks not working due to ping ruins the fun though. Dying exclusively due to ping makes me sad.

[SHinOCk]

You have all the duelers you need on NA duel Marathon!

[Cyclopsided]

You have all the duelers you need on NA duel Marathon!

Nooo, this is to prove a point to EU about athletics and agility! I can duel cyranule any day and win 1 out of 10 fights due to me making subtle, very subtle mistakes such as swinging left when I meant right. What a learning experience every fight is.

Stepping  and swinging in the correct direction > stepping and swinging faster in ANY direction.
If you step and swing the wrong way you lose. No matter how quickly you move.

[SHinOCk]

indeed athletics makes things easier but i can duel just as well with 2 than 6, just have to adapt to your current style and move accordingly

[Cyclopsided]

indeed athletics makes things easier but i can duel just as well with 2 than 6, just have to adapt to your current style and move accordingly

that is the point of this thread.
Athletics only helps backpeddlers against people who let themselves' get backpeddled. There seems to be a poor footwork epidemic in Eu.

[Bobthehero]

Well I do fine with 3 ath but I suspect running faster would help with the speed bonus linked to stabbing in the face.

[Cyclopsided]

Well I do fine with 3 ath but I suspect running faster would help with the speed bonus linked to stabbing in the face.

less than your power strike helps. You have 10 or 11 PS?
besides speed bonus is mostly relative direction of moving characters and less the actual speed of them. ie; both you and the opponent walking towards each other is most important for the speed bonus damage.
Use their athletics against them for the speed bonus!

[Bobthehero]

10 powerstrike, and agaisnt the high athlethics build I dont even need their own speed bonus to one shot them