Dueling Arena squads disbanded

[boomerlu]

Everybody,

I just want to share how I fly the DA.

I fly it as combat practice. In the DA you will find similar conditions to the MA - gangers, vulchers (though there are far less vulchers than MA), pickers, HOers etc. The difference to me is that you waste far less time getting down to it.

Instead of about 10-15 minutes of climbout/transit to approximately the same conditions, I just fly about 2 minutes straight into the main furball. This lets me accumulate combat experience far more quickly than in the MA. If I get ganged, I practice surviving for as long as possible (though I don't relish the experience). I DO take landing kills as a sign that I am getting better, as they measure several things including

1) Ability to get in and get the kill (this assuming you don't just vulch/AFK kill).
2) Ability to survive a complex multi-aircraft engagement (requires SA and good evasive flying).
3) Proper judgment on when it's time to disengage.

Of course it is NOT the DA of old (after my original 2 weeks was up, I flew H2H which sounds similar to old DA). However you can still find 1v1s if you ask for them, though you generally take them to a side field. Perhaps "Dueling Arena" is a misnomer - better would be compressed MA-esque furball with special fields available for dueling.

What the current version gives up in terms of 1v1 fighting I'd say it makes up for in furball practice.

[Shuffler]

Yall should try your "experience" in the MAs. Might be interesting. You'll find quick fights most all the time.

I used to Host H2H rooms all the time and did terrains for them. When AH2 came out I transitioned to the MAs.

[Banshee7]

Didn't I see a thread like this a month ago?  Or is this the same thread?

[onan]

Hey Changeup 

Was good to meet you in there.

moot.  I have no idea what the "old DA was like.  I'm no combat purist and am still learning when it comes to ACM's.  I've not been at this long enough to remember a courtesy Check Six before busting my plane. The nearest I came to flying before I found this fantastic game, was a bucket and spade holiday to Spain.
Some have posted on this thread about the ganging up and messy "low skill" furballs.  Guys getting flamed while RTB and AFK.
That happens in the MA's especially the late war.  Maybe I'm wrong but furballing while AFK is a clueless pastime.
The guys in the DA land thier kills "if" they can.  I personally find it incredibly hard work just getting kills let alone landing them.
Most of the fights are at 5-6k down to the deck, sure you get the odd screamer coming down from 20k and ploughing through the pile of Red.  It's usually me in my Jug-D 11.
As for messy "low skill" furballs.  I was in Titanic Tuesday earlier and flying out of A1.  Total carnage.
Didn't see much skill in there.  lancs coming in 1.5k above the deck and planes hitting walls and auguring while shooting ords and barracks.
The DA, for all it's detractors has an edge when it comes to finding a fight quickly and against some very good sticks.
As Changeup stated.  The fight is condensed to a small area and gets busy sometimes.  Guys change side frequently and the numbers tend to even out eventually.  Also the learning curve for survival in there is steep.
All due respect to those who've been at this game long enough to remember the old ways.

This thread has turned into a flame baiting word and honour war, when all the original post asked was "What happenned to the squads?"

<S>

KlunK

[mechanic]

Great post Onan, makes me proud to be English! Sadly you're wasting your time because most of these people will never be happy. The old DA was empty and barren waste land with the occasional killshooter dueling. Then killshooter was added and it was close to empty untill they added the furball zone and now it is a thriving sub-community and those who aer jealous of your fun are not going to listen to your good sense.

S!
batfink

[moot]

Nothing to do with jealousy.

[mechanic]

Condescension is less forgivable as your motive, you should run with the jealousy theme. Surely you don't pity them. It cannot be hatred either, not in a game. You cannot be acting 'in their best interests' because they are already having ten times the fun you have in the game right now.

Nope, it's either condescention or jealousy.

[moot]

Nothing condescending or jealous or pitying or hateful about it. It's plain fact. And the most fun I have nowadays is teaching what I know and it's as fun as I've ever had in the game - in fact I was about to quit because I had no reason to keep playing (no challenge and not as rewarding as studying and partying) and this changed everything for me as far as the game goes.

You cannot be acting 'in their best interests' because they are already having ten times the fun you have in the game right now.

This speaks for itself though.  You don't speak for me or the rest of the trainers, so please take care what you say on my behalf or other trainers'.

[Oldman731]

The DA is appealing to me for these reasons: 1) I like the guys I fly with; 2) It doesn't take 20 minutes of climbing to only find some BnZer who is higher than you are; 3) It takes much less time to get back in the fight 4) Even your enemies will help you with your flight skills; 5)and to try new planes and maneuvers under duress.  Almost all of us change sides at one time or another....regardless of what some may say.  The gangbanging.....

Up until the ganging part, and the attempt to justify it, this reminds me of how the AvA was.  AND we added history to the mix.

The ganging, to me, would be intolerable.  But the other qualities are things that people should strive to preserve in any arena.

- oldman

[moot]

I'm curious what the reasoning is for defending 6 planes chasing after one, instead of 4 or 5 of them letting 1 or 2 get to that one con, and themselves finding another target(s) which would inarguably put up a better fight.  Win win for everyone involved.

[mechanic]

Nothing condescending or jealous or pitying or hateful about it. It's plain fact. And the most fun I have nowadays is teaching what I know and it's as fun as I've ever had in the game - in fact I was about to quit because I had no reason to keep playing (no challenge and not as rewarding as studying and partying) and this changed everything for me as far as the game goes.

You dont need a trainer badge to help people moot, some of us have been enjoying the game like that for years 'freelance'. Infact its rather sad that you think a badge means anything to anyone. You could have helped people just as much before. Many do.

I'm basing it on your recent comments regarding your lack of enjoyment.

After a 5am-8pm day of non stop studying (I'm skipping first two weeks of class to get ahead so I have an extra 2 weeks at end of semester to prepare finals), being forced to play a game just doesn't happen.  I can't do it.  I can't make myself give up hours of sleep that I absolutely need to be fresh the next day, so I can play a game that I'm not even having any fun with.  That might sound rude but that's exactly what it is.  The kinda thing that the harder you force someone to do, the least he's gonna want to do it.

You don't speak for me or the rest of the trainers, so please take care what you say on my behalf or other trainers'.

 

 I have no idea what you mean, im not even talking about any other trainers. I never even directly commented at you.

[TnDep]

I'm curious what the reasoning is for defending 6 planes chasing after one, instead of 4 or 5 of them letting 1 or 2 get to that one con, and themselves finding another target(s) which would inarguably put up a better fight.  Win win for everyone involved.

This does happen but really the one plane is at fault for putting his self in that position, but it happens alot less in there as most of the guys in there are 6+ months at AHII.  The Rooks, Bish, and Knights are really working together to make this a great place and I'm telling you what I've had the most fun ever this last week.  I've had some amazing fights lasting several minutes each and I  the DA for all the bases working together these last few weeks. 

[wgmount]

I like flying in the DA, not good at it but it is fun, what I wish though is that they would turn kill shooter off. I have been chasing planes with no one else around and being patient waiting for my shot and a friendly comes barreling in right through my shot and damages me. Just my opinion I am probably wrong.

Flushed

[Changeup]

With all due respect Moot, as a trainer, and by proxy a leader in this community, I find it curious that you take "sides" on this discussion.  Both the MA and DA have the same, but different things to offer to new and senior pilots alike and I would think, and Im just spitballing here, that you would take that track when maintaining a form of "moderator" in this discussion.  Please don't say your not moderating it because your position here at HTC defaults that to you.  It seems odd to me that you don't perpetuate the benefits of both arenas and choose to sow those benefits among your potential students in a positive discourse.  That is just my observation sir and that is not a representation of any other trainer.

In truth, because of where someone chooses to fly makes them no better a pilot and I have been ganged, as has everyone here, in both places.  Furthermore, it's curious to me that if the people that do not like the DA and claim they care nothing for their scores why be concerned with the gangbanging?  If you care nothing of your score or landing victories, a horde presents more targets of opportunity for them and getting victories should be easier for the better pilots.  For instance tonight I watched 1 pilot take out 6 pilots that I believe to be very good sticks...internet superpilot award winners? Probably not but good sticks....and at one point he was runnin.  It was some of the best flying I have ever seen in here.

Maybe "score" should be changed to ego...which I would understand more than someone saying they ignore their "scores".

  KlunK
  Batfink
  Flushed

PS - Oldman, I wasn't justifying the ganging, I was simply saying it exists...in both arenas.  In my mind that is as much a part of this game as sand traps are to golf...if you can't or don't want to hit out of sand traps, don't hit the ball in the sand.  Its risk/reward my friend.

[moot]

...

You know what.  Every post by you to me is the same.  Everything I say is meant at face value.  If you don't like that, talk to Skuzzy about it.

That bold in the quote from my post is out of context. It refered to specifically the duel with you, in the context of a long day when I might have fun playing the game but not sitting in front of a computer monitor as playing the game requires.