Improving Your Skillz

Overall there is one thing you must keep in mind. Not everyone is purely one tactic style. Often the best duelists use all three depending on the opponent. Some stay with one style. In the end it all comes down to one thing: Finding a way to exploit your opponent's weakness and be able to execute that tactic so that you get results. Every one of those styles that are listed can do that.

Training Methods

So now you have all this knowledge but to be able to apply it and use it in a duel you must practice the various moves, tactics, saber styles and combos. So what are some things you can do? Well you can do a lot. It all comes down to imagination. There will be a few examples though.

1. If you wanted to practice moves whether it be an attack or an evading move you could simply use your environment to start off. Find a column that is about the width of a human opponent or maybe even just a wall and try to practice the moves by trying to hit it. This would help with judging distances and timing of your attacks for example. You could start doing this just standing still to start off then progress to running, maybe even add a jumping attack with it. It all depends on the tactic style you are using.
2. If you wanted to practice tactics you could spawn a NPC in your own created game or duel someone in a server and only use that tactic. Work on executing that one tactic till you get it right regardless whether you win or lose the duel. Once you have that down add another tactic or move to supplement your original tactic and work on being able to do both of those well. Once you have those down add another.
3. Let's say you want to work on yellow style using a single blade. Then only use that in a duel. Imagine you are facing an invisible opponent perhaps and try to do several combos over and over again. You could even incorporate the objects around you as enemies. For example if you happen to be near a wall just do a + attack1 followed by d + attack1 attempting to hit the wall with both attempts.
4. If you wanted to practice combo's you could simply just stand there and do them over and over again until you can execute them. Then you could work on trying to be more accurate in its use by using some object or another duelist.
5. Another good way to learn new things is to copy good duelists and find a way to incorporate it into your own style.

Overall you should have noticed that the drills mentioned work on many things at once. Often drills do that. You should try to make up some drills of your own that incorporate everything you are trying to train. Now it is good to have specific drills to work on one thing but if you use your head you could really think of some fun drills that accomplish much more in the same amount of time. Just imagine "Eradicating the Jawas" as a drill. Now doesn't that sound fun?

Training Principles

When training there are a few things you should and should not do.

• DO NOT quit an exercise even if it is getting you killed
• DO NOT mix up training techniques/learning how to apply them with actual competitions. Do that on the side when you are not in the middle of a duel with someone unless you do not mind losing.
• DO NOT treat non-moving objects as non-moving objects. Real opponents do not stand still so when training with them consider them more as a snapshot of 1 second of a duel.
• DO NOT forget to take breaks. Training can be hard if you have long extended sessions.
• DO have fun training exercises mixed in for amusement.
• DO face real opponents if you can. NPC's are fine but they are not a good representation of what humans can do.
• DO NOT quit because something is too hard. If you need help find someone to help you but do not give up on it.
• DO try to practice every once in a while even if it is only for 30 minutes or less or if the training is between duels.

Overall try to be creative and patient. Some things simply just require practice and nothing else. Practice also reinforces the knowledge you have already learned.

Connecting to a Server

You have learned all these moves and tactics, practiced them or maybe simply you are trying to get on a server to practice them. So how do you get on the server? This is the easiest step. So you have your multiplayer screen up.

Click on the following:

1. Play>Join Game
2. Now you see a screen with lots of stuff on it. What is important here is the box in the upper right.

• Source: (where you look for servers)
• -Internet (most of the ones on the internet)
• -Favorites (servers you've added for favorites so you can more easily go to them)
• -Local (servers hosted only for a local area)

So to find a server you look under internet. Once you find one. Click on it twice and then you are connecting to the server.

So what if you like this server and you want to add it to your favorites so you do not have to look it up again. You can do two things.

1. Find the server in the internet list again and click on it once. Then go down to the buttons near the bottom and click Add Favorite.
2. Write down the IP address of the server by pressing escape to bring up the menu. Then click about. Viola! Now copy it down and add it to your favorites list by clicking Add Favorite well under the Favorites Source.
3. Now make your source favorites and click "Get new list." You should see your server there.

Note: You can also toggle the game and the type to help narrow down your search.

So now you have joined a server. What are some cool commands you can use?

• TAB: show scores
• Chat (all): Y
• Chat (team): T
• Saber Challenge: K (for one on one duel with no interference, can be used to accept or start a duel)
• There is also some cool stuff like taunt, gloat, flourish, bow etc. that you can set to a key through the menu in a server. Look under controls>other.

Note: Your ping in a server should be as low as possible. Make sure to keep an eye on your ping if you have an unstable connection. Ideally you want a stable ping that does not jump up and down a lot. Going from 50 to 230 causes a lag that could end up killing you. If a particular server gives you a really high ping like 300 or 250 don’t expect to be competitive because often you will get killed and you won’t know why because you didn’t see him swing through you at all but he did. You simply never received the data in time. This can also manifest itself through what’s called teleporting, where the player is at point A and then jumps to point B almost instantaneously. Fun isn’t it?

Preparing for a Duel

Whatever your preference may be, preparing for a duel or not preparing for a duel, everyone does it in some way even if they do not know it. How do you prepare? This can be anything from simple to more time-consuming. But it can consist of the following:

1. Most importantly make the commands you are going to use most often on easy to use keys. So if you like to walk a lot do not put it on the other side of the keyboard. Or if you like to switch stances in a particular saber style like yellow to red or staff to yellow make that somewhere on your mouse if its easiest.
2. Be ready mentally. If your attention is split in many directions while in the heat of battle you will die.
3. Give yourself a name/saber/skin that fits you. Have to at least look cool doing it right? Your name can include clan tags as well and should be a name that people can recognize you by. For example: {EH}Noob{NOV} In this example EH is the clan tag. NOV means that the Noob(the name) has a Novice rank.
4. Warming up. This is all personal preference but you may find that if you warm up for even a minute with swings and combos you normally use they will be easier to execute in your first fight.

The Duel

So you have started a duel or accepted a duel. What should you know that has not already been told to you yet?

1. Etiquette: This is where opinions really get involved but as EH members you should follow the Duelist's Guide which can be found in the Obelisk Doctrine course. Note the difference between Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. They are not the same game. Also note that if you try your hand in other servers they do not follow the same rules. So your options are to stop complaining about them or leave that particular server. Sometimes they will accommodate you and be nice but if it is their server they are more in their right to set the rules.
2. Serious vs. Practice vs. for fun: There are three main types of duels. If everyone is dueling for fun and not dueling for a good score or a medal why not try your hand at a new style or practice some moves. If it is meant for practice the goal may not be to kill each other or it is maybe restricted to certain moves. If it is for a competition it should be serious. In this case do not fool around in a duel. Duel to win.
3. What if you are in trouble and about to lose? Try to regroup, perhaps your opponent has gotten you to act careless or exploited a weakness you can fix. Don't turn off your saber but a couple seconds away from harm's way can do wonders.

How Do I Get Better? I've Just Been Pwned!

First what is pwning? This refers to beating your opponent easily, usually where you die only taking away no health and little or no shield. For example: 100/100 or 100/97

So what are the main culprits? First off you cannot deny pure skill. If they are executing their moves better than you are you will be in trouble. They may be more accurate and have better timing. They may also be far more knowledgeable and know more moves allowing them to confuse you as to what move they might do next.

The first step to getting better is realizing why you got beaten and practicing to remove those weaknesses. This can be done by facing that foe repeatedly, using a helpful friend, a teacher, or just practicing solo. You also need to expand your knowledge. If both you and your opponent are evenly matched the one who knows more is going to win. So if you are in a server that's good and you see them doing what looks like a drill then ask them why they are doing it? How do they train? They might just share some knowledge.

Overall there are a few general reasons people get beaten, all depending on the opponent.

1. You are too predictable.
2. You did a kata or a special move against a skilled opponent and they made you pay for it.
3. You did not avoid getting hit.

Finding Your JA Identity/Dueling Style

This is something everybody has even if they do not realize it. In a nutshell it is the unique way you approach a duel and execute your moves in order to win. This is something crucial to have even if you do not know you have it because it gives you your basic goals you wish to accomplish in a duel so that you can win. Doesn't that sound like tactics? Yes! Your dueling style determines what tactics you are willing to use. For example, are you willing to try any tactic or do you just like to stick with one way of doing things? This can be a complicated discussion as sometimes one doesn't follow their identity clearly but if someone is really struggling and they just go with what they think will work the best for them odds are it is their dueling style. They are most familiar with it and trust it the most. One's dueling style can come to you easily or it may take awhile. Often one's dueling style will evolve until the person in question has fully discovered it. It is advised that you put some thought into finding it though as this gives you a purpose and the person who knows what their strengths and weaknesses are and what they are trying to do is much more dangerous then someone just swinging around a glow rod.