So-far efficient theater starting to lose at level 20 onwards

[Petezko]

What an earth is happening.. I read from some post that ppl have had some difficulties succesfully raising a theater gladiator (due to him losing against war and rage builds) but now it really has become reality. Before around level 20 my theaters winning per cent has been ~80% and more but since he entered the Juggernaut bracket he's gained around 40 losses more (106 wins - 50 losses - 12 kills, level 23) and the win count has decreased considerably. He just doesn't get much proper attacks over those opponent's fucking hamstrings etc! Even though agility is 86.

I haven't changed the theaters fight strategy after some level 12 or so cos I have so far found it effective. But maybe at higher levels proper skill sets start to make a difference.. so fellow ppl, how have you statted the theater after 20's? I'm just trying to understand the whole thing since for example sometimes a war with lower agility (versus my 86) gets more significant attacks than me and besides he has some massive weapon with a slow speed like 1.0 and my trident is 1.4 so what the hell are those attack turns based on? Is Armor Movement important for a medium armor wearing theater in order to increase those attack turns? I also read from some other post that some succesful high-tier theaters have a high number in Create Distance, that skill alone can't turn the tide can it? I guess I'll go for both of those 2 skills next but then that's pretty much about it.

My theaters most important stats: att 83 (still getting quite a bit low-dmg hits like 15-30 dmg!!), agil 86, stam 82, presence 79. Size is fair enough, under 70. Chi is low one as well, guess the only bracket that needs it is rage due to skill reqs?

One thing is that due to low intelligence (around 63 or so) most of my skills are max 6 at the moment, ie. weapon (Exotic) skill. Should those skills be cranked up to level 8 or something when you are getting close to level 25? Gratuitous violence and signature move are 6 as well, Crowd Pleaser, Strenght of the Crowd and Brute Force 5. Yeah and Armor Movement 1 lol.

Thx for sharing.

[Warmonger]

When you win a lot early you tend to move up way too fast. You end up running into guys with way more skill points and HP than you. There isn't much you can do about that without spending big bucks or artificially slowing your growth (Much easier now with arena fights being somewhat optional).

I'm not a theatrics expert but your weapon skill is way low. At this point you should be getting it to 9 or preferably 10. The skills really start to see huge improvements at the higher levels. Crowd pleaser is also a total waste of skill points with there being a cap.

That war could be jumping you for several reasons. Are you reading the fight highlights or the blow by blows? You might be missing some misses by your warrior then him losing the initiative if just reading the highlights. Or he could have a bunch of skills trained up on you. Weapon skills and armor movement will be an advantage there.

[Dainoji]

Your revelation isn't localized to Theatrics gladiators. This game has a very organic eeb and flow to it on two fronts. The first is the fixed front. In the early stages you fight a lot of gladiators that to put it quite bluntly are managed by players who just aren't very good so it is easy to get wins with minimal effort. Then you reach a point where more gladiators are doing what they should be doing and wins become a little tougher, but still pretty easy. Then you hit The Wall which is a build up of gladiators knowing how to set their strategies, skills and gear. This is really when the game truly begins.

The second front is interwoven into the first front but doesn't really become apparent until after The Wall. This front consists of the "trends" that organically appear. X specialty with Y build and Z gear starts doing well, so people copy it and find ways to counter it which brings rise to a new "trend" and the loop continues. Sometimes these trends are legitimate balance issues but usually they are just the flavor of the month.

To solve your problem you are going to need to start experimenting, there aren't really any "autopilot" strategy/build/gear combos you can begin with at level 1 and use unchanged through level 50. There are some that have longer longevity than others, but once you hit the Blood Games all bets are off, now you have another layer of strategy and information at your disposal with the knowledge of who you are going to fight.

Don't stress too much about the losses at The Wall, start to experiment, use the scouting reports and check out the top theatrics gladiators and see what they are up to. You may end up copying a trend in doing so, but that's ok, it just might work for you, if not, try something else. There is also an unofficial chat room that some of the vets hang out in that will gladly give you advice on how to do better.

One area you seem to be having trouble with is number of attacks and initiative. Agility is just one factor of many that go into these. Your weapon skill matters, your fighting style, your activity level, your skills, and so on. A war gladiator with more weapon skill, a faster fighting style and higher activity level, and War Cry could easily out jump you and out attack you. A gladiator with a faster fighting style and lower activity level could out attack you, a gladiator with the same fighting style and same everything except a few skill points allocated differently could out jump or attack you. I think you see where this is going. There is no one "master" setting to rule them all, but there are certainly attributes and skills that on the surface seem to help a lot more than others. Many managers demonize Crowd Pleaser, but I think they are being short sighted in doing so. Extra gold allows you to heal more injuries, open up more achievement slots and so on which in turn help you win. Obviously choose your weapon over Crowd Pleaser if having to choose, but IMO there are no throw away skills or attributes in this game.

[Cynaidh]

Yup like warmonger said your weapon skill is way low, on advice from the older managers on my new glads I currently only train weapon skill till it hits 10 and ignore the other skills (i'll put 1 train into feint, brute force and barreling attack just to make the fights more fun to read), the glads are actually remarkably competitive doing this I have a couple of rages doing this now, one who is level 14, has 9 weapon skill, (9 trains to go till 10, but man 9% sucks) and his record is 57-4-3, another is level 12 at 8 weapon skill (3 trains to 9 left) who is 39-4-1. So just focusing on your weapon skill only can be effective.