Activated Attack Order

so, I've noticed that most rage gladiators lead with Rampage, followed by Adrenalin Rush. A small portion of ragers do the reverse, and a couple gladiators seem to alternate.

I used to think a long time ago that there was a bias towards what ever skill was trained most recently, however that certainly isnt the case with the current fight engine.

Another idea that I kicked around was that it was related to player names, like the old Signatur Move, but that wouldnt explain why some gladiators seem to switch between Ramp and AR on occasion. In saying that, most gladiators have seemed to have a bias towards a skill for most of their career. <shrugs>

That leaves the two most obvious variables. Gladiator stats and strategies.

For gladiator stats, let's compare Ahhnold and Arghpirate. Both are 2H ragers with very similar gear and stats. They both use 2H swords, and are urks. Ahhnold leads with Rampage, and Argh leads with Adrenalin Rush.

Ahhnold:
216-82-147-181-87-223-194

Arghpirate:
222-88-151-186-89-190-197

The main thing we see is that Argh has slightly more points in most stats compared to Ahhnold. SOTC suggested that maybe the Int difference was a factor, but I've tried running the +10 int achievement, and it didnt make a difference. I did the same for agility, and that also didnt cause a change either. Maybe there's a coefficient between stats for it?

For strategies, I dont know what SOTC runs on Arghpirate, but I've tried various setups for the start of the fight and dont see a change.



So, does anyone else have some ideas?

Been having the same conversation with both of you in PM's.

Ahhnold actually leads with Rampage 90% of the time and Adrenaline Rush about 10% according to my observations in conquests. Lord Brutish and Arghpirate tend to lead with Adrenaline Rush almost every time - even in pit fights where stats from boosted gear don't factor in. Seraph Madigant leads with Rampage 100% of the time.

At first I thought it was because of Arghpirate's initiative bonus with the higher presence or skill bonus from higher intelligence. But the same happening in pit fights suggests that it is not stat related.

Then I tried to see if it was because of strategy. Perhaps it is, but I've tried every activity/kill/tactic combination on Seraph Madigant and he still always leads with Rampage.

The only other ideas I had were that:
1) It's related to the order in which the glad trains his skills. If he trains Rampage first, maybe it becomes preferred? If Adrenaline Rush first, maybe that becomes preferred. I'm in the process of testing this one out on one of my upcoming glads.
2) It's related to achievements in some way. I was wondering if Arghpirate had always been Adrenaline rush first or if that happened more since certain achievements - like winning the blood games recently.
3) I also thought it might have to do with which skill was more "expert". Rampage runs on Strength and Chi. Adrenaline Rush runs on Strength, Stamina and Chi. So perhaps higher Stamina boosts Adrenaline Rush to be more "expert" than Rampage and it fires first. But then Ahhnold should be firing Adrenaline Rush first at about the same rate as Arghpirate...
4) It would suck if this were just a signature feature of each glad - some preferring Rampage while others preferring Adrenaline Rush. No control over this = unhappy Seraph Madigant manager :(

I did try reducing my skill in Rampage to 9 and when I did that Adrenaline rush did fire first - followed by Crippling Might and then Rampage. But when I boosted Rampage back to 10, Rampage took priority again.

Merc One approaches this differently - using Barreling Attack. His Barreling Attack fires before Rampage - which is why he's been more successful against the "tank the first hit" wars out there. If nothing else works for Seraph Madigant, I'm tempted to go this route myself...but it is a poor-man's substitute to having Adrenaline Rush fire first.

Apoc - maybe try boosting Ahhnold's stamina with achievements to make Adrenaline Rush more "expert" relative to Rampage. Let me know if that works:) (I doubt it since I have a 2H Rage with starting stats of 88 str 96 sta and 74 chi that still starts Rampage first every time in the Pit Fights)

Anybody with any better ideas?

OK, so Arghpirate and Ahhnold have the same opening strategy line, so it isnt to do with strategies afaik.

Maybe its a combination of int AND agility...

Sorry to disappoint you, buddy. Seraph Madigant was running with 103 Int and 173 Agi and still only Rampage first.

It appears this is just a signature feature of each glad (perhaps tied to luck). Arghpirate has gone Adrenaline Rush first since the beginning.

The only other possibility left is that it is tied to which skill you train first (adrenaline rush or rampage). I'm trying to test that now, but it will take a while. Or perhaps it can change if you boost luck.

Guess I'll be looking for a new 2H Rage recruit someday.

At times, Ahhnold would lead with Adrenalin Rush though, so I'm not sure if it's my memory at fault, or something up with the stats.

Maybe Nate's reading this thread and decided to just throw something up to keep you on your toes?;)

Well, just switched Seraph Madigant to Barreling Attack and he still goes Rampage first.

My 2h Rager (with 10/10 AR and 10/10 Rampage) did AR first, then Rampage, 18 out of 20 contracts, 1 he did Rampage first, the other time he didn't proc AR at all.