Greetings!,
having just received an invite for a Lethal Sparring Bout, I am considering a matter I didn’t really reflect upon previousy:
how to win Chess games and/or Sparring Bouts?
Should I put on my best Dangerous/Shadowy gear and go for the Straightforward/Ambush option?
Should I use dreams? How much of a benefit do they bring?
I just finished a sparring bout and received this gameplay tip: “Victory requires winning two out of three bouts. If you allow yourself to be inspired by your Dreams, your attacks will be more powerful; Frontal Assaults will empower Dangerous attacks, while Bewildering Ambushes will empower Shadowy attacks.”
My personal best guess is that you should try and raise both equally with your equipment and either start out with a dream quality (as you will lose this option after engaging in a bout) or try and get an instant leg up if your confident with an assault or ambush (as dream quality attacks might very well be more luck dependent).
In theory, I believe, the idea is that you try and size up your opponent and chose which option you have a higher stat in.
If you’re a shattering force you should probably do an assault. If your opponent is a shattering force though you may do better by attempting an ambush.
With that said though I just received my first sanguine ribbon minutes ago and as such not a leading expert on lethal sparring strategies (or non-lethal sparring strategies).
This thread is useful - http://community.failbettergames.com/topic24815-sanguine-ribbons.aspx
From what I understand… whoever has the storylet choice for a particular round chooses the stat for comparison. Eg. if I’m on the sparring storylet and choose a Dangerous option (whether it’s a simple assault or powered by dream), the game measures my Dangerous stat with my opponent’s Dangerous stat at that point in time, throws in a bit of RNG, and spits out a winner. Likewise with Shadowy. The Dream qualities would boost whichever stat they’re attached to, but I don’t know by how much.
So generally speaking, whoever has the highest stat at the time of storylet choice will win the round, but this is not 100% certain as there’s some randomness thrown in. But the greater the difference between the opponents’ stats, the greater likelihood that the higher stat will win. So Lukeskylicker is right - best to have both Shadowy and Dangerous maximized with equipment, as you don’t know which kind of attack your opponent might pick against you.
The same principle goes for Chess games and choosing Watchful/Persuasive options. I’m not so sure which Menace boost map exactly onto which stat, but the descriptions give some clues. (Eg. I expect the Scandal option will boost a Persuasive chess move.)
If you receive it, then rejoice! You can easily look at their profile, see what they’re wearing (Dangerous or Shadowy leaning) and then wear the opposite gear and strike. Raw stats obviously matter, but for some reason, equipment modifiers affect the outcome more than raw stats. There might be some multiplier on the equipment bonuses, but I don’t know. Also, using dreams is a big boost as well, but make sure you’re choosing the one associated with the stat you plan on using. Also, I believe the higher your dream, the more benefit it brings.
All that being said, you have an advantage on the first round, and a SIGNIFICANT advantage on the third round thanks to dreams, so you have a much higher chance of winning while you’re on the receiving end.
When sending, you’re at a disadvantage. You should try to balance Dangerous and Shadowy gear equally, but you’ll most likely be at a disadvantage either way. At least this way you’ll have a lessened disadvantage compared to if you had +0 total equipment in one stat that they just so happen to choose. On the second round, you can do as stated above, choosing the opposite stat gear to what they wear, as well as using dreams. You’ll have a good chance to win this one. The third round, they’ll counterattack with their own dreams, so you’ll probably lose.
In conclusion, being on the receiving end means you can easily make yourself more likely to win the first round, and whoever wins the first round has a high chance to win overall, considering the advantages they get. That’s about everything you need to know about winning sparring bouts.
Also, I’ll dispel the myth here that the one with higher stats will win the round. It’s more accurate to say that pure RNG dice are tossed, then some bonuses from stats are added on top of that. Even with, say, 300 modified Dangerous, don’t expect yourself to win against someone with 150 modified Dangerous reliably.