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Just Starting Out

by Renegade

Just Starting Out

So, you’ve downloaded With Authority, played the tutorials and the trainers enough to have a basic grasp of the game, and have been handed your bahootchie in your first few live matches. While playing is fun, of course you’d like to start winning some games, but you don’t know how. That’s where I hope to help you out. In my opinion, the first mistake that new players make is getting the wrestler that they are told is the easiest to win with. True, some wrestlers are easier to use than others, but concentrating on one wrestler can help you learn the nuances of him, and how he works best, regardless of his “degree of difficulty”. I am not going to talk here about how each wrestler works, because I am sure that we will have countless articles about that, rather, I am going to stay very general. Anytime I am asked by an unregistered player which wrestler is the best, and therefore the one that they should buy when registering, I always have the same answer, ”Whomever is YOUR favorite wrestler.”

As a new player, you must face the fact that you are going to lose games. A lot of them. Something to understand very clearly is this: Rank means NOTHING in this game. Players ranked 2000 have just as good a chance at winning as players ranked in the top 10. If you have the attitude going in that you are only a good player if your rank is high, then you are defeated already. Some of the best players in this game are ranked lower in the top 100 than some of the newer players that will never be as good. What is the difference then? Experience. Experienced players have two advantages over you, they have a wider variety of cards to choose from, and a feel for the game that comes with their experience. Losing can be frustrating at first, but if your favorite wrestler is Austin, it probably feels a whole lot better to lose after hitting a Stunner, than to lose playing as X-Pac and getting beaten so badly that you don’t even get to play a move.

The more that you play, win or lose, the more you will learn the nuances of the games, including getting a feel for countering. When to auto-counter or not, as well as which moves to counter or take is a personal preference, and one that you can only learn by getting a feel for the game. The same goes with deck building, which I will get into later on. If you are polite, and talk to a veteran player, chances are they will play you an unranked game and loan you a deck for the wrestler that you are considering purchasing, and that is another great way to try someone out. The key to that is being polite. Being in the locker room and demanding matches, insulting veterans, or spouting off the catch-phases of any of the wrestlers is a sure way to NOT get a game, and to in fact get ignored or muted from most people. Try to look at the locker room as the food court at your favorite mall. Lots of people are there, and the people that know each other and are already friends all sit together and do their thing. While everybody wants to be accepted and a part of the crowd, walking right up and starting to insult people is not the way to become part of the group, and you have a better chance of having your tail whipped by a group of people pissed off at the treatment that they have just received from an outsider. Just be polite and start up a casual conversation.

Also, coming into the locker room and demanding title shots from the belt holders is a good way to get everyone in the community turned against you. Titles only change hands at official tournaments, and the belt holders get sick of the newer players always challenging them “for your belt”. Same goes with asking them for deck help. It must be kept in mind that while you may have just discovered With Authority! recently, most of the veterans have been playing for over a year. They have taken their lumps against each other at the beginning to learn the game, and that’s why they are ranked higher right now. It’s not a super fast process to the top, you continually learn as you go. Think about it, when watching wrestling on tv, you don’t see new wrestlers come in and challenge for the title right away usually. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, they have to work their way up, and that’s what you need to do.

There is an abundance of players looking for a veteran player to build them a deck, or just give them a deck text so that they have a good deck to start out with. Guess what, that’s not going to magically push you into the top 10. You may get a few cheap wins off of a champion’s deck, but building the deck is only half of the battle, as I have already discussed. It’s knowing how to use that deck. Another veteran player that has seen the deck in the hands of the creator, will be able to tear it apart when you are playing it. Why? Simple, you don’t know how it works. You don’t know what cards to play with what cards in what sequence. Most new players simply click whatever card is lit up for them to play, no thought process whatsoever. A veteran might hold a card that he could play now, to use as a counter, or as part of a move string later. The point is, he plays his deck differently than others do. If you really feel the need to copy someone’s deck, instead of bothering them when they are in the locker room to relax or chat with friends, simply go to the WA! Website. Every championship match has it’s playbooks listed there, and in the WA Forums, there are plenty of decks posted, as well as a deck help forum itself. Do your own work, and receive your own reward. Ok, enough of the initial things, let’s get to what you really want to know about, how to build your own decks.

Deck Building 101

Ok as a new player, this looks like it is impossible. Why? Simple, you don’t know what you’re doing. Most new player just toss all of their cards together and say, ”There’s my deck!” The more powerful the cards, the better. Ok, big mistake. Huge mistake. So let’s just start from scratch. When I first started, I had a simple rule that I called the 3x25 rule. I’m sure that all the veterans have their own tricks to building decks, and I don’t really use this anymore, but as a new player, it worked for me, so that is where I am going to start. What was the 3x25 rule? Simple, you break your deck down into 3 categories: counters, theme, start/mom/spcl. Pretty simple, right?! Well, what is included in each category, and how does each one work? Let’s get into that. There are eleven different move types. Ideally, you’d like to have 5 counters for each type. How do you accomplish this without having 55 pages in your playbook already? Simple, you use the 2 for 1 counters. Using Arm Drag Counter, Dodge, Double Leg Takedown, Elbow, and Knee Lift in your playbook give you a counter for every move type. Depending on which wrestler/strategy/style etc. you use, you can adjust this as you see fit, but I am trying to explain this to the brand new player here, and making it as general and as easy as possible.

So, for your first 25 pages (counter category), using these cards is the easiest way to go. For the second 25 pages (theme), for the new player, the easiest theme to use is a “Drain Counters to Set Up My Finisher” theme. What does that mean? Just like it says, you attempt to drain counters (make him play them) from your opponent in order to make your finisher connect. How do you do this? Simple. Notice the move type that your finisher is, figure out what counters it, and stock up. Example: Triple H’s finisher is The Pedigree, which is a Victim Below move type. The basic counter (as described above) for VB move types is Double Leg Takedown, which also counters the move type Leg Extended. Therefore, in a Triple H deck, you would want to add LE moves as well as VB moves in order to try to make your opponent use his counters up so that he is unable to counter when you play Pedigree. Of course, there are other counters for VB moves, but I am just being as basic as I can be to make this explanation easier. As you become more experienced, you will get a feel for what other nuances work, and can tweak your deck accordingly.

Now, for the last 25 pages, these are split up anyway you see fit between momentum, specials, and what 5 pages you want in your opener. I can’t tell you how to break this down, as it is totally personal preference. Some people use lots of specials, and some people use little or none. Some depend on the wrestler that they are playing to decide, some have a need for certain things, and decide that way. Again, as with all the rest, as you gain experience, and a feel for the game, you will change this to suit your own style, and may even decide to cut the deck down. Be patient, eventually it will all just “click” and you’ll get it. Every wrestler has a theme/style that works well for them, but anyone can use any theme that you can think of providing they meet the momentum requirements. No matter how much you might wish for it, Kurt Angle is not going to be able to play a High Risk/Hit or Miss theme. Which brings me to another point. Like it or not, it does no good to whine and complain about a wrestler not being able to play a move in the game that he can do in real life. Every veteran that has come before you has mentioned Angle’s Moonsault, but when Genetic Anomolies made this game, they obviously had to make it as balanced as possible, and sacrifices had to be made. Same goes for counter moves. Trust me, we all know that an Eye Rake isn’t really going to counter Crippler Crossface, but again, for balancing purposes of the game, just smile and take it. Getting mad is pointless, it’s not going to change anything, so why waste the energy. Just say something funny to your opponent, and move on.

So, hopefully you are excited to go and build your own deck now, and play a few games with your own deck. Remember, politeness counts in the Locker Room, as well as when playing a game. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone during a game and asking for their opinions, or for general help. Just be polite about it. Have fun and Good Luck.

Renegade

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