This is part of Kamek the Ref's Kode of Battle, and hence applies EXCLUSIVELY for boss battles.
You can e-mail me at hcuz at nycap dot rr dot com. I removed the direct link to cut down on spam.

KAMEK THE REF'S BATTLE KODE: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

v2.2, last updated 7/12/11

RECENT UPDATES:
7/12/11: Removed references to 1v1 nights and NK's system, and I'm hosting Tuesdays now.
2/26/09: Jeez I haven't updated this in a long time. Added two new questions at the bottom, changed some other stuff. Added a very important note on Question 2.
3/6/07: Clarified some stuff, nothing real major.
9/4/06: Blah blah new system blah

INTRODUCTION
QUESTION 1: What is BOTVGH Arena?
QUESTION 2: How do I get there?
QUESTION 3: When are the battles?
QUESTION 4: I'm new to the system. What's a good job class? What should I start out as?
QUESTION 5: I can't make it on Monday/Wednesday. Can you host Tuesdays or something?
QUESTION 6: 9:00 is too early/late for me! :(
QUESTION 7: Damn, I missed entries because I was busy with (homework/video game/masturbation/YOUR MOM)! Can you pleeeeease open late entries? ;.;
QUESTION 8: Maximum ten heroes? Why's that?
QUESTION 9: You keep calling your manual the "Kode".
QUESTION 10: THE COLORS, DUKE, THE COLORS! Why so many, and what do they mean? O_o
QUESTION 11: Gah, I blew away a huge wad of MP on big nukes and such. How do I get some back?!
QUESTION 12: Why do so many people get so upset when I toss out a wild surge or call up a certain hazard set? I'm just trying to have fun out there!
QUESTION 13: Why so many references to the Green Bay Packers in the hazards and wild surges? O.o  It seems... out of place for BOTVGH Arena.
QUESTION 14: Can I be a guest boss?
QUESTION 15: How do you calculate damage?
QUESTION 16: How do you roll for accuracy? Can you give me a concrete hit rate?
QUESTION 17: I CAN HAS 1V1 NOW????
QUESTION 18: You should host a boss battle against X character from Y game/anime! It'll be awesome!


INTRODUCTION
What follows is a list of frequently asked questions (or FAQs). This is all stuff I have been asked. I contemplated putting in some stuff nobody asks about but could be fun to know... but hey, if it was that interesting, someone would have asked about it. So, on with the questions...

QUESTION 1: What is BOTVGH Arena?
The simple answer is that it's sort of an IRC tabletop battle system... thing. But it's a bit more complex than that. There's a full description near the beginning of the Kode itself, so check that out.

QUESTION 2: How do I get there?
Well, first off, you need an IRC client. I recommend mIRC for Windows users and IRCle for Mac users.

Now the server... I'd love to say it here, but here at BOTVGH we have some recurring troll problems, so the server isn't posted anywhere public. If you want to know the server, catch me on AIM (HCuz1), another IRC server, or send off an email (the link is at the top of the document). If I don't know you, I might be a little suspicious (we've had troll problems in the distant past and lamer problems more recently), so you'd best be prepared to prove you're not a troll or lamer. Fair warning. It really helps if you already know someone who already comes to the channel; that way, I can ask them about you.

*** Bringing your friends into the channel without asking permission is generally frowned upon, and we have in fact temp-banned at least one person for doing so repeatedly. So get permission! ***

Once you're on the server, the channel is #botvgh_arena. I should warn you that it's not always bustling with activity, except on battle days. :P

QUESTION 3: When are the battles?
I usually host boss battles once a week, and that's almost always Tuesday nights. I start at 9:00 PM Eastern time. Deviations from my schedule will be posted in the Arena Livejournal. I used to host Wednesdays, but moved to Tuesdays in late 2010 after Neo-Kamek retired.

QUESTION 4: I'm new to the system. What's a good job class? What should I start out as?
Well, here's the thing. You get a primary skillset and a secondary. But if your secondary is going to be very useful at all, you'll want to spend time in that getting skills and whatnot. And to be useful in THAT, you'll need skills in some OTHER secondary; you might want to keep that in mind when you receive your starting 500 EXP. For instance, if your long-term goal is to be a Black Mage with White Magic secondary, you'll want to start off as a White Mage. With the 500 EXP you get to start, you'll want to buy some secondary skill that will go well with that job class; stuff like Hastega is always welcome, or you could grab some black magic for offense, or even a few summons. Or you could go for a reaction or support skill, like Item Box. Once you have one or two masteries under your belt, the rest should be easy.

When picking your combo, remember to take a job class's stats into account. Black Magic, for example, requires job classes with lots of MP and MAtk, and doesn't work very well on Monks and Samurai.

If you're really undecided, you can ask the veteran battlers what's needed; there are almost always holes that need filling, as long as you're okay with being a healer or a hazard reroller.


QUESTION 5: I can't make it on Tuesday. Can you host Thursdays or something?
I'm a creature of habit (and I suspect a lot of the battlers are too), and I can't change dates just for one person... though if a given Tuesday is bad for me, I might try for Wednesday that week instead. But Tuesday seems to be the most convenient date for most of the battlers (who have scheduled other things for other days), so I will be sticking to that whenever possible.

QUESTION 6: 9:00 is too early/late for me! :(
For a long time, I'd start battles at 8:00. However, this became a problem because a lot of our West Coast chatters couldn't make it in on time. So earlier times are a no go. If I host LATER than 9:00, though, it becomes a problem for those of us in the east; many people have school and work to go to the following morning, and need to get to bed at a decent hour. So 9:00 is my time and I'm sticking to it. If I expect a battle to be unusually long, I might start at 8.

QUESTION 7: Damn, I missed entries because I was busy with (homework/video game/watching grass grow/YOUR MOM)! Can you pleeeeease open late entries? ;.;
Unless it's explicitly stated otherwise, I don't allow late entries. It throws the battle off-balance. You can sometimes catch entries if you're 5-10 minutes late, but beyond that you'd best find a seat in the stands. Some hazards do allow for late entries, and you are allowed to take over for someone who misses a turn or leaves (but you can't call "dibs" the minute you find out you can't join outright). If the battle is JUST under way and there is room for more, I might let you in, but doing so will usually result in some sort of stat boost or new addition to the boss(es).

QUESTION 8: Maximum ten heroes? Why's that?
Way back when, it didn't used to be a problem, as turnout would range from 4 to 8. But as word spread and the arena became more popular, I started getting turnout of 10, 12, even 15. In addition to just being chaotic (there's no way you can get that many people to cooperate all the time), it SERIOUSLY slowed down the battle. Obviously, it's a turn-based battle system, so more people means it takes longer. Also, a lot of heroes means the boss has to be made more powerful defensively, which ALSO leads to a longer battle. After a particularly disastrous match where the total number of combatants exceeded 20, I said "screw it" and instated a 10-hero limit.

QUESTION 9: You keep calling your manual the "Kode".
I can't spell. No, seriously, it's intentional. There are a lot of video games that do cutesy things like that: Super Mario Bros. has Koopa's Kastle, the Donkey Kong Country series swaps Cs for Ks all over the place, and when Neo-Kamek became the first referee to post a boss battle manual, he decided to call it a Kode. As my referee character is also a Kamek and a Koopa, I kept with the "K" bit. (Neo-Kamek's system also used to utilize "Koins".)

QUESTION 10: THE COLORS, DUKE, THE COLORS! Why so many, and what do they mean? O_o
Most of the color-coding in my script is just for pizzazz and for fun. However, the colors on the turn/status indicators do have some meaning.

  • If someone's HP appears in dark blue, it's below 40% of its maximum. Not critical yet, but getting there.
  • If someone's HP appears in red, it's below 20% and hence critical. According to what's called the critical rule, a fighter may NOT be KO'ed until his/her HP is critical (if s/he's not, a big attack will drop HP to 1). If your HP display is red, you'd best get a heal pronto!
  • If someone's HP appears in black and gray, it's at zero and the fighter is KO'ed.
  • If someone's MP appears in light green, it's below 40% of its maximum.
  • If someone's MP appears in a darker green, it's below 20% or at zero.
  • If the Adrenaline gauge appears in red, it's above 75%. You're close to an Adrenaline Rush!
  • The hazard bar is usually green. When it's brown, it's past 75% full, and there may be a hazard at the end of the turn.
  • If the hazard bar is red, it's 90% full or more. A hazard is almost certain to follow the turn.

    • QUESTION 11: Gah, I blew away a huge wad of MP on big nukes and such. How do I get some back?!
    There are three ways, not including hazards and special skills and such.
  • Osmose. Uses 1 MP, so you can't use this if your mana stash is completely dry. Take the amount of MP you're missing, divide it by 4, and pick a random number between 1 and the result; that much MP is drained from the target straight to you. (Obviously, the target needs to have MP for this to work.) If your MP is fairly high, you won't gain much from this. But if, say, you have 20 MP left out of 120 maximum, you could theoretically drain 25. On the other hand, you could just get back the one you used for the spell! It's a bit of a gamble. A note of caution: If you cast Osmose on an Undead target, it will work in reverse. This is a basic skill and thus everyone can use it.
  • Meditate. Recovers one-tenth of your maximum instantly. If you don't like your chances with Osmose, or you have no MP at all left, this is a pretty solid choice. This is also a basic skill. Unless you are really low on MP *and* have a high maximum, allies will usually recommend this instead of Osmose.
  • Items and Skills. A number of items in the various hazard sets can recover your MP. Among them are Ethers and Dry Ethers, which can also be produced by Chemists as a special job skill. Other skills that restore MP include Chakra, White Draw, and MP Gift, but you will usually need to request these from the allies that can use them.

    • QUESTION 12: Why do so many people get so upset when I toss out a wild surge or call up a certain hazard set? I'm just trying to have fun out there!
    There are two "schools" of thought among the heroes. One school is just in it to have fun, winning or losing is secondary. The other school is that of the "win-first" mentality; they don't mind you having fun, as long as it's not detrimental to your team's efforts. Wild surges are a random element, and since a random element can go either way, it's more likely to benefit the underdog. More often than not, the underdog is the boss, who is outnumbered and often out-strategized. If you're up against an unusually tough boss, or you're just faring really badly, a wild surge might not be such a bad idea. Focusing hazards can be extremely useful, but when a lot of the hazards in a set (such as Bosses History) can't be focused, you wind up spending MP on rerolls... MP that could be useful later on.

    QUESTION 13: Why so many references to the Green Bay Packers in the hazards and wild surges? O.o  It seems... out of place for BOTVGH Arena.
    It probably is. The Packers are my favorite football team; it runs in the family, my dad grew up in Milwaukee back when Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, and those guys were tearing it up and winning titles in the '60s. The Packers' success, or lack thereof, has a huge impact on my mood during football season. When they win, I'm cheery and upbeat and even a bit giddy, and I want people to know it and share the excitement. Similarly, when the Packers lose, I get cranky and irritable, and sometimes need to take it out on someone. Most of the Packers surges/hazards were added immediately after really huge wins or devastating losses by the Green and Gold.

    QUESTION 14: Can I be a guest boss?
    Short answer: No. Longer answer: I stopped hosting guest bosses after a particularly disastrous match where titanic egos clashed and a huge flame war followed. Personal pride makes it tough to have an enjoyable guest boss, so I just don't do them anymore. Sorry.

    QUESTION 15: How do you calculate damage?
    PHYSICAL DAMAGE IS CALCULATED AS FOLLOWS:
    The attacker's "Attack" or "Atk" stat is loaded up, as is the target's "Defense" or "Def" stat.
    The attacker's Charges are factored in. For each charge, Atk increases by 40%. (Percentage is not cumulative, so if there are three charges, increase Atk by 120%.)
    If the attacker has Attack Up status, Atk is multiplied by 1.3.
    If the attacker is Berserk, Atk is multiplied by 2.
    If the target has Defense Up status, Def is multiplied by 1.3.
    If the attacker has Attack Down status, Atk is multiplied by 0.7.
    If the target has Defense Down status, Def is multiplied by 0.7.
    Atk is divided by Def.
    The result is multiplied by 15 and by 25 (on a critical hit, it's 35 and 45 instead). The damage can be those two numbers or anywhere in between. All other things being equal (including Atk and Def), a physical attack deals 15 to 25 damage on a normal hit, 35 to 45 on a critical hit. All decimals are rounded down.

    MAGIC DAMAGE IS CALCULATED AS FOLLOWS:
    The caster's "Magic Attack" or "MAtk" stat is loaded up, as is the target's "Magic Defense" or "MDef" stat.
    The caster's Charges are factored in. For each charge, MAtk increases by 40%. (Percentage is not cumulative, so if there are three charges, increase MAtk by 120%.)
    If the caster has Magic Attack Up status, MAtk is multiplied by 1.3.
    If the target has Magic Defense Up status, MDef is multiplied by 1.3.
    If the caster has Magic Attack Down status, MAtk is multiplied by 0.7.
    If the target has Magic Defense Down status, MDef is multiplied by 0.7.
    MAtk is divided by MDef. The result is multiplied by the MP cost of the spell.
    The result is multiplied by 1.6 and by 1.8. The damage can be those two numbers or anywhere in between. All other things being equal (including MAtk and MDef), a 10 MP attack deals 16 to 18 HP damage. All decimals are rounded down.

    Magic Sword damage is calculated the same way as magic damage, but it uses physical Atk and Def instead of magic.

    Any attack that "ignores defense" will assume 50 Def/MDef on the target. Curative magic is MAtk-based, but it assumes 40 MDef.


    QUESTION 16: How do you roll for accuracy? Can you give me a concrete hit rate?
    My accuracy system (which is radically different from what was seen in the old system) is basically a cheap knockoff of Neo-Kamek's accuracy system.

    The attacker's "Accuracy" or "Acc" stat is loaded up, as is the target's "Evade" stat.
    30 is added to Acc, 50 is subtracted from Evade.
    If the attacker has Accuracy Up status, Acc is multiplied by 1.3.
    If the target has Evade Up status, Evade is multiplied by 1.3.
    If the attacker has Accuracy Down status, Acc is multiplied by 0.7.
    If the target has Evade Down status, Evade is multiplied by 0.7.
    The chance of success is:     [Accuracy] / 100 * (100 - [Evade])
    In addition, the above number is divided by 4 to produce the critical hit rate. And this means that yes, Acc and Evade can factor into critical hit rate.
    The script generates a random number between 1 and 100 for the accuracy roll. If the number is equal to or below the success rate, the attack hits. If it's equal to or below the critical hit rate, it's a critical hit. Also, if the roll is 1, the attack hits regardless of hit rate; likewise, if the roll is 100, it's an automatic miss.

    The formula is right up there, so if you've got a good head for numbers it's easy to figure out hit rates. In a typical case of 50 Acc and 50 Evade, hit rate is 80% with a critical hit rate of 20%. Note that this value can change even if Acc and Evade are the same (for example, when both values are 120, the hit rate is 45% with a critical hit rate of about 11%). When Evade gets to 150 or higher, the hit rate goes to 0%, regardless of Accuracy (barring an auto-hit roll of 1).


    QUESTION 17: I CAN HAS 1V1 NOW????
    1v1s are a thing of the past and I don't do them anymore. When I host one 1v1, everyone else wants one too, and it gets very stressful in a hurry. So I don't do them anymore, the end.


    QUESTION 18: You should host a boss battle against X character from Y game/anime! It'll be awesome!
    I will only even consider this if I'm familiar with the source material -- meaning I have to have played the game or watched the anime. You can link me to all the Youtube videos you want, but if I'm not already familiar with the character I'm not going to host against it. If nothing else, there's way too much potential for "Hey ref! Why isn't Z tactic working? That was his weakness in Y game! And he only uses skill Q when he's low on health! Don't host against a boss if you don't even know simple things like this!" So... I don't. If you have to explain your boss idea to me, it's not happening. The end.

       

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