02-08-2008, 11:17 PM
It's general practice for battlers to freeze on the first turn unless one of the battlers has a significant HP advantage in regards to their opponent's strength.
The late-freeze tactic demands that the initiator knows damage ranges for the boost being fought against, and at the very least an inkling of what their opponent has in terms of set. FSS owners have a significant advantage against anyone trying to pull a late-freeze. Despite the fractional chance of hitting max, it significantly increases the chance for a win.
While rather annoying for pets who can't get around late-freeze tactics, battles fought between high-hp pets are among the most intense. From personal experience, the best battles I've fought were against other high-hp pets when both of us were expecting the other to late-freeze and try to counter the other. Going 2-3 or even 4 rounds into a battle while using your opponent's hp as a marker to pull out the freeze can get you leaning on the edge of your seat. In those cases your trying to get your opponent into your kill-zone where a freeze-bomb attack ensures victory. All the while, your opponent is doing the same or monitoring their own hp to setup the counter against your freeze. Whoever gets there first wins...sometimes. If countered, the battle gets really interesting very fast.
For pets susceptible to the late-freeze, skipping the first round freeze and going for a counter is most likely the best option. If your opponent has a history of late-freezing or is most likely going to do so then just hold off the first -and second round possibly- for the freeze. You would be surprised how that can completely blindside the late-freezer into freezing on the second round. For some, their entire plan revolves around getting that late-freeze causing them not to think ahead or even consider the possibility of not getting it.
That's more or less true if the cards don't fall in the right place. For a strategist, getting your opponent to heal first and get them on their second run is prime, and is one of the basic principles to winning in a 2P battle. You want to force your opponent to exhaust most to all of their options while retaining your own as long as possible. One reason why I love battling Kacheeks is the wasted original 33% hp to get the full heal. Though playing Regen extends your rounds, it sets up a predictable series of events or just one situation where your opponent knows exactly what will happen. In just about all cases, that's a free round for the opponent unless you forced them into a 4th Down situation as well.
It's a gamble with an almost definite payoff. Though the damage being inflicted is massive, the late-freezer should already know that they can survive the hit. Whoever has the advantage then is irrelevant. For a late-freezer, taking the hit is a given as well as recharging after the attack. Once it's their turn to freeze, nothing else matters since 99% of the time it's game over.
As far as the bomb threat is concerned, regardless of 1P or 2P, battlers fear the opponent's strongest weapon. In 2P, the strongest weapon is the bomb. It's a major tide-changer. If you can get that out of the way as soon as possible like in a late-freeze then you have one less thing to worry about and you can basically use your Burrow and Sink whenever you want instead of saving the chances exclusively for countering the bomb.
Rather funny...in terms of tradition, it was fairly common practice for battlers to bomb right after the stalled freeze round. It didn't take long for some to pick that up and just Burrow then. Saving the bomb until later, and as well using it with Downsize!/TSB/Tear, wasn't used until a good number of years.
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I do stress a trips offensive and a number of sets do follow that format:
Freezer - Prime - Second - Tert - Bomb - Shield - Magic Def - Healer
Though I'd say it's more common for battlers to just carry one Primary and a backup thus freeing up the Tert space for a stealer or a second shield. Dual duties are commonly used in low-to-mid range sets and free up the Shield space for a Reflector. Duals can take the place of a Prime or Second yet those are still generally reserved for strictly offensive weapons that generate the heavy attack in conjunction with the dual duty.
The late-freeze tactic demands that the initiator knows damage ranges for the boost being fought against, and at the very least an inkling of what their opponent has in terms of set. FSS owners have a significant advantage against anyone trying to pull a late-freeze. Despite the fractional chance of hitting max, it significantly increases the chance for a win.
While rather annoying for pets who can't get around late-freeze tactics, battles fought between high-hp pets are among the most intense. From personal experience, the best battles I've fought were against other high-hp pets when both of us were expecting the other to late-freeze and try to counter the other. Going 2-3 or even 4 rounds into a battle while using your opponent's hp as a marker to pull out the freeze can get you leaning on the edge of your seat. In those cases your trying to get your opponent into your kill-zone where a freeze-bomb attack ensures victory. All the while, your opponent is doing the same or monitoring their own hp to setup the counter against your freeze. Whoever gets there first wins...sometimes. If countered, the battle gets really interesting very fast.
For pets susceptible to the late-freeze, skipping the first round freeze and going for a counter is most likely the best option. If your opponent has a history of late-freezing or is most likely going to do so then just hold off the first -and second round possibly- for the freeze. You would be surprised how that can completely blindside the late-freezer into freezing on the second round. For some, their entire plan revolves around getting that late-freeze causing them not to think ahead or even consider the possibility of not getting it.
Quote:healers simply extend the battle by an extra 50% of health without actually shifting the balance
That's more or less true if the cards don't fall in the right place. For a strategist, getting your opponent to heal first and get them on their second run is prime, and is one of the basic principles to winning in a 2P battle. You want to force your opponent to exhaust most to all of their options while retaining your own as long as possible. One reason why I love battling Kacheeks is the wasted original 33% hp to get the full heal. Though playing Regen extends your rounds, it sets up a predictable series of events or just one situation where your opponent knows exactly what will happen. In just about all cases, that's a free round for the opponent unless you forced them into a 4th Down situation as well.
Quote:Late-freezing strikes me as a massive gamble: you're letting your opponent's bomb through (where you might otherwise Burrow or Sink it). The opponent gains an immediate advantage, and you're forced to make up that difference later. (I'm not saying it can't be done, but the health hit forces you to heal sooner, and your opponent maintains an advantage on you until you go to make it up.)
It's a gamble with an almost definite payoff. Though the damage being inflicted is massive, the late-freezer should already know that they can survive the hit. Whoever has the advantage then is irrelevant. For a late-freezer, taking the hit is a given as well as recharging after the attack. Once it's their turn to freeze, nothing else matters since 99% of the time it's game over.
As far as the bomb threat is concerned, regardless of 1P or 2P, battlers fear the opponent's strongest weapon. In 2P, the strongest weapon is the bomb. It's a major tide-changer. If you can get that out of the way as soon as possible like in a late-freeze then you have one less thing to worry about and you can basically use your Burrow and Sink whenever you want instead of saving the chances exclusively for countering the bomb.
Rather funny...in terms of tradition, it was fairly common practice for battlers to bomb right after the stalled freeze round. It didn't take long for some to pick that up and just Burrow then. Saving the bomb until later, and as well using it with Downsize!/TSB/Tear, wasn't used until a good number of years.
---
I do stress a trips offensive and a number of sets do follow that format:
Freezer - Prime - Second - Tert - Bomb - Shield - Magic Def - Healer
Though I'd say it's more common for battlers to just carry one Primary and a backup thus freeing up the Tert space for a stealer or a second shield. Dual duties are commonly used in low-to-mid range sets and free up the Shield space for a Reflector. Duals can take the place of a Prime or Second yet those are still generally reserved for strictly offensive weapons that generate the heavy attack in conjunction with the dual duty.