Tournaments

Tournaments are two different kinds of contests which can be found in any town. One of them is a free-for-all cluster of men of different ranks that is always available during the day. The other is a high-risk, high-reward bout with progressions. These often accompany a feast and only appear occasionally.

Arenas will close at night, so if you arrive at a town hosting a tournament at the wrong time, you will need to wait until morning to participate.

Weapons in tournaments in Gekokujo are far stronger than they are in native Warband, and often they will knock someone unconscious in 1-2 hits. Additionally, the arena is smaller and no one is ever mounted nor equipped with a shield.

Melee fights
Every town holds melee fights all day long, every day. If you talk to the Tournament Master, he can tell you the rules as well as put you in a fight. There are very few rules in arena fights: there are no teams; essentially it is a large brawl or a free for all. All contestants will start with no armor and be equipped with a random weapon which may include a Wakizashi, Katana, Nodachi, Kanabo, Jo, Naginata, Yari or a Yumi bow. The aim of the melee fight is to hold out as long and try to knock out as many opponent to survive. At the end of each fight, money and experience will be rewarded for the number of opponent defeated.

Rewards
Money and experience are rewarded depending on the number of opponent you knocked out. The best reward will be given to you if you managed to survive the entire round.

Melee fights are generally a poor source of income (as compared to tournaments), but it can be a good player's starting point to level up and gain proficiencies without having to fight in an actual real battle. If the player performed well in melee fights, all money earned allows new player to purchase better equipments or even goods that can be sold at a higher price in other town.

If you are serving under a lord's army, you can join in the melee fights to earn all experience needed to be promoted to the next rank. This is useful for players who wishes to get promoted quicker rather than waiting for the lord to engage another battle.

Arena Participants
At the start of the match, novice and regular fighters will be spawned in the arena. More difficult opponent such as veteran fighters and even champion fighters will spawned more frequently at the later game as player fought on. Not to mention that the spawn rate of difficult opponent increases if there are 10 opponents left, thus surviving the entire round is almost not possible especially getting cornered. Below are the amount of money and experience expected during and after the round:

Tournaments
Larger tournaments are sponsored by a town, typically as part of a celebration. Tournaments are usually held in town with ongoing feast in the castle. You can never join a feast if you do not have enough renown. You can only join the feast as a lord of a faction if you are not at war with the faction owning the town, or if you won the tournament. To be able to find the locations of these tournaments, try asking the Tournament Master in any Arena.

Tournaments will run for 12-14 days. The game will try to have up to three active tournaments at a time. If there are less than three, every 24 hours, it will pick a random town to receive a 30% chance of hosting a tournament. If the randomly selected town already has a running tournament, its remaining days will be reset.

If you are looking for ways to earn some quick-cash, betting in tournament is one of the best ways to make money in the game.(if you win the entire tournament) If you place a maximum bet of 100 denars each round, you can earn the maximum amount. (For more info, read the Rewards part in this section)

Note: Just like the vanilla mount and blade game, orders can be given to your teammate(s) by pressing (F1, F2, F3, etc.). This could give you a strategic advantage if you are fighting a loosing team. Each team can have anywhere from 1-4 contestants during each round causing fights to range from a 1 on 1 to a 8-man brawl. Weapons given to you at the start of the match cannot be switch from your inventory but you can still drop and pick up a weapon from a fallen contestant.

Unlike melee fights, losing will not automatically end the tournament, however, if you have proven yourself worthy enough, you may continue on to the next round anyway. To advance past the 1st tier you only need to defeat one person. The rest of the tiers require you to knock out two people each time. Oddly, knocking out your own teammates may count toward your requirement to advance.

Winning a tournament brings many benefits especially after a winning streak. First of all, you get to earn some quick-cash for betting and winning. Secondly, you gain renown faster and also improves your relation with a lady faster (be sure to meet the court lady after each tournament won). You may also gain an additional 2 relation with a great lord in the settlement by talking with him once during the feast.

It is also possible for a tournament to be held on the town you are started. When this happens, get into the arena to improve your weapon proficiency and skills before you enter the tournament. Entering a arena will never loose your chance to enter the tournament so earn as much experience, proficiency and money you can before entering it.

Equipment
All equipments used in the tournaments and melee fight are the same in every settlement.

Rewards
The payout given to the winning contestant is 200 denars (+ 20 renown), however a much desired amount of money can be expected if you place a 100 denar bet on yourself every round. Betting at the maximum amount possible will bring a whopping 3980 denars + 200 denars from the standard reward, which sums up a grand total of 4180 denars.

When you place the bet, it will tell you the odds of victory, the worse the odds, the greater the reward. The odds will automatically start out with you having an equal chance of winning with all the other contestants. If you lose the tournament it will not change, but if you win, your odds will increase causing future bets at the tournament to be worth less money. The increased odds will decrease over time so as long as you don't go to another tournament at that town in awhile, with enough time, you can earn the full 4180 again.

The amount of renown you gain for winning a tournament is 20 - N, where N is your current Renown divided by 200 and rounded down.

Tournament Exploits
To fully maximise the number of tournament you can join, you can spam clicking 'wait here for a some time' and go back to the town menu to check if any tournament is available. This methods helps to increase your chance of entering more tournament since maneuvering in and out of town wastes time. Therefore, try your best not to loose any tournament for the best benefit.

Tips and tactics for winning
The following practices might help you to win a tournament:


 * At the start of the round, if you got a weapon you are not comfortable with, play defensively and stay behind your teammates. Grab a weapon from the ground should any contestant has fallen. Otherwise be a team player and support your team no matter the weapon given.
 * When fighting a loosing battle, try to get yourself a few confirmed knockouts just in case you have fallen.(If you have a yumi bow, you can still shoot down your own team members since it still counts. Dishonourable!)
 * Think before you attack. Never charge head on unless you want to be the first one to be knocked out. Flank and strike the enemy from behind if possible while your allies are being targeted.
 * If you are being targeted, be a bait and move towards your allies for help. Try to stay away from melee unless you feel safe.
 * Always be wary of pesky archers camping at the end of the hallway, being struck by an arrow is no joke. You will be stunned and hurt by it, which also means that you will become an easy target for hungry arrows and pursuers. Always zig-zag your way when charging towards an archer.

Tournament regulars
There are a few named NPCs that frequently participate in the tournaments, but do not show up elsewhere.

A strategy can be used when they are on your team in the tournament. Any fighter in the round you are in abides by the same rules as you for making it to the next round (though they might need only one knockout to make it to the next round instead of two), so if you have a ranged weapon and see that a named NPC is on your team, you can take them out before they get any knockouts and you won't have to fight the in a later round. Don't be too greedy with this, since knocking out your teammates may make the current round very difficult.

Other common participants are:
 * Regular Fighters
 * Veteran Fighters
 * Champion Fighters
 * Female Mercenaries Troop
 * Mercenaries Troop
 * Claimants (if you are present at the current tournament)
 * Vassals (if they are present where the tournament is being held)
 * Monarchs (if they are present where the tournament is being held)
 * Heroes that are in your party (if you are present at the current tournament)

Weapon Guide
All weapons used in the tournaments and melee fights are the same as mentioned above, being good at one weapon and suck for another is a bad thing. As Miyamoto Musashi once wrote in The Book of Five Rings, 'You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well.' Therefore, be adaptive and know your weapons well will do you good in all situation.

Let's go to the basic first, finding your most suitable combat control.

Parry - Since Gekokujo does not involve any shields to defend yourself from everything, your only way of defending yourself is by parrying from all incoming attacks (excluding flying arrows and powerful blunt weapon). If you are comfortable playing in 3rd person view, it is best to go to option and switch your right mouse button to automatically block. The same can be done for 1st person view, however It is not recommended to use block by movement unless you want pure realism and the real challenge.

Attack - For attacking, it is better to use attacking by mouse movement rather than automatic. The reason for this is because you want to have a much accurate attacking direction rather than relying on the computer to decide. An automatic strike will most likely get parried by an AI. (If you are fine with automatic than its fine for you. It is all about setting up the right combat control)

Moving on to the weapon play-style, all weapons are divided into 4 section:

Swords (Wakizashi/Katana) - There is only one rule for sword users: get closer to your enemy and strike. Never strike an opponent at a few meter away unless you are carrying a practice nodachi, you are most likely to miss if you do that. If an opponent tries to thrust or strike from their head, evade the attack immediately by running to their side. Take this opportunity to strike them. If an opponent tries to slash from the left or right, always parry first before you attempt to strike. You can also try to evade a sword user's strike from a distance but beware of polearms and nodachi users with superior weapon reach (unless they strike from their head or thrusting towards you).

Polearms (Jo/ Yari)- Polearms have further weapon reach as compared to most weapons with the exception of practice nodachi and practice kanabo. In general, they have a much slower attacking speed but can strike from a longer distance than swords. With the weapon reach advantage, always thrust your weapon into an opponent's heart before finishing off a stunned opponent with a side swing. When thrusting a weapon, do it at the right moment otherwise you will be parried and the distance advantage is lost. A good hint of when to thrust is when your opponent is ready to strike from their head or the side. However if your opponent is closer, stick to a defensive play-style especially fighting against swords.

Archery (Yumi) - Camp at the corner and shoot, that's it. Always switch to first person view for a better shot. If you're in the situation of 1v1 in archery, engage in melee if you suck at archery or aim at the opponent's head if you're good. Do not be afraid to use your sword if you can't shoot since you stand a better fighting chance rather than getting flanked.

Heavy weapons (Nodachi/Niginata/Kanabo) - Despite the fact that these weapon's designation are 2 handed/polearms, it has a similar playstyle. This section is designed for slow attacking weapons especially for practice naginata. Heavy weapons have better damage output but their slow attacking speed makes can be parried easily. They however, are great for supporting roles which excels in employing flanking tactics to deliver a blow to unsuspecting opponent. Engaging a head on battle is also possible especially with a kanabo but it is risky if you are being parried by a katana/wakizashi wielding opponent. If threatened by a sword user, be defensive as if you are playing with polearms.

[Practice Wakizashi]

- Fast attacking speed (speed rating: 108)

- Very short weapon reach (weapon reach: 59)

- Very low damage (swing: 18b, thrust: 12b)

A secondary weapon given to all archers including AI. It is a good back up weapon if you are in a state of panic as an archer. It has a very short weapon reach which is why it is extremely important that you must be closer to your opponent otherwise you will be screwed. With its fast attacking speed, parrying is not a problem here so don't be afraid to parry if you are most likely getting hit before you strike.

[Practice Katana]

- Fast attacking speed (speed rating: 108)

- Short weapon reach (weapon reach: 78)

- Moderate damage (swing: 22b, thrust: 11b)

A so called improved version of the original practice wakizashi, this weapon has better weapon reach and damage output as compared to the original practice wakizashi. It has the same attacking speed as the practice wakizashi, thus giving this weapon an edge over it. That may sounds to you that you can attack from a longer distance, however you should not think of it this way. A practice yari or a nodachi can outreach you and knock you out before you can strike. Therefore it is important to employ the same tactic as the practice wakizashi.

[Practice Nodachi]

- Moderate attacking speed (speed rating: 92)

- Moderate weapon reach (weapon reach: 109)

- High damage (swing: 30b)

This is a much different sword as compared to the 2 weapon mentioned above, it has a different play-style since its stats are different. Lets talk about the good thing about this sword: higher damage output and further weapon reach. Its higher damage output is good enough to deliver a higher damage which is capable of knocking down an opponent in one blow. Its higher weapon reach gives this sword a good fighting chance against opponents with polearms and even practice kanabo, thus it is possible to land a hit before they can do so. However, this weapon has to sacrifice its attacking speed so that means fighting the opponent with practice katana and practice wakizashi tricky.

[Practice Kanabo]

- Slow attacking speed (speed rating: 85)

- Moderate weapon reach (weapon reach: 118)

- Extremely high damage (swing: 35b, thrust: 20b)

- Can knock down opponent

This weapon is a beast. It can devastate anyone if you can swing it at the right moment. Not only does it deliver a huge damage output, it is also possible to knock an opponent to the ground which stuns them for awhile. While being stunned by the blow, a second swing should finish them off without having to worry about parrying. Although it has a slower attacking speed than the practice nodachi, its much satisfying to kick an opponent when they are knock to the ground ( like a boss ). Just make sure you do not get too close to the sword wielding opponent.

[Jo]

- Fast attacking speed (speed rating: 103)

- Slightly far weapon reach (weapon reach: 118)

- Slightly low damage (swing: ?b, thrust: ?b)

A rather plain looking stick that is similar to the original staff in mount and blade series. This weapon has a better weapon reach than all swords. Despite the fact that its damage output is low, you can swing and thrust further than almost all weapon. Its fast attacking speed and long reach makes this weapon a good weapon for parrying and striking at a distance with speed.

[Practice Naginata]

- Extremely slow attacking speed (speed rating: 80)

- Slightly far weapon reach (weapon reach: 121)

- Moderate damage (swing: ?b, thrust: ?b)

The worst weapon you can get out of the entire round, try fighting the entire match in melee fights and you will see. This weapon's damage output is slightly better than the practice katana which is ok. However it is extremely painful to see how you attack and parry with this weapon. It is so slow that an archer will parry you almost all day long at close range. Therefore It is highly advised not to engage in close combat with fast attacking swords and polearms unless you know what you are doing. If you really did receive this weapon in the tournament, just play as support or pick up another weapon from the ground. However if you wish to stick to this weapon for long, always try to thrust your weapon to the opponent's chest before swinging it from the side to finish off the opponent. If you somehow engage a practice katana/wakizashi user, well good luck to you. Your best bet in this situation is to run away or play defensively.

[Practice Yari]

- Slow attacking speed (speed rating: 88)

- Extremely far weapon reach (weapon reach: 186)

- Slightly low damage (swing: ?b, thrust: ?b)

A much better weapon as compared to the crappy practice naginata, it has a extremely long pole with a pointy end. In fact, it feels like an upgraded practice naginata. The tactics used here are similar, always thrust you weapon from a distance before attempting to attack from the side. Never engage an opponent very close or you will loose your distance advantage. (Just be sure not to swing too close or against an obstacle otherwise your attack will fail.)

[Practice Yumi]

- Fast attacking speed (speed rating: 100)

- only ranged weapon in the round

- slightly low damage (except for head shot) (damage: 15p)

If you are lucky enough to get a practice yumi, camp like the AI did. Always switch to first person view if you want a much accurate shot. If you have poor archery proficiency, shoot the body at a distance and the head if they got close. If you are very good with archery, try aim for the head as soon possible.(It is possible to win the match with only one hand on your mouse without touching the WASD key) Again as mentioned above, don't be afraid to use your practice wakizashi if you are forced to go all out melee.

Advanced Guide
The weapon guide explained above mainly explain about 1v1 situation, however fighting against more than one is a completely different thing. Being outnumbered and cornered is the last thing you will face in a match. Fighting alone is never an easy thing since everyone can just swarm you and knock you out within a shorter time (unless you are Musashi).

Fighting against a few opponents is possible. It requires a-lot of skills and critical thinking in order to survive. If you are a natural fighter, this two factor will help you in an instant and you might eventually become better as long as you practice enough.

1) As a general rule: Focus on one target at a time. Do not get distracted and fight against him. The objective here is to bring down a man quickly so that you can switch to another person without having to fear of anything. If you fight against two or more people, you will have a harder time of eliminating all of them as compared to bringing down one by one. This is true for melee fights against the last 10 men, if the first person is not brought down immediately, a second one will strike you from behind.

2) Assuming you have failed the first part and you are fighting the last 10 men in melee fight or 2~4 men in a tournament. You will be facing at least 2 men, The very first thing is to learn about your opponent. Ask yourself these question:

what weapon are they using?

Are there anyone fighting against your opponent?

How many opponent are there?

Is there an archer fighting against you?

Once everything is observed, process the thought and decide who should be your priority target. The most difficult target should be your priority. For example, a sword is fast and almost hard to parry. I would prefer to fight against swords rather than the polearms and archers. Prioritise your target and drop them quickly.

3) Keep moving, never allow the opponent to flank you. As long there is open ground, move along with it to prevent yourself from getting cornered or flanked. If you are being cornered, you will have to count on your luck and wit to fight to the bitter end. When this happens, switching target can be a useful trick to counter a mass attack. Read (4) about switching targets.

4) Switching target: Assuming that 2 opponents are attacking you at a different timing. You parry the first nearest incoming opponent's strike and then switch to attack the second opponent. Hitting an opponent will temporary stun him and buys you time to focus on the first opponent. Repeat the same action and do not attack the first opponent. You should always focus on defeating one opponent at a time or you will risk getting hurt or knocked out by both. The same can be done for more opponent but it is extremely tricky to counter all attack. This is why you should keep moving as you use this tactic against the nearest opponent.

5) If you see another opponent attacking your pursuers, take this opportunity to be his temporary alliance. Fighting back will decrease the number of pursuers and increases your chance of winning. If you do not feel safe enough then it is wise to escape rather than fighting alongside.

Trivia
If you disguise and sneak into an enemy town where a tournament is being held you can take part. If you win, you will get honor and the relationship with the town will increase, but you won't be captured although they should be able to blow your cover.

In the ordinary melee fights, other than the fighters that spawn initially, they only spawn one at a time, giving the player a good chance. When around 10 men are left from your kill count in the top left corner, they all spawn in slightly quicker succession. Get into a corner and play defensively at this point, wait until the last person is alive and charge in to kill them. Or just shoot everybody's head if they come near if you have a bow and arrows

If you fought and survived long enough in melee fights, enemies will focus on you more often even after a round. Try not to get cornered or ganged especially at the end of the round.

Camping at the same spot as the AI archer spot will deny any AI from spawning archers.(to be confirmed)

Kneeling down increases the chance of evading incoming attacks (except for arrows and direct hits) though it may sounds goofy.(to be confirmed)