NOTE

This is the tournament quick-guide that has previously been posted in Tournament Annuncement Threads. It covers the basics of entering what tournament is going on at the time, but it is -not- a full tutorial. At some point in time this will get edited to addtional useful informaton such as a list of all Classes and their requirements.

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Part 4 - The Tournament Walk-Through

So, a new tournament has just started. Fair enough, that can be looked up.

… Only the thread about the tournaments in the Tutorial section is still empty.

So what is a tournament? And what do you do?

Let’s Wiki the first one, shall we?

In this case the sport is to defeat the opponent by use of specific forces and the competitors are pets owned by you and others. You can read up on how creatures at the Crossroads battle against each other here. If you're unsure about the system, please do ask.

During a tournament, each contestant is faced with the challenge of having to battle all other contestants. You will face one opponent per battle and a collection of threads where all contestants are pitted up against each other is called a 'round'.

The one who has won over the most opponents at the end of the tournament and who have 'showed up' (who has made an introduction post) to 75% of their battles will earn the title of Champion.

But what does earning the title of Champion do? Apart from the honour that goes with it, the Fighting Pit isn’t only a giant area with buildings and marked off arenas with space enough for letting creatures beat each other to death.

There’s also a shop for the ones who have received points in the tournament and some of those pets can only be purchased by Champions. After all, how can the owner of the Fighting Pit know for sure that you’ll take good care of his pets otherwise?


1. Finding the proper pet to use
To enter the tournament you need a pet that is able to battle. There are some restrictions to what kind of creature you can choose, but you're sure to have a few eligible candidates in your kennel.

To start with, your pet has to be in the Juvenile, Adult or Old stage of its life. Whether it's permanently frozen in either of those lifestages or if it can grow doesn't matter, it just can't be a Baby.

The second requirement will usually not apply to you if you are entering a tournament for the very first time, but a pet can't enter two tournaments in a row. That might leave out one or two creatures who will have to wait until this tournament is over before they can be used again.

The third requirement is that your creature has to be out of any roleplays in all sections except for the section Misc. Your creature of choice will be Locked into the tournament and that will be explained in the next part.

The last of the 'basic' requirements is that your creature has to be trained for battle and be healthy. A pet who knows no moves or abilities can still be entered in the tournament, but they won't be able to defend themselves against their opponent and will do poorly. Likewise, a pet who suffers from disease or who enters the battle wounded will not do as well as a creature who has been to the healer beforehand.

In addition to these requirements, there are various types of tournaments (called Classes) and some will have extra requirements that a creature is going to meet meet before it can be entered in tournament.

The last part means that you might not be able to battle with the same species of creature each tournament, but don't worry, the current tournament thread in the section 'Forum Updates And Events' will always specify what Class of tournament it is in the title headline. If you look up Part #2 of the thread, it will always tell you what extra requirements you need to meet.


2. Applying
Once you’ve selected one of your pets who matches the basic requirements and what the Class might also require, it’s time to apply for the tournament. Below is a form that you are going to send off, but first there are a few things that you need to know.

When you are filling out the form, you must fill out all the sections. If there is something that doesn't apply to your creature, let's say that it does not know any tricks, you write 'N/A' in the 'Tricks' section. This is to make sure that you haven't accidentally forgotten a section.

When you send off your application pm, your choices are final and you can't send extra pm's after it to correct any mistakes. Naturally it is recommended that you double-check your pm before it's sent!
If you forgot to write that your pet knew the move Jump, then you can't send an extra pm that says 'oh, by the way, my pet can use Jump' . If your application is accepted, your pet is just unable to use the move Jump for the whole tournament.

When you send off your form, your chosen creature is temporarily 'Locked' in the tournament until you are told if the application is accepted. If the form is accepted and you are approved for the tournament, your creature is now 'Locked' in the tournament until the tournament ends:
That a creature is 'Locked' to an area means that it has to stay in that area either permanently or temporarily. In this case, you cannot roleplay with it anywhere outside the Pit section except for the Misc. roleplay section until the tournament has ended. It cannot gain levels, loyalty and it cannot be posted with except in the Pit section.

If you think you have filled out the form satisfactorily and remembered everything, it's time to send it off. Copy/paste your filled out form into a PM and send it to the user Skylark with the title 'Tournament Application'. Once you fill it out, make a copy for yourself so you always have it close at hand - you will need it again when you're battling.

After the application has been evaluated and should everything be in order, you will receive a message that tells you what your contestant number is. If there is a problem with the application, it will be rejected and you will be told that there is a problem. It is up to you to find the error, correct it and send in the application again. But fortunately you can get rejected and send in your application again right until you’re approved or the deadline for applying is up.

*Special!* Creatures who carry a Ribbon of Telepathy and have at least 10 points of loyalty to their owner can choose 1 extra Move that only costs 5 Training Points to use for the remainder of the tournament! *Special!*


3. I'm In. What Now?
Once your form has been approved and you have received a contestant number, you will have to wait until the application deadline is over. Once the deadline has come and gone, a post will be made in the current tournament thread to announce whether the tournament has enough contestants to start or not.

If it does not have enough contestants just yet, a decision will be made as to what to do next and you'll need to follow the given instructions. If the tournament does have enough contestants to start, you will begin to see threads with the title 'Battle #X' appear in the Fighting Pit section where 'X' is the number of the thread.

In the thread description two names will be mentioned and that's the names of the two contestants who will be pitted against each other in that thread. To see all users who are pitted against each other, you can also reference this thread. You will need to find the thread that has your name in the thread description and read the first post of the battle which states additional instructions, battling rules and most importantly, when it is the last day you can post in the thread.

You are almost ready to make your introduction post and to begin battling, but there's a few last things you should know:
Because of the surroundings, it's not all moves and abilities can be used in the Fighting Pit, so you will be told which ones won't work during your battle.
It's also a good idea to keep in mind that most defensive moves will come into effect when it is to be your turn; if your pet is the slowest it will not be able to use a defensive move before it is its turn.


4. The Results And Next Battles
Whoa... Just... Whoa. Your Weaver really did beat that Thundergug. Whadya know. Battle/prize points will be assigned to each contestants and now that you've won your first battle in the tournament, you can lie back and watch the others' battles for the remainder of the round. Once everyone is done with their battles a new round will start and you'll have to look for your next battle again. Repeat this until the tournament is done.

Good luck!