First things first. I'm not a pro. I don't claim to be. In fact, I'm a horrible sparrer. But I do know strategies and taught a first-time player how to spar, and as of now has a 2.0 ratio.

Now that we have that cleared up, let's get on with the guide. After this, you'll be a better sparrer. Either that, or you just wasted 10-20 minutes.

A. Introduction

Alright, lets start off with the basic question here. What is sparring? Sparring is the main "sport" of Graal, which includes tower taking and PKing. Many players get known and respected by sparring, so it's a valuable skill to keep under your belt. Sparring is basically two players in a small rectangular arena, with a non-moving screen, and swords are the only allowed weapon. "lol swords dude i kill baddies with swords this sound ezy." No. It isn't. This isn't one of those things where you can run out and spam a button like Black Ops. This takes skill. Let's get on with the tutorial.

B. The Basics

The most fundamentally important thing. Basics. Lets go over the 3 essentials you need to become a successful sparrer.

1. Speed
2. Dodging
3. Foresight


Number one, and probably most important - speed. Now many "pros" prefer to spar on the PC due to no lag, but I believe iPod works as well if you turn off nicknames, sounds and such. The key is to move in mostly quick, rapid motions with only one to two slashes at a given moment. Remember: slashing your sword makes you unable to move, and therefore gives your opponent three openings from which he/she can choose from. That's pretty much all I can tell you, so let's move on.


Number two, dodging. This is huge. Instead of explaining how to dodge, I'll go over a quick run-down of basic dodge moves. The more advanced ones, I'll cover later. (These are all names made by me.)

1. The "C-Style"

This is probably the most widely used dodge in all of Graal. All successful sparrers have used this at one point. The point of this dodge is to move in a C-Shape motion, slashing once or twice at each end of the C. If successful, you should make successful hits always get followed up by either a fakie C-Style and hit you in the same side, or more likely, a C-Style around the opponent to hit their back door. Learn this. Use it.

2. The Wall Spar

Incredibly annoying. Please refrain from using this, unless you're that desperate. The technique of this dodge is to run along the wall, inciting a spam from your opponent, then to fakie and hit them while they're chasing.

3. Hook Dodge

This is not used much, and can be quite useful. This is somewhat like the C-Style except the fact that you want to hit them in the wall, perform a hook, while their grace period ends, then hit them again in succession. This is very useful.


Number three, foresight. You will need this to win, but don't focus on it too much if you just spar casually. If you want to include foresight in your spar, basically learn the three dodges listed above, especially the C-Style. Watch your opponent carefully. Humans have a sense to mimic other humans, so try performing dodges without slashes to incite your opponent into using a dodge that is easily countered, like the C-Style, which most will use anyway. A great way to use foresight is focus on your opponent's attacks without using your sword at all. If you see a pattern, meet him at the end of his C-Style, in a different faced direction, and swing. Rinse and repeat.

That concludes the basics, so let's move on to less-used moves and advanced tactics.

C. Rare Dodges and Tactics

In this section, we're going to be going over uncommon tactics such as spearing and chasing. Not much else to say, so I'll get on with the tutorial.

Chasing

I've only seen a handful of people use this technique. Two players who have mastered it to its fullest are Rashard from US and Kevin91. The reason this tactic works so well is because the timing of the attacks gives your opponent almost no time to recover. The basic technique is to play the midfield of the spar. When your opponent gets close, slash him/her, follow the exact path they got blown back, and hit their backdoor. Remember: this is all timing. Do not expect to master this in an hour. I'm sure it takes the best of sparrers at least weeks to get it down.


Spearing

Now I haven't seen anyone use this, and it's probably for a reason, so use at discretion. A spear is when you play midfield and do a short spear that will not hit, and while your opponent mimics you, rush in while his sword cools down, and either hit him directly in the front, or hit his sides. Don't go for the back door, it will give time for a counter/dodge. Follow these up with C-Style fakies.


The Walking Spam

Don't use this. Unless you need one more win to hit that milestone or whatever. I've actually seen pros beat by this tactic.. It's one of those tactics that either dominates, or hits the fan. I believe the name lends to itself, but this tactic basically is a holding your d-pad aimed at your opponent while spamming your sword. Yeah, it works sometimes. But when it doesn't, prepared to be flawless'd.


D. Advanced Sparring

Hook Sparring

I know I've went over this tactic before, but I'm going to cover it in depth, and add pictures as requested.

http://i53.tinypic.com/dztegw.jpg (Unsupported image host)
http://i53.tinypic.com/2ugmn43.jpg (Unsupported image host)

That is the basic hook slash. It works well midway through the spar, but it is probably easiest to perform on the area where I drew the diagram, and may work up to three successive hits if the third hit is followed up by a fakie to the side. The hook spar is all timing, so make sure you hook around to hit directly after their grace period of invincibility ends. To get where you want them, C-Style around to control the top of the map, and hook sparring will work quite well if not overused.


Circle Sparring

I'm not sure whether this one is reliable or not. It's one of those tactics similar to chasing, which takes a while to master but usually quite hard to counter. Again, I think the name lends to itself, but I guess I can explain it anyway. The idea of the circle spar is to start off playing on one side of the arena, but not near midfield. Hit them near the wall, and circle around them, out of range, until you can fakie to get an opening. Rinse and repeat.


E. Conclusion

Alright, that concludes my in-depth guide in sparring. I know it probably isn't the best, but I really hope it gives the newbie sparrers a chance. I hate to see games like this where the newer players can't really enjoy the game because the older players just dominate them. This game lacks a good "in queue" system. I honestly think that the game should take into consideration other players' spar records, but that's just me.

Now remember, there are always baddies at your disposal near Swamptown and noob island, so always use those to practice spar against. If you have a number pad on a PC, its always easier to spar on that, but try to stick to the iPod, as playing on the iPhone server on PC costs 7500 Gralats a month.

I guess that's it so, yep. Hit me up on Graal and give me a shout if you see me. Thanks for reading and I hope I helped :3

Catch you on the flipside,
Agony from Advent V  

Haha, "C Slash" and "Hook" something. Nice names. And I'm a chasing guy, just how I roll. Nice guide, didn't help me since I'm already pretty good, but I bet it's helpful to new players.  

nice guide xD  

Meh, I'm currently making it but idk what else to add D:. Suggestions?  

I like it, although I don't use any of the techniques. xD I used to C-Spar or O-spar, now I usually spar counter defense. Love the way you're guide provides to much information! +rep.  

Posted by Shannon

I like it, although I don't use any of the techniques. xD I used to C-Spar or O-spar, now I usually spar counter defense. Love the way you're guide provides to much information! +rep.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Going to hopefully finish the guide by tonight D:  

King Clops has a sick PC guide to sparring. Check it out, just send him a PM on Graal.  

Thanks for this guide, this will help me alot.  

With the hook dodge, can you whip up a diagram on paint and stick it in?  

Very nice. +rep  

Posted by Agony

Meh, I'm currently making it but idk what else to add D:. Suggestions?

Is sword spamming up there?  

Going to hopefully finish this guild now. Skyping with Advent lol.

Just finished adding hook diagrams to the OP  

Great guide. Hope it helps everyone.  

Explaining how to spar is one thing..
But performing these sparring tactics is another kettle of fish altogether..
I suck..  

If you have trouble practicing these techniques, why not practice on some baddies? Maybe they don't run too far or too fast, but if you get too close and face the wrong direction you will be punished. They're like the punching bags of graal.