Team Fortress 2 : Halloween Event 2012 Review

By now the excitement surrounding the Halloween Event has begun to die down and by the time you read this it might already be over. Yes, Halloween already passed, we are one week into November, we should probably stop thinking about Halloween and candy and start thinking about the best, next holiday, but I just want to share a little more on how my experience with the Halloween event was by reviewing each map.

The Scream Fortress Halloween Event is finally over and it's time to move onto doing other things and get ready for the best next holiday [in the U.S.]; but before I move on, a review of the maps and my experience with the whole event in general.

HARVEST: Harvest is a King of The Hill game mode map and was introduced in the Halloween of 2009. The objective is to seize control of a capture point in the center of the map for a duration of 3 minutes. Harvest is the simplest of the other maps. Although there is a Halloween version of the map for the event it doesn't offer as much as the others. Halloween Harvest offers the Halloween decorations, exploding Pumpkins and even features the ghosts, but no Haunted Halloween Gifts or a Boss to fight. Still, Halloween Harvest is a charming map to play on with a simple design and aesthetic.

MANN MANOR: Mann Manor is an Attack/Defend Control Point game mode map was introduced in the Halloween of 2010. It is one of the most intricate maps designed for TF2 since it isn't simply symmetrical for both teams to navigate through the same way; RED and BLU sides of the map aren't mirrored. This map features Halloween Decorations, Exploding Pumpkins, the Horseless Headless Horsemann as the boss, and it was the first map to drop Haunted Halloween Gifts, which contain Halloween Masks. The map is elaborately designed, with BLU team's Spawn point beginning at one edge of the map, starting out from small shacks on the land, then leading to multiple entrances to reach the final Capture Point located within Redmond's Mansion. For BLU players, the first two capture points are quite easy to reach, but the final capture point is always the most difficult as the entrances are small and make it easier for RED Pyros, Soldiers, Engineers, and even Heavies to kill any incoming BLU team members.
     As for the Boss, Headless Horseless Horsemann is a ruthless killer. He is a neutral Character and will attack any player regardless of what team they are assigned to. Headless Horseless Horsemann turns Team Fortress 2 into an extreme game of Tag. Although HHH prefers to decapitate nearby players, he can and will focus on a player even if they are far away. Whenever a player is targeted by HHH, that player is tagged as "IT" and can Melee a player on the opposing team to tag them as it, otherwise it is inevitable decapitation by the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head taker. [Bonk! Atomic Punch will only save you for a few seconds. You can't even melee attack in that state so you're good as gone.] Defeating Horseless Headless Horsemann rewards you with 2 different achievements and 2 different Achievement items. The first achievement is Sleepy Holl0WND, getting credit for killing HHH and rewards you with the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head, a Pumpkin Head Hat which can only be seen on Halloween or on a Full Moon. The second achievement is Gored!, which can only be obtained by executing a finishing melee attack upon HHH and it rewards you with 1 Unusual Haunted Scrap Metal. Fighting Horseless Headless Horsemann can be a frustrating experience especially if both teams aren't cooperating to defeat him, but it's not the worst of circumstances since HHH will remain on the map until he is defeated. Regardless, Mann Manor is an enjoyable map for it's game mode type, the many decorations, and the overall theme of the map is quite nice to look at.

EYEADUCT: Eyaduct is a King of the Hill game mode map and was introduced in the Halloween of 2011. This map is a "Haunted" version of the map Viaduct. Like the last King of the Hill Map, RED and BLU sides are mirrored and the objective is to seize control of the capture point in the center of the map. As a Halloween Map, Eyaduct features the Halloween decorations, exploding pumpkins, and Haunted Halloween Gifts, this time containing a Halloween Costume Piece. Each class has their own 3 piece costume set. With a new map a new boss is introduced; both teams get to fight Monoculus!
     Monoculus is more difficult to defeat than the Horseless Headless Horsemann because unlike the previous boss he will only remains on the map for a limited time. After a minute and a half Monoculus will leave the field regardless of whether or not he has been defeated. With that said, attempts to defeat him will be frustrating if both teams aren't cooperating. Monoculus won't go around the map to chase you, so this is not an extreme game of Tag, however, he accurately fires powerful eyeball rockets at players within his sight, so be prepared to face many respawns if you aren't careful.
    What I love about this map is that it's almost two different maps! Eyaduct also features an "Underworld" and a "Loot island". Since Monoculus flies around the map, he teleports from one side to the other after a certain amount of damage is dealt and he does this several times throughout the fight. Each time he teleports, he leaves behind a portal leading to "the underworld" which players can jump into. Jumping into the portal to the Underworld will take you to a haunted dimension that slowly drains your health. Escaping the underworld by jumping across tiny plots of land in an undead sea to reach a door back to the normal world will grant the player an Ubercharge. Hitting Monoculus under this Ubercharge will stun him, allowing players to deal greater damage to the boss. When Monoculus is defeated, The Bombinomicon will be left behind with another portal leading to the underworld taking players to Loot Island instead. Defeating Monoculus offers 1 achievement for defeating him and the Monoculus as a hat which can only be seen on Halloween or on a Full Moon. Reaching Loot Island and escaping it offers its own achievement and rewards players with The Bombomicon badge, which can be seen at any time.
     The map is easy to navigate through and as a result finding Haunted Halloween Gifts is easy on this map. It is a fun King of the Hill map especially since it is a reskin of the first King of the Hill map. The Monoculus battle is interesting and visiting underworld is quite an experience. Fighting Monoculus can be a frustrating experience if both teams aren't cooperating but that doesn't mean that this map isn't worth playing.

Ghost Fort: Ghost Fort is a King of the Hill game mode map and was added this year, Halloween 2012. Ghost Fort is actually a Halloween version of the map Lakeside and was the main attraction for this year's Scream Fortress. The Map features Halloween Decorations, exploding pumpkins, Haunted Halloween Gifts containing the newly added Halloween Spells and Voodoo-Cursed Parts (craft material items), the new boss Merasmus, and a bottomless pit environmental hazard! (Yes, the Bottomless pit alone is definitely worth jumping into and checking it out... even if you'll end up jumping into it on accident.) Lakeside/Ghost Fort is a challenging King of the Hill Map as it gives the advantage to players on the center of the map the advantage of higher ground and ammo and medkits are scarce in this map.
     Fighting Merasmus is definitely a challenge and attempting to defeat him is more frustrating than the previous bosses by far. In the first place, like Monoculus, Meramus only remains on the map for about a minute and a half. Not all of the classes deal the same amount of damage to him; for some reason the sniper class is able to deal 1080 Damage with a fully charged shot from the Huntsman Bow. [And using the Sniper Class equipped with Huntsman is really the most effective method to defeat the Magician Merasmus. just trust me on this.] So, you have to get both teams to cooperate, convince everyone to use the exact same class and weapon, and you have to do it all under a short time period. Good luck with that. The preparation is a lot longer than actually fighting him, even if the prep shouldn't last the whole game. Fortunately those human errors are probably the most frustrating part of the entire battle, but Merasmus' attacks are still quite annoying.
    The wizard's attacks are powerful and can reach a long range and he also floats around the entire map. You are only really safe if you remain in the spawn room. He swings his staff, shoots magic to light players on fire, throws bombs all around him, and he can even change your character's head into a bomb! Running into Merasmus with a bomb for a head will grant you an Ubercharge and will also stun Merasmus. More frustrating than his attacks are his hiding abilities. When Merasmus has suffered enough damage, he will transform into an out of place prop on the map and will also place extra decoy props all over the map. As he hides he heals and this just eats up time on the clock. In other words, Merasmus made TF2 into an extreme game of Hide-and-Seek. The Key to defeating him is cooperation, efficient attacks, being able to find him in while he is hiding as soon as possible, and of course not dying.
     Although the Merasmus boss battle was quite frustrating, Ghost Fort makes it all up by being an incredibly fun map to play on. Lakeside was a fun map to play on, but it got even better with the Halloween theme. The bottomless pit, the Haunted Halloween Gifts, the bottomless pit, the Skull island on the background, and even the bottomless pit! But main thing that set this map apart from the previous KOTH maps is the wheel of fate. Whenever a team captures the control point, a random spell will be casted upon the players. Either Big Head, Small Head, Ubercharge, Krits, etc. Sometimes, the roulette will land on the card that makes all of the live players dance with Merasmus to a parody of Michael Jackson's The Thriller! [My favorite combo of Wheel of Fate Spells is the High Jump + Low Gravity... while I am a Scout!]
     Defeating Merasmus only rewards 1 achievement. When he is defeated, he drops the Bombinomicon, again, with a portal leading to Skull Island (Previously known as Loot Island.). There you can pick up the Skull Island Topper, the Hat he wears. Escaping Skull Island [Before IT BLOWS UP] will reward you with 1 achievement and the hat. Despite the frustrating aspects of playing on Ghost Fort, it is a very fun map to play on, for either the cooperative boss fight or the competetive King of the Hill game. And remember, be careful when trying to pick up that full-sized medkit.

Wave 666: Wave 666 is a Mann vs. Machine game mode map, introduced this year, Scream Fotress 2012. It is a Halloween version of the MVM Map Coaltown, but it only features Halloween decorations and a night time environment. I only had a short chance to play this map, so I was not able to complete it. Mann Versus Machine is a challenging game mode already, but to be pit against 666 Zombies in a single wave is quite a fight. Instead of only being given $400 in credit for upgrades, you instead start off with $4000 for upgrades. Those upgrades helped me feel powerful, but the numbers were still overwhelming. I'd like to find a good team of people to conquer this map with.

Scream Fortress was more than just simply playing on a bunch of Halloween Themed maps. This was my first year playing through Halloween Goodness and it was quite interesting to see how players were acting this year. I certainly felt a little different. Three out of the Four Maps spawned Halloween Gifts. Even though the event is now over, it doesn't mean that the Maps will be gone, however the extra features such as the Halloween Gifts won't spawn and the Halloween Items will no longer drop. Eerie Crates and Halloween Spells and their effects have expired. These items made players act a little differently as they scrambled to collect as many items as they could. [That's the influence of a trending market for you.] 7 Voodoo parts could be crafted together to make a Pile of Cursed Souls and reaching into that pile gave you a Voodoo Cursed Soul of one of the 9 Mercenaries. Most people who continued playing on the Halloween Servers only did so to continue searching for Halloween Gifts when it was their turn to find one. I'm not saying this was a bad thing, it's just much different than the normal behavior people have when playing online; the reason they play is changed for this time. Still, despite the change in the atmosphere there was still some pretty good games that were had. It felt great when random people were able to get along on a server and it was especially beautiful when most of the players cooperated to defeat the bosses and agreed on whether or not to extend the map time or change to another. I had lots of fun and I enjoyed my time playing during the Halloween Event. If you were there, I hope you enjoyed your time too. If you weren't there, well, maybe you can join us next year, when we will be fighting the Horseless Headless Horsemann-LESS HORSE!!!

Halloween Themed Loadouts

This post is just to showcase the loadouts for my classes.

 

*Scream Fortress 2012: Spectral Halloween Special

Alright guys, for the past week I've been playing Team Fortress 2, enjoying the Halloween Update. It's lots of fun and I find it quite enjoyable for many reasons pertaining to its aesthetic appeal. I've also gotten plenty of items since I started playing when the update went live, which made it even more worthwhile providing a greater incentive to keep playing. I'll make another post to talk extensively about Team Fortress 2 another day, but I'm running a bit late to talk about how great the TF2 Halloween Event is! Fortunately, the event is live until the 8th of November so I'll try to talk about it as much as I can now.

So what's going down? TF2 is a team based first person shooter featuring different game modes and various maps to fit each one. In the "Scream Fortress" Event there are four custom event maps that feature pumpkins that explode when you fire at them [Killing 5 enemies in this manner unlocks an achievement.], Halloween decorations, a SPOOKY Ghost that lurks the map, which literally stuns your character into a state of fear, and "Haunted Halloween Gifts" that spawn in a random location on the map for a randomly selected player on the server to find. Three out of the four maps feature "Bosses" that appear from time to time and attack all players regardless of what team they belong to. Defeating the bosses rewards you with achievements and special items. Two of the maps are actually modded versions of "King of the Hill" game mode maps, so in case someone likes the layout of the map but don't want to bother with cooperating to defeat the bosses or looking for gifts, they can always join servers that feature the normal version of the map.

The recent Halloween Update included: 2 new Halloween maps, One of the them is a Mann Vs. Machine Map Featuring a wave of 666 [800] Zombies and the other is Ghost Fort (A mod of the map Lakeside), Merasmus as the Boss for that map, Voodoo-Cursed Items, (Craft Items that are included along with your Item Drops for the week), Halloween Spells that award Hats and Weapons with special Halloween effects, Eerie Crates (which require Eerie Keys to open them), and New Items that are available at the Mann Co. Store! But that's not all, Items from past Halloween Events such as the Costume Set Pieces return as items contained in the Gifts. Mann Manor, the Map that Features Horseless Headless Horsemann as the Boss, gives Class Masks as the items contained in the Haunted Halloween Gifts, and since the previous maps and their respective bosses are returning, achievements and achievement items from past events can be earned.

Each account as been awarded a Halloween Goodie Cauldron that gives the player a Halloween Seal Mask and one of the twenty-seven Halloween Costume Set Pieces upon use of the item; however, the Cauldron will expire when the event is over on November 8th if it is not used by then. Voodoo-Cursed Items can be fabricated into a "Pile of Souls". Reach into the Pile of Souls and pull out a random Voodoo-Cursed Soul, a Misc. Item that changes your class into a Zombie!

The new Ghost Fort Map is quite amusing; since it is a King of the Hill map, whenever a Team takes control of the Capture Point, "The Wheel of Fate" is spun, and a randomly chosen spell will affect the all of the players. Merasmus will change the size of your head, set you on fire, or grant your character increased stats for a short time. If you're [UN]Fortunate enough, Merasmus will pull all of the [Alive] Players and teleport everyone to the Capture Point to do the Thriller Dance!

Well, that's enough for now. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! I'll return to talk about Team Fortress 2 another time, so I'll just leave you all some screenshots to look at. Enjoy!

[I have edited this post: I reduced the number of Screenshot images that appear. Unfortunately, laying out the images is quite a pain and it's not very easy. This is the best that I could do, so for now, I'll leave it like this.]

GAME: Platformerman

Talk about video games? Alright, I'll start off with something simple. Platforming games are one of my favorite genres of video games, the kinds where your character jumps from platform to platform while avoiding bottomless pits. These are games like Super Mario, Megaman, the original Ninja Gaiden. But here is a game that I downloaded a couple of years ago after a friend recommended it to me that I just recently dug up from some old files. Platformerman.

Yes, it's Platformerman, the game where you become Platformerman, a "man" who jumps from platform to platform, wall crawling up surfaces to rescue his friends and explode his enemies out of existence. And he does this in a race against time! Did I mention that he can blow things up along his path?

Platfromerman is a platforming style game that makes a statement about how video games don't necessarily require fancy "next generation" graphics to be enjoyable. When my friend told me about this game I laughed because it was obvious what kind of game it would be, the question on my mind was: "What does Platformerman look like? What kind of world does he trek?" At first I was slightly hesitant since I had to download the game (At the time I wasn't a fan of having to download flash games just to play them) but I gave it a chance anyways. To my surprise, Platformerman is just a cyan square. [For now] Everything in the game is made of square and there is no fancy world. Just a black void and gray squares.

The game runs smoothly and the controls are very responsive. The levels are quite challenging and I'd say that it is an enjoyable game. It also doesn't take very long to load. The version of the game beta I downloaded back then had 10 levels. The website is http://www.platformerman.com/ and here is a trailer for the game.

Just look at him go! That music is also very nice. [The game features no soundtrack.] 

I like to imagine what he could really look like.

I recommend this game.

What can I even say?

It's been a little over four months since my last post, and it feels awful. I'm not really quite sure what happened to me but it seems as if I suddenly just dropped everything. I remember having plenty of subjects I wanted to talk about, but when I'd sit down to write about them my head would almost go blank and it became difficult to choose what words to type. At the time I made lots of drafts of my posts but everything else started calling for my attention and distractions were [and are] inevitable. (Yu-Gi-Oh! is a distraction itself from other more "important" things.)

Right now I am going through a very strange time. I'm not sure what to do or say and it's almost as if I've completely lost my sense of time. Even with all of drafts of card reviews I was writing out, I didn't feel like talking about cards. To make things worse, I haven't really been dueling lately. I haven't bought any new cards this year, I went months at a time without having a real duel, restructuring my decks feels like such a chore, and I just started logging back into Dueling Network, reluctantly.

Maybe I should take a break from talking about cards... or maybe I just got done doing that. I feel like talking about video games, though it might get a bit confusing for you guys. (This blog was originally intended for talking about Yugioh.)

I don't know what to say, but I can tell you that no one should allow themselves to become apathetic to the point where their lives lack direction and activity. That is all, for now.

Card Review: Mind Control

Earlier today I've had the pleasure of testing my patience with what might have been the most annoying person I have ever dueled, via Dueling Network. I probably would have written a noteworthy story for the duel, but the only that would have been interesting, or mindlessly amusing rather, is how this inexperience child freaked out over how I operated the dueling simulator, given he had the impression that he knew how to actually play. Beside the point, in that duel that I was just waiting to end quickly, the card that helped me finish off my opponent was a Spell Card called Mind Control.

So lets examine this useful card. Mind Control is a Normal Spell Card that allows you to gain control of one monster that your opponent controls until the end of the turn. Like any card, Mind Control has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. Its disadvantages include being a Spell Card and the fact that the Monster you gain control of cannot be Tributed or declare an Attack. Inherently, not much is lost especially considering that Mind Control is a great card for any tactical Duelist. (I say that Mind Control being a Spell Card is a disadvantage because it can easily be negated, will only be used once, only has Spell Speed 1, and you'd have to undergo a totally different card in order to use Mind Control in your Deck. If there is one thing I have learned in my Economics class, it is that "The Opportunity Cost is the next best thing lost"). The advantages that Mind Control has are not directly listed on the card, contrary to the draw backs the card carries.

In the original season of Yu-gi-oh!, that so many people remember from a decade ago, there was a card that was capable of taking control of an opponent's monster called Change of Heart. That card has long since been added to the Forbidden List due to it's potency and lack of restrictions/drawbacks other than lasting only one turn. Brain Control was a slightly watered-down version of Change of Heart, but it only required a cost of 800 Life Points. Mind Control was made to sort of emulate the effect of Change of Heart or Brain Control, but its restrictions, such as the monster card affected being unable to declare an attack balance it out for fair play. Although Mind Control cannot match the power of Change of Heart, it does have certain advantage over another card that manipulates your opponent's monsters to shift over to your command, Creature Swap. Mind Control does not require you to have a Monster on your side of the Field in order to use, and best of all (my favorite part of the card is that,) Mind Control is not restricted to only targeting Face-Up Monsters, unlike Brain Control, the Battle Position does not matter when using this card! Creature Swap does not allow the Monster Cards affected to change their Battle Position, but since Battle Position does not really matter, you can Flip Summon a Monster card that you gained control of through the use of this spell.

So what makes Mind Control so useful? For starters, sometimes all that stands in your way would be just one monster, one that might even have immunity to destruction by battle. Mind Control will allow you to move one of your obstacles out of your way in order to deal attacks. The Monster that you gain control of can even be used as Materials for a Fusion Summon, Ritual Summon, Synchro Summon, and even an Xyz Summon; so, although the monster cannot be tributed (for a tribute summon or for the cost of a card effect) it  can still be used as a resource to build your arsenal. In the case of my duel Earlier today, I gained control of my opponents only monster, which was in Face-Down Defense Position, I Flip Summoned and used it as Synchro Material, and then I had an extra monster to attack with to finish the Duel; with that one play, I got rid of a monster and gained another in return.

Because of its potency, Mind Control is currently on the Limited List, which means only 1 Copy is allowed per Deck in the Advanced Format for tournament use. Mind Control is available in Gold Series 2 Booster Packs and is included along with the Warrior's Strike Structure Deck. I would consider this card a "Staple".

Read about Creature Swap in Action here!

Read to see Mind Control in a Duel here!

Envoy of the Beggining

It's Summer, and that means that many people will have extra time on their hands to select a new past time to partake in. However, most that choose dueling as their new favorite activity will find themselves quickly overwhelmed. Without guidance, these people will have a difficult time learning how to duel and allow their skills to grow as their knowledge of the game expands. Sure, knowing the rules of the game is crucial, but it takes more than just knowing how each turn moves along to become a great duelist. A skilled duelist requires lots of experience, which is also important for any upcoming duelists that desire the ability to compete against others. Today I provide my advice to anyone seeking to learn more about this popular game or to anyone seeking to teach others how to get started as a duelist. Half of entire game is dependent on your deck building, so I will focus on that first.

What most new duelists have in common is that they are unsure about what kind of deck to use. It hardly makes a difference whether the newcomers to the game are people that used to collect cards a few years ago or people whom have never owned a single Yugioh trading card in their life. So much has changed in dueling since Yugi and his friends were the only stars on the show that fought with Duel Monsters, and so many new cards have been introduced that it is easy for anyone to become overwhelmed with the sheer number of possible selections. Nevertheless, the most important thing to remember is: Have fun, and enjoy the game with your friends. I cannot stress this enough, but the most important thing to remember is that dueling is all about having fun and enjoying the leisure time you share with your companions. So, with that in mind, lets help a new duelist build a their own deck.

[It is possible to Play Yugioh without needing to buy a single card, thanks to Dueling Network. However, for the sake of simplicity, let's also assume that the theoretical duelist in question has a decent amount of money to buy a few sets of cards and accessories.]

To get started, a player should seek what type of deck they would like to use. They can browse on the internet for popular cards or watch other players. (I highly recommend watching other people play first to see if it is something you would enjoy.) But, if a newcomer should start buying cards, the best place to start off with a deck: either a Starter Deck or a Structure Deck. Starter Decks contain a wide range cards but only provide a general taste of what dueling is really like; they are very basic and are meant for beginners. Structure Decks are more "structured", focusing on a group of Monster Cards with similar Types, Attributes, or play styles; Structure Decks are effective teaching tools for new comers because they can immediately show players how one card relates to another which can lead to powerful combos. 

[This was pretty much the "Choose Your Starter" of the 5D's Era; except, these weren't 

Starter Decks. These are Structure Decks]

Alright, so once you've decided on what kind of deck you'd like to make (Be it, Spellcasters, Warriors, Machines, Fairies, or a deck of a certain Archetype) the next important part is researching the cards! That's right, great duelists actually take their time to study the cards that they will use and beyond! My advice to anyone who wants to play or just understand how the cards work is: "Read your cards at least four times before you use them." Sometimes the amount of ignorance some duelists display confounds me, but as G.I. Joe says, "Knowing is half the battle", and this is most certainly true (especially in dueling). Besides, reading a small trading card is nothing compared to reading long novels assigned as by school teachers. Understanding exactly what the card says is crucial to running your deck, and as long as you are able to explain to others precisely how it works, you are fine; but there is more! After learning how the cards work from the Starter/Structure Deck you bought function (For those of you who will use Dueling Network, instead of buying the Decks you can easily search online for the complete deck list) Look up other cards that might work well with your Deck. If some cards work better than others that you already use, you can always replace them. (Remember what the SIDE DECK is for! It is a pile of 15 cards that you can swap with your Main Deck in between duels, during a match.)

Now that a duelist has chosen their preferred deck type, they must also understand the premise or the goal that their deck should achieve and how it should be achieved. A player's deck may consist of one type or attribute, but the play style and mechanics of the deck may differ from an other player with a similar deck. Although there are other ways to win a duel besides reducing the opponent's Life Points down to zero, the most common method is indeed reduction of life points, mostly through battle. With that said, decks may achieve their goal by summoning Powerful monsters quickly, summoning many monsters to withstand a barrage of attacks, utilizing powerful attacks, holding high reserves in resources by having plenty of "draw power", negating attacks, effects, or cards and summons altogether, destroying opponents cards, etc.. You'll have to ask yourself what you want your deck to be capable of doing. Would you want powerful monsters to over power your enemies with physical force? (Beatdown: having high ATK) Or, would you like to use explosive cards that deconstruct the battle plans of your opponents? (Utilizing card effects that Destroy other Cards.)  There are so many possibilities, but that is what overwhelms new players early on. The best thing to do is to narrow down the focus of your deck. A novice mistake that lots of people make is packing their deck with as many cards as possible: 60. The smaller the deck, a minimum of 40 Cards, increases the chances of drawing much needed cards. So, focus on what you want out of your deck, and build upon that premise. If you play more constructively, you will use cards that support your Monsters, but make sure they are efficient. If you play more destructively, you will use cards that ruin your opponent's deck, but makes sure that your own monster will still be able to support and protect you if something goes wrong.

After you've got a built deck, the next important step is to use it! But before you rush into any duel, it is crucial that you completely understand how the game works. A rule book and an interactive demo can only teach you so much, although it is a great start, but I highly recommend dueling against a friend whom already understands dueling quite well. Should such a friend not be available, you can always learn more about dueling online, through forums, or through my favorite source, The Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia. There, you can read the official rulings for cards, read more about the mechanics of a duel with greater detail, and find out more about the different decks, booster packs, and archetypes that are available. Extensive studying and practice rounds earn you the experience you need to become a great duelist. The better guidance you have, the better your first impressions and experiences of dueling will be.

But always remember the most important part about dueling: Having fun. If the game isn't fun then it won't be engaging and it will just make everything worse. Having good friends to play with and teach you will certainly make things better, and if dueling is fun, you will find yourself "studying" cards without realizing that you are actually researching something. Remember the simple steps: Pick a deck you'd like to make/use, work on it, test it out with a friend who can teach you more rules on dueling, and always review your cards, your deck, and keep an eye out for other possible cards to add to your deck.

For the official rulebook, click here: http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/rulebook/
For an tutorial on the rules, click here: http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/gameplay/demo.html