What Makes a Good Warstory?

It doesnt matter what tier, or what platform you use for battling...

Neither of those makes a good warstory. I suggest you read the warstory archive to get a better idea of what good warstories look like
 
Good battle is the first thing. I like battles that surprise me, ones with twists and turns (like Gormenghast's recent warstory). "I'm gonna win for sure!" "Oooh bad time for hax I'm gonna lose!" "Wait his Fire Blast missed I may have a chance!", etc.

The other part is to treat the warstory like a piece of writing. No matter how good the battle is, I'm never going to like a warstory that simply adds "He was at the obvious disadvantage so he switched", and other short little comments. My favorite warstory that expands their thoughts, writes it in an exciting way, makes it interesting to the reader.
 
Yes, you are supposed to convey why you chose certain moves, or what was going through your mind..

So if you write little comments like

Oh he switched!

or no comments at all, it would not be considered a story.
 
Recipe for a good warstory:

1.) Interesting teams
2.) Good play in general by both players
3.) Good predictions
4.) Close match (1-0, 2-0. Possibly 3-0, depending on how the battle ends)
5.) Good commentary. Not many people like reading dry battle logs.
6.) Insight into why you made your move when you did
7.) Easy to read format
8.) Just a good battle in general. It doesn't matter if it's WiFi, Shoddy, or what tier
 
IggyBot said:
Recipe for a good warstory:

1.) Interesting teams
2.) Good play in general by both players
3.) Good predictions
4.) Close match (1-0, 2-0. Possibly 3-0, depending on how the battle ends)
5.) Good commentary. Not many people like reading dry battle logs.
6.) Insight into why you made your move when you did
7.) Easy to read format
8.) Just a good battle in general. It doesn't matter if it's WiFi, Shoddy, or what tier
Click to expand...

Listen to IggyBot... basically that is all you need. Also pay attention to rule 8... nobody cares whether it is on shoddy/wifi/LC. They just want a good battle.
 
Lol, the battle and the writing make the warstory, not the platform or tier.

If the writer makes annoying comments like "I'm Greedy, just like a Garchomp LOLOL" or "Nice Move" when talking about himself, especially if he actually said it in the log, it severely detracts from the warstory. Also similarly if the warstory is all log, then it is boring.
 
Pokemaster said:
Well, people seem to think that Wifi and LC matches are better.
Click to expand...
People only seem to think this because non-Shoddy matches don't have a log to fall back on. It's harder for warstories to be all-log-no-commentary when the person has to write out the entire log by hand.
 
I have found that good writing, be it in comments or analysis, can make a generally boring or mediocre battle infinitely more interesting than even a good battle with no thought presented behind the gameplay.

One of the better things to do through a warstory is to show where you've done well and where you've made mistakes (and this goes for you and your opponent); this not only operates to improve your gameplay, but to serve as a learning bar for other players who may make that same mistake or already make similar mistakes.

Additionally, it helps to have an opponent of skill at or greater than your own. In some cases, this is mooted by the fact that both you and your opponent are blithering idiots who leave a battle at a punch/return slugfest, which can be interesting when it's not obvious that's all you know. If you're facing no actual challenge, no one's going to give a shit.

Another pointer: don't make the outcome extremely obvious. Unless there's some incredible maneuvering on one or both side's part, reading a 5-0 smashfest isn't going to pique anyone's interest.

Finally, technical things; writing about something interesting, technical details, leaving out nicknames and having a unique team all add their own qualities to your final product, some more necessary than others.
 
I get interested in a warstory when it includes deep commentaries about strategy,when the trainers push themselves to the limit and they are really thinking the next move. is also nice when you learn something new in the warstory, like movesets or synergies between pokes you would never imagine, as an extra the two players must have fun at battling, getting angry for stupid reasons is boring for the readers. oh the !"·$·"! predicted my move!!! is not a reason for getting mad, maybe hax drives you crazy but that is all.
 
all I know about the subject is add lots of commentary.
Your warstory will get trashed if you don't comment every so often.

Also try to use at least one Pokemon not commonly used in the metagame
I read one where his whole team was NU, so that was really fun to read:)

oh and if you've got lots of stall, 10+turns: don't post it at all, or edit it out so we musn't suffer.
 
I think we have all suffered reading the warstories he has been shitting out everyday ._.

Edit: Im a nice guy so also a good warstory lets you see into the mind of the player at least thats what people say makes mine good
 
Well, here's a list of some of my favourite warstories that I can just go back and read every couples of months.

Some common demoninators in all these warstories are humour, skilled plays, predictions, different and varying pokemon/movesets. What I like to see is a steady battle where hax doesn't play too large a part. When Both players make difficult predictions and take a lot of risks. When mindgames are present AND explained through the commentary. And when the narrative is sprinkled with occassional humour (that's actually funny).
 
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