A Complete Guide to Debates (And Academy Debate Battles)

What's a Debate?

Debates are the adventurer's way of doing battle (or compete) with other adventurers.

Debates is usually a mid/late game feature as you need some discovery cards to be able to play or challenge your rivals.

It takes 2 players, each using a deck of 30 discovery cards both of you own.

Building a Deck

Step 1: Select "Debate Deck" under "Record"
Step 2: Select 30 discovery cards to build your deck. Discovery cards are given point values based on the value of the discovery itself (ranging from 1 to 10 -.not the 1-5 diamonds).
Step 3: Select your deck class. The total point value limit for your discovery cards will vary depending on selected the class.

Note 1: Debates can only be conducted between those using decks of the same class. This is an attempt to prevent experienced adventurers from being too OP (overpowerful).

Note 2: You can only change your deck inside towns. You always need 30 cards in your deck to debate. 

1. Card Affinity Tabs
2. Number of Cards in Deck
3. Total Point Value of Deck
4. Sort by Point Value or Card Name
5. Discovery Card Affinity
6. Discovery Card Point Value
7. Deck Class and Point Limit
8. Auto-build Deck

Challenging Players to a Debate

Step 1: Go into "Set Status" and check "'Allow Debate."

Step 2: Click on the Player you wish to challenge and select "Debate."

Step 3: If the Player accepts, then the Debate will begin.

Debate Procedure

• Players will take turns playing 3 cards from their decks, comparing the total point values at the end. This is known as a "Set".
• The player with the highest Total Point Value wins the "Set".
• The debate concludes after 7 Sets or when either side wins 4 Sets.
• After 7 Sets, if no winner is determined, the Debate will conclude as a draw.

Set

● At the start of each Set, 6 Cards from each Player's Deck will be drawn randomly for each player's "Hand".

● 1 card from each player's hand will automatically be selected and placed onto the playing field.

● Both Players will then select a 2nd Card from their Hand and play it at the same time.

● Both Players will then select a 3rd Card from their Hand and play it at the same time.

● The total point value of each player's 3 Cards will then be calculated.

● The Player with the higher Total Point Value will win the Set. If the Total Point Values are the same, it will be considered a draw.

Note 1: Cards that have been played cannot be used for the remainder of the debate by the same player.

Note 2: If no Card is selected by a Player within a set period of time, a Card will be automatically selected and played from that Player's Hand.

Note 3: If both Players play the same card at the same time, Points will be counted for both Players.

Note 4: If a Player plays a Card that is already on the Playing Field, the Card will NOT be in effect and will be counted as 0 Points. At the same time, Combos and Affinity Bonus for that Card will NOT activate.

Combos

By collecting certain Cards together on your field, you can activate Combos.

Using combos makes the difference between winning and losing.

The effects of Combos include:

• Obtain bonus points.
• Enhance the point of one of your cards.
• Decrease the point of one of your opponent's cards.
• Change bonus affinity in your favor.
• Reveal opponent's hand in the next Set… 

List of Combo Effects

Double (next set)

Means in the next set the points of your cards are doubled (does not affect bonus points).

Change bonus

Changes the bonus of that set to the type of your first card. 

This is useful if you have a deck made of only Historical Relics, for example. 

Reveal hand (next set)

Shows you a number of your opponents cards in the next set (number is indicated in card affected).

Select 1st card (next set)

Allows you to select your first card in the next set (normally the first card is played automatically) 

Shuffle cards and hide

The cards of your opponent are shuffled and hidden so he or she does not know what card they will play. 

This can disrupt their combo, but it only works if you play this combo with your first 2 cards. If you make the combo with card 2 & 3, then there the set is already finished. 

Strengthen

Strengthens one of your cards, doubling the points 

Strengthen both

Strengthens either card 1, 2 or 3 for both you and your opponent, doubling or even quadrupling the points of that card. 

Only effective if you have higher amount of points on that card (e.g. the combo Africanus gives bonus points based on the points of card nr3. If your third card is Scipio's helmet (7pts) and your opponents third card is White Tiger (9pts), then he/she will benefit more) 

Weaken

Weakens one of the cards of your opponent, removing all its points (that card can still be part of a combo of your opponent!) 

Weaken both

Weakens either card 1, 2 or 3 for both of you, or weakens a theme (Relics, Treasures, Organisms or Geography). 

Weakened cards lose all their points, similar to the normal Weaken.

List of Combos

Here is a list of combos.

Affinity Bonus

• Discovery Cards each have 2 different types of Affinities: Affinity 1 (General) and Affinity 2 (Specific). 
• By playing Cards of the corresponding Affinity as the Affinity Bonus for the Set, you'll be able to obtain more Points.
• When 4 or more Cards of the same Affinity are played onto the Field, the designated Affinity Bonus will be randomly changed.

Complete Affinity Bonus Table

Tips for winning

• Always make sure every card in your deck can be used for a combo. The chance of getting a combo is quite low, so you want to make this chance as high as possible.
• Make a mix of high cards and low cards. Then decide per set if you can win or not. If you think your cards are too weak, then just throw in some 1 point cards. The other cards are returned to your deck and you have a chance of getting them available in a next set again.
• As your low cards it is smart to use port/settlement cards. This has two advantages. First, if you lose the card during academy debate, then it is very easy to acquire again. Second, many port cards are used to create combos. For example the combo of Seville, Barcelona and Valencia gives 18 bonus points and next round your points are doubled. Same with Dover, Plymouth and London, or Amsterdam, Antwerp and Groningen.
• The lower the point class (Under 100 is the lowest), the more difficult your choices. You will need to decide which high cards will be worth keeping. When you have so few points, leave out the 10 and 9 point cards as they will hamper the rest of your deck too much.
• If you play a card that has already been played by your opponent, then your card will be void. It can also not be used anymore for a combo. Based on the first card, on which you don’t have any influence, you can suspect that your opponent will make a combo. If he will play the other combo card as his third card, then you can try to neglect the combo by playing that card second. This may sound confusing, but there is no better way to put it. It is not likely to happen anyways, because you need to know the enemy combo, have the second combo card yourself, and your opponent could already play that combo card second him or herself. The same cards played at the same time are not influenced. You are better off playing your own combo, or if your cards are bad, then throw away some low points cards.
• Decide on whether you play your combo with your second or third card. You can make a combo and the first card is already part of the combo. In that case you can play the other combo card next or wait to play it third. Playing as the third card can allow your opponent to "waste" strong cards which he can’t use then later. Second card is safer, no chance of getting your third card becoming void as explained above.
• Playing a card that can be used for a combo can be used as a bluff. For example there is a three card combo of the Ring Tailed Lemur, Black Lemur and Ruffed Lemur. The Black Lemur is my first card and next I play the Ring Tailed Lemur, but I don’t have the Ruffed Lemur available. My opponent may think I can make the combo and not use any high cards. As my third card I play a high card and win the round without a combo. This also does not happen very often.

Academy Debate Battle

What is an Academy Debate Tournament?

Discovery Academy Debate Tournament is a large-scale debate event using your Discovery Cards.

It is a monthly oportunity for adventurers to meet and compete to determine who is the best.

During this event, you can have a Debate battle with anyone within the designated City and compete for the number of wins.

Schedule

The Academy Debate takes place every 3rd weekend of each month in a designated city.

• Cup 1: 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM , the 3rd Saturday of each month
• Cup 2: 10:00 AM-12:30 PM, the 3rd Sunday of each month

*Pacific Standard Time

Benefits

• Prizes. There are special items that are only be obtained in the tournament, including 8 crowns.
• Become famous and spread your name. Top 5 Participants will be honored at the Academy Board and will have their name recorded.
• Gain adventure EXP and fame
• Royal Fleet Performance (if you are in the Special Operations Group), as well as rewards 
• Top 10 Participants will receive a gift from a Barmaid in the Capital City of your Nation
• Chance to meet other adventurers through this event.

More details on the "rewards" section below.

Cons

• If you lose, you'll also lose a Discovery Card from the ones that you've used.

Requirements

• Must have at least 30 Discovery Cards (45+ is recommended). Same class as the designated class for the day of the event you wish to participate in.
• Must be able to enter the city where the Academy Debate Tournaments are being held.
• Checked "Allow Debate" under "Set Status".

How to participate

Sign up by talking to the quest mediator at the Adventurer Guild in the designated city 1 hour prior to the start of the event.

Note 1: Even if you don't have a Deck built, you can still sign up, however, in order to Debate with others, you must have a Deck that is corresponding to the current Class of the event.
Note 2: During the Sign-up period, you cannot have regular Debates at the City of the venue. Also, during the event period, you cannot have Debate other than ones for the event.
Note 3: After signing up for Academy Battle, you may still participate in Storyline Events and Quests.
Note 4: Once you have signed up for Academy Battle, you may not cancel your entry.

Academy Debate Rules

• The basic rules are the same as those of Debate (Check debate procedure above).
• The academy battle is not limited to the Adventurer Guild, but the entire City. However, event participants are encouraged to stay within the Adventurer Guild during the event period.
• After registering, Players that are ready for Academy Battle will have an icon beside their name to show that they have completed their registration for Academy Battle.
• Both you and your opponent will need to complete 5 Debates with other participants before being able to Debate with each other once again.
• Those who have not obtained 5 wins will have a ☆ icon, those with 5-9 wins will have a ☆☆ icon, and those with 10 or more wins will have a ☆☆☆ icon displayed.
• You can find more details regarding your results by checking the Character Information Screen (hover over the “Card VS” icon).

Academy Debate Procedure

1. During the event, within one day, a Player can have a Debate up to 15 times. Once they have had 15 Debates, the Academy Battle icon beside their name will disappear.
2. Players with more than 5 wins may only Debate other players with more than 5 wins, and players with more than 10 wins may only Debate other players with more than 10 wins.

Note: Selecting "Concede" in the middle of the event will be considered a lost and that will end your participation for the rest of the event.

What happens when you are defeated

• If you lose in a Debate during the event, 1 card will be randomly chosen from the Cards you have used and it will be removed.
• After you have lost one of your Cards, there will be only 29 Cards left in your Deck, which means you are no longer eligible to participate in the event. In order to rejoin the event, you'll need to add another Discovery Card to your Deck under "Debate Deck" to make a complete Deck again.

Note: Lost Discovery Cards can be obtained again by making the corresponding discoveries through Quests/Discovery Maps, etc.

Rewards

You will be able to obtain prizes after the event period ends based on both the amount of wins obtained and your final position in the event:

Based of the Amount of Wins (1-4 wins/5-9 wins/10 wins or more)

Talk to the Adventure Mediators in any City to claim:

• A chest containing rare items
• Adventure Fame
• Adventure EXP
• Ducats

Based of Your Position (1st/2nd-5th/6-10th)

• You will receive a prize from the barmaid in the Capital City of you Nation.
• The prize can be obtained under "Receive Item" at bank. Prizes being stored at the Bank will remain there for a duration of 30 days.

Note:  Even without obtaining any wins, you will be able to receive a ducat reward if you have engaged in at least one Debate.