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General Tips to Avoiding Duel Arena Scams The Duel Arena Shield Slot Scam

When you challenge a player to a duel and he accepts (or vice-versa), the dueling options window will appear. In this window you and your opponent must come to an agreement on the conditions for the duel, including stakes (if any), what armor and equipment is allowed, and other options. Only if both combatants agree will the duel proceed to a second window, where the options are confirmed, and then to the duel itself. (See Figure 101 for an example of the dueling options window.)

This screen basically serves the same functions for duels that the trade window does for trades. Unfortunately, that also means that it is susceptible to many of the same scams. As with the trade window, it is essential to check the second screen that confirms selected options on the first, before you agree to the duel. In fact, it's even more important here—since there are many extra options and controls, there is additional potential here for abuse, too. Also, the recent updates to make the trade interface more “scam-proof” were not implemented at the duel arena!

Here are some of the specific problems to watch out for.

The stake you and your opponent offer can be anything in your inventory, and can be modified at any time, so they are very much like trade offers. This means most of the trade window scams are possible here, just as they are in the trade window. Watch especially for the following:

• Your opponent removing some or all of the items from his stake. This can be easier to hide in the dueling window than in a trade, because the items are in a small corner of a busy screen, and again, there is no warning here when items are removed.
  
  
• Item substitution, with a good item being removed and replaced by a bad one.
  
  
• Item quantities being changed, including the nefarious “K for 4” scam.
  
  
• Your opponent staking an item and trying to trick you into believing that it is worth much more than it really is.

Always confirm your stake and your opponent's stake in the second dueling options screen.

Either dueler can click any of the equipment slots to enable or disable the use of any items in these slots. Again, watch out for your opponent clicking to disable or enable a slot at the last second to trick you. For example, if you plan on using a Barrows set for its effects, disabling any of the helm, body, legs or weapon will make that impossible.

This is a particularly troublesome area, because Jagex foolishly did not make the second (confirmation) dueling options screen specify which slots are disabled! This means that if you agree to disable two slots, your opponent could sneak in a third disabled slot and there would be no way to tell (see Figure 102).

The only defense against this sort of trickery is time. If you take your time reviewing the first window carefully, your opponent won't know when you are going to hit “Accept” and so cannot sneak anything in at the last second. (If he tries, it will make you hit “Accept” again and you'll know something was changed.)

Also see the next page, discussing the “shield slot scam”.

Carefully check the combat settings on the left side, and make sure your opponent hasn't disabled the style you plan to use. If you're a ranger and your opponent tricks you into a “no ranged” duel, well, it's not a lot of fun.

Again, this is also sometimes used as part of the “shield slot scam”.

There are several other boxes for disabling standard combat features. These are often disabled to speed up duels, but can also cause problems for the unaware. Beware of these gotchas:

• If “No Drinks” is checked, you cannot use potions. Furthermore, the game will “undo” the effects of potions you have drunk before starting the duel, which can be a big problem for some duelers.
  
  
• “No Food” includes non-food items that heal. For example, if this is selected, you can't use Saradomin Brew potions.
  
  
• “Obstacles” can be a real nuisance for meleers. If you are facing a mage or ranger, watch for this being turned on.
  
  
• Conversely, the “No Movement” option can be disastrous for mages or rangers who are fighting meleers, because they will not be able to move out of melee range. Be careful to watch for this being sneaked in by meleers.
  
  
• If “No Movement” is turned on, then you can't use holding spells, because the game will say “your opponent doesn't need to be held”. This means you cannot use any Ancient Magicks ice spells, even though they also do the most damage. Yes, this is very stupid—what does it hurt to let someone cast a holding spell if movement is off?—so watch out for it.

General Tips to Avoiding Duel Arena Scams The Duel Arena Shield Slot Scam