Likewise with the other responses in this thread, I agree that this would be really helpful in the future... at least in my case, since I don't necessarily follow the process that you take when you determine a winner of a battle.
Before I get into my outlines of your questions, I would like to start by pointing out the graphics that you presented. Unfortunately, while I understand the direction you're coming from, I'm going to have to heavily disagree here.
I'm just going to refer to the completed chart, that way I can explain the "difficulties" a little bit better.
So, from what I got with your scale, each tier difference goes down by
1 level of difficulty... Well, that's not how I interpret it in my battles.
For the sake of this discussion, I'll use August as an example. If August goes against another top-tier wizard, I agree that the outcome will be "extreme difficulty".
However, for each tier that you decrease in August's opponent, the difficulty becomes exponentially easier. Low tiers would be stomped (less than low diff) by August... and mid-tiers would still be no-diffed or low-diffed. Since they are so far apart in terms of power, they become essentially "fodders" for August's level.
Even high tiered opponents would be
mid-diffed by August max. I don't think "high diff" would be an accurate description here either.
I would call somebody like Erza to be high tier. But against August, she's as good as done the moment the battle starts (kinda like how Jellal was easily beaten).
So, calling it "high diff" would be kind of exaggerating... it's more like mid difficulty.
This is probably why you've seen more "stomps", "no diffs", and "low diffs" recently. Because the gaps in power levels have been so large that it causes a drastic difference in difficulty when you compare two characters from separate tiers.
The way I see it, when you pitch two characters from different tiers in a fight, the difficulty is drastically reduced for the superior combatant.
As for your discussion points:
1. Describe the process you use in determining the winners of a battle.
This is pretty easy. Unlike most people, I don't tend to focus on manga feats that much. I use them as a starting point to get the general idea of a character's power and performance, but that's about it. Occasionally, I would use manga feats as hardcore evidence or proof, but even that's rare.
Since
most battles in the Domus Flau threads are "Fantasy Battles", then using manga feats as a main source, in my opinion, would heavily distort the nature of the battle.
- I start out by analyzing the characters individually. This is where I look at their overall power and how well they've done in previous fights in the actual manga.
(This is where I pay attention to hype and portrayal)
- My next step is to analyze for any variation between the two combatants (such as advantages/disadvantages). If one character has the advantage over the other character, they're already high on my priority list of who would be the winner.
- But, it doesn't just stop there. To make sure, I have to look at the gap between their magical power as well as attributes such as intelligence, defense/durability, and offensive skill.
- From here on out, it's just a matter of running simulations and using common sense to see who would outlast the other, while considering all of the above mentioned.
2. Explain how you label the difficulty of a fight.
This one is pretty specific.. there's no step-by-step process for me to determine this. It would have to be judged separately for each battle. Generally, a great starting point for me would be to look at the tiers. But even that can sometimes be insufficient.
I usually determine the difficulty while deciding who is the winner of the battle, that way, I can also take into account external factors, advantages, and disadvantages.
But again, if there's any doubt, it's best to fall back on their tiers. Simply analyze the characters and put them into a tier. From there, it would be easy to see what difficulty.
Although, this is the part where we disagree because I believe the difficulty becomes exponentially easier every time there is a
1 level difference in tier.
3. Discuss how certain conditions in a fight can change the outcome for you.
Outnumbered matches are important to take into consideration. The difficulty becomes exponentially higher, even if the opponents are all average/decent mages. The only
exception to this would be a team filled with fodders, which at that point, doesn't really make a difference anymore.
Combat mage, support mage, elemental properties, and slayer advantages all go without say. They provide advantages/disadvantages that have to be considered.
I'm more lenient on support mages, but generally, they would be weaker in a solo battle. However, in a team battle, they would actually give their team the upper-hand and a major boost in advantage.
4. Differentiate between feats, hype, and portrayal.
I treat all of these as equally important. None of these matter more than the other.
Feats don't mean everything to me because it depends on who has more spotlight, which opponents they've fought, and how much power they used.
These can't be applied to "Fantasy Battles" where the situation or condition could be different.
Portrayal is high in my book because you have a track record to base off of. A character who has been leagues higher than their peers in the past gives it less chance that they will be surpassed.
This is more accurate in my opinion because it is an overall general summary of the character's performance and power throughout the entire series.
Hype has only been less important for me in the Alvarez Arc.. maybe it's because of the current writing that makes me turn a blind eye to it sometimes...
