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 Thanks to ShardofTruth, we've been provided with the attack and magic card images for character bosses in Re:CoM. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I refer to images like this:
Axel (Attack)1 (card).png
Yesterday, my project was to add these card images to the respective characters' boss articles. I created the "Deck Statistics" section, which was meant to demonstrate the following:
- The cards in each character's deck, including Attack, Magic, Item, and Enemy. Each character that uses Sleights currently has this section, displaying the cards that deck contains in a gallery. I wasn't sure whether to add this to characters' boss pages like Ursula or Maleficent, who only have one type of card that they use for everything, or what to classify the card as in this case, since they are enemy cards, but they aren't used for the enemy card function. However, these cards still have values, etc., so we will need to add them eventually to stay consistent, as at least some of the sections will apply to it. This counts for Heartless bosses, too.
- The quantity of each card type in the deck (ie; Shadow (x1)). This would be grouped with the cards that appear in each deck, as a caption for the card images in their galleries, despite length of these captions. A different method can be used if it damages formatting.
- Sleights. The sleights each card grants when stocked. This is a difficult task, as each card in a character deck is a different type, thus causing a different attack when used alone or in a Sleight. For example,
 +  +  equals Impact Quake, while + + equals Grand Impact. My point is that the same cards can be used in different orders to create different Sleights. Currently, all CoM boss articles host the Sleight section, but as to which cards make each Sleight, this needs to be varified. I only put what I did thanks to YouTube videos. Wonderful way to waste an afternoon for one bloody section of an article that hardly anyone pays attention to.
- Card value. This is going to be a pain-staking process. In a sub-section of the Deck Statistics section, we'll need to place the value of each card, and the quantity of that value (9 (x5)).
Each of these sub-sections will need to be varified, of course, by guidebook or Ultimania. The CoM guidebook, I know, at least lists the cards in each deck, the quantity, and the quantity of values, but for some reason, CoM's influence on the Wiki seems to have completely vanished, replaced by Re:CoM, So this complicates things. I'm not sure of the contents of the Ultimania, as I've never read or seen a copy, but I'm sure we can get around this.
Then this morning, I went through the painstaking process of completely revising the Zexion (Boss) article (even if it unfortunately credited me as an IP at the time), adding Enemy template and all, as much as I hate the complexity of that thing. But going through each of the boss articles, I realized how terribly these were written. Some strategies were just a bulleted list of attacks, for Pete's sake! Thus, I thought it might be a good idea to revise these articles, but I can't do this all by myself. I need your help with this. Aside from issues with missing stats or card deck information, the Zexion boss article is an example of a well-written boss article, a model anyone can use if they wish to attempt revising a boss article on their own. Boss articles should contain the following sections in this recommended and personally preferred order:
- Game template. List all games the character is fought in.
- Maintenance templates. State issues and place accordingly based on problems in the article. Do not place if not needed for any specific reason. Do not list "Everything" as what is lacking in the article.
- Youmay template. Link to the character article of the boss in question.
- Intro. Don't just say "So-and-so appears as a boss in this-and-this game.", provide a bit of a story to it, such as "Marluxia wishing to do away with Sora due to his actions in Castle Oblivion, he attacks the Keyblade master and engages him in a climatic battle." I'm not saying be the next Shakespeare almost as if we were redoing the character article in an intro, but one line is quite pathetic. I refer to how badly the Zexion boss article looked before I revised it when saying this, as I will many times as an example.
- Enemy template. Fill in all necessary fields. If a character appears in two games, set up the template for those two games. Don't be lazy and only do half the work (an example being Lexaeus (Boss), the article only showing stats for CoM). If you don't know a certain statistic, ask someone else (PM them on the IRC, contact a reliable staffer, or leave an inquiry on the boss article's talk page), or simply put the expansion template on the top of the article, stating what it is you're looking for, lables such as "Statistics" and even something lengthier like "Determine quantities of cards in Deck Statistics section" being acceptable.
- Strategy. If a character appears in more than one game, write it as "Strategies". Game titles should be used in sub-headings. If multiple battles with different characters occur within a single game (Terra-Xehanort (Boss)), that's when you can get into sub-sub-headings and such. Otherwise, each new game a character is fought in should be a new sub-heading. A bulleted list of attacks does not count as a strategy, and a well-written strategy will use terms such as "one must" instead of "you" and "the player". It will also describe methods of beating the character as well as list their attacks in a more article-like formatting than a bulleted list. A good example is the Zexion boss article, a bad example being Riku Replica (Boss).
- Deck Statistics. Only add this if a boss is fought in CoM/Re:CoM with the sub-sections mentioned above, all conditions I mentioned taken into account.
- Battle Quotes. Sub-sections according to games, no "Hee-yah" or "Muahahahaha!", just legitimate phrases like "Give me your best shot.", as mentioned in the MoS. I know a policy exists stating only seven quotes may be used, but that makes having the section irrelevant all together, and some articles having this and not others is quite inconsistent. While we could eliminate the section all together, it's quite useful for readers, since battle quotes irk a lot of gamers while playing. And if confusion arises over a quote, it's not that hard to just discuss it and find a reasonable resolution.
- Video. Write as "Videos" if a character appears in multiple games. So long as the 10/8 video requirement is kept, videos should be able to be added for every time a character is fought. The maximum right now is Vanitas, with seven battles, so the number of videos should not be a problem in terms of documenting the article in this media-based manner. Proper formatting is to be used, of course, what with the Wikitable and all. Titles of the videos in the Wikitable should list the game, which playable character is fighting, and the character being fought.
- Notes and References. Only if a certain statistic/strategic fact needs to be sourced. See the Zexion boss article for an example.
- Navigational template. Only if it has one, such as any one of the Organization boss articles.
- Categorization. Categorize as "GAME TITLE HERE bosses", not "GAME TITLE HERE enemies". There is a difference between bosses and enemies, and enemies count as lesser creatures like Shadows and Dusks.
Rather than leave these articles to collect dust, I say we make them as good as we can before we allow them to do so. Let's not be lazy editors that just place a cleanup template atop an article in hopes that one day a guy with nothing better to do will revise it. I think with all I am that this should be one of the Wiki's next projects, and I hope you'll agree! I appreciate any help I receive, and hopefully this will be an edit-motivating group experience!
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