Overview
Attributes cover both the physical and mental attributes that make up a player. Physical attributes will automatically increase as a player ages until they get to 32, after which the Physical attributes will begin to decline. Mental attributes have their own individual methods of increasing and do not decrease.
Physical Attributes
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Speed | Measures a player’s top running speed and helps in making and finishing line-breaks, as well as catching the line-breaks of the opposition. |
| Acceleration | Measures how quickly a player can go from stationary to top running speed and it helps making linebreaks and covering them, as well as getting back into position. |
| Agility | Measures how easily a player moves and transition from one action to another. It covers a wide variety of aspects, from helping to beat defenders or jumping for a ball, to how quickly the player can get to their feet. |
| Coordination | Measures a player’s hand-eye or hand-foot coordination, and so aids a player whenever they want to pass, kick, catch or throw the ball. |
| Endurance | Measures how long a player can compete before tiredness and fatigue starts to impact their performance. |
| Power | Measures the explosive force a player can bring to bear in contact situations. A simplified way of seeing Power is to think of it as strength in the legs and torso. It aids in collision impacts and where players need to generate forward drive. |
| Strength | Strength aids in situations where upper-body strength is valuable, like scrums, especially the front row, and any time a player wrestles another for control of the ball. |
| Weight | Being heavy aids the player in collision impacts and when trying to drive forward in a contested situation. |
| Height | Being tall aids competing for lineout throws and for high balls, but reduces Agility, and vice versa |
BMI
The game uses BMI to determine increases or decreases to Strength, Power, Endurance, Agility, Acceleration, and Speed. BMI is calculated using the following formula: Player’s weight in KG / (height in meters x height in meters). For example, a player who is 97kg and 1.82 meters tall has a BMI of 29.3 (97/(1.82x1.82)).
The game takes a BMI of 29 to be the ‘average’ BMI for a rugby player for purposes of determining any increase or decrease to attributes:
- BMI above 29 will increase Strength and Power, but decrease Acceleration, Agility, Speed and Endurance.
- BMI below 29 will increase Acceleration. Agility, Speed and Endurance, but decrease Strength and Power.
- A BMI of below 22 is considered to be 22 for purposes of attribute adjustments.
BMI and Endurance
The effects of BMI on Endurance needs special mention. BMI adjusts Endurance by 5% per BMI above or below 29 at the beginning of the match (22 BMI is still a cut-off point). The fatigue a player suffers during a match is based upon this adjusted Endurance level.
Physical Attributes and Age
Every physical attribute has a base level, and this base level can increase through ageing and through physical training.
Each season every physical attribute base level has a chance of increasing until, at the age of 33, they will begin to decline. The rate of gain and decline per season is random.
At every birthday, up to and including their 28th birthday, every attribute has a 40% chance of increasing their base level by +1 and a 10% chance of increasing it by +2 levels (this is doubled for a player's 19th through 22nd birthday). So, every year up to and including their 28th birthday a physical attribute's base level can increase - for a player's 19th through to their 22nd birthday each attribute will go up between 0 and +4 per birthday. For birthdays 23 to birthday 28 each attribute will go up between 0 and +2 per birthday.
From a player's 33rd birthday and beyond, their attributes will begin to decline. Every birthday each attribute will lose automatically lose 2 attribute levels, with an additional 40% chance of losing an additional one, and a 10% chance of losing a further one. So, each attribute will decline from 2 to 4 levels from their 33rd and 34th Birthday. However, this decline accelerates as a player gets older - on their 35th and 36th birthdays these reductions are doubled, on their 37th and 38th birthdays these losses are tripled, and from their 39th birthday onward this decline is quadrupled.
| Age | Birthday Gain Modifier |
|---|---|
| 18-22 | x 2 |
| 23-28 | x 1 |
| 29-32 | No Gains or Losses |
| 33-34 | Normal Decline |
| 35-36 | x 2 Decline |
| 37-38 | x 3 Decline |
| 39+ | x 4 Decline |
The base level of physical attributes can also be increased permanently through training, and physical attributes can also be increased or decreased beyond the attribute base level through the attribute training regimes you use (see Physical Attribute Training for more information).
Physcial Attribute Growth Through Training
If an attribute has training slots assigned to it then the attribute will gain points towards raising its average. The amount of points gained is based upon how many slots are assigned to the attribute for that day's training (see below for the amounts). These points are separate from the points used to increase an attribute above average. Every time an attribute gains 100 of these points, its average will go up a level (you will see the attribute pop up a level).
Points Gained per Day Towards Raising Average
| Slots | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 Slot | 6 to 9 points |
| 2 Slots | 8 to 11 points |
| 3 Slots | 10 to 13 points |
| 4 Slots | 12 to 15 points |
| 5 Slots | 14 to 17 points |
| 6 Slots | 16 to 19 points |
| 7 Slots | 18 to 21 points |
The amount of points each attribute gains each day is random between those numbers e.g. if an attribute has 2 slots assigned to it then every day the physical training is run the attribute will gain from 8 to 11 points.
The age of the player also has an impact on the amount of these points a player receives:
| Age | Training Gain Modifier |
|---|---|
| 18-22 | x 2 Points |
| 23-28 | x 1 Points |
| 29+ | x 0.5 Points |
Mental Attributes
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Aggression | Measures a player’s aggression and discipline. High aggression helps with rucking and tackling, but increases the risk of giving away penalties and the opposite for low aggression. |
| Composure | Measures how a player performs when the pressure rises during a match. Composure grows through playing matches and high pressure situations. |
| Leadership | Measures how inspiring the player is to those around him and is an important factor when picking a captain. |
Mental Attributes Growth
Mental Attributes don't increase or decline in the same way as Physical attributes.
- Aggression can be modified using aggression cards
- Composure increases slowly each time a player plays a competitive match. However, only the first ladder match in a day counts for this purpose.Current and maximum Composure level can also be increased by playing Composure cards, produced in the Psychology building.
- Leadership gained through playing matches as captain, and for other players a chance of gaining every match, with chance dependent on position played - see Mental Attribute Training for more details. Current and maximum Leadership level can also be increased by playing Leadership cards, produced in the Psychology building.
- Form goes up and down randomly over time, but the average form is level 3. Form can also be increased by playing Form cards that are produced in the Psychology building.