Simming.

[danedynamite]

I am just wondering since I have been simming a lot to boost that Tech stat since I cannot counter at all this year. I've notice a few things, though it could be my sliders since I made them for maximum counters so they level up. However I notice a few things, the CAWs seem to start off really slow. Also I am not seeing a lot of grapple attempts I've seen Lauren use the behind grapple a couple of times but other than that they tend to grapple and then do the strike put especially for the arm wrench grapple position. Also I don't think it is there stats since I am leveling mine and maxing them for now so I know what abilities work and such.

Pull back attack and Strong Strike I see used.
Ref Shield only seen used twice.
Possum gets used but not like last year.
Dirty pin sometimes.
Outside dives seems to be same as last year.
Ring escape wonder if its just me but that is such a pointless ability given my caws do it without it equipped XD
Hammer Throw seems to be rare for me though thus far only one CAW has it but I haven't seen her use it.
Object Ability not seen this one used either.
Kip Up is used.
Durability and Fired Up are ones I haven't tried.
Hardcore Resurrection I haven't tried either because I haven't earned it yet.
Lock Pick I never tried either probably won't.

Also Gunnar (my Goldberg ripoff) vs Cal in a 30 minute ironman match seemed even match wise. Cal was 85 overall and Gunnar around 50 and despite the massive difference in stats Gunnar actually held his own and to my surprise gained a pinfall over Cal. End was 4 - 1 in Cal's favor but still one fall when your stats are 30+ points going is good.

Also I haven't noticed a select favoring yet if anyone knows if the case of P2 not getting countered is the case again let me know.

Later on I might tailor stats to the character so it fits them more I.E Candice not being as fast as Lauren. No strength attribute this year though so its tricky to define what causes more damage. Since I assumed the Grapple and Strike attributes are the chances of success rather than the strength could be wrong though.

Two moves great as sigs though Sharpshooter and Bearhug my top two ladies have the others tapping left right and center Yeah I am kind of a submission mark.

I am just wondering if anyone has good sliders that increase grapples since I prefer grapple based matches over strike based ones.

[Amanda Wallace]

I usually see things pretty mixed up between strikes and all. I've also seen Pryor do the Object Grapple a few times as well.

So far, attributes don't seem to make the matches that call-able anymore. This is good. Especially the varying attributes that you guys will have due to the abilities being all over the place with earnings.

Any Fired Up's I've seen really don't hit another finisher... they try to pin after one. That's more of a player perk. I'd figure that it'd be perfect for like the Cena or Angle combo, where it's their standing finisher that they hit, and then they lock in their submission to make the guy tap out... but the AI doesn't see it that way. Laverneus is my first one to use Fired Up, so we'll see how he takes it.

*I am so thinking of giving Buck a "Brutality" finisher... Or Dan's super move from Street Fighter... Just lay on the strikes for all animations. FTW*

[Xaviera Spirit Evolution]

Durability and Ring Escape work together. The caw would usually use Ring Escape, then immediately start using Durability, depending on the amount of damage the caw has taken. Addison has both abilities, and it really plays well with her heel-self.

I've seen Turnbuckle Exploder used once, in a four person battle royal.

Lock Pick is used, but not as frequently as it was last year, might be the momentum frequency, since I don't believe it grows as quickly as it did last game.

Dirty Pin is used more often then it was last game.

[danedynamite]

I might be missing what ring escape is but I assume its when they are next to the ropes they slide out, which I have seen done without the ability or is it different for the ability?

["Mr. Showtime" Bryan Daniels]

It can be done without the ability, but only when your CAW is actually attempting to get up. With the Ring Escape ability, it can be used at any time while they are on the ground near the ropes. So, say your CAW gets hit with a finisher during a sim and end up near the ropes after it, they can use Ring Escape to get out of the ring quickly and back on their feet instead of being dragged center ring for the pin. Without the Ring Escape ability, you would have to wait until they had actually button mashed enough to attempt to get up before they could possibly roll out of the ring.

Hope that made sense.

As far as simming goes, I see about half of the abilities used on a regular basis in matches. Ones that aren't used that often in my experience are TB Exploder Attack, Outside Dives, Hardcore Resurrection, Taunt Thief, Move Thief, Fan Favorite, Hammer Throw, and Ref Shield. Most others are used often for me, happening in just about every single match I sim when they have the ability.

To point this out though, when Object Specialist and Hardcore Resurrection are used, about 95% of the time it's in matches with no DQ whether it be Anywhere Falls, Extreme Rules, or just matches with DQ turned off.

Also, I've had the same experience as Amanda with Fired Up. They may use the ability, but usually only hit 1 of the 3 finishers and go for the pin. The only time they use another is if the opponent kicks out or doesn't tap.

[danedynamite]

Yeah that is clearer now, I have since tried it and it seems to delay finishes and I have been seeing Megan do her cradle piledriver now which is nice. I gave her the Kurt Angle moveset and she seems aggressive more and is hitting more grapple moves though those aren't ones I've seen Angle do XD.

[Amanda Wallace]

I haven't seen ref shield used fuckin' once. Although, I haven't simmed Pryor that much. But I'll be surprised to see it in half his matches this year if that.

[danedynamite]

OK on ref shield I saw it twice in one match, was a triple threat match though so maybe because of the AI behaving differently. Also I am actually liking ring escape because as Addy told me they do it right after a sig hits them, and it means that sometimes we see a finisher... Also possum pin seems to be really good at times to provide that shock win, but it is seeming more frequent.

One thing I am wondering is do the abilities occur more in certain slots? Maybe some food for thought there.

[Xaviera Spirit Evolution]

Oi. If only I had the patience to test that.

[Amanda Wallace]

Jericho beat Scott Epic, Jayson Jones and Evan Fate as they were leveling up with that possum pin. Sneaky fucker. Lol.

[danedynamite]

I think for feds it is possibly up for ban again, but I actually liked some of my smaller ladies beating Candice that way. Seemed a more realistic way to defeat her IMO, but it is happening a lot in my sims now. I think Candice will get resilency in place of kip up because her doing the animation is funny but too unrealistic.

[Amanda Wallace]

I'm not seeing enough to ban it yet. So far, only ones that I am concerned about is the Overall's to 90+ that we have to do...

or the get a 90 overall in hardcore to get HC Resurrection... that's bullshit.

[SyruS]

I am going to ask something that you might call a dumb question, but do you have to put the stats in to get the abillty or just get it up to the level. And still haveing your guy be 36 over all?

[Amanda Wallace]

You have to build up the attribute.