Fighter skills

Your fighter has a number of skills which dictate how well they will perform come fight time and also how quickly they will train. Some of these skills are visible and some are hidden, to keep things a bit more interesting.

Overall skills

• Boxing - Affects the punching aspects of striking, including in the clinch.
• Muay Thai - Affects both standup and all aspects of clinch striking and control.
• Wrestling - Has an effect on all aspects of grappling, whilst standing, in the clinch and on the ground.
• BJJ - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu relates almost entirely to the ground game. It also plays a part in how well someone can pull guard.
• Box/MT - There is also a hidden value which combines boxing and Muay Thai to give a striking value for a number of standup situations. Consider this situation - a fighter has 0 skill in boxing but 100 skill in Muay Thai. His overall striking skills will be displayed as 50 but is that truly representative of his ability to punch you in the face? Not really... So we have a combined variable which will value boxing above Muay Thai for punching effectiveness, to a more realistic level. Additionally, if your fighter has a higher skill level in boxing than Muay Thai, the low level of Muay Thai will not drag down his effectiveness in pure punching.

Specific skills

• Punches - Both standing and in the clinch (but not on the ground).
• Kicks - Standing only.
• Standing elbows - Clinch only.
• Knees - Both standing and in the clinch.
• Clinchwork - An overall value. Consider it almost a clinch awareness and experience value, both offensive and defensive.
• Striking defense - Both standing and in the clinch.
• Takedowns - Both standing and in the clinch.
• Takedown defense - Both standing and in the clinch.
• Ground n pound - Groundwork only.
• Sub offense - Groundwork only.
• Defensive grappling - Groundwork only. Consider it both sub defense and also a little positional defense.
• Transitions - Moving from one position to another on the ground. Also helps prevent other fighters from transitioning to a better position.
• Escapes - Your fighter will need this to get back to his feet, if he is on the ground.

Physical Attributes

All physical attributes have an effect in some aspects of standing, clinchwork and groundwork. Not all attributes will affect all types of move. Below I have given one type of move which is particularly affected by each attribute.

• Agility - Standup striking.
• Flexibility - Head kicks.
• Speed - Shoot takedowns.
• Strength - Clinch control.
• Conditioning - Recovery throughout the fight. Energy and conditioning are very different concepts click here for more information.
• Balance - Takedown defense.

• Height - Taller people will have a natural reach advantage and in turn will have more chance of landing strikes when in the standup position. However, they are also easier to take down and easier to sub because of their lanky limbs. Basically anything you'd expect in real life.
• Weight - Heavier people will have naturally more power, will tire more quickly, will be able to maintain control more easily in certain situations. Again, basically anything you'd expect in real life.
• Energy - Varies greatly through time - consider it on a basic level to be like tiredness.

Hidden Attributes

Hidden attributes are just as important as the other skills. They are hidden because they are intangible, natural attributes, which (for the most part) don't change over time. You may find hints to your fighter's level in each of these attributes by analysing fight commentary or watching how fast the train.

• Intelligence - Does not change through time. This is their natural intelligence and will dictate how readily they will change their gameplan during a fight, if they are losing. An intelligent fighter may also recognise when his opponent is hurt and will go for the kill when appropriate.
• Experience - Changes through time. Has a similar effect to intelligence.
• Heart - A fighter with a big heart will be TKO'd less easily. They will also become MORE dangerous if they are hurt.
• Chin - Maaaaark Hunto des! Good chin = difficult to KO.
• Injury proneness - At present, the only injuries in MMA Tycoon will happen after a fight. If you get injured, it will negatively affect your performance during fights.
• Self confidence - A more self confident fighter will have a tendancy to move forward. You may wish to counter this using tactics.
• Cuts - Cuts happen during a fight. If they get too bad, the fight will be stopped by TKO (cuts).
• Fast Learner - If someone is a fast learner, they will train more effectively and go up in skills more quickly. This is something you need to pay attention to. If you're training someone who just "doesn't get it", then they will improve so slowly that you're basically wasting your time... if you get that feeling, you're better off releasing your fighter and diverting your attention to someone new, who has more potential.
• Natural KO - Some people have huge muscles but punch like a 12 year old girl... OK, well maybe that's pushing it a bit but your ability to KO someone does not just depend on your strength - there's something intangible in there too. In MMA Tycoon, this variable is it.

Other Variables

• Morale - Morale affects your fighter's ability to train and fight effectively. A miserable fighter is not a motivated fighter.

See also...

Skill values