In UFC 2009, a lot of credit goes towards the Skills for determining the outcome of a fight, but a few blips of discussion has shown up about how the attributes come into play, and mention eventually came up that in the 70 point range during Career mode, your fighter can no longer push one attribute higher without hurting the other two. So, which will you pick?
There are three major attributes in UFC 2009, Strength, Speed and Cardio, and each plays in differently with the six styles and how they go about their business, and of course, one in each standing and ground is tied to each.
As far as attributes go, it is probably worth it at the level of 60 to start specializing. Obviously at that point of development, you’ll prefer certain skills over others, and it makes sense to start preferring those skills, though you won’t want to neglect any skill, as that can lead to a glaring and annoying weaknesses. As a general rule, pick one Attribute that best compliments your style, and when you’re not developing Skills, move that attribute higher.
Strength
This is arguably the most important for strikers of all types, and if you’re standing up, this is the stat for you. Obviously, Strength governs the strength of your strikes and more than likely your takedown success, but it may have a little affect on certain submissions. Think of this as your raw offensive power stat.
The styles most affected by strength are Muay Thai, to maintain the clinch and deliver the famously crushing clinch moves, and Wrestling, in order to brute force your way through transitions. Though this isn’t always the case for both, they are mostly affected by the strength of the fighter.
It almost goes without saying that all Striking and Kicking Offense skills benefit from having a high strength, but it’s worth saying anyway to prove a point: this isn’t always the case. You’ll find that a skilled fighter with lower attributes but higher skills can still mop the floor with a better athlete. I make this distinction again quoting the Shogun/Liddell demo fight, where Chuck Liddell has better overall Attributes, but Rua’s widely developed skills give him an edge overall.
The direct benefit of strength is the striking power that a fighter gains, but the thing that suffers in the fighter the most is their staying power. A high Strength fighter will have to trade their ability to last past the second round and hand speed in exchange for absolute cannons for arms. With Strength as your highest Attribute, you’ll absolutely have to seek a dominant position in the first round of the fight in order to either end the fight there with a Flash KO or TKO, or at least damage your opponent enough to where they will not be as effective against you in subsequent rounds.
Strength fighters will more than likely have the advantage against fighters with low Cardio, as striking directly affects energy levels. So, wearing a low Cardio fighter down is much easier than chasing down a faster, though weaker fighter.
Speed
Sometimes, it’s better to just get out of the way, and that’s what a high Speed fighter is all about, that, and quick combinations that make up for his lacking Strength score. I speak generally, of course, because sometimes that scrawny guy will be around and in shape for much longer than you thought he could be, or be hiding good strength behind those punches. This represents a bit of both of your raw Damage and Defense.
Speed benefits Kick boxers and Judokas more than other fighters, as the dynamic, opportunistic nature of these styles leads to a need to get the punch or takedown there, right when you need it to be. The other benefit of speed is the potential to change how much time you have to react to changes in the fight. A faster fighter can respond faster and is almost twitchier than a slower one, and this could benefit Grapple, Takedown and Clinch Defense, as well as the entirety of the Submission skill pair (Think about taking advantages of moments of weakness).
Again, fighting with speed is all about opportunities. Flash KO’s, and submissions to an extent, rely on timing and countering, and a speedy fighter can accomplish just that in many situations. Focusing on speed is a balancing act, You won’t have the strength or the staying power, which can lead to problems against other fighters that specialize in a different area. You’ll want to master the Step (Flick LS <-/->) as a way of avoiding damage and bad situations.
Speedy fighters carry an advantage against Stronger fighters, as they can quickly move out of the way of their lumbering strikes and come back with a quick combination or takedown. They however, run the risk of being dropped if they miss with their footwork.
Against high Cardio fighters, the speed fighter has to bank on the fact that there’s less of a chance of knockout, but that they’ll have to use the speed to land enough strikes to level the playing field when it comes to Stamina.
Cardio
The UFC occasionally sees a fight through to its’ completion, and the fighters that make it a full three rounds in the Octagon usually become well known for their Cardio strength, and the fact that they just won’t go down. Cardio is UFC 2009’s most direct relative to a Defense Attribute, and governs all things. Regardless of anything else, you’ll want a high Cardio, no matter what else you do. This is your “Money in the Bank” stat, and lets you keep on keeping on.
Strangely enough, Boxers benefit mostly from Cardio, as do Jiu Jitsu fighters, both who will stand and take beatings while improving their positions. The stat benefits Boxers by supporting their combination skills that are directly influence by their remaining Stamina. It also lets them get in close and keep taking punches while maintaining a high stamina level. (I’m beginning to believe that Cardio is linked to the Flash KO’s.) Jiu Jitsu fighters can use a high Cardio to burn their opponent’s stamina by blocking transitions and waiting for the perfect moment to strike a submission attempt on a weakened, tired opponent.
Though I can’t say with certainty what is affected by Cardio in terms of skills, more than likely, each Defense stat is tied to the Cardio rating, as Developers have confirmed the nature of remaining Stamina being linked to success of all actions.
The advantage that Cardio fighters have is survival. By the time the end of the second round rolls around, a high Cardio fighter stands the chance of being in substantially better condition than his opponent, and able to control the fight because the other fighter won’t be able to keep out of the gassed state for long enough to fight them off.
The downside is that there’s no other advantage to cardio but the guarantee that you’ll be dominant later in a fight that may not last past the first round. You have no real advantage against a Speed or Strength heavy fighter, except that they’ll be done well before you are. You simply must wait, and that’s what you’re good at.
What this all comes down to is, again, a balancing act. Yes, becoming known for one stat over another has its advantages, as nobody wants to slug it out with Liddell or Rampage, but you can’t always hold to that, and keeping the balance is great. So, yes, specialize, but temper that with Skills to keep yourself from being completely overwhelmed.
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