Warrior General Games

Anyone else try this yet? I jumped on it kind of late, but it looks like it has been paying dividends. It's not a build strictly for numbers but moreso to make your ENTIRE defense better. Since I already owned a MLB when I finally got a team, it was easy to alter my build because I cared more about winning than how many tackles he got. Walbert started this season as a level 11 MLB with 3/2 in Aura of Intimidation/Defense General. As soon as I hit 13 (after game 3), I boosted to 16 and pushed to 5/5 Aura/Def Gen. Here are some splits (all wins); the numbers go:

1st half - 2nd half - Total

...................PD.......INT........3 & Out...Pts Allowed.....Final Score
Game 1...7-7-14...1-1-2...2-3-5........3-3-6...........17-6
Game 2...5-5-10...0-1-1...3-3-6........0-3-3...........23-3
Game 3...7-4-11...0-2-2...0-4-4........10-0-10.........13-10
Game 4...5-5-10...0-2-2...1-4-5........10-0-10.........16-10
Game 5...2-8-10...0-1-1...2-1-3........7-3-10..........16-10

Some background on these numbers:
- Level capped league, so everyone had the exact same resources/time starting off; no gutted teams.
- Two of the teams are each 4-1 (only loss to us), two are a combined 5-5, and one is 1-4, so mixed competition.
- The 3 & outs do not include drives ended by turnovers.
- The defense is composed of a subpar D-line, stellar LB's, and a decent secondary (their avg level vs the rest of the league). Our LOLB is the leading tackler.

Notes on individual situations:
- Only 3 touchdown's allowed all season; none in the second half, and one was the result of a pick from our own 20 yard line.
- Only 9 points allowed in the second half all season; two FG's were a result of the offense's turnovers.
- In Game 3, both picks came in the fourth: the first was around the 11:00 mark and returned for a TD, while the second happened around the 5:30 minute mark with the opponent driving to our own 35 yd line.
- In Game 4, both offenses opened up with a total of 107 combined passing attempts, so every player on both sides had a TON of plays. 5 defensive starters had 70+ plays, and two others had 60. No points were allowed in the second half.
- In Game 5, we threw a pick from our own 38 yard line at about the 8:00 mark. The opponent drove and had 6 plays inside our 20, and 3 plays from 5.5 yards and in; they only scored a FG.

What I'm trying to show is how our defense generally tends to perform stronger in the second half when it matters the most, and when lineups start seeing a lot of backups. Aura of Intimidation works to break morale of offensive players throughout the game, while Defense General works to keep your players up and your starters in. A five game breakdown is not a large sample size by any stretch, but I'll probably continue updating this as the season goes on; I'm curious as to how the numbers will continue to play out. Definitely let me know if anyone has any other stats they're interested in following(if you're interested in this build at all!).

Its definitely easier to build this player if he's the MLB of your own team though; note that to emphasize these auras, your physical attributes take a huge hit and your numbers will suffer. As you grow, the emphasis should be on speed/vision/agility, probably in that order but with a very equitable ratio. On each play, you just want to be close enough to every player you want to affect, on both sides of the ball. Note Aura of Intimidation does not specify it has to be YOU making the hit! Also, strength/tackling should take a huge backseat in order to do this build properly; wrap-up is your friend.

Question though... Def General says "all defenders around him" and also "entire secondary." Does it benefit your D-line as well or just your secondary?.

Let me know what you think; I remember reading one of the early alpha testers having a "walking aura" as his MLB, but I can't remember the post for the life of me.

wow those splits don't really paste very well now do they

Great post man! I'm loving when people experiment and post their results. I think this shows that when you get your Specials up to 5+ they really start making an impact "later in the game when it matters". I think the key to success is playing your best in the fourth quarter. And personally, by this fantastic post by wallysmith, I'm now more inclined to put some points into Aura of Int and Def General my next few levels.

I also want to say this, I have 4 Points in Aura of Int and 3 points in Def General.. And I've been getting some pretty good results myself. Our secondary has been just monsterous.

To all players who are going to try this with their LBs though, I wouldn't do this until later levels.. 15 and on. You'd need to have a very very solid foundation to try something like this with one of your players.

But none-the-less, great great post man! Greatly appreciated!

Originally posted by Zsirvone28
Great post man! I'm loving when people experiment and post their results. I think this shows that when you get your Specials up to 5+ they really start making an impact "later in the game when it matters". I think the key to success is playing your best in the fourth quarter. And personally, by this fantastic post by wallysmith, I'm now more inclined to put some points into Aura of Int and Def General my next few levels.

I also want to say this, I have 4 Points in Aura of Int and 3 points in Def General.. And I've been getting some pretty good results myself. Our secondary has been just monsterous.

To all players who are going to try this with their LBs though, I wouldn't do this until later levels.. 15 and on. You'd need to have a very very solid foundation to try something like this with one of your players.

But none-the-less, great great post man! Greatly appreciated!

Thanks man, let me know how your results go too. I mainly started this just to spur discussion, pros/cons and all that. I obviously have a biased view, but I want to see if there are any possible counterpoints or perspectives that I haven't thought of yet.

I have read before as well that SA's really take flight at higher levels; I can't wait till I hit lvl 17/18. My next level will probably go 1 to Snarl, so I can go 1 level higher in Aura of Intimidation. I might start saving points at that point because I believe Defense General at this level starts costing 4 (!!!) per level. Training is going to Vision, and any spare points I can get will probably go to Vision/Agility for a long time.

Yea I'm at level 22 right now, I want to get my main three attributes SPD,AGI,VIS up to 50 and STR,TCKL up to 40 before I put any more points into it though. When I get there.. hopefully by the end of the season (LOL!) I'll let you know what kind of results I'm getting.

Good info. I'm leveling up tonight, and will probably invest at least one point in defense general.

I am trying one of these. I put 14 of my initial 15 into the special tree, and have 2 each in aura and General. That way I can get max training value for my physical attributes while I am in the D Leagues. I plan to keep all of my skill points instead of spending them as I level up this season in order to maximize training points, except stamina, which I will probably go ahead and use some early points on, and the two specials which I plan to get to 5. That way, I can boost X6 in the offseason, and hopefully have a pretty decent level 12-14ish player ready for next season.

Then again, he may end up in the scrap heap?

I'm doing the same with my DE

I used the same method with my OT for 14 days last season, and it worked well. I got my strength and blocking up to 20 before I even spent any SP.

I'm hoping a whole season's worth of training and XP can give me a good jump on the competition. Also, I think they're releasing even more teams next season, so you'll probably be able to find a spot.

After my next game, will put up another 5 game statsheet for my MLB/defense. One IMPORTANT stat I missed before: missed tackles! Looks like Aura of Intimidation helps that out a TON.

Originally posted by wallysmith
After my next game, will put up another 5 game statsheet for my MLB/defense. One IMPORTANT stat I missed before: missed tackles! Looks like Aura of Intimidation helps that out a TON.

I can't wait to see it man. I'm loving this! Keep up the great work.

I have 5 more SP and I'm trying to determine whether to up defense gen by 1, or get a bigger aura.

Originally posted by Primate
I am trying one of these. I put 14 of my initial 15 into the special tree, and have 2 each in aura and General. That way I can get max training value for my physical attributes while I am in the D Leagues. I plan to keep all of my skill points instead of spending them as I level up this season in order to maximize training points, except stamina, which I will probably go ahead and use some early points on, and the two specials which I plan to get to 5. That way, I can boost X6 in the offseason, and hopefully have a pretty decent level 12-14ish player ready for next season.

This is an excellent way to start off this build; let me know how it turns out!

http://goallineblitz.com/game/player.pl?player_id=626679

Here he is so far. I have pounded my SA's up to where I want them for now, and will keep training the attributes and saving SP until it is time to boost. It may be late next season before he pays off?

I have heard that Confidence is the key to these SA's. Has anyone else heard that?

Originally posted by Primate
http://goallineblitz.com/game/player.pl?player_id=626679

Here he is so far. I have pounded my SA's up to where I want them for now, and will keep training the attributes and saving SP until it is time to boost. It may be late next season before he pays off?

I have heard that Confidence is the key to these SA's. Has anyone else heard that?

I heard it was a pretty big factor in it. The more confidence you have in your SAs working, the more they will pay off... Maybe, just a guess?