Warrior General Games

I'm starting to re-think pumping up one special much higher than the rest. My assumptions on the pass rushing specials are: first step increases speed and agility the first few seconds after the ball is hiked; change direction increases agility; shed block increases agility and strength while engaging the blocker; tunnel vision I'm not sure, but I think it increases speed and agility when it triggers; and big sack triggers a confidence draining event.

If the equations floating around are at least generally correct (I know the examples used are just hypothetical) there is diminishing returns. If hypothetically one point in first step increases speed and agility 5% the first 2 seconds of a play that doesn't mean another point will increase it 5% more. The increased chance of the event happening balances this out a little, but it still seems to have diminishing returns. Also there's the obvious fact of the increasing cost of SA's.

Correct me if my math is wrong, but I believe it costs 16 points to raise first step to level 6 and costs 17 points to raise first step, change direction, shed block, and tunnel vision all to level 3. You'll get much higher attribute bonuses the second way.

I can see how in the teen levels the 6 points in first step might be better in some situations. OT's at that level usually often have huge holes in their builds and those holes are usually speed and agility. As many tackles level they seem to be fixing this problem. And it is a lot easier and less costly for them to increase agility and speed enough to stop you.

It seems to me that it would be much more efficient in the long run to spread around our specials and also not over invest in them.

It costs 12 points to get First Step to 6. 16 to raise all 4 to level 3.

Also, Shed Block > All. If you have all of your SAs at 0, then the best thing you can do is spend 28 points to maximize shed block.

It depends on whether the benefits of the specials are loaded at the bottom or at the top, or even in the middle. In other words, what is the marginal utility curve of each SA?

Is it something like:

Rank / Benefit
1 / +10
2 / +9
3 / +8
4 / +7
5 / +6
6 / +5
7 / +4
8 / +3
9 / +2
10 / +1

In this case, it makes sense to spread points around the SAs as the first point of each SA gets you the most bang for the buck.

Or is it:

Rank / Benefit

1 / +1
2 / +2
3 / +3
4 / +4
5 / +5
6 / +6
7 / +7
8 / +8
9 / +9
10 / +10

In this case, it makes more sense to specialize in one or two SAs only.

Or maybe it's more like:

Rank / Benefit
1 / +1
2 / +2
3 / +3
4 / +4
5 / +5
6 / +5
7 / +4
8 / +3
9 / +2
10 / +1

In this case, it makes sense to select a small group of SAs to get to rank 6 or thereabouts.

So..

It depends.

What makes it more complicated is that each SA may have it's own different curve.