Defensive Player Building: Are You Building to Attack?

One of the most frustrating things for an agent is to have a player that does not perform as they feel he should.  You feel that you have done everything right, the attributes are there, the SAs are there, and yet they are still twiddling their thumbs on the stat sheet.  It is frustrating, and often yields equipment changes, conversion to a STOP, or a nice trip to the glue factory.

There is generally one rule of thumb for making a dominant player:

• The dot has to be able to win the interactions he is being built for.

I am going to focus in a defensive perspective for this post, but the same principle applies in an offensive mindset as well.  I cannot build an OT with tremendous agility/speed (mobility) if in the hold block/break block interaction I am just going to lose time and time again.  The build might look nice with 74 speed and 100 agility, but I need the strength and blocking to consistently win the interaction.

Back to this post's original intention.  I am going to address a couple builds that just are not worth your time...and yet they are consistently attempted.

The Fumble Forcing MLB

Example Build

Let me preface that I am not ignoring the above build's value for special teams force fumble ability.  What we are focusing on here is why the above build will not force significant fumbles on defense, outside of some AA or AAA league play.  So, why doesn't a build like the above work?  We've got strength, +% force fumble, Monster Hit, and decent momentum via 107 speed/~83 agility. 

It's not me, it's you.

Not being able to force fumbles with this build is a product of his opposition's build.  In today's sim, ball carriers with 68 and below carrying are few and far between.  Whether it is an elusive spin back or a big power back, most have all caught on that carrying is vital.  We now see elusives with 81 carrying instead of 60.  So it comes down to your fumbles being more RNG than anything.  Ball carriers 'not fumble' scores are just consistently too high.  With the need for 100 to 120 speed to even play on the same field as the offensive side of the ball, it just is not possible to get force fumble scores high enough to get desired results on a regular basis.

The Strength LDE

Example Build

Again I have to preface that this build does have some value as an anti-pancake/brick wall on the strong side.  What we are targeting here is the lack of pass rushing (sacks and hurries) that seems to come from a build with such tremendous break block/revcake ability.  Close to 140 strength, high shed block, and stacked +% break block should be pretty good, right?

It's not me, it's you.

Once again the opposition is the issue.  Almost all RTs in GLB right now are strength loaded.  At the World League level we are looking at RTs with 135 to 145 strength.  Of course a strength LDE is not going to just be able to plow through a build like that.  The strength loaded RTs are the perfect counter to a strength LDE.

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The point being made here is that you always need to consider your opposition.  You should be building to attack a common weakness amongst your opponents.

Want a LB that can force fumbles?  Build a blitzing LB with good strength (80+) and +% force fumble AEQ.  Why?  Because the QB is your most vulnerable target with his almost guaranteed low carrying.

Want a strength DE that can record sacks and hurries on the stat sheet?  Place him at RDE, where he will likely face a LT geared with less strength and more blocking/agility.

Do not just build a player that you think will be great.  Build a player that you know will be great.

I'm Still Pretty Full, So Let's Talk About FULL-backs.

Before I get into anything, I have to say that title is pretty fail.  Eh, whatever, I did it for the pun of it.

Bad pun is bad, Mat.  Just stop now.


Fullbacks are easily one of my favorite positions in Goal Line Blitz.  I personally love the diversity you get from the position.  Even beyond rusher vs blocker, both sides have a good variation of builds that are commonly used.  Focusing on solely the offensive side you have power oriented rushers, spin oriented rushers, elusive oriented rushers, receiving fullbacks, short yardage fullbacks, etc.  There are so many possibilities and to me that is what makes the position great.

Fullback Attribute Breakdown  

• Physical Attributes
• Strength - Break tackle, pancake, push while blocking, fighting for yards post-tackle
• Speed - Max speed, acceleration
• Agility - Acceleration, minimizing speed loss when altering direction, max cut angle, balance, spin, fake
• Jumping - Anti-swat, catch ball, avoid diving tackles

• Mental Attributes
• Stamina - Energy
• Vision - Pathing, fakes, locate defender to block, anti-swat
• Confidence - Morale

• Football Skills
• Blocking - Hold Block, pancake, range to grab defender
• Tackling - Irrelevant
• Throwing - Irrelevant
• Catching - Catch ball, anti-swat, catch in stride, catch 'radius'
• Carrying - Spin, fakes, max cut angle, minimizing speed loss when altering direction, break tackle, not fumble, knocked loose prevention, fight for yards post-tackle, Special Ability activation
• Kicking - Irrelevant
• Punting - Irrelevant

 Fullback Special Abilities 

• Must-Haves
•  None
• Good
• Lead Block (for blockers), Pancake (for strength loaded blockers), Sticky Hands (for receiving FBs), Power Thru (for rushers), Quick Cut (for both blockers and rushers)
• Waste
• Hands, Spot Blitz, Strong Arm, Cover Up, Dive for Yardage

Okay so let's get into some actual builds and attribute priorities.  I certainly cannot discuss them all but I will target a few popular choices.


The Power Rushing FB

This should be the most straightforward build for users.  The only logical choice for the archetype is the rusher one.  The key to this build really comes at getting your strength/carrying/speed at caps where they should be.  Certainly agility is a major so it may be tempting to push it pretty hard, but you really have to be smart and budget enough skill points for speed. 

The Big 3:
Speed - Top Speed, Acceleration
Strength - Break Tackle, Fighting Out Extra Yards
Carrying - Break Tackle, Not Fumble, Fighting Out Extra Yards, Special Ability Activation

All three of those attributes absolutely need to be at least at the 6th cap (80.53).  I am sure some will debate that carrying needs to be pushed that high but it really is a necessity when it comes to getting your Power SAs triggering like you want.  And of course all the other great things carrying can help with get bundled in. 

AEQ/Extra SA Selection:
Personally, I would recommend three stacked +% break tackle pieces.  You can certainly trim down to two and go for another power SA if you would like to as well.  Lower the Shoulder and even Spin can be worthwhile.  In terms of your extra SA, definitely think about adding Lower the Shoulder or First Step.  Remember that First Step works at low speeds, not just a complete stop, so it speculatively helps post-broken tackle if there is significant slowdown.  Surge can likewise be great on inside FB runs.

Equipment Distribution:
At this current time, stacking all in speed really seems like the best option.  This may not hold true forever, but pulling out some equipment points for strength (and extra broken tackles) just does not make up for the yards you would have gained with the extra speed.

Additional Notes:
Make sure to be conservative in your investments in non-crucial attributes.  This means vision can stay at just 40 (enough for the Short Yardage Monster VA).  Confidence as a major can be virtually ignored as well.  You really do not need more than 40 to single capped.  You are better off trimming from vision and confidence for the addition of some catching abilities.  Even if you are not interested in a little catching, you would be better off adding extra stamina or more SAs.  Don't forget about Quick Cut's benefit to a power rusher!

The Spin FB

This really has become a more popular option with the rusher archetype.  Strength, Agility, and Carrying are all majors so it produces a good base for double digit Spin SA.  I won't replicate all that is written above for the power FB, but the builds are relatively similar.  Strength, Speed, and Carrying are still vital to the FB's success.  The only real change comes from the Spin investment and a stronger focus on agility.  You will want to discount strength a bit in favor of higher agility and carrying.

The Receiving FB

One of the great things that archetypes brought around was a much easier route to building a super fast fullback.  Previous to archetypes, fullbacks had absolutely no automatic level gains in speed.  This was just a huge wheel lock on many FB builds that users wanted to create.  The Scat Back archetype gives us speed, agility, and catching (along with lolvision) all as majors.  For all of us who yearned for 140+ speed, FBs, this archetype was our big ticket to getting that.

The Big 3:
Speed - Top Speed, Acceleration
Agility - Acceleration, Minimizing Speed Loss When Changing Direction, Max Cut Angle
Catching - Anti-Swat, Catch Roll, Catch Radius


AEQ/Extra SA Selection:
This really is open because there's generally more to a receiving FB than just his receiving.  The receiving archetype does see no ALGs for strength, but one could certainly push fakes if they wanted to.  So in that regard, if you did not have any sort of tackle avoidance in your build I would recommend First Step and stacked +% catch ball.  Otherwise you'll need to look at +% fake if you go for Juke as your extra SA.  I would definitely recommend always sticking to at least one +% catch ball, though.


Equipment Distribution:
Speed, no excuses for anything else.


Additional Notes:
This build is again open due to the slight variations, but the general idea is going to be to jack speed to abnormal highs no matter what.  Everyone loves a FB with 95+ natural speed.  Definitely work your speed and agility caps to high marks (once again 6th cap+).  Remember to go for catching right after speed and agility as it is not only a major but an important attribute.  As you will read about Monday, it is always wise to attack an opposition's weakness and with FBs they are almost always blessed with a LB with a poor swat score (and if you are super lucky they are a slower MLB that you can burn with your speed).  There are some easy catches even in single coverage if you have any sort of decent anti-swat/catch roll coming out of your FB.



So GLB Nation...what's your favorite kind of FB?

Intelli-building Principles/Techniques

Well, I need to start somewhere and I might as well start with slowbuilding.  Let it be known that I'm changing slowbuilding in name to "intelli-building", or intelligent building in longform.  Slowbuilding just tends to get confused with the old school "super-slowbuilding".  So we'll just label it intelli-building.  It more accurately reflects the building techniques anyways, since "slow" tends to infer initial "dot-suck".  And that's not true.  By intelligently building your dot he'll succeed at any level of dotball.

To build a great dot, we really only need to do two things:

• Maximize the value of our ALGs (Automatic Level Gains, aka "natural growth")
• Focus our ALGs in the attributes that will allow us to be great at something (whether that something be movement or a physical roll like catch ball or force fumble).

Both become constant goals for our player development process.  The below tips and techniques allow us to achieve the right balance of the above two.  Remember, we are not building purely for effective level/value.  Our second goal is just as important towards our dots success.

INTELLI-BUILDING

Ground Rules

1. Be patient.  You never should feel rushed with any sort of decision making regarding the growth and development of your player.  There is always time to think things through or to ask others for their opinion. 
2. Do not take anyone's opinion as fact or as the absolute best thing to do.  Make sure you understand why certain advice is given regarding your player.  If someone is giving you a recommendation on what would be best for your dot, make sure that you agree with the reasoning behind it before you act on it.
3. Do not let performance affect your decision-making.  If your dot is struggling in one facet, do not abandon a previous build plan because of it.  Have faith in your established plan for your dot.  You can make adjustments to plans but never sacrifice your end-game potential for an immediate band-aid.

Tips and Techniques

1. Plan out your player.  Before even creating the dot, figure out what you want his end game build to look like.  Always remember to specialize your dot.  Balanced dots have never been favorable.  After figuring out what actions or role you want your dot to be dominant in, run the build through a player builder.  Make sure your general end game idea is plausible and challenging enough.  You do not want to have extra SPs to deal with at level 60+.  Put every SP and level up to use.
2. Only create players on D40 or D41.  Maximize your training time before XP starts accruing.  Everyone should aim to get their first attribute trained to 34 with the training bar at 90-99% (and then raised to 49 via SPs) before hitting level 2.
3. Upon initial player creation, intense train a major that you would like to have as your highest attribute.  Under no circumstances should you raise a minor as your first attribute.  This first attribute will be the one that receives the most value from ALGs.  Alternatively, you can think of this attribute as the one that will have either all or most of your equipment points.
4. Do not fear training at higher values.  Due to the increasing SP cost as attribute values rise, the value of training actually remains quite high at early points after crossing a new cap.  After raising our first attribute to the 2nd cap, it is a wise decision to train it over to the next point and then back up to 95-99%.
5. Never rush to apply SPs.  If you are training an attribute, you should generally not be investing SPs into that same attribute unless you have enough SPs to take it to the next higher cap.
6. Raise your first attribute (which we'll call the primary from here on out) to a high cap.  Your player needs to be a difference maker.  Regardless of attribute or position, your primary should always touch at minimum the 6th cap (80.53) before progressing to your secondary attribute.
7. Balance your training regimen.  While we want to sequentially train our primary and then secondary attribute (secondary attribute being the major we want the second most ALG value in), we also want to make sure we are not stuck waiting for training time.  Training and SP application should be a very smooth process.  Essentially you always want your training to be one step ahead of your SP application.  For example, when you are raising your primary you should be training your secondary, getting it ready to go for SP application once your primary is finished off.
8. Begin with intense training on low attributes.  You should always intense train ALG dependent attributes (typically majors) when they are at values below 30.  Do not worry about bonus tokens.
9. Do not rush to purchase Advanced Equipment (AEQ).  Many agents waste bonus tokens crafting full prefix/suffix AEQ pieces at low levels when they could save in some cases upwards of 40+ bonus tokens just by rolling at slightly higher levels.
10. When looking to purchase AEQ, only accept the best.  There is no reason you should be wearing pieces of AEQ with +3 stamina, confidence, etc.  Look to stack all your AEQ bonuses in the same attribute.  Likewise you should plan your AEQ out beforehand.  If you are building a tackle breaking RB, you absolutely must stack two or three +% break tackle pieces.
11. Consider rolling for AEQ at medium (approximately level 25-30) or high levels.  Even if you are able to locate a quality prefix (+attribute) or suffix (+SA or +%), you can always enhance the piece with the missing part later.
12. Once your primary, secondary, tertiary, and likely quaternary attributes are set, look to multi-train.  There are some exceptions where multi-training is not appropriate, mainly in situations where there is still a crucial attribute to address, but in general multi-training is a good option at this stage in your player's career. Only multi-train four attributes at a time.  These four attributes will generally be your minor attributes.
13. When boosting, do not just boost three times and then look to apply your new found SPs.  Many times you will end up boosting an attribute over a cap through ALGs, possibly costing yourself a lost SP.  For safety, boost once and then look to apply SPs.  If you can calculate the ALG value the attribute will gain in your head or safely know the attribute you are looking to raise will not cross a cap, then feel free to boost multiple times at once.  You will likely find yourself boosting once or twice at a time in most situations, however.
14. Do not let low attributes bug you or cause you to adjust your build plan.  If your level 50 dot has attributes in the 30-40 range, that is perfectly okay.  Even at high levels you may find yourself with an attribute like confidence at an end result of 35-40.  This is fine, your dot will not be terrible for it as long as it is a non-crucial attribute.  Also, remember that while level 50 may seem like your dot is getting up their in level, there are still likely 22 or 23 level ups remaining in your players career.  This equates to at least 110 more SPs!  Do not panic.
15. Do not touch SAs until all your ALG-receiving attributes are finished being raised.  Yes, this means that you will not raise your SAs until the back-end of your career.  For positions like RB where you may have high SP cost for all your SA demands, this moment will come around level 60.
16. Budget your SP use in SAs.  There are many SAs that you can completely avoid investing in (think Big Sack, Turn Shoulder, etc.).  Likewise, remember that SA cost raises just like attributes.  The higher the SA is the more you will pay (1-1-2-2-3-3-4-4-5-5, to be exact).  Consider only raising SAs to a natural 6 (just 12 SPs for the singular SA investment) or 8 (20 SP).  Avoid raising an SA to a natural 10.  The difference between 8 (9 w/ CEQ) and 10 (11 w/ CEQ) is going to be very minimal and not worth the additional 10 SPs.

 Think I missed something?  Post in the comments!

Welcome.

I would just like to take the time to welcome anyone and everyone who is currently reading this post or will read this blog in the future.

My expectations for this blog are pretty high.  I really want to create a blog with regular postings that will help better educate or just promote discussion on various GLB related topics.

Current plans are to get various build guides written, targeting some reasonably exciting end game builds in order to possibly get some interest rolling with new player creation. 

I am going to shoot for two postings a week, one on Mondays and one on Fridays.  We'll have general GLB related guide type stuff on Mondays and builds on Fridays.  Sound good?

Oh and I encourage you guys to use the comments sections here in order to promote some further discussion.  If you ever have any questions or things you want to add just post them up.  Let's keep these articles with a very forum-esque edge to them.  Consider them conversation starters!