Attributes

Overview
Attributes cover both the physical and mental attributes that make up a player. Physical attributes will automatically increase as a player ages until they get to 32, after which the Physical attributes will begin to decline. Mental attributes have their own individual methods of increasing and do not decrease.



BMI
The game uses BMI to determine increases or decreases to Strength, Power, Endurance, Agility, Acceleration, and Speed. BMI is calculated using the following formula: Player’s weight in KG / (height in meters x height in meters). For example, a player who is 97kg and 1.82 meters tall has a BMI of 29.3 (97/(1.82x1.82)).

The game takes a BMI of 29 to be the ‘average’ BMI for a rugby player for purposes of determining any increase or decrease to attributes:


 * BMI above 29 will increase Strength and Power, but decrease Acceleration, Agility, Speed and Endurance.


 * BMI below 29 will increase Acceleration. Agility, Speed and Endurance, but decrease Strength and Power.


 * A BMI of below 22 is considered to be 22 for purposes of attribute adjustments.

BMI and Endurance
The effects of BMI on Endurance needs special mention. BMI adjusts Endurance by 5% per BMI above or below 29 at the beginning of the match (22 BMI is still a cut-off point). The fatigue a player suffers during a match is based upon this adjusted Endurance level.

Physical Attributes and Age
Every physical attribute has a base level, and this base level can increase through ageing and through physical training.

Each season every physical attribute base level has a chance of increasing until, at the age of 33, they will begin to decline. The rate of gain and decline per season is random.

At every birthday, up to and including their 28th birthday, every attribute has a 40% chance of increasing their base level by +1 and a 10% chance of increasing it by +2 levels (this is doubled for a player's 19th through 22nd birthday). So, every year up to and including their 28th birthday a physical attribute's base level can increase - for a player's 19th through to their 22nd birthday each attribute will go up between 0 and +4 per birthday. Fo birthdays 23 to birthday 28 each attribute will go up between 0 and +2 per birthday.

From a player's 33rd birthday and beyond, their attributes will begin to decline. Every birthday each attribute will lose automatically lose 2 attribute levels, with an additional 40% chance of losing an additional one, and a 10% chance of losing a further one. So, each attribute will decline from 2 to 4 levels from their 33rd and 34th Birthday. However, this decline accelerates as a player gets older - on their 35th and 36th birthdays these reductions are doubled, on their 37th and 38th birthdays these losses are tripled, and from their 39th birthday onward this decline is quadrupled.

The base level of physical attributes can also be increased permanently through training, and physical attributes can also be increased or decreased beyond the attribute base level through the attribute training regimes you use (see Physical Attribute Training for more information).

Mental Attributes Growth
Mental Attributes don't increase or decline in the same way as Physical attributes.
 * Aggression can be modified using aggression cards
 * Composure increases slowly each time a player plays a competitive match. However, only the first ladder match in a day counts for this purpose.Current and maximum Composure level can also be increased by playing Composure cards, produced in the Psychology building.
 * Leadership gained through playing matches as captain, and for other players a chance of gaining every match, with chance dependent on position played - see Mental Attribute Training for more details. Current and maximum Leadership level can also be increased by playing Leadership cards, produced in the Psychology building.
 * Form goes up and down randomly over time, but the average form is level 3. Form can also be increased by playing Form cards that are produced in the Psychology building.