The following article was originally published with RealSport on October 28, 2016.
One of the highlights of WWE’s annual gaming series has always been the MyCareer mode and its many different iterations. The undeniable spirit of WWE games is being able to create your own version of a WWE superstar and live out the amazing moments of some of your favorite superstars. Whether you have a character you’ve been creating and recreating for years, make a version of yourself, or like to try something new, the sentiment sticks.
This year’s MyCareer Mode exclusively uses created superstars and starts you literally all the way at the bottom. The mode’s brief tutorial takes place in the WWE Performance Center with Matt Bloom, the Head Trainer at WWE’s Performance Center also known as Albert or Lord Tensai to some fans. Bloom gives some basic instructions and hypes up the potential for becoming a WWE Superstar, but otherwise the mode sort of just throws you into the fire. With that in mind, here are five key tips to help you navigate MyCareer Mode.
1. Pick Face or Heel and Stick With It
One of the keys to advancing and getting significant reactions within MyCareer is going all out to get a big response from the crowd. Your options are simple. You can be a face who loves to play by the rules and have the crowd behind him or a heel that loves to get under the crowd’s skin and fights dirty to win at all costs. Regardless of which one you choose, don’t try to sit on the fence. You’re doing yourself a massive disservice if you don’t go all in on one or the other.
The main reason it’s important to decide on one or the other and stick with it is that switching is extremely time-consuming. You’ll have to spend weeks doing things contrary to what your character gets good reactions for, especially if you’ve maxed your Heel or Face meter out at the point you decide to switch. After an eternity, you’ll then have to wait until you’re not in a rivalry to perform a “Turn Heel” or “Turn Face” promo at an event, at which point you’re starting from scratch on the opposite end of the spectrum. Trust me, you’ll save yourself a huge headache.
2. Most Important Attributes to Increase
Increasing your attributes through MyCareer Mode takes time, but some are definitely more important than others. If you don’t want to be continually frustrated while playing, one of the best things to work on early is all of the reversal related attributes. The main “Reversal” attribute dictates how many reversals you’ll be able to perform throughout a match as it relates to your stamina. However, the Strike Reversals and Grapple Reversals are also key.
Getting good at reversals can make a world of difference in not being dominated in matches, being able to turn the tide in rough moments, and being able to dominate matches yourself. Momentum is another key choice, as it’ll help you build up the ability to hit a Signature Move and Finisher faster. Pin Escape makes a big difference in making the mini-game in pinfalls easier to manage, doing away with some frustrating wins.
Lastly, my personal favorite attribute to raise and one that can help you big time is Technical Submission Offense or Power Submission Offense. It doesn’t really matter which one you pick, but go with one and outfit your move-set with plenty of applicable submissions of whichever one you chose. If you don’t like the weird circular submission system, go into options and change it to the modified version of the old Breaking Point system. As you push your submission ability, it gets to the point where you can win matches at pretty much anytime you want if you can lock on a submission. To put the cherry on top, focus your move-set largely on a specific body part. That’ll help you prep for a submission regardless of how the match goes.
3. Don’t Fret Over Your T-Shirt Sales
Okay, this is a small one, but on the MyCareer Mode main screen you’ll notice a “T-Shirt Sales” section. There is varying debate at the moment on whether it’s glitching for some people in not showing accurate sales, but overall just don’t get caught up in it. The general belief at the moment is that if you change your shirt every few weeks, including having a logo of some kind on it, it’ll help you increase your t-shirt sales.
I’ve seen that work on occasion, but it’s still pretty unclear if it’ll perform as you want it to. Rather than going through the trouble of changing your shirt so often and having to adjust the look of your superstar, just don’t get caught up in this little feature. There are plenty of other ways to earn Virtual Currency, and this one is slow, unreliable, and doesn’t even have a massive payoff.
4. Be Careful With Rivalries
One of the key features of the MyCareer Mode is Rivalries. This will help determine who you face at special events, such as PPVs or NXT TakeOver specials, but it will also help you climb the rankings. At times, MyCareer will try to set up rivalries for you by selecting matches for you to run-in on or superstars who might interrupt your own matches.
While rivalries can be important in challenging more skilled superstars in an attempt to climb up the rankings, it’s crucial to be careful about getting into rivalries you might not want. Once you’re in a rivalry, you’re unable to do promos of any kind at events, including “Self Promotion” promos and “Turn Heel” or “Turn Face” ones. At times, rivalries can go on for months, so don’t go after someone or call them out if you’re not prepared to potentially be locked into that rivalry.
5. Save Up for Special Moves Packs
Lastly, one big difference in creating a move-set for a superstar within MyCareer Mode as compared to just a regular custom superstar outside of it is that not all moves will be available at first. Your move-set options will be decent, but relatively simple at first. Within the move-set edit, near the bottom you’ll find an option called “Purchase Move-Set.” This is where you’ll unlock packs of different moves to slowly increase your options. Don’t forget to press the button indicated at the bottom of the screen for “INFO” to see the details of exactly which moves are in each pack before you purchase it.
Many of the smaller more specific packs may seem like good deals, but most of them are pretty limited in what you can get. Aside from picking up a few basic strikes or diving moves if you want, your best bet is actually to save up your VC in order to purchase the “Special Moves” packs. They don’t just unlock the moves within for selection as a finisher, but also open several of those special moves up as regular parts of a move-set. They’re expensive, but they’re absolutely worth it and give you a lot of varied options.