PPM Seasonal Energy: How It Damages Your Players & Team Strength

Please note that information in this article is NOT confirmed by PPM and should be read so accordingly

"He shoots.. he... passes out?"

Of all the aspects of the PPM game engine, one of the most confusing and often misrepresented is that of seasonal energy loss.

So what better time to talk about energy loss than now, as we head into the latter half of the PPM hockey season; a time when "random" and weird match results often seem to increase.

So what is Seasonal Energy?

Each time your players hit the ice (or field in soccer) they expend a bit of energy. The amount of time they play and how intense they play all have a direct impact on the amount of energy they lose. As its name suggests, seasonal energy loss is a number that continues to drop all season long.

Seasonal Energy Loss Per Game: Hockey

Note: These figures are based on a playing spending 15 minutes on ice. In other words, playing 4 lines with equal minutes. If you play 3 lines or change your ice time, they energy loss could drastically increase (or decrease).

Seasonal Energy Loss Per Game: Soccer

Note: These figures are based on a player spending the full 90 minutes on the pitch. If you use substitutes in your matches, BOTH players will suffer the same energy loss, regardless of time on pitch.

Ok, and how does it impacts your players

Energy loss has a direct impact on your players strength. It does this by affecting the attribute values. As such, because your players strength is weakened, your overall team strength is going to be weakened also.

There has been a lot of speculation and discussion about seasonal energy loss over the last few PPM seasons. As no clear and precise explanation has been given by PPM on this issue, there has been a lot of independant research done to figure out exactly how much this energy loss has an affect.

The results are varied, however the general consensus is this; for every 1 point your seasonal energy drops, your attributes are lowered by 1%. So, for example, if your player has a seasonal energy of 90/100, then his attributes will be lowered by 10%.

Does this really have a huge impact?

Yes, most definitely! Well, more accurately, it "can" do.

Put it this way, if you have a player who has an energy of 80/100 that's going to be an alleged 20% descrease in attributes. A player with an OR of 300 would therefore possibly only have an OR of 240 (300x20%=60). That's quite a drastic drop.

How can you counter energy loss?

Playing games on normal, high or very high importance (or the equiv. in soccer) will have a massive hit on your seasonal energy. You may start to notice this in the latter parts of the season if your team appears to stop scoring or get scored on more often.

To get around this, it is highly recommended that you play games on low or very low importance whenever you can, to ensure your players seasonal energy stays as high as possible.

It's a tough balancing act between winning games and conserving energy, but trust me, the effort you put in to managing the energy will make you a far greater manager.