Kragarth

That is not a private gym for a single manager's fighters. Dillashaw is managed by VDF Sports. Brandon Thatch, another member of that fight team is managed by Sven Bean. Jon Jones is also managed by VDF but trains elsewhere. Further, the gym apparently allowed Matt Brown to train there before becoming a full fledged member. As Leister Bowling says, the gym is open to anyone (by which he means any professional fighter, and maybe just good ones): http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/10/11/9494739/coach-matt-brown-clay-guida-will-join-t-j-dillashaw-with-elevation If your point is merely there are gyms exclusive to MMA fighters, that is true. What isn't true is that they follow a business model of being open only to fighters who share a single manager.

Clone a person. Over the next five years they live the exact same lifestyle with one exception - one of them has 30 amateur fights and the other has none. After 5 years they fight each other. I'm confident the one with 30 fights under his belt would be considered a huge favorite because common experience tells us being in a real fight is an important learning tool. The first question is whether the game already successfully simulates this. Does 30 fights worth of experience adequately reflect the realistic improvement of a fighter's skill? However, realism is only the first question - because it is only one side of the coin. This is a game that sometimes sacrifices realism for fun. What is more fun, a game where you fight frequently while training, or a game of where you avoid fights? Obviously, people might disagree on that question. For those that want more fights, gaining training I g effects from fighting is fun. Even if the experience hidden is providing realistic gains, there is also a substantial downside to fighting in that you provide a record for your future opponents to examine and also run the risk of injury. Thus, if most people would prefer a game where the best strategy is to fight frequently, this could still be a good idea even if you think it is unrealistic.

Oops, I suppose that should have read "thoughts of opening a gym any time soon." Months or years down the road I might want to run a gym (or I might not want to), but I'm not proposing this idea because I think it will in any way make it easier for me to open a gym, or participate in a gym co-op.

1. True enough. 2&3. Thanks for the info, it sounds like I made a mistake by putting off looking into orgs. 4. Yes, and in this thread I was providing information to assist in evaluating the idea proposed by the OP. This seems like the appropriate place to post that information. 5. But I'm informed it hasn't changed that Cozad's is still a bad place to train. Thus, I think better changes to the guide would emphasize checking cities for affordable gyms before creating a fighter or maybe to suggest prioritizing finding an organization for non-project fighters with a signing bonus that will let you train at higher cost gyms.

Some good points, except for the false assumption that I have any thoughts of opening a gym. From the perspective of a person evaluating whether this game is worth a long-term VIP investment, the prospect of making friends and training in a gym with them is more appealing than the prospect of making my own personal gym, but I doubt that will be a deal breaker as there are other areas for socialization. Thus, the loss of income from VIP holding gyms will likely exceed the value from increased new player VIPs.

I'm quite aware that 150 is the max? How is that relevant? I just chose 100 to provide a mathematical illustration. The formula would apply equally to the lowest quality coach available and to elite coaches. Are you honestly suggesting you have never once created a fighter with a secondary skill greater than 1 and less than 110 (by the way, that's impossible, unless you literally were talking only about punches)? And that you have never trained a secondary skill that started at a value of 1? Others have mentioned changing the optimum coach:student ratio, this idea is an alternative that would still make 1:1 training sessions important for training those skills selected at 110 during creation while allowing fighters with a low rating in a skill they want to train in larger groups. The game already accounts for high skilled fighters needing elite coaches while lower skilled fighters can use lower skilled coaches. This idea gives a further strategic choice where a low skilled fighter can train in small groups with a low skilled coach or large groups with an elite coach. As for how you hold 1:1 sessions on some days and group classes on others - you realize gyms have both group chat and a section where the owner can type announcements? I've seen gyms use that section for rules regarding training sessions, so the tools are already there. As with all my ideas, I'm not saying this should be done. I'm proposing an idea for discussion that addresses either something I perceive as a potential deterrent to newcomers or something I've seen other players mention as a problem. I thank you for input.

Forget about the criteria for now. The idea is an award for "putting it all together in a real fight." Practicing a thousand front kicks is important for building strength, improving form and developing muscle memory, but you also need the experience of trying to kick someone in a real fight. Sparring helps, but there is nothing quite like the real thing. Imagine a fighter who has been practicing kicks all week. Before the fight, you sit down and carefully go over everything you've learned, discuss strategy for when to go for kicks, and watch video to spot weaknesses in your opponent that will present openings for a kick, as well as your own video to spot mistakes when you telegraph a kick is incoming. You then go into the fight resolved to put all of this practice and preparation into the fight. You are right this might not be a coding priority, but that decision can't be made if the idea isn't put out there in the first place.

How about a combined prediction/training feature, where you select a specific secondary skill to focus on in the fight. You get a bonus to that skill during the fight and if you meet some requirement (e.g. win the fight, last until the 3rd round, successfully use the selected skill x times) you keep the bonus.

I lost a fight I thought I would win in the 1st round, so clearly I need a mentor. I also need a mentor quickly, as I'm in a QFC creation tournament with a fight in L.A on 8/16.

A few comments by other players made this idea pop into my head: What if the maximum ideal class size for a coach was based on the value of the skill being trained and the sum of the values of the fighters in the class? For example, a 100 point punching coach could provide 100% benefit to a class of 100 fighters with 1-point punching, or to a class of 5 fighters with 20 points in punching each. A fighter with 90 points in punching would also receive full benefit from one on one sessions, but a 2 fighter class with a 90 point and a 60 point fighter would receive only 100/(90 + 60) of the benefit, which calculates out to 2/3. This would allow gyms to make more realistic class schedules, where an elite coach might hold group classes on Tuesday and Thursday evening while having private training with top students the rest of the week.

Maybe, but isn't that an improvement? It could also result in multiple alliance gyms. Alliances could run a public recruitment gym to identify new managers they would like in the alliance and then invite those players to the alliance with an incentive of a higher quality gym.

1. Would LA and LV running at the same time be a problem if they weren't also more fights there? It seems to me that it will be better for the servers to have the load spread out among more cities. 2. I do want an org. From reading the guides and posts, I was under the impression you should train a fighter for a few weeks before looking for an org. I was also under the impression that better orgs that will give you fair fights will want fighters ir managers with some hype and wins under their belt. Maybe I'm wrong on the above points and should have looked for an org on day 1. That's my fault then, but I'm not posting for me, I'm posting because I think I have useful insight from the perspective of someone just joining the game. 3. As a prospective VIP player, a game where I could make 4 friends and run a gym together without suffering a competitive disadvantage as a result of inefficient training would be more enticing. 4. I don't really plan on going against the grain. I plan on joining some orgs, having some fights, and if I decide the game will be long term fun, somewhere down the road I'll probably make a private gym for my fighters. I don't see anything wrong with making suggestions along the way that I think will improve the game. 5. Maybe, but I don't think that is the best long term plan.

Realistic? Please, link me to a fully equipped and staffed gym that is closed to the public because it operates for the sole purpose of providing 1on1 training to 10 - 20 fighters who are all managed by the same person. Then link me enough to show those types of gyms outnumber open to the public gyms by 10 to 1. Realistic would a public gym where the elite coaches hire themselves out for one on one training but also teach few group classes to fill their time. The public gyms may also rent floor space to ouside trainers. The more realistic approach is to have several managers using the same gym and to coordinate so they each can get a few one on one classes for their fighters.

Don't the prepaid Visa gift cards work?

That's good advice for me as an individual, but it doesn't address the problem as a whole for the game. Given that the L.A./Las Vegas sims didn't run, I'm guessing there is a problem server-side with those cities being overcrowded with fighters. I actually planned on starting in Las Vegas (that's where my manager is) but when I got to fighter creation it told me I would start with more money if I went to a different location. I checked Las Vegas before starting my second fighter and found a bunch of unaffordable $1000/week gyms. Looking again, there is now a $400/week gym that started yesterday, but that is still too expensive for a new account. I did eventually find some cheap starter gyms that will serve while I get a handle on the basics of the game, but the point of my post isn't really to discuss my personal situation. I'm pointing out, from a new account's perspective, that the game is not friendly toward making a fighter and finding an affordable option that is better than Cozad's. If the game wants to attract and keep new players, there needs to be an easy way to get out of Cozad's without having to first worry about checking high street, joining an org., etc... Thus first thing a new account wants to do is create a fighter and find a gym, so that needs to be the first two things they can do, before needing to even learn about orgs.