My take on a VHLM build guide (with the new 400 TPA cap taken into account) and some suggested builds

[VattghernCZ 1,141]

I originally wrote this for the MEX Discord locker room, but why not share it here.

 

Every member has their own approach to building their players. There's also tons of resources on this topic on the forum, starting with Player Build Guide (by Gustav) in the New Member Section:

 

While I'm certainly not the most experienced member around, I'm a low-key numbers nerd and probably spend way too much time playing around with the TPA tool and looking through other players' builds. So I thought I'd give you my take on the topic, no matter if you're a new member or a veteran interested to see other members' approaches. Let's start from the back and move to the front.

 

Goaltenders

Sadly, I can't give you my personal experience here. I've never built a goaltender, nor am I particularly interested in building one, to be honest. In this case, I'd recommend following other guides, from which the takeaways are:

• Rebound Control (RB), Style Control (SC), Hand Speed (HS) and Reaction Time (RC) are the primary attributes. Building these should be your priority.
• Skating (SK), Size (SZ) and Agility (AG) are the secondary attributes. However, you should not neglect them, as they can act like a sort of a bottleneck for the primary attributes. But you shouldn't build them as high as the primary attributes.
• You don't need to bother with Leadership (LD) or Penalty Shots (PS) in the VHLM. The effect of Leadership is pretty much negligible throughout both leagues, and Penalty Shots only give you a slight edge in a tiny, very specific area of the game, where your other attributes count as well anyway.

If I were to build a goaltender, I would first build the primary attributes to 70, then the secondary attributes to 70, and then I'd continue building the primary attributes until I hit the cap. So this is what my final VHLM goaltender build would look like:

 

 

Skater Attributes

Skater attributes the simulation engine (STHS, SimonT Hockey Simulator, AKA Simon) works with, so-called "STHS stats," are Discipline (DI), Leadership (LD), Checking (CK), Fighting (FG), Skating (SK), Strength (ST), Puck Handling (PH), Faceoffs (FO), Passing (PA), Scoring (SC), Defense (DF), and Penalty Shots (PS).

But when you open the Player Management page, you can see you don't put your hard-earned precious TPE directly into these attributes like you do with goaltenders, but rather into a completely different set of attributes, referred to as "hybrid stats". These are Deking (DK), Stickhandling (SH), Passing (PA), Body Checking (BC), Grit (GR), Faceoffs (FO), Poke Checking (PC), Defensive Coverage (DC), Offensive Vision (OV), Speed (SP), Slap Shot (SS), Wrist Shot (WS), Fighting (FG), Leadership (LD) and Poise (PO). These attributes are converted to the STHS stats per this table:

 

 

This way of building was introduced prior to season 83 to discourage the "meta" builds—builds aiming to be the most efficient, but without any real creativity or variability. So when someone mentions the "hybrid era," now you know it means from S83 onwards, and the "meta era" means before S83.

 

So what do the STHS stats actually do?

• Discipline (DI) is a weird attribute. It aims to reduce the number of penalty minutes you accumulate. It does so, more or less, but at the cost of lowering your total hits amount. You rarely see members spending TPE on Discipline as it doesn't really make sense. If you want to be physical, you don't want Discipline because it lowers the amount of hits. If you don't want to be physical, don't build up Checking. The only instance where it might make sense is building a player with high Defense, but whom you don't want to be physical. But we're talking about 900+ TPA builds then, which is not really the point of what should be a beginners' guide.
• Leadership (LD) improves your team's morale, which makes the players perform better. Sounds great, but the effect of morale is so minuscule that it's 100% negligible. It also has a slight positive effect on the faceoff percentage and makes your player slightly more prone to taking part in fights. The general consensus is don't spend any TPE on Leadership.
• Checking (CK) increases the number of hits and penalty minutes (though not as much as it affects hits) you accumulate. A thing to keep in mind: the number of hits is also heavily influenced by your linemates' CK ratings. A player with CK 50 on a line with players with CK 40 may very well record more hits than a player with CK 60 on a line with players with CK 70+.
• Fighting (FG) increases the number of fights you get in. But it doesn't directly correlate with your success in those fights. In STHS, fights are objectively a bad thing, but it's fun and it gives the winner bragging rights; you can see tons of players building up some Fighting. But probably not the best spent TPE on the VHLM level; maybe just save it for the big league.
• Skating (SK) lowers the number of times you are bodychecked while skating with the puck and is a part of the decision-making formula (more on that later). It also helps your positioning, helping you get more pick retrievals and pass interceptions, but the influence of Defense is much higher.
• Strength (ST) is a helper attribute, which slightly increases the chance of winning a faceoff as well as the chance to fight through a body check without losing the puck.
• Puck Handling (PH) is a really important one. It's the primary attribute determining if you are able to withstand a body check and not lose the puck. It also helps with blocking shots and scoring on shot deflections. Players with high Puck Handling also tend to record more shots on the net and overall points.
• Faceoffs (FO) are obviously important for centers. While wingers do take occasional draws as well, it's nowhere near often enough to justify spending TPE on it on the VHLM level. Higher TPA builds use the Faceoffs hybrid stat to build up Strength, but again, that's not the point of this beginners' guide.
• Passing (PA) determines how successful you are when passing the puck and is a part of the decision-making formula (see below). Just a note: high Passing doesn't necessarily mean you will record tons of assists; someone has to score the goal for you to record one. In real life, sometimes a pass is what creates the goal. In the STHS, not so much. You don't often see pass-first forwards in the VHL, probably for a reason.
• Scoring (SC) determines how likely you are to score on a shot or on a shot deflection. It's also a part of the decision-making formula (I'll get to it, I swear). Players—or at least forwards—with Scoring higher than Passing tend to be more successful in the points department. Even in the assists department, a good part of assists in STHS comes from deflected shots and from shots on the net resulting in rebounds.
• Defense (DF) is in my opinion the most important attribute for any skater, regardless of the position. It's basically a "hockey IQ" stat, which is paramount for your positioning. More puck retrievals, more blocked shots, more pass interceptions. Basically, the higher the Defense, the more time you—and your team—have the puck on the stick. You won't be successful without sufficiently high Defense, it's as simple as that.
• Penalty Shots (PS); just like with goaltenders, it's not really worth targeting. With higher TPA builds, you will eventually build some Penalty Shot when building Scoring, but it's really just a byproduct. When you take a penalty shot, your Scoring counts as well.

 

The Decision-Making Formula

Before talking about skater builds, I need to say a few words about the Decision-Making Formula. The game simulation is basically just math, just numbers interacting with each other, determining what your player does and if they are successful at it. Speaking of "what your player does," this is determined by the decision-making formula. It's a comparison between your player's Skating (with Puck Handling having a minor effect), Passing (with Defense having a minor effect), and Scoring to determine whether your player skates with the puck, passes the puck, or shoots the puck. By stacking these attributes accordingly, you can dictate what kind of player your player is.

When your player gets the puck, do you want them to pass it or to skate with it? (Passing > Skating vs. Skating > Passing). When your player has the puck in the offensive zone, do you want them to shoot it or to pass it? (Scoring > Passing vs. Passing > Scoring).

 

How to build a player?

What I mean by that: is it better to be putting everything in one hybrid attribute until I hit the target value for my final build, or build all hybrid attributes simultaneously? I'm personally a fan of the first option, but with one big but. Think about the rate at which you're earning TPE. Every person has their own level of involvement; it's up to each and every member to build their player at their own pace. If you're regularly earning less than 10 total TPE a week, I'd recommend first building a balanced 200 TPA build, then adding to it. If you're dedicated to earning more than that, I'd recommend going for the 400 TPA target values right away.

You'll notice I won't recommend building hybrid stats over 80 in the VHLM. That's because applying TPE gets more expensive. Applying up to 70 costs 1 TPE, 71-75 costs 2 TPE, 76-80 costs 3 TPE, 81-90 costs 5 TPE, 91-95 costs 8 TPE, and 96-99 costs 10 TPE.

 

Now, let's finally take a look at some player builds I suggest.

 

Defenders

There's a huge variability between defenders. For the purpose of this guide, let's talk about four general types of defensemen: a Defensive defenseman—hitter, a Defensive defenseman—technical, an Offensive defenseman—playmaker, and an Offensive defenseman—shooter.

• In my mind, a defensive defenseman is a player who's obviously strong defensively, but what sets them apart from the puck-moving defenseman is the fact that upon puck retrieval, they will look to pass to a teammate rather than to carry the puck into the offensive zone themselves. That means they don't need to spend as much on Skating and Puck Handling as their more offensively leaning counterparts, allowing them to spend more TPE on Defense. When building a defensive defenseman, I'd first build PC and PA (and BC for the hitter, which you can substitute with GR if you want to add some Fighting as well as Checking) until I hit the goal, to give a baseline of Defense and to put Passing above Skating, building it high enough for the passes to be effective. Then I'd simultaneously build DK and DC to continue building Defense along with adding some Skating and Puck Handling. To finish the build, I'd simultaneously build SH and SP for a Skating and Puck Handling boost.
• My suggested Defensive defenseman-hitter build:

 

 

• My suggested Defensive defenseman-technical build:

 

 

• If you're building an offensive defenseman, you want your player to skate the puck out of the defensive zone themselves, carry it into the offensive zone, and pass it to an advancing teammate or shoot it on the net themselves. They will also be your team's top power play quarterback, distributing the puck, shooting through screens, or sneaking along the boards to look for a shot or a pass to the slot. I'd start with building PC, DC and DK until I hit the goal to build up Defense, Skating and Puck Handling. Then simultaneously SH and SP to improve Skating and Puck Handling further, then OV for some baseline offense, and lastly PA or SS, depending on whether I'm building a playmaker or a shooter.
• My suggested Offensive defenseman-playmaker build:

 

 

• My suggested Offensive defenseman-shooter build:

 

 

Forwards

There's even bigger variability among forwards than among defenders, mostly because of the fact there is a center build and a winger build per every player type. The player types I'll be highlighting here are Sniper, Playmaker and (shoot-first) Power Forward. There's an overlap between a power forward and a two-way forward in the VHL, as physicality plays a major role in voting for the defensive awards. You can call this power forward build a two-way forward as well.

• If you're building a sniper, you want your player to shoot the puck and be pretty good at it. In STHS, puck possession is key. So even for forwards, I'd recommend starting with building defensive attributes. I'd start by building DK and DC (and FO, if I'm building a center). Then, to improve overall offense, I'd build OV. Then I'd separate Scoring and Passing by building SS and finish the build with SH, PC, and SP to add more Skating, Puck Handling and Defense.
• My suggested sniper-center build:

 

 

• My suggested sniper-winger build:

 

 

• If you're building a playmaker, you prefer your player to distribute the puck among their teammates and only resort to a shot if there's no passing lane available. Still, your player will take some shots, so I recommend not to overlook their scoring ability. Just like with the sniper, I'd start with building DK and DC (and FO for a center) first to build some Defense, Skating and Puck Handling. Then I'd build OV for baseline offense, follow it with PA to separate Passing from Scoring, and finish the build with SH, PC, SP (and SS for a winger) to round it.
• My suggested playmaker-center build:

 

 

• My suggested playmaker-winger build:

 

 

• I've saved the best for last. A shoot-first power forward is definitely my favorite player type. If you're building this player, you like to hit the opposing puck carriers or intercept their pass and move the puck in the opponents' defensive zone, where you like to crash the net to score. You're also one of your team's top penalty killers. Like with all forward builds, I'd start with building DK and DC (and FO for a center) for some Defense, Skating and Puck Handling. Then I'd add BC (which you can substitute with GR, if you want to add some Fighting as well as Checking) to add physicality, then OV for baseline offense followed by SS to separate Scoring from Passing, and finish the build with SH, PC and SP.
• My suggested power forward-center build:

 

 

• My suggested power forward-winger build:

 

 

I really enjoyed writinh this. If you've read the whole thing, I tip my hat to you, you're a champ. If you're a VHLM GM and like this guide, feel free to post it in your locker room with your additional notes. That would honestly be the biggest compliment and validation for me.

 

I forgot to check the word count, but there's enough babbling and overexplaining that I'm confident it's over 2k words.

Edited Wednesday at 03:22 PM by VattghernCZ
Bad goalie build picture

[qripll 539]

holy 

[mattyIceman 1,242]

Thanks alot Vat!  Will be sharing this, and I do recommend others share this as well

[Gustav 6,582]

I have gone through a few different iterations of updating my guide and I forgot that it still has a 200-TPE cap on suggestions for the M. Maybe I’ll have to go through it again. 
 

This looks good though! We’ll always take cool resources for M players. 

[CowboyinAmerica 2,982]

I really appreciate you putting this together! Any help for new players coming in is certainly welcomed, really think this is great.

 

My only thought at a glance is that while I tend to go a bit more min-max with my players anyway, I'd suggest doing that with Scoring and Passing in particular. The rule of thumb I've always heard is that you ideally want about 10 points or more difference between SC and PA in the sim, otherwise the sim locks up a bit in trying to determine which one to do. While that's tougher with a 200 TPA build where you're just trying to get attributes up, I think it'd be more achievable with a 400 TPA build, and some of those are real close in PA and SC. Without specific numbers on the hybrid attributes, I might actually suggest less OV and more either passing or scoring-centric attributes depending on build, especially for SC on the Offensive defenseman-shooter and the two power forward builds.

Edited Wednesday at 05:03 PM by CowboyinAmerica

[VattghernCZ 1,141]

14 hours ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

I really appreciate you putting this together! Any help for new players coming in is certainly welcomed, really think this is great.

 

My only thought at a glance is that while I tend to go a bit more min-max with my players anyway, I'd suggest doing that with Scoring and Passing in particular. The rule of thumb I've always heard is that you ideally want about 10 points or more difference between SC and PA in the sim, otherwise the sim locks up a bit in trying to determine which one to do. While that's tougher with a 200 TPA build where you're just trying to get attributes up, I think it'd be more achievable with a 400 TPA build, and some of those are real close in PA and SC. Without specific numbers on the hybrid attributes, I might actually suggest less OV and more either passing or scoring-centric attributes depending on build, especially for SC on the Offensive defenseman-shooter and the two power forward builds.

Yea, but with a pass first player, especially forward, you still want some scoring to be successful imo. And with a shoot first player, I definitely agree, but it's way too much more expensive to build scoring with less OV, I'd just rather have lower gap between the two and overall have the stats higher rather than having overall stats lower for the sake of having a bigger gap between PA and SC

[Rin 192]

The goalie build is what I was doing/planning to do anyway, so this serves as a great sanity check for me. Cheers~