Players: skills and attributes
Skills are the foundation, but in a match what counts is the effective skill: the one modified by form, stamina, experience, loyalty, health and weather.
Form: how well the player performs
- Form factor (from HO): ((form − 0.5) / 7)0.45. It applies to all skills.
- There is a hidden (background) form that the visible form moves towards. To improve it: let players play once a week, train at high intensity, have a good form coach, coach and assistants.
Stamina: how much energy is left
- Stamina factor (from HO): ((stamina + 6.5) / 14)0.6.
- With stamina 9 or more a player reaches 90' at 100%; extra time (120') needs very high values: with 9.4 he gets there at 92%.
- Pressing uses more stamina: with 6 a player reaches 90' at 62% instead of 69%. That is why pressing works less well late in the match (ch. 11).
Stamina minute by minute
Player performance in % during the match, by stamina level. At half time he recovers part of his energy, but in the second half it drops faster.
Table by Danfisico and the DAC federation, published on NRGJACK (2008, updated 2020): an estimate in 5-minute blocks, not an official formula. The values at 45' and 90' match Schum's table quoted in the Unwritten Manual.
What stamina a player reaches: age × training %
Stamina level reached (and kept) by always training with that percentage. "+" = high, "−" = low within the level. Stamina grows until 23–25 years old, then drops: keeping it needs more and more training.
- Rule of thumb: average squad age − 10 = stamina % to set.
- The percentage comes out of the intensity: with 100% intensity and 20% stamina you train 20% stamina and 80% the chosen skill; with 90% and 20%, 18% and 72%.
- Minimum you can set: 10% (it used to be 5%).
Training received by minutes played
Players who do not play still get 50% of the stamina training; 1 minute is enough to reach 75%, and 90 minutes in the week are needed for 100%. Between 1 and 90 minutes growth is assumed to be linear. A new signing counts as 0 minutes in his first week (ch. 15).
Source: NRGJACK table (2008, updated 2020), built on users' experience; some readers reported small differences in individual cells.
Experience: a bonus on the ratings
- Experience is not added to the skills but to the sector rating (WesselV1's study): 0.36 × (1 − 0.85experience), with weights 7/8 for central defence and wing attack and 4/5 for central attack. It grows fast up to 10, then flattens.
- It is earned per minute, up to 90 minutes per match. 1 level = 100 experience points.
- It matters more in penalty shoot-outs than in penalties during the match.
TSI, HTMS, loyalty, injuries
- TSI = (1.03·DEF³ + 1.03·PM³ + 1.03·SC³ + 1.0·PS³ + 0.84·WG³)² · STA0.5 · Form0.5 / 1000. For keepers: 3 · Goalkeeping3.359 · Form0.5. It also grows with form: do not pick your starters by TSI or by stars, but by the skills that matter for the position.
- HTMS: shows a player's potential; HTMS-28 estimates how strong he will be at 28.
- Since 2016 skills only drop with age; for high skills training is slower. Since 2024 skill drops happen in the training update.
- Loyalty: up to +1 bonus at "divine" (about +0.05 per level). If you buy back a former youth player you do not get the mother club bonus again; if you list him for sale and nobody buys him he does not lose loyalty.
- Bruised: performs at 95% on average, and if he gets injured again it is more likely in the same place and slightly worse. Injury length depends on age and medic; after 41 he no longer heals. Since 2024 injuries are shorter and there is a small risk of bruising in training.
- The offensive central defender is the position with the lowest total contribution, but it can help when you only lack a little midfield. Inner midfielders' passing helps the attack, especially when offensive.