The draft is the first place you need to start if you’re looking to improve at MyGM, also known as GM Mode, within WWE 2K23.
Whilst the draft might seem like a simple process, I’ve got 9 extremely useful draft tips to help make your rosters more successful.
Draft 14 Superstars
14 superstars is a great number of superstars to draft, especially if you can save a bit of money and have some left over.
With 4 matches to fill, we can fill the card out in the first week with:
- 2 x tag team matches (male and female)
- 2 x singles
- 2 x promos
The reason we put 2 x tag team matches on in the first week is to get title belts onto four additional superstars for the popularity boost.
This leaves one promo slot blank in week one, but you could fill it in with a free agent or a legend if you have cash spare or if you’re managing with a custom superstar.
You only need to put one tag team match on in future weeks if you wish, meaning 14 is more than enough superstars to get through the first pay-per-view.
Calculate Your Average Budget
I recommend keeping at least $100,000 within your budget after your draft is complete. This is for investing into logistics upgrades, free agents, a Legend, power cards, and so on.
You need to make sure you have a bit of money left over from the draft.
It’s a fine balance to strike, though, as having too much money left over could be an indication that you’ve sacrificed too much popularity within your draft.
Take your starting budget, for example $2,750,000, remove the $100,000 that you need to keep left over, then divide that figure by 14. This works out to $189,286.
As I recommend drafting 14 superstars, we now know that we can spend $189k on average on each one.
Every time you spend more than this on a superstar in the draft, you need to make sure you spend at least the same amount under it on another superstar.
If you spend $220,000 on an extremely good headline superstar, which is $31,000 over budget, you’ll need to balance it out with a draft pick that costs $158,000.
Filter By Stamina
Stamina is the most important attribute to filter by in the draft.
Don’t just draft the 14 highest stamina superstars, but use it to identify the popular wrestlers that will be able to perform every week until the first PLE (the new name for PPVs).
Or, more importantly, identify the popular wrestlers that you won’t draft because of their low stamina.
I recommend using 60 stamina as a minimum for the superstars you draft.
Ignore Specialists
Specialists are statistically the worst class type in MyGM.
A Specialist vs any other class type (including another Specialist) grants you a 3.5-star match up bonus.
A Bruiser vs a Fighter gets a 4-star match up bonus, and Cruiser vs Giants get a 5-star bonus in this category.
This means it is harder to get higher-rated matches when using Specialists. Using this knowledge to your advantage, you should prioritize popular Cruisers, Giants, Fighters and Bruisers.
Don’t rule Specialists out completely, but keep them as a last resort if you’re stuck for options near the end of the draft.
Draft Your Main Rivalries First
The first four superstars you draft should be your main male and female rivalries – those that provide top billing and spectacular entertainment.
This is where you can spend a little more than your average budget per superstar if needed because you’ll make the savings on later picks.
The ideal best picks are popular, high stamina Giants and Cruisers. If you can’t get that, opt for a Bruiser vs Fighter rivalry instead.
Your rivalry should always be made up of one ‘face’ and one ‘heel’ role. This is wrestling speak for a goodie and a baddie.
Plan For Future Rivalries
The ideal draft allows you to pick up multiple superstars from within exactly the same classes and roles.
For example, having 2 x heel Giants and 2 x face Cruisers in the male division.
This is perfect because it gives you two rivalries to start with. It also gives you a future rivalry as they can just switch who they face off against, and they can even be used in a tag team against one another for a third different feud.
Protect Your Picks
If you have three different heel Bruisers to choose between but only one face Fighter, make sure you pick the Fighter first.
You might be worried about missing out on your favorite Bruiser from the list but the Bruiser won’t be anywhere near as effective if the Fighter gets snapped up by one of your opponents in the draft.
Check Additional Stats
There are three additional stats that you should look for on a superstar:
- Promo skill
- Morale
- Match specialties
Good promo skill is important, good morale can make a difference, and most wrestlers won’t have a visible match specialty.
All of these stats can help you to make a final decision if you’re unsure who to choose between, but none of them should be prioritized over star power, popularity or stamina.
Think Objectively
Removing bias from your decisions is really important for succeeding in your GM Mode draft.
You have to learn to forget who your favorite wrestlers are in real life and learn to see your potential roster as numbers on a page.
Synergies, stamina and popularity are the three main factors that you need to consider – don’t even look at their name or picture if you can help it.
