Players
Attributes
The most important characteristics of a player are his attributes. Each player has eight basic attributes: Goalkeeping, Field play, Shooting, Blocking, Passing, Technique, Speed and Aggressiveness. Each of these attributes has its quality, which is inborn and does not change throughout the career. You can only see exact values of the quality of attributes for players who have been scouted by the scouts from your human resources and economic department. The quality of the attribute determines the ability of a player to improve the given skill.
A - The value of the attribute used to determine the current abilities of the player.
B - The quality of the attribute used to determine the ability of a player to improve in the given attribute.
You can see the precise value of the attribute to two decimal spots by moving your mouse over the attribute in the player's profile. The quality of each attribute is displayed in grey color next to the value of the attribute. If a player is scouted, the qualities displayed are precise and green-colored.
The performance of a player is mostly influenced by his primary attribute - goalkeeping for a goalkeeper, field play for field players. The other attributes are also very important and they influence the performance of a player to a various extent based on his position on the playing field.
Attribute descriptions:
Goalkeeping: This attribute is only used by the goalkeepers. It represents the ability of a goalkeeper to read the play and be in the right position. High value of this attribute helps the goalkeeper keep a good save percentage.
Field play: This attribute is used by all field players. It is the most important attribute for them and it represents their ability to read the play and follow tactical instructions.
Shooting: The shooting attribute is important for all the players who find themselves in the position to shoot. The higher the shooting attribute, the higher the possibility that the player will capitalize on his scoring chance. The most frequently shooting players are backs.
Blocking: The blocking attribute is important especially for the goalkeepers and players playing defense. For goalkeepers this attribute represents their ability to stop shots and for field players their ability to block shots but also stop opponents who are preparing to shoot. Blocking is also important for intercepting passes of your opponent.
Passing: You cannot play handball without good passing. Every player, including the goalkeeper, must be able to pass the ball. This attribute is most important for backs. On the other hand, it is least used by pivots and wings. Goalkeepers often use this attribute to set up a fast break.
Technique: This attribute has a number of uses. It is needed for all players including the goalkeeper. Technique represents the ability of a player to dribble with the ball or to deceive the opponent with fake moves.
Speed: Speed is important especially for wings. However, other players must also train it. It is essential mainly for teams relying on fast breaks. Speed is also important to defend against fast breaks.
Aggressiveness: Handball is a tough sport and the field players have to be prepared for that. Aggressiveness is mostly used by pivots who get into contact with the opponent's players most often. A pivot who cannot handle physical play is useless in handball. Wings and backs also need aggressiveness to a certain extent. However, it also has a down side. Players with high aggressiveness rating and poor technique commit more fouls.
Secondary attribute usage
The table below shows the usage of secondary attributes based on the positions.
| Position | Big influence | Medium influence | Small influence |
| Goalkeeper | Blocking | Passing | Technique, Speed |
| Back | Passing | Technique | Speed, Aggressiveness |
| Pivot | Aggressiveness | Technique | Passing, Speed |
| Wing | Speed | Technique | Passing, Aggressiveness |
Preferred side
Some players have a preferred side, depending on which side of the court they like to play. Others - universals, play equally well on the left, right or in the center. The preferred side has no influence on goalkeepers, pivots and centre backs. On the other hand, preferred side has a major influence on wings. The influence is also visible on left and right backs, but not as much as on wings.
Career longevity
Another important characteristic of a player is his career longevity. Career longevity indicates for how long the player will be able to improve. Career longevity has seven levels. If a player reaches the lowest level (0/6), he stops improving and his attributes start decreasing. The speed of deterioration of attributes increases with age.
Career longevity is updated once in a season in the main seasonal calculation. The value can never get higher, but it can stay at the same level repeatedly. At higher age it tends to drop faster.
Popularity
Each player has a certain level of popularity, which indicates how popular he is amongst the fans. Popularity grows when a player getting accolades and awards. Popularity grows faster in the higher divisions. The levels of popularity from the lowest to the highest are: Unknown, Known, Popular, Admired, Famous, Celebrity, Worldwide Star and Superstar. There are two main advantages to having popular players on the team. They increase attendance and also souvenir sales.
Popularity of a player may also decrease. The more popular the player is, the more popularity points he loses after a bad performance. This does not apply to friendly and tournament matches which have no influence on the popularity of the players.
Energy
The energy of a player is indicated by two numbers - current energy and seasonal energy. This is displayed in the following format: e.g. 80/100. The first number indicates the current energy of a player, i.e. the energy that a player has at the given moment. The second number is the seasonal energy and it is the maximum energy that a player can reach during that season. The seasonal energy decreases as the number of matches played by the player increases. It decreases faster, if the matches are played with high importance. Therefore the seasonal energy cannot be increased. It is recharged to the maximum at the beginning of a new season, after the main seasonal calculation. The energy of a player is very important as low energy levels harm the performance of the player in the match. Each player, whose current energy has dropped after a match, regains it back to the maximum seasonal energy automatically by a regeneration process.
The decrease of current and seasonal energy of players is based on minutes played. Minutes played in the extra time are included in that.
The seasonal energy of players decreases according to the following table (based on 60 minutes played):
| Match type | Very low | Low | Normal | High | Very high |
| Friendly matches | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.10 | 0.20 | 0.30 |
| Competitive matches | 0.10 | 0.25 | 0.50 | 1.00 | 1.50 |
Note: Matches played in the league, National Cup, international cups and national team matches (except friendlies) are all competitive matches. Credit tournament matches have no influence on the energy of players.
Experience
The players gain experience by playing minutes in matches. The more difficult the matches are, the more experience the player gains. Experience has a direct influence on the player's performance in the match. Match importance also has an effect on experience gains. The higher the importance, the more experience player can gain from the match.
Injuries
In PowerPlay Manager the maximum length of injury recovery is 28 days. However, injuries that last up to two weeks are more common. The frequency of injuries in your team is influenced by a number of factors. A team with a higher number of players will logically have more injuries. You will have less injuries and the recovery time will be shorter, if you have a high level of medical center and if you employ good physicians.
Players who have less than 6 days to full recovery have day-to-day status. These players can play, but the further away from full recovery they are, the poorer their performance in the match. You can set whether your day-to-day players should play or not play matches automatically. Warning! This setting only applies to players who get injured in the future. The setting of the currently injured players has to be changed individually for each player.
Player dismissal
If a player, whose overall rating is higher than 250, is dismissed or his contract is not renewed, he will automatically go on the market. If his overall rating is lower or equals 250, the player will retire. If a manager does not extend contract with a free agent who has not received any offers from the other clubs, the player will retire.
National team players
If a player is in the national team and his club loses its manager, the player will be sent to the market automatically, no matter what his overall rating is.