Proving Ground Match Type Tips

[Abminate360]

Hi all,

I am currently towards the end of MyFaction - only need Daily Challenges completed as well as the last few evolutions (currently on 7/10). I wanted to give some thoughts on the different matches that you will likely face in proving grounds, and how I personally handled them - this is not a definitive strategy and I am sure many others have different approaches they can share too . All matches were played on Legendary - I only completed 2 and a half chapters to get enough WWE Tokens for diamond, so I cannot provide details on later chapters, but I would assume they recycle the same match types. 

 

Few tips:

• Strikers are superb for this gamemode, very fast to farm the points. Ruby Riddle is recommended and for good reason, the only thing to note is his signature includes a submission, this is great to end most matches, however to have it "count" - either the opponent must tap, or you must let them break the hold, cancelling the signature will NOT provide the point recognition.
• Use the outside of the ring to your advantage - you may need a few moments to recover. 
• Unfortunately sometimes the game can have some BS moments, where you will not get any chance to reverse for a while. Resiliency is strongly recommended in case you get hit by a random finisher ( Drew McIntyre loves dropping claymores...)
• Submissions are your friend. You can turn on the ability to hold button down rather than button mash if you prefer in main menu ( I strongly recommend this if you do the Faction Wars grind).
• Kip ups are also your friend. Signatures are easily reversed - I do not recommend using them often unless the opponent is already stunned. Kip ups really help you maintain pressure even after being reversed.

 

One on One:

Nice simple matchup, farm up the points - possibly take advantage and level some of your evolution cards if you feel comfortable. Even on legendary, these shouldn't be too difficult.

 

Tag matches:

Have a team that consists of a playing style you enjoy. On legendary, you will need to play all superstars in the tag team match - although you have some flexibility in how many tasks you complete on each, as not all are required. I found using Riddle, Ziggler and Rollins was a strong bet for most point farming, and then a superstar like Samoa Joe to help with his submission finisher and clear the ring. Most of these matches were elimination from my experience, so try and make sure you do the character tasks before eliminating - in particular if multiple superstars need to injure head/torso to red).  Do be wary of what I assume is a glitch however - in elimination matches, if you lose a superstar, the game seems to shift the tasks from that wrestler onto another wrestler on your team. This can mean if you lose a powerhouse, his powerhouse tasks may take over one of your strikers - meaning you would get points for stuff such as grab attacks, rather than light attacks. I do not believe this is intended to work this way, but it is worth remembering in case it leaves you short on points - I have had to restart matches before due to this.

 

Tornado matches are fairly simple, just keep an eye on your teammate at all times. If you are playing triple threat tornado matches, isolate one opponent (usually at the start, one will lock on and walk towards you), and try and stick near your partner. There will be times where you can control the ring. In match types such as ladder - I found it easier to climb the ladder myself whilst my teammate was in the ring HOWEVER if your partner is climbing, this can be more ideal as you can protect them to the best of your ability. 

 

Table Matches:

 

Two things I found useful here - one is risky,  one is safe. Both start the same, play a superstar type you feel comfortable with ( I use strikers like Riddle and Shayna Bayzler) and get your points up. The main objective is to control the ring to the best of your ability, but more importantly, ensure tables are thrown out the ring whenever someone brings one in. We want tables to not be set up as it is VERY easy for someone to go through a table in some BS manner. If someone is setting up a table, including your own partner if it is a tag match, then do your best to try and knock it down. Once you have the points, here is where the two types of choice come into play. The Risky play is to set a table up in a corner, Irish whip someone into it, and then immediately hit them with a running light attack to spear/drop kick them through it. It is risky as if reversed, you will go through it and lose - however it is a very quick win if opponent is stunned.

 

the safe option is to use a table finisher to an opponent that has been thrown onto/ Irish whipped into a table. It is still reversible of course, but not a catastrophic one. Pick what you feel most confident in, I preferred the risk option as I wanted these matches finished ASAP. Do note in this case - if you have 75/90 points and have not completed the finisher task, you will get the points for finisher on this and will win the match with 90/90.

 

Ladder Matches:

 

A very annoying match type. The tag variants are a bit easier as we can use a similar strategy to tornado matches in that we can stick with our team and control the ring best we can. Make sure ladders are not being set up until you get your points. Riddle is superb here not only as striker, but because quick climber is a very useful perk in this game mode - you will definitely feel the slower climb on wrestlers without this. One strategy is to try and climb up after someone is already up there - if timed well, you will find the AI trying to punch the person who climbed first, allowing you an opportunity to reach for the briefcase.

 

To win the 8 man ladder matches - the best advice I can provide is patience. Unfortunately you are going to find times where the AI sends 3 superstars on you and you are going to have to take a beating. If you have the diamond randy, his reversal providing special allows some great RKO opportunities, however who you pick, I strongly recommend you try and not use any signatures. Unless you need the points, the reason I suggest no signatures is that you need your special meter to help you recover and get up immediately using the kip up ( r1 and up on stick). This allows you to take opportunities to get into the ring and climb ladder. The stun mechanic is the main issue with this game mode - No matter how hard you try to avoid damage, you will have this occur at some point. This can be advantageous however, as usually the AI ignores you during this mechanic, so by time you recover, you may find most are fighting outside the ring. 

 

There are tips where you can trick AI into walking up ramp to collect ladders you place there - I did not personally find this useful as the camera became very irritating, but you may find it potentially useful. The last bit of advice I can provide you is pick your strategy early - either commit to being the one to chip away on the briefcase, or intentionally allow the AI to try and pick a few off and you steal it later. It is easier to do it yourself, but do note this does lead to more likelihood of being ganged up. Simply get knocked down, and if not stunned, kip up, clear ring if necessary, and go again. The AI will always end up getting into brawls outside the ring, so take advantage of that.

 

Iron man:

 

Fairly self explanatory matches - the time limit is stupidly long for what it should be but it is what it is. Most of these are finisher/ KO related, there are exceptions for pin and submission only. For finisher and submission ones, these can be easily exploited. Using superstars with a finisher that is a submission, the game gives you two points - the first for the submission landing, and a second because the opponent taps immediately. I believe this is a bug however a wrestler like Samoa Joe, Becky Lynch, Charlotte can all clear these easily.

 

Alternatively, you can also cheese these matches by going outside the ring, grabbing a weapon like a kendo stick, bring it into the ring. The opponent will usually grapple it from you, then proceed to hit you with it. Each hit is a DQ and awards you a point.  Of course do still get your 90 points like usual.

 

6/ 8 man submission only/pin only :

 

Terrible match type. All opponents in ring at same time, This will be another endurance match unfortunately. My best advice is to try and isolate one/ two members throughout the match. We want to achieve two things this match before the win - we want our points of course, and we also want to ensure the opponent uses their resiliency as early as possible, particularly in the pin matches as submission they do not seem to pop it. This match seems impossible due to how easy it is for opposition to break the pin, however there are some ways to make this match easier. The first main tip is ABUSE the roll up pin ( down on right stick). You would be surprised how quickly a roll up pin can win the match, particularly as the AIs are usually slower to react, whereas when you go for the usual pin attempt, they are already running into the ring. Additionally, roll ups are more difficult for the opponent to kick out of, I have won some dicey matches with roll ups. This match also may allow the opportunity to get the opposition DQ'd - I can not confirm this but you could test it as a viable option.

 

Steel Cage:

 

Will split these as varies a bit depending on how many in the match. Striker was used throughout ( you are seeing a theme here i'm sure  ).

 

Single match:

Most of these are escape the cage only. Do check beforehand in case it is submission but usually escape. Here we want to get our points, hit a finisher, and whilst opposition is in stunned stage, climb out the cage. I used the hold button approach - if you prefer button mashing go for it. Just remember the game is weird, and to begin escape sequences, you have to press the button without using directional stick. If opponent climbs up, let them hit you ( provided you are not close to escaping). and then hit reversal. If timed correctly, you should kick them off, and provided they were already injured, they will stand staggered for a few seconds. 

 

Two on Two:

In tag matches -  we actually want the opponent to leave first. The reason for this is that to win this match type, both members in a team must escape the cage. To that end, collect your points but if the opponent you are facing attempts to escape, let them. We want a 2v1 advantage with our teammate as we can inflict a lot of damage. More importantly, we also want our teammate to leave first. This means we can force the match into essentially a singles match again, which is significantly easier to win.

 

Triple Threat:

Gather your points and play it smart. It is doable to knock both wrestlers down and climb, but it is not recommended in most cases. Instead, we want to trick the AI into handling each other. If one of the AI begins to climb, pick up the other AI ( assuming they are prone) and let them chase after the climber. Both of these will distract each other, whilst you can simply climb up from a different side of the cage with no intervention.

 

Fatal 4-way:

Probably the toughest matchtype, but not as bad as it sounds. A similar process to the triple threat can occur here - the only difference is we want to ensure we hit the fourth wrestler with a finisher to stun them before we climb out. The other two should still be preoccupied.

 

 

Over the top rope:

Avoid the edges of the ropes if you are not actively trying to throw someone out. You can get clotheslined over very easily by some of these cards, particularly in the latter stages of the match. In regards to point collection, I found personally to try and get most of them once most of the ring is cleared out. It is difficult to land some taunts as you leave yourself exposed to be thrown out. Save a finisher for the instant knock out too. You will get the points regardless. 

A good strategy is to throw someone over, and if they have the animation where they hold onto the rope with one hand, you can press square, and you will barge into them and knock them out. This eliminates any need to button mash - of course this is still viable if you prefer. 

You may also prefer being a more durable powerhouse character for this match if it proves difficulty - some lighter wrestlers can be thrown over with ease.

 

Handicap one vs two:

 

A lot easier with a superstar that has a submission finisher, such as samoa joe.

 

Difficult - particularly due to the fact they are usually tornado. Be prepared to take some punishment. The best advice is to try to exploit running attacks - they are reversed often but can help maintain the pressure and isolate one wrestler whilst keeping the other grounded/ stunned. We want to adopt a similar approach to the ladder matches in that we want kip up available as much as possible - so we want to hold out hitting signatures unless we need the points. A way to make these matches significantly easier is to stay outside. Count out is on this match,however both of them count as one "opponent". This means, whilst fighting outside, if we fight by either the ramp or the path leading to the ramp, one superstar will usually stay back either by the ring or inside the ring. They will jump in and out to reset the counter. This allows us time to have a 1v1 and try and beat down the other using kip ups if required.

The ideal scenario is to stun an opponent outside, get inside the ring, and hit your submission finisher on the other opponent. Submissions on this game are very strong, and you will be able to make most opponents tap out rather easily.

 

 

These are the match types from memory that I come across, feel free to add any strategies/ pick apart anything you think could be improved from mine. I am by no means a guide, would just like to offer aid to anyone who may need it

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Abminate360
Adding elimination tag glitch/issue

[AdamWolf86]

Superb analysis, I use Ruby Riddle and Ruby Sonya. For Riddle I always hold square and x for his signature and finishers so you execute the move and get credit rather than submission. 

 

I'm currently at 56 tokens with the diamond market unlocked and three chapters finished. 126 for the first two and 118 in the third due to the handicap tornado tag matches which kick my ass. 

[Cinderkin]

The 8-man Pin only match is driving me bananas. This match and the ladder matches ruined this already lame game mode for me. This is a great breakdown though and will use some of these tips. Thank you

Edited April 15, 2022 by Cinderkin

[manicotti-o-]

After finally finishing the plat for this game, I wanted to mention an easier way to deal with most of the iron-man matches. For most of them (depending on the arena you're in), you have the ability to jump the barricade and enter the crowd. Before you do this, you'll need to fill up your mfp and at least have 1 point over your opponent. Once you've done that, you can leave the ring, and have your opponent follow you into the crowd. Once there, if you hop back over the barricade, and stand as close to the spot you jumped over from as possible, you should end up blocking your opponent, making it so they are stuck there. Now for the remainder of the match, you and your opponent will both be counted out numerous times, but by the end of it, you'll still get the win if you were in the lead. In the meantime, I'd watch a youtube video or scroll through twitter, but you can do whatever you want. I found this to be a lot more appealing as I grinded through MyFaction, rather than being forced to be present as I'd play through 20-25 minute long matches!

[Yuna4353]

10 hours ago, manicotti-o- said:

After finally finishing the plat for this game, I wanted to mention an easier way to deal with most of the iron-man matches. For most of them (depending on the arena you're in), you have the ability to jump the barricade and enter the crowd. Before you do this, you'll need to fill up your mfp and at least have 1 point over your opponent. Once you've done that, you can leave the ring, and have your opponent follow you into the crowd. Once there, if you hop back over the barricade, and stand as close to the spot you jumped over from as possible, you should end up blocking your opponent, making it so they are stuck there. Now for the remainder of the match, you and your opponent will both be counted out numerous times, but by the end of it, you'll still get the win if you were in the lead. In the meantime, I'd watch a youtube video or scroll through twitter, but you can do whatever you want. I found this to be a lot more appealing as I grinded through MyFaction, rather than being forced to be present as I'd play through 20-25 minute long matches!

I would also add on for who needs to e evolved is to use the iron man matches so they can just grind it out. 

[SonOfaGodKilla]

Do you have to play on legendary difficulty to get the platinum? I was planning on just playing on normal but will that not work?

[Viper]

So did we ever figure out definitively if there's a Male Superstar Card that's on the same level as Ruby Asuka? As long as Submissions are active in a match, Ruby Asuka still gets the job done in Proving Grounds, so I need a make superstar that's just as good for the Men's matches. 

 

On 5/9/2022 at 8:00 AM, Rich3I6 said:

Do you have to play on legendary difficulty to get the platinum? I was planning on just playing on normal but will that not work?

It will work, but you'll have to play nearly everything. Playing on JUST normal, will give you a total of 210 Medals. There's 6 Towers per Chapter with 7 Matches per tower. So on just normal, you can get 42 Medals per chapters, times 5 Chapters.