Undisputed is the latest entry in the combat sports genre from indie developers Steel City. While fans have had several entries covering mixed martial arts with EA's UFC series, there hasn't been a AAA boxing game featuring marquee fighters like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Roy Jones Jr. Since Fight Night Champion.
It should be noted that Undisputed is still in Early Access and has quite the journey to get out of the shadow of EA's boxing series. That said, It's already shaping up to be an excellent boxing game that fans can sink their teeth into. Some things still need work though, like the stamina system. This guide will provide tips on maintaining a fighter's stamina and ensuring they can last in the later rounds.
Understanding Stamina
Maintaining a fighter's stamina is just as important as avoiding a knockout. When a boxer is gassed out, they can't land combos beyond a one-two punch and become susceptible to getting knocked down and out. Unlike fighting games like Street Fighter, players can't endlessly string together combos and destroy their opponents. Combat sports games require players to be tactical, pick their punches and maintain their stamina.
The Stamina Bar
The Stamina section has two bars, a temporary gauge in white and the permanent gauge highlighted in the black bar. The larger the black gauge bar gets, the more depleted the boxer's stamina is. The white bar will replenish faster when not in action, but the black won't. It's imperative to look after a boxer's stamina. It has the most significant impact on their performance the longer the fight drags on. The following tips will help players to maintain their stamina in Undisputed.
Avoid Spamming And Missing Punches
The fastest way to lose stamina in Undisputed is to throw punches and miss. Swinging and hitting nothing but air will take a chunk from the player's gauge, slowing them down and making them vulnerable. Not only will swinging and missing drain the permanent stamina gauge, but they are open for a counterattack to the body.
Protect The Body
Any players of EA's UFC 4 should already be familiar with overpowered body punching mechanics. For those who aren't, body punchers drain chunks of their opponent's stamina gauge leading to a KO or an easy win on the judge's scorecards. That's also the case in Undisputed, and body punches will cause more damage in the pocket in the long run than headshots. Moreover, players that don't pick their shots leave themselves wide open for easy counterpunches. A counterpunch hits with 25% more damage than a regular punch and can score a knockdown.
Learn When To Back Away
Players will inevitably drain their stamina after missing a few punches or getting carried away trying to score a KO. In those cases, they should pull away from danger as quickly as possible. Surprisingly, pulling up a guard isn't always the most effective way to protect oneself when trying to keep stamina and fitness in check. The stamina gauge takes longer to replenish if a boxer's guard is up, so pulling away and creating some distance is the fastest way to get the stamina gauge back to where it should be.
Undisputed is available now in Early Access for PC users on Steam.