WWE 2K23: 5 Best Tips for Beginners

WWE 2K23 is a step in the right direction for a series that started succumbing to aging. Thanks to a complete overhaul in WWE 2K22, which redesigned the series’ gameplay from scratch, WWE 2K23 is enjoying the benefits of picking things up from an already successful entry. 

While WWE 2K23 offers a much better experience than before, it can also mean encountering unfamiliar gameplay systems that might take a little while to get used to. Not to worry, though, as we’ve prepared WWE 2K23 best tips for beginners to help give you a head start on the rest.

5. Experiment to Find What Works for You

Like most games, WWE 2K23 provides a variety of moves at your disposal. You can use light and heavy attacks and modify where and how fast they land based on the direction you’re holding the stick. You can also use grapple moves and choose how often to perform a grapple move for your wrestler. 

If your opponent grapples, you can counter the follow-up attack. However, WWE 2K23 makes it, so you’ll need to guess whether they use a light, heavy, or another grapple move and beat them to it. It can involve studying your opponent to see how they wrestle, which makes it more random and fun.

There’s also the running and diving move, where a light or heavy attack can follow the former, and the latter by running towards rope corners or cages to climb up and be followed by a light or heavy attack. I’m sure you’ve seen wrestlers perform a whole bunch of moves in their unique ways, whether they climb outside the ring and land a heavy attack when their opponent is close enough, springboard dives off of the ropes, or from outside the ring, or even taunt them or the crowd. 

All of these moves are at your disposal, with the only catch being that you must experiment with each one so that you find the combos that work best for you. Remember to use your “Signature Move,” which you can use when your special meter is full from performing basic attacks. You can preview it by pausing the game so that you know when and how to use it on your opponent. 

4. Watch out for the Health Bar(s)

Each player gets a green and a red health bar to keep track of matches. If your opponent’s health bar is almost empty, meaning they have sustained much damage, you can try to pin them down when they are lying on the mat. This activates a submission-timed event where the stakes are high for both sides.

You win if you successfully pin your opponent down for three referee counts. However, if they break free from the submission, you lose. It can seem like you have everything planned until a secret black health bar pops up, which is the final say in how much damage your opponent has sustained. To avoid this, check whether your opponent’s black health bar has run out, too, or is halfway down. The minute it gets there, punch in your finisher move to take the win.

The submission-timed event can feel like all hell has broken loose, thanks to the frantic pressing of buttons to either win or try and break free. You’ll need to time your finisher or signature move at the most opportune time to win. However, sometimes you’ll have used your signature or finisher move already, and your opponent is smart enough to counter it. In that case, keep experimenting with pinning your opponent, even when they’re standing, and expect it the least. Since WWE 2K23 offers a timed or rapid button press pin system, experiment with both to find the one that best suits your playstyle.

3. When to Use Resiliency

During the game, you may see a prompt on the opportunity to use resilience to escape pins and submissions instantly. However, it has a catch. You can only use resilience once per match, which raises the stakes. That means you’ll need to find the perfect time to use resilience in a way that gives you the most benefit in the match.

Our advice? Avoid using resilience when your opponent first pins you down. Instead, try to break free from their grasp using all other moves, including kicking out of the pin. When all else fails, and the referee count gets to two, then you can use resilience. You’ll need to time it perfectly so that you don’t wait too long or become overconfident, so much so that you waste your resiliency move.

2. Make Use of Instant Recovery, But Not Too Often

In the same vein as resiliency, you’re free to use instant recovery, though not too often as to deplete it for when you need it the most. The instant recovery move also appears as a prompt, allowing you to get back up from the mat and return to the thick of the fight. 

When used wisely, instant recovery can easily change a match's direction. However, it comes at the cost of using up some of your blue health bar stats. And while the blue health bar counts toward your overall health, it also helps to charge up the impact of your counter and signature moves. 

That said, avoid using instant recovery, especially in the first few seconds of a match. That way, you can save it for when you need it later in the match.

1. Stun Your Opponent As Often As You Can

Stunning your opponent is handy when delivering consecutive heavy attacks without resistance. That’s because stunned wrestlers have taken so much damage in a short time that they can’t attack or defend themselves for a while. 

It’s a pretty grand way to take out wrestlers with higher rankings by stunning them as often as possible so they remain vulnerable to your attacks. With a series of heavy attacks delivered, or your signatures and finishers, you’re sure to win the match, and there’d be nothing your opponent can do about it.

So, what’s your take? Do you agree with our WWE 2K23 best tips for beginners? Are there more tips we should know about? Let us know down in the comments or over on our socials here.