My basic scouting process, derived through advice from numerous managers -- but most notably, Kelm and Unforgiven.
1) Open the "Create a fighter" page in a new tab/windowSeems odd, but with this, you can see exactly what you're looking at weight-wise -- and just fill in the blanks. Makes things much easier to keep track of, as it counts both weight and AP's for you.
2) Fill in what you already know.I always set cuts to 1.
The opp's height is visible in many places.
3) Start looking through past fights.At this point, don't look for tendencies such as "late round slapping" or such. Look for KP. Look to figure out the build.
If the fighter often targets head, gets stuns, Knockdowns, or even KO's while down on endurance and/or early in the fight -- he's probably got KP. More on this in the next section.
As far as build, your best bet is to look at what the fighter does against guys of the same height, 1 inch taller, and 1 inch shorter. In most cases, if the guy thinks he's got a STR advantage, you'll see clinch -- if it's AGL, ring/ropes. SPD = feint or counter.
He'll practically tell you where his stats lie, to a degree.
You do have to keep in mind matchups, however. For example, if a balanced fighter were to take on an agile slugger -- his best bet is quite possibly using counter. This won't mean he's a counterpuncher, or even that his SPD is > than his STR or AGL -- just that he feels he has the advantage in that area.
Builds that want to be taller than the opponent to use outside or counter are often very light. This allows them to place more AP's in height for a given weightclass.
Likewise, builds that want more AGL are going to be very heavy. They can be shorter, and pack on the AGL.
However, sometimes a sneaky manager will use a standard height, and switch the build just to make it harder to scout. I've seen it a few times, where what would normally appears to be balanced is actually a strong slugger -- the difference in STR from 'normal' or 'very heavy' to 'very light'.
How do you figure this out?
If an opp is using (clinch) vs opponents that are shorter than him, you might consider him not being a very heavy build. I had 1 WT fight where if I spread the opponent's AP's for his height and had him at very heavy, he would _have_ to be a ropist build. This guy clinched against much shorter opponents (and had success with it). Thus, he couldn't be very heavy.
I tried him at 'normal', and that still left me with pretty much an agile balanced build. Again, not the type of build that could successfully clinch against most builds that are shorter than it.
This left me with 'very light' as the most realistic option... and that gave a build that was pretty strong, and viable for the above tactics.
Sometimes, scouting is a pregnant dog. It's awfully fulfilling when you figure out something like that, though
4) Fill in the blanksa) Universal tipsI usually set CON from 13-15 at 0(0), 15-17 at 18(18), and 17-19 at 28(28). Look for abnormalities in guys who use unusually high AGG and POW, but don't fatigue too much for it. Not easy to spot, but, can certainly help the scout if you can spot it.
b) With KPMax it. Always. Every single time. Pack on as much as you logically think the opp can have, and find your breaking point. If you go into a fight knowing that you can be KO'd if you go under 9 DEF, then prepare yourself for that.
What's the worst that can happen if the opp has less KP than you're prepared for?
Make sure to give adequate chin, too. Depending on build, you'll want anywhere from 10-13 at the early rating(status), probably 11-15 at 18(18), and 12-16 at 28(28) on most KP builds. Flashers quite possibly could have more -- but fighting against flashers is a strategy of it's own.
c) vs Non-KPNormally, for CHN, you'll want 8-9 for 0(0), 9-10 for 18(18), and 10-13 for 28(28)
As far as STR,SPD, & AGL, it's as simple as entering numbers into the fighter creator and seeing what you get for weight. Obviously, STR and AGL have to be within a certain range. See what the ratio is from 12+ in both areas... and adjust from there, accounting for SPD.
You should be able to fill in all the blanks, and get a pretty close scout after a bit of practice.
5) Scout manager tendenciesAnswer these questions:
-- What does he do when behind?
-- What does he do when ahead?
-- Are there discernable points when his fp makes abrupt changes?
-- What does he commonly do in the late rounds?
-- What does he do when stunned?
-- What does he do when he takes a lot of damage? Little?
Bear in mind that there are a set number of variables that can influence the construction of a fight plan. Granted, a fight plan can be so complicated that it's nearly unreadable -- if it's going to have a winning strategy, that's all you'll need to focus on.
It's a game of 12 lines in a fight plan vs 12 lines in a fight plan. The key is getting your most optimal ones to trigger at all points in the fight.
If he'll 1 power slap every time he's behind in the late rounds, allout 'em.
If he opens up when you do little damage, win a few rounds with efficient slapping... then go efficient to the body when he's going too hard to properly recover from it.
For ever action, there is a reaction. You just need to find it, and make sure it happens at the right time.
Good luck!