Be A Pro is unplayable with multiple large issues
The developer team was on the right track with the changes made this year to the game mode but ultimately fell short in the execution. In this thread I will go over the issues I have noticed with many hours of play time as a multiple year experienced player. 1. The health feature. After each game your player gets fatigued or exhausted and you to spend 2-4 energy points to recover. That would not be an issue if we received more energy points. On average you play 3-4 games per week and you only get 6 energy points. Quite often you will find yourself running out of energy points before your last game of the week, forcing you to play super fatigued. This is very frustrating as you always fall behind the 8ball and it drops your speed, acceleration, endurance, agility and durability by 10-20 attribute ratings. During the season you never have any energy to spend on trait points, X-factor points, or the likability options. A good comparison of a health system that works is in EA's College Football games. In those games you don't have to spend all your points on health as you only play 1 game per week. They pretty much copied the same feature in NHL26, except it's the same amount of energy points but with way more games per week. It just does not add up... 2. Form score. The form score seems to only go by point productions from your player. It possibly may be ever so slightly tied to the coach feedback score, too hard to tell. Your player can play extremely well and get an " A " grade for the coach feedback, but since you did not score a goal or an assist, your form score will be only 20/100. If you are on a line with grinders (like an NHL 4th line), or just don't "finish" the play, you get penalized. The game requires you to have a high form score to make the NHL team, or move up the lineups. This also is a big problem for Defenseman or a 2-Way forward who doesn't prioritize a purely offensive game. 3. Gameplay sliders. The sliders that are set in settings get reset every time you play a game. Even if you set the sliders in settings before you start your Be A Pro, it will not work. Each game they have to be edited. 4. Draft stock media interview. The media interview right before draft day is absurd. It is not realistic at all to be able to drop 20 spots in the draft from answering questions that seem like a good response. A simple fix would be making the worst answer -1 draft stock, the best answer +1, and the 2nd best/worst being 0 change. Also, make it more apparent what your goal is (to answer questions closest to your higher likeability- being management, teammates, and brand). 5. Chapter challenges/lineup challenges. Unless your player goes on an offense masterclass in the pre-season, you will not make the NHL team. This goes back to #2, where I spoke about form score. It is not realistic to require such a high production to make the team. Second which, once sent down to the AHL, you have 8 games to maintain a 65 or higher line score. If you make the NHL team, you are stuck on the 4th line where you play only a few shifts per game (even on 20 minute periods). You do not have enough ice time to produce at the rate required to make the 3rd line. It's at the point where you need a higher points per 60 minute stat than the top players in the league to progress. As a defense player, this makes it absolutely impossible to move forward. The coach grade feedback also needs to be adjusted per ice time. You can have all your 4 shifts where you play well and go from the C- starting point, to a C+, which is never high enough to grow. If the developers can make the correct tweaks, this game mode has such good potential. I recommend either adding more energy points per week, or reduce the fatigue you gain per game you play. At the least, have a setting to turn off the health feature like in other EA sports games like CFB25/26. There also needs to be adjustment on the form score. It needs to be more related to your coach feedback and your player role/position. They needs to be tweaks for both of those metrics for the ice time you are allocated. Those simple fixes will make a massive difference in this game mode. I have not seen any player, YouTube, or Streamer happy with how this game mode plays and I have not heard any response from the EA team on this topic. Please give us hope for this game!
Updated: LIST OF ALL NHL26 NEW FACE SCANS ADDED AND MISSING
I’ve finally finished my Ultimate Likeness Roster — 182 players rebuilt with accurate builds, best match for generic faces, true equipment, and all top NHL, CHL, KHL, and NCAA prospects including top goalies. Let me know what y’all think when you download. Uploaded now under: Ultimate Likeness Roster (EA Share) My Username: RIGGS727 Full authentic real scans Macklin Celebrini – Confirmed scan (SJS) Matvei Michkov – Confirmed scan (PHI) Lane Hutson – Confirmed scan (MTL) Mathew Schaefer – Confirmed scan, hair too short (NYI) Michael Misa – Confirmed scan, wrong hair way too long and light (SJS) AI-Generated Scan added and Needed (EA likeness + generic hair) Will Smith – Confirmed scan (bad quality) (SJS) Dustin Wolf (CGY) Ivan Demidov (MTL) Zeev Buium (MIN) Cutter Gauthier – Confirmed scan (ANA) Sam Colangelo (ANA) Jackson LaCombe (ANA) Mason Lohrei – Confirmed scan (BOS) Martin Pospisil (CGY) Kevin Bahl – Confirmed scan (CGY) Jason Dickinson (CHI) Frank Nazar – Confirmed scan (bad quality) (CHI) Alex Vlasic – Confirmed scan (CHI) Artyom Levshunov (CHI) Sam Rinzel (CHI) Logan Stankoven – Confirmed scan (CAR) Yegor Chinakhov – Confirmed scan (CBJ) Dmitri Voronkov – Confirmed scan (CBJ) Cole Sillinger – Confirmed scan (CBJ) Jack Drury (CAR) Thomas Harley – Confirmed scan (DAL) Simon Edvinsson – Confirmed scan (DET) Vasily Podkolzin (VAN) Matthew Savoie (EDM) Alex Laferriere – Confirmed scan (LAK) Niko Mikkola – Confirmed scan (FLA) Alex Turcotte (LAK) Alex Newhook (MTL) Jake Evans – Confirmed scan (MTL) Kaiden Guhle – Confirmed scan (MTL) Mike Matheson – Confirmed scan (MTL) Will Cuylle – Confirmed scan (NYR) Will Borgen (NYR) Fabian Zetterlund – Confirmed scan (OTT) Noah Cates (PHI) Pius Suter – Confirmed scan (STL) Matias Maccelli – Confirmed scan (TOR) Filip Chytil – Confirmed scan (VAN) Nils Hoglander (VAN) Connor McMichael – Confirmed scan (WSH) Aliaksei Protas – Confirmed scan (WSH) Ryan Leonard (WSH) Josh Doan (BUF) Michael Kesselring – Confirmed scan (BUF) Ryan McLeod – Confirmed scan (BUF) Jiri Kulich (BUF) Jack Quinn (BUF) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) Connor Geekie – Confirmed scan (TBL) Mavrik Bourque – Confirmed scan (DAL) Zachary Bolduc (MTL) Dalibor Dvorsky (STL) Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) Dylan Holloway – Confirmed scan (STL) Jake Neighbours – Confirmed scan (STL) Philip Broberg – Confirmed scan (STL) Pavel Dorofeyev – Confirmed scan (VGK) Maxim Tsyplakov – Confirmed scan (NYI) Darren Raddysh – Confirmed scan (TBL) Jack McBain – Confirmed scan (UTA) Likely to have generic face Yaroslav Askarov (SJS) Zayne Parekh (CGY) Oliver Moore (CHI) David Reinbacher (MTL) Rutger McGroarty (PIT) Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) Alexander Nikishin (CAR) Fabian Lysell (BOS) Jackson Blake (CAR) Gabe Perreault (NYR) Quentin Musty (SJS) Beckett Sennecke (ANA) Tij Iginla (UTA) Sam Dickinson (SJS) Konsta Helenius (BUF) Cole Hutson (WSH) Daniil But (UTA) Dmitri Simashev (UTA) Berkly Catton (SEA) Axel Sandin-Pellikka (DET) …and many more. The rest of the 2022–2025 draft classes are also likely to have generics if missing from the game already.
NHL 26 Patch 1.3.0 Notes
Hey, NHL Fans! We will be releasing patch 1.3.0 tomorrow, December 2nd at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST. We expect about an hour of downtime so make sure to wrap up any games prior to the servers going offline. Gameplay Improvements to AI forechecking behavior to exit Neutral Zone Trap to apply pressure if offensive team is choosing not to break out Adjusted AI diving shot logic to weigh opposing team acquiring the puck higher Fixed a case around leg vs stick contact weighting for the stick in physics where the puck carrier legs were stronger than intended against opposing stick checks Delayed penalties are now called if the player kicks the puck without a stick Fix to icon passing where it was sending the puck in the player facing direction instead of towards the intended receiver Goalie reaction improvements to dump ins and shots taken from sharp angles Animation improvements to passes out of toe drag animations Be A Pro Lowered the form score targets required for advancing lineup positions (Top 6 Forward, Top 4 Defense, Power Play 1–2, and Performance Challenge Side Quests). Fixed an issue with challenge objectives for the “Get on Power Play 2” Swagger & Humble challenges, now tracking goals instead of points. Fixed an issue where failing the “Move up to the 1st line” challenge could show incorrect dialogue options. Fixed an issue with the games played objective for the “Become Starting Goalie” Humble challenge. Fixed an issue where coach audio did not align with on-screen text during the “Stay on 1st Power Play” conversation. Fixed an error causing Long Term Endorsement Part 2 challenges to appear before Part 1 in certain endorsement scenarios. Corrected the runner-up conversation trigger, so skaters who place as Lady Byng runner-up no longer receive a Vezina Trophy runner-up conversation. Adjusted timing so the Calder Trophy winner conversation now occurs after the awards ceremony. Resolved an issue where tying for most goals and leading in points in the Rocket Richard Trophy race could incorrectly result in a runner-up conversation with your agent. Fixed an issue where the “Make the playoffs” challenge appeared when the coach’s goal was to “win the division.” Fixed an issue where headlines referencing struggling players could appear while the player was injured. Fixed an issue where the headline with the Stanley Cup prop might not display after a Cup win. Fixed an issue where the Top 3 Draft Pick headline did not display the intended finger pose. Fixed an issue where a “Disappointing season” headline appeared after Round 1 despite winning the Calder Trophy the same year. Fixed an issue where players could become team captain at the start of their first NHL preseason if likability was maxed out. Fixed an issue where the “Magnetic” X-Factor could be slotted into Be A Pro; this ability has now been removed as intended. Fixed an issue where the attribute requirement to upgrade Big Tipper was incorrectly tied to Body Checking. Fixed an issue where Backhand Beauty was unavailable as an X-Factor for Sniper archetypes. Fixed an issue where Shooting% objective does not track correctly in Stay on Powerplay 1 - Humble challenge World of CHEL Added in the ability to preview Loadouts in the store prior to purchasing. Fixed a crash when players were deep linked from live events to the Store page through a hidden button callout. Fixed an issue where the Rewards Widget disappeared when switching from Rewards to Play tabs. Resolved an overlap issue where XP Token icons and buttons covered the Season Pass header after deep linking into Objectives. Fixed a backend UI bug where the pause menu failed to load, leaving players stuck in the rink after the first period in EASHL 3v3 Clubs. Fixed a visual issue where changing handedness during the loadout tutorial did not update the skater model. Resolved an issue where the message “Objectives are unavailable” appeared when all weekly objectives were completed. Fixed a desync that could occur when the AR leaderboard was triggered in EASHL Clubs. Resolved a rollover event timer issue where the timer remained stuck at “01s” with a grayed-out tile for Ones Eliminator in WoC. Fixed visual issue where the mute icon appeared in black on the Player Summary tab. Improved contrast of grayed-out text in the abuse reporting screen. Fixed black text appearing after returning from the “Report Content” screen. Fixed overlapping UI elements in Objectives when navigating via deep link banners. Fixed display issue where the Rewards Widget disappeared when switching tabs in the Mode Hub. Franchise Mode Fixed a crash when accessing “View Draft Class”. Fixed an issue where the contract interest bar carried over from negotiations to the offer overlay but not the contract details. Fixed inconsistencies in goalie save percentage between player cards and stat spreadsheets. Adjusted overlay logic so regular season stats no longer appear during playoffs for other players. Game Modes Added Spengler Cup under Tournaments Hockey Ultimate Team Additions to Hockey Ultimate Team Ranked Objectives New Season 2 Ranked Objectives will be added, allowing players to earn Season 2 Ranked Collectibles through gameplay. Ranked Collectibles Season 2 Ranked Collectibles will become tradable for upgraded rewards through new high-value Collectible Sets. Ranked Rewards Ranked rewards will be scaled up, with additional Ranked tiers added so players can earn more rewards throughout the season. New Win Streaks New Win Streak feature in Ranked will arrive early December, granting bonus progress for consecutive wins to help players climb tiers faster. Fixed a crash when animating placeholder cards with synergy boosts in My Collection. Fixed an Internal Error when resetting Cup Chase after changing season settings. Fixed a gameplay crash triggered by passing the puck to another player. Fixed a crash when scrolling Quick Lineup with R2. Fixed crashes when viewing Ultimate Rank Floor in Rewards & Unlocks. Fixed an error when completing Wildcard Draft and Redraft. Fixed critical Internal Errors when entering HUT. Fixed crashes and FTRD errors during HUT Champions matchmaking. Fixed a crash when purchasing or opening the Captain Pack. Fixed Internal Error when matchmaking across HUT modes. Cup Chase rewards and Undefeated reward displays now show correct information. Team logo changes no longer cause Captain Chemistry cards to display OVR “0.” AP count now updates correctly when multiple AP line combinations are used on the same line. Captain Chemistry Salary Cap indicator now shows the correct icon. Fixed incorrect AP/SP/FP text appearing in certain languages. Fixed Salary text overlapping icons in some languages. Fixed misaligned logos and event name translations. Fixed overlapping event/nationality/team logos on MSPs. Fixed incorrect art or white borders on Chel Week 3–4 MSPs and collectibles. Fixed Next Gen Additional Players showing as “Pending Item” in Packs. Fixed Alexander Ovechkin’s 900th goal milestone card showing as basic art. Fixed Set Requirements showing “Pending Item” for Collectible Tickets. Fixed Team of the Year rewards text visibility issues. Fixed debug text appearing in Ranked/Postgame screens. Fixed multiple win-streak progression issues Deep Link banners no longer trigger FTUE incorrectly. HUT main menu banner now correctly routes to the intended mode. Fixed Ranked Summary animation not triggering after matches. Fixed inability to relegate when appropriate. Fixed “Play Next Game” showing opponent username early (prevents early dashboarding). Fixed Set search results repopulating cards already added. Fixed goalie controls breaking after certain Quick Swap + Pull Goalie combinations. Fixed non-NHL goalie helmets not appearing in gameplay. Art Fixed an issue where neck guards were causing some clipping Fixed an issue in the Victory sequence where uniforms would deform Fixed an issue where some heads in creation zone had their eyeballs overlapping their eyelids Equipment The following equipment has been added in NHL 26 CCM FTW Stick CCM FTW Glove CCM FTW Skate CCM FTW Helmet Center Ice Updates The following center ice designs and lines have been added or updated in NHL 26 PWHL Seattle Torrent Vancouver Goldeneyes AHL Abbotsford Canucks Bakersfield Condors Chicago Wolves Coachella Valley Firebirds Hartford Wolf Pack Hershey Bears Iowa Wild Milwaukee Admirals Providence Bruins Rockford Icehogs ECHL Greensboro Gargoyles Savannah Ghost Pirates Trois-Rivieres Lions Utah Grizzlies Canadian Hockey League OHL Flint Firebirds Kingston Frontenacs QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads Val-D’or Foreurs WHL Prince George Cougars Penticton Vees Uniforms The following uniforms have been added or updated in NHL 26 NHL Chicago Blackhawks - Third Colorado Avalanche – Third Dallas Stars - Third Los Angeles Kings - Third Minnesota Wild – Anniversary Pittsburgh Penguins - Third AHL San Jose Barracuda - Third Texas Stars - Third Tucson Roadrunners - Third ECHL Allen Americans – Home Atlanta Gladiators – Home, Away and Third Rapid City Rush – Away and Third Trois-Rivieres Lions – Third Worcester Railers – Home and Away Canadian Hockey League OHL Brampton Steelheads – Third QMJHL Moncton Wildcats – Third Rouyn-Noranda Huskies - Third WHL Calgary Hitmen - Third Kelowna Rockets – Third Liiga Kiekko
WOC Defense
Nonexistent. Kinda getting ridiculous at this point. Poke Checks rarely work, stick-lifts are non existent. maxed out d awareness with quick pick and force passes are going through two defensemen. Shouldn’t have to be right on the guy either to defend them. Defense is almost unplayable. Shouldn’t have to run truculent to make an impact.Unplayable Lag on Xbox
The lag on all online modes on Xbox Series consoles is terrible. It stutters and jumps every couple of seconds. It’s happening in HUT and Online VS. I have 22ms average ping. 500 mbps download speeds on Ethernet. I cross posted this to Reddit and have heard from others that it’s happening to them too. I wanted to post it here to hopefully get developer eyes on this because it is currently impossible to play online.Get Rid of Elite Edges/Wheels in EASHL
I've owned every single EA NHL game. I still have my Sega and all of those original games going back to the NHLPA Hockey days. To say I'm a devoted fan, and sometimes an apologist to this franchise, is an understatement. I lead by saying this because I'm not some sweaty, whiny kid who can't stand losing. I just want to enjoy playing hockey (particularly EASHL with my beer drinking buddies). Bringing back Elite Edges and Wheels has largely ruined EASHL. EVERYONE is now making super fast small players, turning the game back into a track meet, and it's simply becoming who can do the nearly automatic "forehand-backhand deke" goal the most. Tons of new goalie animations and yet they still can't simply hold the post/cover the short side on the same move, over and over. 25 had its issues but it forced teams to play way more as a unit with a purpose to be successful. It took a stronger unit to win. Now, 26 is forcing defensemen to use either EE or Wheels, which limits the depth of cool builds you can create because 1 of the 3 slots has to be dedicated to EE or Wheels. EE and Wheels was an obvious problem the devs and EA recognized in the past and wisely removed from the game. Bringing them back has ruined the EASHL experience. Our club has been together over 10 years. We win at about a 75% rate. This isn't a win/ loss issue. It's an immersion and fun issue. It's a replayability issue. Regardless of our usual success and loyalty to playing over the years, no one wants to continue to play this track meet, and slow "menu simulator", where locker rooms freeze and players get dropped left and right. Overall, just very disappointed. Remove Elite Edge and Wheels from competitive EASHL.Slowly becoming pay to win
Title says it all. Some of the new premade builds coming out are just too good. Jean Spectre Sniper anyone? What a joke. They are slowly making this a pay to win in WOC but are doing it very sneakily. Well maybe not so sneakily if you have half a brain. I've been playing World of Chel since NHL '09 and if this continues, I can no longer grudgingly buy the game year after year. It's gone too far now. The broken match making. Broken defense. Broken forward skating. Broken menues. Meaningless updates. Fortnite style garbage. The list goes on and on. This franchise is a complete joke and desperately needs new direction and leadership. Unfortunately it won't happen.
EA NHL 26 CHEL WOC IS A JOKE
I'm a franchise player who now tried CHEL because franchise mode is completely forgotten... nothing worth it cuz no one BUYS anything there. Well tried CHEL and got run over by overpowered "enforcer" all the time, got mad and created the worst enforcer you've ever met… ran over EVERYTHING, hit someone and when I still had the puck I continued to run over him again and again when he was on his way up without penalty 😂😂😂 Reverse hit players on faceoff, reversehit everybody that come close to me, if they try to poke check me RUN OVER THEM 😂Late hits all the time no penalty, if you got penaltys you can almost run over everybody without extra penalty minutes (yeah sometimes but not often)😂 this game mode is soooooo BAD!!!!!! Reverse hit big players so they just fly away like kids… soooo realistic woooow EA New update hitting is nerfed…. BUT i pay so i win, ”taaaadaaaaa” Sudden death enforcer 92 speed 99 in all power just kill everybody, how dumb can a game be??? Pokecheck and sticklift helloooooo are you there?!?!?!??!? NOOO not at all but we have alot of glitch goal 😂😂😆😆🤮🤮 ICE-Q blaaa blaaa blaaa goalie can’t save anything i score bad backhands on them with 73 in shooting accuracy CHEL 3v3 Is that a floorball mode that is completely useless? full speed upp, full speed down… glitch goal, glitch goal, glitch goal 🤮🤮🤮 every game has to end like a Mighty Ducks movie…. two seconds left “he shoots, he scores” Welcome to NHL fortnite hahahaha EA has completely lost it, X-factor is everything ooooh yeah and money of course, They no longer care about what people want. Bought the expensive version of the game because I wanted to play Franchise mode... then the game mode was broken for three weeks, when I complained I was treated badly. No compensation not even an apology!?!?!? THANK YOU EA!!!! Last time I spend money on an EA game. For six years I have written realistic wish lists for franchisemode, things that I have also seen others ask for…. but nooooooooo it is more important to give us “state and federal tax” Well well hope you HUT and CHEL players "invest" your money well 😂😂😂😂😂 BAP was almost perfect five years ago but they change it too crap and now they try to save it but it gonna be this bad now for five years again. 3-4 games going to overtime 3-3 games can be a win or a lost you join they show as a 16 year old kid WOOOOOW EA GREAT JOB 💪🤘👍👍👍
NHL 26 Patch 1.1.1 Notes
Patch Notes Patch Go-Live: Tuesday, September 16th, 1 PM ET. Server Downtime is expected for up to one hour after deployment of the patch. 1.1.1 Patch Notes Gameplay Fixed an issue where a player who was AFK was not being removed in a World of CHEL game Be a Pro Tuning adjustments to Health to include TOI as a factor and scaling down the amount of health reduction that hits thrown, hits received and shots blocked give. Updated the following form score contributing values to make form score feel more balanced for games that are low event for the user: Goals Assists PP Pts SH Pts Body Checks Plus/minus Giveaways Takeaways Shots Fixed an issue where the Custom option was not available in the Play Game flow Fixed an issue in the Draft Interview media convo where some responses didn't line up with the correct Brand, Management or Teammate impact Franchise Mode Fixed an issue where line chemistry was not being generated properly from X-Factors Fixed an issue where AHL coach conversation were not available Fixed an issue where earning the Quick Draw X-Factor through a season goal could cause a crash when entering Edit Lines Hockey Ultimate Team Fixed an issue where completing training camp objectives did not give users access to the Auction House Fixed an issue where when matchmaking in Ranked users would see an error message World of CHEL Fixed a crash when navigating from the club members menu in EASHL 6 v 6 More Notes........ This first patch is focused on improving overall game stability and addressing some of the most noticeable issues that could affect your time on the ice. While this update is about making sure the foundation is solid, future patches will have a continued focus on gameplay feedback, with tuning and adjustments in key areas, along with further improvements across modes and features. As previously mentioned, we’re actively investigating adjustments to LT (Vision Control), Saucer Passes for short distances, poke checks, and post hit frequency, and we’ll have more to share in upcoming patches.Updated: NHL Needs a Year Pass With PC Release – The Model That Out-Earns HUT
NHL should drop the outdated annual release with trickled out features and move to a Year Pass model that updates all season across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. One yearly payment, not monthly. Crossplay. Weekly updates and three big drops tied to the hockey calendar. Franchise and Be A Pro finally grow because there’s no yearly reset. Money Talk: Why Year Pass Beats HUT Assumptions Year Pass price 99 dollars Base case assumes 1.2 to 1.3 million Year Pass buyers Conservative case assumes 600 thousand Year Pass buyers Seasonal Pass is three drops at 20 dollars each per buyer These figures are illustrative and separate from HUT, which continues Base case, conservative math Year Pass subs 118 to 130 million Seasonal Passes three by twenty 21 to 24 million Creator Marketplace cosmetic mods broadcast packages goalie masks 15 million Team Partner Packs licensed intros songs jerseys 4 to 6 million Esports and sponsors 5 to 8 million Total 163 to 183 million before any HUT spend Conservative case Year Pass subs 59 to 60 million Seasonal Passes three by twenty 12 million Creator Marketplace 7 million Team Partner Packs 2 to 3 million Esports and sponsors 3 to 4 million Total 83 to 86 million before any HUT spend HUT continues as a primary driver. If current HUT brings in roughly 100 to 150 million on its own, the Year Pass model adds a new guaranteed revenue stream on top. In the base case it likely exceeds the annual model before counting HUT, and in the conservative case it meaningfully supplements HUT. Safe PC Release and Customization Freedom Fans want mods and editing. EA wants guaranteed revenue. Both can win. Unlocked editing attributes body size hair equipment all editable. No more grey silhouettes. Mods allowed for offline and presentation while the game requires an active Year Pass license to run. Server validated license. On boot the title checks EA servers. No sub equals locked title screen. Offline token grace period. Thirty days for legit offline play then a reconnect is required. Physical copies if sold are just installers. Subscription required to play. HUT remains server authoritative and protected with weekly ban waves. EA still gets paid every year even from offline only players who mod. Fans finally get the customization freedom they have asked for. HUT stays protected. What Fans Get This is not just about revenue. It is about finally delivering the hockey game fans have been asking for across forums Reddit and Discord for years. With a Year Pass model features stop disappearing and start stacking. The result is the most complete NHL game ever made. GM Connected returns. A true online franchise where up to 32 human GMs run teams make trades draft and play through multiple seasons without crashing or server issues. Because the Year Pass updates year round you experience the real NHL calendar. The Entry Draft in June. Free Agency in July. Training camps in September. Draft boards prospect interviews and live trade chatter between human GMs make it authentic. Roster share and full player editor. No more grey silhouettes. Every attribute equipment piece body size hairstyle facial hair and goalie mask editable. Unlimited created players. Community roster sharing allows NCAA KHL World Juniors Legends or Historic seasons to be uploaded and downloaded instantly. All Star international and specialty events. The hockey calendar finally feels alive. World Juniors in December. Olympic hockey every four years. PWHL integration for women’s hockey. Outdoor games like the Winter Classic and Stadium Series with unique crowd behavior and ice conditions. A fully playable All Star Skills Competition with hardest shot fastest skater accuracy shooting and breakaway challenge. Franchise mode depth and off ice culture. Practices that actually matter. Coaches with unique personalities and systems that affect morale and chemistry. Players with rivalries friendships and leadership qualities that impact performance. Realistic contracts including no trade clauses taxes and player mood. Off the ice NHL Network and TSN style studio panels debate your trades highlight rivalries and call out playoff collapses. Cutscenes show your GM at the draft table in pressers or in tense contract meetings. Player charity events award shows and trade deadline specials bring league culture to life. Be A Pro that feels alive. Draft day presentations locker room interactions and press conferences matter. Post game interviews affect reputation and endorsements. A social media feed filled with fan chatter highlight clips and TSN rumors responds to your play. Get traded and analysts debate it while fans boo or cheer. Award shows and off ice storylines give real progression. Smarter AI. No more lifeless teammates. AI runs real systems hockey. Penalty kill units collapse into diamonds versus a 1 3 1. Neutral zone traps finally look real. Puck battles net scrums and board play feel organic. Authentic skating and player identity. AI driven animations built from NHL EDGE and broadcast footage. McDavid’s hunched acceleration Eichel’s glide Matthews’ quick release Sorokin’s explosive pushes. Every player looks and plays like themselves updated throughout the season. Dynamic broadcast and presentation. Multiple commentary crews ESPN TNT Sportsnet regionals. Pre game panels preview matchups intermissions show highlights from around the league and post game wrap ups react to storylines. If Ovechkin is chasing Gretzky the studio debates it before puck drop crowds buzz when he hits the ice and broadcasters celebrate the record when he breaks it. Legends and Era modes. Relive Gretzky’s Oilers the 90s Red Wings the 2000s Devils with retro overlays and authentic commentary references. Entire historic seasons or drop Legends into Franchise. Fighting emotion and atmosphere. A fighting engine with context. A fight after a dirty hit boosts energy. Players smash sticks after bad calls chirp in scrums and pull off signature celebrations. Crowds chant boo rivals and erupt during milestones. Why Fans Stay Engaged Year Round With a Year Pass model NHL does not go dark after the Cup Final. Instead the game stays alive through the entire off season. NHL Draft. A full authentic draft experience in June with cutscenes draft boards prospect interviews and trade chatter. Most first round prospects are face scanned and in the game at release with updates for the new class added immediately after. Free agency and off season moves. In July live updates roll out for big signings and trades. Studio panels and commentary debate roster moves like TSN or NHL Network. Training camps and rookie showcases. September brings prospect tournaments pre season camp battles and cutscenes around players making or missing the team. Season kickoff buzz. The NHL and NHLPA marketing push in October ties into the game. New intros presentation updates and live content drops make it feel like a fresh new season starting not just a stale roster update. This way fans stay hooked all summer. Franchise players immerse themselves in the league calendar. Be A Pro players live through the draft and free agency drama. Online GMs in Connected Leagues negotiate and trade through the off season. When the puck drops in October the game already feels hot with buzz from real world hockey. For the first time NHL does not just feel like a video game. It feels like being inside hockey twelve months a year. Why This Works for EA Guaranteed revenue. Every player must renew each year. PC adds new markets. Even 300 thousand PC subs equals about 27 to 30 million extra at 99 dollars. Offline depth improves retention. Franchise and Be A Pro players stick around longer and are more likely to try HUT. No cracks or free play. License validation with offline tokens controls piracy while respecting legit offline users. HUT strengthened. Bundled cosmetics and event rewards increase engagement without breaking the economy. Bottom Line This model makes more money than the annual release alone brings in new fans through PC and finally delivers the complete hockey game. EA wins with guaranteed revenue a bigger player base and a stronger HUT. Fans win with full customization mods offline depth and no more resets. This is how NHL stops feeling like a side project and starts leading sports gaming again.Why is the community not making a bigger deal about horrible matchmaking?
Matchmaking has become unbearable. As soon as we started a club this year in D10, immediately playing Elite players/teams while we’re silver/gold. It’s not fun when games are lopsided. Win or lose I want to be in competitive games. Not blowout losses. I’ve seen the reasoning for current state of matchmaking. It seems EA believes player pool is too small for NHL to base matchmaking on skill level. That we would rather have shorter wait periods (play the first team available regardless of skill level) instead of waiting a bit longer. My club disagrees. We’d rather wait longer to play an evenly skilled team. It’s gotten so bad we’ve been using a 3rd party website to look up the opposing clubs record before the match starts. And we decide if we want to back out or play. Some of the teams it matches us against have 500+ wins and 90%+ win rate. It’s ridiculous. We constantly back out of matches, and wait to find a team that has a similar skill. This disproves EA’s logic. Doing our own matchmaking takes longer. It would be faster if EA would do it properly for us. Also, I know this has been brought up before as well, why can’t we search for a game with the same amount of human players anymore? Specifically for 3v3. 3 humans vs 2 humans and an AI is a major disadvantage. This is another instance where I see clubs backing out of matches until they find a team with an even amount of human players. So can we get a real reason to why matchmaking hasn’t been improved? Because the excuse of a low player pool doesn’t seem accurate. Not if you have clubs pretty much having to do their own matchmaking. Backing out of multiple matches until you find an even one. I imagine we’re not the only club doing this. Does EA realize if they improve matchmaking, then possibly more people will buy the game. Making the player pool larger. What does the community have to do to get matchmaking improved?
Penalties still not fixed
It is kinda unacceptable that a hockey sim, which has a base code that is anything but new, has been out nearly 2 months and the dev team can still not figure out something that its predecessors have had figured out for years. Why, 2 months in to a hockey sim's release, do we still not have any idea why penalties and stick infractions will not be called? Why are the gameplay sliders constantly resetting? Why is there a conflict between the main menu settings and the settings you experience in individual modes like BAP? Why does a person with literally 1 step of skate distance absolutely obliterate someone with a body check? Why did you sell us NHL Hitz. We bought NHL 26. What is the timetable for this to be resolved? When do you start issuing refunds? You didn't give us what you promised. Why is this ok?After this product, will you be buying NHL 27?
With the massive Be A Pro let down, the same annoying bugs in the game for all these years, false advertisement, AI IQ that continues to leave players scratching their head (on-ice IQ but as well as management IQ i.e. in franchise mode being able to trade a 2nd round pick for a low elite prospect taken top 20 in the draft AND a third rounder and the team accepting acts like you’re doing them a favour on hard trade difficulty) I’m interested to see how many people are still willing to pay $100 for a product that has shown time & time again it’s not here to improve, but here to profit. My take: the blatant disrespect for one of the most dedicated player bases in gaming has done it for me, 26 will be my last chel. We have beats partnerships and horrid Celebrini voice acting while world of chel dressing rooms are still polluted with bugs and have been for 10 ish years, AI IQ makes Helen Keller look like Nikita Kucherov, and the games CAREER MODE sitting UNCHANGED FOR 5 STRAIGHT RELEASES. And then when you finally “update” it, you add a terrible form score that only applies to one person in the entire league which is you, you add a world juniors option, make it EXTREMELY HARD (not for me let’s get that clear 🙂↕️) to stay on the roster or even make it to begin with, BUT DON’T HAVE THE OPTION TO RETURN TO WORLD JUNIORS IN THAT SEASON?! Why?! Please I need to know where the common sense is when you’re making this game! Enough of my ranting, I wanna hear yours below 👇
What Do we Gotta Do?
EA_Aljo What Does the Community Need to do to get results? I hate to be this guy who Just complains but my god man this game just isnt fun anymore. Unfortunately it the only hockey game out there and I love Hockey and Getting online and Playing some game with Buddies who live in other parts of the country/world. Listen I'll be the first to tell you I dont play every mode. I mostly play EASHL and Ones. EASHL is Just Absolute Garbage this year. Xfactors ruin the game. Xfactors Make the Attributes Irrelevant. Most the Attributes are OP. I love to hit and even I think Truculence is a Joke But it helps against players who use Wheels and Quick Edges but then to counter Truculence you Need to Use Warrior. But if you Use Truculence and Spark Plug you can launch Warrior so if you use warrior you should use Big Rig. I have 95 hitting Just Pure Attribute no truculence everytime i go to hit a guy with warrior i bounce off but once I add truculence I crush the dude. Proving that Attributes are irrelevant to some degree. Xfactors are ruining EASHL mostly because Xfactors need to be Adjusted and Tweaked and there will never be a good balance. Xfactors will continue to wreck havoc on this game. Remove Xfactors and replace the with Boost Packs +1+3+5 seen on NHL 14. Way easier and Makes Attributes relevant. Prebuilds. Another Thing Ruining this game. There are Now more Prebuilds than Custom Builds. And You Keep adding another Prebuild every Month. Get this Garbage out if the game. Add More Custom builds such as Hitting Sniper Back or Make One Universal Build where we get to Build our guy from the ground up. I cant Use The Tier 3 Truculence But multiple Prebuilds can what a joke. Skins another Dog💩 Add on that literally No one Asked for. How to Make Hockey Feel like a circus add Beaver,Moose And A Shark to the gameplay. How Lame. People are so sick of the garbage they come on here complain Share Ideas. Yet None of what Anyone asks for seems to get answered. Every year we get the Deep Dive videos. Where the start out saying. We've listend We hear you and we've worked on this ...... But in reality Nothing Changes. Its More and More added Trash. Its the removal of Features that work. WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET OUR IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS HEARD? HOW DO WE GET BACK TO HOCKEY? THIS IS THE 11 STRAIGHT YEAR OF GARBAGE. NHL 14 was the last Good game every year since has been mediocre to bad At best. now I know some people will say oh this game is better than it was last year. That isnt saying much. It might be better than last year but it isnt better than a game from 11 years ago. Fix the Game!NHL 26 1.4 Patch Notes
Hello NHL Community, here are the notes for Update 1.4 launching this Wednesday, January 21st at 1pm ET. Please complete all online games before this time as server instability is expected up to an hour after the patch deployment. Hockey Ultimate Team Additions to Hockey Ultimate Team HUT Moments Updated New scenarios and requirements will be added, allowing for more varied and exciting gameplay experiences Moments will now instantly complete as soon as the objective is met New scenarios: Penalties / Power Plays Face off locations Goalies pulled / Empty Net situations Fixed an issue where leaving the Cup Chase sub-hub and returning after reaching the Finals could cause the Finals bracket record to display incorrectly. Fixed a visual issue in My Collection where X-Factor icons were misaligned within the black border on MSP Player Panels. Gameplay Fix for goalie over sliding when performing a pad stack on an incoming shot Be A Pro Fixed an issue where perk and activities tool tip reappears after it has already been seen Fixed a visual issue where transition screens do not appear after exiting player edit screen Fixed an issue where injury headlines only occur once each season Fixed an issue where on-screen text was incorrect in magazine endorsements Fixed an issue where the Influential response to Stay on Powerplay does not show when the user has already purchased the trait to Stay on the Powerplay World of Chel Added the ability to view club name, branding and player stats on the Clubs tab Added a party indicator in the Play HUB Added the ability to see player banners in the Game Summary screen Added the ability to see player banners in the Dressing Room Added the ability to see player banners in the Matchup screen Fixed an issue with Glacia Frostwind’s uniforms appearing too light Fixed an issue where the Turkey’s neck was see through from certain angles Fixed an issue with the textures for Halloween 26 themed hoodies when equipped underneath a jersey Fixed an issue where Jean Spectre’s head flashes during intro of grudge matches Fixed an issue where party members can enter dressing rooms while in the clubs tab Fixed an issue where there can be more than one owner of a WoC club Fixed crashes after modifying Club 3v3 stats, then filtering to 6v6 powerplay/penalty kill to change role and swapping between Edit lines and Edit Strategies view Fixed an issue where users are unable to change powerplay/penalty kill player positioning using club strategies Fixed an issue where Gamertag/PSN ID is displayed in opponent player’s banner in matchmaking lobby Fixed an issue where X-Factor tier thumbnails mismatch with Loadout tabs for SCOORIN-SNP Fixed an issue where some users are unable to progress beyond round 1 in Ones Eliminator Fixed an issue where customized intro animations did not trigger when playing as Away team in Threes Eliminator Fixed an issue where Martial Arts and Disco intro animations are not oriented properly in 6v6 Club games Fixed an issue where camera can be embedded in crowd Fixed an issue with matchmaking in Ones Eliminator Franchise Fixed a crash when editing 6’10” or taller players Game Modes Fixed an issue where Play Now games would soft lock after quitting a previous Play Now game. Fixed an issue where users get stuck in the Main Menu after advancing past a Banner Art Uniforms The following uniforms have been added or updated in NHL 26 NHL Boston Bruins – Stadium Series Florida Panthers – Winter Classic New York Rangers – Winter Classic Tampa Bay Lightning – Stadium Series AHL San Diego Gulls – Third Springfield Thunderbirds - Third ECHL Trois-Rivieres Lions – Third Utah Grizzlies – Third Worcester Railers - Third Canadian Hockey League WHL Kamloops Blazers – Third Penticton Vees – Third Wenatchee Wild - Third ICEHL Steinbach Black Wings Linz – Home and Away EC IDM Warmepumpen VSV – Home and Away EC Red Bull Salzburg – Home and Away EC-KAC – Home and Away FTC – Telekom – Home and Away HC Falkensteiner Wolfe – Home and Away HC TWK Innsbruck - Home and Away HCB Sudtirol Alperia – Home and Away Fehervar AV19 – Home and Away Moser Medical Graz 99ers – Home and Away Olimpija Ljubljana – Home and Away Pioneers Vorarlberg – Home and Away Vienna Capitals – Home and Away Source
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