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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!
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) 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.
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.
EASHL player builds, what were you thinking?
Honestly, I am horrified at what you did with the builds, you have Wheels and Elite Edges, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Now you can lower or raise most of your stats by -10/+10 points, which means you have players zooming there with multiple critical values at 90+, so you can get speed 96 etc. The builds have almost always heavily favored speed, and I was hoping there would be some changes this time around. There sure were, but in the wrong direction...😅 how's one suppsed to defend against these guys with 90+ in speed, acceleration, agility, puck control, passing, deking etc. All in one build? And if you add Wheels & Elite edges to this, you can run circles around anyone. Is there a counter build that can combat these super-soldiers? I doubt it but time will tell. Any ideas, and I would really like to hear why the designers felt this was a good idea? Of course, it's early days, and things will be patched and sliders will be changed etc. But this isn't a good starting point I think
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.
EA Play 10 Hour Trial Details
Hey, NHL Fans. All the details for the NHL 26 10 hour trial can be found here. EA Play provides members with: Unlimited Access to Top EA Titles: Dive into a collection of fan-favorite series and top games, playing as much as you want as long as you're a member. Early Access Trials: Play select new-release games for up to 10 hours before they officially launch. Your progress carries over if you decide to purchase the game. Exclusive Member Rewards: Unlock special in-game challenges, rewards, and member-only content. Discounts on EA Digital Purchases: Enjoy a 10% discount on EA digital content, including full games, expansions, and in-game purchases. Full EA Play details can be found in this article.
Custom Rosters Not Loading
EA_Aljo Appears custom rosters are not loading correctly. I downloaded a custom roster and the created players aren't there. I tried both ways of downloading it from the roster sharing and not setting it as active then going to roster and setting it to active. Then I also try to set it as active right away and nothing. I know for sure the ones I downloaded have people created but don't show up.
NHL 26 Feedback and Rating
First thing is first, Hats off to the EA NHL Team on a good game they built this year. There’s definitely some changes with the gameplay and different modes they diligently worked on this past year. Some of the impressions of the game was the speed, this years game is faster and there is better skating. Second, there is better defending. I have noticed it is really easy playing defence this year than last year as there is more enhanced backwards skating. With all the impressions, let’s look at the few things that should be implemented or patched and they’re real simple for me. Bring the mypro intros to offline or online gameplay, I wish there were tunnel entrances for the offline modes. Second, make the red full pressure boards optional, not all of us enjoy the red boards flashing. Third, make the passing icon indicators optional as they were optional in last years game. Overall, a little more work has to be done on this game. It is good so far, but there needs to be more changes as stated previously. I would rate the game a 7/10. It is a step up from last years game, but the full pressure meter boards and the passing icons and intros need to change in order for me to give a better rating. Other than that, good job EA! This game is a step up from last year.NHL 26 Gameplay - Impressions and Negatives
First of all, Hats off to the EA Team on their hard work and dedication to NHL 26, it really seems they put a lot of effort into developing NHL 26. The things that impressed me the most of the Gameplay deep dive was how realistic the players overalls are. For example, in NHL 25 there wasn’t a realistic visual of how highly skilled a certain NHL player is. In the deep dive, it showed how McDavid’s speed was portrayed in the game and it looks very realistic because we’ve all seen him burn someone on the outside with his speed. I also liked how the X Factors came into play such as Bouchard’s slap shot pinging one top shelf. So far, looks good on my end. The negative aspect of the gameplay trailer was very small and simple for me. I really, really wish we could make the “Full Pressure” red boards optional. Since we have passing indicators, one time indicators, pressure meter circle all optional, why can’t we make the “Full Pressure” red boards an option? We have been asking this to be optional since NHL 24 and we all hope it is optional in NHL 26. Other than that, great job EA! This game looks like it was well worked through and let’s hope for a good season!Early Acess to full game?
If I pre-order NHL 26, do I get access to the entire game, not just HUT and WOC? I only play online vs with my buddy and we play in the “casual” standings because they won’t allow us in the competitive. There’s literally no point for us to get the game if this isn’t allowed and if it is allowed will it be available in the pre order? Cheers guys. Looking forward to a big year this game. Sincerely, Red_Light RebelsNHL 26 might be good for alumni fans
After watching the NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team deep dive, I was able to find some new players that will be coming to alumni rosters for the first time! These are all confirmed by the NHL HUT deep dive. These players are: Sergei Fedorov (Previously confirmed, likely on Red Wings alumni team), Craig Anderson (Ottawa), Carl Hagelin (Pittsburgh), Andrew Ladd (Winnipeg), Andrew Hammond (Ottawa), Nathan Gerbe (Carolina), Pekka Rinne (Nashville), Nicklas Kronwall (Detroit), and Nick Holden (Colorado). Rinne and Fedorov were frequently requested by fans, glad to see them in the game. I also like retro rosters from the 2000s-2010s, so glad to see EA is adding players from those years.
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