NHL 23: A D-man perspective
I've been playing NHL as a D-man as far back as I can remember. I play mostly 5v5 and 6v6. I've been lucky to be on Top 10 teams for the last four years with experience in LG, XHL, and 6HL. I've also...
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For the first time in forever, I think D is in an even worse place than G?
Does anyone have any tips/builds that seem to be helping?
I have actually resorted to taking all points out of stick checking since its basically utterly broken - and dumping them into hitting/passing/def awareness
I also noticed that quick pick seems to be the only gold outside of truculence that seems to be making a difference. Of course I dont have that unlocked on DD yet so I am playing build classes I wouldnt normally (e.g. TWD) in order to try out the golds that I do not have unlocked on other builds.
@IceLion68 I rely mostly on body positioning now which requires a build with high mobility since most forwards are so fast and agile on the puck. I'm often switching up but currently I'm running a PMD with Elite Edges, 90/90 on speed and acceleration (a lot of forwards now have 92 or even 93 but I find 90 to be adequate on defense) and a whopping 91 agility. I just try to contain them with my positioning and gain inside position (so attack them from their forehand side) when I'm trying to take away the puck. Don't hustle when turning to retain maximum agility and only press the poke button when you know you're in a position to recover so they don't blow past you when you're briefly glued to the ice.
I also currently have high stick checking at 85 along with Stick 'Em Up and Shutdown which does result in more successful pokes but you still have to be really careful with that R1 button.- @IceLion68 I’m still trying to figure that out myself. Seems like no one can figure out what to counteract with the massive op offense and speed. I play TWD with Gold Shutdown and Heatseeker and Truculence with big checking +4 and Defense awareness +4 boosts. Heatseeker plus a forward with big tipper is OP for clubs. I adapted not to use the stick checking anymore because EA said bye to that. Even with perks, hitting in this game is still a toss up. I don’t even pinch anymore, I just sit in the neutral zone and wait. They need to address the tuners for defense and human goalie positioning because our club is getting bored of these 9-8 games.
