Re: Game built to minimize Skill Gaps

I respect that. And I’m aware there are ways to be successful. We’ve played 250ish games as a squad and at least 125 of them we’ve allowed less than 2 goals and 50 or so shutouts. 

You can figure out the game but that’s not figuring out how hockey is actually played. 

In three on three it’s a skill game. Hitting is next to non existent. Position is key. There is no clogging up the ice in 3 on 3 or copious amounts of hitting but there is in EASHL’s version of it. 

The idea of icing a player that is a 6”5 brute in a 3 on 3 game is completely foreign in anything other than this game. Some teams may try to balance but others have 3 guys of this stature and you see danglers, snipers, and playmakers with truculence on. There is a reason for this……it’s OP

Skating backwards to protect the puck is ridiculous and not hockey but it works in the context of the game. 

And that’s fine people can like it but this is supposed to be a sim not NHL Hitz 2002. 

@ML87showIt's not a true sim and NEVER will. Way back in the day a dev that went by RedShirt said the series is like 80% realism with 20% other sprinkled in. I used to have the link til they nuked the old forums. So if you take it like that then there is lots that looks like a hockey game with things like LTing, hitting, certain goals working pretty much all the time, not having full control of our stick, and some others as the 20% arcade sprinkled in.

Yeah I hear ya. And that makes sense and something I also expect. I just think it’s gone a little too far in the unrealistic/ridiculous style of play. I know there are ways to play it and have success but in the past that hasn’t meant abandoning traditional hockey tactics. It just meant that you had to deal with/ cover exploits. 

I think the really change has been the X factors as well. Like if you have unstoppable force on you can with stand a hit but without it you get rag dolled constantly. Same with the hitting and how ineffective it is with out truculence versus how over powered it is when it’s on. And that’s why you see almost everyone with these on. 
These imbalances cause everyone to shift and play this way more than ever before and compounds the problem. 

So I’m not suggesting for a ground up rebuild. The balancing is the real issue and that is completely fixable. 

Side note: I do think the small builds are way too weak and easily knocked off the puck. Should have a bit more resilience. 

@ML87showSmall builds tend to be inferior in the offensive zone because they are less likely to have speed to get away from bigger players. Small builds are just fine overall you just have to keep moving in the zone getting open or creating space for your team.

The esport scene banned these perks/traits from use at all in their games.
This means that both the Gold and Silver traits/perks will be banned from play for the following:
Truculence
Unstoppable Force
No Contest

So don't be shocked if these aren't nerfed for NHL 24.  

I get how a small build works but it doesn’t change how rag dolled they get. What you say can be true and hitting can also be OP. Both things are true. 
And I’m successful at it but I also take more hits than I should especially the late hits they allow and the copious amount of winded get ups. 
It’s still imbalanced because of how effective it is in the scope of a 3 on 3 game where there should be better spacing and less hitting. 

That’s really good to know about the e sports. Speaks to the fact that the X factors are having a negative impact on the game. 

Like 95 hitting is used less without truculence and at that point you don’t need to have as many points into hitting. 

I have a dangler with 95 deking and unless I have the highspeed zone ability on he loses the puck whenever attempting deked at speed. 

In any case if it went back to the attributes alone this game would be the best one they’ve made to date. The X factors and zone abilities are awful.

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@KlariskraysNHL wrote:

@ML87showIt's not a true sim and NEVER will. Way back in the day a dev that went by RedShirt said the series is like 80% realism with 20% other sprinkled in. I used to have the link til they nuked the old forums. So if you take it like that then there is lots that looks like a hockey game with things like LTing, hitting, certain goals working pretty much all the time, not having full control of our stick, and some others as the 20% arcade sprinkled in.

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NO WONDER THAT'S WHY NONE OF THEM USE IT! I was wondering haha because they're so good at protecting the puck that they could completely abuse that system and I wondered why they didn't. Makes sense now. Wow. 

Surprised they didn't add close quarters to that list though but they need goals.