Isn't it kind of insulting to the NHL and the sport of hockey
That EA thinks in order to people to be entertained playing a hockey game it has to be a complete exaggeration of the sport?
The game is full of hip checks and Michigan goals, is all offense and no defense, and has almost no puck battles, dump ins/outs, or loose pucks.
If one of the "kids" that are apparently so enthralled with fancy dekes and crazy hip checks (that happen a couple times a year in real hockey)that are EA's target market for this game go to a real NHL game, they will be really disappointed to see a lot of physical puck battles, board play, loose pucks, chips out of/into the zone, etc.
With hockey back, just watch the games. See how often players lose possession, how hard it is to break out of the zone and get through the neutral zone cleanly, how little each player possesses the puck before moving it, how many times two players race for a puck just to essentially get a "puck chop" at it to get it out of their zone or into the other team's zone. Then play or watch NHL 24 and see how little of that there is in this game.
I understand no one wants to play a game that is a complete simulation of the sport, that would be boring.
But my god, there should be way more dump ins than Michigan attempts in typical game of video game hockey, regardless of how "sim" you want it to be, and that is not the case with NHL 24. Unbelievable.
@NeonSkyline21 as somebody who plays VS as well, I will say one thing. Online VS is hands down the best balanced mode out of every game mode this year.
@Jagavekov while I agree with some of the things you mentioned (like Michigan attempts being through the roof and hip-checks being auto-explosions), I think some of the things you mentioned wanting to see ARE in fact in the game.
I only play Online Versus so I can only talk about that mode but I utilize the following things in every game I play:
Dump ins: A lot of high-ranked versus players use the 1-4 neutral zone forecheck and are really good at taking away your carry options. Usually the best tactic in this case is to dump the puck with speed.
Defense: Obviously the game has defense. I'm averaging a AGA of exactly 1.00 right now.
Loose pucks: I utilize the "puck-chop" to quickly move the puck along whenever I'm in a race to the puck in my defensive zone. Works very well.
I think one thing you need to come to terms with is that, even in real life, dump-ins (which you seem to be in love with) aren't "fun" to use as a strategy. We get frustrated with dudes at IRL pickup/beer-league when they just dump the puck instead of trying to make a play or playing it back to the defense. While they ARE effective in the game if used at the right time (the neutral zone trap I was talking about earlier), they're not as fun to use and can be risky if you don't use them correctly.
So, I get that you're frustrated at the moment, but I urge you to open your mind a bit. Maybe you're only playing WoC modes, in which case, idk!
First of all, you might have used dump-ins to beat the 1-4 in previous years, as did I, but not this year. The players in this game have a hard time getting enough power when dumping the puck to get it from the redline to the opponent's blueline, never mind getting it all the way to the opposite corner. And the defencemen with the vertical reach and catching ability of Megatron make dump-ins even less viable this year.
Second of all, the game absolutely doesn't have much defense or loose pucks. It is one controlled possession after another, like basketball. I find that boring, I don't like basketball, I like hockey. If you are only giving up one goal per game its because you probably control the puck in the opponent's end most of the game.
Dump-ins are not fun in this game because it is so difficult to forecheck. The odds are so against you making a turnover that it is just giving possession away. It could be fun if some of the defensive tools were more useful, and not every mechanic (and the momentumless skating) blatantly favored the puck carrier.
There are multiple times in this gif where in real life, either possession would be lost or a player would dump the puck off the glass or into the zone:
The first player who gets the pass and sprints to just before the redline with two opposing players in pursuit then stops and hovers horizontally with no momentum being accounted for whatsoever would have probably chipped the puck along the boards and taken a hit (or at least tried to avoid one) in real life.
The second player who did the Hokey Pokey in the neutral zone (again with momentumless skating physics) to avoid two opposing players then makes the pass to gain the zone would have probably either dumped the puck in.
These may seem like small plays to most people but they add up to the game being way too in control, with players and teams maintaining complete possession of the puck for too long. Again, it resembles basketball or 2010's Barcelona soccer more than hockey. What makes hockey fun is the constant changes of possession, loose pucks, the physicality, the effect that skating momentum has on the play, etc. This game is way too in control like basketball, its boring and not realistic.
Does this look like hockey to you:
One team controlling the puck for 20 seconds with a barrage of gliding with the stick held out to one side, backhand passes, and extremely passive defending with no contact or physicality whatsoever? It looks like basketball, not hockey.
@Jagavekov Well said! I'll be 100% honest with you, this is probably one of the first times I've seen HUT examples used where the offensive players are actually good and know the mechanics to look good.
@PernellKarl027The main point of this thread was a discussion on the mechanics of the game being abused with people posting clips of mechanics being abused and generally what players are having to deal with during these games. Some people turned it into a critique of how people play the game, and even going as far as straight up telling people what they did or didn't do in a game. If you're going to tell me how to play the game then I'm going to ask you to bring your stats because I'm going to bring mine if you want to turn this into a, "What I would've done and what you should've done discussion" because I want to know exactly who's trying to coach me on how I play. Especially when the whole preface of posting in this thread is about the game's mechanics and NOT how you should be telling people how to play the game the way you do.
@KidShowtime1867 This. Why do people feel like EA NHL isn’t hockey? It’s the closest I’ve felt to being in the NHL, and likely the closest I’ll ever get.
@PernellKarl027The main point of this thread was a discussion on the mechanics of the game being abused with people posting clips of mechanics being abused and generally what players are having to deal with during these games. Some people turned it into a critique of how people play the game, and even going as far as straight up telling people what they did or didn't do in a game. If you're going to tell me how to play the game then I'm going to ask you to bring your stats because I'm going to bring mine if you want to turn this into a, "What I would've done and what you should've done discussion" because I want to know exactly who's trying to coach me on how I play. Especially when the whole preface of posting in this thread is about the game's mechanics and NOT how you should be telling people how to play the game the way you do.
You don’t have to be a TOP player in EASHL 6's to know hockey or have a discussion with you. Why would someone with lesser stats can not chime in in a discussion of a play without you looking down on them ?
Look, you did it again in your last post right above 👆
You said:
@Jagavekov Well said! I'll be 100% honest with you, this is probably one of the first times I've seen HUT examples used where the offensive players are actually good and know the mechanics to look good.
You seem to discriminate the HUT player base, as if it was surprising to you that that said player was actually good 🤔
Im an OFFLINE player only. I’ve played all my life, I’ve watched games all my life and I sure know how to play the game even if I’m not TOP Cheese in EASHL. Lots of people are in the same boat around these parts and maybe they play offline, maybe they play 3's, maybe they play HUT, maybe they play VS. But the fact is, there’s no need for a pissing contest.
The only play I’ve commented on in this thread was the play along the board, and I still believe it was a very bad play on both ends.
And the fact that you guys (online peeps) are always talking about mechanics of the game, makes me wonder how you guys actually play the game ? Seems like you are always trying to beat and fight against the mechanics/metas/glitch/exploits instead of just playing hockey. At the end or the day, that must be getting to you guys and in my opinion that’s not how the beautiful game of hockey should be played 😒
One team controlling the puck for 20 seconds with a barrage of gliding with the stick held out to one side, backhand passes, and extremely passive defending with no contact or physicality whatsoever? It looks like basketball, not hockey.
How do you not see the other team constantly missing hits, mashing poke check and generally chasing the puck carrier?
I see a team completely owning the puck. Defensively, you've got players all over the ice, chasing the puck carrier but also being incredibly passive in other moments when they shouldn't be.
This is also HUT. Attributes are all over the place, synergies on top of that.. it's a mode that doesn't lend itself to real hockey plays at all. If you're playing HUT for a 'real hockey' experience, you're ALWAYS going to be disappointed. always.
@Jammalammalam wrote: @JagavekovWell said! I'll be 100% honest with you, this is probably one of the first times I've seen HUT examples used where the offensive players are actually good and know the mechanics to look good.
But he's saying that the offensive players are exploiting haha
When I look at that, I see hockey. Yes, you don't get passing icons or a pressure meter when you watch a broadcast game on TV, but this also isn't meant to look like you're watching hockey on TV. It's a video game and exceptions are made to improve playing the game. Which is the intent to begin with. That people are going to actually play the game and not just watch 2 AI teams play each other so they can replicate watching a TV broadcast. The last thing I would think about when seeing that gif is a Christmas tree. I get you're exaggerating, but the complaints that this game doesn't resemble anything like real hockey seem pretty ridiculous. I think anyone can look at the game and recognize it's hockey.
I know the added elements that help with gameplay are distracting to the purists and hope we have an option to disable them at some point in the future.
