This used to be a game that took skill to be good at. Many of us have spent decades trying to master the skills to get where we are now. It's more than obvious that EA have given up on us loyal fans and dumbed the game down that much that just about anyone can pick up the game and start winning. From day one the pressure system has been flawed. Don't let them kid you on it was a good idea and that they have tried to improve it since. It's in place so those that have any skill or have a stronger team are held back due to ridiculous fatigue mechanics and useless line changes that work when they want. How often do you see the CPU totally fatigued and unable to skate at full speed. When do you ever see the CPU having a full team on the ice that's totally fatigued... You don't! When the opposition has full pressure it wouldn't matter if you had a full team of 99 ovr players, you ain't getting that puck until there's a stop in the game. The opposition turns into super human hockey players no matter if they are rated 60 or 70. Yet my 95 players have turned into special Olympic ice hockey players because there's been a few shots on goal. Don't get me started on Total Control. If the pressure system didn't level the playing field they sure made sure it did with that addition. Forget the ridiculous one button dekes because in the grand scheme of things they are pretty useless during a game. It's the one button guided missile checking. It takes zero skill to check using total control and is more effective than those using skill stick, which takes timing and skill to be good at. If you really want to level the playing field make the objectives and moments easier because as they are just now you either need to buy packs or spent every minute of your spare time trying to achieve the virtually impossible. Like who thought it was a good idea to to add 'score 4 goals in the bottom left corner with <add player> on Superstar. I tried d at the beginning when the game was released, now I don't even look at them. If I do complete any of the main objectives it's purely down to luck. Why would I want to add a lower rated player to my team to be rewarded with a power up or a event card I won't use. Honestly I can't believe how out of touch EA and their devs are with the NHL community, especially the loyal fan base.

@KlariskraysNHL wrote:@KidShowtime1867You can't win this one. They just want the old version back that gave 100% safety of it getting out of the zone. They don't care that Mike explained they are content with the results.Well of course you can't "win" an argument when you're on the side of justifying artificially making something harder to do in a video game than IRL. Of course you're going to be facing an uphill battle when you remove a real life solution to a real life problem all for the sake of difficulty in a game. I mean, SDS could hold a press conference about why sinkers will always lead to flyballs regardless of ratings, timing, PCI placement as they see this pitch as a "get of jail free card" when runners are on, but that probably just wouldnt end up making much sense to the fans of baseball now would it? That's where the fundamental disconnect is betweeen both parties in these almost daily discussions. One side is asking "why I can't do soemthing I see 400 times a night in an NHL game to solve the exact problem im facign?" and the other is saying "because you cant, so git gud" which naturally leads to a lack of a constructive result.Now, I come in peace here as i feel like the pressure system could certainly be a good addition to the game as long as they stop plasterign the timer in the middle of the ice and remove commentary lines mentioning the feature like its a real life thing (same with x-factors). But to see where im (and probably moany other IRL hockey fans) are coming from, I have to pose a question:IRL, what do you see as the primary solution teams resort to when hemmed in and tired? Do you see one of them sprint 100% one way, do a 360 degree spin at full speed that would put a zero-trun lawn mower to shame, then pass it to their wide open wing on the far side that the offensive team's D is inexplicably backing away from for no reason? No, You see a flip dump. It's that simple.So how do we find a middle groudn between "it shouldnt be easy" and "it should be artifically impossible?" Well the answer is quite simple actually:If players in NHL were actually held to the physical limitations of reality when it comes to their speed, their agility, their accelration, and had to actually account for incidental contact, it would make forechecking immensely easier. It would be such a night and day difference, time and space wouldn't feel abundant, having a feel for the sport would be required rather simply relying on "twitch skills" and it would result in more relaistic puck movement, more realistic defense, and more realistic offense. If you then added a polished AI that correctly executed real life forechecking strategies, getting a flip dump off would be much harder organically rather than the current alternative we see today.So there you have it. It's that simple (im not saying the execution is simple, im saying the high-level approach or "vision" if you have it, is that simple). Idk why we cant get to this point as a community. If your avatar/team is tired, held to laws of physics, and have a competent forecheck applied to you, getting time and space is going to be hard in itself. No need for anyone's "vision" to impede or artifically make a routine play impossible. Just approaching the sport in the way its actually played vs an arcade game with werewolves and superman entrances solves everyone;'s problem here.Again, I don't believe this is an "easy" fix when it comes to executing the vision, but is this "approach" not an ideal one? Imo, having players be able to do everything they can IRL and having real strateiges and tools to make the execution hard would be the perfect scenario to me. Is there not 100% agreement here? We actually believe making something artifically harder is good and should remain? I mean, tbh I don't care what mike, johnny, jim, tim, pat, tommy, dan, shane, curt, or anyone has to say, I will never simply accept the artifical limitation of such a routine play IRL in a game to make said game harder or so it aligns with someones vision. The "vision" of in-zone play being rewarded can be achieved via better forechecking and realistic skating, that should be tried and should fail long before we ever get to removing basic skills of the sport.

@NeonSkyline21 wrote:@KidShowtime1867 wrote:@PlayoffError wrote:I've posted this one before ( there's two clips in the video, only the first is relevant ). Offensive player exposes the puck and it should be a trivial play to poke the puck away. The puck is both accurate and strong enough to knock his stick away, but somehow completely misses the puck. Couldn't pull that off on-ice if I tried but it's a regular occurrence in this game. Two for interceptions. First one I've got inside position with my stick on the ice, just somehow miss the puck entirely while the offensive player just inches past my stick picks it up clean and gets a shot off.Second it a bit more forgivable, but still frustrating. Again, inside position but instead of breaking up the pass while it's in front of me, the game decides I'll try to pick it off on the far side of my body which opens up the opportunity for the offensive player to get the puck and the goal.Finally, someone pulls through. Of course, these are from HUT. As I've said time and time again; realism down to the pixel should not be expected in HUT. No attribute parity, top players are all similarly skilled.. RNG will be more consequential than it should be. Brother, you can't beg for videos every time someone criticizes the game and then say, "No, not those videos!" C'mon, man. Idk man. You really "dissected" that dude's videos by saying they were HUT clips and therefore didn't make sense and then when he responded with, "No actually the clips are from club," you just said, "fair enough." I don't think that's a good faith discussion, honestly. This is why I've taken an "anti video" stance on this site. Videos are always requested to discuss "x" but when videos are uploaded, the "x" that the OP wanted to discuss is rarely discussed and the video starts being nitpicked for "y", "z", and everything else that can be seen. The community needs to be comfortable with discussion HIGH LEVEL concepts without a video. If a video is requested, the OP point NEEDS to be discussed. Not the missed the poke, not the clipping, not the less than optimal decision making, not the game mode and why you can't expect "x" because of "insert game mode here" explanation, but the actual main point of why the video was uploaded.When these videos are nitpicked to death and essentially dismissed due to "skill issue bro" it forfeits all opportunity to gain anything constructive from the topic at hand. If we all can't talk about the theory of how this game should look and feel without video, then what are we all doing here? If we can't agree on the fundamental direction of the series in theory, how can we properly provide feedback to the development team? Thank you for the addition. Let's keep this positive approach rolling and get the devs some actionable, constructive feedback!

@Stubo_NHL24Total control is a joke,they nerfed the puck flip to ensure that the pressure system worked ,where is if they left it alone ,in my opinion it would have helped when trying to clear the puck like in real hockey which this game represents less and less every year,and I really hate the new skill stick ,the tethering system is absolutely garbage even with it off the goalie feels delayed, my opinion worse NHl so far

@KidShowtime1867These are not tutorials. I specifically said tutorials like MLB, NBA, NFL, FC, UFC & even WWE have. Don't do your brown-nosing Gimmick on me, I don't find it cute

The irony of trying so hard for years to make the game into a closer hockey simulation with "true performance skating" "Scientist physics" and all that stuff and all they seem to accomplish is making the game less fun to play while being more unrealistic than ever. Defending is super unrealistic, attacking is unrealistic, goaling is unrealistic, skating, hitting, agility, puck magnet, etc etc. Celebrations are worse by the year. It seems like everything is just getting worse. The game has never looked less like real hockey than it does now when you combine all the broken builds/mechanics and the best way to see how bad it is, is playing 3s where everything is amplified 10 folds due to extra space etc.

Nhl 24 the game for everyone and anyone.

169 Replies

Treatmentworke66
Seasoned Ace
11 months ago
@Stubo_NHL24Total control is a joke,they nerfed the puck flip to ensure that the pressure system worked ,where is if they left it alone ,in my opinion it would have helped when trying to clear the puck like in real hockey which this game represents less and less every year,and I really hate the new skill stick ,the tethering system is absolutely garbage even with it off the goalie feels delayed, my opinion worse NHl so far
llamaverox
11 months ago
Yeah the lack of skill gap, one button hitting, and overall ability for people to stay in the game by getting weak goals where the goalies make mistakes for wide open nets is punishing.
Destroyer95
New Hotshot
10 months ago
Yeah I totally agree. I grinded out every battlepass so far since 24 came out and played regularly, but what really did it for me was the update a couple of months ago that made all the AI worse. That broke the game and ruined the experience for me, as I thought the game was in a pretty decent spot right before then, all things considered. I'll still play a handful of times here and there with the boys, but I don't have a desire to grind out 75 levels again with the state this game is in currently.
llamaverox
10 months ago
@Destroyer95 I truthfully thought it was bad on release, I didn't want to buy it after the beta got convinced by my EASHL gaming friends and have not been a fan of it.

My biggest complaint is it feels like if you put effort into being active, the game rewards the other player because the puck control is based on standing still. So the more active you try to play, the less success you have. There are some good goals scored sure, but how many bad ones go in before that? 2 or 3.

In Hut it's worse. The only play people do is run to the red line, do a move to skate along it and pass backdoor for a cross crease tap in where the far side defender is facing the other way and doesn't even attempt to cover it, leading to 2 or 3 goals a game.

Point shots that get tipped.

Or shots from the circle, or slot after spinning around or cheesing the non controlled AI to block where you are going for easy rips. As AI won't switch to the guy with the puck if they skate right in front of him. Meaning you have to switch giving up momentum. With Usually the goalie moving out of the way if you get it clean. For snipes that feel cheesy.

Which is what bothers me everything feels cheesy. One button hits let's people hold it to get a speed boost meaning they can run a guy out of position and it won't matter. As goalies bail out what isn't a money play.
Destroyer95
New Hotshot
10 months ago
@llamaverox wrote:

My biggest complaint is it feels like if you put effort into being active, the game rewards the other player because the puck control is based on standing still. So the more active you try to play, the less success you have. There are some good goals scored sure, but how many bad ones go in before that? 2 or 3.
100%. Spot on.
BigCastle00
Rising Scout
10 months ago
All good points. This game has been the same thing for years. It’s not about skill. Countless times I’ve outshot another player by at least twenty plus shots and have lost to them on their 9 shot attempts, off of these rinky dink attempts. The game just has so many glaring glitches. The updates are complete garbage and in my opinion have made the game even worse off. MLB the Show has been out for 2 weeks and already they have done 3 or so updates to things on the game. With NHL we are lucky to get one a month and they usually make the game more unplayable
KidShowtime1867
Hero
10 months ago
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
This used to be a game that took skill to be good at. Many of us have spent decades trying to master the skills to get where we are now.
It still takes skill. Many of the 'skills' you may have mastered will be fine-tuned, adjusted or flat out removed as the game engine evolves. Adaptability is really the best skill to have when it comes to being competitive in a yearly sports title. If you took time to master The Michigan and are now salty that it can be done with one button - then master the one-button approach. Adapt. And stop giving credence to those who claim one-button Michigan's are ruining the entire game. They're not. I've played countless Div 1 6's games and countless OVP games and have only seen the Michigan attempted a handful of times and only been scored on once with it.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
It's more than obvious that EA have given up on us loyal fans
They have not. There's a ton of patch notes that revolve around updates made to this year's game based directly on feedback obtained here.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
dumbed the game down that much that just about anyone can pick up the game and start winning.
None of the changes made in NHL 24 have given anybody (new or old users) the ability to just "start winning" at will. Some of the changes may have made the game more accessible to certain users, improving their ability to win more consistently. Conversely, older users who get stuck in old habits, refuse to learn anything new and otherwise dismiss any and all advancements in the control category are being schooled by perceived 'newbies' and aren't happy about it. Again - you need to adapt.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
It's (pressure system) in place so those that have any skill or have a stronger team are held back due to ridiculous fatigue mechanics and useless line changes that work when they want.
Not true. The pressure system was introduced to refresh the meta and reward users who are able to successfully get high quality scoring chances while simultaneously preventing the other team from clearing the puck by way of causing turnovers, landing big D-Zone hits - and this is all BEFORE the pressure system is activated. Once activated, the onus is on the defending team to navigate that puck out of their zone by way of flip dumping (which does work, despite what some trolls here will try to tell you), making passing plays, chipping the puck off the glass, etc.
All of these tools are available to you. Don't listen to haters who insist everything on the defensive side of the puck is nerfed, broken, etc. A defeatist attitude will ensure you continue to entrench yourself in bad habits.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
When do you ever see the CPU having a full team on the ice that's totally fatigued... You don't!
Because the CPU understands line changes and when to call them. If you're doing auto line changes, then start dumping the puck once you've heard the coach call for a change. If you're carrying it into the zone and causing turnovers, your players will abort their line change. You need to get the puck deep to get a line change. The CPU knows this inherently.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
When the opposition has full pressure it wouldn't matter if you had a full team of 99 ovr players, you ain't getting that puck until there's a stop in the game
This just isn't true. If you're experiencing this consistently, then I would suggest lowering the CPU difficulty until you've been able to master the skill of getting the puck out of your zone.
Before the attacks come, I despise the pressure system. However, the changes made throughout the year have improved my general outlook on the 'feature'. That said, I'd still love for the gimmicky nature of it to be removed in favor of a system that penalizes teams in a similar way for keeping a line out too long while forcing manual line changes in modes like OVP and HUT. Being able to manage your lines should be introduced into the current META and I believe the 'pressure system' would jive nicely with something like that.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:using total control and is more effective than those using skill stick, which takes timing and skill to be good at.
The current game is intended to be played with total control, while users still have the option to use skill stick. The only change in Total Control is one button dekes and one button hitting. These still take skill and timing. If you're still using skill stick, do yourself a favor and start learning total control.
@Stubo_NHL24 wrote:
Honestly I can't believe how out of touch EA and their devs are with the NHL community, especially the loyal fan base.
They've been pretty communicative this year. Just because the game doesn't immediately give in to your specific requests, doesn't mean they're out of touch or not listening.
@Treatmentworke66 wrote:,they nerfed the puck flip to ensure that the pressure system worked
Here's a reminder that flipping the puck does work. And Another.
Treatmentworke66
Seasoned Ace
10 months ago
@KidShowtime1867 Here's a reminder to you no it doesn't
KidShowtime1867
Hero
10 months ago
@Treatmentworke66 wrote:
@KidShowtime1867Here's a reminder to you no it doesn't
So how do you explain the fact that I've provided dozens of in-game examples of it working just fine?
Treatmentworke66
Seasoned Ace
10 months ago
@KidShowtime1867 You've provided nothing of what the op was talking about