Hitting acceleration reverted today 2/5

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@GrundleDemon333 wrote:

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@EA_Aljo wrote:

I agree. I preferred the changes to hitting, but obviously much of the community did not feel the same. I'll say it once again, we get requests for the game to be less arcade and then get complaints when that happens. 

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Sorry @EA_Aljo, but this is a gross oversimplification and highly misleading. You omitted the part where EA intentionally nerfed already clunky defensive stick mechanics in an arcade way in order to aid arcade offensive puck possession.  We know this to be true because poke check and DSS did not used to be this slow and penalized (speed penalties and actual penalties). As has been stated multiple times in the last couple years, it is absurdly arcade to give a player carrying the puck more ability and agility with his stick than the player without the puck. You compound that when you also allow that puck-carrying player the arcade ability to rather easily shed body and stick contact with no or little impact to maintaining/quickly regaining possession.  As a result, puck possession in this game nowhere near resembles the NHL (and neither does defensive stick use/abilities). I personally have made numerous requests for the game to be more "sim" in this regard. So to characterize the revert as “less arcade” without acknowledging the overall context or balance issues created by the devs decisions towards offensive arcade in the first place is an irresponsible message to send to the community in my view. 

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I didn't omit anything. This is just my personal opinion from being on these forums since well before I even worked here. When we make something more difficult and widen the skill gap, we get a lot of negative feedback. Poke checks causing too many penalties, having pre-made builds and making hitting less affective are a few examples. These were all very negatively received and ended up being changed.

I think we have a good balance now of pokes not causing too many penalties, but I'm very much not a fan of the slow down from it. I'm also not claiming that the game doesn't have arcade elements. I'd surely like to see those reduced as well. It would be good to see the carrier not have as high a success rate with picking up the puck after contact. I'd rather the puck be dislodged more so the defender has a better chance of gaining control. Defense could use a boost in general. At the same time though, it's a position that takes skill to play well. Good defenders are going to be able to defend against the puck carrier. Whether that's poke checks, hits or just good positional play, it all takes skill to succeed at. Yes. It's a challenge. Maybe too much. I'd certainly like it if that were balanced better without making either side overpowered.

My own personal sentiment is very similar to how most of you feel. I want a game that leans sim, but not completely. That would be a lot more frustrating than fun. However, not everyone has the same definition of fun. There are those here that say the game is ruined because they don't like the hitting mechanics. I like the changes to skill stick for hitting and prefer that over 23. I'm just not a fan of the Total Control method of hitting and one button controls in general. It feels more natural to "wind up" for the hit. This is just an example of how fun isn't the same for everyone.