Re: NHL25 Controls

I can understand moving puck protect away from holding the X (PS5) button… what I don’t understand is the logic behind holding my stick on the left or right side of my body then engaging in a puck protect.  If you have ever played hockey, then you will understand that I can hold my stick on the left or right side of my body and continue to skate at full speed. There is no logical sense behind “if the stick is on my left/right side, then your puck protecting”. 

I want you to understand clearly that changing the skill stick from what it was in the previous 10 games, is the reason me and every player I know did not buy NHL24. So, if you're fine with that, and won’t allow for players to change the controls on which they play the game, then I guess you’ve lost a 15+ year customer for good. I can’t think of any other sports game in history that changes the controls and doesn’t allow you to use the controls you want. It is really self-defeating from a business perspective. 

Cheers mate 

@FlowBacco 

That's not the way it works in the game though. You hold down hustle and move left or right. You're not going forehand/backhand to hold your stick out and protect it. Your player will shield their body better when protecting the puck while skating. Instead of being able to exploit this mechanic to backskate unrealistically.

Many people made the switch to Total Control. Many others stuck with skill stick. Personally, I kept using skill stick and remapped the fake shot to a paddle on the underside of an Elite controller because I was constantly accidentally hitting this when stick handling. So far, you're the first I've heard that specifically didn't get the game only because puck protect changed. We've had more positive feedback on this since it removed the exploit that a very large part of the community did not like.

So, just to be clear, if I’m skating forward, an I hold my R3 stick to the left or right, then I won’t automatically engage in a puck protect? Because this is what ruined the game for me, you can no longer go left and right on the R3 stick to mimic actual stick handling in hockey. 

@FlowBacco 

Skating forward alone doesn't engage it. You have to be in hustle and then move left or right. This is very different from holding your stick out. That only happens when stickhandling to your forehand/backhand. You can still do that when hustle isn't activated. Which, is a lot more realistic as you shouldn't be able to stickhandle when hustling.

I dont know which people Ea is listen to but me and everone i know has stopped playing this game since the change of controls and the hitting 

@FlowBacco  I am sorry but just like many others who complain and complain, it gets tiresome and I am here to defend it. You said "it removed the fun of skill from the game and dangling in a sense" which has to be the most contradictory statement about the controls. You can skate at top speed and you can even protect the puck at near top speed (which only the superstars can do while at full speed) but it is physically impossible to puck handle while at top speed. Again you could be near top speed but to be at top speed while moving left to right with the puck is insanity, again unless you are a top class superstar. Any ways back to what you said, there is a skill added to puck protect (you HAVE to let go to then begin stickhandling) which is why people are complaining because it is harder to do. The typical thing for this community is something gets harder, so people complain about it. 

NHL 19 - The poke check hitting the skate of the player would guarantee a tripping call. Caused 10 penalties a game because people weren't used to NOT SPAMMING the poke.

NHL 22 - Passing changes requiring more precise passing and punishing players who over cooked passes to bounce of their sticks.

NHL 24 - The Goalie Tether System (could have been fixed with a quick tweak of the location of the stick for post hug) but instead, the goalie community crucified EA with one person saying "they wanted to be able to play with one hand".

NHL 24 - The new hitting system requiring precise accuracy when going for a hit and again PUNISHING them for missing. Added a skill of knowing when to hit and when to shove. People still want it reverted though.
NHL 24 - The hitting boost mechanic was removed and it became HARDER to hit. Yet people complained and it was quickly reverted within a week. 

All of the above are examples of the game being made tougher and the community complaining about it. So yes the puck protect is on the RS. Learn the skill of how to let go to start stick handling and stop complaining. 

I realize someone like you who probably had no success and low win % on the previous controls would have this perspective. It’s also hilarious your someone who probably never played real hockey at a high level would say you can’t stick handle left to right while at top speed. Please refrain from trying to come across as well informed and educated on hockey as your entire comment is contradictory to that. I understand your only experience with the hockey is on a videogame console. Please refrain from commenting on my posts, the game is terrible, and the least played of any in recent memory. Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.  

@hiperay has been around for so many years and is honestly a good player. To say he probably would have no success and a low win % is just your way of dismissing his points. Yeah you can stick handle at top speed, but in the real NHL constant defensive pressure put a strain on people and they mess up. Not everyone is Connor McDavid. 

@FlowBaccoOkay since we want to talk like that, I realize someone who lacks skill wants the game to be easier. I am sorry you lack the ability to get better at this game. I am sorry you have the inability to let go of the RS at the right moment so you can move the puck to the opposite side of where it was. My entire statement you said is contradictory, but you provide literally no proof of that? Sure I didn't play a lot of hockey you got me there, but I am smart enough to have an education and know that when you are diverting your brain to two different tasks (in this case skating at top speed and moving the puck side to side) they will not be performed at 100% efficiency. It might be close to 100% but never full.
Taken from verywellmind.com
"Multitasking takes a serious toll on productivity. Our brains lack the ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time—in moments where we think we're multitasking, we're likely just switching quickly from task to task."
This is how you make a counter to a statement with facts. I would like to not come to your TEDTalk ever again on the count of I might lose more brain cells by the time I have finished your zero proof statements on a forum but I must because people like you need to stop complaining or you will ruin this game.
P.S. Maybe I should go give you an old school Nintendo controller and you can play using just two buttons and a d-pad since the controllers of the current generation have too many options and are just too hard for you to utilize correctly.

Sorry Aljo, I am just tired of people attacking you and EA for the stuff you guys are doing right.

I stopped reading your novel after you said “no, I never played hockey” because that’s all I needed to see. Anyone who plays in the ECHL and above can move the puck left to right at full speed without puck protecting. I know that must seem crazy to a house player like yourself but that’s reality. Enjoy living in your virtual fantasy, maybe try some more positive hobbies than commenting on random people’s posts, especially when your completely outmatched mentally and never played the game in real life 😘 

🥱🥱🥱 send your 800 word essays to your pen pal son. You may have well never played hockey if you don’t think you can move your stick left to right while skating at full speed 🤣🤣🤣. You have no idea what your talking about. Have fun buying your in game purchases for your EA overlord sweetie. I’ve won this argument. You’ve done nothing but talk about multitasking. Here’s some multitasking for you, me living my life while also owning you on a community message board 😘😘😘 

Still waiting on one actual grown up fact from you without the use of cute emojis or nicknames that makes my scientifically proven statement false? All this is showing me is that I am having a debate with a child who can't form one rational thought for themselves. I refer you to this if you want to be immature about responses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0

If we were all meant to be like McDavid, our player builds in EASHL wouldn't average out to be 78 overall.

Like yeah, the skating is always high in terms of speed and acceleration, but that's usually at the expense of agility and/or balance (plus Slapshot accuracy and power, obviously). I think eashl builds need a lot of work done to them but that's besides the point 

This is the one warning about personal attacks before this thread gets shut down. Respect each other's opinions, please. 

Stick handling in stride, at top speed, is very unrealistic. This is something you just don't see in the real world and it's replicated in our game.

 I have never, and will absolutely never ever ever ever play the game online. And yet, I’m forced to suffer a crappy change to the mechanics I’ve used for years, because people in a game mode i never play exploited it. This is the problem with sports games as a whole! Changes are made for online, that negatively affect offline players with seemingly no regard for the offline players. I’m offline! Let me spam-protect the puck, let me truck my opponent with little effort! Wtf does it matter when I’m playing against the computer?!? End your annual release! Split the game! Make Chel its own game, make it an annual subscription. But for the love of god give us hockey lovers a game that’s actually playable and enjoyable offline in the comfort of our living room that isn’t some arcadey forced-competitive

Edit: Removed swearing. Per the Answers HQ rules, make sure your posts are free of profanity. -CM

I have to agree with Flow here. I don't know who you guys got feedback from. But my friends and I are all elite 1s every season and our biggest complaint is the stick handling / puck protection. There was no reason to remove puck protect from the A button. Really disappointed to here that you will not be reverting back to the old controls. As someone who has been playing this game for 20 years now I can honestly say, to completely re map certain controls was one of the worst decisions EA has made. In my opinion this was the new Devs coming in last year and trying to make their impact felt my changing the controls. That is fine if it has a positive impact on the game, very few people that play at a competive level agree with that change. But just like every other video game has done in recent years, everything gets catered to the average player to reduce the skill gap.

A simple fix would have been to have puck protect override the LT or vice versa. Simply cancel one out when someone is trying to use both. No different then how trying to go backhand or forehand used to cancel your hustle.

@edpikulski 

If you and your friends are Elite 1s, then you all should be able to handle this skill change with ease. The highest level rank in our game should stand out among the rest. If you can’t have the mechanical skill to remove the thumb from the hustle button whenever you want to begin deking and instead want the game to do it automatically for us, than that Elite 1 rank has not been earned IMO. It is a skill that forces players to be more active on the thumbsticks which raises the skill gap in the game further. If it can’t be done, than some time needs to be spent getting the muscle memory down in practice mode, not requesting the devs to make the controls easier.

The puck protect overtakes the stick handling even when you're not on the hustle at times. It's a game at the same time. People want to be able to stick handle freely. It's more annoying foe the top skilled players. They are still going to heat 99% of teams if you know how to pass and play def. Just rather have it the old way. More fun.

@edpikulski 

Puck protect only engages when hustling. If you're seeing it happen when not hustling, that would be a bug. I haven't been able to reproduce it. Can you get me a video showing this so I can get it reported to the team?

You can stick handle freely when not protecting the puck. This makes sense since you're busy not only protecting the puck, but hustling.