Add better mechanics for switching players

Just out of curiosity have you tried holding the switch player button and utilizing the joystick to select the player by pushing in that direction? Takes some getting used to but very useful. 

I have tried that yea. works better in some instances but more often I still end up switching to someone further away from.

They should give us the gray circle around the player we are going to switch to defensively, 

They have ICON passing but playing defense is so much more important 

this would help a lot too. just some kind of visual to show who you are switching to.

titus1029 wrote:

I'm getting so tired of trying to switch to a defencemen that is the closest player to the puck and for some reason I can't switch to them.

Tapping switch player if you're currently not the closest player to the puck carrier will 100% always switch to the player closest to the puck carrier. 100%. Every single time. 

Hold Switch player and click R3 to take control of the player closest to your goalie (last man back)

Hold Switch player and move RS in the direction of the desired player to control from the currently controlled player. So, if I have control of my d-man in the O-Zone down by the half-boards, holding LT and moving RS up will result in me taking control of the D-man posted at the point. 

titus1029 wrote:

So many times I've been scored on because I can't switch to the one person that is closest to the puck to try and poke the puck or block a shot, instead I switch to someone chasing the puck and a few times someone thats just not anywhere close to the puck at all.

This can happen if your opponent makes a lot of successive passes. When this is happening, player switching can feel cumbersome because the 'closest player to the puck' constantly changes. If you're frantically trying to swap player control to the player closest to the puck carrier, but they're making very quick successive passes, it can feel like you're unable to be in total control.

The key is to manage player switching is to be patient and understand who it is you're controlling and where they are on the ice.

Here's an example of me being hemmed in my own zone but managing to switch to exactly the players I want at any given moment:

titus1029 wrote:

This system needs to be reworked, possibly something similar to icon passing but for switching players that way we can switch to the player we actually are wanting to switch to without the game deciding.

I don't think it needs to be reworked as in my GIF above I feel player switching works perfect. However, icon-based player selection would be another tool in the belt for sure. 

Great video however their are plenty of times you already know who buddies is going to move the puck too, for example. If the puck is in the corner and buddy is looking for a one timer from the point, I want the offisde winger or even the d man in front of my net even if the play is in the corner so I can block the shot. I have trouble with this. 

Same goes for forecheck/breakouts. MY AI covers the wall pass and their guy is open on the far side streaming up the wall, I want the far side winger or d man who is parallel to the play to break up this pass. But the game wont let me switch to him until the pass is already made. 

cogsx86 wrote:

Great video however their are plenty of times you already know who buddies is going to move the puck too

Absolutely. That's one of the best skills in defending; being able to anticipate where your opponent is going to move the puck. 

cogsx86 wrote:

I want the offisde winger or even the d man in front of my net even if the play is in the corner so I can block the shot. I have trouble with this

In this scenario, when I'm deep in the corner and want to control the d-man in front of the net, I use LT + R3 (Right Stick Press). This is the 'last man back' player selection, and it basically selects the player closest to the goalie. 

Doing it this way, I can know for certain I'll control someone at the net-front, and move them to the spot I've anticipated the pass/shot to go.

cogsx86 wrote:

Same goes for forecheck/breakouts. MY AI covers the wall pass and their guy is open on the far side streaming up the wall, I want the far side winger or d man who is parallel to the play to break up this pass. But the game wont let me switch to him until the pass is already made. 

It's tricky, but getting the hang of using LT & Right Stick and getting the angle of right stick to select the parallel d-man is possible.