I do appreciate that, Aljo. Honestly.
It's also funny you mentioned the thing about gliding vs skating. I was just in a game where I was having to defend a bunch of 2-on-1 type of passes, and one of the passes I actually grabbed was one where I stopped skating. I absolutely see what you're talking about and have actually noticed this in past games.
If I could offer some feedback, however, I would point out that, especially since the meta in the game is still speed, not being able to reliably pick up pucks unless I, as a defender, stop skating, is a really unfair task. Because, if I stop skating, these 95 speed forwards are just going to blow right by me, and it's been my experience that these forwards don't have to glide to pick up pucks, nor do they need to be facing the puck.
It seems really counterintuitive that in order to defend better, I have to put myself in a worse position.
I also completely agree that there shouldn't be a guarantee of an interception. In real hockey, a guy can be in perfect position and the puck will sometimes just find that perfect bit of daylight and elude the defender. I think that's fair. What my issue with plays like we see in this clips isn't that they happen, it's the rate at which they happen. These kinds of passes simply eluding players with good defensive abilities and good positioning just happen too frequently.
Community ManagerThank you. I definitely appreciate the constructive feedback.
You make some good points. We want to move away from the meta of speed, but speed is also a fundamental part of the sport so obviously, it needs to be an important attribute. Defense also needs to be able to appropriately counter this when proper defense is being played. Meaning, good positioning should be rewarded. As you mentioned, not necessarily every time, but you should have a significantly higher chance of breaking up the play.
If you have any more clips you want to submit, please do. Those really help.
I know the team is aware of the feedback on speed we've been seeing. We'll have to wait to see what comes out of this.
https://www.xbox.com/play/media/LicviBDcds
I think this is the only other clip I've recorded.
This particular play I'm not even that upset with just because you could argue that I'm not 100% in the lane, and sometimes passes SHOULD elude defenders just to add some sense of randomness and realism to the game.
I think what annoys me is that the game often leaves me wondering exactly what I'm supposed to do. I try skating with my back to the play and I miss the puck. I backskate and I miss the puck. I stand directly in the lane and I miss the puck. I stand slightly outside of the lane and I miss the puck. I've tried 94 defensive awareness with gold quick pick, 90ish defensive awareness with no quick pick at all. Nothing seems to really work reliably.
A lot of this really wouldn't be an issue, imo, if the forwards recieving the pass also had the same level of trouble picking up passes. Like, the only time I think I ever see a player not perfectly recieve a pass from his teammate is if the two players are really close to each other and it's a hard pass, or if it's like a stretch pass and the player receiving the pass turns the opposite direction of where the pass is going.
Community ManagerIf a defender is playing in what is normally a forward position, the passing you're talking about works fine. So, it's not so much dependent on being a defender or a forward. The pass is targeted at the receiving player. This is different than being in a passing lane, having the puck/play within your field of vision, attributes, gliding vs skating, etc. The players making/receiving the pass are in position and ready for it so I can how that has a higher success rate than breaking up passes.
I'm in agreement with you that defenders could break up plays better. Especially, when facing the puck like in the most recent clip. I play D pretty much exclusively and I can't exactly depend on just being in good position. I get the frustration for sure since it makes an already challenging position to play that much more difficult. I'm sending this over to the team. Thank you.
