NHL 25 Feedback

Was it an OVP, HUT or WoC loss? I'm banking on HUT. 

Hey there. Could you give us some details on what exactly your issues with the game are? 

Anyone else is welcome to acquire the NHL licensing. It's not exclusive to us.

Well let's start with the Ai....have you ever seen a defensive player in the NHL skate the puck to the red line and then for no reason turn around and skate all the way back to the defensive zone and then hug up on the boards when an opposing player approaches them? I haven't. Been watching hockey for 40 years and haven't ever seen that play lol. 

NEXT, why can't the AI players clear the puck on a penalty kill? Is there some reason they flip the puck 10 feet in the air and 10 feet forward everytime? Not sure if you guys have ever been to an actual game or not but the player usually tries to dump the puck out of the defensive zone to prevent being scored on shorthanded....makes sense right lol?

NEXt, why haven't you fixed the goalie deke exploit? Ok i get that a person has to be able to score once in a while otherwise why play the game right? But if a person can skate in on the goalie, puck handle back and forth and then just tuck the puck in EVERY SINGLE TIME then why even have a goalie in the net? You could tape the stick across the net and it would probably do a better job. 

NEXT, the horrendous momentum swings in the game. The ai programming is so broken until that momentum swing kicks in and then they seem to actually do what they are supposed to. Pinch players at the blue line, make passes, throw hits on players entering the defensive zones. Why are they unable to do this the entire game?  The bottom line is the game should be based on player skill not EA dictating the flow of the game. 

These are just some of the problems with your game. And believe me there are plenty more. My friends and myself have been buying and playing your game for many years and we, as the rest of the community probably agrees , think you haven't put out a fairly playable game since NHL 16 or 17. Sure, you get praise from all the exploiters about how good the game is because they take advantage and why not? Take the level glitch when the game first came out for instance. All those guys glitches the game and maxed their levels and you did nothing lol. They clearly exploited the game and that in itself in any other game would result in a ban of some sort. Not with you guys though.  Anyway I'm not looking for any response from you guys. If you cared you would have respomded by fixing the issues in your game and listening to the community years ago. But continue to crank out those stupid money grabbing gimmicks and putting out sub standard games and any true hockey fan that enjoys playing a real hockey game will just abandon the EA franchise.

I got a legit question. How come fifa get overall changes basically every 2 weeks and nhl doesnt? Theres been like 3 all year. Kuemper only an 84, the kraken make the playoffs every year in franchise mode meanwhile they suck in real life. 

PIRATEHATER wrote:

Well let's start with the Ai....have you ever seen a defensive player in the NHL skate the puck to the red line and then for no reason turn around and skate all the way back to the defensive zone and then hug up on the boards when an opposing player approaches them? I haven't. Been watching hockey for 40 years and haven't ever seen that play lol. 

I know a lot of you get tired of being asked for video to prove things like this, but it really would go a long way. I'm not saying this doesn't happen, but I think maybe your reconstruction of this scenario may not be completely accurate. A clip would go a long way. That being said, something that always gets ignored here is that the AI is only responding to what the human is doing. If your AI is constantly out of position or doing something erratic or wrong, 9 times out of 10 there's a reason for it that can be directly linked to a previous human action.

Before I get jumped on for 'defending Ea' and claiming the game is 'perfect' - there have been some very good clips posted here of the AI doing wonky things outside of human input error. So I'm not saying it doesn't ever happen. However, it's clear there's an undercurrent of anger after taking a tough loss, and the natural reaction is to blame the game and lay all your faults at the feet of the A.I. It's a defeatist attitude that will not make you a better CHel player. 

PIRATEHATER wrote:

NEXT, why can't the AI players clear the puck on a penalty kill? Is there some reason they flip the puck 10 feet in the air and 10 feet forward everytime? Not sure if you guys have ever been to an actual game or not but the player usually tries to dump the puck out of the defensive zone to prevent being scored on shorthanded....makes sense right lol?

The AI will check for an open pass before executing a flip dump. If you're not in an open passing lane, they'll dump it high to relieve pressure. Do you have a clip of the AI doing only a flip dump and one that only goes 10 feet? Posting a clip like that would give the developers some insight into the logic that might be causing that. 

PIRATEHATER wrote:

EXt, why haven't you fixed the goalie deke exploit? Ok i get that a person has to be able to score once in a while otherwise why play the game right? But if a person can skate in on the goalie, puck handle back and forth and then just tuck the puck in EVERY SINGLE TIME then why even have a goalie in the net? You could tape the stick across the net and it would probably do a better job. 

Letting an opponent get 1-on-1 with your goalie is your fault. If this is happening to you so often, then you need to address a deficiency in your defensive posture. 

Breakaways have a 25% average success rate in the NHL. That number raises exponentially depending on the skill level of the player themself. It's extremely dangerous to give players in NHL 25 who are adept at scoring in close on a goalie, all that time and space. The philosophy is - if your defence has failed you to that point, the rest is a toss up. 

PIRATEHATER wrote:

NEXT, the horrendous momentum swings in the game. The ai programming is so broken until that momentum swing kicks in and then they seem to actually do what they are supposed to. Pinch players at the blue line, make passes, throw hits on players entering the defensive zones. Why are they unable to do this the entire game?  The bottom line is the game should be based on player skill not EA dictating the flow of the game. 

When playing against the AI, especially in higher difficulties, failure to adjust your strategies to compete against the changing strategies of the other team will result in your AI seemingly being out of place in some situations. Combined with taking controlled players out of their positions, this introduces 'error states' in the A.I. which can compound into goals.

There is no built-in momentum, outside of the pressure system. 

PIRATEHATER wrote:

Take the level glitch when the game first came out for instance. All those guys glitches the game and maxed their levels and you did nothing lol. They clearly exploited the game and that in itself in any other game would result in a ban of some sort. Not with you guys though

This wasn't an exploitable glitch. It was a bug in the progression system and people simply received a ton more XP than they normally would. Not for exploiting or glitching but just for completing games.

Appreciate the added details. I couldn't really add on much to what KidShowtime1867​ said in regards to your issues. We are certainly aware of this feedback as you're not the first to mention it. AI is worked on with every game. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll ever be a perfect state where they are responding exactly like they're human. 

There is no artificial momentum in the game. The outcome is decided by how the humans are controlling their player(s), the overalls of the players on the ice and the strategies being used.

The max level issue was fixed a long time ago. We didn't reset levels though. Since they don't contribute to your player's performance, it wasn't something that needed to be reset.

PIRATEHATER wrote:

Well let's start with the Ai....have you ever seen a defensive player in the NHL skate the puck to the red line and then for no reason turn around and skate all the way back to the defensive zone and then hug up on the boards when an opposing player approaches them? I haven't. Been watching hockey for 40 years and haven't ever seen that play lol. 

I know a lot of you get tired of being asked for video to prove things like this, but it really would go a long way. I'm not saying this doesn't happen, but I think maybe your reconstruction of this scenario may not be completely accurate. A clip would go a long way. That being said, something that always gets ignored here is that the AI is only responding to what the human is doing. If your AI is constantly out of position or doing something erratic or wrong, 9 times out of 10 there's a reason for it that can be directly linked to a previous human action.

I've seen that happen a few times with fully AI versus AI... no human player to blame.

The AI will check for an open pass before executing a flip dump. If you're not in an open passing lane, they'll dump it high to relieve pressure. Do you have a clip of the AI doing only a flip dump and one that only goes 10 feet? Posting a clip like that would give the developers some insight into the logic that might be causing that. 

Again fully AI versus AI, I see the AI try to flip the puck out of zone on the PK and fail all the time.  As you are aware, EA greatly weakened the puck flip in NHL 24, and never bothered to teach the AI other ways of clearing the puck on the PK.

Please More regular gameplay improvement updates (AI, penalties, checks, physics, goalkeeper logic, realistic, etc.)

So, not much more to add on top of what KidShowtime1867​ said really. Are you playing online mode or offline? I never play online, Franchise only. AI has issues yeah, name a game out there that does not have AI issues. There are going to be exploit moves that are figured out with every edition. I know the ones for this game and use them to score on the computer or AI opponent a lot. Is my goalie an absolute joke who lets in more than he should? Yeah, its an issue and has been for a long time. I only normally allow 8-10 shots on my goalie, as I play every position except goalie, and 2-3 will end up in. Sometimes its my fault, sometimes, its just bad goaltending. Learning the best time to switch players was a challenge, but once I got that down in every edition, I skate around my opponents. This does say that the opposition AI could maybe use some work, but you also don't want them perfect. NHL players make mistakes all the time, why would we expect an AI player/team to be any different? 

As for regular updates, yeah, they should 100% be improving and updating the game more throughout the year, like every couple of weeks, put out a small update with some changes. Lately, most changes/updates are directed at online play, which is kind of frustrating for franchise players. Looking for bigger improvements to Franchise this coming year, some advances were made this year, so one can hope. I won't pre-order this year, I will wait to see what improvements were actually made to Franchise, and likely hit a sale. EA_Aljo​ knows some of my complaints, so no point in rehashing those. Writing the game off completely though, seems like an extreme reaction. I do hope that more of the posts about what is wanted in the next edition are paid attention to. There are many and I agree with most points made in those threads.

The complaints on here, do seem like some player error is involved in how a play is made. I have set plays that I know work at the beginning of a game, when the AI learns it, I move on to a different set play. This reflects NHL strategies. One set play is from the center faceoff dot, pass to left d, then straight to the left winger, rush in, then do one of two things, pass straight to the center/winger (whichever one gets open) and shoot immediately, or if neither gets open, drive the net hard and fast, wait for the goalie to bite and either go forehand or backhand depending on the handedness of the player (works better forehand). Another set play would be center, d, right wing, around the net, pass out front if it opens up, and shoot. Just a few examples, but learning moves and strategies is key. Also learning to watch the goalie closely, watch for the opening and get that wrister in the opening. Patience, not rushing or forcing it. Again, this is basic hockey IQ if playing an actual game in real. Coaches will drill these plays and patience into you. A lot more moves and strategies, but these are my early game go-to plays.