Statement on NHL 25 Cheating and Competitive Integrity

When you say "Backhand/forehand/backhand" goal, are you talking on a breakaway? Because if so, there's your first problem, how did they get a breakaway, if you're talking on a 2 on 1, once again, sounds like a team defense issue, there should be very few odd man rushes per game, even in 3s. Obviously I think the goalies should learn tendencies and not let in the same exact goal all game, but there is onus on the players to play good defense. If you watch two high level teams play, the scores are not 9-8 with all of those goals coming on a combined 20 shots, the scores are usually low-mid "realistic" scores because both teams know what the high percentage plays are and how to defend properly and limit odd-man rushes, even in 3s. 

Good defense beats exploits more often than not. Obviously there are some players who have mastered all the unique "bugs" or mechanics of a given year that are very hard to defend against and play against. Some players using Moonlight and Sudden Death are virtually impossible to get the puck off of this year, so you have to play extremely patient and just not let them get to their preferred scoring locations, even if the time on attack ends up being 12 minutes to 3, if you can make those 12 minutes in your zone just be them spinning in circles on the boards not making any attempts on net then you're doing fine, you then need to capitalize on your chances. We let in 1.5 goals per game playing 3s... Defense > Offense. Spending time learning how to defend as an individual and as a team is criminally underrated and the main reason why so many people complain about exploits or glitches, they refuse to stop and think about how to get better at defending, as a team, and as individuals. Either that, or they struggle with it, because it definitely is very hard learning how to defend better.

I'm not removing the onus from the game, obviously, it has it's flaws and poor balance decisions, but 99% of the "exploits" can be stopped by spending time learning not only for yourself what the "meta" ways to score and move/deke are, but HOW TO DEFEND against them. You can claim the game is unfun when played at the highest level, and I agree, the top 0.1% of players are mostly boring as **bleep** to play against, but you can for sure be in the top 1% just by having really good chemistry, both on offense and defense.

If you're playing drop-ins, well, there's only so much one player on a team can do, drop-ins suck, try to find some people you vibe with and start a club and see if they have interest in actively trying to get better and are willing to recognize their flaws rather than blame the game for everything.

NitroXIII wrote:

Good defense beats exploits more often than not. Obviously there are some players who have mastered all the unique "bugs" or mechanics of a given year that are very hard to defend against and play against. Some players using Moonlight and Sudden Death are virtually impossible to get the puck off of this year, so you have to play extremely patient and just not let them get to their preferred scoring locations, even if the time on attack ends up being 12 minutes to 3, if you can make those 12 minutes in your zone just be them spinning in circles on the boards not making any attempts on net then you're doing fine, you then need to capitalize on your chances. We let in 1.5 goals per game playing 3s... Defense > Offense. Spending time learning how to defend as an individual and as a team is criminally underrated and the main reason why so many people complain about exploits or glitches, they refuse to stop and think about how to get better at defending, as a team, and as individuals. Either that, or they struggle with it, because it definitely is very hard learning how to defend better

NitroXIII wrote:

I'm not removing the onus from the game, obviously, it has it's flaws and poor balance decisions, but 99% of the "exploits" can be stopped by spending time learning not only for yourself what the "meta" ways to score and move/deke are, but HOW TO DEFEND against them. You can claim the game is unfun when played at the highest level, and I agree, the top 0.1% of players are mostly boring as **bleep** to play against, but you can for sure be in the top 1% just by having really good chemistry, both on offense and defense.

Thanks for posting. I agree with this, super frustrating. There are too many exploits available and NO parity built in to the way the matchups play out. Same cycle with every game they release - people with nothing better to do spend all their time learning how to cheat, and no matter who complains, EA just keeps pumping out the same stuff. EA isn't getting another dime from me.

NHL25TakesTheL wrote:

people with nothing better to do spend all their time learning how to cheat,

Hockey games are built to simulate the sport but at the end of the day, it’s still a videogame. That means there’s an entirely separate skillset at play: pattern recognition, reaction speed, input timing, and exploiting the game’s mechanics. You don’t need a lifetime of hockey knowledge to dominate. You just need to understand what works in the game. And when those players torch someone using “videogame plays” instead of “pure hockey plays,” the losers often fall back on the same line: “Yeah, but they don’t know hockey like I do.” Which might be true… but the scoreboard in a videogame doesn’t care.