I don't come here lightly saying something is totally "broken" but the CPU aggressiveness is way off the mark, to the extent I have difficulty enjoying the game at all. It has never been like this before. I toned CPU aggression down to 0/100, and CPU still averages 20 hits per period with 7 minute periods. I repeat, with aggression toned down to 0/100, CPU is putting up like 70 hits per game. This is clearly wrong and should be addressed immediately. Regardless of game speed, skating speed or hitting power, the CPU players are constantly rushing at you with one objective: laying out the body. It's the only thing they know. Even in your own zone it's hard to make simple passing plays without being demolished. And if you manage to get to the offensive zone, good luck trying using the ICE-Q when you have five opposing players doing one thing and one thing only: hitting, hitting and hitting. Again, with CPU aggression slider at ZERO. This needs to be addressed ASAP and I hope people experiencing the same issue can share their thoughts below. I play offline season mode and have never experienced this issue to this extent in decades of playing NHL video games.

Good to see I'm not the only one with this issue. I've spent more time adjusting slider than I have playing the game. It's wild. But with that said, I've had to adjust the way I play and figure out other ways to be creative at zone entries and puck movement. It's kind of helped, but I still think the aggression is astronomically higher than years past and in fact makes it hard to really enjoy the game.

In the All Star hut moments, even my big boys get thrown around. Even if my player and the AI hitting me are standing still, I get trucked and thrown to the ice. Another thing is that if you're hugging a wing for the zone entry and fully 180 to create space, defenders have perfect reaction time and will stick right on top of you. It's insane lol

I've played only SB in single player, and it's fairly noticeable. I think it has more to do with the game difficulty than actual AI player qualities. AI is super aggressive on defence. Theyre super fast even backskating, and they hit hard and often. They almost always win board play even if you have 2 against 1 (and like previous years, they suck you in it, whether you want it or not). The AI team has 30 odd hits per game logged, their passing percentage is 90%+. They almost always intercept your passes when you try some on the offensive zone, if you try to deke they just maul you as soon as you try it, or the puck just leaps from your stick to them. Might not bother really. They read your new L2 movement pretty well, it's doesn't really work against them, because they're so fast and aggressive. I could go on, but you know how it goes.Fun times, I only play one or two SB game for practice, that's it. Oh and your goalies cant' catch anything and the AI goalie is a god. And all AI teams have Tkachuk🙃

Try lowering the hitting sliders, I have it set at 25 and the game plats much better, averaging 25 hits per team in franchise mode, 7 mins periods

I 110% agree with you on this one. I remember years back in the games when the CPU barely ever hit, you'd be lucky to see five hits throughout the game from them. Now the moment you touch, pass, or take a shot your player is getting absolutely laid out by the CPU. The hitting animation is still absolutely God awful looking in this game. I've never seen a hit in hockey where a player goes down almost on one knee to make a hit with their shoulder. All the hitting animation clips you seen in the trailers for the game just aren't there when you play the actual game. It's the same with passing, the pass you make are these long, stiff, fully extended, straight armed passes. Nothing like what you see in trailers where there quick, short, snappy passes.

URGENT: CPU aggression & hitting needs to be toned down

16 Replies

tysonkalalou
Seasoned Newcomer
4 months ago
The AI doesn’t play defensively, they only thinks about constantly hitting you, like it’s too arcade-style.
Stubo_NHL24
New Ace
4 months ago
I've been switching between pro and all star. The difference between both are huge. I can win with ease on pro but up it a level and its mental. I can win on all star but I'm still getting hit from all directions. I always played on Superstar until this year. I can't keep up with the CPU. Their passing and checking is off the scale. Scoring a goal is an achievement its self, never mind winning. Anything above pro and the goalies save everything other than the ones you'd expect them to save.
Still enjoying the game but a few tweaks here and there would improve the gameplay.
hock3ydoode
Seasoned Rookie
4 months ago
Just finished playing a game, hits were 79-88 or something like that. As soon as I pick up a puck along the boards, I’m mauled almost immediately. I don’t even have time to make a pass before it’s too late. And the logic doesn’t make sense either. I play with the MN Wild, and I flattened Schiefle with Rossi. In what world could that ever happen lol
hock3ydoode
Seasoned Rookie
4 months ago
I have mine set to 10/10 in hopes that smaller players typically have a harder time throwing impactful hit to naturally bigger players, but it’s still not doing much.
Occam01
Rising Novice
29 days ago
Hey there,
I totally get your frustration with the excessive hitting, and I think the Pass Accuracy slider could be a big part of the issue. When Pass Accuracy is set to 0 for example, the game speeds up and boosts hitting to control passing accuracy, which can result in the CPU being overly aggressive.
Since Aggression at 0 guarantees that you're using individual player aggression attributes (rather than a global boost), the lower Pass Accuracy setting could be influencing the CPU to hit more aggressively, even when you’ve toned down aggression globally.
I’d suggest adjusting the Pass Accuracy slider up or down until you find the balance you're looking for. You might find that setting it higher helps reduce the over-aggression and brings more realistic gameplay.
WRX02227
New Novice
29 days ago
Let’s also not forget that when you attempt a pass the intended receiver is absolutely decked but there’s never an interference penalty. I have the cpu penalty slider and interference penalty slider maxed and it’s never called.

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URGENT: CPU aggression & hitting needs to be toned down

16 Replies

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