I appreciate the explanation of what you think went wrong, but it really doesn't matter
That's a very collaborative approach to feedback!
The cpu defensemen simply lacks the speed to keep up.
To keep up AFTER a galringly obvious mistake by the offense to be behind all 3 opponents...
but when he's skating down the ice, the speed difference is the obvious factor.
Because he's back skating and the other players are skating forward....
The cpu defenseman simply can't keep up.
Finish that sentence though..... "Can't keep up after a glaringly obvious O-Zone mistake by the forwards"
The AI gives up positional advantage by making nonsensical lateral movements
Nonsensical? My dude... there's 3 players skating him down.
The AI does not have the speed to keep up with the attacking players
.... after a glaringly obvious mistake by the forwards, yes.
The AI had a 30-40 foot headstart back to the defensive zone
Skating backwards
got torched by their straight line speed.
That they were able to generate due to a glaring mistake by the offense, allowing them to generate straight line speed through the neutral zone completely unimpeded.
Like I said before, it's not perfect. I'm not saying you're wrong exactly. But in the name of pure balance, you refusing to acknowledge how your offensive play contributed to their goal is only a disservice. I also actually think my feedback and everyone else's here matters very much.
KidShowtime1867 Did you even look at the screenshots? You clearly watched the video… the ai defenseman is not back skating the entire play. The screenshot I just posted the ai has already turned around and is skating forward. I don’t know why you’re trying to say he’s skating backwards. He’s clearly not. You’re being entirely disingenuous with your argument.
I’ve played hockey for a decade. There’s literally no reason that this should have been a 2-0 against the goalie. It’s absolutely wild to argue otherwise. Nobody expects the game to be perfect. What I expect is that trying to generate offense wont lead to an easy goal for the other team because the ai is a literal pylon on defense.
We generated two high danger cross ice one-timers off great passing plays and cycling only to get scored on off the rush. This is how every game of 3s goes with an ai defenseman. A team with quadruple the ToA and 3x as many shots will end up losing off 5 rush goals where the defensemen might as well be off to lunch. The mode is beyond busted with an ai defenseman.
Im not ignoring the fact that 2 players got caught behind there 3. If that is the reason why the defensive ai logic completely breaks down than it needs to be fixed. The ai is sitting back. It’s not contributing to the offensive play. You should be able to play aggressively with the caveat that it may lead to a 2-1 or 3-1 the other way. But that’s a hell of a lot different than a 2-0 which is basically a guaranteed goal against with 0 effort.
Don't worry. There are actual 3's, 5's, and 6's players that realize the CPU has been at a disadvantage for what feels like the dawn of time. No play that you do, save for keeping one of the forwards all the way back to ALWAYS cover the D will work. The problem is that this game has been forward centric for a long while now, and they keep adding tools for players to act and move faster, but the CPU, especially the CPU D, doesn't have the tools to keep up with a 4'9, 33 pound forward rocking Wheels, Elite Edges, and Ankle Breaker. The CPU is not coded to turn around to match the attacking players speed, nor do they seem to hustle as the player skates a straight line right by them.
In these situations, you have to play the wrong way as two forwards trying to put the puck in the net with one forward needing to play D while the CPU covers absolutely no one. The shortfalls of having a competent CPU is not your fault.
There are actual 3's, 5's, and 6's players that realize the CPU has been at a disadvantage for what feels like the dawn of time.
I've been playing EASHL since NHL 09. I consider myself an 'actual' player. The major difference is that my team and I have adjusted to the AI teammates when we have them. We get them. We don't lay the fault of all our problems at their feet. We've learned to work with them. Yes, we get burned by them now and then but we dont' make a federal case about it. We chalk it up to mistakes that humans would make sometimes, we adjust and we move on.
In these situations, you have to play the wrong way as two forwards trying to put the puck in the net with one forward needing to play D while the CPU covers absolutely no one. The shortfalls of having a competent CPU is not your fault.
This is wrong think my dude. If you are positionally sound and conservative in 3's, your CPU D will play lights out. There's a reason why people come in here every single day and say things like "the other team gets better Ai than us". It's like yea buddy- because there are a lot of skilled players out there who know how to play in such a way that it gets the most out of their A.I.
I'm going to leave this here so you know what kind of experience I'm basing my comments on. I've seen you in these forums a lot giving advice on what players are doing wrong, while really never holding the mechanics of the game accountable. Just a bit of a resume so you know that I have some semblance of what I'm talking about.
Cool. Now, you're not wrong by saying playing conservative in 3's is the best way to prevent OPs gripe. Always playing with a bot D is a precarious choice, but when you have a game as inconsistent and as low pop as EA NHL, you can't always afford to not play games with a bot (I hate calling them AI because there's no intelligence to them).
I think OP would've been fine with a 3v1 against because, as forwards, they've got to try to push the offense. All he's saying is that the bot should be able to cover the rush all the way back to the goalie. He doesn't have to stick check, hit, or make a play to take him OUT of the play, but just be a bit of a menace to make the forward do something besides straight line to the goal. If the bot is not going to contribute to the offense and is camping the blue line while the puck is in deep, he should either be able to skate backwards and stay between the puck carrier and the goalie or turn at the appropriate time to match speed and make a play. Getting blown by without any hustle while not making any attempt at being a D-man is behavior that EA needs to address and haven't for as long as I can remember.
In older NHL games I was primarily a 3's player, but transitioned the last two years to 5's and 6's. Bot D's are generally avoided by skilled players (wink) for the reason I just outlined. If I'm playing D with a bot I know that I have to cover the bot's assignment and my own assignment on the rush because in 5s and 6s, players are going to skate the same.. exact.. way.. against.. a.. bot.. and... blow.. by.. it. It almost never fails. It's also very difficult because if you start trying to play D for the bot and yourself, it makes the bot go defensively off the rails. You can repeat this same scenario in any of the MP modes. You can play the offense coming at you perfectly and still have to compensate for the bot (In OP case, it means playing as a D-man and not a forward). There are instances where people say they have played against amazing bots, and that's because the bot seems to be able to easily take the puck from you in close quarters, shove you off the puck easier, and regain position of the puck easier if there's a battle. Passes are sometimes intercepted or broken up easier than if a human was in the same spot. Some bot defense will also jump into the offense and aggressively play this way and you'll usually hear in party chat, "What is the bot doing?!". Truthfully, no one knows.
All I'm saying is that OP knows it's going to be an odd man rush against him. He knows he and his partner will have to play a bit aggressive because there isn't a human D to contribute to the offense that knows how to use the hustle mechanic. He knows he could've played more conservative. Duh, right? His gripe is that if the bot is just slightly more competent in keeping up with human players with perks that EA keeps throwing at players, and not a HUT bot skating in sand, then it'll be an easier pill to swallow. I'd certainly like the same for bot D in 5's and 6's.
It's fine to critique players as this is a public forum, but please don't handwave the mechanics of the game like it's perfect and we shouldn't fight to pressure EA to create better mechanics. Especially the BOT mechanics.
Yup all I want is EA to fix. I can't play's 3s like this anymore. It's not even remotely fun.
the ai defenseman is not back skating the entire play
I didn't say he was?
I don’t know why you’re trying to say he’s skating backwards. He’s clearly not. You’re being entirely disingenuous with your argument.
Then what the heck is this
I’ve played hockey for a decade. There’s literally no reason that this should have been a 2-0 against the goalie.
Your real-world hockey experience means nothing. This is a videogame. 3 players were able to gain straight line speed while your defender had to make lateral adjustments and ultimately lost the foot race when transitioning from back to forward skating. Yes, there was a mistake by the D man do not be forward facing earlier trying to match their straight line speed but you're ignoring the fact that 3 players were able to skate completely unimpeded in a straight line through the neutral zone.
We generated two high danger cross ice one-timers off great passing plays and cycling only to get scored on off the rush.
Does this not happen in real life?
Im not ignoring the fact that 2 players got caught behind there 3.
You are though. Right above me, you said "There's literally no reason that this should have been a 2-0 against the goalie"
You should be able to play aggressively with the caveat that it may lead to a 2-1 or 3-1 the other way. But that’s a hell of a lot different than a 2-0 which is basically a guaranteed goal against with 0 effort.
It was a 3 on 1 my dude! But again - because the forwards were too deep and too agressive, you paid the price. Do you forgot your playing 3's and these types of plays are exactly why the mode was introduced to the real NHL?
It sounds like 6's might be more your style.
KidShowtime1867 All you're doing is illustrating exactly what I described happened...
Again, you're being entirely disingenuous coming up with reasons why this isn't a problem. It's a breakaway fest in 3s with a cpu defender. This isn't some new thing. It has been like this for years. The AI logic is busted and the AIs speed isn't fast enough for fair gameplay. My real world experience does matter because you seemingly insinuate that it's logical for a defender to give up a 2-0 because the user players got caught deep and the play started as a 3-1. This defender would never touch the ice in a 3v3 environment again if this were the real world.
He had a 30 foot head start back to the defensive zone. At this point, sure it's a 3 on 1... which happens all the time in 3v3.
Again, the AI is reacting to your inputs. The reason why he didn't instantly start bursting with speed back to the D zone is because both humans were aggressively at the net front, constantly hitting shoot ( as evidenced by the shoving animations when the puck is loose). These inputs have an affect on your AI. I keep trying to get that through to people but it doesn't seem like some want to accept that an errant poke check will have an effect on what your CPU does. Missing a body check and going out of position will have an effect on what your CPU does. Making a bad pass will have an effect. Being too aggressive on the forecheck will impact what your CPU D decide to do and where to position themselves,
He backskates and moves laterally until his positional advantage is wiped out. He's now neck and neck with the attackers (THIS IS AWFUL LOGIC)
Because he's dealing with 3 players generating full speed with impunity. The AI is trying to read potential passes while also anticipating the trajectory of the puck carrier. Just watch this - You can see the constant adjustments the CPU has to make. Starting, stopping - generally shifting momentum in a way that's not conducive to generating speed. And this is before they've even left the zone. This was all due to the humans being too aggressive.
Like I've been saying - this play is not perfect and the CPU D could be better. However, disregarding the human error and all other aspects they need to adjust to means it's not entirely the fault of how the CPU played this.
The don't just torch him. They have a 5-6 ft lead on him by the time they get to the netfront. (THIS IS A BROKEN SYSTEM)
Again - they were able to generate straight line speed with impunity. If you had a forward backchecking properly, you could force them to move laterally - killing most of the speed they would need to get behind them.
The ai defender eroded his positional advantage and got torched by the user speed in forward skating speed.
Solely because of the tough position the humans put him in.
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