New BAP Updates
Hey all I just wanted to put together a quick post for those of you who are thinking about purchasing the game for Be A Pro and are interested in more details about the mode.
- James Cybulski is GONE 👏
- Thank God. You do not have to worry about hearing him constantly.
- Conversation System is Overhauled
- So far the conversation system is much improved. While there are still conversations in the game, they seem to flow much better, for now. Macklin Celebrini's conversations though are pretty cringe to listen to, but I'll take anything at this point. I feel like the conversations mean more. During the press conferences you have, whatever you say does impact your brand/teammate likeability and other aspects. Seems less of an annoyance.
- World Juniors
- While you start in the World Juniors (2 games max) you still go to the Memorial Cup afterwards. All in all you can play up to 6 or so games before you even get drafted.
- Menu Speed/Calendar
- As far as I can tell, the menu speed is pretty decent. I had some bad lag issues with NHL 25 but I am not experiencing that with NHL 26..yet. Speaking of the menu, you still can't see league transactions (whomp whomp). Also the "Calendar" (where you can look at the month/year as a whole) is gone. You can basically advance each day, advance to next game, or advance to next chapter. There is a smaller weekly calendar on your HUD though so you can see what games are coming up and such.
- Trait System / X-Factors
- These are completely different. You won't do weekly "training" per se as we have done previously. Now you have 6 "energy" points that you can spend to work towards Trait Points, X-Factor Points, Brand/management/teammate likeability, and Health. Is is MUCH easier to gain trait points now. I started at a 70 overall and by the time the draft rolled around I was already at 74 overall.
- Gameplay Sliders
- If you want to use custom sliders you have to save them under the accessibility menu. When you go to play a game it will ask you what "experience" you want (medium, realistic, etc.). Once you get into the pre-game screen you'll have to go over to Settings > Accessibility > and choose the custom sliders, otherwise it will always use default sliders. Kind of annoying.
- Gameplay Updates
- Maybe it's just me, but the gameplay feels much more intuitive. My AI still does some dumb things sometimes, but it's more fluid than in 25. How long will this last though? Probably not long. Also, goalies are hard to beat. You really got to work for goals (on Superstar mode at least). Also, Manual Passing is automatically the default now. You can't turn off Manual Passing.
- Draft
- Draft is different this year. While it looks like you're getting drafted in an Embassy Suites conference room, it's still better than what we had before. It then goes into a short cut scene in the locker room of the team who chose you (same locker rooms by the way).
I haven't gotten too deep into the mode yet, but initially I will say I am happy with these changes. Sure there's still going to be some annoyances within the mode, however so far I feel this is an improvement from 25. In 25 I really struggled to do anything on Superstar Mode, but I am seeming to be able to contribute a lot more effectively so far. I also feel more immersed in the mode than I have in awhile.
Again, I have not played past the pre-season in the NHL yet so take all of this as you will, but so far I would say it's good.
