NHL 26 WOC is now pay to win
To start off, I have loved playing NHL for years on xbox. I've taken a break from playing since NHL 24, which was an absolutely great time. My favorite game mode was WOC since it was so much fun to c...
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most people are using the preset builds that they are buying from the store
How do you know they've purchased them and didn't unlock them using the season pass?
pay to win
These builds aren't a guaranteed path to victory. Winning still demands solid teamwork, genuine skill, and the ability to compete at higher levels of play. Buying your way into a build doesn't automatically mean you'll steamroll everyone who didn't — and that assumption is exactly the kind of thinking that kills your enjoyment of the game. A frustrating number of players in this community treat the smallest setback like a death sentence. One goal down and some teammates are practically eulogizing the match, and you could hand them the most optimized build in the game and they'd still fold the moment things get uncomfortable.
As for EA letting people bypass the season pass grind — that's just standard monetization. If the NHL team didn't find a way to cash in on that, some exec would have their head. Shareholder value doesn't improve itself, and microtransactions exist precisely because there's always an audience willing to pay for convenience.
That said, in modes built around teamplay, a purchased build isn't the competitive nuclear option people make it out to be. It offers more margin for error, sure — but a skilled player running a custom build can absolutely go toe-to-toe with a pre-made one. The build is a tool. What you do with it is still on you.
Historically speaking with a majority of games that use a season pass, the purpose of it primarily for cosmetics. I have been going toe-to-toe with many players with preset builds, and they are pure nail biters of games. However, it just doesn't sit right with me that the custom player build caps out at 100 points, yet many preset builds total to over 100 with pairing xfactors that you otherwise wouldn't be able to pair. The game still has moments of being fun, but it's brutal to know that you can't have OP build just because I don't want to cough up extra cash for the season pass/store.
Looking in the mindset of corporate EA and agreeing that it is okay to include microtransactions for preset builds rather than just cosmetics is pretty ridiculous. I can understand trying to get as much as they can with cosmetic bundles and such, but making builds that are objectively more stacked than normal ones is the epidemy of the leverage of pay to win.
making builds that are objectively more stacked than normal ones is the epidemy of the leverage of pay to win.
Can't argue with that, but I still don't think it's pay to win and more pay-for-skill-leniency. The fact remains that buying these builds in no way whatsoever guarantees a win. You still need to be skillful at the game. At the very low levels - yes, these builds can make a difference when all players in the session are below average. No doubt. But there's still teamwork and skill required to score goals. And once you reach the 'adept' level of skill, these builds offer marginal advantages that can be easily snuffed out by a skilled opponent. Nothing about these builds makes them unstoppable or unbeatable.
Historically speaking with a majority of games that use a season pass, the purpose of it primarily for cosmetics
100% true.
agreeing that it is okay to include microtransactions for preset builds rather than just cosmetics is pretty ridiculous
I don't think I said it was okay to do this in replacement of only cosmetics, but I get your point.
These builds don't provide any overwhelming edge. Simply having them doesn't make you better. At its core, this is still a game decided by skill. What these builds actually sell is the perception of superiority, while players without them remain entirely capable of competing on equal footing.
In essence, EA is cashing in on the insecurity of people who buy into the idea these builds alone will determine outcomes.
"What these builds actually sell is the perception of superiority, while players without them remain entirely capable of competing on equal footing."
Are all the premade builds equal to custom builds based on stat points and xfactors? To the extent if I wanted I could create a custom build with the same stat points and levels of xfactors given.
Last time I checked that was not possible so please enlighten me.
At a high level when margins are thin against actual top players, you need to have the best builds to win. Obviously I will steamroll most teams on a custom build, but if you take two teams of 5 elite ranks and one gets the premium builds and the other only gets custom, the prebuilt will win 90% of the time.
Another massive problem, there is no way to get those previous seasons rewards without spending ludicrous amounts of money.
You should be able to equip previous seasons passes and work through them, even if you had to pay $10 or $15 to unlock them that would be fair. Now its just if you dont unlock the rewards sorry pay $20 for each item you missed. It's absolutely insane. Even Take two doesnt do this amount of scumming.
you need to have the best builds to win.
Absolutely not.
I will steamroll most teams on a custom build
This may be true in the event you happen to be playing a team where their skill-level also contributes to your ability to 'steamroll' them, but your 'steamrolling' would not be due exclusively to your using a paid build.
there is no way to get those previous seasons rewards without spending ludicrous amounts of money.
That's kind of the point of season pass - spend the time allotted to unlock the builds or pay money if you feel you're missing out. FOMO is the true driver here.
You should be able to equip previous seasons passes and work through them, even if you had to pay $10 or $15 to unlock them that would be fair. Now its just if you dont unlock the rewards sorry pay $20 for each item you missed. It's absolutely insane. Even Take two doesnt do this amount of scumming.
It's not scummy if these builds aren't pay to win (which they aren't). EA is capturing the FOMO crowd.
it's the idea of giving other players an "unfair" and purposely built statistical advantage over the other - where the ability to use real world money is in place as an option to do so.
It's not an 'unfair' advantage though. There isn't a single build - free or paid - that is unbeatable. Every build can be shut down with good teamwork.
playing a game of 3's against 3 McDavid builds forces the opposing team to lose the ability to play the game how they want due to the inflated stats and xfactors
What does "play the game how they want" even mean? If you're a good team, you play to your opponent. You don't just play the game the 'way you want' and then decide because you're not winning, it means there's something wrong with the game or you're being forced to adjust due to the opposing team having certain builds.
thus forcing them to play how EA wants them to and not playing the game how they would like to to
Again.. in what way are you playing the game where paid builds are going to destroy you? A team packed with McDavid builds can be easily shut down and the idea that these builds are unbeatable is just cope.
Skill can not mitigate a stat advantage based on a speed + acceleration
It absolutely can if you play the game right on the defensive side of the puck.
Head to head/side by side skating you will get beat cause you can't keep up where a stat advantage is given to one player and not the other
Not every play is a head-to-head race and if you're seeing that, it means you're not snuffing out neutral zone straight line speed. That's a defensive problem - not something entirely due to a player having a higher speed/ACC than you.
no unfair advantage - provide me a custom build with the exact stats and xfactors. I'll wait for it
If you dont run wheels or boost your speed + acceleration you can't keep up - this is a forced move to take away from playing a defensive dman or enforcer in 3's
Not every play however that boost given to builds like that makes those one on one play very frequent - as you can just rush by a player - there is no skill requirement there as it's handled solely by the stats and boosts.
I don't have an issue with it defensively, however I am forced to run wheels due to this and remove scoring or passing cause of these sorts of builds.
Not all the builds are good enough to give an unfair advantage but their are a few.
This is a wild response. “An EA exec would lose their head” LMAO get a grip, kid. “Standard Monetization” yeah locking the best x-factors in the game behind a paywall for everyone that came late is a death sentence to an already abysmally low pop game … what business school did you go to?
locking the best x-factors in the game behind a paywall
This is not true.
EA is providing game play advantages to people that pay more. It’s really that simple.
No, they're not.
"locking the best x-factors in the game behind a paywall" - "This is not true."
This is false and has been confirmed by EA - by the means as them being locked behind a paywall - they purposely time gated xfactors - essentially removing players the chance to making a build they prefer + potentially removing their enjoyment of the game, instead having to either wait(to a point of half the lifespan of the game where EA has essentially stopped support of the game or longer + having to grind the pass to unlock it with a built they may not prefer) or they can purchase it outright with real world money from the beginning.
They purposely and knowingly took the choice away from the player to play and enjoy the game the way they wanted just to try and entice the player to spend more money on a game that was already fully priced for on an item that is not transferable and offers no real value outside of the stat boosts.
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