This series has finally died to us...

I know you already mentioned that you un-installed, but if you guys would like and the time frames line up I would go and play with you guys.  I'm in my 30s as well and a lot of the people that I played this game with have stopped.

I am not sure if you guys are playing 3s,  but I'd recommend playing the 6v6 it's completely doable with 4 players as the AI forward will go to the net and is less of a liability.   

I'd be 100% down to play LD or RD if you have another dman and two forwards.

Gameplay hasn't changed. Other than the tuner fix for the No Contest ability. Otherwise, gameplay is identical that it's been since launch. Nothing has been changed that isn't noted, but if there's one constant going back to NHL 09 it's that we make shadow changes. With the exception of a couple of times over the years where a change happened that was missed in the notes, what you see is what you get.

Respectfully, it's not the same. It's night and day different

EA_Aljo wrote:

if there's one constant going back to NHL 09 it's that we make shadow changes

Wait, which is it, because now you're openly admitting that you do make changes.

Can you elaborate on how you're aiming your poke checks? There seems to be a big change to the simple poke (hitting R1). Previously, it would aim to the puck's location on the frame the poke check was initiated. Meaning, if the puck carrier moved the puck at the next frame, by the time the poke check arrives at the puck - it's position has moved - resulting in a miss. More often than not, however, most players don't have the twitch skill to react in time, so poke checks were largely successful.

I'm most often using DSS and trying to cut off their passing lane. I can often get in close enough to get a poke in so I wait for that opportunity and take it. In the case I'm just making a quick poke without using DSS, I'm just waiting for a clean path to the puck. Mostly, from the front. I'm still able to poke from the sides. I'm just waiting for the right moment. And it's not that I never miss. I'm not saying every poke is successful. I miss plenty of them, but I also connect on them a lot better than when the game first launched. I captured some clips last night, but for some reason they aren't showing up. Hopefully, they will and I can show it. 

Nothing changed with the auto-aim of pokes. It's still aimed at the location of the puck on the frame the poke was triggered.

It appears to me, since the X-Factor revamp, the poke check ability seemingly has a randomized error state where the poke checks will simply avoid the puck altogether and miss wildly despite the puck carrier not moving the puck via stick handling at all. This is the major change that I think is contributing to the poke check 'issue' people are describing. 

I'm using Stick 'em up. That most likely is helping my pokes. I switched to this from Quick Pick. But, I'm also noticing I'm better at them in HUT. My team is pretty low rated as well so I don't think it has to do with inflated abilities. It is against the computer though and they can be pretty easy to separate from the puck. 

Pokes are pretty basic. Like we both said, pokes go to where the puck is. It's not a random fail. There's a lot going on with various XFs and ability scores though. And, pokes are being investigated. It's also possible the puck is being picked up too easily. I know that's being looked into as well. That makes it also seem like pokes aren't working. I'm just making more of an effort to get a really solid poke so there's more separation. Again, Stick 'em up may have something to do with that.

Personally, I've found the same as you: Poke checks require better gap coverage and they will no longer work in close like they used to. once you make this adjustment, you seem to be able to get better success. Your 'aim' comment makes me think there's something else that's been added to the mechanic that maybe hasn't been properly communicated to the player-base. 

My aim comment was more about using DSS. I use it a lot. Probably almost as much as a regular poke.

I think the expectation of players to have the same skill level and dominance that they did in previous years runs contrary to the same expectations of a new game every year. They clamour for 'new' gameplay elements, and then rage about not being copletely adept at them on day 1. 

Agreed. If we truly copied and pasted the game, you should still have the same level of dominance. Every year we see this. Complaints about struggling when they were previously in D1. Each year, changes are made and we all need to adapt. My club has had the same issue in the past. The first couple of weeks are rough, then we find our groove.

He is saying that a constant since NHL 09 is that "they make shadow changes" ( people are claiming this, not EA themselves) but outside of a changes not making it into the patch notes out of error, that has not happened

Yeah, that's a different experience than what I'm having because I don't play BaP. I imagine I'd be having similar frustrations. Hopefully, we'll see changes made to this mode. I know various issues are being investigated.

I think if a highly skilled team is losing to a team they perceive to be lower skilled, but all have OP abilities, they're probably having an off game. Which we all have. If this happens regularly though, they might be overestimating their own or their opponent's skill. Late hits are awful. I hate them as much as anyone. They do leave the team throwing late hits at a disadvantage though. That's taking a player out of the play. So is the guy on the ice of course so it goes both ways, but one less defender in your way because they're off in the NZ after laying someone out puts them behind the play and scrambling to get back in the action. We usually beat teams that are headhunting because they're constantly out of position from focusing on hitting. 

I'm far from an elite player, but I know how to play with my club well. As do the other guys on it. They're all pretty decent. We'd get wiped, and we have, by true elite level clubs. Teams relying on OP abilities and hitting though, those are easier wins since they aren't really playing a team game. We know the exploits so we know how to stop them. Sure, they squeak through sometimes, but the majority of them get stopped.

Yes. That's what I was saying. We've been accused of this forever and it's never something we've intentionally done. I know there were a couple times where a change made it in that wasn't documented. We're human, mistakes are made, but we're never intentionally leaving changes out of patch/tuner notes.

trw1987​  I see that comment made it's way to reddit. I don't post over there so I can't add the above clarification. If you could add this to your thread, I'd appreciate it.

I completely agree. As a defenseman, I rely on truculence, stick 'em up, and quick pick. There's no need for wheels—you just have to be patient and read the game well. I'm effective with my poke checks, but having an X-factor is definitely crucial. You don't always have to poke the puck off the opponent's stick. Sometimes, simply blocking their stick with yours dislodges the puck automatically. What I would like to see in the game is better reaction time for D to intercept passes in front of the net. I often find myself laughing when I'm covering the same spot as the opponent—I'm really close to them, yet my player refuses to even move the stick to attempt an interception and puck is going through me. Reaction time should be better at least for DD. 

I had a comment there and included a link to some screenshots of my original comment and the reply, seems I can't actually reply into the thread with an image.