What happened to pokes?

In general poke checks are much better in NHL 27 than 26.   But even in the short time since release I'm starting to see more and more plays where the outcome is looking more like NHL 26.   Over the last couple of nights plays like in the clip below are starting to happen more regularly.  Not all the time, but enough to be worrisome.

Simple 1v1, the puck carrier doesn't move the puck, make no attempt to protect it and when the poke makes its initial contact the puck carrier only has one hand on the stick.  But the poke still just bounces off and around the stick without touching the puck at all.

Hey there. Was this in WoC? Players are unlocking additional AP caps so builds are getting stronger. That could be the reason you're seeing this more now. Regardless, I'll forward the video on.

It's in WOC.   If adding a couple of points to builds on offence ( and we're adding points as well on the defensive attributes, it's not like we're static on our end ) at this early stage of the game's cycle is enough to break poke checks that doesn't bode well for the future of the game.   

I believe that teammate was running a TWD with 85 stick checking and defensive awareness.   IMO, in the scenario shown in that clip, there's no build currently in the game that should be able to just ignore that poke like it didn't happen.

I'll get it sent over to be reviewed. Let me know if you get any more of these. Especially if they're hitting the puck. In this, they hit the blade and push the stick out of the way. My initial thought is that they're using an XF that lets them hold on to the puck better.

jimfromfiles​ my pokes will go right through the puck carriers blade and nothing will happen. 

Would you be able to get a video of this? We need to see the stick going through the blade with nothing happening. In the video that PlayoffError​ provided, you can see the blade is being hit and is not passing through it. Thanks!

EA_Aljo wrote:

I'll get it sent over to be reviewed. Let me know if you get any more of these.

Thanks and I will as best I can.  The replay system still frustrates me.   It would be nice to have access to the entire game instead of just a subset.   Often times plays I want to get a better look at are lost by the time the game finishes.

EA_Aljo wrote:

they hit the blade and push the stick out of the way. My initial thought is that they're using an XF that lets them hold on to the puck better.

Does that not strike you as wrong from a physics or logic perspective?   I get that it's a game and it won't always mirror real life exactly, but that is a textbook poke on an unprotected puck.   The fact that first contact is the blade should be irrelevant.  The blade is touching the puck and both should be disrupted.  Instead the puck carrier ( who has one hand on the stick at the moment of contact ) is somehow strong enough that his stick and the puck remain undisturbed while the defender's stick is deflected away.

I'm OK with XFs and attribute differences giving people an advantage on edge cases or plays from weak angles, but if it's going to allow players to shrug off pokes like that we'll be right back to NHL 26 gameplay by the end of the month.

ok if thats a purposefully implemented choice, how are we supposed to implement the difference in accuracy on the controller to be that accurate when poking as to hit the puck and not the blade of the stick?

Don't forget, there's also a discrepancy in what you see rendered on your screen versus what the game registers. It may appear to be a good poke on your screen but if you can go back and watch the game's recreated replay you'll see that the game registers your stick as being late or in a different spot.

This is a great reason why having a full game replay is good because even if you hit "Record That" it's only going to be from your sessions display of the game engine and not the servers actual register of actions.

Of course ping differential, etc. play into this greatly. So I see this happen far more often on teams who clearly have ping advantage over others. It looks like I am registering a good poke or stick lift but I am on 50ms ping and they are on 5ms.  So, in that split second, my view is not the actual game so I have missed the actual timing. You need to try and play 50ms ahead of the actual game.

No amount of stats or x-factors should stop that puck from being poked. Offensive player just mindlessly skating right at the defender not protecting the puck in any way whatsoever, in no world is that clip an acceptable outcome. This is the exact same problem that's been in the game for years now, pokes like that need to work every single time.

Thanks and I will as best I can.  The replay system still frustrates me.   It would be nice to have access to the entire game instead of just a subset.   Often times plays I want to get a better look at are lost by the time the game finishes.

Yeah, that would certainly be nice. I imagine that's a technical limitation. I believe you're on PS so you should be able to capture up to the last hour of play. That's enough time for a full game. Of course, you couldn't go into the replay like you can in the game, but it's better than nothing.

Does that not strike you as wrong from a physics or logic perspective?   I get that it's a game and it won't always mirror real life exactly, but that is a textbook poke on an unprotected puck.   The fact that first contact is the blade should be irrelevant.  The blade is touching the puck and both should be disrupted.  Instead the puck carrier ( who has one hand on the stick at the moment of contact ) is somehow strong enough that his stick and the puck remain undisturbed while the defender's stick is deflected away.

Yeah, I get what you're saying. Hopefully, this will improve over time. In a perfect world, we also wouldn't see the sticks clip through each other. There are technical limitations here as well, but attributes are the main reason why they're holding on to the puck. Had the puck been hit instead of the blade, most likely you'd see it separated from the carrier.

Also, while the carrier has one hand on the stick, they very quickly grab it with their other hand. Which would stabilize it more and give them a better chance of keeping control. I also don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that a professional player could maintain control of their stick in a situation like this. 

It would be very interesting to see the ration of pokes that land and cause a turnover compared to the ones like you're pointing out. Although, we'd also have to take into consideration XFs and ability scores between the players involved.

ok if thats a purposefully implemented choice, how are we supposed to implement the difference in accuracy on the controller to be that accurate when poking as to hit the puck and not the blade of the stick?

You would need to poke from an angle where the stick wasn't hit first. Or, use DSS to sweep the puck away.