Passing system

Looking for advice on passing – three situations that drive me crazy

I came here hoping to get some advice from the developers or experienced players.

As usual, one of the first things I have to change every year is the passing assistance. The default setting often feels terrible to me — the puck goes all over the place except to the player I actually intend to pass to.

Every year I seem to need a different setting. Sometimes 80% was fine, other years I had to go down to 50% or even lower. This year I finally found what seems to be my sweet spot at around 65%, and at least now the passes generally stay closer to where I want them to go.

So I have three specific problems I'd really like some advice on:

1. Passing to a nearby player vs. passing to defenders

When I'm behind the opponent's goal line and want to make a short pass to a player somewhere around the slot, the game often decides to pass it all the way to a defenseman instead.

Even if I barely touch R2 and aim my stick directly toward the slot, the pass can still go to a defenseman, despite having an open teammate exactly where I'm aiming.

At 65% assistance this still happens quite often. If I lower the assistance any further, however, the passing becomes too sensitive to small changes in stick angle.

So I'm kind of stuck between passes going to the wrong players and passes becoming extremely sensitive to my aim.

2. Quick, soft passes that get redirected for no reason

The second problem is with quick, short passes.

If I lightly and quickly press R2, the closest player in that direction sometimes decides to redirect or leave the puck for another player behind him.

I actually understand the intended mechanic: holding R2 should produce a longer, harder pass, while a quick tap should result in a softer, shorter pass.

But if I'm clearly trying to make a quick pass to the nearby open player, why does that player sometimes decide to let it go through to someone behind him — even when that player is covered twice?

It becomes even more confusing when using the assisted passing indicators (triangle, circle, etc.). When I specifically select a player further away, the puck can sometimes be intercepted or picked up by a player standing between me and my intended target.

So it feels like the exact opposite of what the passing mechanics should be doing:

• I select a player further away → someone in between gets the puck.
• I try to make a soft pass to someone nearby → that player sometimes deliberately lets it go through to someone behind him.

Sometimes the game even triggers an animation where the player lifts his leg or does some other fancy-looking redirection. It looks great, but it is completely ineffective when it goes against what I'm actually trying to do.

Is there a setting or technique I'm missing here?

3. Passing immediately on the first touch

The last one is a little more complicated, and I'm not even sure whether I'm using the mechanic correctly.

I'd like to be able to pass immediately on the first touch of the puck.

For example, I'm skating toward a loose puck, I can already see an open teammate, and I want to pass it immediately as soon as I reach the puck. Instead, my player often takes control of the puck first, and by the time the passing animation starts, the opportunity is already gone.

I know there is supposedly a mechanic where, just before the player touches the puck, you can quickly press R2 twice to trigger something like a first-touch pass.

However, instead of making a quick pass immediately, my player often seems to start a slow animation preparing to send the puck somewhere. And quite often the resulting pass goes nowhere near where I was aiming.

This one may be more of a skill/mechanics issue on my end, so I'd really appreciate advice from experienced players on how you handle these situations.

The first two problems were already present for me last year, and I was honestly hoping EA would improve them this year. Some other mechanics have clearly been improved, so I'm wondering why passing hasn't received the same attention.

Or maybe I'm simply doing something wrong and there is a better way to handle these situations.

I'd really appreciate any advice or tips from experienced players.

It's all basically one topic — passing — but three different situations that can make me want to summon Satan in front of the TV. 😅

Thanks!