Chel/EASHL in dire straits - feedback/issues
**I seldom play offline modes and loathe HUT so while some of the same problems may also persist there, this isn't really about them**
There is no easy way to put it - As it stands right now, EASHL and Chel are a mess with what seems like something new going wrong every day that goes by. I would like to take the opportunity to address my own personal concerns.
'ONES'
Only tied people should going to overtime - It is very easy to work with another person in order to force OT and hope that you score enough goals to win yourself; countless times I have done this when things went sour and backstabbed the guy I was working with. OT should go to a 1v1 setting to make things more interesting.
There are so many griefers in this mode - people who are 7 foot tall monsters who can only hit and make it painstakingly hard to win against. My 5'7 169 sniper has enough agility to blow past them on the boards but their reach and high strength make knocking the puck away too easy.
No penalties make the mode a total gong show with all the slash and stick lift spam, and those trips in the corners are laughable. I understand it's supposed to be arcadey fun, but when you have actual rewards on the line it allows people to get them dirty.
Champions have boosting partners and I constantly see the same people over and over. I have won the championship before and it was no easy task (mainly due to the sheer amount of games it takes), especially when you go up against two besties whose soul purpose is to make sure you lose.
There really needs to be private ONES rooms. I would love to set up GamerSaloon matches but it's difficult to plan out properly. I'm sure grudge matches would be amazing on twitch and stuff too, maybe even friendly couch co op matches for when you have friends over? - something to think about for next year maybe.
'EASHL (General)'
Matchmaking is still awful and it has nothing to do with our connection or UO Traces or whatever - The community has been very vocal so I won't keep pressing.
Pond Hockey - Why can't our teams play outside? We've been wanting this for a while now. I remember I could play there in NHL HITZ 2000.. we've come a long way since then.
Hockey bags were a neat idea but the sheer randomness to it all baffles me. When you have that one song or piece of gear you really want more than anything and it just never arrives, it's extremely frustrating; at least let us buy more packs or something if you already have a microtransaction system in place with HUT. Why do special bags reward common items anyway? If I reach and win diamond rounds in ONES, I should expect the rewards to match the effort put into them. Please please please do away with duplicate items as well - I don't know how many times I have received train and boat horn 1
Leaderboards are completely borked - #1 spot should be determined by wins and skill, certainly not for the teams who play the most games.
Mascots - Please allow me to see my pal Squanchy ☹️
CPU/AI
They have been severely dumbed down again and it makes me sad. Goalies are horrendous again, right back to where they were in 18 - I have no clue why you guys did this but it is extremely game-breaking and you will lose more people because of it. All you need to do is shoot short side and there is absolutely nothing the goalie or you can do except pray to whatever diety you believe in. Defence still crashes the goalie and when they get the puck behind the net they still freak us out by shifting the puck towards the netminder as well - KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE GOALIE PLEAAASSEEEE.
For whatever reason, the computer forwards rarely take instant one-timers, instead, they hold on to the puck for a second and it always gives the goalie enough time to react and make a save. These passes they are making are totally bone-headed as well, always passing the puck right back to you at the point when a guy is smothering you, and they seldom shoot in the slot and instead want to make a low percentage pass leading to a breakaway.
Rumors are floating around it was the NHL Game Changers that forced you to revert back to the glitch goal infested NHL because they whined about not being able to score - Please understand they are the minority here: the vast majority LOVED the beta tuner, and with the changes you made to poke checking (i mean fixing it, not when you made stick lifts OP), we thought NHL was shining brightly again - then we had an almost immediate tuner that messed everything up again when it came to skating and defence. I am fairly certain the community at large is begging you to revert back a couple of tuners.
Drop-in 3's
Filled to the brim with griefers who want nothing more than to ruin your day. I would love some sort of report or feedback/grading system to weed these fools out. There doesn't seem to be any player progression for this mode either - would be nice to personally move up and down the ranks.
EASHL 3's
The computer should NOT be able to take a penalty - Absolutely stupid how badly/easily they can cost you a game of 3's, especially with the current pylon goalies. "Top tier" teams like to rag the puck when they are up, forcing you to get aggressive for penalties and it's highly exploitative. The other team should just receive another player, or you should lose one. Heck, I don't care if you could literally have a 5 on 0 powerplay, it's fairer than a penalty shot.
It's gone on long enough guys, please fix the bug where the play is always set to aggressive - the computer always gets in the way and never knows what he is doing.
