Well if EA wont patch it out why not make it that if a person choose not to wear one than they can become injured very easily during the game from getting knocked down or puck to the head
Hockey is not owned and ruled by NHL standards. You can play hockey on grass, in your basement, in many many ways... You may prefer what NHL offers, doesn’t mean that it is the only way to play.
I don’t like Threes, but I can see why some people like it.
The name of the game is NHL 20 not Hockey 20...
I paid for an "NHL" game. Not some generic pickup hockey game with obnoxious, unnecessary cut scenes, glare, goofy outfits, etc. Most people are fixated on fancy visuals and disregard gameplay faults. I for one, am not one of them.
If you buy a game just by looking at the title and guessing that it will be only what the title says, that’s on you. If your old enough, you would know that the game was named that way because the first games (in the 90’s) were based on the NHL only and were only containing players and teams from that league. They won’t change the name of their franchise every time they add a new feature that doesn’t fit that name. Back then, the games were filled with unrealistic stuffs and bugs that made the games feels nothing like real hockey (the technology was not even advanced enough to make it realistic).
Anyway, they didn’t change the name when they added all the other leagues and new features because every person understands that it is the same company releasing a new version of their game, that’s it. You may not like what they do and you can complain about it, and we can do the opposite.
This is just an helmet and it was not so long ago that they added that rule in their rules book (NHL), it didn’t used to be mandatory. Now it is because of concussions and other head injuries, but in a video game you don’t have that, so why not having some fun and keeping it free to choose if you want an helmet or not. I don’t see why you are so infuriated by that, I wear one in the game and don’t care about people not wearing one or wearing any clown gear. I am playing that game to have fun and play an hockey game, that’s it.
I have played every single hockey video game ever released since their inception and it's important to understand the fundamental premise for which a sports title that bears the moniker of a professional league carries. We are not speaking about a Blades of Steel or Mutant League Hockey game. The NHL name in itself carries a lot of weight. Everything from Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky 3D, Stanley Cup, NHL Hitz games, ESPN NHL Hockey, 2 on 2 Open Ice, etc. They all were branded with the NHL's registered trademark and though a few had obscure modes, they mostly all represented true hockey, again, though some may not have had the NHLPA license and could only use the city name and players number. You knew what you were getting with the obscure titles. You knew they were arcade style.
When you purchase a Mutant League Hockey, Ice Hockey, Blades of Steel, Old Time Hockey or Super Blood Hockey type of game, you clearly know what you are getting.
The point I'm trying to make is that people want to play Drop Ins and such on a real rink and have the option to wear real hockey gear and uniforms. There is absolutely no need to have glare or any other environmental effects making an impact on the outcome of the game. Keep the gimmicks to Ones and NHL 3s aka NHL Hitz. I bet if there was a survey about the outdoor rinks, clown gear and other gimmicks, the majority would vote in their displeasure with them.
I would rather focus my time and energy on getting changes done that need to be made like the L2/LT exploit that should not still exist or to have the body checking power increased and poke checking adjusted to a more rewarding level because the DSS is flawed. One touch dekes need to go back to how they were on old gen where it took skill to perform them. EASHL builds need to be totally revamped and made more rewarding, especially on defense. There is no way defensemen should be handicapped and capped by size and skating ability as they are right now. Today's NHL is all about skating ability and puck possession. Why is enforcer even an option? Enforcers haven't been prevalent since before the last lockout.
Gameplay needs to be the #1 focus, especially in the EASHL. Once that has been solidified, then you move onto adding other game modes but never let the gameplay slip. The intent is there but the focus is lacking. It's almost 2020, the visuals and graphics are where they are technologically with every AAA game title and the companies that keep relying on them and the gimmicks are falling behind the competition. Unfortunately there is no competition for a top tier hockey game but you can compare other major sports titles from different companies for reference.
In every major gaming forum, the top complaints are gameplay issues and lack of content. NHL has almost too much content and not good enough gameplay. There were some good features and mechanics that were removed from previous years games and never reintroduced and some were but as "new" and/or under a new name. Then there were mechanics introduced that nobody wants, asked for and even despised upon.
The many failed attempts to keep the competition between players even has only further created an imbalance. It has divided the community and given false security to players. There's a lot of good quality EASHL players out there and there are even more that aren't. Yet, they believe they are because of stupid things like CR, broken leaderboards, in game grades, etc.
The user need to be given total control of their player from the build to the usage of tools. If EA wants to make an even playing field, scrap the build types and just make 1 platform to create from and allot every player the same number of attribute points from day one. Allow every player to make their players height/weight whatever they want within the same reasonable scale. Do away with traits and reintroduce stick blade curve, skate blade radius and stick flex.
[Socair - edited to remove call out]
Most people wouldn't mind outdoor hockey if there was a SPECIFIC mode that allowed for that. There are so many options from the Heritage Classics, the Winter Classics and the Stadium Series. Or just "Pond Hockey" if you don't wanna bother with the licensing side of it (we all know it's about the dolla-dolla, bling, bling).
I agree that pigeonholing everyone into the same cookie-cutter builds was the WRONG way to go to "balance" the game for online EASHL play.
I would suggest looking at how another company does it for their sport game. Not gonna name "who", but when you start building your player, you choose your biometrics first (height, weight, body build, face, etc). Then you chose what position you want to play. And then you pick from either a set of traits which determine your player ARCHETYPE, or you select from pre-determined Archetypes by picking from a list of known players who fit that role. Lastly, you're given a set amount of "points" to allocate to your base attributes to begin with. Then you play out your season/carreer to gain more attribute points to add to your profile and your player grows from a measely under 70 ovr to an over 90 ovr Super Star.
The only part I hate about how THAT game does it is that it allows you to buy points with real money which you can use to bypass actually playing to get to the top.
If there's one thing I would suggest to EA is to avoid that and instead offer boost packs that last a certain amount of games, like 1, 5, 10, 20, etc. Using these boosts in offline or online games give you a better chance of competing while also allowing you to collect more points for your performance, which in turn leads to being able to allocate more points to your base attributes quicker than if you would play without boosts. But you would still need to PLAY games to level up.
I don't really mind having the "clown" gear per se. I think it's nice to have an option to differentiate your avatar from everyone else's. But again, maybe take a page out of that other game's book and instead of opening random "bags" with random gear in them, have the player visit shops where he can buy anything from hats, to shirts, to sticks and skates or goalie gear. You play games, you get coins, you use coins to buy the gear YOU want.
Hockey is not owned and ruled by NHL standards. You can play hockey on grass, in your basement, in many many ways... You may prefer what NHL offers, doesn’t mean that it is the only way to play.
I don’t like Threes, but I can see why some people like it.
The name of the game is NHL 20 not Hockey 20...
I paid for an "NHL" game. Not some generic pickup hockey game with obnoxious, unnecessary cut scenes, glare, goofy outfits, etc. Most people are fixated on fancy visuals and disregard gameplay faults. I for one, am not one of them.
If you buy a game just by looking at the title and guessing that it will be only what the title says, that’s on you. If your old enough, you would know that the game was named that way because the first games (in the 90’s) were based on the NHL only and were only containing players and teams from that league. They won’t change the name of their franchise every time they add a new feature that doesn’t fit that name. Back then, the games were filled with unrealistic stuffs and bugs that made the games feels nothing like real hockey (the technology was not even advanced enough to make it realistic).
Anyway, they didn’t change the name when they added all the other leagues and new features because every person understands that it is the same company releasing a new version of their game, that’s it. You may not like what they do and you can complain about it, and we can do the opposite.
This is just an helmet and it was not so long ago that they added that rule in their rules book (NHL), it didn’t used to be mandatory. Now it is because of concussions and other head injuries, but in a video game you don’t have that, so why not having some fun and keeping it free to choose if you want an helmet or not. I don’t see why you are so infuriated by that, I wear one in the game and don’t care about people not wearing one or wearing any clown gear. I am playing that game to have fun and play an hockey game, that’s it.
I have played every single hockey video game ever released since their inception and it's important to understand the fundamental premise for which a sports title that bears the moniker of a professional league carries. We are not speaking about a Blades of Steel or Mutant League Hockey game. The NHL name in itself carries a lot of weight. Everything from Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky 3D, Stanley Cup, NHL Hitz games, ESPN NHL Hockey, 2 on 2 Open Ice, etc. They all were branded with the NHL's registered trademark and though a few had obscure modes, they mostly all represented true hockey, again, though some may not have had the NHLPA license and could only use the city name and players number. You knew what you were getting with the obscure titles. You knew they were arcade style.
When you purchase a Mutant League Hockey, Ice Hockey, Blades of Steel, Old Time Hockey or Super Blood Hockey type of game, you clearly know what you are getting.
The point I'm trying to make is that people want to play Drop Ins and such on a real rink and have the option to wear real hockey gear and uniforms. There is absolutely no need to have glare or any other environmental effects making an impact on the outcome of the game. Keep the gimmicks to Ones and NHL 3s aka NHL Hitz. I bet if there was a survey about the outdoor rinks, clown gear and other gimmicks, the majority would vote in their displeasure with them.
I would rather focus my time and energy on getting changes done that need to be made like the L2/LT exploit that should not still exist or to have the body checking power increased and poke checking adjusted to a more rewarding level because the DSS is flawed. One touch dekes need to go back to how they were on old gen where it took skill to perform them. EASHL builds need to be totally revamped and made more rewarding, especially on defense. There is no way defensemen should be handicapped and capped by size and skating ability as they are right now. Today's NHL is all about skating ability and puck possession. Why is enforcer even an option? Enforcers haven't been prevalent since before the last lockout.
Gameplay needs to be the #1 focus, especially in the EASHL. Once that has been solidified, then you move onto adding other game modes but never let the gameplay slip. The intent is there but the focus is lacking. It's almost 2020, the visuals and graphics are where they are technologically with every AAA game title and the companies that keep relying on them and the gimmicks are falling behind the competition. Unfortunately there is no competition for a top tier hockey game but you can compare other major sports titles from different companies for reference.
In every major gaming forum, the top complaints are gameplay issues and lack of content. NHL has almost too much content and not good enough gameplay. There were some good features and mechanics that were removed from previous years games and never reintroduced and some were but as "new" and/or under a new name. Then there were mechanics introduced that nobody wants, asked for and even despised upon.
The many failed attempts to keep the competition between players even has only further created an imbalance. It has divided the community and given false security to players. There's a lot of good quality EASHL players out there and there are even more that aren't. Yet, they believe they are because of stupid things like CR, broken leaderboards, in game grades, etc.
The user need to be given total control of their player from the build to the usage of tools. If EA wants to make an even playing field, scrap the build types and just make 1 platform to create from and allot every player the same number of attribute points from day one. Allow every player to make their players height/weight whatever they want within the same reasonable scale. Do away with traits and reintroduce stick blade curve, skate blade radius and stick flex.
[Socair - edited to remove call out]
Most people wouldn't mind outdoor hockey if there was a SPECIFIC mode that allowed for that. There are so many options from the Heritage Classics, the Winter Classics and the Stadium Series. Or just "Pond Hockey" if you don't wanna bother with the licensing side of it (we all know it's about the dolla-dolla, bling, bling).
I agree that pigeonholing everyone into the same cookie-cutter builds was the WRONG way to go to "balance" the game for online EASHL play.
I would suggest looking at how another company does it for their sport game. Not gonna name "who", but when you start building your player, you choose your biometrics first (height, weight, body build, face, etc). Then you chose what position you want to play. And then you pick from either a set of traits which determine your player ARCHETYPE, or you select from pre-determined Archetypes by picking from a list of known players who fit that role. Lastly, you're given a set amount of "points" to allocate to your base attributes to begin with. Then you play out your season/carreer to gain more attribute points to add to your profile and your player grows from a measely under 70 ovr to an over 90 ovr Super Star.
The only part I hate about how THAT game does it is that it allows you to buy points with real money which you can use to bypass actually playing to get to the top.
If there's one thing I would suggest to EA is to avoid that and instead offer boost packs that last a certain amount of games, like 1, 5, 10, 20, etc.
I don't really mind having the "clown" gear per se. I think it's nice to have an option to differentiate your avatar from everyone else's. But again, maybe take a page out of that other game's book and instead of opening random "bags" with random gear in them, have the player visit shops where he can buy anything from hats, to shirts, to sticks and skates or goalie gear. You play games, you get coins, you use coins to buy the gear YOU want.
Sorry Venom, but I can't agree with the way you propose a build and whatnot. We saw it in the past, it is no good. I think I will never again buy this game at full price. So why should I be punished with a lower overall because I bought the game 2 months after anyone else? All that is fine for offline, but it doesn't work for EASHL. Also for LG, it would again be an unfair advantage of who plays/abuses more to get to you 90 OVR faster.
I think they could do even more with traits and not pigeonhole classes so much by size/weight. For example, I really do not understand why by default a DD has to be big, strong and slow. Why can't I have the size of the PMD, but with better defensive attributes while being not so good of a passer? Why does a PMD have to be small and quick? What if I want to be a big and physical PMD? It's things like that that take away from the mode and its experience. Same for forward classes. Some forwards are more defensive minded in the NHL. Some are purely offense, just like this game. I am fine with player classes, but need more freedom in my choices and more options. Skate blade type, stick blade curve and stick flex should make a return like we had on old gen.
Or maybe make a return with custom attributes that actually work and matter this time and give everyone their points right off the bat. Day 1, everyone is L3 so to speak. Seems to be what the vast majority of the community wants anyways.
However, I do agree with the coins and buying whatever you want instead of these random hockey bags.
Hockey is not owned and ruled by NHL standards. You can play hockey on grass, in your basement, in many many ways... You may prefer what NHL offers, doesn’t mean that it is the only way to play.
I don’t like Threes, but I can see why some people like it.
The name of the game is NHL 20 not Hockey 20...
I paid for an "NHL" game. Not some generic pickup hockey game with obnoxious, unnecessary cut scenes, glare, goofy outfits, etc. Most people are fixated on fancy visuals and disregard gameplay faults. I for one, am not one of them.
If you buy a game just by looking at the title and guessing that it will be only what the title says, not so bright. If your old enough, you would know that the game was named that way because the first games (in the 90’s) were based on the NHL only and were only containing players and teams from that league. They won’t change the name of their franchise every time they add a new feature that doesn’t fit that name. Back then, the games were filled with unrealistic stuffs and bugs that made the games feels nothing like real hockey (the technology was not even advanced enough to make it realistic).
Anyway, they didn’t change the name when they added all the other leagues and new features because every person with a little bit of intelligence understands that it is the same company releasing a new version of their game, that’s it. You may not like what they do and you can complain about it, and we can do the opposite.
This is just an helmet and it was not so long ago that they added that rule in their rules book (NHL), it didn’t used to be mandatory. Now it is because of concussions and other head injuries, but in a video game you don’t have that, so why not having some fun and keeping it free to choose if you want an helmet or not. I don’t see why you are so infuriated by that, I wear one in the game and don’t care about people not wearing one or wearing any clown gear. I am playing that game to have fun and play an hockey game, that’s it.
I have played every single hockey video game ever released since their inception and it's important to understand the fundamental premise for which a sports title that bears the moniker of a professional league carries. We are not speaking about a Blades of Steel or Mutant League Hockey game. The NHL name in itself carries a lot of weight. Everything from Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky 3D, Stanley Cup, NHL Hitz games, ESPN NHL Hockey, 2 on 2 Open Ice, etc. They all were branded with the NHL's registered trademark and though a few had obscure modes, they mostly all represented true hockey, again, though some may not have had the NHLPA license and could only use the city name and players number. You knew what you were getting with the obscure titles. You knew they were arcade style.
When you purchase a Mutant League Hockey, Ice Hockey, Blades of Steel, Old Time Hockey or Super Blood Hockey type of game, you clearly know what you are getting.
The point I'm trying to make is that people want to play Drop Ins and such on a real rink and have the option to wear real hockey gear and uniforms. There is absolutely no need to have glare or any other environmental effects making an impact on the outcome of the game. Keep the gimmicks to Ones and NHL 3s aka NHL Hitz. I bet if there was a survey about the outdoor rinks, clown gear and other gimmicks, the majority would vote in their displeasure with them.
I would rather focus my time and energy on getting changes done that need to be made like the L2/LT exploit that should not still exist or to have the body checking power increased and poke checking adjusted to a more rewarding level because the DSS is flawed. One touch dekes need to go back to how they were on old gen where it took skill to perform them. EASHL builds need to be totally revamped and made more rewarding, especially on defense. There is no way defensemen should be handicapped and capped by size and skating ability as they are right now. Today's NHL is all about skating ability and puck possession. Why is enforcer even an option? Enforcers haven't been prevalent since before the last lockout.
Gameplay needs to be the #1 focus, especially in the EASHL. Once that has been solidified, then you move onto adding other game modes but never let the gameplay slip. The intent is there but the focus is lacking. It's almost 2020, the visuals and graphics are where they are technologically with every AAA game title and the companies that keep relying on them and the gimmicks are falling behind the competition. Unfortunately there is no competition for a top tier hockey game but you can compare other major sports titles from different companies for reference.
In every major gaming forum, the top complaints are gameplay issues and lack of content. NHL has almost too much content and not good enough gameplay. There were some good features and mechanics that were removed from previous years games and never reintroduced and some were but as "new" and/or under a new name. Then there were mechanics introduced that nobody wants, asked for and even despised upon.
The many failed attempts to keep the competition between players even has only further created an imbalance. It has divided the community and given false security to players. There's a lot of good quality EASHL players out there and there are even more that aren't. Yet, they believe they are because of stupid things like CR, broken leaderboards, in game grades, etc.
The user need to be given total control of their player from the build to the usage of tools. If EA wants to make an even playing field, scrap the build types and just make 1 platform to create from and allot every player the same number of attribute points from day one. Allow every player to make their players height/weight whatever they want within the same reasonable scale. Do away with traits and reintroduce stick blade curve, skate blade radius and stick flex.
Nicely said and I agree with all of it. Good stuff.
Sorry Venom, but I can't agree with the way you propose a build and whatnot. We saw it in the past, it is no good. I think I will never again buy this game at full price. So why should I be punished with a lower overall because I bought the game 2 months after anyone else? All that is fine for offline, but it doesn't work for EASHL. Also for LG, it would again be an unfair advantage of who plays/abuses more to get to you 90 OVR faster.
I think they could do even more with traits and not pigeonhole classes so much by size/weight. For example, I really do not understand why by default a DD has to be big, strong and slow. Why can't I have the size of the PMD, but with better defensive attributes while being not so good of a passer? Why does a PMD have to be small and quick? What if I want to be a big and physical PMD? It's things like that that take away from the mode and its experience. Same for forward classes. Some forwards are more defensive minded in the NHL. Some are purely offense, just like this game. I am fine with player classes, but need more freedom in my choices and more options. Skate blade type, stick blade curve and stick flex should make a return like we had on old gen.
Or maybe make a return with custom attributes that actually work and matter this time and give everyone their points right off the bat. Day 1, everyone is L3 so to speak. Seems to be what the vast majority of the community wants anyways.
However, I do agree with the coins and buying whatever you want instead of these random hockey bags.
Just because they botched up on the execution of it in the past, doesn't mean the idea at it's base is without merit.
The problem with how they had it in the past is that on the one part, some attributes were useless. On the other, the entire method of getting experience was broken and exploited by the "top players". I mean, you could literally just get into a club game, play 2 minutes, then quit and get your points + card requirements like games played and grade average. Some people would go from a 65 ovr "rookie" card to an 88 ovr Legend 3 card inside of a few hours.
And I don't buy the whole spiel of "people who buy the game later are at a disadvantage". Are you saying that if you went out and bought Dark Souls 3 now, you'd complain that it's not fair you haven't beaten the last boss when you start the game yet others who bought the game before have already done it dozens of times? How about you, y'know... play the game?
That's the problem with this game series and the community in general; everyone wants instant gratification and EA gives it to them.
Just for the record, when I purchased NHL 14, I bought it late in November for my birthday and joined LG not long after. I noticed most other goalies were rocking at least a 79 ovr, while I was at like 68 with my base stats. What did I do? I purchased a boost for my goalie type which brought me to a 75 ovr so I could at least compete. Meanwhile I played my games and slowly built up my attributes until a month later I was at a solid 81 ovr and didn't need my boost anymore.
I'm not entirely opposed to giving everyone the max amount of points and let them go nuts on their attributes. The only thing that grinds my gears about that is what I explained I thought was wrong with the community: this sense of feeling they need to have instant gratification without even having done anything to merit it. No one wants to accomplish anything because they feel everyone else is better than them so they deserve to be just as good right off the bat.
I for one would rather grind for a month, then be GIVEN something I didn't work for...
Sorry Venom, but I can't agree with the way you propose a build and whatnot. We saw it in the past, it is no good. I think I will never again buy this game at full price. So why should I be punished with a lower overall because I bought the game 2 months after anyone else? All that is fine for offline, but it doesn't work for EASHL. Also for LG, it would again be an unfair advantage of who plays/abuses more to get to you 90 OVR faster.
I think they could do even more with traits and not pigeonhole classes so much by size/weight. For example, I really do not understand why by default a DD has to be big, strong and slow. Why can't I have the size of the PMD, but with better defensive attributes while being not so good of a passer? Why does a PMD have to be small and quick? What if I want to be a big and physical PMD? It's things like that that take away from the mode and its experience. Same for forward classes. Some forwards are more defensive minded in the NHL. Some are purely offense, just like this game. I am fine with player classes, but need more freedom in my choices and more options. Skate blade type, stick blade curve and stick flex should make a return like we had on old gen.
Or maybe make a return with custom attributes that actually work and matter this time and give everyone their points right off the bat. Day 1, everyone is L3 so to speak. Seems to be what the vast majority of the community wants anyways.
However, I do agree with the coins and buying whatever you want instead of these random hockey bags.
Just because they botched up on the execution of it in the past, doesn't mean the idea at it's base is without merit.
The problem with how they had it in the past is that on the one part, some attributes were useless. On the other, the entire method of getting experience was broken and exploited by the "top players". I mean, you could literally just get into a club game, play 2 minutes, then quit and get your points + card requirements like games played and grade average. Some people would go from a 65 ovr "rookie" card to an 88 ovr Legend 3 card inside of a few hours.
And I don't buy the whole spiel of "people who buy the game later are at a disadvantage". Are you saying that if you went out and bought Dark Souls 3 now, you'd complain that it's not fair you haven't beaten the last boss when you start the game yet others who bought the game before have already done it dozens of times? How about you, y'know... play the game?
That's the problem with this game series and the community in general; everyone wants instant gratification and EA gives it to them.
Just for the record, when I purchased NHL 14, I bought it late in November for my birthday and joined LG not long after. I noticed most other goalies were rocking at least a 79 ovr, while I was at like 68 with my base stats. What did I do? I purchased a boost for my goalie type which brought me to a 75 ovr so I could at least compete. Meanwhile I played my games and slowly built up my attributes until a month later I was at a solid 81 ovr and didn't need my boost anymore.
I'm not entirely opposed to giving everyone the max amount of points and let them go nuts on their attributes. The only thing that grinds my gears about that is what I explained I thought was wrong with the community: this sense of feeling they need to have instant gratification without even having done anything to merit it. No one wants to accomplish anything because they feel everyone else is better than them so they deserve to be just as good right off the bat.
I for one would rather grind for a month, then be GIVEN something I didn't work for...
Venom, with all due respect (and you know I respect you) you are blowing this out of proportion and making it so much more complex than it needs to be. That was the whole point with abusing the rookie to Legend rank. Give max points right off the bat and this does:
1- no artificial advantage just because you played earlier than I did.
2- No need to add any policing or cheat proofing if you give everyone all points right off the bat.
3- By giving all points off the bat, you are saving a ton of resources and time by avoiding to set up all the "grind" parameters that are based on a completely broken coaching grading system.
Also, I really don't get your Dark Souls analogy and how it pertains to this game. We are talking about less than 5 000 people at a time connected to EASHL on most nights. You want me to play with these guys with an unfair advantage just because you bought the game a few weeks before me? What happened to being a better player because you played longer than me?
I am not looking for instant gratification at all, and you know that. But if your artificial boost is what keeps you in the game, and if that artificial boost makes you think you are better than you actually are, then how is that any better? That is a problem. It creates a false sense that you can indeed play with the better players. The smartest thing EA ever did was getting rid of the grind, but I do not entirely agree with how it got replaced.
You say you would rather grind for a month than be GIVEN something you didn't work for, yet you are being GIVEN an artificial advantage because of a grind.
Maybe if this game didn't have such a pathetic pool of players that barely breaks 16 000 in its first week, then maybe I would be fine with the grind. With a pool of 5 million players (heck, I'll even accept 100 000 at this point) then fine, put me in a grind and match me with other players in my rank. I don't see why a level 6 has to face off against a level P2 25 with a grind involved just because not enough players play this game.....
No because the "boost" I'm talking about gives you only a slight attribute increase. Not enough to be TOP, but enough to compete. And it also helps you gain experience points faster. So if you buy the game 2 months down the line, you can still "hang" with all those "top players" who just play 24/7 and people don't have to feel like it's "unfair" others bought the game before and are now maxed out in stats because they've been playing the game these 2 months.
Also, I was talking about a temporary boost like in... that other game. Not like EA used to have in NHL 14 where it was permanent until you didn't need it anymore. IIRC, it was like 10 or 15 bucks and you could purchase one boost, for one type. Like I was a Butterfly goalie, so I picked the boost for... Hybrid. I don't know why... Don't ask questions. But when I equiped it, it made all my stats rise and gave me a 75 ovr. The downside is that I couldn't customize my attributes, but I could still collect exp points and allocate them. Until they superseded my boost stats, at that point I just removed the boost and went with my own attribute points.
The game I'm playing now doesn't even offer that, it offers per game boosts. And there's a boost for 4 different aspects of the game, Shooting, Stealing, Du.... *ahem* Artful Scoring, and Blocking. So if you want to boost all your stats for ONE game, you have to use 4 boosts! The caveat is that they're relatively cheap and you can win a whole bunch for free by doing some daily quests or *ahem*, spinning a wheel of fortune type thing.
16K Players?? I don't think there are even 1600 players playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 on any given night but that doesn't stop me from playing it every night and finding matches. LOL!
But what you're talking about has more to do with the matchmaking system, which, we all agree, is not good at all. Even if we were talking about just 20 players, why would the players just beginning want to be saddled with people who are ranked in the top tiers? Do you know how often I've seen lobbys in NHL 14 to NHL 19 where one side you had all ranks between 1-10 and the other side had full prestiged vets? The matchmaking is truly atrocious if it allows for those types of matchups. But it has nothing to do with the number of players playing the game, let's be clear.
Maybe when EA finally realizes that their Hockey game needs to have more HOCKEY in it than Fortnite, maybe then the population grows. There's a whole untapped market of people who love hockey, but aren't into video games that could be convinced to play one... If only there was an ACTUAL hockey game on the market that these people could go and give a try and not some pathetic glitch master fest like we have now, eh?
Any hockey fan I've known throughout the years would regurgitate his entire week's lunches if he were to experience the glory of the LT abusing in this game. LOL! No hockey fan buys this game, because it's not hockey. You know what game Basketball fans buy?
No because the "boost" I'm talking about gives you only a slight attribute increase. Not enough to be TOP, but enough to compete. And it also helps you gain experience points faster. So if you buy the game 2 months down the line, you can still "hang" with all those "top players" who just play 24/7 and people don't have to feel like it's "unfair" others bought the game before and are now maxed out in stats because they've been playing the game these 2 months.
Also, I was talking about a temporary boost like in... that other game. Not like EA used to have in NHL 14 where it was permanent until you didn't need it anymore. IIRC, it was like 10 or 15 bucks and you could purchase one boost, for one type. Like I was a Butterfly goalie, so I picked the boost for... Hybrid. I don't know why... Don't ask questions. But when I equiped it, it made all my stats rise and gave me a 75 ovr. The downside is that I couldn't customize my attributes, but I could still collect exp points and allocate them. Until they superseded my boost stats, at that point I just removed the boost and went with my own attribute points.
The game I'm playing now doesn't even offer that, it offers per game boosts. And there's a boost for 4 different aspects of the game, Shooting, Stealing, Du.... *ahem* Artful Scoring, and Blocking. So if you want to boost all your stats for ONE game, you have to use 4 boosts! The caveat is that they're relatively cheap and you can win a whole bunch for free by doing some daily quests or *ahem*, spinning a wheel of fortune type thing.
16K Players?? I don't think there are even 1600 players playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 on any given night but that doesn't stop me from playing it every night and finding matches. LOL!
But what you're talking about has more to do with the matchmaking system, which, we all agree, is not good at all. Even if we were talking about just 20 players, why would the players just beginning want to be saddled with people who are ranked in the top tiers? Do you know how often I've seen lobbys in NHL 14 to NHL 19 where one side you had all ranks between 1-10 and the other side had full prestiged vets? The matchmaking is truly atrocious if it allows for those types of matchups. But it has nothing to do with the number of players playing the game, let's be clear.
Maybe when EA finally realizes that their Hockey game needs to have more HOCKEY in it than Fortnite, maybe then the population grows. There's a whole untapped market of people who love hockey, but aren't into video games that could be convinced to play one... If only there was an ACTUAL hockey game on the market that these people could go and give a try and not some pathetic glitch master fest like we have now, eh?
Any hockey fan I've known throughout the years would regurgitate his entire week's lunches if he were to experience the glory of the LT abusing in this game. LOL! No hockey fan buys this game, because it's not hockey. You know what game Basketball fans buy?
I disagree with giving people an XP boost. If I have to earn my rank and grind out games from day one, people who don't get the game on release should not be given special treatment. A slight attribute boost wouldnt be a bad idea I suppose but it would have to be just enough to be competitive but not too much where it's a deciding factor.
No because the "boost" I'm talking about gives you only a slight attribute increase. Not enough to be TOP, but enough to compete. And it also helps you gain experience points faster. So if you buy the game 2 months down the line, you can still "hang" with all those "top players" who just play 24/7 and people don't have to feel like it's "unfair" others bought the game before and are now maxed out in stats because they've been playing the game these 2 months.
Also, I was talking about a temporary boost like in... that other game. Not like EA used to have in NHL 14 where it was permanent until you didn't need it anymore. IIRC, it was like 10 or 15 bucks and you could purchase one boost, for one type. Like I was a Butterfly goalie, so I picked the boost for... Hybrid. I don't know why... Don't ask questions. But when I equiped it, it made all my stats rise and gave me a 75 ovr. The downside is that I couldn't customize my attributes, but I could still collect exp points and allocate them. Until they superseded my boost stats, at that point I just removed the boost and went with my own attribute points.
The game I'm playing now doesn't even offer that, it offers per game boosts. And there's a boost for 4 different aspects of the game, Shooting, Stealing, Du.... *ahem* Artful Scoring, and Blocking. So if you want to boost all your stats for ONE game, you have to use 4 boosts! The caveat is that they're relatively cheap and you can win a whole bunch for free by doing some daily quests or *ahem*, spinning a wheel of fortune type thing.
16K Players?? I don't think there are even 1600 players playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 on any given night but that doesn't stop me from playing it every night and finding matches. LOL!
But what you're talking about has more to do with the matchmaking system, which, we all agree, is not good at all. Even if we were talking about just 20 players, why would the players just beginning want to be saddled with people who are ranked in the top tiers? Do you know how often I've seen lobbys in NHL 14 to NHL 19 where one side you had all ranks between 1-10 and the other side had full prestiged vets? The matchmaking is truly atrocious if it allows for those types of matchups. But it has nothing to do with the number of players playing the game, let's be clear.
Maybe when EA finally realizes that their Hockey game needs to have more HOCKEY in it than Fortnite, maybe then the population grows. There's a whole untapped market of people who love hockey, but aren't into video games that could be convinced to play one... If only there was an ACTUAL hockey game on the market that these people could go and give a try and not some pathetic glitch master fest like we have now, eh?
Any hockey fan I've known throughout the years would regurgitate his entire week's lunches if he were to experience the glory of the LT abusing in this game. LOL! No hockey fan buys this game, because it's not hockey. You know what game Basketball fans buy?
I disagree with giving people an XP boost. If I have to earn my rank and grind out games from day one, people who don't get the game on release should not be given special treatment. A slight attribute boost wouldnt be a bad idea I suppose but it would have to be just enough to be competitive but not too much where it's a deciding factor.
Those would be my sentiments as well. But @WainGretSki makes a valid point that people that get this game later in its life cycle (like during Christmas) will be at a huge disadvantage over the rest. Especially if they want to be competitive in leagues like LG and such. Having a slight boost to XP for a limited time makes them, as you say, at least competitive enough so that if they have skill, they'll compete with the rest while speeding up their leveling up process just enough so that it doesn't take them until spring to get fully ranked up.
Again, it took me about a month and a half to fully reach legend 3 back in NHL 14, and I'm a father of 4, with a full time job, so I didn't have all day to grind out my cards. But the boost helped me keep up with the rest of the league, while allowing me to use my skill to rank up and not rely on some artificial "exp" crutch.
In the end, I'm always in favour of a compromise. It doesn't really affect anything with those who bought the game on launch. I mean they'll still have all the stats and exp from playing the game from the get go. The rest wouldn't get "special treatment" per se; they'd still need to play the game to level up, just not as many as the rest did. But then again, they did miss out on over 2 months of playing, and they had to PURCHASE a boost to help them out, while everyone else played the game and leveled up without dishing out anything extra. So I guess that evens it out, no?
No because the "boost" I'm talking about gives you only a slight attribute increase. Not enough to be TOP, but enough to compete. And it also helps you gain experience points faster. So if you buy the game 2 months down the line, you can still "hang" with all those "top players" who just play 24/7 and people don't have to feel like it's "unfair" others bought the game before and are now maxed out in stats because they've been playing the game these 2 months.
Also, I was talking about a temporary boost like in... that other game. Not like EA used to have in NHL 14 where it was permanent until you didn't need it anymore. IIRC, it was like 10 or 15 bucks and you could purchase one boost, for one type. Like I was a Butterfly goalie, so I picked the boost for... Hybrid. I don't know why... Don't ask questions. But when I equiped it, it made all my stats rise and gave me a 75 ovr. The downside is that I couldn't customize my attributes, but I could still collect exp points and allocate them. Until they superseded my boost stats, at that point I just removed the boost and went with my own attribute points.
The game I'm playing now doesn't even offer that, it offers per game boosts. And there's a boost for 4 different aspects of the game, Shooting, Stealing, Du.... *ahem* Artful Scoring, and Blocking. So if you want to boost all your stats for ONE game, you have to use 4 boosts! The caveat is that they're relatively cheap and you can win a whole bunch for free by doing some daily quests or *ahem*, spinning a wheel of fortune type thing.
16K Players?? I don't think there are even 1600 players playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 on any given night but that doesn't stop me from playing it every night and finding matches. LOL!
But what you're talking about has more to do with the matchmaking system, which, we all agree, is not good at all. Even if we were talking about just 20 players, why would the players just beginning want to be saddled with people who are ranked in the top tiers? Do you know how often I've seen lobbys in NHL 14 to NHL 19 where one side you had all ranks between 1-10 and the other side had full prestiged vets? The matchmaking is truly atrocious if it allows for those types of matchups. But it has nothing to do with the number of players playing the game, let's be clear.
Maybe when EA finally realizes that their Hockey game needs to have more HOCKEY in it than Fortnite, maybe then the population grows. There's a whole untapped market of people who love hockey, but aren't into video games that could be convinced to play one... If only there was an ACTUAL hockey game on the market that these people could go and give a try and not some pathetic glitch master fest like we have now, eh?
Any hockey fan I've known throughout the years would regurgitate his entire week's lunches if he were to experience the glory of the LT abusing in this game. LOL! No hockey fan buys this game, because it's not hockey. You know what game Basketball fans buy?
I disagree with giving people an XP boost. If I have to earn my rank and grind out games from day one, people who don't get the game on release should not be given special treatment. A slight attribute boost wouldnt be a bad idea I suppose but it would have to be just enough to be competitive but not too much where it's a deciding factor.
Those would be my sentiments as well. But @WainGretSki makes a valid point that people that get this game later in its life cycle (like during Christmas) will be at a huge disadvantage over the rest. Especially if they want to be competitive in leagues like LG and such. Having a slight boost to XP for a limited time makes them, as you say, at least competitive enough so that if they have skill, they'll compete with the rest while speeding up their leveling up process just enough so that it doesn't take them until spring to get fully ranked up.
Again, it took me about a month and a half to fully reach legend 3 back in NHL 14, and I'm a father of 4, with a full time job, so I didn't have all day to grind out my cards. But the boost helped me keep up with the rest of the league, while allowing me to use my skill to rank up and not rely on some artificial "exp" crutch.
In the end, I'm always in favour of a compromise. It doesn't really affect anything with those who bought the game on launch. I mean they'll still have all the stats and exp from playing the game from the get go. The rest wouldn't get "special treatment" per se; they'd still need to play the game to level up, just not as many as the rest did. But then again, they did miss out on over 2 months of playing, and they had to PURCHASE a boost to help them out, while everyone else played the game and leveled up without dishing out anything extra. So I guess that evens it out, no?
I suppose so but if I'm upgrading my copy of NHL, I should also receive an XP boost. I guess it comes down to casuals vs hardcore players and the hardcore crowd will always feel jaded if they don't get something some casual player gets. I buy the game begrudgingly on release date every year so I may biased in my opinion.
If everyone was given the same skater build from day one, regardless of position and allotted the same amount of points per three categories (offense, defense, athletics), there wouldn't be a need for boosts of any kind.
No because the "boost" I'm talking about gives you only a slight attribute increase. Not enough to be TOP, but enough to compete. And it also helps you gain experience points faster. So if you buy the game 2 months down the line, you can still "hang" with all those "top players" who just play 24/7 and people don't have to feel like it's "unfair" others bought the game before and are now maxed out in stats because they've been playing the game these 2 months.
Also, I was talking about a temporary boost like in... that other game. Not like EA used to have in NHL 14 where it was permanent until you didn't need it anymore. IIRC, it was like 10 or 15 bucks and you could purchase one boost, for one type. Like I was a Butterfly goalie, so I picked the boost for... Hybrid. I don't know why... Don't ask questions. But when I equiped it, it made all my stats rise and gave me a 75 ovr. The downside is that I couldn't customize my attributes, but I could still collect exp points and allocate them. Until they superseded my boost stats, at that point I just removed the boost and went with my own attribute points.
The game I'm playing now doesn't even offer that, it offers per game boosts. And there's a boost for 4 different aspects of the game, Shooting, Stealing, Du.... *ahem* Artful Scoring, and Blocking. So if you want to boost all your stats for ONE game, you have to use 4 boosts! The caveat is that they're relatively cheap and you can win a whole bunch for free by doing some daily quests or *ahem*, spinning a wheel of fortune type thing.
16K Players?? I don't think there are even 1600 players playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 on any given night but that doesn't stop me from playing it every night and finding matches. LOL!
But what you're talking about has more to do with the matchmaking system, which, we all agree, is not good at all. Even if we were talking about just 20 players, why would the players just beginning want to be saddled with people who are ranked in the top tiers? Do you know how often I've seen lobbys in NHL 14 to NHL 19 where one side you had all ranks between 1-10 and the other side had full prestiged vets? The matchmaking is truly atrocious if it allows for those types of matchups. But it has nothing to do with the number of players playing the game, let's be clear.
Maybe when EA finally realizes that their Hockey game needs to have more HOCKEY in it than Fortnite, maybe then the population grows. There's a whole untapped market of people who love hockey, but aren't into video games that could be convinced to play one... If only there was an ACTUAL hockey game on the market that these people could go and give a try and not some pathetic glitch master fest like we have now, eh?
Any hockey fan I've known throughout the years would regurgitate his entire week's lunches if he were to experience the glory of the LT abusing in this game. LOL! No hockey fan buys this game, because it's not hockey. You know what game Basketball fans buy?
I disagree with giving people an XP boost. If I have to earn my rank and grind out games from day one, people who don't get the game on release should not be given special treatment. A slight attribute boost wouldnt be a bad idea I suppose but it would have to be just enough to be competitive but not too much where it's a deciding factor.
Those would be my sentiments as well. But @WainGretSki makes a valid point that people that get this game later in its life cycle (like during Christmas) will be at a huge disadvantage over the rest. Especially if they want to be competitive in leagues like LG and such. Having a slight boost to XP for a limited time makes them, as you say, at least competitive enough so that if they have skill, they'll compete with the rest while speeding up their leveling up process just enough so that it doesn't take them until spring to get fully ranked up.
Again, it took me about a month and a half to fully reach legend 3 back in NHL 14, and I'm a father of 4, with a full time job, so I didn't have all day to grind out my cards. But the boost helped me keep up with the rest of the league, while allowing me to use my skill to rank up and not rely on some artificial "exp" crutch.
In the end, I'm always in favour of a compromise. It doesn't really affect anything with those who bought the game on launch. I mean they'll still have all the stats and exp from playing the game from the get go. The rest wouldn't get "special treatment" per se; they'd still need to play the game to level up, just not as many as the rest did. But then again, they did miss out on over 2 months of playing, and they had to PURCHASE a boost to help them out, while everyone else played the game and leveled up without dishing out anything extra. So I guess that evens it out, no?
I suppose so but if I'm upgrading my copy of NHL, I should also receive an XP boost. I guess it comes down to casuals vs hardcore players and the hardcore crowd will always feel jaded if they don't get something some casual player gets. I buy the game begrudgingly on release date every year so I may biased in my opinion.
If everyone was given the same skater build from day one, regardless of position and allotted the same amount of points per three categories (offense, defense, athletics), there wouldn't be a need for boosts of any kind.
Yeah like last gen, although they had different builds with different values, which I liked.
Upping your Snipers hitting costs more points than upping his shot accuracy, etc.
Although they did have the +3/+5/+7 boosts, I didn't mind them, I could take or leave them.
The only thing I didn't like was you had to grind to Legend 3 to get full points, so yeah everyone starting with the max would have been better.
Why are people so bent out of shape over this helmet thing? EASHL is NOT, I repeat NOT the NHL. So why does it matter? Someone said tht the game is not HOCKEY 20 but the franchise mode is 100% NHL. EASHL was never designed to be the NHL, it has ALWAYS been the EASHL. If you don't like the helmets, thats fine but how come there is no complaints over people using dark unis on the road or other oddities? Jersey tuck isn't allowed in the NHL or at least it wasn't but it's in there and people use it. How come no complaints for that? EASHL is not NHL and was never meant to be
Why are people so bent out of shape over this helmet thing? EASHL is NOT, I repeat NOT the NHL. So why does it matter? Someone said tht the game is not HOCKEY 20 but the franchise mode is 100% NHL. EASHL was never designed to be the NHL, it has ALWAYS been the EASHL. If you don't like the helmets, thats fine but how come there is no complaints over people using dark unis on the road or other oddities? Jersey tuck isn't allowed in the NHL or at least it wasn't but it's in there and people use it. How come no complaints for that? EASHL is not NHL and was never meant to be
Why are people so bent out of shape over this helmet thing? EASHL is NOT, I repeat NOT the NHL. So why does it matter? Someone said tht the game is not HOCKEY 20 but the franchise mode is 100% NHL. EASHL was never designed to be the NHL, it has ALWAYS been the EASHL. If you don't like the helmets, thats fine but how come there is no complaints over people using dark unis on the road or other oddities? Jersey tuck isn't allowed in the NHL or at least it wasn't but it's in there and people use it. How come no complaints for that? EASHL is not NHL and was never meant to be
Says who?
What you mean, says who? There are no NHL players in EASHL and secondly it is called EA SPORTS HOCKEY LEAGUE. Can't get more obvious than that I would think.
Why are people so bent out of shape over this helmet thing? EASHL is NOT, I repeat NOT the NHL. So why does it matter? Someone said tht the game is not HOCKEY 20 but the franchise mode is 100% NHL. EASHL was never designed to be the NHL, it has ALWAYS been the EASHL. If you don't like the helmets, thats fine but how come there is no complaints over people using dark unis on the road or other oddities? Jersey tuck isn't allowed in the NHL or at least it wasn't but it's in there and people use it. How come no complaints for that? EASHL is not NHL and was never meant to be
Why are people so bent out of shape over this helmet thing? EASHL is NOT, I repeat NOT the NHL. So why does it matter? Someone said tht the game is not HOCKEY 20 but the franchise mode is 100% NHL. EASHL was never designed to be the NHL, it has ALWAYS been the EASHL. If you don't like the helmets, thats fine but how come there is no complaints over people using dark unis on the road or other oddities? Jersey tuck isn't allowed in the NHL or at least it wasn't but it's in there and people use it. How come no complaints for that? EASHL is not NHL and was never meant to be
Says who?
What you mean, says who? There are no NHL players in EASHL and secondly it is called EA SPORTS HOCKEY LEAGUE. Can't get more obvious than that I would think.
Neither are real competitive/amateur hockey leagues around the world. However the same helmet rules apply. Whether it's AHL, KHL, Liga or your weekend Beer League.
Just think of it this way: if you play hockey with an official on the ice, he will apply the rules and one of the rules is you MUST wear a helmet, period. Doesn't have to be just the NHL.
Now if you're talking about Drop-ins or pond hockey, then fine. But if I play in LG and I'm at the AHL level, then there shouldn't be the possibility of removing the helmet.
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PSN undertaker9999
Most people wouldn't mind outdoor hockey if there was a SPECIFIC mode that allowed for that. There are so many options from the Heritage Classics, the Winter Classics and the Stadium Series. Or just "Pond Hockey" if you don't wanna bother with the licensing side of it (we all know it's about the dolla-dolla, bling, bling).
I agree that pigeonholing everyone into the same cookie-cutter builds was the WRONG way to go to "balance" the game for online EASHL play.
I would suggest looking at how another company does it for their sport game. Not gonna name "who", but when you start building your player, you choose your biometrics first (height, weight, body build, face, etc). Then you chose what position you want to play. And then you pick from either a set of traits which determine your player ARCHETYPE, or you select from pre-determined Archetypes by picking from a list of known players who fit that role. Lastly, you're given a set amount of "points" to allocate to your base attributes to begin with. Then you play out your season/carreer to gain more attribute points to add to your profile and your player grows from a measely under 70 ovr to an over 90 ovr Super Star.
The only part I hate about how THAT game does it is that it allows you to buy points with real money which you can use to bypass actually playing to get to the top.
If there's one thing I would suggest to EA is to avoid that and instead offer boost packs that last a certain amount of games, like 1, 5, 10, 20, etc. Using these boosts in offline or online games give you a better chance of competing while also allowing you to collect more points for your performance, which in turn leads to being able to allocate more points to your base attributes quicker than if you would play without boosts. But you would still need to PLAY games to level up.
I don't really mind having the "clown" gear per se. I think it's nice to have an option to differentiate your avatar from everyone else's. But again, maybe take a page out of that other game's book and instead of opening random "bags" with random gear in them, have the player visit shops where he can buy anything from hats, to shirts, to sticks and skates or goalie gear. You play games, you get coins, you use coins to buy the gear YOU want.
Sorry Venom, but I can't agree with the way you propose a build and whatnot. We saw it in the past, it is no good. I think I will never again buy this game at full price. So why should I be punished with a lower overall because I bought the game 2 months after anyone else? All that is fine for offline, but it doesn't work for EASHL. Also for LG, it would again be an unfair advantage of who plays/abuses more to get to you 90 OVR faster.
I think they could do even more with traits and not pigeonhole classes so much by size/weight. For example, I really do not understand why by default a DD has to be big, strong and slow. Why can't I have the size of the PMD, but with better defensive attributes while being not so good of a passer? Why does a PMD have to be small and quick? What if I want to be a big and physical PMD? It's things like that that take away from the mode and its experience. Same for forward classes. Some forwards are more defensive minded in the NHL. Some are purely offense, just like this game. I am fine with player classes, but need more freedom in my choices and more options. Skate blade type, stick blade curve and stick flex should make a return like we had on old gen.
Or maybe make a return with custom attributes that actually work and matter this time and give everyone their points right off the bat. Day 1, everyone is L3 so to speak. Seems to be what the vast majority of the community wants anyways.
However, I do agree with the coins and buying whatever you want instead of these random hockey bags.
Thank you
Just because they botched up on the execution of it in the past, doesn't mean the idea at it's base is without merit.
The problem with how they had it in the past is that on the one part, some attributes were useless. On the other, the entire method of getting experience was broken and exploited by the "top players". I mean, you could literally just get into a club game, play 2 minutes, then quit and get your points + card requirements like games played and grade average. Some people would go from a 65 ovr "rookie" card to an 88 ovr Legend 3 card inside of a few hours.
And I don't buy the whole spiel of "people who buy the game later are at a disadvantage". Are you saying that if you went out and bought Dark Souls 3 now, you'd complain that it's not fair you haven't beaten the last boss when you start the game yet others who bought the game before have already done it dozens of times? How about you, y'know... play the game?
That's the problem with this game series and the community in general; everyone wants instant gratification and EA gives it to them.
Just for the record, when I purchased NHL 14, I bought it late in November for my birthday and joined LG not long after. I noticed most other goalies were rocking at least a 79 ovr, while I was at like 68 with my base stats. What did I do? I purchased a boost for my goalie type which brought me to a 75 ovr so I could at least compete. Meanwhile I played my games and slowly built up my attributes until a month later I was at a solid 81 ovr and didn't need my boost anymore.
I'm not entirely opposed to giving everyone the max amount of points and let them go nuts on their attributes. The only thing that grinds my gears about that is what I explained I thought was wrong with the community: this sense of feeling they need to have instant gratification without even having done anything to merit it. No one wants to accomplish anything because they feel everyone else is better than them so they deserve to be just as good right off the bat.
I for one would rather grind for a month, then be GIVEN something I didn't work for...
Venom, with all due respect (and you know I respect you) you are blowing this out of proportion and making it so much more complex than it needs to be. That was the whole point with abusing the rookie to Legend rank. Give max points right off the bat and this does:
1- no artificial advantage just because you played earlier than I did.
2- No need to add any policing or cheat proofing if you give everyone all points right off the bat.
3- By giving all points off the bat, you are saving a ton of resources and time by avoiding to set up all the "grind" parameters that are based on a completely broken coaching grading system.
Also, I really don't get your Dark Souls analogy and how it pertains to this game. We are talking about less than 5 000 people at a time connected to EASHL on most nights. You want me to play with these guys with an unfair advantage just because you bought the game a few weeks before me? What happened to being a better player because you played longer than me?
I am not looking for instant gratification at all, and you know that. But if your artificial boost is what keeps you in the game, and if that artificial boost makes you think you are better than you actually are, then how is that any better? That is a problem. It creates a false sense that you can indeed play with the better players. The smartest thing EA ever did was getting rid of the grind, but I do not entirely agree with how it got replaced.
You say you would rather grind for a month than be GIVEN something you didn't work for, yet you are being GIVEN an artificial advantage because of a grind.
Maybe if this game didn't have such a pathetic pool of players that barely breaks 16 000 in its first week, then maybe I would be fine with the grind. With a pool of 5 million players (heck, I'll even accept 100 000 at this point) then fine, put me in a grind and match me with other players in my rank. I don't see why a level 6 has to face off against a level P2 25 with a grind involved just because not enough players play this game.....
Also, I was talking about a temporary boost like in... that other game. Not like EA used to have in NHL 14 where it was permanent until you didn't need it anymore. IIRC, it was like 10 or 15 bucks and you could purchase one boost, for one type. Like I was a Butterfly goalie, so I picked the boost for... Hybrid. I don't know why... Don't ask questions. But when I equiped it, it made all my stats rise and gave me a 75 ovr. The downside is that I couldn't customize my attributes, but I could still collect exp points and allocate them. Until they superseded my boost stats, at that point I just removed the boost and went with my own attribute points.
The game I'm playing now doesn't even offer that, it offers per game boosts. And there's a boost for 4 different aspects of the game, Shooting, Stealing, Du.... *ahem* Artful Scoring, and Blocking. So if you want to boost all your stats for ONE game, you have to use 4 boosts! The caveat is that they're relatively cheap and you can win a whole bunch for free by doing some daily quests or *ahem*, spinning a wheel of fortune type thing.
16K Players?? I don't think there are even 1600 players playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 on any given night but that doesn't stop me from playing it every night and finding matches. LOL!
But what you're talking about has more to do with the matchmaking system, which, we all agree, is not good at all. Even if we were talking about just 20 players, why would the players just beginning want to be saddled with people who are ranked in the top tiers? Do you know how often I've seen lobbys in NHL 14 to NHL 19 where one side you had all ranks between 1-10 and the other side had full prestiged vets? The matchmaking is truly atrocious if it allows for those types of matchups. But it has nothing to do with the number of players playing the game, let's be clear.
Maybe when EA finally realizes that their Hockey game needs to have more HOCKEY in it than Fortnite, maybe then the population grows. There's a whole untapped market of people who love hockey, but aren't into video games that could be convinced to play one... If only there was an ACTUAL hockey game on the market that these people could go and give a try and not some pathetic glitch master fest like we have now, eh?
Any hockey fan I've known throughout the years would regurgitate his entire week's lunches if he were to experience the glory of the LT abusing in this game. LOL! No hockey fan buys this game, because it's not hockey. You know what game Basketball fans buy?
I disagree with giving people an XP boost. If I have to earn my rank and grind out games from day one, people who don't get the game on release should not be given special treatment. A slight attribute boost wouldnt be a bad idea I suppose but it would have to be just enough to be competitive but not too much where it's a deciding factor.
Those would be my sentiments as well. But @WainGretSki makes a valid point that people that get this game later in its life cycle (like during Christmas) will be at a huge disadvantage over the rest. Especially if they want to be competitive in leagues like LG and such. Having a slight boost to XP for a limited time makes them, as you say, at least competitive enough so that if they have skill, they'll compete with the rest while speeding up their leveling up process just enough so that it doesn't take them until spring to get fully ranked up.
Again, it took me about a month and a half to fully reach legend 3 back in NHL 14, and I'm a father of 4, with a full time job, so I didn't have all day to grind out my cards. But the boost helped me keep up with the rest of the league, while allowing me to use my skill to rank up and not rely on some artificial "exp" crutch.
In the end, I'm always in favour of a compromise. It doesn't really affect anything with those who bought the game on launch. I mean they'll still have all the stats and exp from playing the game from the get go. The rest wouldn't get "special treatment" per se; they'd still need to play the game to level up, just not as many as the rest did. But then again, they did miss out on over 2 months of playing, and they had to PURCHASE a boost to help them out, while everyone else played the game and leveled up without dishing out anything extra. So I guess that evens it out, no?
I suppose so but if I'm upgrading my copy of NHL, I should also receive an XP boost. I guess it comes down to casuals vs hardcore players and the hardcore crowd will always feel jaded if they don't get something some casual player gets. I buy the game begrudgingly on release date every year so I may biased in my opinion.
If everyone was given the same skater build from day one, regardless of position and allotted the same amount of points per three categories (offense, defense, athletics), there wouldn't be a need for boosts of any kind.
Yeah like last gen, although they had different builds with different values, which I liked.
Upping your Snipers hitting costs more points than upping his shot accuracy, etc.
Although they did have the +3/+5/+7 boosts, I didn't mind them, I could take or leave them.
The only thing I didn't like was you had to grind to Legend 3 to get full points, so yeah everyone starting with the max would have been better.
Says who?
What you mean, says who? There are no NHL players in EASHL and secondly it is called EA SPORTS HOCKEY LEAGUE. Can't get more obvious than that I would think.
EA, years ago.
Neither are real competitive/amateur hockey leagues around the world. However the same helmet rules apply. Whether it's AHL, KHL, Liga or your weekend Beer League.
Just think of it this way: if you play hockey with an official on the ice, he will apply the rules and one of the rules is you MUST wear a helmet, period. Doesn't have to be just the NHL.
Now if you're talking about Drop-ins or pond hockey, then fine. But if I play in LG and I'm at the AHL level, then there shouldn't be the possibility of removing the helmet.
LOL, I just had a flash. Yes, I do indeed remember Peter Puck. LOL. Forgot about that cartoon logo lol.