These happen ALL OF THE TIME. It's as if you have to face upwards to intercept the pass.
Both are examples that could swing either way in real life. Sometimes it gets through sometimes it doesn't. In this game it rarely getting disrupted.
Basically both are passes to the skate area where near impossible to get the stick but also hard to get through skates.
I actually agree with this, however if they make the interceptions realistic like this but don't make accepting one-timers realistic and the passing realistic, then it's horrendously unbalanced in the forwards' favour. If this game was tuned realistically I'd actually be somewhat okay with this result.
Bingo. One timers need to be hard. After all, they are the most difficult shot you can take in hockey.
If - we have to worry about gliding, balance, angle, as defenders
Then - forwards should have to worry about gliding, balance, a perfect pass to complete a one timer...not just press UP.
These happen ALL OF THE TIME. It's as if you have to face upwards to intercept the pass.
Both are examples that could swing either way in real life. Sometimes it gets through sometimes it doesn't. In this game it rarely getting disrupted.
Basically both are passes to the skate area where near impossible to get the stick but also hard to get through skates.
I actually agree with this, however if they make the interceptions realistic like this but don't make accepting one-timers realistic and the passing realistic, then it's horrendously unbalanced in the forwards' favour. If this game was tuned realistically I'd actually be somewhat okay with this result.
Bingo. One timers need to be hard. After all, they are the most difficult shot you can take in hockey.
If - we have to worry about gliding, balance, angle, as defenders
Then - forwards should have to worry about gliding, balance, a perfect pass to complete a one timer...not just press UP.
Will never happen. Game is so unbalanced right now because they want to make playing fowards as easy as possible while playing D and goalies hard as possible. They have no idea how much that ruins gaming balance.
These happen ALL OF THE TIME. It's as if you have to face upwards to intercept the pass.
Both are examples that could swing either way in real life. Sometimes it gets through sometimes it doesn't. In this game it rarely getting disrupted.
Basically both are passes to the skate area where near impossible to get the stick but also hard to get through skates.
I actually agree with this, however if they make the interceptions realistic like this but don't make accepting one-timers realistic and the passing realistic, then it's horrendously unbalanced in the forwards' favour. If this game was tuned realistically I'd actually be somewhat okay with this result.
Bingo. One timers need to be hard. After all, they are the most difficult shot you can take in hockey.
If - we have to worry about gliding, balance, angle, as defenders
Then - forwards should have to worry about gliding, balance, a perfect pass to complete a one timer...not just press UP.
Will never happen. Game is so unbalanced right now because they want to make playing fowards as easy as possible while playing D and goalies hard as possible. They have no idea how much that ruins gaming balance.
It's really not that bad. Forwards can be removed from the puck so much easier in this game in comparison to 20. It is definitely not perfect but it isn't nearly as bad as the last version.
These happen ALL OF THE TIME. It's as if you have to face upwards to intercept the pass.
Both are examples that could swing either way in real life. Sometimes it gets through sometimes it doesn't. In this game it rarely getting disrupted.
Basically both are passes to the skate area where near impossible to get the stick but also hard to get through skates.
I actually agree with this, however if they make the interceptions realistic like this but don't make accepting one-timers realistic and the passing realistic, then it's horrendously unbalanced in the forwards' favour. If this game was tuned realistically I'd actually be somewhat okay with this result.
Bingo. One timers need to be hard. After all, they are the most difficult shot you can take in hockey.
If - we have to worry about gliding, balance, angle, as defenders
Then - forwards should have to worry about gliding, balance, a perfect pass to complete a one timer...not just press UP.
Will never happen. Game is so unbalanced right now because they want to make playing fowards as easy as possible while playing D and goalies hard as possible. They have no idea how much that ruins gaming balance.
It's really not that bad. Forwards can be removed from the puck so much easier in this game in comparison to 20. It is definitely not perfect but it isn't nearly as bad as the last version.
I like to call it 3 steps forward 2 steps back. (the life story of EA NHL games).
but its not that bad. It definitely promotes good team defense. Less over aggressive offensive zone and one dman always bailing you out. Of course how easily you get in those situations is a-whole-nother rant.
These happen ALL OF THE TIME. It's as if you have to face upwards to intercept the pass.
Both are examples that could swing either way in real life. Sometimes it gets through sometimes it doesn't. In this game it rarely getting disrupted.
Basically both are passes to the skate area where near impossible to get the stick but also hard to get through skates.
I actually agree with this, however if they make the interceptions realistic like this but don't make accepting one-timers realistic and the passing realistic, then it's horrendously unbalanced in the forwards' favour. If this game was tuned realistically I'd actually be somewhat okay with this result.
Bingo. One timers need to be hard. After all, they are the most difficult shot you can take in hockey.
If - we have to worry about gliding, balance, angle, as defenders
Then - forwards should have to worry about gliding, balance, a perfect pass to complete a one timer...not just press UP.
Would be great!
.. And somehow nerf hook-passes, thats the most dangerous offensive tool. Impossible to read, as a defender.
If we get honest for a moment, when YOU do these kind of cross-crease passes and then one-time it to the net (your your team-mate does it), do you feel a sense of achievement or pride? You know, when you do a behind your back off-hand pass from the boards, straight between the goalie and two d-men with their sticks there, and facing you, and all the way to the far post to your guy who taps it in?
Do you think 'wow that was a great play', or do you maybe think 'I can't believe that worked' or 'that shouldn't happen'? If you're completely honest?
And when it happens time after time, and the d-men seem to be flapping around ineffectively? Do you think 'just like in NHL' or maybe you feel a slight emabrrassment, hm?
Like maybe d-men need to be super-humanly perfect all the time, and the offence just throws them passes at the goal so your guys can bury it? Git good is all you have?
I do not understand some of these guys here. This game is an offensive juggernaut that has eclipsed even NHL 20. They come in here and talk about wanting the defense less automated, while not having a single gripe about the offense.
- Puck retention for the offense is at an all time high.
- Poke checks magically return to the stick of the guy it was poked away from.
- Mini-micro stick battles that happen, do so in such an instant manner that there's no defending against it. No input from the player other than skate.
- Defense will position themselves against a forward's body where it would be impossible to stick handle, let alone retain the puck, yet the stick will clip through that defender's body, the puck will be free for a half-second before the forward will pick it up and keep skating while the defender remains flat-footed by the very nature of the game putting him in that position. No input required from the player other than skate.
- Automatic puck transfers ARE STILL A THING, especially if you're a D-man trying to breakout with the puck and your stick just happens to go near a forward who is still skating the wrong way. I really hate this one. Of course, no input required other than skating.
- Forwards will reach for loose pucks much more frequently now. No input required from the player other than skate.
- Forwards intercept passes in the neutral zone much more effectively than defenders in their small ownership of ice.
- There are 23 offensive dekes in this game. There's poke, DSS, stick-lift, desperation dive, and block shot for the D. You can pick up a penalty using any one of these defensive tools AND using them will always slow your player down considerably. No spam required.
- Backhand passes are faster than forward passes with tape to tape accuracy of a Navy Seal sniper.
- In the NHL where the defense can pivot around without losing speed, is the complete opposite in 21. Defensive pivots were nerfed allowing for even an AI D to be burned by some Sniper or Dangler the size of a pee-wee hockey player.
- Forwards still continue to curl into the boards to avoid hits. It's their safe space and it's difficult to poke or stick lift in this position because their stick with the puck clips through the boards.
- I can count the frustrating number of times where even if I get the puck first when it's behind my goalie's net, the game wants defenders to lose the puck back there for no reason other than a forward is chasing back there with you.
- AI on the offense is overpowered again. They will beat you to lose pucks, push you off the puck, interfere-hold you in front of the net and on the boards, as well as deke like McDavid. They also take one-timers better than humans.
- Goalies have been nerfed big time for big scores as the one-timer has been buffed to be THE meta.
All this and you're telling me ONE buff to interceptions for D-men in perfect position to intercept passes is asking for too much? Passive defense and good positioning shouldn't be rewarded? Give me a break please. My team will score in every way this game lets us and even when we win I'm STILL here advocating for better defensive tools, better goalies, and a better balance between offense and defense. I've been doing it since 18 and I'll keep doing it until there's change. Sadly, there won't be any when the same people continue to defend absolute crap. I'm even surprised the "Don't change anything. Leave it the way it is now!" thread isn't sticked at the top of this forum.
Here's to the sim we'll never, ever get.
Who are the guys in here that are NOT advocating for more offensive responsibility/accountability? I feel like you lose credibility when you say things like this, because there’s really only 2-4 of us who aren’t in agreement here that pass interceptions need a buff. I haven’t seen any of us claim that offensive accountability levels are fine. Just because I don’t believe in a pass interception buff due to my experience with the game so far, doesn’t mean I believe the offensive side of the puck is perfect. I’m merely advocating for the vicious cycle of buffed auto-animations and lack of accountability to not continue. Saying the defense needs a buff because the offense is OP doesn’t make the game improve in the long run. It simply gives us the same boring meta we’ve had the last few years.
Conflating these two points doesn’t further this conversation and doesn’t make me want to continue discussing it if my opinions keep getting presented in a way that differs from what I (or others with a similar opinion) actually wrote.
These happen ALL OF THE TIME. It's as if you have to face upwards to intercept the pass.
When trying to get an auto-intercept, you need to make sure you are in a spot where you have room to pivot with LT so that you face the puck while also having a split second to let go of all inputs. Should this be the case? Idk that’s what I’d actually like to debate without having my opinions misrepresented every other post (not by you), but that’s a different story...back to the topic at hand, that’s the way the game works in its current state so that’s what I do. It was really touchy like this in NHL 13-15 old-gen, I played full-time competitive 6s RD from 09-18 so take my experience/opinion for whatever you value it at, but I’m not some drop-in hero trying to act like I’m the only one to ever play the game. This has just been my experience with 21 so far.
I don’t know how to articulate this well but essentially, I always want to be a tad deeper and a bit inside than the receiver because we know the pass is going to the stick out in-front of the receiver right? So, in this scenario I would’ve skated forward till I had a bit of cushion (no need if you already have cushion, stay facing the play) because I’m only reading the receiver and right now and I’m at best even. Then, I would’ve anticipated the force coming shortly, so in would’ve held LT, aimed LS back and to the left (probably at a diagonal) to face the play, then I would’ve let go of all inputs until the inevitable pass is made, or until the forward peels off, goes lower, something other than pass. Using this technique with a PMD at a sub 90 DA stat, I have not had an issue intercepting passes. The trick is to be inside and a bit ahead because you prevent the short-side cut if you’re inside, and because you’re forced to glide, being a bit ahead will actually let the receiver catch-up to you make the passing lane easier for your character to intercept cleanly.
The second scenario you are supplying input when the pass is already en route. In that literally exact scenario, doing nothing else but letting go of LT for a split second, I have intercepted passes consistently without having to face the play. If you don’t believe me, again, apply the 1st scenario instructions to this with a small modification. Because he’s going to the back door and you’re already in-front, you will actually take a few steps towards the front post to give you some room to backup. Then, press LT, point back and to the right and let go of all inputs. This should give you a clean interception.
This technique has worked for me flawlessly in 21. I get the struggles of 1v1 modes, I get that the AI is still lacking in off-puck scenarios, but in 6s hockey, you should be able to intercept passes with ease if you read the play and preemptively mitigate rather than reactively mitigate. In both of these scenarios, I wouldn’t even though twice about the puck carrier doing anything other than passing. I get to the required position, get into a glide state facing the play, and I’ll react/improvise if the carrier does anything but pass. It’s a weird spot for us defensemen. The game speed is so fast and everything is super accelerated but requires the utmost patience for success in defense.
Work on the technique I provided you and I bet you’ll start seeing more pass interceptions. Again, I’ve been doing this and feathering LS + LT for 8 years straight now. This is the only way I can guarantee an interception so it’s the technique I chose to master. You can try and say I’m full of crap after if you want, but I haven’t seen any videos on here if people using my technique for intercepting passes and having the puck end up behind them. Every single video involves user input while the pass is en route. There’s no room for error when doing that this year. The quicker the community adapts, the quicker we can focus on reducing offensive automation/help levels rather than asking for buffs on the defensive side of the puck.
I’m not trying to be arrogant or claiming that I know everything, but I do know that my method works because it’s worked for me for years and it’s still working in 21. I don’t think the offensive side of the puck has to do enough to score, don’t think they’re punished enough for poor decisions, but I’ll still stand by opinion that interceptions are in a good spot.
^how am I supposed to do this technique when forwards can either sprint literally right past you or stop up and then force a pass behind your skates (where you have zero chance to intercept it)?
^how am I supposed to do this technique when forwards can either sprint literally right past you or stop up and then force a pass behind your skates (where you have zero chance to intercept it)?
If forwards are 'literally sprinting right past you' than you need to stop them from generating speed through the neutral zone.
Stop them by using DSS to force them forehand or backhand - which results in them no longer skating and having to stall and make a decision:
These slight slow-ups in the neutral zone also allow your defenders to get back and stop a cross crease.
Also - I wish I saw more discussion about passive DSS being used to disrupt shots in the cross crease:
^how am I supposed to do this technique when forwards can either sprint literally right past you or stop up and then force a pass behind your skates (where you have zero chance to intercept it)?
I find myself using a very active stick to control the gap, and if someone is going to just challenge me outside, I let them go outside and get half a step ahead while I race them back to the front post. More often than not, they’re on their off-wing so they want to cut middle to shoot. Giving them a half-step on the outside gives them the illusion that they’re going to beat you to the net when I’m reality, you’ll cut them off as soon as they more inside. When you let someone get a half step ahead on the wing, t mitigates the cutback as well because you’re basically forcing them to go to their backhand where you’ll eventually cut them off. Assuming you don’t chance to the boards, your angle/path will beat them to the net and will also discourage the cutback. I also use PMD for the great skating as it allows me to cut off time and space even easier, allowing for more aggressive gaps.
This shows pretty good what hook passes does to your AI.. Ovi shouldnt be a threat here.. Especially beacuse how he acts.. what so many do.. Turn away from the play.. (?!?) A sharp turn.. That tricks my AI to think he will turn to the outside.. and he gave up he's position, so he can hook.. And then get that area my AI just let up...
- Defense will position themselves against a forward's body where it would be impossible to stick handle, let alone retain the puck, yet the stick will clip through that defender's body, the puck will be free for a half-second before the forward will pick it up and keep skating while the defender remains flat-footed by the very nature of the game putting him in that position. No input required from the player other than skate.
As you can see, driving Bergeron towards the board is a bad move, as he can make his stick immaterial (Bauer Vapor maybe), and move it handily through my d-man's both legs, and then just pick up the puck which has followed his stick through the legs, and ONLY then is dislodged. EA, it's indagame, just like the NHL elite does it right?
But not to worry, because my d-man Weber is there to take care of the waiting Panarin. So he holds his guy (not), and then tries to poke the puck away (not). Then Panarin, without being least bit inconvenienced by the happenings, throws a snap shot and scores. Never mind Weber's stick or the fact that Panarin's shot animation goes THROUGH Weber's legs. So yeah....
I am just stunned when I see this happening on a daily basis (this game happened two hours ago). Ok, it was Squad Battle which everyone know is the game that is the worst mode stacked against you. But that this can actually happen at all is just mind-boggling.
And then we're given explanations about why it happened, you did this and that wrong, and so the sticks and bodies have to be incorporeal in those situations... because why, you can't code it any better EA?
In my eyes, this game will always remain a horrible joke on NHL, as long as this is allowed to go on. And it seems it will never be 'fixed'.
Great clip of capturing what's making this game unplayable for most of us , as for a fix I'm sure they'll say it's an intentional action ,so I'm not holding my breath for any kind of fix , because as long as the offense is op and all the little Mary's and Nancy's are happy because they get use their new goal celebration's all is right in EA land
My two cents to try and provide some constructive criticism:
I find as a defenseman, I have hits that result in zero contact animation. Every now and then, I will clip through forwards or just bounce off of them even though I outweigh them greatly. Those are frustrating as just losing the puck, or having the offensive player slow down would be sufficient, but instead nothing happens and they continue on.
My biggest complaint is not being able to turn around when I want to as a defenseman, but I deal with it. I just stay further back than usual when there is threat for a breakout pass.
Losing the puck behind the net randomly is annoying as anything, but that has been a problem for years. It is what it is.
There are way too many auto fight hits. I have 70 total minutes of penalties in 83 games. 55 of them are auto fights from hits. I don’t want to fight 99% of the time. I’m there to play, not sit in the box.
AI goalies in club have been incredible some games. To the point in which games go into overtime 1-1, 2-2 way more often. Not sure if I’d want that changed much, but maybe having the likelihood of a slap going in every now and then. I very rarely see it on club. If the defense has to respect the defensive shot more, it would open up other possibilities for a little more realistic defensive experience, rather than everyone just stacking up against the cross crease. Adversely, I see goalies biting on loose pucks when I poke or create a turnover at times. Not sure why, but it has only burnt me one or two times.
I have gotten penalties when I should not have. Charges when I was the one getting killed. Interference from the stick lift when either team loses the puck and it goes free for a split second (in which I had initiated the lift before the puck was lost). Not too often, but it has happened.
I’m probably alone with this one, but please put a perk that would assist with board passes. That would be great for defensemen to alleviate some of the crazy pressure at times in club.
Sticks clipping through multiple players in front of a shot is very frustrating. I have had players shoot around 3 or 4 defenders at angles that simply don’t make sense at times due to offensive players shooting through people. Not sure what could be done for that, as lag compensation is probably a factor with this.
We find ourselves playing the same clubs over and over at times. 2, 3 games in a row. It gets old at times.
Lastly, the stick lift on the cross crease. I will try and get a clip the next time I see it, but I will attempt a stick lift, and it just results in a strange animation of almost a slight stumble and hesitation. Not too often for me, but those almost always result in a goal. I think y’all are being too harsh on some of this, as I think this game is a step in the right direction compared to the 20 goal games we would frequently experience last year. Small adjustments to little things being displayed in this thread could really balance this game out.
@Oboeee Nice writeup and I agree with much of what you said. The only thing I disagree with is you saying scoring goals in NHL 20 was easier, or more abundant. I think it was harder to score goals in 20. Much harder than it is now. It's getting out of hand. To put it into perspective, we've scored 267 goals in 64 games. The top team in 6's club has scored 663 goals in 131 games. 3's is in the stratosphere with the top 3's team scoring 962 goals in 190 games. These are just modes with AI goalies as well. The 6's LG teams w/ a human goalie stats are just as inflated. If you scroll down the list you'll notice that there's not really any gaps in this goal scoring either. Everyone from the top down in their rank are very close in goals scored. I think it needs to be curbed. A lot. This game released just 13 days ago + a 10 hour early access head start, and already there's a very huge disparity between goals scored and games played.
These numbers are on Xbox. I'll definitely be interested to see what kind of numbers the PS4 is pushing.
I dont know about you, but I have seen some pretty woozy defense out there, people that just throw themselves on the ice in pure panic.. And people thats behind the their own net when I score.
Its a miracle I give up some games considering the non-defense I play against.
I would say 80% dosent really know yet how to defend. The only thing they try to protect is the cross creases but if you don't go for that play, they seem to have no idea on whats happening.
I dont know about you, but I have seen some pretty woozy defense out there, people that just throw themselves on the ice in pure panic.. And people thats behind the their own net when I score.
Its a miracle I give up some games considering the non-defense I play against.
I would say 80% dosent really know yet how to defend. The only thing they try to protect is the cross creases but if you don't go for that play, they seem to have no idea on whats happening.
Thanks for the constructive feedback. If you could get some video, that would help. Especially when it comes to the penalty issues you're seeing.
As far as auto-fights go, those happen when you injure someone. You mention using a bigger player and being forced to fight a lot so it also sounds like you play a very aggressive, big-hitting game. Apologies if I'm wrong, but if that's the case, you're going to open yourself up to more fights with that style of play.
Replies
Bingo. One timers need to be hard. After all, they are the most difficult shot you can take in hockey.
If - we have to worry about gliding, balance, angle, as defenders
Then - forwards should have to worry about gliding, balance, a perfect pass to complete a one timer...not just press UP.
Will never happen. Game is so unbalanced right now because they want to make playing fowards as easy as possible while playing D and goalies hard as possible. They have no idea how much that ruins gaming balance.
It's really not that bad. Forwards can be removed from the puck so much easier in this game in comparison to 20. It is definitely not perfect but it isn't nearly as bad as the last version.
I like to call it 3 steps forward 2 steps back. (the life story of EA NHL games).
but its not that bad. It definitely promotes good team defense. Less over aggressive offensive zone and one dman always bailing you out. Of course how easily you get in those situations is a-whole-nother rant.
Would be great!
.. And somehow nerf hook-passes, thats the most dangerous offensive tool. Impossible to read, as a defender.
Who are the guys in here that are NOT advocating for more offensive responsibility/accountability? I feel like you lose credibility when you say things like this, because there’s really only 2-4 of us who aren’t in agreement here that pass interceptions need a buff. I haven’t seen any of us claim that offensive accountability levels are fine. Just because I don’t believe in a pass interception buff due to my experience with the game so far, doesn’t mean I believe the offensive side of the puck is perfect. I’m merely advocating for the vicious cycle of buffed auto-animations and lack of accountability to not continue. Saying the defense needs a buff because the offense is OP doesn’t make the game improve in the long run. It simply gives us the same boring meta we’ve had the last few years.
Conflating these two points doesn’t further this conversation and doesn’t make me want to continue discussing it if my opinions keep getting presented in a way that differs from what I (or others with a similar opinion) actually wrote.
When trying to get an auto-intercept, you need to make sure you are in a spot where you have room to pivot with LT so that you face the puck while also having a split second to let go of all inputs. Should this be the case? Idk that’s what I’d actually like to debate without having my opinions misrepresented every other post (not by you), but that’s a different story...back to the topic at hand, that’s the way the game works in its current state so that’s what I do. It was really touchy like this in NHL 13-15 old-gen, I played full-time competitive 6s RD from 09-18 so take my experience/opinion for whatever you value it at, but I’m not some drop-in hero trying to act like I’m the only one to ever play the game. This has just been my experience with 21 so far.
I don’t know how to articulate this well but essentially, I always want to be a tad deeper and a bit inside than the receiver because we know the pass is going to the stick out in-front of the receiver right? So, in this scenario I would’ve skated forward till I had a bit of cushion (no need if you already have cushion, stay facing the play) because I’m only reading the receiver and right now and I’m at best even. Then, I would’ve anticipated the force coming shortly, so in would’ve held LT, aimed LS back and to the left (probably at a diagonal) to face the play, then I would’ve let go of all inputs until the inevitable pass is made, or until the forward peels off, goes lower, something other than pass. Using this technique with a PMD at a sub 90 DA stat, I have not had an issue intercepting passes. The trick is to be inside and a bit ahead because you prevent the short-side cut if you’re inside, and because you’re forced to glide, being a bit ahead will actually let the receiver catch-up to you make the passing lane easier for your character to intercept cleanly.
The second scenario you are supplying input when the pass is already en route. In that literally exact scenario, doing nothing else but letting go of LT for a split second, I have intercepted passes consistently without having to face the play. If you don’t believe me, again, apply the 1st scenario instructions to this with a small modification. Because he’s going to the back door and you’re already in-front, you will actually take a few steps towards the front post to give you some room to backup. Then, press LT, point back and to the right and let go of all inputs. This should give you a clean interception.
This technique has worked for me flawlessly in 21. I get the struggles of 1v1 modes, I get that the AI is still lacking in off-puck scenarios, but in 6s hockey, you should be able to intercept passes with ease if you read the play and preemptively mitigate rather than reactively mitigate. In both of these scenarios, I wouldn’t even though twice about the puck carrier doing anything other than passing. I get to the required position, get into a glide state facing the play, and I’ll react/improvise if the carrier does anything but pass. It’s a weird spot for us defensemen. The game speed is so fast and everything is super accelerated but requires the utmost patience for success in defense.
Work on the technique I provided you and I bet you’ll start seeing more pass interceptions. Again, I’ve been doing this and feathering LS + LT for 8 years straight now. This is the only way I can guarantee an interception so it’s the technique I chose to master. You can try and say I’m full of crap after if you want, but I haven’t seen any videos on here if people using my technique for intercepting passes and having the puck end up behind them. Every single video involves user input while the pass is en route. There’s no room for error when doing that this year. The quicker the community adapts, the quicker we can focus on reducing offensive automation/help levels rather than asking for buffs on the defensive side of the puck.
I’m not trying to be arrogant or claiming that I know everything, but I do know that my method works because it’s worked for me for years and it’s still working in 21. I don’t think the offensive side of the puck has to do enough to score, don’t think they’re punished enough for poor decisions, but I’ll still stand by opinion that interceptions are in a good spot.
If forwards are 'literally sprinting right past you' than you need to stop them from generating speed through the neutral zone.
Stop them by using DSS to force them forehand or backhand - which results in them no longer skating and having to stall and make a decision:
These slight slow-ups in the neutral zone also allow your defenders to get back and stop a cross crease.
Also - I wish I saw more discussion about passive DSS being used to disrupt shots in the cross crease:
I find myself using a very active stick to control the gap, and if someone is going to just challenge me outside, I let them go outside and get half a step ahead while I race them back to the front post. More often than not, they’re on their off-wing so they want to cut middle to shoot. Giving them a half-step on the outside gives them the illusion that they’re going to beat you to the net when I’m reality, you’ll cut them off as soon as they more inside. When you let someone get a half step ahead on the wing, t mitigates the cutback as well because you’re basically forcing them to go to their backhand where you’ll eventually cut them off. Assuming you don’t chance to the boards, your angle/path will beat them to the net and will also discourage the cutback. I also use PMD for the great skating as it allows me to cut off time and space even easier, allowing for more aggressive gaps.
Every player that has the puck, im thinking, will he shot or pass, and correct my player therefore.
Pass - I put effort to be more close to were I think the puck will go.
Shot - put pressure on the puck carrier.
9/10 people pass..
Shot is only if they have to.. Or short side.. And of course cross creases.
So most importantly is to be in good positioning for he's next pass.
This shows pretty good what hook passes does to your AI.. Ovi shouldnt be a threat here.. Especially beacuse how he acts.. what so many do.. Turn away from the play.. (?!?) A sharp turn.. That tricks my AI to think he will turn to the outside.. and he gave up he's position, so he can hook.. And then get that area my AI just let up...
Great clip of capturing what's making this game unplayable for most of us , as for a fix I'm sure they'll say it's an intentional action ,so I'm not holding my breath for any kind of fix , because as long as the offense is op and all the little Mary's and Nancy's are happy because they get use their new goal celebration's all is right in EA land
I find as a defenseman, I have hits that result in zero contact animation. Every now and then, I will clip through forwards or just bounce off of them even though I outweigh them greatly. Those are frustrating as just losing the puck, or having the offensive player slow down would be sufficient, but instead nothing happens and they continue on.
My biggest complaint is not being able to turn around when I want to as a defenseman, but I deal with it. I just stay further back than usual when there is threat for a breakout pass.
Losing the puck behind the net randomly is annoying as anything, but that has been a problem for years. It is what it is.
There are way too many auto fight hits. I have 70 total minutes of penalties in 83 games. 55 of them are auto fights from hits. I don’t want to fight 99% of the time. I’m there to play, not sit in the box.
AI goalies in club have been incredible some games. To the point in which games go into overtime 1-1, 2-2 way more often. Not sure if I’d want that changed much, but maybe having the likelihood of a slap going in every now and then. I very rarely see it on club. If the defense has to respect the defensive shot more, it would open up other possibilities for a little more realistic defensive experience, rather than everyone just stacking up against the cross crease. Adversely, I see goalies biting on loose pucks when I poke or create a turnover at times. Not sure why, but it has only burnt me one or two times.
I have gotten penalties when I should not have. Charges when I was the one getting killed. Interference from the stick lift when either team loses the puck and it goes free for a split second (in which I had initiated the lift before the puck was lost). Not too often, but it has happened.
I’m probably alone with this one, but please put a perk that would assist with board passes. That would be great for defensemen to alleviate some of the crazy pressure at times in club.
Sticks clipping through multiple players in front of a shot is very frustrating. I have had players shoot around 3 or 4 defenders at angles that simply don’t make sense at times due to offensive players shooting through people. Not sure what could be done for that, as lag compensation is probably a factor with this.
We find ourselves playing the same clubs over and over at times. 2, 3 games in a row. It gets old at times.
Lastly, the stick lift on the cross crease. I will try and get a clip the next time I see it, but I will attempt a stick lift, and it just results in a strange animation of almost a slight stumble and hesitation. Not too often for me, but those almost always result in a goal. I think y’all are being too harsh on some of this, as I think this game is a step in the right direction compared to the 20 goal games we would frequently experience last year. Small adjustments to little things being displayed in this thread could really balance this game out.
These numbers are on Xbox. I'll definitely be interested to see what kind of numbers the PS4 is pushing.
Its a miracle I give up some games considering the non-defense I play against.
I would say 80% dosent really know yet how to defend. The only thing they try to protect is the cross creases but if you don't go for that play, they seem to have no idea on whats happening.
Might sound harsh, but thats 'my' reality.
Truth
Thanks for the constructive feedback. If you could get some video, that would help. Especially when it comes to the penalty issues you're seeing.
As far as auto-fights go, those happen when you injure someone. You mention using a bigger player and being forced to fight a lot so it also sounds like you play a very aggressive, big-hitting game. Apologies if I'm wrong, but if that's the case, you're going to open yourself up to more fights with that style of play.