EANHL BUG GUIDE / RANT

Franchise

Problem: menu extremely buggy and slow

Fix: na (ea says to reset game but it does not work)

Problem: no “sign free agents” selection when free agency begins

Solution: save and exit then reload file

Problem: duplicate power play roles even when you have different skaters selected

Solution: switch to your other power play unit then switch back, the problem should have fixed itself

Problem: receiving trade offer mid draft that disappears before you can even see it 

Solution: na

Problem: different stats for the same player depending on where you’re reading from I.E. Knight has a .915 on franchise hub but .910 under stats central

Solution: na

Problem: unable to sign desired free agent no matter how good the offer is

Solution: na / ea has to take some weight out of organization interest

Problem: receiving someone elses season/career stats when checking a players stats

Solution: the franchise menu is very buggy. Wait a second or two once hovering who you want to select so the game doesn’t register it as the player you were hovering prior

Problem: nhl assistant coaches vanishing between seasons despite having term left on contract

Solution: na

Problem: individual players significantly under performing despite good line fit good ice time and good chemistry with coach

Solution: sign players to their desired contract lengths. It is very common that players under perform when seeking a short-term deal but get signed long-term

Problem: can’t put together a good record despite having good coaches, line fits & an international level roster

Solution: delete the franchise. Every now and then this happens and you will lose your mind before you figure out what you’re doing wrong (you’re doing nothing wrong, sim engine is just cooked sometimes)

 

World of chel

Problem: unable to find a game

Solution: reset dressing room, everyone must leave the lobby for this to happen. If you have an afk player, switch your search to private game and search for about 20 seconds. Switch back to public search and you should be good

Problem: still cant find game

Solution: reset game (my club immediately does this step to not waste more time)

Problem: can’t find game after filling lobby with drop-in skaters

Solution: stop search once your lobby has filled, then search again

Problem: cannot accept woc invites while playing another game mode without getting unexpected error

Solution: save and exit then reset game

Problem: unable to find a full club to play against despite being a full club

Solution: na

Problem: game error post game that kicks everyone out of the dressing room

Solution: na

Problem: dressing room visual glitch (names constantly disappearing and reappearing)

Solution: na

Problem: commonly getting kicked to menu after being picked up by a club from drop-in (allow club games) queue while transitioning to game lobby

Solution: na

Be a pro

Problem: game permanently freezing when receiving x-factors in a coach interaction cut scene

Solution: na, but can be avoided by always saving and exiting your be a pro instead of using the quick resume console feature

Problem: not having a choice in where you sign once your entry-level contract ends

Solution: na

Problem: game commonly crashes while playing bap

Solution: na

Problem: the kids been playing pricy pond hockey for 3 years

Solution: oh my god ea we do not pay almost 100 dollars for a roster update please put work into your game

Gameplay

Problem: player freezing mid game while play continues

Solution: na / get a whistle

Problem: no consistency to ai goaltenders

Solution: na / pray

Problem: game perma freezing while paused in any online mode

Solution: na

Problem: goalie getting sucked into and through the net when attempting to free skate

Solution: na

Problem: repeating puck drop into the game ending

Solution: na

Problem: penalty for tripping despite visibly only making contact with blade/puck

Solution: na / buff discipline attribute

Problem: interference penalty for hitting someone you have your back to while in pursuit of the puck carrier in front of you

Solution: na

Problem: game ai unable to identify 2 on 0 situations on any difficulty

Solution: na

Problem: game ai unable to identify give and go play when receiving pass flat footed on the o zone blue line. Instead, will bank the puck off boards to nobody even if you tap for it, any difficulty

Solution: na

Problem: game ai having borderline superhuman physicality & ability to pick up pucks in their reach but absolutely no hockey sense

Solution: na / a complete overhaul of game ai like they advertised for this very game (literally nothing changed lol)

Problem: the fighting stops and goes to faceoff after the first fight ends despite there being more fights happening

Solution: na

Problem: fight initiates, players drop gloves/sticks. The play is not stopped for the fight and the fight doesn’t even happen, and everyone in the lobby except for one person has no control over their player, meaning a free goal for one team

Solution: na / do not drop the gloves with players who have the visual glitch of having no gloves on

Problem: still no skill checks for picking up pucks

Solution: ea accepting that rng that you can barely manipulate isn’t good enough

Halfway through NHL 25’s life cycle with bugs that have carried on from game to game, you really have to wonder where EA goes from here. I’d like to think that the player base is done accepting bare minimum (if you can even call it that) and we’re making that obvious. You might release another handful of hockey games with success under this monopoly, but good luck getting those rights renewed with NHLPA. It’s pretty well known that EANHL releases laughable games polluted with bugs that not only don’t get fixed, but carry on from game to game.

With only a few years left to EA’s agreement with NHLPA (correct me if I’m wrong) EA really has all the power on where their product goes. They can continue to release bare minimum games and funnel all of their energy into HUT to make additional money short-term, OR they can lock in and focus on the ENTIRE product. For starters, This would look like:

• Fewer bugs when accepting invites
• Fewer bugs in WOC dressing room post & pre game
• Fewer in-game bugs (repeated puck drop, goalies going through their net, fights bugging out the game etc)
• A franchise menu that isn’t buggy and doesn’t take years to navigate
• Putting important matchmaking settings back into the game (room size, match goalie, best location/server)
• Adding a new intro to be a pro, new conversations/challenges that don’t feel unnecessary i.e. take 10 shots in one game, base ALL x-factor achievements off accolades and personal stats (shouldn’t have to play on/captain the same team for 6 seasons or any extensive amount of time to receive any X-Factor that isn’t Born Leader)
• Reserved effort into HUT and seasonal updates to efficiently address new bugs that present themselves and have to be fixed within a REASONABLE time frame
• Introducing GM connected (it doesn’t have to be in the next game, you guys have to prioritize having a game that works EVERYWHERE and functions with less bugs. However, an official GM Connected announcement with a projected release (I’d imagine NHL 27) would do wonders for the sales of your game)

As bad as the state of EANHL seems, it’s really not as bad as we think. This game instantly gets 20% better with fewer bugs and common sense decision making from the EA team. As for the direct gameplay of the game, obviously it will be changed slightly, but don’t change it just to change it! Change it in pursuit of something better! We can deal with another year of luck based chel physics/gameplay, the gameplay can be overhauled once we have a working game! The focus has to be on an efficient menu and bug removals. Why can I create a COD load out in 20 seconds but it takes two minutes to finish my WOC load out? Why is accepting invites a breeze on every other game but a coin toss on chel? Why is the franchise menu all of a sudden unnaturally slow and buggy? Why are game lobbies on WOC always getting bugged leaving players unable to find a game until they reset? Why do I have to save and exit my be a pro every single time to avoid a bug when it’s 2025? Why do game breaking bugs take painfully long to be fixed if they even get fixed? Why does the games community die off not even halfway into its life cycle every year? These are the questions that the EA team can erase with NHL 26. Being a high level player on this game for a very long time I know lots of EANHL’s most dedicated and best players (WOC obviously) and we all seem to be on the same page. NHL 26 will be the last straw. The WOC numbers are guaranteed to drop from 26 to 27 if NHL 26 isn’t a step in the right direction. We’re tired of being good at a bad game. We’re tired of screaming for something better and being ignored. We will put our energy and advocacy for a high level skill based hockey game into the world and it will be heard. They may not have the hut packs or the official NHL players, but if the gameplay is good and it’s not littered with bugs, we all know that EANHL’s sales will come to a crash. Again, the gameplay of EANHL is flawed and could be significantly more skill based but since you guys release a product that IMO struggles to meet beta standards every year, the removal of bugs and an efficient optimized menu must be the focus. Make this happen and we’ll hear you out for NHL 27.

Signed, HUNDREDS of elite ranked players that have been elite in every one of your games for years. 

Edit: Removed all caps. Per the EA Forums rules, please do not abuse formatting. -CM