Franchise Mode is disappointing
EA_Aljo Having played some of the trial of 26, I wanted to give some feedback. I'm quite enjoying the new changes to BAP, and while there are some more changes that I think would make it better (the ability to change positions after picking it the first time, like if I picked left wing and right as secondary, being able to swap or add centre instead) but it's much better then before and I do believe in giving credit where it's due. However I am pretty disappointed that Franchise mode is unchanged. While I wasn't expecting massive changes, it's a bit annoying that nothing new was added. The main thing that I've been asking for for 3 games now is the ability to play as multiple teams in the same franchise, AND the strategies being locked and not being able to be changed other then the little that can be done if I force the coach to change it, but not everything is available there either. These are by far my biggest issues/needs for this game and I don't think it's asking for too much in either case, as they are both available in other modes besides franchise. I have many other issues with the mode but I understand how much smaller of a staff NHL has to do everything, so I don't expect it. But I don't feel these 2 are that big of asks or that difficult to implement for the game. If this is too much to ask, I'd love to know more as to why (not being facetious, I'd actually like to know why it can't be done if so). If these two things were added to the game, I'd buy it day one as it's all I'm looking for tbh, but if not then I'm going to wait until a big sale, because I don't think it's worth it right now. Edit: also adding the news feed that's in BAP into Franchise, I can't express how much I dislike the activity feed, how bland and boring it is and how little it adds.
NHL 26 EASHL MM BROKEN WITH HUMAN GOALIE
Starting this to hopefully get eyes on the matchmaking with a human goaltender on your team. Been trying for 3 straight days and trying to play as a goaltender with my team is not possible. The mm always errors out after about 5 mins and we have to restart. Have not played a game as goalie yet. Switching to a forward/d works in about 1 min or less and we can join games fine. And NO - before you keyboard warriors say "its bc there are no goalies" that would be true if turning on Drop in players doesnt populate a goalie immediately. However playing 6v6 with randoms who troll is not fun. Allow me to play goalie without the mm breaking everytime we try to search.Option to remove Game chat mics ui.
Can we please have a menu option to remove the game chat mic ui? It's massive and takes up a ton of space on screen .It is very hard to see with it in the way. Also revert to default setting button? It's kind of basic game development option. Being able to set your goalie Ui settings up VS skater would be nice as well. Maybe even more stream line visual. The sea of black makes it very hard to see the puck. As a goalie I don't care about all the nonsense except deserning my team from the enemy. Yet if it turn it off the visual options It's set for both skater and G. So idk separate the visual settings... A custom height and distance adjustment on goalie cameras would be amazing. How many years are we going g to be stuck not being able to adjust it?COOP hut modes ( pls add some for people with disabilities )
My nephew absolutely loves HUT but he is disabled and can't play the content by himself. There are no COOP modes in the "offline" aspect of hut, i can't help him with cup chase or wild card, etc. I only see 1 couch play option for wild card, and that's not an option for us. People with disabilities are a real thing, and every other gaming companies recognizes these issues except for EA NHL. Every other sports game has these options of playing COOP ultimate team except NHL. Wild card could be online/offline coop Cup chase 100% can be online coop, but no option to invite. There's zero shot at him completing any of the difficult moments, so him being able to invite me to help him would be good. back in the day "rivals" were COOP, id have him lock in the right D and id play the rest of the team, those were the best days of HUT. I think rivals should bring that back, coop, and 1 person can position lock and the other plays the rest of the team ( this would help disabled people like my nephew who has a hard time tracking a lot of things at once. ). Champions are fine, doesn't need COOP as that's the competitive game mode in HUT, everything else tho is for fun, so why not allow everybody to have fun. Thanks.
Franchise mode overall.
Next year for franchise mode on NHL27, I want EA to -actually make an attempt to added in NCAA into the game. We don’t have Gavin McKenna, Keaton Verheoff which is in fact being projected to go second overall. What also doesn’t make sense to me. Why they’re only in BAP when they can go to other modes and not in like this picture for an example that in the attachments. I feel like I am being Mark Carney nodded by EA sometimes when I make a form.Hut Moments Variable Difficulty?
Can we get variable difficulty for hut moments? Anyone else raging trying to play on Superstar and All-star? Why are we forced to play on these difficulties to get collectables and 78 over players? Sorry this is not fun and I'm pretty close to not playing HUT anymore. Why can't it start on Superstar, then if you fail, it scales down to all-star, then fail again, scales to pro on so on.
NHL 26 FRANCHISE MODE DID I WASTE MY MONEY???
Now that I and many others paid extra to play a broken game that is said to be fixed on Monday when the cheaper version has already been released, maybe we can get some compensation? "We forgotten offline people" 33 expansion should start a year later, so we don’t have double draft and maybe allowing us to find and hire coaches and scouts, and then we would always have had new players when we start the expansion. If we could replace the AHL team when we start expansion, we could have created ready-made AHL teams for our expansion teams. I tend to change teams every now and then, and then I don't have to redo the entire AHL team Animated profile picture for players without a picture... incredibly confusing in 2035 when you don't recognize any players on the team... becomes impersonal and boring Let us change the height/weight and age of players when editing existing players. PLEASE!!!! remove alumni behind old teams like Nordiques, Whalers and North Stars so we can use them in Expansion without them looking stupid (also fix their arenas and audiences) Hope we can get some new team logos and goalie masks without other teams' logos on them. A little tired of hamburger and hot dog logos… Give us some cool ones WOC gets new goalkeeper masks, why can't you put them in franchise mode? Insert more cities Savannah (Ghost Pirates is in the game but we can’t choose neither City or team name for the commentators). I personally would have liked to have Lévis in Quebec city and choose that the commentators say Nordiques It's not much to ask for considering how much and how many people paid for a broken game. EA_AljoGameplay and Presentation Issues
Skating Mechanics - Players’ skates appear to sink unnaturally into the ice, breaking immersion and realism. Stick Physics - Hockey sticks often clip through players’ bodies, which disrupts visual fidelity and realism. Post-Fight Glitches - After fights, players frequently get stuck on other players or objects, causing awkward movement and gameplay interruptions. Stick Interaction with Environment - Sticks lying on the ice behave unnaturally when players come into contact with them, lacking realistic physics responses. Goalie Behavior Behind the Net - Goalie movements when retrieving dumped pucks behind the net feel robotic and unrealistic, lacking fluidity and natural decision-making. Missing Stanley Cup Playoffs Logo on Ice - The iconic Stanley Cup Playoffs logo is missing from the ice surface during playoff games, which negatively impacts the atmosphere and authenticity. In real-life NHL broadcasts, this logo is a key visual element that enhances the playoff experience. Players Clipping Through Referees - Skaters can pass through referees without any collision or physical interaction, which breaks immersion and reduces the realism of on-ice dynamics. Coach Character Models - Coaches on the bench look unnatural in their clothing and posture. Their models lack detail and realism —some older games like GTA 3 arguably had better character modeling (excluding facial detail). Bench Animation Synchronization - Characters on the bench often perform identical animations at the same time, especially when a player is checked into the bench area. This synchronized movement looks artificial and detracts from the realism. Penalty Box UI and Animation - The penalty box interface and animations feel outdated. Adding a staff member who opens and closes the penalty box door—like in real NHL games—would greatly enhance authenticity. Bench Activity During Gameplay - Players on the bench remain static for most of the game. In reality, not all players just sit—some stand, react, or move around. Adding more dynamic bench behavior would improve immersion. Medical Staff Response to Injuries - When a player gets injured, there is no visual response from medical staff. Including a trainer or medic skating onto the ice would add realism and reflect actual NHL protocols. Timeout Functionality - There is no clear or intuitive way for the user to call a timeout using a controller, especially in critical moments near the end of a game. Additionally, AI-controlled teams never call timeouts when trailing, which reduces strategic realism. Crowd Attendance Realism - Arenas are always shown as fully packed, regardless of team performance or game importance. In reality, not all games are sold out—adding variable crowd attendance would improve atmosphere and realism. While some of these issues may seem minor, addressing them would significantly enhance the overall realism and immersion of the game, especially for dedicated fans who value authentic presentation and gameplay details.Patch 1 Update release date?
When is the possible release date of patch 1? I noticed there a few arenas that are missing their names on the ice, the passing icon is not toggled and we still don’t have an option to make the “Full Pressure” red boards optional for our visual settings. Is there a potential date as to when this could happen? Thank you