Thursday, October 3, 2013

NHL 14: Build of the Week -- Two Way Forward Center

This week features a two way forward that will help you take over the center of the ice.

Two-Way Forward
Legend 1
6'2"
195lb
Regular flex
Second curve from the bottom
11" Skates

Deking: 75
Hand-Eye: 85
Offensive Awareness: 75
Passing (+7): 87
Puck Control (+7): 87
Slap Shot Accuracy: 66
Slap Shot Power: 65
Wrist Shot Accuracy (+7): 85
Wrist Shot Power: 75

Aggressiveness: 81
Body Checking: 70
Defensive Awareness: 89
Discipline: 79
Faceoffs (+7): 95
Fighting Skill: 65
Shot Blocking: 68
Stick Checking (+7): 90

Acceleration (+12): 90
Agility (+7): 81
Balance (+7): 80
Durability: 77
Endurance: 90
Speed (+12): 90
Strength (+7): 80

Props go out to http://pixelhockey.net/builder/ for their awesome NHL 14 player creator.

Offense is not bad on this build. The wrist shot is just about perfect for scoring in a variety of ways including screened wristers against both CPU and human goalies. Puck control and passing are solid. Hand eye is solid. Deking and offensive awareness are low so it is not the greatest on breakaways and don't try a lot of no-look passes with this setup.

Defensively this is a very strong build. Poke check is great, defensive awareness is great, faceoffs are maxed, and despite the seemingly low body checking this build will lay a lot of people out. The aggression is nice for picking up loose pucks and also intimidating people you hit. There is a smattering of discipline but this build shouldn't take a lot of penalties if you are smart with it.

Athletics are pretty strong top to bottom. Acceleration and speed are what stir the drink. The agility is reasonable and with the 11" skates it allows for pretty good turning.  Strength and balance are good so this build can take and give a hit pretty well. Endurance is high also so that you can keep skating fast all game.

This build can play it anyway you want. It is good on the rush, cycle, or in front of the net. It can also shut down teams by cutting off passing lanes, dealing out big hits, or taking away the puck with a well timed poke check.

10 comments:

  1. love your builds, but really waiting for best D build. I've been using OD or TWD, so far.

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    1. I'm one of the guys that play D on the Mustangs and this is the build I'm using at SS3: http://pixelhockey.net/builder/p/4WzPIhK5 (Yes it needs to be adjusted if you have +7 spd)

      11" skates, 6'2" - 192lb, Regular Flex, Neutral Curve I'm sure Xaroc will post an optimized version at some point :)

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  2. Good to see you're back posting builds. I usually start with your builds and then customize down to my playstyle.

    One question, even though you probably do not play a lot of 2v2 - what do you find is the best defensive settings (ie. 1-3-1) where the computer reacts the best. Biggest thing for me is that defenders are just pilons and let people skate right around them without taking the body. I find the computer players to be painfully inept this year while some of my opponents have computer players that come out crushing people.

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    Replies
    1. In HUT I tend to run 1-4 on defense back check. But I also set my defenders to be super aggressive (left on the d-pad). Same in EASHL if we are playing with fewer than 5 people.

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  3. Thanks! super aggressive... is that high pressure?

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, and if that doesn't seem to be working try puck side attack. But having the CPU attack the other team aggressively can work pretty well.

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  4. Thanks that helped a lot - my team went 5-0 last night

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  5. Replies
    1. Sorry, been playing Xbox One so haven't been focusing on NHL 14 as much. Hopefully I will be able to get back to it later this winter.

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