NHL 13: Attribute Maximums

As I mentioned in my first impressions there are caps on certain attributes for different player types. EA was kind enough to list them here. I reformatted them into something readable and put them up here for your enjoyment.

A couple of quick thoughts on this:

• Effectively the max on any attribute is 95 (no one will bother with using +1 boosts since it is counter productive).
• For center if you want the highest faceoffs you have to run Two Way Forward or Grinder. Playmaker comes in 3 points behind and I think the rest you can just throw out the window as far as center is concerned.
• Fastest skater looks to be the Grinder on offense and Offensive and Two Way Defender are tied on the backend.
• Max agility is effectively 90 and shared by a few builds. It looks like EA wants you to feel those turns in NHL 13.
• This isn't about the chart per se just an observation but it looks like in general shot power is a lot more important this year than last. I didn't start beating the cpu goalies much at all until I got my shot power up to 84 and higher. I am generally matching power and accuracy this year but I could see going higher power and lower accuracy as well.

NHL 13: First Impressions

This is going to be a pretty quick hit but I just want to go over my first impressions of the game after around 40 games played.

Things I like:

• The new skating engine -- feels good and makes you think about momentum by balancing speed versus turning ability.
• Puck chop -- gives you a quick way to move the puck when someone is bearing down on you during a loose puck pickup.
• Poke check -- easy to take the puck away
• Easier to block passes and shots -- easy to take away passing lanes and stop shots

Things I don't like:

• Extremely hard to score -- this is the hardest it has ever been to score in an NHL game to start and there are multiple reasons
• The goalie are all like Johnathan Quick on crack -- they let in basically nothing aside from rebound put backs.
• The easy of blocking shots and passes -- almost impossible to setup any kind of one timer and even then the goalie gets there 95% of the time.
• Lack of penalties being called -- lots of away from the play interference not being called (this is not in front of the net) and you can board people from behind as much as you want and might get a two minute penalty every once in a long while. I have yet to see a 5 minute major be handed out. I suspect they took it out.
• They put the ability to dive into the goalie and knock the puck loose BACK in -- I am not sure how this happens but they somehow managed to put cheesy behavior back into the game that they had removed last year.
• Might as well take the A button off of your controller on defense -- stick lift is pointless now other than for getting penalties, of course the poke checking being godly makes up for this and more.

Other notes:

• They have added hard caps on attributes per skater type -- for example the max you can get in Discipline on a sniper is 80
• Costs for attributes has changed radically from last year -- poke check jumps up to costing over 100 experience per point for a sniper very quickly

I think as everyone gets more cards and boosts scoring will becomes easier but at this point it is like pulling teeth. I have heard that EA is basically taking the approach that they will make the goalies like gods to start and they tune them back to reality. There was a new tuner set last night and I managed to beat a goalie with a regular shot from the slot so there is hope. Overall it is a pretty solid effort and I am hoping it gets tuned to be better with time.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Defensive Defensemen

This week's build (maybe I should call these builds of the month instead) is a hard hitting defensive defenseman.

A link to the build can be found here.




Defensive Defenseman
Legend 3
6'2"
210lbs
11inch skates
Regular flex
Lowest curve

Deking: 50
Hand Eye: 70 (+5)
Off Awareness: 40
Passing: 80 (+5)
Puck Control: 79 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 72 (+8)
SS Power: 77
WS Accuracy: 50
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 98
Body Check: 90
Def Awareness: 99
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 50
Fighting: 60
Shot Blocking: 85
Stick Check: 94 (+5)

Acceleration: 77 (+8)
Agility: 77 (+8)
Balance: 76
Durability: 60
Endurance: 85
Speed: 80 (+5)
Strength: 81 (+5)

Offensively this build lacks punch. You really want to get the puck off of your stick and to the forwards as soon as possible. The passing is mediocre but good enough for passes mainly straight up the ice. The puck control is also somewhat suspect so you don't want to hold it longer than you have to. With the slapper you have the limited ability to one time it but you mainly want to try and get it low and on net to cause the goalie problems.

Defensively is where this build comes into its own. It has maxed attributes in almost every category that matters. This build excels at taking away the puck and cutting off passes through the center of the ice in the offensive zone. If you are in the right position this build will stop almost anything from going through you.The hitting isn't maxed but the aggression is nearly and that is what makes this build work. The intimidation factor lets you pick up pucks in the defensive zone that other builds shy away from. If you can get a couple of hits in on players (and a lot of times even when you don't) they will lose puck battles to you just because you have your aggression so high.

Athletically this build is very average. Balanced skating attributes let you pivot comfortably but you really need to concentrate on being in proper position because the lack of overall speed can be a liability. You have some endurance to be able to recover quickly but you want to again focus on position.

This isn't a flashy build and I personally prefer offensive defenseman or two way defenseman but with the right D partner and team you can do well with this setup.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Power Forward

This week I am featuring a power forward build. This is a muscle your way to the net and setup in front type of build.

A link to this build can be found here.

Power Forward
Legend 3
6'0"
195lbs
11" blades


Deking: 90 (+5)
Hand Eye: 83
Off Awareness: 80
Passing: 90 (+5)
Puck Control: 94 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 60
SS Power: 75
WS Accuracy: 77 (+8)
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 89
Body Check: 55
Def Awareness: 48
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 60
Fighting: 60
Shot Blocking: 60
Stick Check: 87 (+8)

Acceleration: 87 (+8)
Agility: 67
Balance: 60
Durability: 60
Endurance: 90 (+5)
Speed: 87 (+8)
Strength: 84

First off let me tell you I am not terribly fond of the power forward as a build this year. Last year when strength and endurance were king it was *the* build. This year with more focus on speed it kind of loses its luster. That being said it is very good at a couple of things. The first being picking up loose pucks and the second being shooting well while being tied up in front.

The offensive setup is good, better than a grinder. It has a decent wrister, passing, puck control, and deking. Hand eye and offensive awareness are average but not amazing. You are frequently going to be headed to the front of the net with this build. Cause screens and look for tips and setups off the post.

Defensively you will notice the criminally low defensive awareness mixed with a very high aggression. This oddly doesn't hurt you much defensively. You will knock pucks down and pick up loose pucks in the corner because of that aggressiveness. The stick check is good so use it.  Body checking is low but you don't really need it to hit people plus that aggressiveness will make every hit count.

The athletics for this build are similar to my latest playmaker build but more strength for shot power, hitting, and the ability to take hits. You should be about as quick as you can for a power forward. If you find yourself not moving quick enough or turning well enough dump a couple of points out of acceleration and speed and put agility up or lower your height and weight (to say 5'10" 170lbs) and bump up to 13" skates. Given this is a power forward you are probably best going with that first route if you need changes.

Enjoy the power forward and hit me up on Twitter if you have a request.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Offensive Defenseman

This week I am featuring a smooth skating offensive defenseman build. Suitable for anything from 3v3 to 6v6.

A link to this build can be found here.

Offensive Defenseman
Legend 3
6'1"
195lbs

11" blades

Regular Stick Flex

Lowest Curve

Deking: 72
Hand Eye: 90 (+5)
Off Awareness: 95
Passing: 90 (+5)
Puck Control: 94 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 88 (+5)
SS Power: 80
WS Accuracy: 66
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 57
Body Check: 50
Def Awareness: 94 (+5)
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 50
Fighting: 40
Shot Blocking: 65
Stick Check: 94 (+5)

Acceleration: 85 (+8)
Agility: 85 (+8)
Balance: 60
Durability: 60
Endurance: 92
Speed: 85 (+8)
Strength: 52

As expected the offensive side of the puck is the strong suit for the offensive defenseman. This build excels at making crisp breakout passes and has a nice accurate slapper that you can score with from the high slot. The high hand eye also helps out defensively adding the ability to pick pucks out of mid-air.

Defensively the numbers look really good from a non-physical standpoint. Maximums in stick check and defensive awareness give you the ability to take the puck away. With the checking the way it is this year you can still lay a forward out from time to time as well. I will point out though that even with 99 stick check and defensive awareness the offensive defenseman is not as good at picking off passes/taking way the puck as a two way or defensive defenseman. Each build has hidden strengths and defense is not one of them for a defender in this mold.

Athletically you can see everything is balanced between acceleration, speed, agility, and endurance. This, along with the 11" skates allows you to change direction smoothly and keep a close gap with just about any forward. This is the strength of the build defensively. You aren't going to overpower players or pick off as many passes like the defensive defenseman does but you will be able to stay right on forwards and with some clever stick lifting and poke checking take the puck from them or possibly even deny them the puck in the first place. In addition these athletics allow you to jump into the play to create odd man rushes but still be able to get back as long as you are smart about picking your spots.

That is all for this week. I have a request for a power forward build and I will try to accommodate that next week. Feel free to comment or hit me up on Twitter if you have questions.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Playmaker Center Addendum

I talked about my playmaker center build in my last post. After running this setup for a while I decided to swap back to having some agility and set my athletics up like this:


Acceleration: 85 (+8)
Agility: 79
Balance: 55
Durability: 60
Endurance: 95
Speed: 85 (+8)
Strength: 50

It is still very quick but feels smoother than the other setup. 79 agility still isn't a ton but I think you can get away with it and the 13 inch skates if you have a smaller player. If you decide to go larger with this setup 6' 200lbs and up I would definitely go with 11 inch skates. Larger players seem to have less inherent agility.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Playmaker Center

Sorry for the long layoff but I thought I would try to get back into doing this. This week I am featuring a super fast playmaking center that excels in 6v6 matchups.

A link to this build can be found here.

Playmaker
Legend 3
5'10"
180lbs

13" blades

Regular Stick Flex

Second Lowest Curve

Deking: 94 (+5)
Hand Eye: 99
Off Awareness: 99
Passing: 90 (+5)
Puck Control: 94 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 60
SS Power: 50
WS Accuracy: 90
WS Power: 72

Aggression: 41
Body Check: 40
Def Awareness: 77 (+5)
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 91 (+8)
Fighting: 40
Shot Blocking: 60
Stick Check: 87 (+8)

Acceleration: 86 (+8)
Agility: 65
Balance: 55
Durability: 60
Endurance: 98
Speed: 87 (+8)
Strength: 50

This is a build I like to use to play 6v6 but it works pretty well in most situations. Offensively it has a decent shot you can hit the net with. I had been messing around with a 99 accuracy/76 power shot  that is nasty against cpu goalies but against humans you really don't need it quite that high. The first 5 stats are stacked (I prefer the 95 passing over 99 ) so you will have good overall offensive ability with this setup.

Defensively the 95 stick check is plenty for me. and the 82 defensive awareness is not bad considering the 99 in faceoffs that the center is burdened with. I may try to find a way to get that even higher since defensive awareness makes you skate faster on the backcheck.

The athletics really reflect my new views on what is an optimal setup. Acceleration and speed are everything. Agility (provided you are 5'10" and shorter) doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The high endurance allows you to spam hustle when needed and keeps you going at high speeds without tiring. They have changed hustle enough that it can't be used as an effective replacement for acceleration it really doesn't kick in immediately. Seems far more useful to just get that extra burst once you are near or at full speed.

Anyway, hopefully I get back into the habit of doing these. As always feel free to comment.

Edit: Added a quick addendum to this post here talking about a different athletics setup.