NHL 13: Recruiting

Edit: this season is going rough due to recruiting. Don't let our record fool you. We have been top 100 at one point and are usually around 250 overall. Once we get a few more active players who fit our style we will be back towards the top of the league.

Despite all of my complaints about the game we are still playing. Our team the Hamilton Mustangs are now recruiting if you are interested in trying out. We are only playing 4v4 (with a human goalie) and up. Here is what we need in order of importance:

• Good defenders -- right now our two top forwards take turns playing D because our top two defensemen rarely play. You need to be able to stop scoring opportunities and make good outlet passes.
• Backup goalie -- we have a regular goalie who is very good but occasionally we could use someone else to fill in when he is not around. It would be nice if you play goalie if you could also skate as a defender or even forward if needed.
• Forwards -- who can control the puck, enter the zone under control, and make good decisions passing. Really we like to move the puck well and people who go 1 on 1 all game need not apply. This is the category we need least but if we were able to bring in a quality forward or two one of our other forwards might be persuaded to move to D. 

We do two tiered tryouts. First tryout will be either 5 games or a night of playing with us. The extended tryout is 20 games after which we figure out if you fit our team concept.

We don't play every night but we are shooting to play 3 to 4 times a week if we have the people to do it. We are by and large east coast timezone and play mostly from 7-11pm NHL schedules allowing. Feel free to message Xaroc on Xbox or drop your gamer tag in the comments along with what position(s) you play and we can try to work something out.

NHL 13: Things to Fix for NHL 14

NHL 13 is definitely a better game when you always use human goalies. This has the drawback of needing at least four people to play (in my mind 2v2 with human goalies is pretty terrible). There are, however, a number of things the NHL team really needs to clean up in the next version. Some of these I have mentioned but I figured pulling them together in one post would be useful.

Here is my list in no particular order:

• AI Goalies -- They are just too good. They stop chances that should be nearly sure goals 90+% of the time which is highly unrealistic. It turns the game into a low skill throw the puck at the net and hope kind of game play. 
• AI hitting -- The AI is far too good at hitting and can knock you down at the drop of a hat even if you are 6'3" 225lbs with 85 balance and 13" skates. They shouldn't be pushovers but they shouldn't be able to hit like they do.
• AI passing -- The AI is terrible at passing when you call for it and can't complete a 5 or 10 foot pass at times. Pee wees can complete these passes. Much like they need to tone down the hitting they need to up the competency of short passing for the AI.
• AI decision making -- please stop the AI defense from walking right in front of the goal on defensive zone draws. This has been happening for years and no defender in any league does this.
• Hitting from behind while skating away from someone full speed -- this needs to go away, if I am skating full speed away from someone and they are slightly faster than me they should not be able to knock me down from behind. There is no physics model that supports that. Mind you this has happened to me playing grinder at 6'195lbs and 80 balance and 70 strength.
• Hitting in general -- hitting in general is way too effective and there are far too many teams that just run around like idiots and hit all game and never get penalized enough for it. And god forbid you give them the first goal the (non-existent according to EA) momentum plus intimidation means suddenly your team can't hit an empty net now. It needs to be toned down and more calls need to be made for illegal hits.
• Incidental contact -- With the new skating model people can skate right into opponents and stop their momentum with no call. While I don't think it should be called 100% of the time I do think interference needs to be called enough to dissuade people from doing this all the time. I don't mind some body contact while skating the same direction but when people meet from opposite directions I think there needs to be calls at least some of the time.
• Amount of low skill random goals -- even with human goalies the percentage of low skill pinball goals is way too high. I really think the game needs to reward skill more rather than rewarding slop like it does now. Over half the goals scored against us are just terrible low skill goals.
• Changing face off handedness right before puck drop -- This is a problem that has been around since the series started. How this hasn't been fixed by now I don't know. If you change your faceoff grip less than a second before the puck drops you should lose every time yet they reward cheating.
• Passing -- the passing in this version is really all over the place, it is muddy and imprecise even with high end passing. I preferred the cleaner passing of NHL 12.

When you combine the muddy passing, improved ability to knock down passes on defense (I like this), and the crazy AI goalies you end up with a lot of low skill luck goals. This is a general problem I have with game companies that do balance changes from year to year or even patch to patch. Every single one of them instead of just toning something down a little they go overboard and make whatever they were trying to fix totally useless. The one timer is a great example. Before it was probably 80% effective which was too high. What they should have done was get it to around 30% effectiveness like in real hockey. Instead they have made it less than 10% effective which renders it no better than any other shot (a lot of times worse) and not worth trying against the AI.

Anyway, I am sure a lot of you have other things you want fixed in the next version. Throw them in the comments so we can discuss them.

NHL 13: First Game Back

I realize this is a bit granular but I decided to hop in Online Team Play (OTP) just to see if anything had changed and honestly not a lot has. I know you are saying OTP is a wretched hive of scum and villainy and I agree but nothing happened that was an OTP specific problem. Players played their positions for the most part, played defense, tried to pass, etc. We did have multiple players quit after the first goal but everything can't be perfect. The main game was mostly five of us against two or three of them with CPU goalies.

So off the get go I am playing center and the opposing center is doing the hitching cheat faceoff that EA can't seem to fix (incredibly lazy this is still an issue). It took me a while to adjust but I managed to battle the guy to a draw on the faceoffs (I am normally like 65% in club, I blame rustiness and of course the other guy cheating). We outchanced the other team about 30 to 5 and I managed an assist (double rebound netmouth scramble so no skill involved) and a tip in goal (decent positioning but obviously a bit lucky). That was it for our scoring. I don't remember the other team's first goal but the 2nd was on a quick turnover in our zone that a CPU forward shot past our goalie from like the dot (no skill at all). The game went to three overtimes (because why wouldn't it?) and the game winning goal was a 5 hole goal off of a rebound from around the dot (no skill).

So just to summarize we outchanced the other team badly and lost in triple OT and 4 of the 5 goals in 5+ periods of hockey were not skill based. If it's in the game it's in the game.

I will try to play some with my club when I can get them back together but it is looking like play human goalies or just give up for this year because trying to score against the CPU is just laughably bad.

NHL 13: The Return of the Dead Puck Era

Note: I meant to publish this back in November but I have had to deal with some family issues so it never happened. I am putting it out now because I still think it is worthwhile.

-------------------------------------

Back in the early 1990s up until the 2004 lockout the NHL went through a period of decreased offensive output known as the dead puck era. This time was epitomized by the play of the New Jersey Devils trapping their way to three Stanley Cups. The Devils would choke teams into submission and win games 1-0 or 2-1. Not to take away anything from Devils fans but this was dull unwatchable hockey for everyone else.

This year EA has managed to bring back the slog of those years with NHL 13. I have given them time to make a patch and put in multiple tuner sets to adjust the goalies but this is clearly the game they want us to play. A game where in our October playoff run our last three games ended up 2-1 in 4 overtimes (OT), 1-0 (3OT), and 2-1 (2OT). We got the banner but honestly we were wrung out and it was absolutely zero fun. I would say nearly all of those goals scored in the last three games (by both teams) were cheap rebound goals off of weak wrist shots from bad angles. Real chances including cross creases, solo shots from inside the hash marks, and shots off of nice passing plays in general were shut down like pregame warm up shots.

It is to the point where we crack jokes when we score a goal that looks like an actual hockey goal every two or three games. It it always something along the lines of, "Someone call EA they need to patch that out because it looks like hockey". I get that they don't want automatic goals but the percentages of high quality scoring chances that get stopped are not even close to realistic. The fantastic site behindthenet.ca had a really great post on NHL shooting percentages from particular zones on the ice. As you can see from the plot  shots from below the hashmarks range from 15-35% effective. I haven't run the numbers but I would venture a guess that shots from those areas in NHL 13 are roughly 10% or less effective outside of breakaways. I would happily take good shots from that close in going in at 15-35%. Even worse in NHL 13 it seems to be random what goes in. Last night we had two shots from outside the hashmarks at 45 degree angles go in opposite side. Given that the goalie regularly stuffs 2-1s with perfect passes I have to call those both weak goals. This leads to the impression that scoring and winning is random.

So can teams be good at this game? Sure better teams find a way to win and we have been ranked as high as in the top 100 at times but our method is by playing crazy suffocating defense, letting super goalie clean up most of our mistakes, throwing tons of shots on goal hoping for rebound goals, and springing people for breakaways. I have heard it said the word fun doesn't mean anything and it is lazy to use it. However, in this case, what EA has given us is not fun.

What does this mean for me? I think I am close to being done with NHL 13. I am not sure if I am going back to 12 or just playing other games but as of right now the game feels more like work than entertainment at this point. The joy of setting up beautiful passing plays to score goals just doesn't exist anymore. We don't pass on a two on none anymore because the higher percentage play is shooting it yourself. That, in a nutshell, is an all encompassing  indictment of how NHL 13 has failed us.

-------------------------------------

That was how I was feeling back in November. We are actually thinking about starting up again and our plan going forward is to never play with fewer than 4 players and always use a human goalie. That should fix most of the issues we have with the game.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Power Forward

Today I am featuring a Power Forward build.

Power Forward
Legend 3
5'10"
180lbs
11" Skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the bottom

Deking: 83
Hand Eye: 82 (+8)
Off Awareness: 81
Passing: 70
Puck Control: 81 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 77
SS Power: 70
WS Accuracy: 77 (+8)
WS Power: 80 (+5)

Aggression: 82
Body Check: 87
Def Awareness: 78
Discipline: 80
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 78
Stick Check: 80

Acceleration: 82 (+8)
Agility: 78 (+8)
Balance: 75
Durability: 66
Endurance: 78
Speed: 82 (+8)
Strength: 74

First off, let's get this out of the way, I have not been a fan of the power forward since NHL 11 when speed/acceleration were essentially broken and it was the only build to run. I am going to be comparing this to my grinder build since that is my favorite build right now.

Offensively this build is fairly solid top to bottom, decent shots, decent hand eye, decent deking, and reasonable puck control. It is slightly better than the grinder in this category.

Defensively it seems to hit better than the grinder even with similar checking numbers but also has a worse stick check and defensive awareness. It does seem to scoop up pucks somewhat better than the grinder at similar aggression levels.

Athletically it can take a hit well, maybe somewhat better than the grinder. However, this is offset by significantly worse skating. Even dropping a couple of points in agility makes the build struggle to turn. Perhaps going to 9 inch skates would help but would also limit the speed and acceleration of the build which is already worse than the grinder. Playing this build I found myself a step behind the play a lot which hurt defensively and offensively.

So in summary I am not a huge fan again but I could see this working if you like to work the walls and camp in front of the net for garbage. Just don't expect to out run or out turn many people with this build.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Two Way Defenseman

This week we have a two way defender build that should allow you to keep the front of the net clear and yet also chip in a bit offensively.

2 Way Defender
Legend 2

6'0"
195lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the bottom


Deking: 77
Hand Eye: 79 (+8)
Off Awareness: 77 (+5)
Passing: 82
Puck Control: 78 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 77 (+5)
SS Power: 82
WS Accuracy: 69
WS Power: 65

Aggression: 79
Body Check: 82
Def Awareness: 85
Discipline: 82
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 79
Stick Check: 82 (+5)

Acceleration: 82 (+8)
Agility: 81 (+8)
Balance: 75
Durability: 65
Endurance: 80
Speed: 81 (+8)
Strength: 75

I have noticed that once you get a decent number of points (say legend 1) you really start running out of places to spend them for a lot of these builds. It really comes down to how you configure your boosts. It makes +3s even more important than before because the cap is a hard limit whereas in NHL 12 you could look at the costs of something and see if that +3 bought you more than a +5 somewhere else.

So to that end the entire offensive category outside of the wrist shot attributes are maxed. I debated between  having higher deking vs. the higher hand eye and went with hand eye. I think 84 is just a bit too low to one time a shot. If you are a team that plays catch and then shoot then 84 is probably enough and you can spend that boost on deking or somewhere else. The slapshot is reasonable and there are spares for the wrister even.

Defensively everything is maxed that is important and the rest went into shot blocking.

Athletically this is a pretty strong build with good skating attributes, endurance, and even a moderate amount of balance and strength. The high level skating will allow you to stay with quick forwards and the balance and strength will help you against an aggressive forecheck.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Grinder

I teased this earlier on Twitter but I really do think this may be the One True Build™* for NHL 13. I will list the reasons in a minute but first here is the build:

Grinder, Legend 2
5'10"
180lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the top

Deking: 80
Hand Eye: 82 (+8)
Off Awareness: 75
Passing: 70
Puck Control: 78 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 70
SS Power: 65
WS Accuracy: 76 (+8)
WS Power: 78 (+5)

Aggression: 81
Body Check: 84
Def Awareness: 85
Discipline: 80
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 66
Stick Check: 85

Acceleration: 84 (+8)
Agility: 80 (+8)
Balance: 65
Durability: 65
Endurance: 80
Speed: 84 (+8)
Strength: 65

From memory those checking/aggression numbers seem a bit off compared to what I was getting in game but it is maybe a point or two so it doesn't really matter. Everything else seems in order.

So what makes this the One True Build™? Let's cut right to the chase and look at athletics. Even at Legend 2** you have skating attributes better than any other player type in the game. Specifically acceleration and speed are both two points beyond what you can get out of any other build. Even agility is within two points of every other build and better than some. But back to speed and acceleration. Speed and acceleration are basically everything in this game, they let you get in on the forecheck faster, get back on the backcheck faster, and give you more room and time on offense because you aren't as pressed by people pursuing you from behind. You can actually slow down after building up a gap and get away a decent shot or pass or pull up and set it up in the zone with less worries of being defended.

As you can see on defense it is super solid and you don't need a single boost there unless you play center. For playing center the changes I make are +8 on faceoffs on the stick with just a single +5 wrist shot accuracy. Max stick check, faceoffs, discipline, defensive awareness, and then dump the spares into aggression then checking. Offensively and athletically the build is the same (outside of the lost wrist shot power and accuracy). Notice, you can hit 95 in faceoffs as a center which you can only do as a grinder or a two way forward so it makes a good center build.

Now I am sure you are looking at this offensive setup and saying, "How can you do well with those attributes?" The answer lies in what works offensively for NHL 13. For all intents and purposes you can't score from outside the hashmarks since two tuners ago so you don't need an amazing shot. The passing attribute and passing in general is mostly broken in this version so you don't need great passing. The hand eye is competitive with all other player types. The puck control looks weak but if you can keep the puck away from people you don't really need much. Also, you won't lose the puck from small bumps with this setup even with the base balance and strength. The amount of deking is fine for almost anything. Breakaways are not really a problem for this build especially with the extra speed.

This build is very similar to the dangler in NHL 09. By that I mean the dangler had two extra points of speed that you couldn't get with any other build. Dangler was not the best offensive build but with the extra speed you almost felt like you couldn't play anything else. I think grinder is in the same boat based on the inherent speed and acceleration advantages it has.

* That isn't trademarked I am just having some fun.
** I have already looked at some numbers for Legend 3 and will do a separate post once I hit that level and do some testing but how does 94 speed sound?