NHL Ultimate Team and How to Improve It - statnut's Blog

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NHL Ultimate Team and How to Improve It

Posted on January 28, 2014 at 10:50 PM.

If you've played the EA's NHL series (or really any EA Sports title) over the last few years, odds are you've come across the Ultimate Team mode. Described as a combination of fantasy and actual gameplay, you're tasked with creating a team from packs of cards. As is typical of such ventures, the more you put in -- both in-game currency and real money -- the more you get out of it.

NHL's version of the game has undergone some changes since it was first introduced, both good and bad. Here's a look at what EA could do to make the game better.

For starter, take some cues from Madden and FIFA for those who avoid online. Both Madden and FIFA manage to get several things right, especially as far as single player action goes. Madden offers a plethora of solo challenges to take on, while FIFA has a solo version of the Seasons gameplay. With the number of international leagues represented in NHL, there are plenty of teams to play against.

Which leads into my next point. How about some rewards? Oh did you just win that Gold Tournament? Here have 700 pucks. Gee, thanks game. Instead of a paltry sum of pucks, how about a reward pack? Or a specific card, depending on the game. Defeat the Team of the Week? Get one of their cards. There are plenty of cards given out for completing a challenge in Madden, with decent coins awarded as well. It's silly that you can play an entire four-game tournament and not get enough pucks for even a basic Gold pack.

Speaking of packs, how about treating our season ticket and pre-order bonus packs like packs we buy? It's pretty annoying opening one of those packs and discarding all but three cards because of duplicates.

Going back to NHL 12, one of my favorite features was training players up. Yes, you can train now. But it's temporary. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding a low-rated player who had a decent amount of slots and making him a star.

Lastly, how about bringing back the Legends? Yes, we've got Jeremy Roenick, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. In NHL 12 there were nine such players. If it's a matter of cost, how about going for players like Mike Gartner, Pat Verbeek, Grant Fuhr and Al Iafrate. Semi-recognizable names that likely wouldn't cost as much as Gilmour.

What do you think? Did I miss something? Am I off base?

Comments

# 1 ericromain @ Feb 8

I agree with a lot of points here. Winning tournaments for rewards other than pucks is a great idea. Currently I find that my earning pucks is better spent buying up Swiss teams and selling them off rather than playing to win tourneys.

I agree about NHL 12 having somethings better than today. It was fun to train OHL guys. I also miss the salary cap. I wish there was a way to keep the guys with the super rosters in check. Even the finite career length was nice to keep your team looking fresh.

I think the stats in HUT are awful right now. You put a player in My Collection, there is no longer a way to look at their stats unless you put them back on your roster. Then they only keep track of GP/G/A/P/+-/PIM, what about all the other player stats that are kept in BAGM? Then it'd be cool to receive puck bonuses when players reach milestones.