Struggling with Analog Controls

[cgm110]

Hi Guys,
I am struggling with analog controls and cannot figure out why
Any tips would be appreciated (or a beginner slider set so I can get better)
I don't want to dumb the game down with classic controls but not sure why I am so awful with the analog controls

A) What is the best way to get the opponent/CPU off the puck-- whenever I poke check I get a tripping penalty 80% of the time --- I can stick lift effectively here and there but also get hit with hooking calls--- whenever I try to hit a player off the puck, my player does like a 360, misses, and I give up a break-away

B) SOG AGainst-- I am giving up 50-60 shots per game -- this is killing the game for me --- despite that I usually hold the opponet to 2-4 goals

C) Passing-- I am having two problems with passing
C1) The CPU is intercepting probably 75% of my passes
C2) I will have the vision cone to a wide open player and the pass will be wayyyyyyyyyyyy off the mark (soemtimes even going all the way to opposite end of the ice) very frustrating

[The EVHL]

Quote: Originally Posted by cgm110

Hi Guys, I am struggling with analog controls and cannot figure out why Any tips would be appreciated (or a beginner slider set so I can get better) I don't want to dumb the game down with classic controls but not sure why I am so awful with the analog controls A) What is the best way to get the opponent/CPU off the puck-- whenever I poke check I get a tripping penalty 80% of the time --- I can stick lift effectively here and there but also get hit with hooking calls--- whenever I try to hit a player off the puck, my player does like a 360, misses, and I give up a break-away B) SOG AGainst-- I am giving up 50-60 shots per game -- this is killing the game for me --- despite that I usually hold the opponet to 2-4 goals C) Passing-- I am having two problems with passing C1) The CPU is intercepting probably 75% of my passes C2) I will have the vision cone to a wide open player and the pass will be wayyyyyyyyyyyy off the mark (soemtimes even going all the way to opposite end of the ice) very frustrating

You just have to keep practicing. I've been on the "sticks" since their inception and the controls are so much better than the old-school face buttons. Once they become even slightly familiar, you'll realize how much face-button controls really held-back from a more skillful and accurate virtual hockey representation.

A) Hitting this year is a great tool. They finally made hitting actually a viable option, make sure to point your Right Stick (RS) at the player you want to hit. I would suggest finding a slider set on the slider forums, applying those sliders, then turning the in-game difficulty down to has low as you feel comfortable. I run a modified AlTito set, the puck is a lot more loose in his set and I believe it makes the 50/50 puck battles more engaging and fun.

To add, the Defensive Skill Stick (DSS) is a wonderful too to help dislodge the puck. Instead of of tapping RB (this is why you're taking so many penalties) learn to hold RB and aim your stick with Right-Stick (RS) at the same time. You can pre-aim your initial stick direction by holding RS in the desired direction before holding RB to initiate DSS. When using DSS, you can sweep your stick, but you can also perform a manually aimed poke-check (different than a normal RB tap poke) by pressing down on RS (R3 as they call it) and your player will extend your stick in the direction you're currently aiming at when R3 is clicked.

B) Try to not chase the puck so much, also if you're constantly on the PK and losing possession, you'll naturally give-up more shots. This might be due to your skill level more, and should naturally decrease as you get better.

C) The CPU has CRAZY user-input reading abilities this year, meaning the game is taking your LS input and making the CPU players pre-react to that pass as a sort of artificial anticipation. I personally like this feature as it makes the game that much harder. In-order to beat this, you'll have to get more comfortable with skating away from pressure, and also you'll need to make more "easy" passes. Forcing passes up the boards will lead to crazy interception rates. A big tip, when loading up a pass with RT, you can cancel that pass by pressing LB before you release RT. If you see a CPU "anticipating" your pass, simply LB and escape from pressure.

C2) For more passing success, get very comfortable with holding the puck out with RS. As someone who has played this game very competitively online since the stick has been out, you need to make pretty much all of your passes with RS held out to a side in-order to have success passing. I have no idea what it is, but I think any competitive player will tell you that holding RS out to either side makes your passes so much more accurate than without doing that. It's been that way since the skill stick has been around, and if you want to be a more accurate passer, get the muscle memory down to always have your RS extended to a side in-order to make a pass.

I'm sure the controls seem daunting at this point as you're just starting out. DSS was introduced in 17 or 18 I believe, so that's a fairly new control to the series, and it's one that I see many struggle with still. I believe the tripping complaints have been at an all-time high this year, so there clearly is a learning curve to the feature that many people in the community have yet to master. I'd say just keep playing with the controls, get that holding RS muscle memory down, and sprinkle in some DSS on defense and just keep grinding.

Hope my tips helped, and happy welcome to the skill stick era. I wish I could go-back to your skill level again. The game was fresh, fun, and rewarding!