What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

[JoshC1977]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

Finally put together a "god squad" I like - one I am going to use to play through the Extreme content. While I can use any card for the extreme conquest and mini seasons, I decided that I wanted to just stick with a Season 4-eligible team (and frankly there are very few Set 1 and Set 2 cards that are better than Set 3/4 guys). The final piece was added last night (that absurd Carlos Santana card).

On offense, I decided to forego a Theme Team and instead built my own squad. The predominant requirement for players here was plate vision; the majority of players have vision ratings above 110. The only one below 100 is Joc at 97 - but he's my emergency power bat off the bench as he has the pinch hitter quirk. As a clean-screen directional user, plate vision is critical for performance consistency so this approach should work. The roster (all 99s):

LF - Rickey Henderson (Snapshot)
2B - Craig Biggio (Milestone)
1B - Carlos Santana (Sig Series)
CF - Duke Snider (Milestone)
C - Johnny Bench (Awards)
SS - Ernie Banks (Milestone)
RF - Charlie Blackmon (Snapshot)
DH - Ketel Marte (Retro All Star)
3B - Jose Ramirez (2023 All Star)

Brandon Crawford (Snapshot)
Jackie Robinson
Joc Pederson (HR Derby)
Mike Moustakas (Prime)

Banks is the one player I am a bit uncertain about; I've had mixed outcomes with him in the past. If I falter with him, we'll slide Crawford in at SS. Ketel is only on the squad because of his mission; he goes bye-bye as soon as he gets the needed hits (I actually have not hit well with him on my normal Conquest games on AS..so..). I'm guessing Snider may be a surprise to some, but in terms of plate vision, he's clearly the best-of-class (and it isn't close); this could change as new content gets released.

The pitching staff was actually built around the TA4 Theme Team. To be blunt, the vast majority of 99 OVR pitchers don't stack-up with the boosted 97 OVR Snapshot players (plus we get the added benefit of boosting Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan even more).

SP - Nolan Ryan (Snapshot)
SP - Walter Johnson (Snapshot)
SP - Randy Johnson (Snapshot)
SP - Justin Verlander (Snapshot)
SP - Jim Palmer (Snapshot)

RP - John Franco (1998 Series)
RP - Rob Dibble (Snapshot)
RP - Edwin Diaz (Snapshot)
RP - Trevor Hoffman (Snapshot)
RP - Mariano Rivera (Snapshot)
SU - Aroldis Chapman (Incognito) - Wild Card
SU - Tom Henke (Captain)
CL - Eric Gagne (Milestone)

Once we get the Billy Wagner, we will swap-out Aroldis with him.

[JoshC1977]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

One piece of constructive criticism, along those lines. If you look at the caliber of player behind the top program rewards (Babe, Chipper, Pedro, Mookie, etc.) and the Chase Packs (Elly, Trout, DeGrom, etc.) and compare that to Ranked and BR rewards, the elite cards are all slanted towards the core program grind or the luck / $$ of a Chase pursuit. I grinded it out for Britton and Dibble, regrettably, and while Arenado looks nice, those cards are inferior to the core program or Chase packs in every way. Just something to think through if they want some of these tougher, coveted modes to feel more worth it next year.

Seeing the first two announced BR rewards for today (James Wood and Nelson Cruz) and I couldn't help but think of this post as it's more of the same.

- Chase packs are obviously money makers...rewards have been quite good. Same deal with other "premium" packs.
- Collections definitely encourage spending
- The recent offline programs are beginning to more seriously encourage stub-spending (the rewards have simultaneously improved). Coincidence? I think not...

The online modes though haven't really been monetized yet. The "rewards"...in the tank accordingly.

It's...fascinating....

[SamC24167]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

Seeing the first two announced BR rewards for today (James Wood and Nelson Cruz) and I couldn't help but think of this post as it's more of the same.

- Chase packs are obviously money makers...rewards have been quite good. Same deal with other "premium" packs.
- Collections definitely encourage spending
- The recent offline programs are beginning to more seriously encourage stub-spending (the rewards have simultaneously improved). Coincidence? I think not...

The online modes though haven't really been monetized yet. The "rewards"...in the tank accordingly.

It's...fascinating....

yea none of these rewards are making me want to play to get them at all .. they may be really good but just doesnt have the appeal as some of the other things. I believe if i finished the new monthly awards program coming friday , depending on the amount of cards they put in it, i will have enough cards for the 3rd collection pack and i could probably get close now but i do not want to lock in some of the other cards we have just gotten that i can still sell if a big Cardinals player comes out in a pack or world series . Im almost thinking i sell alot of them and grab that Arenado for the world series program push and then when i get the no sell pack i can sell Arenado back and still be in good shape .

[CWood2]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

yea none of these rewards are making me want to play to get them at all .. they may be really good but just doesnt have the appeal as some of the other things. I believe if i finished the new monthly awards program coming friday , depending on the amount of cards they put in it, i will have enough cards for the 3rd collection pack and i could probably get close now but i do not want to lock in some of the other cards we have just gotten that i can still sell if a big Cardinals player comes out in a pack or world series . Im almost thinking i sell alot of them and grab that Arenado for the world series program push and then when i get the no sell pack i can sell Arenado back and still be in good shape .

Same, and SAME.

This is the worst 3-set for BR I can ever remember. I don't need Events (sorry Bogie). And my God Squad is itching to play Ranked, but not a single online reward makes that team. Maaaaybe Arenado as a platoon because his swing is butter, but at this point in the game, we should be getting an absurd Mays or an all-time great card. Are they holding the fully loaded Griffey Jr. for next series?

I'm sure the playoff programs will be solid (Turner and Rosario from last year are a good baseline), but that doesn't explain why their core rewards are falling off a cliff. When you play literal days-worth of gaming on one game, I feel like they owe you better at this stage.

The other interesting theme is how quickly I get to 650XP, which I've been at for over a week. Once you get there, it's even more important that the other modes are sucking you in, and not sucking wind. I'm afraid the latter is more accurate, and the first couple of series weren't like that. Maybe we're reaching saturation earlier this year because of all the launch 99's??

[ValhallaVikings]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

I'm motivated to get darvish cause I like him but he usually gets nuked when I use him online unless someone is selling out fastball and u spam the slow cutter. When I hit against him I just sit on the cutter. Assuming since it's a Padres card he'll probably top out at like 95mph too

I don't try the prospects cards too much but I actually ran with the Dylan crewes card for a long time, he had a quick trout type swing

I've been chipping away at moments and showdown for all programs so I'm like randomly done with half and completely done with nothing. Team affinity maybe 60% done. I'm just trying to get cards to collect mookie and Foxx. I'm at like 140-150. Assuming without trying it may be easy enough to get the 3rd pack for kluber too but I won't kill myself to get that one. We still have like a month left of set 4 I believe and all this postseason stuff coming.

Its been alright chipping away at moments for me...been about two weeks since I played ranked and felt super good about going 7-0 but then got back in don't want to try too hard mode.

I still want to give online co-op a diligent go but with all this offline content there just isn't any incentive in co-op bc I don't play enough for the world series reward and it doesn't give me progress really towards team affinity or programs so seems like a time waste when you're not simultaneously making progress in obtaining cards... Even if it's just set collection fodder.

[JoshC1977]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

Maybe we're reaching saturation earlier this year because of all the launch 99's??

I honestly don't think that's it. We've definitely been seeing "end-game" cards here in Season 4; some of them are actually better versions of 99s of 99s released in earlier Seasons (Gagne and Trout are examples off the top of my head and I am sure there are others). I suspect Season 5 is going to be crazy as SDS will likely begin rolling-out Retro Finest and Finest cards en masse.

I was perusing Set 1 cards last night and I think there are only a couple of 99s issued during that time that seem unlikely to get a better version as we move forward (The Set 1 collection guys, there was a Retro Finest Bob Feller and maybe 1 or 2 others). The vast majority of 99 OVR players from Set 1 (and probably Sets 2 and 3, though I did not look as deeply) do not have what we would normally see in end-game cards (such as 120+ clutch, 110+ vision ratings, etc.). I think SDS is pretty clearly ramping-up the overall quality of many of the 99 OVR players in Season 4.

Put a bit differently, say we had access to any card in the game and was building a God squad using all 4 sets based on card ratings/quirks (without regards to preferences or "meta"). I am pretty confident that Set 4 cards will increasingly make up a higher percentage of the roster and the Set 1-3 cards on the roster would nearly exclusively be the Set collection rewards.

[ValhallaVikings]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

I honestly don't think that's it. We've definitely been seeing "end-game" cards here in Season 4; some of them are actually better versions of 99s of 99s released in earlier Seasons (Gagne and Trout are examples off the top of my head and I am sure there are others). I suspect Season 5 is going to be crazy as SDS will likely begin rolling-out Retro Finest and Finest cards en masse.

I was perusing Set 1 cards last night and I think there are only a couple of 99s issued during that time that seem unlikely to get a better version as we move forward (The Set 1 collection guys, there was a Retro Finest Bob Feller and maybe 1 or 2 others). The vast majority of 99 OVR players from Set 1 (and probably Sets 2 and 3, though I did not look as deeply) do not have what we would normally see in end-game cards (such as 120+ clutch, 110+ vision ratings, etc.). I think SDS is pretty clearly ramping-up the overall quality of many of the 99 OVR players in Season 4.

Put a bit differently, say we had access to any card in the game and was building a God squad using all 4 sets based on card ratings/quirks (without regards to preferences or "meta"). I am pretty confident that Set 4 cards will increasingly make up a higher percentage of the roster and the Set 1-3 cards on the roster would nearly exclusively be the Set collection rewards.

I'm pretty sure Acuna was like a top card in set 1, and then a better top card in set 3...and he's prob the next chase pack card that will be even better.

Problem is there was never really a time to use nelson cruz, grady sizemore, mike lowell type cards....the most of us just used the "acuna" type from day 1.

I actually don't know how they should release the cards as I think having 99's on day 1 was probably super exciting for most (me anyways) but then it's hard to top....for the community I think set 1 was high praise, set 2 was low praise, set 3 was super high praise, and set 4 was back to low praise....as a whole from the community. Even content creators for set 4 basically aren't making content anymore.

I really have no suggestions for an alternative method other then sprinkling in more core cards or maybe more captain options.

To me there wasn't really a time to use 2/3 dimensional players because we got 4/5 tool studs non stop.

[JoshC1977]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

First of all....I DO NOT want to go back to the old drip..drip..drip system of weekly "upgrade" ratings-creep releases. I suspect the majority of players will feel that way.

IMO, I think there are a couple of fundamental flaws with how SDS has handled the content:

1. Too many 99s. There's a horrifically bad misconception that anything other than a 99 OVR sucks. This lands solely at SDS' feet with their idiotic "Grind 99" mantra and then a content release schedule featuring slews of 99s. There should be 99s every season, but the sheer number should be ramped each season. For Season 1, maybe it's JUST the set collection cards (and LS collection), Chase pack and 1 or 2 others for special occassions (maybe a particularly fantastic monthly award card when deserving). Season 2 may introduce a handful more, season 3 a handful more than that and so on. I don't think players should be able to roll with an all-99 lineup on Day 1. The real problem this year, more than any other, were the specialty packs that over-saturated the game with 99s. Tone those down early-on (but still make them worthwhile - we know SDS, you want your money).

Reducing the number does a couple of things. One, it makes one's skill in roster building actually matter. Two, it encourages Theme Team usage. And finally, it gives folks something to look forward to in future seasons.

2. Not enough core players. I personally think that Topps Now cards should be Core; serving as a bit of an added "boost" if you will for Live Series. This adds a ton of value to completing those programs (which right now are nothing more than collection fodder vs something folks might be excited to use). This gives players a stash of players to choose from to fill-out Theme teams and challenges players more in building beyond merely selecting whichever 99 you prefer. Team building, in a well-designed mode, should be just as important as one's "stick skills". In this game, it really isn't.

3. Not enough "interesting" Team Captain cards. The majority of Team Captain cards have been team-specific or serve as nothing more than an aid in finishing a specific program (to likely never be used again). For non-team specific Captains, I too would make those Core. Remember that 1950s/1060s Willie Mays Captain (Set 1) or the Catcher Captain (Set 1 too)? How good would it be with some of the more recent Set cards released? Can you do it now? Sure, if you make it your Wild Card...which again limits one's ability to truly enjoy the Theme Team feature IMO. SDS released an amazing feature this year with Captains and then darn near sunk it by just flooding the mode with 99s.


Final thought and this one is less of a stance on the topic but rather a question. But are the season lengths optimal? If you play the mode a lot, you probably think the seasons are too long. If they shorten them, the more time-constrained players may get left-out. It's a tough one to balance. Shorter seasons (but with less extreme grinds for the base seasonal program) might help to cycle things more and keep it fresher (and Set eligibility for H2H could be adjusted accordingly). I have no definite opinion here, but I think it's an important aspect of the mode.

I don't know, what do y'all think? I have a very different perspective on the mode than others do, so I am curious if any of this resonates.

[papadell]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

First of all....I DO NOT want to go back to the old drip..drip..drip system of weekly "upgrade" ratings-creep releases. I suspect the majority of players will feel that way.



IMO, I think there are a couple of fundamental flaws with how SDS has handled the content:



1. Too many 99s. There's a horrifically bad misconception that anything other than a 99 OVR sucks. This lands solely at SDS' feet with their idiotic "Grind 99" mantra and then a content release schedule featuring slews of 99s. There should be 99s every season, but the sheer number should be ramped each season. For Season 1, maybe it's JUST the set collection cards (and LS collection), Chase pack and 1 or 2 others for special occassions (maybe a particularly fantastic monthly award card when deserving). Season 2 may introduce a handful more, season 3 a handful more than that and so on. I don't think players should be able to roll with an all-99 lineup on Day 1. The real problem this year, more than any other, were the specialty packs that over-saturated the game with 99s. Tone those down early-on (but still make them worthwhile - we know SDS, you want your money).



Reducing the number does a couple of things. One, it makes one's skill in roster building actually matter. Two, it encourages Theme Team usage. And finally, it gives folks something to look forward to in future seasons.



2. Not enough core players. I personally think that Topps Now cards should be Core; serving as a bit of an added "boost" if you will for Live Series. This adds a ton of value to completing those programs (which right now are nothing more than collection fodder vs something folks might be excited to use). This gives players a stash of players to choose from to fill-out Theme teams and challenges players more in building beyond merely selecting whichever 99 you prefer. Team building, in a well-designed mode, should be just as important as one's "stick skills". In this game, it really isn't.



3. Not enough "interesting" Team Captain cards. The majority of Team Captain cards have been team-specific or serve as nothing more than an aid in finishing a specific program (to likely never be used again). For non-team specific Captains, I too would make those Core. Remember that 1950s/1060s Willie Mays Captain (Set 1) or the Catcher Captain (Set 1 too)? How good would it be with some of the more recent Set cards released? Can you do it now? Sure, if you make it your Wild Card...which again limits one's ability to truly enjoy the Theme Team feature IMO. SDS released an amazing feature this year with Captains and then darn near sunk it by just flooding the mode with 99s.





Final thought and this one is less of a stance on the topic but rather a question. But are the season lengths optimal? If you play the mode a lot, you probably think the seasons are too long. If they shorten them, the more time-constrained players may get left-out. It's a tough one to balance. Shorter seasons (but with less extreme grinds for the base seasonal program) might help to cycle things more and keep it fresher (and Set eligibility for H2H could be adjusted accordingly). I have no definite opinion here, but I think it's an important aspect of the mode.



I don't know, what do y'all think? I have a very different perspective on the mode than others do, so I am curious if any of this resonates.

I find the timing of seasons to be fine for me. I'm usually pretty strapped on time to play so I feel I have ample time to get the seasons done. Ultimately I think they just need more ways to play and more quantity and quality of post program rewards and we're good.

I've been saying forever they need a better and more competitive ranked option. They don't need to get rid of current ranked, just add an option that's more competitive that's never below Hall of Fame with more exclusive rewards.

They NEED a captain/theme team specific mode with new rewards every month. Seriously. How cool would it be to have a legit reason and area to constantly use theme teams with cards never rotating out? It's just more variety and options.

Then if they expand on the post 650XP rewards or add some spicy stuff to that, there's a stronger payout for those that play all the time. It was a cool idea but less exciting when the boss packs contain cards that are fairly weak compared to everything else, so pulling an extra boss for free doesn't feel nearly as special as it would have 2 years ago.

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[daddies3angels]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

First of all....I DO NOT want to go back to the old drip..drip..drip system of weekly "upgrade" ratings-creep releases. I suspect the majority of players will feel that way.

IMO, I think there are a couple of fundamental flaws with how SDS has handled the content:

1. Too many 99s. There's a horrifically bad misconception that anything other than a 99 OVR sucks. This lands solely at SDS' feet with their idiotic "Grind 99" mantra and then a content release schedule featuring slews of 99s. There should be 99s every season, but the sheer number should be ramped each season. For Season 1, maybe it's JUST the set collection cards (and LS collection), Chase pack and 1 or 2 others for special occassions (maybe a particularly fantastic monthly award card when deserving). Season 2 may introduce a handful more, season 3 a handful more than that and so on. I don't think players should be able to roll with an all-99 lineup on Day 1. The real problem this year, more than any other, were the specialty packs that over-saturated the game with 99s. Tone those down early-on (but still make them worthwhile - we know SDS, you want your money).

Reducing the number does a couple of things. One, it makes one's skill in roster building actually matter. Two, it encourages Theme Team usage. And finally, it gives folks something to look forward to in future seasons.

2. Not enough core players. I personally think that Topps Now cards should be Core; serving as a bit of an added "boost" if you will for Live Series. This adds a ton of value to completing those programs (which right now are nothing more than collection fodder vs something folks might be excited to use). This gives players a stash of players to choose from to fill-out Theme teams and challenges players more in building beyond merely selecting whichever 99 you prefer. Team building, in a well-designed mode, should be just as important as one's "stick skills". In this game, it really isn't.

3. Not enough "interesting" Team Captain cards. The majority of Team Captain cards have been team-specific or serve as nothing more than an aid in finishing a specific program (to likely never be used again). For non-team specific Captains, I too would make those Core. Remember that 1950s/1060s Willie Mays Captain (Set 1) or the Catcher Captain (Set 1 too)? How good would it be with some of the more recent Set cards released? Can you do it now? Sure, if you make it your Wild Card...which again limits one's ability to truly enjoy the Theme Team feature IMO. SDS released an amazing feature this year with Captains and then darn near sunk it by just flooding the mode with 99s.


Final thought and this one is less of a stance on the topic but rather a question. But are the season lengths optimal? If you play the mode a lot, you probably think the seasons are too long. If they shorten them, the more time-constrained players may get left-out. It's a tough one to balance. Shorter seasons (but with less extreme grinds for the base seasonal program) might help to cycle things more and keep it fresher (and Set eligibility for H2H could be adjusted accordingly). I have no definite opinion here, but I think it's an important aspect of the mode.

I don't know, what do y'all think? I have a very different perspective on the mode than others do, so I am curious if any of this resonates.

I agree on number 1 100%. I like to see max 95 cards and for people to get them to 99 they have to max there PXP out. This would make everyone have different lineups and decide who they would like to max out to get their best team.

[ValhallaVikings]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

Any guess on lightning card?

I know Soto and Xander had good months but Xander just got a card. Trea turner had a real good September too I believe.

Not sure who all caught fire that I missed

[Cod]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

Any guess on lightning card?

I know Soto and Xander had good months but Xander just got a card. Trea turner had a real good September too I believe.

Not sure who all caught fire that I missed

Yordan Alvarez (AL, Hou) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (NL, Atl) won the player of the month awards for September. Not saying it matters, but it could be one of them.

[SamC24167]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

So after go back and worth with someone who kept outbidding me i bought the 99 Arenado and in his first game in ranked went 2-4 with 2 HRs 4 RBIs id say that's a good first impression . I saw they are releasing a 99 Paul Dejong .. thank you for a SS over the 97 Ozzie now if i can get a set 4 C that would be awesome and not have to use my WILD on Joe Torre i'd be very happy lol .

I must say not even on a Cardinals Bias here but that 99 Waino is really good the speed differential and the movement on his pitches if you can mix things up is really deadly.

[papadell]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

So after go back and worth with someone who kept outbidding me i bought the 99 Arenado and in his first game in ranked went 2-4 with 2 HRs 4 RBIs id say that's a good first impression . I saw they are releasing a 99 Paul Dejong .. thank you for a SS over the 97 Ozzie now if i can get a set 4 C that would be awesome and not have to use my WILD on Joe Torre i'd be very happy lol .



I must say not even on a Cardinals Bias here but that 99 Waino is really good the speed differential and the movement on his pitches if you can mix things up is really deadly.

Easily the best Waino we ever got. I wanna try him online if I ever get time to play lol

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[SamC24167]

Re: What Are You Working On? - MLB The Show 23 Edition

Easily the best Waino we ever got. I wanna try him online if I ever get time to play lol

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

Well he had 16ks for me last night although i am in the 400s right now he was carving the guy up lol .. He hung a curve in the 8th for the only run he gave up .