Directional Passing Help?

[LorenzoDC]

I searched the forum for something on this but didn't find anything. Apologies if this repeats a discussion from somewhere else.

I'm working on improving my game, and I find that for 12 minute quarters, I probably have (I'm guessing) 1/5 of possessions where I attempt a pass that goes to the wrong player using RS+A on XB1 to point a pass at a player. It also happens using LT passing commands, such as lob pass and bounce pass.

A lot of those pass attempts end up as turnovers. Sometimes they result in a lucky surprise to a cutter I didn't see for a layup. Sometimes I'm able to just adjust and flow, but it breaks my plays and too many turnovers!

It's especially bad trying to hit a guy in the paint or in a crowd at the top. For example, if I'm running a PnF, my pass attempt to the fade player often goes to another nearby player, maybe on the wing. Very frustrating.

Sometimes it seems as if the pass goes in the opposite direction from where I'm trying to send it. I don't know if the controller is super sensitive and is taking a signal based on when my thumb first touches the stick or what.

I know about icon passing but it's so clumsy to use. Too many clicks, can't make passes fast enough when a guy is open. Plus, it seems like icon passing sends these floating ducks that are ripe for steals, unless the pass is to a guy who is completely away from defenders or traffic.

So:

1. Am I the only one with this problem or do others see the same?

2. For you guys who are much more accurate with your passing, how do you do it?

Thanks! All tips most welcome!

[joosegoose]

I don't use directional passing like you do (in "drive and kick" situations I simply hit the pass button while aiming with the left stick) but I experience similar results. Most of the time it will go where I want but sometimes it feels like the game is locked onto a certain player. It can be very frustrating when you see what looks like an obvious wide open shooter in the corner but the pass goes to the cutter crowded in the paint.

I've always assumed that passing rating plays a role, but I have no idea--it would make sense so that the ratings do more than affect CPU behavior/ability. Does anyone know if Passing Vision or IQ have any effect?

[LorenzoDC]

Quote: Originally Posted by joosegoose

I don't use directional passing like you do (in "drive and kick" situations I simply hit the pass button while aiming with the left stick) but I experience similar results. Most of the time it will go where I want but sometimes it feels like the game is locked onto a certain player. It can be very frustrating when you see what looks like an obvious wide open shooter in the corner but the pass goes to the cutter crowded in the paint. I've always assumed that passing rating plays a role, but I have no idea--it would make sense so that the ratings do more than affect CPU behavior/ability. Does anyone know if Passing Vision or IQ have any effect?

What I bolded, that's what I do too. Maybe that's not called "directional passing," but we're on the same page here.

I don't think passing vision or IQ have any effect on user controlled players, since the user is making the decisions. Passing accuracy is a thing, though, that affects the user controlled player. I think accuracy is more about what animations trigger when the pass comes to the target - a drop or tough catch animation or whatever. But what we're both talking about seems more like a controller input or user error issue, or both.

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully someone can jump in and drop some knowledge!

[dmankey1]

If you are running a set play or doing a p&r where you know where you want the ball to go once you make the move, I always manually select that player. I prefer directional but I got tired of the errors when I wanted to go inside and it went across court for a turnover or when I want to kick out and it tires to go through 2 post defenders to my other low man.

[Pokes404]

One thing to consider is that RS shooting and turbo still work while the icons are up. So if you're running a PnR, pull up the icons just before the pick is set. The icons will be available if you get stopped and need to kick it/hit the roll man, but you can still go right into a shot/layup/dunk without having to drop the icons if you can turn the corner. It saves you an extra button press in the heat of action, and it guarantees that you can pass the ball exactly where you want.

As far as using LS+A passing, keep in mind that the game passes it to the closest teammate in the direction you are aiming. This means that you don't actually have to be pointing the stick at your teammate, you just have to be pointing it in a direction so that he's the closest player.

For example, let's say you are at the top of the circle, and you have a PF at the elbow and a SG on the wing. Now, you want to throw the ball to the SG; however, they're standing fairly close to each other (in relation to the flight path of the ball), so pointing the stick at the SG can easily result in accidentally passing to the PF. However, if you were to aim the LS at the scorer's table at halfcourt, or somewhere off into the crowd along the sideline, the game will determine that the SG on the wing is the closest player in the direction you are pointing and pass it to him.

Another example, you're diving down the paint and have a shooters in the corner and on the wing on the ball-side of the court. If you attempt to aim the stick at either one of your teammates, you risk not being accurate with the LS at accidentally throwing it to the wrong guy. However, if you want to hit the guy in the corner, that means that you can aim the stick at the cheerleaders, but it will still go to the guy in the corner. On the other hand (depending on where your other teammates are on the floor), you could potentially aim directly behind you and still hit the guy on the wing. It's all about minimizing the chance for the game to misinterpret where you want to throw the ball.

You'll still accidentally throw it to the wrong person at times. When you're making quick decisions, and players are on the move, it's just going to happen. However, if you're conscience about over-exaggerating the direction you point the LS when you pass, you'll see this happen less often. Also, sometimes players are "stacked" on each other and there's just no way you're going to be able to throw it to a teammate with LS+A without hitting the guy in front of him.

Again, don't worry so much about aiming the LS at your teammate, try to think of it more in terms of aiming into your teammate's "area."

[LorenzoDC]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pokes404

One thing to consider is that RS shooting and turbo still work while the icons are up. So if you're running a PnR, pull up the icons just before the pick is set. The icons will be available if you get stopped and need to kick it/hit the roll man, but you can still go right into a shot/layup/dunk without having to drop the icons if you can turn the corner. It saves you an extra button press in the heat of action, and it guarantees that you can pass the ball exactly where you want.

I'll try that. Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by Pokes404

As far as using LS+A passing, keep in mind that the game passes it to the closest teammate in the direction you are aiming. This means that you don't actually have to be pointing the stick at your teammate, you just have to be pointing it in a direction so that he's the closest player.

Not always true. As dmankey1 said, sometimes if you're on the wing or between or near the corner, and you pass to (you think) your guy in the paint, the ball sails all the way across court to the opposite side of the court, with both teammates more or less in the same line of passing. In that scenarios, for some reason, the pass does not go to the nearest guy.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pokes404

Another example, you're diving down the paint and have a shooters in the corner and on the wing on the ball-side of the court. If you attempt to aim the stick at either one of your teammates, you risk not being accurate with the LS at accidentally throwing it to the wrong guy. However, if you want to hit the guy in the corner, that means that you can aim the stick at the cheerleaders, but it will still go to the guy in the corner. On the other hand (depending on where your other teammates are on the floor), you could potentially aim directly behind you and still hit the guy on the wing. It's all about minimizing the chance for the game to misinterpret where you want to throw the ball. You'll still accidentally throw it to the wrong person at times. When you're making quick decisions, and players are on the move, it's just going to happen. However, if you're conscience about over-exaggerating the direction you point the LS when you pass, you'll see this happen less often. Also, sometimes players are "stacked" on each other and there's just no way you're going to be able to throw it to a teammate with LS+A without hitting the guy in front of him. Again, don't worry so much about aiming the LS at your teammate, try to think of it more in terms of aiming into your teammate's "area."

I've noticed this and sometimes am able to remember. So, passing a lob or LS+A pass to the post player can mean actually aiming the left stick out of bounds to the corner or the sideline, depending on where the inlet pass is coming from. I still have trouble, though, in the situation you described, from the top of the circle passing to the open corner when there's also a guy on the wing. I'll see if I can practice that, but maybe I'll have to go back to some of those floaty, awful icon passes.

Thanks for the tips!

Anyone else have more ideas or tips?

I really hope they can find a way to clean up passing for 2k16.

[Pokes404]

Quote: Originally Posted by LorenzoDC

I'll try that. Thanks! Not always true. As dmankey1 said, sometimes if you're on the wing or between or near the corner, and you pass to (you think) your guy in the paint, the ball sails all the way across court to the opposite side of the court, with both teammates more or less in the same line of passing. In that scenarios, for some reason, the pass does not go to the nearest guy. I've noticed this and sometimes am able to remember. So, passing a lob or LS+A pass to the post player can mean actually aiming the left stick out of bounds to the corner or the sideline, depending on where the inlet pass is coming from. I still have trouble, though, in the situation you described, from the top of the circle passing to the open corner when there's also a guy on the wing. I'll see if I can practice that, but maybe I'll have to go back to some of those floaty, awful icon passes. Thanks for the tips! Anyone else have more ideas or tips? I really hope they can find a way to clean up passing for 2k16.

This is where things get tricky. When I say it passes to the "closest man," I don't mean the guy who is closest to ball, I mean the person who is closest to the flight path. **And keep in mind, I'm not a dev or anything. I don't know for certain that this is exactly how the passing system works, but this is an educated guess after playing these games since 2K9.

I wish I had a way of illustrating this, but imagine a laser beam coming out of the ball in whatever direction you are pointing the LS. Whichever player is closest to the beam is the player the pass will lock onto. So what's probably happening is that you're aiming at the guy in the paint, but you're off just enough that the "beam" goes just past the guy in the paint and actually hits the player on the other side of the floor. So therefore, the game locks onto the guy on the other side of the floor because he's "closer" to where you're aiming.

Another tip, if you don't push the left stick in any direction and press A, it will pass the ball to the player who is physically closest to the ballhandler. This isn't exactly the most helpful/useful feature, as it's hard to get in a situation to use it, but it is something to consider. If you're feeding the post, it can come in handy as it will ensure that you don't launch a cross-court pass. I tend to just aim at the baseline when feeding the post though, just to be sure.