#StealSpam has changed the 2K Meta

[franzis]

The current stealing system seems so deep into the game mechanics (and not linked to actual attributes at all) that I wonder if it can be properly patched, even if 2k wanted it.


Maybe they can just nerf the steal success rate/increase foul rate as a whole, but I don't see how they can change the animations of jumping the passing lanes, rebuild the collision system or separate the defending archetypes from the other builds.

[derlaid]

They have the ability to change whatever the hell they want to, but they rarely are willing to put the serious time in to rebuild a game system because it's a waste of money for the developer.

Good QA would catch stuff like this before it gets past the point of being difficult to adjust, but it seems like they have QA doing traditional bug squashing and very little time spent on how the game systems interact and function together. Developers playing against each other, and then excitedly reporting the results on Twitter isn't nearly comprehensive enough with a game as complicated and frankly with as big a budget as these sports games have.

[TheFinalEvent97]

Passing lane steals are way too easy and ball security is too low. Remember that ProAm games are half the length of a IRL NBA game. Also I'm the only person in the screenshot with defending in my build (two way athletic finisher)

[howardphillips214]

You know it's bad when people are coming in here is their own volition being like "yeah... I get way too many steals."

Lmfao

[sammy watkins]

In real basketball, defenders don't constantly swipe at the basketball; however, this is a video game. My solution would be, give pure lockdown defenders the ability to swipe at the ball and knock it loose. I just don't want someone who's a pure sharpshooter stealing the ball and playing the passing lines like he's Scottie Pippen lol

[ILLSmak]

Quote: Originally Posted by howardphillips214

You know it's bad when people are coming in here is their own volition being like "yeah... I get way too many steals." Lmfao

I got mad steals last year, it's funny it's op this year. I wonder if it has to do with people actually pressing square when people pass or if the animations really changed.


I think the way to fix it is probably tie the animations for stealing on the move to attributes. So like if you are there and Hve a 60 steal, you can grab it, but if you are chasing someone backdoor or running up the court your pressing steal would result in a pathetic flail if you weren't defensively inclined. That and a lot more deflections than snags. It could be the same with blocks, the ability to steal or jump quickly in succession, and the radius of your contest / steal should be tied to rating as well as the ability to break into a steal animation at full speed.



Like I said, last yr I was listening to dudes on mic and someone threw a stupid cross court pass and I pressed square and my c reached out and snatched it w one hand. They were like woahhh. Like it never occurred to people to try to steal passes. They also need to plant you more after a steal attempt. So if you try to steal a pass and it goes to another guy, your guy can cut and beat you while you are still in a fumbling missed steal animation.



-Smak

[OrlandoTill]

Steal Spam has been addressed. Someone injected more slower steal animations and the passing is better(or in general someone moved the global steal sliders at least for the modes I play in JRC and Park). Reach-ins are also more consistent. Just hope lockdown builds weren't impacted.

Now the real conversation is the global percentages(aim for realistic 3pt percentages in the MyCareer modes or keep it as is) and whether the change to Deadeye firing is impacting the game

[VDusen04]

I'd be curious to hear some offline opinions on steals this year. I've personally really liked having the ability to properly jump a passing lane along the perimeter. I'm usually lucky to pull it off once or twice a game against the CPU but it feels natural and clean. I hated those moments in 2K18 when I'd read a passing lane perfectly only for the ball to float through my body (or for my player to randomly swipe in the opposite direction of the ball).

In contrast, playing against a CPU player like Jason Kidd on All-Star has been a nightmare. There are times where I just want to get to the first circle on my play art but can't do so because I'm too busy getting muscled and successfully swiped at by Kidd (or Charlie Ward). There have been a lot of times where I felt like my only options, as Chauncey Billups, was to pass and get rid of the ball as soon as possible to prevent randomly having the rock poked away.

I'm a little more optimistic about the user's defensive ability this year though. I've had a difficult time over the years forcing computer turnovers. It seems possible this year, and that's nice. I recognize the issue with the steal mechanic but I also don't want to be punished each time I press the steal button when the ball appears available. A lot of the lack of CPU turnovers last year came from training myself to never, ever press the steal button because the results seemed randomly and weighted toward reach-in fouls no matter what.

Sometimes I wonder how much online and human vs. human patches are negatively affecting the offline CPU experience.