Ok I have seen so many listing the dribble moves as a negative I am compelled to help some dudes out because the ball handling system in this game is the best of any bball game to date and allows for a ton of variety and creativity. You have to get away from the idea of 2k's animation system to appreciate how simple and beautiful live's is.
First, think of the different live dribbling animations as building blocks. There might not seem like a ton of variety at first, but as with blocks you can put them together to create any combination of shapes you want. When you learn how to put them together a skilled user can create some really fantastic looking stuff, and the best part, it can be made up right on the fly without being some go to animation combo you see repeatedly.
The basics
Here are the building blocks: you have the basic between legs cross (flick to opposite hand), quick hesitation (flick to same hand), in and out (flick up), behind the back (semi circle from ball hand to off hand), basic pullback (flick down). Then the modified (hold right trigger/r2), cross over in front without going between the legs (R2 flick to opposite hand), spin move (hold R2 semi circle to opposite hand) and more aggressive pullback/stepback or into stepback jumper (hold R2 down on right stick or hold to complete the jumper). Lastly you can implement the L2/left trigger back down animation and head fakes into spin/dives in combos with pullbacks into crosses etc...
The secret modifier:
This was not instantly apparent but after labbing i realized that if you hold the right stick longer while doing a hesitation or crossover it plays out a different animation making the moves more pronounced and getting more separation and variety. These moves used in combo with the quicker flicks are deadly.
How to EXPLODE:
Important: STOP HOLDING TURBO. this is not 2k, you do not need to use turbo to explode out of moves. Simply holding the LEFT (not right) analog stick in the direction you want to drive will burst in that direction. For instance, to explosively cross from right to left you do not flick from right to left and then try and turbo, what you want to do is flick left to right to put the ball in your right hand or if its in your right hand trigger a hesitation to the right and then simply hold the LEFT analog stick to the Left and your player will make an explosive crossover in that direction (very similar to how you could do this in 2k but you do not need to push the turbo button).
You do not have to beat them clean to beat them:
All you need is a step when beating an opponent. sometimes you get by clean but more often than not (especially against AI) you get the step on them which usually triggers a hip riding animation. With great drivers such as kyrie many times you will see him use his off arm and a dip to accelerate past the defender for the finish, however this does slow you down and the help defense in this game is on point so if you see them closing while just getting a step it is a great time to use the pullback/stepback and chain into another move or go for the jumper as you will have created space.
Putting it together:
So if you have really ingested this mini guide you can now visualize how something that seemed limited now can have unlimited potential but also what may at first have seemed simple can also be very complicated. If you want to pull off some great combinations you will have to practice, but it is a truly rewarding experience. Here are a couple of examples of button combinations. (Note: certain button combinations provide their own animations such as a quick flick to off hand immediately followed by semicircle back the opposite way of the flick will give you a quick between the legs cross behind the back animation that will be different from the normal cross and behind the back animations).
Simple Combo: flick right then back to left quickly and hold the LEFT analog to the right. this will give you a quick 2 dribbles back and forth between your legs back to your left followed by an explosive cross back to your right.
Advanced Combo: in transition R2 (modifier) flick from right to left, quickly let go of R2 followed quickly by semicircle to the right while holding Left analog to the right, after getting the step flick down, followed by a flick to the right while immediately after holding LEFT analog to the left. This will give you a front cross behind the back combo hopefully getting you a bit of a step. After getting the step you snatchback to create some more space and quickly cross to your right and then explosively crossing back to your left towards the finish.
NOTE: Again do not rely on turbo, use turbo in the open court or if you have beaten your opponent and several more lengths to go. Use it more as a Modifier. Modify your dribble moves then release, explode to the basket and then use as a modifier to go for the dunk instead of a layup. Or use as a modifier for a euro step instead of a spin gather. R2/RT is a turbo button in space but think of it more as a modifier in the dribble drive game. Accelerate to cover space, let go, do your combos only using as a modifier after.
Hopefully this helps some peeps out and gives them a greater appreciation for the system crafted for live 18.
First, think of the different live dribbling animations as building blocks. There might not seem like a ton of variety at first, but as with blocks you can put them together to create any combination of shapes you want. When you learn how to put them together a skilled user can create some really fantastic looking stuff, and the best part, it can be made up right on the fly without being some go to animation combo you see repeatedly.
The basics
Here are the building blocks: you have the basic between legs cross (flick to opposite hand), quick hesitation (flick to same hand), in and out (flick up), behind the back (semi circle from ball hand to off hand), basic pullback (flick down). Then the modified (hold right trigger/r2), cross over in front without going between the legs (R2 flick to opposite hand), spin move (hold R2 semi circle to opposite hand) and more aggressive pullback/stepback or into stepback jumper (hold R2 down on right stick or hold to complete the jumper). Lastly you can implement the L2/left trigger back down animation and head fakes into spin/dives in combos with pullbacks into crosses etc...
The secret modifier:
This was not instantly apparent but after labbing i realized that if you hold the right stick longer while doing a hesitation or crossover it plays out a different animation making the moves more pronounced and getting more separation and variety. These moves used in combo with the quicker flicks are deadly.
How to EXPLODE:
Important: STOP HOLDING TURBO. this is not 2k, you do not need to use turbo to explode out of moves. Simply holding the LEFT (not right) analog stick in the direction you want to drive will burst in that direction. For instance, to explosively cross from right to left you do not flick from right to left and then try and turbo, what you want to do is flick left to right to put the ball in your right hand or if its in your right hand trigger a hesitation to the right and then simply hold the LEFT analog stick to the Left and your player will make an explosive crossover in that direction (very similar to how you could do this in 2k but you do not need to push the turbo button).
You do not have to beat them clean to beat them:
All you need is a step when beating an opponent. sometimes you get by clean but more often than not (especially against AI) you get the step on them which usually triggers a hip riding animation. With great drivers such as kyrie many times you will see him use his off arm and a dip to accelerate past the defender for the finish, however this does slow you down and the help defense in this game is on point so if you see them closing while just getting a step it is a great time to use the pullback/stepback and chain into another move or go for the jumper as you will have created space.
Putting it together:
So if you have really ingested this mini guide you can now visualize how something that seemed limited now can have unlimited potential but also what may at first have seemed simple can also be very complicated. If you want to pull off some great combinations you will have to practice, but it is a truly rewarding experience. Here are a couple of examples of button combinations. (Note: certain button combinations provide their own animations such as a quick flick to off hand immediately followed by semicircle back the opposite way of the flick will give you a quick between the legs cross behind the back animation that will be different from the normal cross and behind the back animations).
Simple Combo: flick right then back to left quickly and hold the LEFT analog to the right. this will give you a quick 2 dribbles back and forth between your legs back to your left followed by an explosive cross back to your right.
Advanced Combo: in transition R2 (modifier) flick from right to left, quickly let go of R2 followed quickly by semicircle to the right while holding Left analog to the right, after getting the step flick down, followed by a flick to the right while immediately after holding LEFT analog to the left. This will give you a front cross behind the back combo hopefully getting you a bit of a step. After getting the step you snatchback to create some more space and quickly cross to your right and then explosively crossing back to your left towards the finish.
NOTE: Again do not rely on turbo, use turbo in the open court or if you have beaten your opponent and several more lengths to go. Use it more as a Modifier. Modify your dribble moves then release, explode to the basket and then use as a modifier to go for the dunk instead of a layup. Or use as a modifier for a euro step instead of a spin gather. R2/RT is a turbo button in space but think of it more as a modifier in the dribble drive game. Accelerate to cover space, let go, do your combos only using as a modifier after.
Hopefully this helps some peeps out and gives them a greater appreciation for the system crafted for live 18.
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