I love the NHL games but this happens to me every year. I play for a week and just end up getting frustrated because playing on rookie level I'm still getting beat with scores like 10-1. I don't have any trouble with other games like I do this one. Does anyone have any advice? I've tried practice mode but without the speed and pace of a game it doesn't do any good...
-
-
Re: How do you do it?
I spend 99.9999% of my time with EASHL and its a blast. Just have to worry about one guy and that is yourself. I don't really get much joy from playing the CPU for some reason... so I think you just have to find a game mode that you enjoy and then go from there. -
Re: How do you do it?
What do you have your CPU difficulty set at? Lower it to "0". With that increased, it gives the CPU an advantage. Put the shot sliders in your favor by 1 click.
Also, try playing position lock (at the lineup screen before the game starts). Position lock will help you focus on one player while the CPU controls your other teammates. This will help you get used to the controls...practice shooting during gameplay, etc. It will help you get "adjusted" to higher levels as well. Once you master it, then go back to full control of all players.
Most of all, just play good defense. Don't play pee wee bee hive hockey. In other words, don't run all over the ice trying to get the puck. Stay in position and be patient. As the AI does to you, LEARN the CPU's moves.Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
What exactly are you doing that's getting you beat 10-1 on rookie? I don't mean that in a mean way. Where are you getting beat? Are you trying to line guys up for checks all the time? Are you getting beat with breakaways? Do they dominate the offensive zone? Are you just shooting the puck from bad angles all the time?
As Steven said, play with position lock. Choose the left or right wing, as those will give you a position to play w/o much responsibility. play within your position and get an idea for how the game flows. If you feel comfortable enough that you want to control the entire team, go for it.
One aspect that wasn't really addressed in your post was how much hockey knowledge you're coming into the game with. What exactly do you know?Comment
-
Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
If you are playing the computer, my one piece of advice would be when defending, don't chase the puck. Don't keep switching players, because you'll drag them out of position. Stick with being a forward and hold your position, letting your AI teammates do their job. I like to be a centre and protect the centre while giving my D some help down low.
Oh, just seen Steven said the same thing. See, it must be good advice
Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
Thanks for all the advice. And yes, I am guilty of switching up and chasing. My biggest problem is I can't get control of the puck on D and I can't win a faceoff to save my life so basically the CPU controls the puck until they get an easy shot. Then when I do get the puck I can't seem to get the puck down low to generate a decent shot without losing it and I'm not getting any kind of deflections off long shots either. I know the basics of hockey strategy but not as much as I would like. I'll give the position lock thing a try. My one question about that is, does that mean I only control one guy on offense too? If that's the case how do I work on my offensive skills?Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
Try to remember that your defenders are not Bobby Orr. Once they get the puck in their own zone, pass it out to the wings and the centre. It can be tempting to do a solo, kamikaze run with a defender and with experience you can get away with it -even on All-Star, but when you're starting out, you will get punished. In all likelihood, the CPU will get an odd-man rush on you if you misplace a pass. Even on Pro mode, with default sliders, the CPU is pretty lethal.
The key to the game is patience. When you start it out, it's natural to go for goal at the slighest hint of an opportunity and try to hit the opposition puck carriers. A good tip is to always get your defenders where you think the puck is going to end up, not where it currently is. Get a defender in the slot. Try to cover the obvious shooting lanes... with experience you'll get to know where these are.
For a start, set your defensive strategy to "collapsing". This will get them to automatically fall back to the danger areas around and in front of the net. Trust your goalie to make saves. If you have the "money shots" well-policed then, 19 times out of 20, your goalie will come through.
It's just a question of practice. Eventually you'll find you're limiting the CPU to a couple of goals and can worry more about offense.Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
Thanks. And I'm good about moving the puck around and not trying to do it all with my defensemen, that's also how I get in trouble though is from intercepted passes.Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
Glad I dropped into this thread. Frustration has gotten the better of me over the last week in online ranked. I was getting caught up in up and down hockey.
Just reminded me of how I play and what I do that works.
One bit of advice I would give, is to be gentle on the controls (especially the RS) as it tends to allow you to be more accurate with shots.Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
I will have to agree there when i first played nhl 11 i had trouble with controls and overall scoring so i locked a position and tried to play defensive and set my comp controled players and it started to get more interesting but even on player vs player i have trouble scoring goals
maybe i suck. :P
but i try
Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
To me, the best part of modern sports gaming is the development of sliders. You can change the sliders to how you feel the game should play. I found NHL 10 too hard to score, with too small a goal variety, but a tweak here and there worked wonders. Having said that, I completely agree with the advice above, about playing sound positional hockey. I was just getting frustrated averaging less than a goal a game, which was killing the fun for me until I messed with the sliders.Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
What mode are you playing on sir? If playing hardcore, move it to normal. Take a look at the sliders where you are having problems. Move those based upon what you feel you need. I play with a custom set of sliders on all-star that make the game challenging for ME. Everyone is on a different skill level and the sliders really are the best way to combat this.Comment
-
Re: How do you do it?
Ok, I played my first game with position lock on and suddenly the game became too easy. I still had some issues on defense giving up 5 goals but I racked up 14 goals on my side (only 2 of which were scored by the player I was using). I did mess with the sliders some but it seemed like goals just kept piling up no matter how much I tilted the sliders in the defensive favor.Comment
Comment