Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

[2kguy]

Hi Guys - I'm a casual player of the EA NHL series, have been for years. I really like the changes this year and the presentation and on-ice animations like a goal scored tripping into the boards right after he scores, etc.

However I'm really frustrated trying to find a good balance. When I play on Rookie I win like 10-0. When I play on Pro I lose like 0-10. I know there are likely a million slides that can be tweaked, but as a casual gamer its a bit over my head and I don't get enough time to play to really sit down and experiment.

Does someone have suggestions on how I can find a better balance. Its fun winning 10-0 but lacks a good challenge. And its way to frustrating getting beat 0-10 which makes me not want to play. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

[JaydenNox]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

I actually had this exact same problem when I started playing NHL on NHL14. It was so frustrating!

What I did was that I simply kept playing with pro settings, and after a while you start to learn the computers way to play, and thus you get better.

Computer is always looking for that open guy on the slot, so you gotta keep the slot unavailable. And don't back up too much when computer is attacking. You should stop them on the blue line either with a hit or poke check the puck away.

Either way, just keep playing on pro. It takes nerves, but eventually if you just keep playing, you will get better!

Hope this helped.


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[acles003]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

Change one thing at a time. I would start with lowering the game speed. Once you get the hang of it increase back up to normal (in steps, not at once obviously).

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[schlitz73]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

Definitely lower the game speed, it will help a lot. The NHL series has been on an adrenaline rush if you ask me and everything moves to fast, even players animations and the puck. I play with speed on 2 but you could even try 0 or 1 so you can really see what is happening on the ice then bump it up after a couple games.

On rookie I can score over 20 goals with barely trying and default Pro settings had me screaming at the TV it was such a drastic jump in difficulty. Just go in and adjust all the sliders giving you a big advantage and turning the CPU settings down. If you do this all the way for all sliders then Pro is barely harder than rookie in my opinion.

Try some shorter games like 3 or 4 minute periods to see how you do. For me, the biggest ones I set to my advantage are speed, shooting accuracy, puck control, and the poke check and stick lift. This just keeps the CPU from skating circles around you and stealing the puck constantly while letting you get the puck from them more often.

This is what I did and my first couple games on Pro were too easy so I changed the sliders a bit. It's a learning process though so it could take you 10-20 games to find the right balance for you. Just take it one game at a time and you should find the best setup for you. After a while you may even graduate to All-Star.

[Steven547]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

Also remember to double check your sliders and verify they saved. Again, not all sliders are saving. So you might make adjustments, go into the game, and it won't play the way you thought because the sliders aren't saving.

[Woody19]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

I have the same issue when switching from Pro to Allstar. I often win games on pro with a double digit goal total, e.g. 11-2, 14-1.
The thing with playing on Allstar is not that I lose games more often (which I like because it's more realistic), but that somehow playing defense is far more difficult. The scores of the last 3 games I played were 7-6, 3-4 and 5-6. And I'm regularly outshot by the cpu at a 2-1 ratio.
On Allstar, the cpu is an absolute monster in passing - once they're in my defensive zone it's hard to turn over the puck. I usually only get it back after they've shot on my goal and I pass it to my player or win the upcoming face-off.
Guess I'll have to tinker with the sliders ...

P.S. I played Allstar on NHL 15 and had none of these problems

[CujoMatty]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

I have the same issue when switching from Pro to Allstar. I often win games on pro with a double digit goal total, e.g. 11-2, 14-1.
The thing with playing on Allstar is not that I lose games more often (which I like because it's more realistic), but that somehow playing defense is far more difficult. The scores of the last 3 games I played were 7-6, 3-4 and 5-6. And I'm regularly outshot by the cpu at a 2-1 ratio.
On Allstar, the cpu is an absolute monster in passing - once they're in my defensive zone it's hard to turn over the puck. I usually only get it back after they've shot on my goal and I pass it to my player or win the upcoming face-off.
Guess I'll have to tinker with the sliders ...

P.S. I played Allstar on NHL 15 and had none of these problems

I m the same between pro and all star. Big fan of pro but it's too easy but I get killed on all star and it's no fun. Basically what I did was stayed on pro and moved the CPU difficulty slider up. I'm now having very competitive games on pro

[JaydenNox]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

What's funny is that the gap from rookie to pro is huge, and from pro to allstar it's big also, but from allstar to superstar it's pretty small. I played few games on allstar and jumped to superstar, and been on superstar eversince.


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[Woody19]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

I m the same between pro and all star. Big fan of pro but it's too easy but I get killed on all star and it's no fun. Basically what I did was stayed on pro and moved the CPU difficulty slider up. I'm now having very competitive games on pro

I might try this, too. Which sliders did you adjust?

[CujoMatty]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

I might try this, too. Which sliders did you adjust?

Its one slider and it's called CPU difficulty adjustment or something close to that. Just turn that slider up a notch or 2 then when that gets too easy keep increasing it. Then eventually you should build yourself up to pro

[Errol1967]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

Ive been playing allstar simulation...but it was too easy...i changed it to hardcore and couldnt even score. I play atm on pro difficulty hardcore with no slider set and it plays verry well. On allstar hardcore i had no fun at all...on pro hardcore im laughing again. In the beginning its hard, but you will get used to it....Ill suggest to play with these settings...you will get the hang of it after a couple of matches...dont worrie

[Instant C1a55ic]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

I have the exact same issue. I suck at defense and I was letting easy one timers for the CPU like crazy because I was always out of position. One thing I learned is on D, be a winger if you can. they tend to normally stay out of the action near the net, thus letting your CPU teammates cut off passes and block more shots.

Second, use a collapsing D from the D-pad menu. This helps by shutting down the lanes and the easy up close shots.

Third, play with the sliders. It may sound cheap to some, but I give myself a slight advantage. I have the cpu difficulty, learning and strategy all the way to the left or 0. Next, I jack up the human aggression for checking to max, hitting assistance to max and power to max. Before you freak out, trust me when I say it actually causes the CPU team mates to hit someone instead of those little pushes that don't do anything. I also beef up the cpu goalies to max reaction and 0 for screen effect to make scoring a little more difficult.

I don't know if I suck so bad to where I have to do all of this, but I average 2-4 goals a game depending on the goalie. Hits are normally even, the cpu average for both my team and the opposition is around 9-12 per game, maybe less. Me personally, I cant hit the broad side of a barn and MAYBE count for 1-2 a game.

Hope that helps.

[jr86]

Re: Rookie way to easy, Pro way to hard - please help

Playing pro hardcore with a few tweaks.
Playing pretty well.
Tried a star but that seems to be a huge jump up...serious butt whippings..