Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

[Steve_OS]

When The Neighborhood was introduced last year within the MyCareer mode in NBA 2K18, it didn’t...

Written By: Kevin Scott

Click here to view the article.

[El_Poopador]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

The link is broken.

[Sasselhoff]

I get a lot of peoples anger and it could probably be avoided if they put you in level based neighborhoods. Upgrading your player with real money is both good and bad. Some people just don't have time to play and have the money - they'll take the short cut which I guess is a good thing at least being able to do. But I get the anger as it seems like 2K is really forcing VC on you with everything, and that you load in to a neighborhood instance as a level 67 and every one is mid 80s and above. There's simply no way to compete that way which makes the online component worthless to many.

[Steve_OS]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

The link is broken.

Fixed.

[Hooe]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

Ugh. This article is turning its nose up at and dismissing very legitimate criticisms of NBA 2K19's predatory and/or slimy game design choices in its MyPlayer mode.

Those are covered in more detail by both Luke Plunkett of Kotaku and Albert Burneko of Deadspin. I offer those two articles as a nuanced rebuttal of "embracing the grind".

[SGMRock]

“2K Needs to Revamp the Grading System.”
Totally disagree with you on this area.* This system is so screwed up.* You constantly get dinged for things that are not your fault.* You ask for a pass when you are open but the CPU delays in passing it to you until someone is in between and then they pick the pass off.* Your fault you get a minus because you called for a bad pass, guess what, the person that passed it made a bad pass I was open when i asked for it!!!* Defensive rotations constantly give you minus grades.* Clearly there are many situations where you are getting picked and you can't get around it and its obvious their should be a switch but the guys goes right in and scores and its your fault for bad teammate switches.* That is the top most frustrating one of all.* If you are guarding a player like a SG or PG they get screens called for them all game and this will constantly happen to you.**

The game dings you for bad block attempts.* I mean what the heck, the guy is already shooting does it prefer you just stand there and watch or at the least jump up and try to distract the shot even if you are not in the best position to block.* I mean that is just stupid.* Jumping and letting a guy run around you I can understand but not the other.**

1 mistake should not cost you 3 minus grades.* For instance, you make a bad shot and fall down on the shot, so then you are late getting back on the play because it seems to take your guy 5 minutes to get up,* so you get minus sometimes 2 or 3 times while you run back for missing your assignment and if your assignment scores before you get back you can also get dinged for that too.* * Also the game will sometimes swap your assignment after substitutions and have your arrow on a guy you go to cover him and the arrow goes to the other side of the court and you get -- for missing assignment while you try and run over to the guy you didn't think you were supposed to be guarding in the first place.**

Nothing like putting up 60 points, 30+ of which you scored getting yourself open and gave your teammate an assist, have 10+ assists yourself and still end the game with a D or something team score because of all of the above issues.* Meanwhile you go to the locker room with a broken back from carrying your whole team on it the entire game.
Then there is the fact that the CPU goes right through screens so easy.* Every time I get a screen set I me if I don't see it coming and dodge it way early its like you get sucked in and stick to the player.* But if I have the ball and a teammate sets a screen for me the CPU jumps in front of it or goes right through it like Andre Drummond is a stick figure and not a 270lb dude.**

Now also add the fact that games seem scripted.* You can start a game and see sometimes that you will either blow out the other team, they will blow you out or the game will be tight the whole time.* It seems to always be one of those 3.* I played a team just now that was 1-10 and all of a sudden late in the second quarter they tied the game and were up by 2 going into the 3rd, from that point they made literally* 80+% FG's the rest of the game and 60%+ 3 pointers even when covered and won by 20+ points.* This is on All Star.**

On my second season I keep asking myself why I play MyCareer with all this frustrating stuff going on.**

[triplechin]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

Without going into detail, this is pretty much just a load of crap

[ItchyNscratchy]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

How tf can anybody embrace this crap??? Seriously is this a real queation?? You literally have to grind so much for so little. This is the worst upgrade system in any grinding video game. This is the absolute worst way to implement a ‘RPG’ system into a basketball game. You can play any other RPG game and spend 30 mins and actually feel rewarded with new items and levels, etc.

In 2k you spend 30 min playing 2k just to even find a F**king PRO AM GAME. Let alone if you were to play 30 min in my career, all you get is like 3-5% cap breaker. You dont feel rewarded. How can you talk about embrace when your ****e game is broke?!? Its always 1 step foward, 2 steps back with 2K. You guys screw up the matchmaking in rec center and to make matters worse, YOU GUYS GOT RID OF SWITCHING PLAYERS ON DEFENSE. The point guard cant switch players anymore to get the right mismatches. Fix your crap game

[Marty Funkhouser]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

Is OS sponsored by 2K?

[GLegend1226]

The one thing that Ill agree with is it should not be easy to get to a 99. It should take a while to get to 99. 
With that being said, if you had different lobbies for 60,70s,80s and 90s, there should be that option. A 80 should not be able to go to the 60 lobby. But if the 60s want to go in the 90 lobbiy, they should be able to, as long as they have a squad with a 90 player

[ILLSmak]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

Is OS sponsored by 2K?

In some ways probably. It behooves them to promote a massive franchise like 2k (cuz I'm sure clicks and visits equal more money) but it's hard to keep it real. You can keep it real but these articles are published to hardcore 2k players, so I dunno why you'd go there. Embrace the grind. Funny.



-Smak

[SCOLIA5044]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

Agreed with the article the fact you have are forced too buy vc even for someone like myself who only plays the career part of nba 2k is outrageous

[Keith01]

The grind is slightly easier in 2K19. But this article comes across as just an 2K-apologist piece. I don't think we need more 2K defenders, but more people calling out their practices when needed. On one hand, the game should be free 'cause it's basically a pay to play. On the other, NBA 2K has been innovating, doing things, and offering experiences that no other sports game is doing. So for that, I don't mind plunking down a $20 or $50 for VC if it goes towards innovation. (can we get 1st person view VR bball next?). But the grind and amount of time it takes must stay within*reason.

[da_centa_fielda]

The gaming culture is much different these days. People keep calling leveling up "grinding" in games. The language strips the fun away. Why look at a game as grinding? If you constantly focus on the destination, you'll miss out on the journey. That's what it's all about. Just have fun with the game.

My main thing with this game and any other game that allows a pay to win advantage is to give people the option to be separated from those who spent real money. I don't even waste my time playing games like that online competitively. 

[ILLSmak]

Re: Learning to Embrace the MyCareer Grind in NBA 2K19

The thing about grind and the specter of grind (which is something amazing to look back at once you've gotten away from it. I say this as someone who has played grindy games) is that your sense of progression is tied to the game. You are progressing toward an end game or you are purposely trying to make your guy stronger just to see how strong you can get.



The reason why it's off as an experience that is tied to multi-player is because multi-player is the end game. As someone who played a full loot sandbox I can say pvp is the end game of that, for instance, and you don't lose everything when you lose in 2k, but you are still stuck doing what amounts to menial tasks in a safe zone until you can venture out into the wild (pvp.)



If they wanna make a mode where you start in high school and go thru the pros and it's offline or you can ball with people also in hs, college, etc... That'd be fun and cool. Although you would think the lower levels would eventually be empty.



In summary, it's grind because the path is not a path. It's something right in front of your face. It's like you need 1000 gold to buy a new set of armor but you can't kill any dragons so you have to pick fruit and sell it to an npc. For hours.



As someone who played 2k Mc there wasn't much of a difference between how much I could contribute based on my rating. It wasn't like I needed to get above 60 to start vs hof Ai. But when you get online and are playing vs people who you can't even dribble the ball against its like augh. Gotta go "grind", take a tough loss and then you think man if I had deadeye we prol would have won, gotta grind it up.



Dudes being like Yea my goal this weekend is to get hof chase down. I dunno. And every year too.



I wanna play a game and see who the best player is. I wanna compete and enjoy the thrill of it, win or loss, not feel like I lost because someone had better badges than me.



No matter how good a game is, it gets tiring doing that every year. There is no embracing an artificial journey that is imposed every 12 months.



-Smak