UPDATED JULY 21st. 2025
My goal as always, is to try and replicate the FLOW and FEEL of REAL hockey. I love to use the word ORGANIC !
I've changed lots of things since I came back. My games have all been amazing. My latest games have even better in the stats department than the screenshots I've posted.
I've seen all types of goals. Rebounds, deflections, slappers, clean wrist shots and all.
Was able to lower the number of hits, shots and dropping these passing percentage to somewhere around 80%. I average around 6 calls total per game and that's a sweet spot for me. The game is playable with all camera angles and Player Lock or not 😀
Kudos to EA for having now the option to remove everything from the HUD/ICE that was a major distraction for myself.
All in all, with now having downloadable roster, I don’t see why I would be pressed to buy NHL26 when the gameplay is exactly where I wanted to be.
** If you wanna experience the game the way I see it, I recommend you entering the sliders AS IS **
Welcome to PK's Club 😀
CONTROLLER SETTINGS:
RULES:
Rules: Custom (NHL)
Fighting: 1
Icing: On ( like the good old days, go touch that puck 😉 )
Injuries: On
Offsides: Delayed
Penalties: 3
Tie Break: 5 min (3 on3) then shootout
Trapezoid Rule: Off
Penalty Time Scaling: 3/6 for both (equals to 1:21 REAL time)
Post whistle rules: Relaxed
Coincidental Penalty Time Scale: 3/6
Game Settings:
Game Play Presets: Custom (Full Sim)
Game Style: Custom (Full Sim)
Period Length: 9 Minutes
Difficulty: SUPERSTAR is recommended but plays well on PRO or All-Star.
Camera: These sliders have been tested on all cameras and they work amazingly on all of them. Choose the one you prefer.
Goalie Camera: High
Shootout Camera: Dynamic Low
Away Line Changes: Manual
Away Shot Aim: Manual
Home Line Changes: Manual
Home Shot Aim: Manual
GENERAL
SKATING
SHOOTING
PASSING
PUCK CONTROL
GOALIES
PENALTIES
AI
The more things at 0 here, the less under the hood stuff from EA 😀
************************************************** ******
BEST WAY TO AVOID BERZERK MODE AND KEEP THE GAME VERY STABLE
This is how I have been proceeding over the years over my paranoia of BERZERK, lol ! Very happy to say that it didn’t show it’s face in a very loooong time…
THE REASONS WHY I PREACH PLAYER LOCK
The reasons why I’m preaching Player LOCK 🔒 is that the game and especially the AI plays much, much better. Just for this, it’s worth it a 100 %
For me player locking is a way of life, lol ! You get to do your part on a very fast team sport. Every little decisions you do count… Should I pinch here ? Should I stay back to cover this guy ? Should I call for a line change here ? Can I keep the puck a little longer to give my teammates time to change ? Do I have time myself and is it safe to go for a change here ? Do I go for a huge hit here and leave myself exposed if I miss ? If they block my shot here at the point, can they go on a breakaway ?
Also never asking for a pass brings another level of authenticity to all of this. In what league or team have you ever played in, that when you ask for a pass, your teammates immediately pass it to you ? This makes no sense to me…. Put yourself in a good position and they will pass it to you and you’ll feel grateful they did 😀
On top of having 0 pass assist…. You really have to AIM your passes and wait for your teammate on the other end of it, to be in the best disposition to receive it… It feels REAL 😀
You also get to be a MAJOR part of your teams success. Your own play gets to dictate the outcome like never before especially when playing on D… You have to give every little bit of attention and add all the little details to your play, to your game. Something you just don’t or can’t do when you play as the whole team IMO… Just try it for 1 or 2 games and you’ll probably never look back after that 😉
For the people already in the player locking business 😆, don’t be afraid to chime in and let me know if I missed something here…
I just know that since I adopted this way of playing the game, is when I started being more interested in playing the game instead of watching one… I mean YOU GET to play with Crosby, Malkin and friends 😀 What more can you ask for ?
Thanks and let me know if I converted only one of you 😆✌️
HAVE FUN 😀
My goal as always, is to try and replicate the FLOW and FEEL of REAL hockey. I love to use the word ORGANIC !
I've changed lots of things since I came back. My games have all been amazing. My latest games have even better in the stats department than the screenshots I've posted.
I've seen all types of goals. Rebounds, deflections, slappers, clean wrist shots and all.
Was able to lower the number of hits, shots and dropping these passing percentage to somewhere around 80%. I average around 6 calls total per game and that's a sweet spot for me. The game is playable with all camera angles and Player Lock or not 😀
Kudos to EA for having now the option to remove everything from the HUD/ICE that was a major distraction for myself.
All in all, with now having downloadable roster, I don’t see why I would be pressed to buy NHL26 when the gameplay is exactly where I wanted to be.
** If you wanna experience the game the way I see it, I recommend you entering the sliders AS IS **
Welcome to PK's Club 😀
CONTROLLER SETTINGS:
- Control - SKILL STICK
- Auto Back Skate - OFF
- Auto Hustle - OFF
- Shooting Controls - CAMERA RELATED
- Vibration - ON
RULES:
Rules: Custom (NHL)
Fighting: 1
Icing: On ( like the good old days, go touch that puck 😉 )
Injuries: On
Offsides: Delayed
Penalties: 3
Tie Break: 5 min (3 on3) then shootout
Trapezoid Rule: Off
Penalty Time Scaling: 3/6 for both (equals to 1:21 REAL time)
Post whistle rules: Relaxed
Coincidental Penalty Time Scale: 3/6
Game Settings:
Game Play Presets: Custom (Full Sim)
Game Style: Custom (Full Sim)
Period Length: 9 Minutes
Difficulty: SUPERSTAR is recommended but plays well on PRO or All-Star.
Camera: These sliders have been tested on all cameras and they work amazingly on all of them. Choose the one you prefer.
Goalie Camera: High
Shootout Camera: Dynamic Low
Away Line Changes: Manual
Away Shot Aim: Manual
Home Line Changes: Manual
Home Shot Aim: Manual
GENERAL
- VERSION Latest
- AE 5
- BSF 50
- GAME SPEED 0
- FATIGUE EFFECT 23 (The reason that it's this low compared to my last values over the years, it's that in 25, the pressure meter plays a big role in affecting player "artificially" and this negates this effect a bit.)
- FATIGUE RECOVERY 43
- INJURIES 50
SKATING
- BACK SKATING 90
- PUCK CARRIER AGILITY 33
- PUCK CARRIER SKATING 100
- PLAYER ACCELERATION 0
- SPEED 93
- SKATING AGILITY 33
SHOOTING
- ONE TIMER 50
- SHOT ACCURACY 50
- POWER 50
- SLAPSHOT ACCURACY 50
- SS POWER 50
PASSING
- MANUAL PASSING ON
- PASS ASSIST 0
- MIN PS 22
- MAX PS 62
- SAUCER 53
- PASS ACCURACY 0
- INTERCEPTION 100
- RECEPTION EASE 23
- REACTION TIME 53
- PUCK CONTROL RATING EFFECT 33
- SPEED RECEPTION EFFECT 53
- PICKUP TYPE EFFECT 53
- BOUNCING PUCK 20
PUCK CONTROL
- STICK, LEGS AND BODY for both
- STICK CONTACT IMMUNITY 0
- PUCK CONTROL 33
- DEKING IMPACT 50
- SPIN DEKING IMPACT 50
- SKATING IMPACT 50
GOALIES
- COVER FREQUENCY 88
- PASSING 18
- GCCRT 50
- SAVE REACTION TIME 50
- GDRT 50
- SCREEN EFFECT 50
- SCREEN PERSISTENCE 50
- BOARD EFFECT NON CARRIER 100
- BOARD EFFECT PUCK CARRIER 100
- HITTING ASSISTANCE 33
- STUMBLE THRESHOLD 50
- FALL AND STUMBLE EASE 100
- AGGRESSION 23 (On Superstar it plays very good, you can go higher for rivalry and playoffs)
- HITTING POWER 0 (At 0, Players will still get knocked down the ice, but very less often=More realistic…)
- SIZE EFFECT 63
- SPEED EFFECT 33
- CHECKING/BALANCE 93
- PREPAREDNESS EFFECT 23
- INCIDENTAL CONTACT 53
- POKE 33
- POKE POWER 100
- STICK LIFT 50
PENALTIES
- CPU PENALTIES 5
- TEAMMATES 5
- TRIPPING 100
- SLASHING 100
- ELBOWING 100
- HIGH STICKING 100
- CROSS CHECKING 70
- BOARDING 100
- CHARGING 93
- DELAY OF GAME 40
- HOLDING 55
- HOOKING 100
- INTERFERENCE 50
AI
The more things at 0 here, the less under the hood stuff from EA 😀
- AI LEARNING 0
- CPU DIFFICULTY 0
- FACEOFF DIFFICULTY 50
- FIGHT DIFFICULTY 50
- CPU STRAT ADJUSTMENTS 6 (If you set CPU team Strat to your liking, put at 0)
- USER 0 (If you like to change your Strats on the fly. Put higher if you don’t want to bother)
************************************************** ******
BEST WAY TO AVOID BERZERK MODE AND KEEP THE GAME VERY STABLE
This is how I have been proceeding over the years over my paranoia of BERZERK, lol ! Very happy to say that it didn’t show it’s face in a very loooong time…
- Before I start NHL, I go OFFLINE (no network).
- Go into the sliders section and enter my set AS IS (very important)
- Save your slider set.
- Do a complete shutdown of your system. (For XBOX, Hold the power button for about 5 seconds)
- Once you start the game, make sure the proper slider set is loaded !
- Stay OFFLINE and HAVE FUN 😀
THE REASONS WHY I PREACH PLAYER LOCK
The reasons why I’m preaching Player LOCK 🔒 is that the game and especially the AI plays much, much better. Just for this, it’s worth it a 100 %
For me player locking is a way of life, lol ! You get to do your part on a very fast team sport. Every little decisions you do count… Should I pinch here ? Should I stay back to cover this guy ? Should I call for a line change here ? Can I keep the puck a little longer to give my teammates time to change ? Do I have time myself and is it safe to go for a change here ? Do I go for a huge hit here and leave myself exposed if I miss ? If they block my shot here at the point, can they go on a breakaway ?
Also never asking for a pass brings another level of authenticity to all of this. In what league or team have you ever played in, that when you ask for a pass, your teammates immediately pass it to you ? This makes no sense to me…. Put yourself in a good position and they will pass it to you and you’ll feel grateful they did 😀
On top of having 0 pass assist…. You really have to AIM your passes and wait for your teammate on the other end of it, to be in the best disposition to receive it… It feels REAL 😀
You also get to be a MAJOR part of your teams success. Your own play gets to dictate the outcome like never before especially when playing on D… You have to give every little bit of attention and add all the little details to your play, to your game. Something you just don’t or can’t do when you play as the whole team IMO… Just try it for 1 or 2 games and you’ll probably never look back after that 😉
For the people already in the player locking business 😆, don’t be afraid to chime in and let me know if I missed something here…
I just know that since I adopted this way of playing the game, is when I started being more interested in playing the game instead of watching one… I mean YOU GET to play with Crosby, Malkin and friends 😀 What more can you ask for ?
Thanks and let me know if I converted only one of you 😆✌️
HAVE FUN 😀
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