Observations: to have more sustained offensive zone pressure

[voodoo_magic]

I plugged in two of the popular sliders for '25 and then did mine cpu vs cpu.
When I rewatch the games a couple things stand out to me.
On one of the sets they have speed 3 and skating speed in the 30's. Other set is 0 with skating in the 60's. Mine is speed 1 and skating 45. All three sets could work depending on personal preference.

A couple key differences that some may want to look into. From the popular sets to what I think may play better.

Aggression slider
With the excessive hits I took a look at aggression. I usually play with it around 50.

At 100 players are more aggressive obviously but what I seen was they attack the puck carrier too much and are getting out of position. Three of them will sometimes chase one player. Also on the penalty kill two and sometimes three players will go deep into the zone leading to a lot of 2 and 3 on 1 breaks for the powerplay.
At 0 players are still doing just about as much when the offense is trying to enter the offensive zone but the defence is staying in position really well and covering. The offense isn't just entering without being poke checked and setting up with no pressure.
One of the fun things about aggression at 0 is there is a lot more cycling. The defence is still attacking the puck carrier, they're not just standing around.

Pass interceptions.
If you have it too high the game can be a back and forth track meet and really hard to cycle and set things up in the offensive zone.

Puck control.
If you have it too low, same as interceptions. If the slightest touch takes it away it's going to be hard to keep pressure on the defense. A couple years ago they had it where you would knock a guy down and he basically kept the puck unless you had puck control low, but now it's not needed.

Yes in hockey there are a lot of turnovers, however in the video game it's just not programmed or animated to set up great cycling, board play and sustained pressure like teams often do.
I feel it's better this year with the way the defence will walk the line and with how players look to avoid incidental contact.

I appreciate all slider makers. I, however found it interesting that all sets seem to have aggression, pass interceptions and puck control among some others at the more standard or even high setting.

I have usually found interceptions, control and some others to not be very close to what I prefer but still used a lot of other settings to help fine tune mine.
I'm sure a lot of you will think higher puck control, 0 aggression is not hockey or is too different from what you have always used, I'm happy you have something you like and plays how you like it.

If you use this info to fine tune your game I hope you find it works as well as I think it does and enjoy the game as much as I am now.

[bDoddleS]

I agree with alot of this for sure. I've tried every set on this forum and all have a lot of pros but also some cons.

The ones that nail perfectly the speed and flow of the game will struggle in other areas the one that nail the passing will be too fast or no hitting or too much hitting IMO.

I've wanted to make a hybrid set that incorporates what I feel is the best speed and flow, with the best passing and checking, but it's hard to find that right balance cause just copying ones skating and someone else checking or passing it doesn't always mesh well.

[PernellKarl076]

How much sustained offensive pressure is enough for you ? Cause the way the game plays right now, I find there’s lots and quality of sustained pressure from both sides of the puck. Sometimes I can pin the other team in their zone for 45 to 50 seconds and vice versa.

I also had to lower the fatigue effect on my set at one point. This value actually works in 25, where before, I would always put 100 without even thinking about it. When I did this in 25, teams could dance around players forever in the zone cause they were like standing cones. It is now at 30… Imagine.

NHL25 is in a very good place. In a place where I feel like you said with the new animations, in a state that has never been before.

I know I’m very happy with the all around gameplay. Something that is usually rare when the game just comes out.

[voodoo_magic]

That's good to hear that your getting sustained pressure with some different settings.
I find if you can get it set so that there isn't constant turnovers then the game is a lot of fun.
Yeah the fatigue effect is tricky, I had the same experience with using my setting from '23 for '25.

Other than some annoying animations and the power plays not being as structured as I'd like I'm enjoying '25 more than any NHL game since probably the PS3 days, and I didn't like '24.

[johnnydrum]

Very interesting----I have always played with AGGRESSION slider lower---@20---so am i correct in reading that you play with it @Zero?
Could I see some more of your sliders please---i think you could be onto something here.
With regards
Johnny

Quote: Originally Posted by voodoo_magic

I plugged in two of the popular sliders for '25 and then did mine cpu vs cpu. When I rewatch the games a couple things stand out to me. On one of the sets they have speed 3 and skating speed in the 30's. Other set is 0 with skating in the 60's. Mine is speed 1 and skating 45. All three sets could work depending on personal preference. A couple key differences that some may want to look into. From the popular sets to what I think may play better. Aggression slider With the excessive hits I took a look at aggression. I usually play with it around 50. At 100 players are more aggressive obviously but what I seen was they attack the puck carrier too much and are getting out of position. Three of them will sometimes chase one player. Also on the penalty kill two and sometimes three players will go deep into the zone leading to a lot of 2 and 3 on 1 breaks for the powerplay. At 0 players are still doing just about as much when the offense is trying to enter the offensive zone but the defence is staying in position really well and covering. The offense isn't just entering without being poke checked and setting up with no pressure. One of the fun things about aggression at 0 is there is a lot more cycling. The defence is still attacking the puck carrier, they're not just standing around. Pass interceptions. If you have it too high the game can be a back and forth track meet and really hard to cycle and set things up in the offensive zone. Puck control. If you have it too low, same as interceptions. If the slightest touch takes it away it's going to be hard to keep pressure on the defense. A couple years ago they had it where you would knock a guy down and he basically kept the puck unless you had puck control low, but now it's not needed. Yes in hockey there are a lot of turnovers, however in the video game it's just not programmed or animated to set up great cycling, board play and sustained pressure like teams often do. I feel it's better this year with the way the defence will walk the line and with how players look to avoid incidental contact. I appreciate all slider makers. I, however found it interesting that all sets seem to have aggression, pass interceptions and puck control among some others at the more standard or even high setting. I have usually found interceptions, control and some others to not be very close to what I prefer but still used a lot of other settings to help fine tune mine. I'm sure a lot of you will think higher puck control, 0 aggression is not hockey or is too different from what you have always used, I'm happy you have something you like and plays how you like it. If you use this info to fine tune your game I hope you find it works as well as I think it does and enjoy the game as much as I am now.