A Very Late 2k20 Wishlist (mycareer) - jordankobewade7's Blog

jordankobewade7's Blog

A Very Late 2k20 Wishlist (mycareer)

Posted on July 8, 2019 at 05:02 AM.

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Archtypes

Theres a huge uproar about archs, and going back to 2k16's method of inside, outside, or balanced. The direction of eSports and 2k along with it negates this altogether, nevermind the money implications of making multiple builds. I mentioned eSports, and I feel like this is an area that not many are acknowledging that greatly supports archtypes being here to stay, and I'm all for it. Having everyone have all around builds removes the strategy and makes the game more of an all star game rather than a reflection of an NBA team, which is the sum of its parts no matter how great a given player is. eSports is an exciting arena and field, and the best way to facilitate said field is to have the archtypes. As long as we upgrade the current system we can get closer to perfection:

Narrow/Focus The Archs

Simply put, too many archs can do things outside of what the arch was intended to do.

To hit shots consistently you should have to choose a build with a shooting focus (sharp, post, or shot creator)
If you are NOT a slasher you should NOT have access to flashy dunks OR contact dunks, nor should you be able to perform them in any scenario
Lockdowns greatest strength should be negating badges and contesting shots. blocks and steals still have to be well timed, not gifted
Sharpshooters should be limited to STAND STILL SHOTS. no moving shots, no drifting shots. NO DIFFICULT SHOTS BADGE at all. Limitless needs a major nerf. People shouldn't be hitting halfcourt shots consistently anywhere, park, rec, or proam.
For Takeover: Remove the clear offensive foul push from glass cleaners and post scorers, remove the stuck ankle breaker/speed boost

The speed difference between playmakers and almost every other build already is an advantage of itself, no need to add a crippling ankle breaker. Same for post scorers, they wouldn't be overpowered if you took out the offensive foul takeover.

Force players to play their arch by making pure builds only good at what the build actually is. Having this system creates balance and forces a give and take during games thats a constant chess battle. This is ruined when players are allowed to consistently do things outside their arch. If we narrow the focus we also eliminate the cheese factor.

For example, making sharpshooters only have a good standing 3 and drastically lowering their moving 3, along with lowering their ability to dribble would all but eliminate the sharp exploits that currently exist in 2k19.

In exchange for this, sharpshooters should have more stamina and speed(not acceleration/big difference) to run around screens or just to keep moving to get open shots, ala reggie miller or ray allen. Also, the amount of time they need to be open, or the space they need to shoot should be buffed to compensate for the lack of dribbling/moving 3s.

If a player wants to be able to dribble and shoot or to shoot moving 3s they would and should be forced to make a hybrid build. This would sacrifice shooting for dribbling if they were a playmaker, or they could add the difficult shots badge (and thus moving 3s) by choosing a shot creator, but they would still lose a bit of shooting from beyond the arch in exchange for midrange and moving shots.

Sacrifice forces balance.

Badge Points

Ok, so NO, I don't think we need a third archtype choice. What I propose in place of that is to allow us to have what I call BADGE POINTS. Each Badge point goes toward upgrading our badge max level on a scale as follows:

HOF-3pts
GOLD-2pts
SILVER-1pt
BRONZE-1pt

This is how many badge points it costs to upgrade the max level of either a new badge, or an existing badge.

YES. You read that right. You get 5 badge points to use to either add a new badge you didn't previously have OR to upgrade your existing badges. So, in essence, you can either upgrade ONE existing badge from GOLD to HOF (costs 3 badge pts)and use the remaining 2 badge points to upgrade a BRONZE to SILVER (1pt each) or a SILVER badge to gold (2pts). Under this system you would be able to get a badge your build does not currently have and upgrade it all the way to GOLD level(and still have 1 badge pt to spare).

PURE BUILDS CANNOT USE THIS FEATURE.

This would allow for more badge balance, and support my idea of narrowing the focus of each arch. Also, this would support having unique playstyles and allowing players to choose their playstyle, strengths, and weaknesses. More on this later.

Badges

-Primary Badges-Pure Builds-

Sharpshooter:
Catch and Shoot/HOF
Deep Range Deadeye/HOF
Midrange Deadeye/HOF
Tireless Scorer/HOF
Limitless Range/Activates w/takeover only(Sharpshooter Exclusive Badge)
Corner Specialist/HOF
Freethrow Ace/HOF

Pure Sharpshooter should be lethal from all ranges at a stand still or when catching and shooting, and once they get in a rhythm they should also be able to extend their range to limitless. Instead of removing limitless altogether, I propose that the limitless badge should activate with takeover only. As this would reflect current NBA stars who usually get into a good rhythm before attempting 3s from such a great distance, UNLESS they are completely wide open, and even then its a tough shot to make before you get in rhythm, 2k should replicate this.

A visual cue showing when a sharp is locked in on the basket when open would be a perfect addition. The higher the rating the less time it takes being open to lock in.

Shot Creator:
Difficult Shots/HOF
Midrange Deadeye/HOF
Corner Specialist/GOLD
Tireless Scorer/HOF
Tear Dropper/HOF
Freethrow Ace/GOLD

This is the midrange king. Lets keep it that way. Crafty moves and shots allow shot creators to own the area inside the arch. These badges reflect what the strengths should be. This should not include post shots, as they are a different type of shot than a face-up basket.

Slasher:
Posterizer/HOF
Lob City Finisher/HOF
Relentless Finisher/HOF
One Man Fastbreak/HOF
Acrobat/HOF
Putback King/HOF

No more missed DUNKS!!! A slasher shouldn't be able to dribble at all, but if they get a lane or a fastbreak they should be as automatic as a wide open pure sharp. What goes up must come down on your head. Give us greater control over which dunks to use and when, more control means this build feels different and worth it, since we lose out on shooting and dribbling. Notice the removal of tear dropper, this was not by mistake, slashers historically lack the touch required for such a shot, so I left this to playmakers and shot creators purposely.

Lockdown/Rim Protector:
Defensive Stopper/HOF
Charge Card/HOF
Pick Dodger/HOF
Pick Pocket/HOF
Chasedown Artist/HOF
Bruiser/HOF
Rim Protector/HOF

The main focus of this build should be to contest/block shots and force ball pickups. Not steals. This is a major cheese area that needs to be addressed. I still included pick pocket, but it should be well timed and used in specific situations, ala stripping a post shot or *NEW* animations for stripping regular jumpshots. We need to get away from the dribbling strips, or successful steals when the ball is protected or not right in front of the defender.

I agree with steals in the right circumstances; in real life it is EXTREMELY tough to steal a pass that was thrown from 2/3 feet in front of you, its almost impossible to do anything but tip a pass like that. Passing lane steals should be from a distance that you can see, read, and react to the ball like one would in real life. One of the main ways to beat pressing/pressuring defenses is to pass the ball, and this should be reflected in 2k. The ball moves ALOT faster than any player could run, this is FACT that every good coach preaches. *Smart* passes should beat even the best defenses.

Playmaker:
Dimer/HOF
Lob City Passer/HOF
PicknRoll Maestro/HOF
Flashy Passer/HOF
Break Starter/HOF
Tear Dropper/HOF
Acrobat/HOF

The first thing everyone notices here is the removal of the ankle breaker badge. That was purposeful because there is literally no need for it. The only way I would be in favor of keeping ankle breaker is if they nerfed the animation severely so that you had a chance to recover if you guessed the right direction they were going, add a little more skill to defending it and then it can stay, but as is, FOH!
Also, the addition of tear dropper and acrobat should help balance the playmaker build giving it inside scoring finesse/touch.

Post Scorer:
Up and Under Specialist/HOF
Post Spin Technician/HOF
Post Hook/HOF
Post Fade/HOF
Drop Stepper/HOF
Brick Wall/HOF
Bruiser/HOF
The Dream/HOF

Post scorers are beasts, and to me they are all we have to hold on to old school basketball. My biggest suggestion for post scorers is to trade that *elbow to the heezy* takeover animation (thats CLEARLY and offensive foul) and replace it with FOOTWORK. Thats right, any other build that tries to do these branching post scoring moves should be called for traveling, hence the (The Dream aka post footwork) badge I created. I think basic moves should be available to all, like non branching moves such as a simple post fade or hook (yes I think we need those badges back, although not as powerful as before). Having a footwork badge makes being a post scorer night and day different than using a slasher build or rebounder build, which both also possess the same type of strength.

Glass Cleaner:
Hustle Rebounder/HOF
Bruiser/HOF
Break Starter/SILVER
Brick Wall/HOF
Putback King/HOF

This build should be really fun to use and I really like the rebound locator that activates with takeover. I think it perfectly illustrates how rebounders can predict how the ball will come off the rim and adjust accordingly. What I will say is that it should be more of a general area than a marksman pointer, this would be more accurate to real life. These guys are our big bodies that bang in the post and push you out of the way with one arm when you try to box them out. We should also have rebounders that are different based on size and weight. If you pick a forward rebounder thats shorter they should be more of your hustle and run type thats gonna chase every loose ball to every corner of the court AND into the stands. Think of how fun that would be to use! Also, break starter is only silver because this isnt a playmaker we're talking about, so lets cut the cheese! (don't lick the knife LOL)

WE NEED NEW ANIMATIONS FOR SAVING BALLS HEADED OUT OF BOUNDS, REBOUNDERS SHOULD BE THE BEST ARCH AT SAVING LOOSE BALLS WHICH ALSO GIVES THEM ANOTHER POSITIVE THAT IS ACCURATE TO THEIR ARCH.

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I wanted to add this bit about badges to illustrate the narrowing of builds in pure form to exactly what the build is. Yes in true pure form these builds would be unstoppable AT WHAT THEY DO, but it would take a true team to wield such raw power, and that is the true beauty of it. It would require real basketball iQ and real team building to put the right pieces together to properly take advantage of such power, and that my friends is the point.

Hybrid Builds

Certain archs lend themselves well to blending with other archs. I will list examples below along with the primary badges that go with said archs. Certain badges that go with each will receive upgrades due to the familiarity of the archs, just like last year, but with a new wrinkle:

Post Scoring Shot Creator: (MJ/Kobe build)
Up and Under Specialist/HOF
Difficult Shots/HOF
Midrange Deadeye/HOF
Tireless Scorer/HOF
Tear Dropper/HOF
Post Fader/HOF

This is the same setup as last yr, plus post fade. I did not include post hook because this is the guard variant and that wouldn't be a HOF grade badge. Being that both post scorers and shot creators both have midrange jumpshots in their arsenal, there should be no drop-off in midrange shots for choosing this hybrid build. Also, the badges mesh well due to this, resulting in the 5+ HOF badges. This is an example of a very powerful hybrid build that depending on the playstyle should rival a regular shot creator. The difference would be sacrificing dribbling and speed for strength and footwork of a post scorer.

Two-Way Athletic Finisher: (Anthony Davis build)
Posterizer/HOF
Lob City Finisher/HOF
Defensive Stopper/GOLD
Putback King/HOF
Relentless Finisher/GOLD
Pick n Roller/GOLD
One Man Fastbreak/GOLD
Rim Protector/GOLD

This is a MONSTER hybrid build. Being a defender is logically in the same vein as being a slasher, they mesh extremely well and the badges shown here reflect that. And I was meaning Anthony Davis moreso on the defensive side LOL. Adding that 3rd arch of post scorer or shot creator would make this pinpoint!

I showed these examples because they reflect how we should be rewarded for selecting archs that fit well together if we choose to go hybrid over pure. Doing so will also help us create our iterations of our favorite NBA players, albeit on a smaller scale.
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About that little wrinkle:

To further differentiate players and archs, we should be given the option to trade badges if we choose a hybrid build. With this system you would NOT be able to get badges not already assigned to your arch. Instead, you could trade badge levels (move a badge from bronze to silver, making the badge that was silver now bronze) thus dictating your strengths and weaknesses according to your desired playstyle. This would only be available when you first create your player because it wouldn't make sense to downgrade an earned badge once you already have it. Example below:

Post Scoring Shot Creator:

On 2k19 this build gets SILVER Corner Specialist, but I would want it GOLD, so I would take my HOF Tear Dropper badge and make it GOLD, trading its level for my now GOLD Corner Specialist.

This can be done an unlimited amount of times, you just cannot add or remove any existing badges, meaning you can only upgrade BRONZE badges. This would put the control in the user's hand as to what their greatest strengths and weaknesses are, rather than feeling at the mercy of presets. While this also keeps controls within a reasonable level of cheese control, having builds do things they weren't meant to do.

There would also have to be a second look at all archs to determine what badges should be removed or added from each arch, basically limiting these archs to their intended playstyles and maintaining realism.

Also, a wrinkle to this wrinkle (LOL): Say I have a Two-Way Sharpshooter and I choose to use this new badge swapper deal. (Note that because lockdown is secondary on this build, sharp badges are higher) Say I switch the badges around and I end up upgrading more of the defensive badges and I only want Catch and Shoot and Corner Specialist to be Gold and all my other high level badges are defensive type badges; the cpu would recognize this and change my arch to sharpshooting defender instead.

Miscellaneous

Just a few random nuggets I think would be cool to add:

Ability to strip jumpshots
Player awareness of court boundaries and other players when dribbling/passing (making an effort to avoid passing through them) this would help negate excess passing lane steals
New loose ball save and pickup animations
Bronze/Silver/Gold/HOF proam leagues based on player OVR and WIN/LOSS %
New and different parks to play in
Incentives to gaining rep levels in park
Better uses for the Gatorade Facility like FLUCTUATING weight. More cardio to lose and more weights to gain, shouldn't be stuck with weight.
Hand size, bigger hands=better ball control/better finishes on dunks, but less shooting
More CPU vs User events to always have something to challenge your squad with besides playing users
Endorsements should include shoes AND clothes, not just shoes. allow for more custom colorways for established athletes
More ways to earn VC
More input on nba team aspects for those who scratch that "MyGM" itch while playing mycareer
Park mini tournaments/events that occur daily

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The purpose of this wishlist is to help make the game we all love better. Please comment and lets have a discussion on what you like or don't like from my wishlist. If you are a dev or work at 2k and you read this, first and foremost **THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME**. Please tweet me the eyes emoji to let me know you saw this @jordankobewade7 (that'd be so cool!)and I'll know you read the whole thing! haha...

PEACE, POSITIVITY AND LOVE YALL