NBA 2K13 News Post

NBA 2K13 - All 31 Signature Skills Revealed

03:32 PM - September 2, 2012 by LD2k

2K Sports has just released the written breakdown of all 31 NBA 2K13 Signature Skills.

Quote:


	Q: Why create these Signature Skills for 2K13 when you already have several attributes in 2K12? A: We felt that our existing attribute and tendency system quite didn�t lend itself well enough to various situational moments that happen in basketball, nor did it help identify very specialized players. Outlet passes, winning charge calls, staying hot through in-game breaks, etc, are just a few areas where our attributes system failed to give you what you need. We�re now able to dig deeper into these situations to allow players stand out where they�re most known. Let�s take shot blocking for example. LeBron James is well-known as the best chase down blocker in the league. In 2K12, when you were in a chase down situation, LeBron was unable to block the shot from behind as much as we�d like him to because he had only a 60-ish Block attribute. With the inclusion of the new Sig Skill, Chase Down Artist, we�re now able to give him the types of skills he needs to embarrass the unsuspecting shooter, without having to artificially raise his Block attribute (which would then allow him to block shots in areas he�s not known for). There are reasons like this for every skill created, which is why we�re bringing this feature to you for NBA 2K13.

Here is a list of all 31 signature skills.

Posterizer
Highlight Film
Finisher
Acrobat
Spot Up Shooter
Shot Creator
Deadeye
Corner Specialist
Post Proficiency
Ankle Breaker
Post Playmaker
Dimer
Break Starter
Alley-Ooper
Brick Wall
Lockdown Defender
Charge Card
Interceptor
Pick Pocket
Active Hands
Eraser
Chase Down Artist
Bruiser
Hustle Points
Scrapper
Anti-Freeze
Microwave
Heat Retention
Closer
Floor General
Defensive Anchor

Read all of the NBA 2K13 Signature Skills details, on the official Tumblr page.

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Member Comments

# 221 RyanFitzmagic @ 09/02/12 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz


	Yes they do. Example - I attempt no steals - I get zero steals. I attempt 5 steals, get 1 one (Chandler covers up the missed 4). Net effect - +1 steal! Simple enough? Now, what do you want to call that effect?!

... that's not making you better. That's just making you more willing to gamble. If your defensive anchor wasn't there, you could still get the 1 in 5 steals, because YOU'RE THE EXACT SAME PLAYER.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz


	Another poster said - Chandler allows him to pressure the ball more leading to tougher passes and more contested shots at the risk of the drive that Chandler covers up. What do you want to call that effect?

A change in TENDENCIES, not ABILITY.

# 222 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz


	Yes they do. Example - I attempt no steals - I get zero steals. I attempt 5 steals, get 1 one (Chandler covers up the missed 4). Net effect - +1 steal! Simple enough? Now, what do you want to call that effect?! Another poster said - Chandler allows him to pressure the ball more leading to tougher passes and more contested shots at the risk of the drive that Chandler covers up. What do you want to call that effect? You're coming off as if the effect is going to turn every teammate into Gary Payton. Well, hell, a guy that's rated 55 versus 50 is still ***. Why is this such a big deal for you? Just answer that. I'm not going to argue the rest with you.

Well put. The effect Chandler has translates into more opportunities to make good defensive plays. Thus 2K's increase in rating when Anchors are on the floor.

It makes sense.

# 223 TheManofSteel3kO @ 09/02/12 07:40 PM

@RyanFitzmagic

You've turned this thread from being about the signature skills, to you trying to make a point at why this addition is so bad because of "Defensive Anchor" etc. You run your mouth about your opinion and such. But now can the topic be the focus. Instead of the bickering matter of stats and opinion. It takes two obviously a leader and coaches. Obviously players like Tyson Chandler is able to bring to the players what the coaches want better than most. And it left a lasting effect because they still have the coaches that were there and the players that played with Tyson are also still there. Then Tyson went to the Knick brought his presence there and the Knicks have Woodson to draw up the defense to help facilitate on the court. And Tyson as the "defensive anchor" is to make sure the players get the memo. So it's a two way street to walk on.

# 224 Boilerbuzz @ 09/02/12 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanFitzmagic


	... that's not making you better. That's just making you more willing to gamble. If your defensive anchor wasn't there, you could still get the 1 in 5 steals, because YOU'RE THE EXACT SAME PLAYER.

That's not making you better. It's making the EFFECT of you defense go up. It's allowing you to play a more effective but higher risk defense - which is effectively a defensive boost! It's called encapsulation. The details aren't the key. The overall message/effect is. That's all.

Quote:


	A change in TENDENCIES, not ABILITY.

And - AGAIN - a tendency is NOT a rating. It's NOT a skill. Tendency to swing at a ball is not the ability to make contact. Two DIFFERENT things.

# 225 RyanFitzmagic @ 09/02/12 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz


	That's not making you better. It's making the EFFECT of you defense go up. It's allowing you to play a more effective but higher risk defense - which is effectively a defensive boost! It's called encapsulation. The details aren't the key. The overall message/effect is. That's all.

Wrong. It's not making your player more able to get steals. It's making him more willing to go for steals. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz


	And - AGAIN - a tendency is NOT a rating. It's NOT a skill. Tendency to swing at a ball is not the ability to make contact. Two DIFFERENT things.

I never said it was. But playing tighter defense because of your defensive anchor is NOT A CHANGE IN ABILITY. IT'S A CHANGE IN TENDENCY.

# 226 Boilerbuzz @ 09/02/12 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanFitzmagic


	Wrong. It's not making your player more able to get steals. It's making him more willing to go for steals. BIG DIFFERENCE. I never said it was. But playing tighter defense because of your defensive anchor is NOT A CHANGE IN ABILITY. IT'S A CHANGE IN TENDENCY.

So are you saying you want it to affect team's tendencies instead of the skill? Is THAT the core of your argument. Because if it is, I apologize and I'll say you would have a valid argument. Not one that I would agree with 100%, but I could see the argument.

# 227 lv2bll @ 09/02/12 07:51 PM

This arguing.......... No matter what either say its not changing anything on the others minds.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

# 228 RyanFitzmagic @ 09/02/12 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz


	So are you saying you want it to affect team's tendencies instead of the skill? Is THAT the core of your argument. Because if it is, I apologize and I'll say you would have a valid argument. Not one that I would agree with 100%, but I could see the argument.

That is EXACTLY what I'm arguing.

# 229 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanFitzmagic


	playing tighter defense because of your defensive anchor is NOT A CHANGE IN ABILITY. IT'S A CHANGE IN TENDENCY.

This is also true.

There has to be a middle ground, but 2K doesn't yet have the technology to make a one man anchored defense in real life play the same way in the game, the AI is not smart enough yet. The effect they've given Chandler is closest were gonna get. Deal with it.

# 230 Boilerbuzz @ 09/02/12 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanFitzmagic


	That is EXACTLY what I'm arguing.

OK then. No argument from me. Like I said - I agree that it COULD be done that way. I don't know if it would lead to enough on the overall impact and you'd still be without a counter to the floor general. When it's all said and done, it's a game mechanic for games sake and I'm cool with it being done the way it's implied. I think most people would agree with how it's done. Otherwise, it likely wouldn't have enough of an impact that it's intended to have. You want a guy like Chandler to be of value to the user. The way it's done makes guys like him more of a valuable commodity. Frankly, I could see BOTH ways being implemented. You'd just have to tune it right.

# 231 iLLosophy @ 09/02/12 07:59 PM

Smh....

I had like 5 paragraphs written about everything that's wrong with this, but I'm just going to be quiet and say I hope they included an option to turn these off

# 232 youALREADYknow @ 09/02/12 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanFitzmagic


	I never said it was. But playing tighter defense because of your defensive anchor is NOT A CHANGE IN ABILITY. IT'S A CHANGE IN TENDENCY.

Wasn't going to go hyper-technical on this thread, but you kind of took it over so I guess I'll clarify something here.

Defensive pressure is NOT a tendency in 2K12 (can't speak for 2K13). It is a Defensive Setting which is determined by a combination of the Coach Profile setting for the team and the defender's On-Ball Defense and Quickness.

Having said that, a "Defensive Anchor" Skill as described doesn't bring us any closer to the realistic effect of having a Dwight/A.Davis/Chandler/Ibaka on the floor and I think that's your gripe based on your posts. The impact of these players is HOW a team can play defense with them on the court, not HOW GOOD other players play defense with them on the court. There is a difference but we're also better served with having some representation of their "presence" than having none.

NBA 2K would be better served in my opinion (and yes, we know what they say about opinions) if Signature Skills only impacted team strategy, situational tendencies, and situational awareness. The direct impact to Attributes is where I disagree with how this was done. Everyone is aware that there needed to be more coverage of basketball related abilities, but handling it in this manner leaves us with binary decisions (and therefore fewer options for differentiation) and also leaves us with a gap in performance between players in the sim engine and the gameplay engine (due to attribute related changes in the game engine).

It's not something that destroys the game by any means but a few of these skills just seem to be taking the easy way out instead of dedicating time to actual player and team configuration. Corner Specialist is one of the worst offenders. We can duplicate a Corner Specialist with real-world data and accurate Hot Spots, Hot Zones, and Attributes within 2-3 minutes RIGHT NOW in 2K12. The addition of attribute bonuses invalidates their entire Hot Zone model for those players and that's the part that I don't understand.

It's ultimately something we're going to have to learn, live with, and work around to the best of our abilities. No point crying over spoiled milk at this point and I'm thankful that they at least gave us the respect of publishing the actual details of the impact of each Skill.

# 233 youALREADYknow @ 09/02/12 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder Storm


	This is also true. There has to be a middle ground, but 2K doesn't yet have the technology to make a one man anchored defense in real life play the same way in the game, the AI is not smart enough yet. The effect they've given Chandler is closest were gonna get. Deal with it.

Not sure I'm buying that. Dwight Howard is a one-man paint stopper in 2K12 when the game is configured correctly. That one word is the difference between 2K12 for every gamer: configuration.

That's the #1 piece of news that we can receive for 2K13. We need a thoroughly configured product directly from 2K in order to get the experience we're all hoping for.

If they merely released 2K12 with the new animations and a truly excellent configuration, then that would probably blow the minds of most gamers who hated 2K12. All of these new features can mask some configuration problems but they don't remove them by any means. Rosters, settings, sliders, etc. are a neglected problem across practically the entire sports gaming sector and I'm not picking on NBA 2K here, but NBA 2K12 was one of the worst configured games that I've seen in recent memory.

# 234 Mr_Riddick @ 09/02/12 08:10 PM

Correct me if im wrong but i thought tge abilities only effected the players set of animations. I didnt know it also effected the player ratings?

# 235 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youALREADYknow


	Not sure I'm buying that. Dwight Howard is a one-man paint stopper in 2K12 when the game is configured correctly. That one word is the difference between 2K12 for every gamer: configuration. That's the #1 piece of news that we can receive for 2K13. We need a thoroughly configured product directly from 2K in order to get the experience we're all hoping for. If they merely released 2K12 with the new animations and a truly excellent configuration, then that would probably blow the minds of most gamers who hated 2K12. All of these new features can mask some configuration problems but they don't remove them by any means. Rosters, settings, sliders, etc. are a neglected problem across practically the entire sports gaming sector and I'm not picking on NBA 2K here, but NBA 2K12 was one of the worst configured games that I've seen in recent memory.

I agree to an extent but not all things can be configured. How can you configure the AI on defense to force players baseline or into the direction of a defensive anchor like say, Howard ? I don't think any of us here have been able to tweak sliders or attributes to get this animation to work , at least consistently.

It's not easy to make all this happen consistently. Which is why 2K is taking the instant gratification route and incorporating rating boosts to make sure defensive anchors are valued like they would be in real life, which is a constant effect on defense and not just sometimes.

# 236 vtcha @ 09/02/12 08:17 PM

Man with all these different signature skills, upgrading skill points & abilities, and the bonus attributes from shoes, this game is becoming more MMORPG-esque!!!

On a serious note though, I really hope the "Closer" signature skill along with the shot clock cheese/clutch factor, does not play a major factor to the point where the CPU is almost unstoppable unless you have a lock-down defender.

"A widened “Excellent Release” free throw release window, thus making it easier to knock down clutch free throws"- Not to be picky but D-Rose is a great clutch shot maker. His free throws on the other hand is questionable.

# 237 lv2bll @ 09/02/12 08:19 PM

A couple quick things that I've seen and my thoughts:

Ankle Breaker: the 30% chance increase doesn't mean people are going to be falling down 3/10 times being crossed. It just means that whatever chance you already had to break a guys ankles(which happened to me playing 2k12 about 3 times in a year now). Now this year it might happen 4 or 5 times.

I do like the fact that many of the signature skills have perquisites like shot creator or dead eye so they will only work when certain things happen. This gives us ways to counter them a bit if we don't have a lockdown defender. We will see soon how much impact this has on gameplay and strategies and if 2k will need to tune and balance in the future. So hyped

# 238 Boilerbuzz @ 09/02/12 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder Storm


	I agree to an extent but not all things can be configured. How can you configure the AI on defense to force players baseline or into the direction of a defensive anchor like say, Howard ? I don't think any of us here have been able to tweak sliders or attributes to get this animation to work , at least consistently. It's not easy to make all this happen consistently. Which is why 2K is taking the instant gratification route and incorporating rating boosts to make sure defensive anchors are valued like they would be in real life, which is a constant effect on defense and not just sometimes.

Considering the game tries to strike a balance between millions of play styles, expecting that "perfect configuration" is futile. Everyone has a different opinion of what that would be.

# 239 Jesus White @ 09/02/12 08:29 PM

Posterizer looks cool

# 240 Jrocc23 @ 09/02/12 08:32 PM

Seems like having "Lockdown Defender" is a must have SS.

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