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

# 241 Barncore @ 09/02/12 08:35 PM

Wow, i didn't realise there was going to be 30 odd sig skills. That's a lot of variety. Awesome.

2k should raise the max limit of sig skills per player to be higher than 5. Players like LeBron, MJ, Kobe, Durant, CP3, etc, could easily have 10 of these skills and it would be realistic. 5 seems low.

# 242 youALREADYknow @ 09/02/12 08:37 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.

That's EXACTLY why Skills should focus on areas that are outside of the commonly used Attributes or Tendencies.

Basketball strategy is what I want to see more of in NBA 2K. We can choose 50 tendencies for how a player will dribble or shoot the ball, but have only a handful of options for how a team chooses to play defense or how a player prefers to defend on-ball or in the post. Coaching is practically non-existent in 2K12.

I'm hopeful that some of these areas will be improved in 2K13. Skills aren't one of the improvements to strategy or realism though based on the information we've received so far. They are a shortcut to differentiation.

# 243 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youALREADYknow


	That's EXACTLY why Skills should focus on areas that are outside of the commonly used Attributes or Tendencies. Basketball strategy is what I want to see more of in NBA 2K. We can choose 50 tendencies for how a player will dribble or shoot the ball, but have only a handful of options for how a team chooses to play defense or how a player prefers to defend on-ball or in the post. Coaching is practically non-existent in 2K12. I'm hopeful that some of these areas will be improved in 2K13. Skills aren't one of the improvements to strategy or realism though based on the information we've received so far. They are a shortcut to differentiation.

I agree, in the future they need to have more variety when it comes to unique player tendencies on defense and then team strategies.

SS is a good cover up for now though.

# 244 XenoZograscope @ 09/02/12 08:42 PM

I'm still kind of skeptical on these sig skills, but October 2nd will tell it all though. Also online play will be very interesting this time around....I can see it now lol.

# 245 GTRx Assassin @ 09/02/12 08:50 PM

I hope this plays a huge factor in the draft in association mode

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2

# 246 2k10Fonzarelli @ 09/02/12 08:59 PM

There are several skills that read '...up to X boost'

what constitutes the boost amount?

Ie (from Dimer) The pass will hit the receiver on point and will give him up to a 10% boost.

So what exactly constitutes a full 10% boost as opposed to a 5% or even a measly 1% boost?
I realize this question is unanswerable but i invite people to speculate with me.

Will it be ratings driven? A player with 85 passing gets 5% while 99 gets 10%? Doesn't seem to fit the intangible they're trying to capture.

On a personal note: People, please stop exaggerating.

In the 40 minutes that Jeremy Lin may play in a game, 39:30 to 39:45 will have jeremy lin rated at 75 steals. For a short 15 to 30 seconds (IF THAT!), Lin will have a 90(approx) rating in steals. During this time, Lin is not guaranteed to make any of his steal attempts.

In 2k12, I remember performing exactly 1 ankle breaker over 450+ hours of gameplay. It was by a CAP that had 99 Quickness, 99 Off ball handling, and 'Great' dribble ratings.
I also had on ball defense slider lowered to sub 45(maybe as low as 41).
I almost know this won't be an issue in my games, and (again just going off assumption) seeing as how most players aren't rated 99 and great in everything, plus the fact that the default on-ball D slider is 50, i almost know it won't be an issue in yours. That is, if 2k13's numbers under the hood match-up with 2k12's

The same could probably be said about the rest of the SSs. But we'll have to wait and see

# 247 juicey79 @ 09/02/12 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder Storm


	I kinda think 80 is STILL too high, most users call timeouts and refresh their players stamina bars like every 2 minutes. It's a great start tho.

They expect you to play a simulation style of play. This addition adds realism to the game while maintaining a video game type feel...this really sounds like a cool innovation.
Great job 2K!

# 248 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 09:06 PM

I think the % of a shot coming from "dimers" will be effected by the defense.

ex : If the player recieving the "dime" is wide open then they get the full %10 boost, if guarded by a weak defender then 5-9 % boost, if guarded by an elite defender then 1-4% boost.

Just a guess.

# 249 iLLosophy @ 09/02/12 09:07 PM

One plus I do see is I see the word "stamina" mentioned, so it might be safe to assume fatigue actually works/matters this year

# 250 Gatorfan Frank @ 09/02/12 09:08 PM

I'm liking these Sig Skills, but I'm already questioning the player choices for some of them. Like D-Rose, for example. He has the Closer skill, which increases his free throw shooting (as well as other attributes) in the 4th. D-Rose's free throw shooting in the 4th is probably his biggest weakest, and always has been.

Then again, the "2K Insider" has always had a love affair with Derrick Rose, so I'm not surprised by the questionable Sig Skill choices for him.

# 251 Stickz24 @ 09/02/12 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanFitzmagic


	Wouldn't a shooter normally be deterred by a shot-blocker simply because the shot will be blocked, and not because some supernatural, Space-Jam talent decrease will occur as a result?

First - they've been making these games for 12 years now. For the most part. They are pretty reasonable in their implementation of these things. Give them the benefit of doubt. Assume they consider the reasonable checks and balances that wont make this the arcade/fantastic game you're arguing it will be.

Now, anybody in basketball who has their shot "swatted" will think twice (about a minute and a half) about why they should take a better shot. High enough offensive awareness and it will not be the end of world calamity you're making it out to be. Low or medium offensive awareness and it accurately reflects the confidence delimna that comes with getting your shot swatted.

This also inserts heart into the game because there's something to be said for the person who comes back and dunks on that defender or makes a clutch shot inspite a recent shot swat situation. Have fun with it man. It's just a game.

Abusers will find a way to cheat in every game. Real players in the NBA would cheese if there wasn't a crowd of people watching them (you and I know they very well still try). If your primary concern is abuse. Find people who appreciate the game and play it right. I've found that these people are often very good and are hardest to beat consistently anyway. Cheesers can be figured out (unless they play you once and dissappear. But that happens every night in the NBA too. Why the playoffs are the "same beast. Different animal".

Long story though - Enjoy the game man. What with patches and all. Too many avenues for correction even when they do mess up. Let them innovate and give them license to do so.

Also, I think these attributes are more complimentary than redundant. These are for those off brand moments that don't necessarily fit the tendencies script.

No they wont get every nuance you can imagine. Or every logical basketball flow you might process. They are capturing the most relevant ones and attempting to create grey areas via numbers and ratings. Give them props for their vision and wait to see how it is actually implemented before critiquing something you have limited information on.

Their product is generally pretty intuitive. If you agree; wait and see. If you don't; wait and see.

My thoughts.

# 252 jersez @ 09/02/12 09:11 PM

I've seen some post "not" for the sig skills, and I too was on the "it's a gimmick side", but after reading the full details and seeing how the offensive and defensive sigs can counter each other, Imo it's not a gimmick.

Here's why, they are giving us tools to separate players in a way ratings just couldn't do, sig skills are bringing a element of strategy that wasn't in previous 2k's, and they bring a balance in terms of user skill levels. Also allowing the game to finally represent the multiple skills of a player in a specific area without raising a specific rating which is in general terms.

Example Kevin Love is a excellent outlet passer but he's about average in terms of other type of passes. See it's highlighting a specific area he does well, without raising the whole passing rating. The same will go for Lebron chase down blocks, instead of raising his overall block rating, which another poster said could make him "bill Russell like", along with his high vertical and other defensive ratings, raising his overall block rating can make him a unrealistic defender. As far as the Corner Specialist I also think this is a great addition, if you read the rules

The shooter must be standing still.
The shooter must be considered fairly open when he shoots the ball.
The shooter must take his shot within a couple seconds of catching the pass.

The problem with hot spots are they didn't require a specific shot to be taken, because the player was just in that area, and how well the shot was contested didn't matter.This sig skill requires that you stand still, it requires you to be open. Two things that hot spots couldn't do and didn't specify, you just shot the ball, and it didn't matter if that player is better at catching and shooting or shooting off the dribble. Yes there were ratings for that but the hot spots in my opinion didn't care if it was off the dribble or not. So imo this will actually create a separation of catch and shooters and shooting off the dribble.

One thing we haven't talked about is the shot penalty which has been used in most of these sig skills definitions. I wish 2k can give us some details about shot penalty but I guess we'll have to assume like we always do. From my assumption it sounds like 2k has fixed the shot quality system, with these sig skills this will help generate your shot grade obviously. But the shot quality will differ from player to player because of sig skills. Another positive for sig skills. A circus shot with derrick rose will not penalize me because acrobat is one of d.roses sig's, but a circus shot with idk metta world peace, the game will penalizing me because he isn't a acrobat. Just like how great players can take bad shots, this will force us to use our role players in a realistic way, eliminating the role or bench player that would play like jordan in 2k12.

I think the problem we are having is half of us, see the potential and half of us think the sky will fall with these sig skills. We shouldn't assume that every time you guard d.rose with Iggy you'll get cross, and we can't assume every time we swing the ball to a corner specialist he'll make it.

# 253 vtcha @ 09/02/12 09:13 PM

OHHH YEAHH!!!!

Looks like I'll be a SF/SG combo specialising the following SS:

Corner Specialist

Lockdown Defender

Chase Down Artist

Defensive Anchor

Interceptor

I'm planning to make my player like Shane Battier (more athletic version) meets Paul George. Hopefully my A.I team-mates will do a better job this year and take on the offensive load :P

# 254 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 09:17 PM

I don't think non-big men should be defensive anchors ... in fact they can't.

# 255 RyanFitzmagic @ 09/02/12 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stickz24


	First - they've been making these games for 12 years now. For the most part. They are pretty reasonable in their implementation of these things. Give them the benefit of doubt. Assume they consider the reasonable checks and balances that wont make this the arcade/fantastic game you're arguing it will be. Now, anybody in basketball who has their shot "swatted" will think twice (about a minute and a half) about why they should take a better shot. High enough offensive awareness and it will not be the end of world calamity you're making it out to be. Low or medium offensive awareness and it accurately reflects the confidence delimna that comes with getting your shot swatted. This also inserts heart into the game because there's something to be said for the person who comes back and dunks on that defender or makes a clutch shot inspite a recent shot swat situation. Have fun with it man. It's just a game.

I've said it before-- how does getting your shot blocked on the INSIDE affect your shooting on the OUTSIDE? It doesn't.

# 256 vtcha @ 09/02/12 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder Storm


	I don't think non-big men should be defensive anchors ... in fact they can't.

I think they can change the culture at the very least. I mean during the NBA draft I heard commentators saying how MKG will change the defensive culture of the Bobcats with his intensity and hustle. And there have even been some players who have named Defensive Player of the Year.

# 257 btrapp @ 09/02/12 09:24 PM

Looking at how some folks are reacting to the signature skills before they've even tried them, I think I may have to avoid this forum for a week or two after the games released. If they're complaining now, it'll only get worse after it's release since every time they lose a game it'll be the signature skills fault lol.

# 258 I Djm @ 09/02/12 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colts18


	Of course. That goes without saying. But honestly, lockdown defenders are often times the ones that get got because of their aggressive style of defensive play. I just think 30% is too high.

are you talking user v user or user v cpu. if what smoove said is true then on hof 30% will seem like nothing but if you are talking overall it can always be tweaked if they are keeping to online ranked low

# 259 squeakybirnbaum @ 09/02/12 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by womalee23


	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?

Did you happen to read any of the article or posts thereafter?

# 260 Thunder Storm @ 09/02/12 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtcha


	I think they can change the culture at the very least. I mean during the NBA draft I heard commentators saying how MKG will change the defensive culture of the Bobcats with his intensity and hustle. And there have even been some players who have named Defensive Player of the Year.

That would be cool if one guard/sf could effect an entire teams defensive strategy.

The closest thing to a non-big man defensive anchor is Scottie Pippen and LeBron.

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