NHL 13 and HUT

[sendme]

I'm sure by now I'm the only one or one of the few that is still playing 13, but I thought I would ask a few things about it.

I'm just now starting to get into it thanks to finally being able to get players that are above an overall 80. If it wasn't for getting free points from Bing to spend on packs I wouldn't be playing it. Pucks seem to be to hard to get unless it is the double pucks weekends.

That leads me to my first question, how do I get more pucks outside of the NHL moments mode? All the games I play only give me 500-600 pucks and by the time I get them saved up for the gold pack that is 15,000 pucks I have to spend most of them on contracts. When buying the contracts it seems like it leaves little profit with the pucks based on what they are going for on the auction house.

I noticed that I had it set up for a small arena and thinking that might have some to do with getting pucks for attendance I changed to a large international arena and nothing seems to have changed. So if they don't get you more pucks what is the point of them?

Also I'm wondering if it is just me or if anyone else has noticed that on the double puck weekends the rookie tournament's difficulty has been increased? Seems like when I play during the week I can win games now 7-1 and no trouble. When I play on them weekends I'm lucky if I can win 1-0 or not have to go into a shootout. I'm also luck if I don't have to deal with 2 or 3 penalties in a row for interference. When the game first came out it seemed like the only penalties I would get were for tripping when trying to poke check.

I think due to buying packs I'm noticing that HUT is more about having to spend real money than I once thought.

 

[n8rockerasu]

Kudos to you for sticking with the game, man. I think if I was as into the single player as much as you seem to be, I might have been able to keep playing. But with NHL being a game I primarily play multiplayer, the game just seemed so unrewarding.

Anyway, I can't speak for exactly how HUT in 13 works, as I didn't stick with it very long, but yeah, I don't think what size arena you play in makes any difference. You're giving EA way too much credit thinking that, lol. And if you're talking in terms of switching from North American arena to International arena, all you're going to notice is a change in the size of the ice surface (international ice is bigger).

But for obtaining more pucks, it almost seemed like you needed to rely on the people out there willing to spend a ridiculous amount of MS points just to get certain players. I know moojuice "invested" some MS points on one of the big packs when they were having a special early on, and he was lucky enough to pull a Sidney Crosby. Instead of saying "Oh, wow. Crosby could help my team so much", he sold him at auction for an insane profit.

Just from the observations I made (and to an extent, my more extensive experience with Madden Ultimate Team), this seemed like the "easiest" way to earn pucks. Only play games with the scrubbiest of players (or prospects that you can groom yourself), and sell off any player who is worth a damn...until you're high enough above the water line that you can start holding onto some of those players.

I never cared enough to invest MS points for the chance of pulling somebody like a Crosby, by I can see the logic where it might work. If you think of it in terms of a business: initial investment to get you started + getting by with minimal cost to keep you going + reinvesting "profits" back into your business = sustainable growth. With the flaws in EA's system, even that may not be enough to prevent you from bankrupting your team. But in general, I think that's the best mindset you can have...other than just continually throwing MS points down the rabbit hole...which, let's be honest, is really what EA wants to begin with, lol.

Anyway, good luck with finishing that game up. I can promise you the larger group of us will be back for NHL 14 regardless of how "like NHL 13" it is...mainly because our options will be extremely limited at that point. The servers for NHL 12 will be shut down shortly after launch, I'm sure, and the only appealing features of NHL 13 (NHL Moments Live, Offline Franchise) will be outdated at that point. So, sadly, EA has me by the balls with NHL 14. Just hoping it's not horrible.

 

[sendme]

Crosby goes for an insane amount of pucks I have see 600k to over 900k for his 99 card. I may have sold that myself if I was go get it. I'm only using points I get from Bing to buy the packs so it isn't money out of pocket. I plan on switching to Amazon cards now in order to save up for 14. I thought I saw some place in 13 that you could transfer your stuff for HUT in 12 over. I'm guessing the same will be done for 14 however I'm sure it wont be players. If it wasn't for Bing I would not have stuck around. I don't play online due to how bad the lag was during the league games and I'm sure it isn't any better. Also I have read that online isn't really worth it. I have read that players spam the right stick on faceoffs and from what I coworker has said it doesn't even seem worth playing online.

The lower players in the 70 area for the overall stay in that area so their is no "grooming" them. However I get what you are saying. Just play them and sell off all my 80+ players for pucks. Save the pucks and buy the players I want when I can afford them. If that's how it works I think I will just stick with buying packs with the points I earn from Bing and play only on the double weekends. That way it is still no cash out of my pocket.

I'm pleased with the team I have now, but still a few players I would like to get to replace some of the ones I have. I guess I will just save the Microsoft points I get from Bing to use for NHL 14's HUT mode.

Thanks for the response.

 

[GamerDude316]

There was something to transfer HUT stuff from 12 into 13, but I dont think it involved players. Just a puck boost for being a loyal player or something like that. I too didnt last long with HUT as I was frequently having to get contracts, and players never saw any meaningful skill boosts. Making the training cards only good for one game was the single stupidest thing they could have done.

IMO, you're wasting Bing points buying packs though as its still throwing MS points down the drain. EA sees that and thinks people like doing it, so they'll just keep on keeping on.

Nate, what makes you think the 12' servers will be shut down? I havent seen anything about that, which is a bummer if true cause I was probably gonna rebuy 12 over the summer to get in my casual hockey fix.

 

[n8rockerasu]

[quote name='GamerDude316']Nate, what makes you think the 12' servers will be shut down? I havent seen anything about that, which is a bummer if true cause I was probably gonna rebuy 12 over the summer to get in my casual hockey fix.[/QUOTE]

EA has been very on top of shutting servers down lately. The reason I'm assuming 12's will be shut down is because 11's are shut down and have been since the fall. Two years seems to be EA's limit before they expect you to upgrade to the new game. I'm not saying it's a guarantee, but it seems like a pretty safe bet.

 

[sendme]

There was something to transfer HUT stuff from 12 into 13, but I dont think it involved players. Just a puck boost for being a loyal player or something like that. I too didnt last long with HUT as I was frequently having to get contracts, and players never saw any meaningful skill boosts. Making the training cards only good for one game was the single stupidest thing they could have done.

IMO, you're wasting Bing points buying packs though as its still throwing MS points down the drain. EA sees that and thinks people like doing it, so they'll just keep on keeping on.

Nate, what makes you think the 12' servers will be shut down? I havent seen anything about that, which is a bummer if true cause I was probably gonna rebuy 12 over the summer to get in my casual hockey fix.

I'm done I think with spending Microsoft points on packs. I'm going to use the Bing points for Amazon gift cards to get 14. Server shutdowns is why I never like spending my own money on games after the initial buy.