Will Shotblocking/Steals have Balance?

The amount of great information in the newest Developer Insight was amazing but for the sake of game balance, one element gives us pause. One of the low-lights in the 2K series has been the ability for users to spam blocks and steals and be rewarded with success. Nothing was worse than watching users (online or otherwise) button mash endlessly and block nearly every shot/pick every pocket because of a lack of game balance. Recently we learned that which we've asked for since time began (a way to disrupt shots without blocking them) IS IN THE GAME. great defenders who are non-shot blockers may now finally have the proper tools to display their craft. We simply can't wait to see great perimeter defenders like Tony Allen, Iguodala, Artest and Battier frustrate scorers with their savvy, footwork and guile.


But this does give us a little pause, nothing warms our heart more than hearing that defenders will "attack the ball" on blocks and steals instead of jumping straight up/poking randomly, but one of the low-lights in the 2K series has always been the blocks-to-fouls and steals-to-fouls-ratio. In a nutshell, we're concerned that unscrupulous users may be able to get a much higher amount of blocks/steals because of the new intelligent systems now associated with each, without the proper balance of being whistled for fouls. We've always thought that players without a certain threshold block or steal rating should be whistled regularly when they even attempt those defensive maneuvers, what better role could ratings fill than that?

Many in the community have already begun to lick their chops in anticipation of recreating Lebron's, Wade's and Tayshaun's masterpieces, but its important to remember that most blocks like this are 1) the result of help defense and 2) Rare and the results of great timing. Let's not forget to factor in the simple truth that this rarely happens on-ball, and results in fouls more often than it doesn't. In the same sense that we wouldn't want players like Shaq or Yao stripping our best ball-handlers at will, let's hope we don't see "get that mess outta here" blocks every time we throw up a shot in the painted area in the vicinity of Nate Robinson.

We trust 2K will balance this correctly, but we're a little concerned.