With all the outstanding gameplay progress NBA 2K19 has made for the series (and it has indeed) the new steal system is in dire need of some tuning. Because it lacks a proper risk/reward balance. Users going for steals in situations when the other team rebounds the ball (an NBA no-no) is a working strategy in NBA 2K19. The player doesn't even have to possess the skillset--the whole thing reeks of the same anyone-can-do-it, one-size-fits-all dribble penetration we saw in 2K18. Head-scratching right? While you'd never see it in the NBA, its the new MetaTactic among the majority of 2K online players, something you'll literally see it after every miss, pass or rebound. Its puzzling that a title with gameplay so good would be plagued by such a strange, silly issue.
Its to the point where players haven't even gathered the rebound and steal spam has already forced a turnover. That's not NBA basketball. The worst part? Its not skill-based whatsoever, users are clicking on the man closest to the ball and just spamming steal. It can be a center with low steal rating rating ripping a guard or even elite ball-handler like CP3--no one is safe, it completely disregards Ball Handling ratings and Steal ratings alike. Even the casuals on Park have taken notice.
Notice how in only ONE instance was a foul called in the Spurs/Blazers matchup above. The times you do see fouls called are benign enough that it does nothing to alter user behavior. So we see THIS RIDICULOUS STUFF 90 feet from the basket. It reeks of videogame-only behavior and couldn't be less authentic. No NBA official would ever allow anything close to this.
Sadly, it boils back to 2Ks nasty habit of simply having too many Neutral Outcomes. A basic premise in any H2H sports games online is a rock, paper, scissors model where timing based skill is rewarded and spam is NOT. The current level of steal meta is the equivalent of missing a hit-stick in Madden and still being in good position to make a tackle....like, what? That's laughable, right?--its also unacceptable. Imagine a boxing game where you could go for the huge uppercut sure-fire KO punch but still have your guard up on defense....errrrrr, how? That's horrible balance, you wouldn't allow one user rock AND scissors. Its not hard: Good results from good timing and BAD results from bad timing, benign results from failure is always, always, ALWAYS the culprit that encourages spam-style gameplay. Watch here as George reaches with zero consequences. This kind of thing is much too commonplace.
2K17 had a great mechanic where steals resulted in a lunging animation and missed steals meant being left by the dribbler. It was well done too, add a foul outcome here and its a much more balanced experience with a clear risk/reward model.
The crazy part is a lunging steal is actually IN THE GAME. The animation just doesn't play enough. See for yourself, check out Horford and Beverly in the clip below.
While I love the ball-going-off-the-ball-handler turnover from the standpoint of variety of outcomes (something 2K does better than anyone) the reaching foul and "beat" result should be much higher percentage. Steal Spam is bad enough without another instance that favors the defense.
Try to ignore the long pass spam below for a second (hard--I know, its another legacy issue they're working hard at fixing) here's 2 minutes of #StealSpam. When you're done try to recall how many fouls were called--how often did missing a steal punish the defender with bad defensive position? Let me answer that for you...NONE and NOT ONCE.
And that's why it happens. That's why its changed the metagame in 2K19. There's literally no downside. A basic understanding of math teaches us that if failure yields neutral outcomes rather than poor ones? Maximize your attempts since the penalties are rare, i.e. SPAM the hell out of steal, even with someone with low ratings like Javale McGee (46) or Ed Davis (38) On another note, the passing lane steal by Gasol below is an indictment of that system being far too easy. Tune games for the player with elite skill, if you tune them so the average player gets 4-5 steals the elite player will get 20.
This behavior actually gets a player booted if they have too many fouls in the quarter--this guy eventually did. But here's the thing. The VAST majority of reaches go uncalled. Since a fighting game is what these guys are really looking for? Call the fouls, boot them and stop letting them ruin the overall experience.
Now that we can see the obvious and negative effect on gameplay hopefully there can be a few changes. No game is perfect but when an aspect like the steal meta is the complete opposite and a bastardization of what we see in the NBA, its time for some serious tuning.
Until next time,
Kushmir
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