Well, here it is the top 10 Legacy Issues. ENJOY.
10. Shot Stick - Keep improving this great feature but give it more consistent rules it adheres to, we're still shooting the 3 foot jump-shot. Pointing it towards the basket should always result in a finish towards the rim while pulling back should stop a player's forward momentum. This would go a long way into giving players more control so that they can avoid collisions and prevent things like Charges.
9. Switching - Simply put, the AI can't handle it. It switches when it doesn't have to and in the worst situations, continuously compromising our defense. We should be able to avoid these if we want. A No-Switching setting is paramount. Even the AI is clueless to its OWN switches:
8. Elite, Good, Average and Poor Defenders - Let's continue to see variety here that goes beyond blocks and steals, so that defenders play to their ability. Especially with the bail-out fouls, with better defenders these should be rare:
They should contest and force you to make a tough shot instead. Lets also see them give up blocking fouls before sending a player to the line, they should also be savvy enough to foul bad FT shooters rather than give up easy baskets. They should also recover a very high % of their good defensive plays. Let's see Good defenders dying on screens less. I realize this is a badge but combined with getting "sucked" into screens it simply happens too often.
7. Deflections out of Bounds - These might not seem like an important mechanic but only a few things are more important than allowing insta-passes to players point blank at the rim or long bombs down-court. A more subtle way to affect passes in the same way contact shots reward defense without making everything a block. These can be used to prevent long passes, and lower the success of passes into the paint without making the game sloppy with too many steals.
6. Passing - Passes should have ARC and must slow over distance, currently defenders can make plays on balls that should be far outside their reach:
Long passes should have a high turnover rate and require tough catches, passes in half-court should NOT. It may be time to use a design similar to Madden where tapping the button gives the pass height whereas holding it gives it speed. Give us the ability to vary pass type to throw off users playing the passing lanes (where they have to correctly anticipate the pass type) and increase the strategy of the game tenfold.
5. Contesting vs Blocking - These need to be completely separated once and for all. Blocks need to be All-or-Nothing (misses shouldn't affect offensive players) based on meeting the ball at its apex--no more blocks on the way down or before the offensive player even shoots the ball. Blocks from behind must have a high foul rate like they do in reality, no longer can being beaten be the best angle for a block. Trying to block jump-shots should have very high foul outcomes and misses should take the defender out of the play like this:
Right now Neutral Outcomes mean a player can spam block and miss as many times as he likes with little downside--this has to stop. A miss must have a player's momentum take him out of the play or risk a foul. Gameplay must also require a minimum block rating for a player to be effective with rejections. And its time to allow users to bait guys who leave their feet into fouls:
Players below the block threshold should go for contests/strips or see high foul outcomes. Contests should be rooted in affecting shot success. Make contesting faster, more intuitive and user-friendly by changing it to pointing R-Stick at the offensive player. Right now Hands Up does little to affect offensive players. Give contesting the depth/balance it deserves by focusing on timing for it to be effective and allowing it to defend any shot type--even from behind. Lastly, Allow it to be the counter for users trying to bait us into fouls. We need to be able to Crowd static/idle/pump-faking users just like the AI can--forcing them to into tie-ups, dribble pickups, smothered shots and having the ball stripped:
Contests in post mismatches where one player has a height advantage was supposed to be tuned but its barely noticeable--you have guards able to bother the shots of bigs. The current contest system credits defenders for mistiming blocks, allows players to miss a block then contest
in addition, post
players get blocked from behind almost as a rule, they rarely draw fouls and
that they struggle finishing against smaller players makes them
ineffective:4. Dribble Penetration - I don't envy the devs trying to get this right...its a nightmare to even consider. FIRST AND FOREMOST: Turboing into defenders has to result in Dribble Pickups, Charges, Loose Ball collisions or the ball being stripped by the defender. The emphasis has to be on going around the defender...not THROUGH him. Given the history of the hopstep its effectiveness going into defenders is puzzling. It has to be balanced with charges as well. No more of this:
The AI also HAS to be better at Position defense--guys turboing from the 3pt line should be at the risk for offensive fouls from defenders cutting off driving lanes. Lastly, Charges have to play a bigger role in gameplay and can't be based on a button press/user input from the defender. 2K17 nailed this, even a moving defender in good position should be able to draw charges if the ball handler is too aggressive. Offensive fouls are determined by the ball-handler. These animations specifically could use a 50% Charge outcome where they're often called offensive fouls:
Use the circle button for something more relevant like deflections out of bounds. Freedom of movement is good but we cant allow guys to get to the rim at will. Gameplay has to feature more "ties" using REDIRECTS where the dribbler keeps his movement but the defender shades him away from the basket:
3. Long Passes - These break the game in countless ways, FACT: Defense won't matter as long as offenses can laser the ball down-court into scoring position in an instant.
Defenders have to get back facing the ball and REACT to it......the "2K Pass" where a user gets the rebound and blindly hurls it down-court despite defenders back (aptly named because it only happens in 2K) has to be a thing of the past. No passer throws full-court lobs with guys back on defense:
We need to see bad pass turnovers, bobbled catches, and deflections out of bounds. In the same vein our PGs need to come back to get the ball after a rebound--every time. No more running down-court leaving bigs to fend for themselves.
2. Risk/Reward Standard - NO MORE NEUTRAL OUTCOMES. The hand-holding and constant mulligans have to stop. Every element of gameplay must have a Benefit and a Consequence. Missed an on-ball steal? You lunge out of the play. Guessed wrong on a passing lane steal? You go flying in the direction you thought the ball was going. Mistimed your shot contest? You're caught flat-footed and now the offensive player can easily beat you off the dribble. Mistimed a block? You either foul the player or your momentum takes you out of the play. No one bit on your Pump Fake? You get Stripped, Forced into a Dribble Pickup, Tied Up or the defense is able to Crowd you. YOU GET THE IDEA. Users will literally sit on out of bounds plays and spam steal until the pass comes because missing means nothing:
THIS ISN'T SKILL. Gameplay has to stop rewarding this behavior and other instances where users flat out guess wrong--make passes intangible to blocks, for instance...that's another situation where the user has been fooled. These actions need to cost stamina as well. And low stamina MUST have tangible effects so that it matters: slower running, lower ratings and less access to animations.
1. Help Defense - It has to be better--its simply too important. Right now our centers and other help defenders prioritize the men they're covering and ignore help responsibility almost completely. Turning PNO into a largely 1-on-1 affair. This is also the culprit for the issue with offensive rebounds--our bigs are often too far from the basket to hit the glass. It can't stay this way:
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