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NHL 25 Discussion

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I finally bought the game as well.

Franchise Mode is the same as always with some minor improvements like NTC/NMCs.

Scouting, GM (arena, marketing, ...) are still a mess and not usable to me.

Menus are still pretty low and drastically bad UX. Who did that? 🥲

Gameplay got some significant improvements. But there are some weird behaviors and computer checking is strange. Those shoves once you passed a D which make your F passive for 1-2 seconds are taking lots of fun. A backpass is still a pain in the ass ... they go anywhere ...

Also the game is still pretty buggy around changing. Suddenly, players stay on the ice forever or the line up is mixed up.

Fun, evolved, but also a bit frustrating as it s the same - over and over again.
 
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They should make a GM mode that is an extra mode but is more narrative driven. Like a story mode type thing. Think of the movie draft day (lol), but you play through it for a few years.

Online GM mode seems like a pipe dream. It's never going to happen and if it does there will be so many bugs with how complex some of the features are now. Like I said in my previous post, there were already many critical bugs in the old online GM mode, and that was a much more barebones mode.

They should have never taken the classic GM mode out. Even if it has to be sim only, it should have been in there for online as "GM Mode Classic".

There should at least be a basic online league feature. Let me create a league with X number of teams and a custom schedule length, with a fantasy draft. Don't have growth or potential of a salary cap. Just make it really basic so a group of buddies can get together and play. That sounds like something they could do without screwing up.
 
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I've always been an offline only players, and I'm starting to enjoy the Franchise mode custom league.

It took a fair bit of time to figure out the pros and cons of number of teams and playoff structures.

Went to about year 12 of a 40 team league. 8 div X 5 teams each. 1st place in the div gets a bye, 2nd and 3rd play in... it's was like a nightmare version of the real NHL format with just the same opponents every year. I also started with real rosters so the 8 expansion teams were garbage until they bought enough through free agency.

I'm starting to build a 48 team league. Any recommendations on division and playoff structure?
 
frightenedinmatenum2 said:
They should make a GM mode that is an extra mode but is more narrative driven. Like a story mode type thing. Think of the movie draft day (lol), but you play through it for a few years.

Online GM mode seems like a pipe dream. It's never going to happen and if it does there will be so many bugs with how complex some of the features are now. Like I said in my previous post, there were already many critical bugs in the old online GM mode, and that was a much more barebones mode.

They should have never taken the classic GM mode out. Even if it has to be sim only, it should have been in there for online as "GM Mode Classic".

There should at least be a basic online league feature. Let me create a league with X number of teams and a custom schedule length, with a fantasy draft. Don't have growth or potential of a salary cap. Just make it really basic so a group of buddies can get together and play. That sounds like something they could do without screwing up.
Click to expand...
This was a good game which seems like what you are talking about but for NFL.


Flukeshot said:
I've always been an offline only players, and I'm starting to enjoy the Franchise mode custom league.

It took a fair bit of time to figure out the pros and cons of number of teams and playoff structures.

Went to about year 12 of a 40 team league. 8 div X 5 teams each. 1st place in the div gets a bye, 2nd and 3rd play in... it's was like a nightmare version of the real NHL format with just the same opponents every year. I also started with real rosters so the 8 expansion teams were garbage until they bought enough through free agency.

I'm starting to build a 48 team league. Any recommendations on division and playoff structure?
Click to expand...
Four divisions of 12, with 8 of each making playoffs. 32-->16-->8-->4-->Stanley Cup Final.
 
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Late to the party and probably been discussed a hundred times but I'm not reading 23 pages. I found the game for $20. Is it worth buying? All I play is franchise mode and I skipped NHL 24. I usually buy it every other year but I was planning on skipping it again because of the disappointment.

Should I get it for Franchise mode or just wait for 26 to come out and go on sale?
 
Last edited:
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20 bucks is fair value. even if i got disappointed in recent years :)

i play gm only. i wish online CHEL was more stable. But i dont want to spend time matchmaking or playing with morons every third time.
 
The Tourist said:
Late to the party and probably been discussed a hundred times but I'm not reading 23 pages. I found the game for $20. Is it worth buying? All I play is franchise mode and I skipped NHL 23. I usually buy it every other year but I was planning on skipping it again because of the disappointment.

Should I get it for Franchise mode or just wait for 26 to come out and go on sale?
Click to expand...
I am not sure if they’ve fixed this but in my experience, there was incredible menu lag that made franchise mode unplayable for me. It took a couple seconds just to load the stats of a player of their contract details.

Unsure if they’ve fixed that you should look that up before you pull the trigger.

For what it’s worth, the new elements in the franchise mode are a welcome change but become repetitive after some time.
 
I drew a 90 McKenna Team of the Year card in HUT!!!!!
........................ then realized that there are cards this year that have fixed ratings and this is one of them. Like, has this ever been the case before?

Typically TOTY cards upgrade to match the best card rating available for that player. If you get a TOTY player with a good chance of getting a 99 card, you basically dont have to invest/upgrade/trade for that one position in your roster. WTF.
 
amikaro said:
I finally bought the game as well.

Franchise Mode is the same as always with some minor improvements like NTC/NMCs.

Scouting, GM (arena, marketing, ...) are still a mess and not usable to me.

Menus are still pretty low and drastically bad UX. Who did that? 🥲

Gameplay got some significant improvements. But there are some weird behaviors and computer checking is strange. Those shoves once you passed a D which make your F passive for 1-2 seconds are taking lots of fun. A backpass is still a pain in the ass ... they go anywhere ...

Also the game is still pretty buggy around changing. Suddenly, players stay on the ice forever or the line up is mixed up.

Fun, evolved, but also a bit frustrating as it s the same - over and over again.
Click to expand...

Yup. Guess it's an issue that maybe is fixed for NHL26 at this point. annoying to see one first line player refuse to change, or going to line 3 and then a line 2 player jumps out and it's now affecting another lineup.

And when the game is going back and forth with no stoppage all of a sudden you got a top 6 line thats overall stamina is yellow cause the winger is on oxygen.


I don't bother with scouting, but that's cause I play as the Panthers and since it's realistic pick wise, it's not till like 2028 where I have full draft cupboard-if I don't pull a Zito and trade them all away.

The NTC/NMC is a good touch on Franchise mode to limit some wonky trades down the road.
 
Can any 'experienced' GM/Franchise players answer me this: is development truly random or is it actually 'set' by the game?

I got back into playing Franchise Mode again on NHL 24. Out of curiosity, I looked at some of my other game saves from previous games and all noticed the same thing: some of the players that I had drafted in this game (and previous versions) were 'Med Top-6' but their overalls topped out around low 80's. I can tell that some players will have a 'jump' in their overall during the re-sign phase, but the others are stalled in their overall and can sign them for something absurd (8 years, 1.5 million asking price).

Am I botching their development? I do tend to sign my top prospects when they are about to hit UFA so they can develop in the AHL for a bit, but it seems like it's a common thread for me unless a prospect truly is elite.
 
Smirnov2Chistov said:
Can any 'experienced' GM/Franchise players answer me this: is development truly random or is it actually 'set' by the game?

I got back into playing Franchise Mode again on NHL 24. Out of curiosity, I looked at some of my other game saves from previous games and all noticed the same thing: some of the players that I had drafted in this game (and previous versions) were 'Med Top-6' but their overalls topped out around low 80's. I can tell that some players will have a 'jump' in their overall during the re-sign phase, but the others are stalled in their overall and can sign them for something absurd (8 years, 1.5 million asking price).

Am I botching their development? I do tend to sign my top prospects when they are about to hit UFA so they can develop in the AHL for a bit, but it seems like it's a common thread for me unless a prospect truly is elite.
Click to expand...

Neither

It is a factor of their potential and how they are developed. The way to get the best results is to play the player to their role. I.e 1st line forward on the first line, 2nd line forward on the second line, etc and other forward in the AHL (or unsigned to play in their home league).

If the player doesn't get minutes in the AHL they won't develop. So only sign players that will get ice time. Powerplay and penalty kill time can help.

There is a statistical component to development as well. Players with franchise need to perform less well to grow but med top 6 guys generally need to put up stats as well.

Keep in mind most prospects drafted in the real world don't become NHL players. I am able to develop my prospects far more consistently in this game than you would expect out of real life.
 
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