Tweaks to Pressure System and AI Penalties among updates

NHL 24 released a new tuner pack on Thursday January 25th that will have significant impact on gameplay. The changes made were based on community feedback.

The most significant gameplay change coming from this update is a change to the Pressure System. The Pressure System was an addition that has prompted lots of debate from both professional and casual members of the NHL community since it was first announced in August.

The system was intended to create momentum against the defense by rewarding sustained offensive pressure, but has devolved into players holding the puck in the offensive zone without attempting to score until they achieve Full Pressure. 

EA SPORTS made two changes to counteract the puck ragging problem, offensive players who have achieved pressure will now lose stamina at a normal rate instead of a slower rate, and defensive players facing pressure will now no longer lose their attributes, but they will still lose stamina faster.

Additionally, the amount of pressure built up by offensive puck possession is being reduced, which will encourage attacking players to try to and create scoring chances rather than cycling the puck on the outskirts of the offensive zone.

The third significant change is to straight line hustling and energy. Hustling when low on stamina will no longer allow for any hustle speed bonus, and the energy drain players experience when hustling will be increased by 33%

The energy impact to max skating speed will increase by 10%, and a players max skating speed will now be impacted when their energy is 33% depleted as opposed to the previous 50%. This will require players to keep a closer eye on their energy levels in order to maximize their top speed. 

To keep World of Chel consistent with other modes energy drain from acceleration will be reduced by 16%.

The final significant change that was a popular complaint from the community was the amount of AI penalties taken. This update has lowered the slider and should result in your CPU teammates taking fewer penalties.

A full list of the changes as posted by EA can be viewed here.