NHL® 24 Hybrid & Goalie Controls Update

1.1.1 Patch Notes (Live October 24th, 2023 @ 12pm ET)

We’re happy to share details on the NHL 24 Patch releasing this Tuesday @ 12pm ET. Please complete any games prior to this time as server instability is expected for around an hour following the deployment of the patch.

Hybrid Controls as well as updated Goalie Controls highlight the new additions. You’ll now be able to select Hybrid controls as well as new options for Human Goalies with the tether control system now having an ON/OFF/HYBRID option to best suit your playstyle.

In an effort to get these two highly requested changes in, you can expect a larger list of gameplay updates based on your feedback coming in an upcoming early November patch. This includes addressing feedback around the lacrosse move, unintentional push checks in front of the net when attempting a one-timer, goalie tuning and more.

An update based on feedback we’ve seen regarding hip-checks is also planned for the patch following what will be released in early November. We understand that this is an important change and our team is working on the best way to balance it as soon as possible.

Below is everything available as part of tomorrow’s patch:

Gameplay

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Hybrid Controls Update:

Community Feedback: The removal of HYBRID control options has made the game difficult to play for users who require the ability to perform core actions on the Face Buttons of the controller. 

- HYBRID controls have been re-introduced as an option in the Control Settings menu.

- HYBRID controls allow users to use the Face Buttons to perform core actions like Shoot, Pass, and Hit.

- HYBRID controls utilize the same controller mapping as NHL23 with some modification in order to support core gameplay changes to Protect Puck and Reverse Hit.

Goalie Controls Update:

Community Feedback: Veteran User Goalies felt that the Tether control system was too limiting and wanted the ability to control the Goalie similar to NHL23. Additionally, the removal of Alternate Controls and forcing automatic Hug-Post removed other aspects of controls that veteran User Goalies were accustomed to. 

User Goalie Controls Settings have been expanded in the CONTROL SETTINGS menu.

Goalie Controls can be set between DEFAULT or ALTERNATE

DEFAULT = Original control layout

ALTERNATE = Swaps the placement of Butterfly, Hug Post, Instincts. (NHL23)

Goalie Tether can be set to ON / OFF / HYBRID. 

ON = Tether remains the same as launch.

OFF = Tether is disabled.

HYBRID = Tether is disabled while in Butterfly

Hug Post can be set to AUTO / MANUAL

AUTO = Aiming LS towards the posts will auto enter Hug Post.

MANUAL = User must hold Manual Hug Post button while aiming LS towards the post to enter Hug Post.

Goalie Fatigue System:

Community Feedback: A goalie who performs a Desperation Dive can stay on their side for too long, making the goalie feel less reactive to the situation.

- When in an urgent situation, Goalies will now transition from Desperation Side poses back to Sitting Pose, and then from sitting, they may get back into Butterfly or Set. 

- This helps create more urgency for the Goalie while allowing them to make future desperation saves from sitting or recover quicker back to a Butterfly or Set.

Stick Lift Update:

Community Feedback: Defensive players who perform a Stick Lift have a high chance of taking a penalty.

- Stick Lift targeting has been updated to target a lower location on the opposing players stick, which reduces the chances of taking a penalty.

General Bug Fixes:

Community Feedback: The community has helped identify some core bugs that impact the gameplay experience. 

- Vision Passing icons now appear while in a Backhand/Forehand Stickhandling state.

- Fixed a rare bug which could lead to a User Goalie spinning on the spot when moving.

- Fixed a rare physics bug that could result in game desync.

General

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- Fixed an issue where the credits for the song "Do It Faster" were incorrectly displayed.

World of Chel

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- Resolved a bug where the Ones/Threes Eliminator leaderboards were not properly displaying rankings.

- Fixed a crash that occurred when transitioning from the "Thank You for pre-ordering EA Sports NHL 24" screen in the Player Rewards Screen in WoC back to the Customize Tab.

- Resolved a crash that occurred when equipping an emblem and then discarding changes in the World of Chel Creation Zone.

- Addressed a bug where rapidly scrolling back and forth in the Battle pass would cause the instant reward tile framing to break.

- Resolved an issue where special character boosts were not displayed in the attribute chart when users were in the dressing room.

- Resolved an issue where users were not brought to the post-matchup dressing room when using 1v1 matchmaking.

- Fixed a bug where drop-in goalies who quit out of a game were not replaced with AI characters.

Creation Zone

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- Addressed game crash that occurred when setting up Logos and Branding while in "Create Expansion Team" and "Create Team".

- Improved the scroll speed in the 'Player Details' menu of the Creation Zone from the main menu.

- Fixed a bug where creating a Defensemen in Offline Creation Zone and leaving their Player Class as Defensive Defenseman would cause the incorrect class to be displayed once the player was created.

- Resolved an issue where the goalie glove/trapper geometry was warped and clipping when re-coloring.

Art

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Updated the following teams center ice art

NHL

- Boston Bruins

- Buffalo Sabres

- Calgary Flames

- Dallas Stars

- Detroit Red Wings

- Edmonton Oilers

- Florida Panthers

- Montreal Canadiens

- Vegas Golden Knights

- Winnipeg Jets

AHL

- Colorado Eagles

- Henderson Silver Knights

Uniforms

NHL

Minnesota Wild - Alternate

AHL

Bakersfield Condors - Third

ECHL

Reading Royals - Third

Toledo Walleye - Home, Away, Third and Fourth

Wheeling Nailers - Home and Away

Wichita Thunder - Home and Away

ICEHL

BEMER Pioneer Vorarlberg - Home and Away

EC IDM Warmepumpen VSV - Home and Away

EC-KAC - Home and Away

EC Red Bull Salzburg - Home and Away

HCB Sudtirol Alperia - Home and Away

HC Pustertal Wolfe - Home and Away

HC TWK Innsbruck - Home and Away

HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana - Home and Away

Hydro Fehervar AV 19 - Home and Away

Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey - Home and Away

Moser Medical Graz 99ers - Home and Away

SPUSU Vienna Capitals - Home and Away

Steinbach Black Wings Linz - Home and Away

Liiga

Jukurit Mikkelin - Home and Away

JYP - Home and Away

Porin Assat - Home and Away

TPS Turku - Home and Away

SHL

Farjestad BK - Home and Away

HV71 - Home, Away and Third

IK Oskarshamn - Home and Away

Leksands IF - Home and Away

EA SPORTS NHL 24 is available worldwide on October 6, 2023.

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