MyCareer mode too unforgiving to newcomers

[JJtheHoser]

I've never played many basketball games in my life, and I'm only a casual fan, but I picked this game up on sale.

I have to say, MyCareer needs an easier diffuclty setting for a newcomer to get their feet wet - I find it's very unforgiving for someone who's still learning the ropes.

Maybe just me, but it's frustrating as hell.

[PotentialWhale]

I've seen a lot of these comments and if you're talking about the difficulty, I honestly don't get it. This was my first NBA game since the 90's and in my first year of the My Player mode I was basically Lebron James.
If you're finding it too hard, lower the difficulty.

I will agree with you however that the game needs more/better descriptions. The game was definitely designed for someone familiar with the series. That being said, just adapt.

[Box]

I think you might find it difficult because the cpu playmaking doesn't work, making it easier to follow plays like in the previous games (worked for me in 2k11 & 2k12). In order to enjoy it from the start, you'd have to be a point guard and start the plays yourself. Enable playvision every game, for some reason it doesn't save.

[JJtheHoser]

@DPT NEW ENGLAND - As far as I can tell, there is no lower difficulty than pro for myCareer. To be honest, I haven't tried the other game modes, and I think my post was mostly out of frustration after several difficult games in a row.

I think you're right about needing more/better descriptions, or even a short tutorial mode for newbies like me.

What's playvision BTW? I didn't even know it existed...

[JJtheHoser]

Also just an observation, but it feels like the penalty to your teammate grade for a mistake FAR outweighs the boost it gets from several good plays. Not neccessarily something bad - just a frustrating observation. ;)

[Box]

the penalty/reward increases when your grade gets lower and decreases when you have a higher player grade, it tends to be the same on both ends by the grade

you can find playvision in the pressentation options, you can enable it the mycareer menu but it's broken so it's never enabled when you play a game, you have to enable it there as well.

like I said, use a point guard to be able to use it or else you'll be playing blind on the plays
if you're using a pc controller it's LB on the pc 360 and L1 on PS based controllers

the game will get a lot easier for you once you get to follow the plays and make decisions on who to pass it to
as a point guard, you control the game

the game is frustrating at first, but once you learn how to keep increasing your grade, and making plays, you'll enjoy it more

[Box]

just found a workaround for playvision and tested it out
it works

http://forums.nba-live.com/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=88048

[dudens97]

1. Do the training camp so that you know how to do all of the moves.

2. Before you play MyCareer play a few quick games on rookie until you feel comfortable with the game. After you feel like you're ready move your way up to pro, play a few quick games on pro.

3. When you're in your MyCareer get a feel for your players strengths and weaknesses by practicing in scrimmages or shootarounds.

4. Make sure to strive for gold on all of your drills.

(P.S. NBA2K13 isn't exactly like the real NBA game, but it's pretty damn close. If you feel like going even further watch a few real NBA games to get a better feel about what players do in the NBA to defend, score, etc.)

(P.P.S I have 600+ hours playing the NBA2K series and about 100+ or so playing the NBA Live series.)

[JJtheHoser]

@dudens97 - thanks for the tips! I REALLY think I would love the game if I can get over the initial learning shock. I'm a casual basketball fan, but I think some extra knowledge of the game would help as you suggest too. Thanks!

[Bee$ && Hon€y]

I finished my first mycareer season and I have a few observations. The game is difficult based on what your player is built for. Point guard is really difficult. Mine couldn't make a layup in traffic to save his life. 30+ games deep into the season he was still awful.

I re-rolled a 3-pt specialist and promptly scored 30+ per game. I still struggle with how to get myself onto a team that has complimentary players, but that whole GM talk aspect could not be more convoluted.

If anyone knows how the "hot" and "cold" shooting mechanic works, I would love to know.

[Bovine]

I did a 3pt specialist and cleaned up my first time too. Center by far is the toughest to get pts at the start. When your responsibility is the paint, you get dinged a lot and it's harder to make it back than just draining a 3pt shot. Now I've made a mid range pro and he's draining 35 pts a game his first season.

I still have no clue how to steal properly so if anyone has suggestions there I'm all ears.

[amphetamisty]

An hour in, played training, still don't know how to do any defence other than snatch which hasn't worked once! And my memory's too awful to remember even how to dunk!

[RMassive]

I think the most frustrating thing for players new to MyCareer is beginning as a role player. Unless you're really good at the game and playing on the lower difficulties, your player just doesn't have the ratings to take over and go get a bucket or an assist every time down the floor. The good news is that this is what makes you better at the game- when your player is still developing, its a lot harder to just chuck your way to success (unless you're a tall 3 pt specialist, who can find a decent shot every time down the floor just by standing behind the arc). You need to learn how and when to exploit your opportunities, based on the strengths of your player. Playing an athletic pg? You should NEVER shoot 3s until you get your rating up, but you should be ruthless when you find yourself mismatched on a big man- throw a little hes move and blow by him for easy points. As long as you try to remain focused on learning- on what you could have done to stop that bucket or avoid that turnover, rather than just raging at the game for being too hard, you'll pick things up really quickly and the game is a ton of fun. There are also some video guides and player videos you can check out on youtube or whatever to help with specifics

[ReedlyDeedly]

@Oakzar, there's a button you can press (it's L2 if you play with a PS3 controller) that basically makes you always stay in front of your man. It widens your stance, thus slowing you down. So, it takes some practice learning when to press it, and not, based on whether your man is cutting to the basket, doing dribble moves, etc. Jumping will contest your opponent's shot more, but leaves you more vulnerable to a pump fake. Also, two things for dunking: 1) You must set a "dunk package". It's basically a set of animations that the game will draw from when you dunk. If you don't have a dunk package set, the game can't *show* you dunking, so you don't. 2) When you're driving to the basket, hold down the sprint/turbo button and the shot button (R2 and Square for PS3). If your dunk rating is high enough, you'll jam all over the place.

@Bovine, my player was averaging 2 steals a game with me playing key games. I lead the league at SG in steals, so take this for what you will: My player has the ability that allows you a 100% steal chance if the oppoent is doing a dribble move, but I still can hardly seem to snag it. Most, if not all, of my steals come from off-ball steals. Wait until a big man gets the ball near or outside the arc. If it's a center, you'll likely miss because most of the time he won't put the ball on the ground. But if it's a 3 or 4, they'll dribble the ball on the opposite side of the defender. You just come in and grab it most of the time, at least knock it away.

@Mo$$$, I started a new career and edited most of his abilities to 99, but I didn't give him any of the hot/cold related perks. He could wet a shot in anybody's face from anywhere on the court, but it seemed like I needed 3 or 4 big shots in a row (with no one else on my team scoring), with no bad plays on defense.