Wheels: I don't mind it that much, but if I had a choice, I would prefer not to have it. Right now, if you're playing defense against opponents who are using it, then you pretty much need to use it as well. Which basically happens in every game. If you take a more passive role as a D-man, then you can run without it, but you also have a lot less room for mistakes with gap closure with basically no chance to get a second chance without having wheels on yourself as well.
Truculence: I've never liked it. I would rather not have it. However, I think it would work better if they removed the increased stamina loss and the stick loss while keeping the improved hit power and shortened slow time. Then, you could still more easily knock over Warrior, Big Rig, and Unstoppable players without making it completely obsolete. Also, if EA fixed the penalties for clearly late hits, players would have to time their hits better if they really want to run with Truculence.
Big Rig: I have not had issues dealing with this so far. But i still would rather not have it. Obviously with combining this with something like Warrior + Elite Edges + a lot of balance. You can quite easily keep the puck and wait if someone is willing to chase you in the corners. But if that is not happening it becomes a lot less useful against well defending teams.
Warrior: Similar to Big Rig, I haven't experienced any problems playing against it. Currently, it's the only hard counter against Truculence. I would rather not have it because it increases hit resistance so much, but it does serve its purpose in the current state of the game.
Unstoppable: It's broken with how permissive it is with reverse hits, it should only be allowed to activate when people are using body check animations and you need to time it right.
Big Tipper: I have not seen that many deflections this year. The only issue I have had year after year is how goddamn unresponsive the tie-ups are in front of the net. So when I see someone clearly waiting for deflections and I am standing with my pee-pee nearly touching their arse while holding X (sometimes L2 X so it times it up with the opponent's shot), nothing happens most of the time. If that would get fixed i personally would not have that much of a issue with Big Tipper.
Elite Edges: Not really an issue; you basically don't even need agility if you have this ON. But I am not sure if this is intended to work even when you don't have a puck? Right now it does allow you to make really tall players with low agility but a lot of speed and balance.
Ankle Breaker: https://streamable.com/wk7x5q I managed to clip this from the opponent's POV yesterday. I don't think the Ankle Breaker perk caused this in this scenario because I don't see the puck carrier deking before the Yellow D gets sucked towards into an invisible black hole. However, I have seen that same scenario happen when people have used ankle breakers before. If you're playing defense and see it happen to you, well, you can imagine how fun that is.
No Contest: I'd rather not have it. It gives you a clear advantage in winning puck battles compared to those who aren't using it. If I had to make an exception, it would only be allowed for the defenseman to help combat with the frequent BS happening in front of the net.
Stick Em Up: Honestly, I haven't even tried it, but I imagine it's less of an issue for everyone playing. Right now, it seems like poke checking is even more wonky than usual.
Quick Pick: No issues. It helps with passes not going through when you are clearly blocking the passing lane. Granted, it's still broken when opponents pass can go directly through you while you're running 99 Def Awareness + Quick Pick, and your guy doesn't give any F when it happens.
One T: Does not bother me, other than the green one T mechanic.
Quick Release, Rocket, Backhand Beauty, Second Wind: I have not had any issues with these.
Pressure+, Born Leader, Hipster: Anyone even using these?
Send It and Tape To Tape: No issues. I thought Send It might be a problem, but it's not that useful in 6v6.
Spark Plug: I have not seen many people running it to say anything about it.
GOALIES
I haven't played goalie, so I can't say much about it. But from what I've seen, playing goalie is easier now than ever before. One-timer goals have clearly decreased, and overall, it seems like goalies can make saves even when they make positional mistakes. But that doesn't bother me much. There are some plays where the D makes a clear coverage mistake, and you manage to cross-feed it to the opposite side, yet the goalie seems not to break a sweat making the save. Again, that could also be because the shooters usually aim for the short side instead of the far side post.
Wheels: I don't mind it that much, but if I had a choice, I would prefer not to have it. Right now, if you're playing defense against opponents who are using it, then you pretty much need to use it as well. Which basically happens in every game. If you take a more passive role as a D-man, then you can run without it, but you also have a lot less room for mistakes with gap closure with basically no chance to get a second chance without having wheels on yourself as well. Truculence: I've never liked it. I would rather not have it. However, I think it would work better if they removed the increased stamina loss and the stick loss while keeping the improved hit power and shortened slow time. Then, you could still more easily knock over Warrior, Big Rig, and Unstoppable players without making it completely obsolete. Also, if EA fixed the penalties for clearly late hits, players would have to time their hits better if they really want to run with Truculence. Big Rig: I have not had issues dealing with this so far. But i still would rather not have it. Obviously with combining this with something like Warrior + Elite Edges + a lot of balance. You can quite easily keep the puck and wait if someone is willing to chase you in the corners. But if that is not happening it becomes a lot less useful against well defending teams. Warrior: Similar to Big Rig, I haven't experienced any problems playing against it. Currently, it's the only hard counter against Truculence. I would rather not have it because it increases hit resistance so much, but it does serve its purpose in the current state of the game. Unstoppable: It's broken with how permissive it is with reverse hits, it should only be allowed to activate when people are using body check animations and you need to time it right. Big Tipper: I have not seen that many deflections this year. The only issue I have had year after year is how goddamn unresponsive the tie-ups are in front of the net. So when I see someone clearly waiting for deflections and I am standing with my pee-pee nearly touching their arse while holding X (sometimes L2 X so it times it up with the opponent's shot), nothing happens most of the time. If that would get fixed i personally would not have that much of a issue with Big Tipper. Elite Edges: Not really an issue; you basically don't even need agility if you have this ON. But I am not sure if this is intended to work even when you don't have a puck? Right now it does allow you to make really tall players with low agility but a lot of speed and balance. Ankle Breaker: https://streamable.com/wk7x5q I managed to clip this from the opponent's POV yesterday. I don't think the Ankle Breaker perk caused this in this scenario because I don't see the puck carrier deking before the Yellow D gets sucked towards into an invisible black hole. However, I have seen that same scenario happen when people have used ankle breakers before. If you're playing defense and see it happen to you, well, you can imagine how fun that is. No Contest: I'd rather not have it. It gives you a clear advantage in winning puck battles compared to those who aren't using it. If I had to make an exception, it would only be allowed for the defenseman to help combat with the frequent BS happening in front of the net. Stick Em Up: Honestly, I haven't even tried it, but I imagine it's less of an issue for everyone playing. Right now, it seems like poke checking is even more wonky than usual. Quick Pick: No issues. It helps with passes not going through when you are clearly blocking the passing lane. Granted, it's still broken when opponents pass can go directly through you while you're running 99 Def Awareness + Quick Pick, and your guy doesn't give any F when it happens. One T: Does not bother me, other than the green one T mechanic. Quick Release, Rocket, Backhand Beauty, Second Wind: I have not had any issues with these. Pressure+, Born Leader, Hipster: Anyone even using these? Send It and Tape To Tape: No issues. I thought Send It might be a problem, but it's not that useful in 6v6. Spark Plug: I have not seen many people running it to say anything about it. GOALIES I haven't played goalie, so I can't say much about it. But from what I've seen, playing goalie is easier now than ever before. One-timer goals have clearly decreased, and overall, it seems like goalies can make saves even when they make positional mistakes. But that doesn't bother me much. There are some plays where the D makes a clear coverage mistake, and you manage to cross-feed it to the opposite side, yet the goalie seems not to break a sweat making the save. Again, that could also be because the shooters usually aim for the short side instead of the far side post.
