FHM 2014 Game engine/tactics questions

[Mannerheim]

Hello, I am having problem with understanding how player stats and tactics affect the matches.

I played one season with Carolina Hurricanes, with very few (not big) trades and won the cup, which felt strange. After that, I tried SM-liiga and sold some not needed players and bought couple of good ones, I had the second highest payroll in the league and ended up in bottom 3, seriously? I tried different tactics, even set assistant to handle it, but no results. Fixed the lines sometimes to try make the chemistry better, but couldn't find any indicator how the lines worked together (exept from the reports, which changed pretty much in every game).

How does the tactics actually work and what stats are doing what? Should I have lines with bit of everything or not?

Thanks

[moore4807]

Originally Posted by Mannerheim

Hello, I am having problem with understanding how player stats and tactics affect the matches.

I played one season with Carolina Hurricanes, with very few (not big) trades and won the cup, which felt strange. After that, I tried SM-liiga and sold some not needed players and bought couple of good ones, I had the second highest payroll in the league and ended up in bottom 3, seriously? I tried different tactics, even set assistant to handle it, but no results. Fixed the lines sometimes to try make the chemistry better, but couldn't find any indicator how the lines worked together (except from the reports, which changed pretty much in every game).

How does the tactics actually work and what stats are doing what? Should I have lines with bit of everything or not?

Thanks

Under skater stats 1 - your #1 line should have your best playmaker, your best shooter/skater, and for the third position I choose a physical player who isn't horrible skating to be my first line players and so on down the lines.
There is always chemistry issues, but I've found you have to leave the players together for a while before you see jumps in teamwork/chemistry.

Under Tactics - V Def / Def / Normal / Off / V Off for each line is how you will play while on the ice, I generally play by the players skills, I don't go V Offensive skills with a 12 rated puckhandler/playmaker... Now your competition level determines a lot too. If you are playing a top line, then my lines may play one level more defensive than normal to account for the opposition's skill level. But you will find many varying opinions and you have to find what system works for you and your players skills. A good coach/GM is as adaptable as the team he fields...

[Cole]

Originally Posted by Mannerheim

I played one season with Carolina Hurricanes, with very few (not big) trades and won the cup, which felt strange. After that, I tried SM-liiga and sold some not needed players and bought couple of good ones, I had the second highest payroll in the league and ended up in bottom 3, seriously?

Just like real sports, the game can see some random and unexpected things happen from time to time. It wouldn't be much fun or very realistic if the best team or highest payroll always won.

[Mannerheim]

Originally Posted by .Cole.

Just like real sports, the game can see some random and unexpected things happen from time to time. It wouldn't be much fun or very realistic if the best team or highest payroll always won.

Yes, I know this and agree. The thing for me was that coaching team that is known to be stable and that played together for a while already, with success, falling apart that horrendously.

@moore4807

Thanks for the tips!
Already was buildings lines in similar way. I even tried to make the 3rd and fourth line play more defensively, but that seemed to increase the shots towards my goal a lot. Most matches were goal rich and ended in 1-goal loss, maybe something to do with d-men pairings.
Are you swapping the d-men positions for PP to get them shoot more/better or is it a factor at all?

Edit: Just after writing this post the team starts to produce, would still be nice to know if there is some known problem in the team to work with, rather than just wait it out and see if it turns good.

[moore4807]

Originally Posted by Mannerheim

@moore4807

Thanks for the tips!
Already was buildings lines in similar way. I even tried to make the 3rd and fourth line play more defensively, but that seemed to increase the shots towards my goal a lot. playing defensive will allow more shots - adjust your shot bias to + or ++, and this will balance out the shot totals. Just remember to check your skaters skills - poor shooters taking a ton of shots won't help you score goals!

Most matches were goal rich and ended in 1-goal loss, maybe something to do with d-men pairings.
Are you swapping the d-men positions for PP to get them shoot more/better or is it a factor at all? I generally play pairings more than just skills based because of the reasons I list below. It usually comes out to minutes played and if you read my Dynasty I keep my D lines pretty equal on even strength, and 60%/40% on PP/PK T.O.I. (Time On Ice)

Edit: Just after writing this post the team starts to produce, would still be nice to know if there is some known problem in the team to work with, rather than just wait it out and see if it turns good. The devil is in the details and I'm betting you will look at your team differently once you see how the skills and stamina affect the T.O.I. performance

I can go detailed in the defensive pairings and I know someone will have a different/better way, so please take this with a large grain of salt.

Defensive pairings - It's much more than just defensive #'s Obviously your best offensive skills Defensemen are going to be your PP and your best defensive blueliners will do your PK...
Now look closer... just because a player is rated 7.0/7.5 it does NOT make him a better defenseman than a 6.0/6.5 player. Three ratings matter more to your regular pairings and that is found in the skater 1 ratings. They are stamina, skating, and defensive skills.

Stamina is first since a rating of 12 is NHL average, you want to have at 4 defensemen that have that rating. Now that means you are looking at two pairings that can play effectively for 20 minutes. If your third line is less than a 12 in stamina, then you will probably see in the scouting report you will have to monitor his minutes.
Now you have a double edged sword over your head. Do you have a defensive pairing that can absorb those extra minutes without tiring out and giving up soft goals? This is important as the game averages 7-10 penalties per game, if your team is aggressive you may have your special teams on the ice for 10-15 minutes more and those minutes go to who? Now you may have your "top" pairing on the ice for nearly 30 minutes or more... what kind of stamina numbers must they have to handle that load without breaking down or getting injured?

Skating will tell you how well your player moves on the ice, I place a premium on skating over checking because most players are adequate at checking, but those that can skate too are more valuable to your transition game and not stretching your D out in case of a turnover. Good skaters generally have good stamina as well.

Defensive skills are the culmination of the skills defensemen have and I can find players who are not +7.0 ratings that DO have +14 defensive skills. they just do not have the whole package... we can work with this!

This is the game within the game... one injury can blow up a whole teams strategy if the reserves cannot move up and fill the "big boots", Or conversely if you spend a lot of money on your "D" you can have those agonizing one goal losses because you don't have the money for the good top two forward lines... Which is why a good scouting program can get you those solid defensemen who won't break the bank, yet will fill a specific role with the team.

I am hoping some others will add to this so you get a better idea of different "systems" of play. I tend to play with the Panthers Dynasty this season as Def at even strength for all lines and shot bias is ++ for my top line and + for lines 3 & 4. I'm .500 on the season and have some holes to fill still. so I can't get too upset as the true Panthers were like a .350 winning percentage!