NHL 24 Update Brings Back Highly Demanded Features, Patch Notes Released

NHL 24 has brought back hybrid controls and made other big changes.

By Marc Deschamps

A new update is now live for NHL 24, bringing the game up to version 1.1.1. This one seems to be pretty significant, focusing on several changes that have been requested by the community. Notably, hybrid controls are back as an option, which is something many players have been begging for since launch. That alone is pretty significant, but there are also changes to the game's goalie tether system, allowing players to better customize their style of play. There are also changes to the center ice art for several teams, new uniforms, and more. Full patch notes directly from Electronic Arts can be found below: 

1.1.1 Patch Notes

Gameplay: 

  • 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 Fixes/Adjustments

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

  • World of Chel: 

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

It remains to be seen how players will react to these changes, but hopefully they'll result in a more welcoming experience. That was one of the biggest complaints about the hybrid control system being abandoned, as it forced players to learn a different system. On social media, there were a lot of NHL fans upset with the change, but thankfully EA corrected course just a few weeks after the game's release. 

Are you happy that hybrid controls are back in NHL 24? How do you feel about this new update? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming! 

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