All in the videos, all on the record. . .
A few days ago, 2K Sports revealed MyPlayer Builder details for next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X systems, when they release in two weeks. In a brief video reveal, it was confirmed that pie charts were officially gone, as well as the new attribute system allowing freedom.
For the first time ever, players will be able to make a player that has a 90 three-point and a 90 driving dunk. While we expect limitations for defense and playmaking; the new build-archetype many are excited about is sharpshooting-slasher. However, the biggest factor of MyCareer builder, is that you’ll have to use each attribute badge to unlock purple badges within an individual category.
So, this ties into small forwards and guards being able to have access to purple defense badges against centers. In the past, we’ve been able to pick any badge we want, within the realm of an attribute category. Now, you’ll have limited access to what you can do on defense. If you decide to have higher perimeter defense and high steals, then it will unlock purple clamps and pick pocket.
Big men, who chose interior defense, rebounding and blocks; will not have access to clamps anymore if their perimeter defense is low. So, every position, will be assigned to their specific task, with no more builds being able to do what opponents do. Outside of shooting, the biggest game changer is playmaking. Beforehand, we hand, we’ve had pass accuracy, ball handle and post moves. However, on next-gen, post moves have been removed from playmaking and replaced by speed with ball.
This will likely be a game changer for those slashers, who won’t have access to pro dribbles and just need speed with ball for dunks or layups. However, for dribble gods, like us, who specifically made orange charts in the past, we’ll be unlocking every play badge on purple for the park. New to playmaking is bullet passer (LeBron-like passing), relay passer (essentially dimer) and special delivery (take over boost for both players after a flashy pass highlight).
Those have replaced past badges like pass fake maestro, flash passer and lob city passer. While everyone will be looking past physicals, that’s arguably the sleeper section of the entire MyPlayer builder. Speed and acceleration have always been important on the wing. However, strength will finally play a big factor this year for slashers and big men, as well as stamina.
If you’re on the wing, we recommend you putting stamina, speed, and acceleration at least a 90, so those will boost up to 95 after your weekly workouts. After you hit 95 rating, you’ll also get a 1-point attribute increase after every rating increase; so, take that into consideration as well. As far as shooting, too much has been added and it’s pretty self-explanatory for you to figure out when making the builder.
In shooting attributes, post-fade has been removed, leaving only three options. Out of every new shooting badge added, the most intriguing one will be sniper boost. The badge is explained to boost the ability to hit shots when using pro stick aiming. This is likely what 2K Sports wanted users to get accustomed to, if you were shooting with the stick and getting shots centered before their patch ended those plans.
So, even if you’re not a sharp, we’re under the assumption that you should be able to unlock sniper boost badge without having a 90-three. This would be a game changer for people who are lights out from three like us, that only need a 80-three ball.
We know playmaking-shot creator was the safest build to make on current-gen. However, the new freedom, with having clamps, deep threes and contact dunks, ALL ON PURPLE; will have players re-thinking their entire gameplan. If you can’t shoot or don’t know how to use the stick for sniper boost, it would be advised to spend a few hours in the gym learning a shot.
Builds will now be triple threats, across any position.
Badges: A lot of thought and re-design went into badges for next-gen. Many favorites return, but most have undergone some significant functionality changes. There are also some new ones, some revived ones, and some removed ones. The badge point system and equipping process is similar to what you’ve grown accustomed to: perform well in the various categories (Finishing, Shooting, Playmaking, Defense/Rebounding) in any mode to earn badge points, and then apply those points to whatever badges you want within those related categories. But my advice when you get next-gen is to experiment with different badges that you may have overlooked in the past because you might find some new favorites that compliment your playstyle that you may not expect. Here are some of the new/returning badges and what they do:
• Fearless Finisher – Boosts contact layups and decreases fatigue
• Heat Seeker – Boosts takeover progress on inside shots
• Highlight Film – Boosts teammate takeover progress on flashy dunks
• Hook Specialist – Boosts hook shot ability
• Revived Posterizer – Contact dunks!
• Rise Up – Boosts ability to do standing dunks in traffic
• Anti-Freeze – Harder to get cold and lose takeover meter progress
• Blinders – Less affected by peripheral defenders when shooting jumpers
• Circus Threes – Improved ability to hit pull-up and stepback 3’s
• Fade Ace – Boosts all post fadeaways
• Hot Shot – Increases takeover meter faster when knocking down jumpers
• Deep Threes – Dame and Curry range 3 balls
• Rhythm Shooter – Boosts shot %’s out of size-ups as well as 1-step pull-ups
• Set Shooter – Shooting ability gets better the longer you set and wait before pulling
• Sniper – Boosts the ability to hit shots when using Pro Stick aiming
• Stop & Pop Three – for the JJ Redicks who want to pull-up for threes in transition
• Bullet Passer – Gives you the ability to throw laser dots like LeBron
• Relay Passer – Boosts the shooter on pass to assist situations
• Special Delivery – Boosts takeover progress for the passer and receiver off a flashy pass assist
• Ankle Braces – Makes it tougher for ball handlers to break your ankles
• Clutch Defender – Boosts your defensive ratings in clutch moments
• Hot Stopper – Boosts takeover meter for good defensive plays like steals, blocks, and good contests
• And here are the badges that we retired because they were either redundant, didn’t fit in the new design, or the community just didn’t like them: Consistent Finisher, Contact Finisher, Cross-Key Scorer, Fancy Footwork, Fastbreak Finisher, Deep Hooks, Pick & Roller, Relentless Finisher, Showtime, Deep Fades, Flexible Release, Hot Start, Pick & Popper, Pump Fake Maestro, Range Extender, Quick Draw, Steady Shooter, Pass Fake Maestro, Flashy Passer, Lob City Passer, Lightning Reflexes, Moving Truck.
Takeover: In case you’re new to 2K, Takeover is the ability to get hot and take over games. It’s been a popular feature for the past couple years and we wanted to take it to the next level for next gen.
Instead of limiting players to eight general archetype-based takeovers, we’ve broken those eight into 24 more specific takeover abilities. In a way, you can think of them as unique badges that you can fire off when you get hot.
• Advanced Gathers – Unlocks more effective spin, euro, hop step, cradle gathers
• Finishing Moves – Able to absorb contact and finish at the rim
• Easy Blowbys – Enhances ability for slashers to beat defenders off the dribble
• Pull-Up Precision – Boosts well timed/aimed shots off the dribble
• Anklebreaking Shots – More anklebreakers off of spin and stepback jumpers
• Negative Impact – Reduces defensive impact against pull-ups and other skill shots
• Limitless Range – Extends your shooting range out to the logos
• Spot-Up Precision – Boosts well timed/aimed stationary jump shots
• Team Ratings Boost – Playmakers boost their teammates’ offensive ratings
• Team Takeover Boost – Boost your teammates’ takeover meter progress
• Team Badge Boost – Boosts your teammates’ badges up a tier
• Extreme Clamps – More stone wall and lost dribble body-up resolutions for locks
• Perimeter Badge Drop – Knocks shooting badges down a tier when you get close
• Enhanced Jump Shot Contests – Boosts your ability to contest jumpers
• Stuff Blocks – Unlocks more swat, backboard pins, and grab blocks
• Paint Intimidation – Boosts your ability to affect shots around the rim
• Interior Badge Drop – Drops opposition’s scoring badges down a tier in the paint
• Boxout Wall – Improves ability to seal off opponents for easy boards
• See the Future – Shows where missed shots are going to end up
• Glass Clearing Dimes – After rebounds, kick out passes boost your teammate’s shooting
• Power Backdowns – Easier to push defenders around when posting up
• Post Playmaking – Boost your teammates’ offensive abilities when passing out of post
• Advanced Post Moves – Easier to beat defenders with post moves
• Post Shot Daggers – Increased scoring ability with hooks, fades, shimmy shots, etc.
We’ve also changed Takeover to be a multi-tier system! Once you set up your ratings caps and vitals, you’ll be presented with a subset of the list above based on the type of build you made. Then you choose one ability for your primary and another for your secondary, or if you want, you can put the same ability in both slots if you want to “double up” on it. When you’re in-game, your takeover meter will fill up your primary takeover slot first. Once filled, you can choose to activate it right away or wait to try and fill up your secondary slot. You must be careful because you take the risk of losing all your progress if you turn the ball over or miss a bad shot. But if you can fill in your secondary slot, you can activate both the primary and secondary takeovers together and keep them active for a longer period of time. Finally, if you want to devastate your opponent even further, you can wait even longer and try to fill up the Team Takeover meter. If you can fill all three, activating will enable your entire teams’ takeovers and it’s pretty much over for the competition. And just like in current-gen, activating Team Takeover also allows you to have user-control over your teammates in MyCAREER games. We know our MyCAREER fans love that ability!
Last thing I wanted to mention about Takeover. We wanted to honor our late friend, Kobe Bryant, who we tragically lost way too early this year. When you’ve earned all your badge points, you will receive the Mamba Mentality badge which allows you to change your takeovers whenever you want. So just like Kobe, you can vary up how you choose to take over from one game to the next!