Top 5 Ways to Troll in NBA 2k15
NBA2k15 is
back, which is typically a must pick-up for me.
The series has its usual tweaks here and there, but any grizzled 2k veteran
knows what they are getting when they snag this title. So instead of writing a traditional review of
the game, i.e. graphics, modes, gameplay, etc., which you can find at any major
online gaming media outlet (and much more professionally written), I present the
top five ways that online players can troll an opponent. Novice 2k gamers, get a few dozen games under
your belt before reading further.
I would
describe my online NBA2k style as a troll-happy, get under your skin effort to
frustrate opponents and even induce “quits”, which are easy ways to pad the
record. 2k developers are well aware of
this loyal, cult-like fringe of their customer-base, and each year programmers
attempt to alleviate certain glitches that give some players an inorganic edge. Here is a countdown of my favorite methods to
work the system during an online match.
5.
Patty-cake treys
Now a semi-defunct
trolling method, patty-cake treys were a favorite of many gamers late last
decade. It involved playing catch
between two great offensive players until a manual defender over-pursued,
leaving one of the two players open for a wide open made three. I would credit the recent surge in off-ball
defense – (the player on defense bringing a third player into the picture to
pick off passes behind the arc) – as a counter to the patty-cake era. 2k developers randomized the wide-open shot
sometime in the last five years, which has resulted in players missing wide
open threes more commonly, but many gamers continue to play this style
relentlessly. You’ll see gamers playing
with the Knicks use this method quite frequently.
4. Turn up
the fast break to 100, baby!!
A favorite
of many, and now those patient enough to change their team settings before
tipoff, the fast-break-to-100 method was a nice way to get 3-on-2s and cheap
buckets in transition, especially with athletic squads. I say was
because programmers have countered the trolls in recent years with a
variety of methods. First, addressing
the lazy gamers such as myself by taking fast-break settings out of the
in-game-menu via the directional button.
Second, using player awareness, passing, and turnover attributes to
cause players to throw the ball away in transition. We’ve seen the play hundreds of times now:
the baseball toss to an outlet player on the sideline fumbling the ball as he
steps out of bounds.
3. Under the
basket inbounds pass to a layup/dunk on offense
Now we get
into the hardcore troll-tastic stuff.
The under the basket inbounds pass leading to a layup/dunk on offense has
been the most underutilized trolling method to get easy scores for years. Even at its peak, I doubt more than 5% of online
gamers attempted this method. The best
way to accomplish the feat is to use your point guard as a decoy to distract
your opponent, then switching to a different player and making a sharp cut to
the hoop for a quick catch and score.
This method was near automatic in recent versions of the game until
programmers countered us trolls by randomly having the inbounder throw the ball
into the opposing stands. In 2k15, I
would estimate that it’s a 50/50 score-to-turnover proposition (I’ve played 15
or so games, sample size police be damned).
In its glory days, it was more like 85/15.
2. Stealing
the inbounds pass
There’s no
way a 2k troller gets stimulated quite like the inbounds pass pick ‘n
dunk. This can deflate your opponent and
cause them to tweak (pause the menu and scroll around like a madman), or even
quit on the spot (ultimate troll validation).
For some odd reason, white seven-footers are the best at picking off
passes, while point guards are least likely to accomplish the task. The key here is to not get frazzled once the
theft has been made. Half-court heaves,
over-and-backs, and contested layups may result if the troll does not maintain
composure after stealing the inbounds pass.
Good luck.
1. Taking a charge in the full court
Long-time
2kers are smiling right now. It’s the
signature troll move in the NBA2k series.
You can tell a lot about a person by if they attempt charges in 2k or
not. Remember the anguish a few years
back when programmers threw in the randomized block-foul call after a firm
full-court charge? Known in some gamer
circles as “cones” defense, a troll will place body mines around mid-court to
attempt to induce a charge call on an opponent, or cause panic throwaways. Savvy gamers have countered the trolls by beating
the mines up the court, creating quick advantages and scores. Thankfully, the 2k15 programmers have left in
the manual charge – albeit less effective than say five years ago. Still, there’s nothing more embarrassing than being
on the wrong end of the manual charge call.
Shawn, Pro Basket-blog contributor
Follow mytrolling NBA thoughts on twitter: @sfgore
Shawn, Pro Basket-blog contributor
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