Why are rookie and veteran so hard this year?!
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Part of it is the lower level cards. I noticed it early last year, too. But yes. The pitching has been tweaked again. The CPU grind XP rewards are ridiculous. They’re trying to herd we stragglers into the online cesspool with exponentially higher rewards. I can compete in Ranked, generally in the 600’s, but I always walk away hating this game to my core.
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I'm fine.
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Part of it is the lower level cards. I noticed it early last year, too. But yes. The pitching has been tweaked again. The CPU grind XP rewards are ridiculous. They’re trying to herd we stragglers into the online cesspool with exponentially higher rewards. I can compete in Ranked, generally in the 600’s, but I always walk away hating this game to my core.
I usually top out around 600 and I'm alright with that...I'm more about attaining the rewards than anything but still. They tweaked the difficulties a bit, not complaining though. I think I'm just about due to move up anyways because online AS is the difficulty anyways.
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Part of it is the lower level cards. I noticed it early last year, too. But yes. The pitching has been tweaked again. The CPU grind XP rewards are ridiculous. They’re trying to herd we stragglers into the online cesspool with exponentially higher rewards. I can compete in Ranked, generally in the 600’s, but I always walk away hating this game to my core.
I usually top out around 600 and I'm alright with that...I'm more about attaining the rewards than anything but still. They tweaked the difficulties a bit, not complaining though. I think I'm just about due to move up anyways because online AS is the difficulty anyways.
600 seems to be when I run into the cheaters. It’s like the second I cross over, I’m giving up 14 consecutive hits in a row (Has happened three times!).
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@Alaric919_PSN
You’re right, each year at the beginning the lower level cards make it more challenging. They are definitely trying to incentivize online play. Maybe that’s part of it. -
I also now play pretty much exclusively on veteran (Even in the mini seasons games, where the CPU almost always has a better roster now, for some reason?). And you might as well, since you get a little more pxp.
For me, the issue isn't so much that it's difficult, it's the inconsistency. I feel like last year I had a really good idea of my swing, now I have no feel for anything. I'll get early swings on balls I felt I was absolutely late on and vice versa. It's also very all or nothing, lot of games I win on like 3 hits that were all home runs, because the fielding is so good. -
I typically get to wheel spins every season in the XP path just by playing CPU games and finishing most programs. Just not happening this year. I only got to 350k season one and I’m only at 150K this season after playing a lot. The game is awarding way too little XP for games, even the games that I’m scoring 20+ runs and 25+ hits. The last 2 weeks of a season need to be double XP. It’s just making the game not very fun, especially with low diamond pull rates.
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Yep, the game is a slog for sure. They are pushing players hard towards online play and/or buying stubs to complete the reward path and collections.
As an offline player myself I’m only at 130K xp and that’s with finishing everything and the head start from collecting the inning 1 bosses.
Add to that I haven’t pulled a significant diamond in weeks, I’m burned out on grinding mini seasons, I’ve finished team affinity for all 60 captains, and there is very little motivation to play the game beyond a couple of weekly check ins.
Ballin packs might be the worst I’ve seen in 7 years of playing DD and the rest of packs aren’t too far behind. Sure a few people have had some lucky pulls but I have a feeling the vast majority of players are not getting even close to completing live series.
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I can’t be the only one who noticed this. Making it somewhat different from one year to the next is fine, but these levels are too hard. My skills can’t have diminished this much in this short amount of time since ‘25. I’m swinging too late on rookie level all the time. I don’t mind finishing programs significantly later than the better players but this is just too restrictive. Hard to accumulate enough stats to complete TA in a reasonable amount of time at this rate. Maybe I am the only one. Anyone else out there who plays on veteran and rookie that is as frustrated as I am?
What are you playing in particular? It's my observation that rookie on 3 innings like Conquest and Mini Seasons will be wildly different than a play vs CPU 9 inning game on rookie. Now that you can customize mini seasons It's even more obvious. 3 inning mini season games on rookie I'm scoring 1 or 2 runs a game with 3 or 4 hits. 9 inning mini season games on rookie I'm putting up 15 to 25 runs 20+ hits. Great for Stat grinding. Try a play vs CPU 9 inning game at the Rockies on rookie and see if you notice a massive difference.
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@Ledfoot_19_PSN
You’re right. That could make the difference. I don’t think I have played a 9 inning game this year. All conquest and mini. I would score over one run average per inning (over 10 runs per 9 inning game) last year on veteran on CPU. I’ll give CPU a try. Thanks! -
I was amazing in 24
I was terrible in 25
I am okay in 26my hitting is kinda weird
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@Ledfoot_19_PSN
Gave CPU a try. Definitely disappointed. With myself, I guess. Could only muster 5 hits and one run in 9 innings on rookie! I can’t grind for TA by scratching out runs at that rate. They definitely changed the speed or something with rookie and veteran. I have a hard time believing that I have gotten so bad on the easiest level when just a month ago in MLBTS ‘25 I was scoring over 10 runs in 9 innings on veteran! It has to be what they have changed about these levels. -
The math says that a single vs cpu 9 inning game is 1600 xp up to maybe 3000 if it's a blow out game. So basically 2-3% of a 100k path, it is a 500k path. So that us less than one percent....less than half a percent for one single game for a month long program. There is something serious wrong with that even with the various xp goals throughout the game. It just feels like the game isn't rewarding you for how much time you put in it. The xp has gradually been reduced over the years and it's the xp goals they have been focused on. It is the state of the game now sadly
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@Ledfoot_19_PSN
Gave CPU a try. Definitely disappointed. With myself, guess. Could only muster 5 hits and one run in 9 innings on rookie! I can’t grind for TA by scratching out runs at that rate. They definitely changed the speed or something with rookie and veteran. I have a hard time believing that I have gotten so bad on the easiest level when just a month ago in MLBTS ‘25 I was scoring over 10 runs in 9 innings on veteran! It has to be what they have changed about these levels.Silly question but are you sitting or playing at a different position than years past? New TV? I have to sit about 3 feet away eye level with the strike zone. If I'm too far or too close ot totally screws up my swing timing. I have to use a particular camera angle as well. Just spit balling to find a solution because I don't feel much has changed in the game so sonething might be throwing you off.
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@Alaric919_PSN this is me as well. I will usually make world series, but I have to force myself to do it because playing online puts me in a bad mood. Not because of losing but because of all the bs. The quick pitching, the foul balls on pitches a foot out of the zone, the strike zone not calling strikes on the edge, the bloop hits.
Also the sexualy derogatory logos. My son plays this game as well, hes 9. The other day the logo was a graphic image of a black veiny thing in-between 2 big white bubble things with white confetti all over the place.
E for everyone. I report these logos, but you can check the players and they are still online. -
I’ve been saying it all year. The game is extremely unrewarding unless you play at high difficulty online, even then it’s not much better.
Sure the game gives out a ton of free packs but it doesn’t take long to realize 99.9% of packs are basically worthless. I’d rather get 1/10 of the free packs if odds were significantly better. Make me feel like my time is actually worth something and I’m making progress.
I much prefer quality over quantity. This game has gone the quantity route and it’s really watered down. Most of the cards either have to be purchased or require crazy lotto luck to pull in a pack. The reward structure is shot, the stub rewards are minuscule, and ultimately the game is a shell of its former self.
I know at least it’s not Madden or 2K so guess we are supposed to be happy with whatever they give us.
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@TripleH-4481_PSN packs suck so bad. I gavent pulled judge or ohtani in the past 3 years. Trout was always the best card and very rare, but you would pull him most years if you opened enough packs.
Ive probaly opened over 10000 packs the last 2 years and again, no ohtani, now judge.
Just like everywhere else in the game they have gone so far in the madden direction. Everything is designed to get you to spend money.
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Yep, the game is a slog for sure. They are pushing players hard towards online play and/or buying stubs to complete the reward path and collections.
As an offline player myself I’m only at 130K xp and that’s with finishing everything and the head start from collecting the inning 1 bosses.
Add to that I haven’t pulled a significant diamond in weeks, I’m burned out on grinding mini seasons, I’ve finished team affinity for all 60 captains, and there is very little motivation to play the game beyond a couple of weekly check ins.
Ballin packs might be the worst I’ve seen in 7 years of playing DD and the rest of packs aren’t too far behind. Sure a few people have had some lucky pulls but I have a feeling the vast majority of players are not getting even close to completing live series.
If you just play the game, collections are impossible without pulling Judge and/or Ohtani. I have played a ton and am like 1 million from collections. Here's something painful but very real. Say you average 5k a mini seasons run which actually might be high (especially the rate I am pulling). You would have to do 140 mini season runs just to get Ohtani. Then think about all the other collections like Jackie. I did everything I could and think I ended with 28 of the 42 cards to get him. That is 14 I have to buy including the high price and chase cards since I never get a rare or chase pull. It really is unrewarding. I haven't done many mini seasons runs this past week cuz why bother.
I don't mind grinding until it feels like I am not getting rewarded for my time. I have reached that.
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@Ledfoot_19_PSN
Thanks for helping me troubleshoot, and that’s a great question actually! But I’m very intentional about sitting in the same place and the same position when I play. Same camera angles in the settings also. My last hope before I accept that it’s just me is experimenting to find out I have different results with different controllers. Totally grasping at straws before I realize that I can’t play anymore. -
Me too which is why once I check in on the new weekly drops I’m done. I can’t keep doing the mini seasons or diamond quest runs for nothing. It’s pathetic.
