Why are rookie and veteran so hard this year?!
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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.
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@markemark_NSW This has happened to me before and if the problem feels like pitches are too fast it's almost always that your tv has reset out of "game mode". That adjusts the game input lag so that what you see on the screen is closer to real time. I'm a terrible hitter myself (scared of online play) but usually my problem is either too early or too low. I have a 2019 Vizio and sometimes if it updates it forgets to go back to Game Mode.
That being said there are two major differences from years past...hell of a lot more foul balls by CPU hitters, and more dotting (there's another thread about this) by CPU pitchers regardless of their overall. Also the CPU seems to always want to get to a full count now. Add to that the change they made to Conquest a few years ago (switching it from "casual" to "simulation") and yeah, Rookie is more like All-Star from a few years ago.
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Because this game is terrible lol.
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I don’t know… I put up 16+ runs/game almost every time I play the WBC mini season (9 inn). I’ve been plowing through TA with that setup.
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Get 25 homeruns with player (x) and 25 strikeouts with player (y). Thats why they made rookie a pain in the [censored]. They don't want you sprinting through their precious and tedious bs missions. So they make the cpu put balls in play more often and make the cpu pitchers paint corners and give less meat balls. Its maddening.
Before pxp missions you could easily put up 40 runs in 3 inning games.
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@JDHalfrack_PSN yeah mini-seasons is now the meta for stat gains because it's still on "casual" so hard hit balls actually clear the fence. Conquest used to be like that 2 years ago.
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I’ve posted this before, but I’ll repeat: The Show does not “understand” Rookie mode at all. I play Madden, they dont do a lot of things right, but they “get” Rookie mode.
On Rookie madden, you score SO many points that you gain confidence and actually WANT to play on a higher level to challenge yourself.
In Rookie The Show, all the same “shenanigans” exist except for slightly slower pitch speeds. Pitchers dot and fielders are gold glovers all the time. So, you are NOT encouraged to move up except that you HAVE TO in order to get XP and PXP to get rewards.
A big difference.
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I’ve posted this before, but I’ll repeat: The Show does not “understand” Rookie mode at all. I play Madden, they dont do a lot of things right, but they “get” Rookie mode.
On Rookie madden, you score SO many points that you gain confidence and actually WANT to play on a higher level to challenge yourself.
In Rookie The Show, all the same “shenanigans” exist except for slightly slower pitch speeds. Pitchers dot and fielders are good glovers all the time. So, you are NOT encouraged to move up except that you HAVE TO in order to get XP and PXP to get rewards.
A big difference.
As someone that's played both, you nailed it.
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@Precisionist99_XBL
I appreciate your input! How do you know if the TV is no longer in game mode? And how can it be fixed? I’m using a Roku.And yes, it seems like there are a lot more long counts as there are many more balls out of the zone than in previous years on rookie and veteran.
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@JDHalfrack_PSN
How does that compare to how many runs you were able to score in a 9 inning game against the CPU at the same difficulty level in ’25? -
I’ve posted this before, but I’ll repeat: The Show does not “understand” Rookie mode at all. I play Madden, they dont do a lot of things right, but they “get” Rookie mode.
On Rookie madden, you score SO many points that you gain confidence and actually WANT to play on a higher level to challenge yourself.
In Rookie The Show, all the same “shenanigans” exist except for slightly slower pitch speeds. Pitchers dot and fielders are good glovers all the time. So, you are NOT encouraged to move up except that you HAVE TO in order to get XP and PXP to get rewards.
A big difference.
That's a really good explanation! I think it's meant to frustrate the stat grinders into spending money and possibly getting them to join the cesspool online play.
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I dont know if you'd really be encouraged to play more if Rookie were way easier. You need to figure out how to deal with the "shenanigans" if you're going to be able to play this game. Batting in The Show is way harder than anything in any other sports game - that's what it comes down to.
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@rubicante23_PSN
I’m not really asking for it to be easier. I’m just noticing that rookie and veteran, for me at least, are significantly harder than the same levels last year. It doesn’t seem reasonable for it to have become that much harder. I’m struggling to complete things like stat missions for TA on a lower level than what I was doing ok at in ‘25. I’m never going to finish TA stat missions scoring 1 run and 5 hits per 9 innings on rookie! If it really is just me not being as good as I used to be, then I will accept that, but i’m just trying to figure it out.
