EHM The Blue Line

Good luck finding a defensive system, my friend.

I've been trying to develop one for a while now (a more realistic tactic) but I've been unsuccessful. The majority of posters use a very offensive tactic (as it works the best in EHM), but I know of a few posters that due in fact use a defensive tactic and have found success, so it is possible.

If I can ever make a defensive (or balanced) tactic that works, I'll post it here. As I'm sure many others would be interested in a more realistic tactic.

Batdad seems to have the best results from using defensive tactics but it's not a cookie-cutter tactic that he could just give out for everyone to use and get results from. He bases it all on the individual players on his team, if I remember correctly. I'd love it if he would explain his whole process for us some time.

Batdad is the god of defense. I also play a defensive game but I'm not all that good with tactics though I do have a fair bit of success....probably mostly because I absolutely want to have a real good goaltender

I'll probably try to tinker with some defensive tactics on my next franchise after the one I'm currently playing.

The problem I find, is that it's much easier to use the a very offensive tactic (rarely if ever seen in the NHL, even with Washington), and regardless about the personnel, after a few years you should find success. Which is why I always fall back to them when I struggle with defensive tactics.

That being said, as I continue playing EHM, I've really started to take a liking to the personal tactics. Hopefully I can get some personal tactics/team tactics to get a more realistic system.

EDIT: I don't want to come off like I'm bashing the game, I'm a massive fan of EHM, it's just something I've noticed.

At what GAA would you say you have a good defensive tactic?


At the end of season three in my Sarnia Challenge game the lowest three team GAA in the NHL are 2.27, 2.35, and 2.45. Henrik Lundqvist was the best goalie with a 2.15 GAA.

Compare that to the real-life NHL and the lowest three team GAA are 2.27, 2.33, and 2.39. Tukka Rask had a 1.97 GAA with 5 shutouts for 45 games and Ryan Miller had a 2.22 GAA and also had 5 shutouts.

Two things are key to having a low GAA in EHM: a good goalie and a great penalty kill. Unless your PK is above 90% I don't think you will get the low GAA your looking for.

I always have a GAA over 3.00 with a very offensive tactic, so anything under 3.00 would be great.

But ideally a GAA at/under 2.50, and a SV% at/over .920. Something you'll see more consistently in the NHL, instead of scoring 300+ goals.

As for PK, I've always really struggled with having a strong one. But this isn't the thread to worry about my Pk woes.

How the heck do all of these great players get their players to break all of these record barriers and just generally dominate the league??? I'm assuming it's all in the tactics.

I've heard EVERYWHERE that if you play your star players for long durations in each game like 60+ seconds a shift, they'll do a lot better but I'm not really ever seeing that!!! I saw one guy who claimed he went like 81-1!!!

tactics is the absolute devil. doesn't seem to matter what i try, i lose or i win by 1 goal or in the shootout.

but i digress. my question is about personal tactics. i've seen lots of people say they set personal tactics, and then go on to set unit tactics. but doesn't setting personal tactics override unit tactics? what i the point of setting the personal tactics then? i'm kind of confused on the matter.

also, regarding backchecking and gap control - would you say backchecing is really only used for forwards, and gap control for D?

robotco wrote:tactics is the absolute devil. doesn't seem to matter what i try, i lose or i win by 1 goal or in the shootout.

but i digress. my question is about personal tactics. i've seen lots of people say they set personal tactics, and then go on to set unit tactics. but doesn't setting personal tactics override unit tactics? what i the point of setting the personal tactics then? i'm kind of confused on the matter.

also, regarding backchecking and gap control - would you say backchecing is really only used for forwards, and gap control for D?

Don't set unit tactics if you are using personal tactics because it gets overridden. I use backchecking for all of my players (except goalies), and I usually set it to very hard for my defensive defensemen and checking forwards (i.e., Draper and Lilja with Detroit). Same with gap control, only use it with players that can play in their own zone and who have a decent amount of speed, otherwise they will get burned by faster forwards.

You can use a mix of unit tactics and personal tactics. In the personal tactics, if you leave any of them unchecked they will default to doing whatever the unit's tactics are. This can be useful. I usually don't set the mindedness (offensive or defensive) in personal tactics. That's something I leave to the unit. The same player could be on the PP and PK and you wouldn't want that set the same as his even strength tactics. Also, I've been keeping the tempo the same for a whole line, so I don't set this in personal tactics.

bruins72 wrote:You can use a mix of unit tactics and personal tactics. In the personal tactics, if you leave any of them unchecked they will default to doing whatever the unit's tactics are. This can be useful. I usually don't set the mindedness (offensive or defensive) in personal tactics. That's something I leave to the unit. The same player could be on the PP and PK and you wouldn't want that set the same as his even strength tactics. Also, I've been keeping the tempo the same for a whole line, so I don't set this in personal tactics.

I was not aware of this. Now I will be making some minor tactical changes.

frustration with tactics is reaching the boiling point for me do tactics do anything at all? i did some experimentation and set up all my tactics, made a save before a game, and then simmed. then i recorded the result, exited the game, went back in and simmed again. it's hard to believe tactics does anything with such varying results as 6-5 loss, 3-2 win, 4-2 loss, 2-0 loss, and 4-1 win.

is this just a crapshoot? or does tactics just govern the margins of the win/loss? i don't think i'll ever figure it out.

Can anyone help me set up my defense? My offense is one of the best in the league but we often get outscored because the d is bulls-. Also my d-men are very weak on the offensive side, any ideas how to fix this? That's my setup at the moment:

Cam Barker - Cam Fowler
Regen (Swedish LD, not Lidström but pretty good) - Nick Schultz
Tyler Cuma - Brent Burns

Any help would be highly appreciated!

I have seen many people on the forums here asking about a defensive system tactic.

The basic function of a good defensive squad starts with the players.

Players to look for:

Hitting: Try to find heavy hitter with a reasonably low aggression. Keep the hits high and the PIMS to a minimum
Positioning: The end all of good defensive hockey.
Pokecheck: Takeaways stem largely from pokecheck and or hitting
Anticipation: How does your player read plays?
Work Rate: Gas tank - how hard he works
Checking: Keeps the opponent honest.
Stamina: Couple this with good work rate and your players will build you a house during intermission.

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Now depending on what type of actual play style you choose you can modify the type of player you are looking for.

For example. If you want to play defensive hockey with board play, add strength to this. Your forwards will need to be strong to dig the puck out of the corners and make plays.

I have used a defensive system for several years and have had success with borderline NHLers.

Gap control is a big aspect of playing a good defensive system. If your top four defensemen are not sound positionally you cannot use a tight gap. The first thing to find is fast, positionally sound defensemen. Next, you want to find at least TWO wingers with good acceleration, checking and positioning. They will contribute to the defensive system, and you can have the luxury of using tighter gap lines. These types of forwards also help with good backchecking and forechecking.

I use Crisscross breakouts and a heavy forecheck system. I usually start with 3-2 forecheck and manipulate my lines as the season moves a long. I [refer heavy forechecking because the system I play does not create heavy offensive chances, so I look to create pressure and score the cheap goals.

If you have the luxury of good defensive pairings, you can use positional in the defensive zone. Sometimes I will use collapse, but I usually address my defensemen from the get go.

Most people would laugh at this but a guy I always pick up is Jeff Woywitka. He has good ratings for playing a defensive system. I'm using an older Lidas roster set, I think it's 1.3. Woywitka always becomes a top four blueliner for me, with aggressive practices. I always seek out coaches with high determination and either defensive minded or cautious but direct. It seems to get the players into incredible shape.

Send me questions if you have any, send me screenshots. I would eventually like to release a descriptive defensive tactic.

Is anyone willing to share their tactics ?

I've been trying to use defensive tactics but they don't work well.

Wild94 wrote:Is anyone willing to share their tactics ?

I've been trying to use defensive tactics but they don't work well.

I know this isn't the answer you are looking for, but the best thing you can do to get good tactics is to go to the beginning of this thread and read each post. You'll find the answers you are looking for there.

shinderhizzle84 wrote:I saw one guy who claimed he went like 81-1!!!

Wroom wrote:

shinderhizzle84 wrote:I saw one guy who claimed he went like 81-1!!!

Interesting... tactics?

timmy_t wrote:

Wroom wrote:

shinderhizzle84 wrote:I saw one guy who claimed he went like 81-1!!!

Interesting... tactics?

In the download section and thread 4-5 topics longer down in the game knowledge section.

Never really got into to hockey before. But it has been slowly growing on me. I have tried to play this game in the past but the understanding of tactics has been my downfall. Anyway my question is this. Is it better to have all your players on individual tactics or do I use line tactics? Or do I issue orders to both?

I am playing as the Blues becasue I am more famliuar with the players than anybody else.

Moved to a thread that is for this kind of question. /joehelmer

Welcome to TBL!

As for your question, I find it better to set tactics for each of my lines and then go and give players individual tactics based on their abilities. Some parts of the individual tactics I won't touch. I'll just let them go by the line tactics. Other parts, like passing and such, I'll setup based on the individual.

bruins72 wrote:Welcome to TBL!

As for your question, I find it better to set tactics for each of my lines and then go and give players individual tactics based on their abilities. Some parts of the individual tactics I won't touch. I'll just let them go by the line tactics. Other parts, like passing and such, I'll setup based on the individual.

Thank you for the reply.

Ok so I am a noob but this is a messesage to any other noobs to come here looking for advise. My hockey knowledge is very limited as I am a new commer to the sport. I started to replay the game again and rolled through the exihibition season Lost one game in nine I think. Thought I had this down, regular season started and, biff I go 0-4 to start. But after rereading this topic from the very first post all the way to the end, I can see where I made alot of tactical mistakes. Retweaked the tactics from learned material and now I like how this team is playing. Also read the guide that is provided on this site. Alot of areas are broken down in segmants so it is easier to read. And don't give up. Keep learning even if its rereading material for something you missed. Some very great advise here in these threads. Now on to work on PP.

I'm glad you took the time to read through! This game has been out for quite a while now and we've got a community here that has played the game extensively. Our community has been great at trying to get the info out there for everyone. People just need to be willing to take the time and read it. A game like EHM is definitely for people with patience.

I tried personal tactics but I stick with finese defensive or run and gun . But thats since its the same as what I did on personal tactics anyways, just easier to run the default.

Oddly enough, Ive never had any tactical issues