Frozen Buckets are still useful

peatrick said:

I realize my rambling posts tend to get a little verbose, but i stated what i'm running currently -- as an initial test.  And yes, for a mere 2AP, if just one of those D-line LurkArtist triggers, it's absolutely worth it and has the potential to swing the momentum of a game.  Haven't played enough post-patch to truly determine IF it's worth the AP investment right now, but potentially/probably.  The number of swatted and batted balls this year is wild.  Shouldn't take long for that to pay dividends, IMO.  If not, well... i regularly drop my Edges into pass coverage.  Not dropping 9 as much as in the past, but it still happens.

As of this moment in time, I'm running a pair of MZKO on both Safeties, then three DoNs across my D-line, followed by a couple discounted LurkArtist (x2) on both edges. Have barely played since latest patch, so this is very much a work in progress.

Ty. What formation/plays are you running? I have been using a lot of mid blitz and cover 2 man. Running 3 don, 1 et, and short elite on randy and Carmichael who plays slot. I dunno how effective it is but don't know what else to do with the last 2 ap

Woodysky said:

Ty. What formation/plays are you running? I have been using a lot of mid blitz and cover 2 man. Running 3 don, 1 et, and short elite on randy and Carmichael who plays slot. I dunno how effective it is but don't know what else to do with the last 2 ap

I would highly recommend adding a couple D-line LurkArtist abilities, especially if you're sending that much pressure.  I'm constantly trying to improve my defense, but it depends what game mode i'm playing.  For Squads, it's typically a lot of Cover 4 Drop -- which gives us four deep blues to help keep everything underneath us, we're playing "bend but don't break" style defense and each of us cover a third of the field and try to pass off receivers accordingly.  I'd love to mix up more straight up Man coverage, but it's too easy for one player to miss and assignment and get absolutely cooked for a huge gain and potential one-play touchdowns.

There's a LOT of variations and no one perfect defense is going to cover every single type of opponent, it's a constant game of cat and mouse, adjusting to take away your opponent's tendencies.  You can win a LOT of games by simply taking away your opponent's first read and allowing them to make a mistake and beat themselves.  Most players will give you the game if you sit back and force them to work for every yard.  I realize offense is easy, but it's also easy to make a bad read and just takes one play to change the course of the game.

Maybe you don't need those DoNs if you typically generate pressure through sheer numbers, or via overload type blitzes.  My goal is to get pressure rushing just four (or often less, typically three pass rushers and my USER on a blitz angle to get the improved shed timers, although this limits yer ability to Switch Stick around).  How are you running Mid Blitz?  Do you take the weak side Safety (whoever is manned up on the RB) and bring him down to hover over the D-line?  And then Zone out one (or both) Edges?  Even though this is straight up Man, i still prefer to use "Cover 2" coverage shell over top -- bringing the Safety down to hover over the D-line will typically help ensure you get at least one (if not two) defenders into the backfield, often untouched.  You can see this by determining which player(s) get the flame icon over their head.  If they don't switch the default behavior and re-UNtarget your user (the Safety), they're screwed.

Cover 2 Man is where i'd drop nine into coverage and hope one of those DoNs get a quick shed.  I love to theory craft on defense, hope something here is useful for you.

Here's a decent video to provide a quick overview of some of the more consistent ways to generate pressure.

peatrick said:

We're so screwed without Zone KOs... and not even for the actual knock-out competent of those abilities, the real reason we want (or need) various Zone KOs is so that our defenders will be in position to make a play on the ball. Otherwise, they basically just stand there and turn slowly without reacting or responding to the ball. 

Defense was already difficult enough, things just got real dicey. Not sure I can justify spending 14AP on my Safeties (DZKO + MZKO) but I've been tempted. 

As of this moment in time, I'm running a pair of MZKO on both Safeties, then three DoNs across my D-line, followed by a couple discounted LurkArtist (x2) on both edges. Have barely played since latest patch, so this is very much a work in progress.

May i ask why nid zone and not deep zone?

Thebossx23 said:

May i ask why nid zone and not deep zone?

That's a VERY good question. In a perfect world, we'd have both, but at the moment that's only feasible if we give up the DoN / D-line abilities. 

Typically, if we can only choose one, I tend to prefer MZKO as it helps improve our Safety's ability to react and defend those quick Seam Streak type routes. This is also assuming we're all basically using Close & Pinch on our defensive coaching adjustments.

It's a bit personal preference, but a valid case could be made for either, but not all Safeties even get DZKO (4AP), many are forced to choose DOZKO (3AP) which is even less effective, IMO.

I run an inverted cover 3 so in a perfect world id have 2 outside deep and 1 inside deep

7 AP colossus if you can js get 1 tfl or even freight train on offense with 1 10 yard run if you're using closer or domer or smth

Add AP’s Freight Train for 6 AP

SweetLou1 said:

Add AP’s Freight Train for 6 AP

Those are not discounts within frozen buckets

It was stated from the day that card dropped that his frozen x-factor would rise to 6 AP on the 8th

Same with the iced out abilities that have been stated from Christmas day, that on the 8th they'd rise to 10 AP

The abilities on this list are ones that we thought were going to raise back to full price based on the information gave to us, but still stayed at a discount

Hhtmarks said:

Brock Bowers fs gets automatic zone hawk for 10, cam gets it automatic with indoor baller at 7. Am I crazy to even wanna try this out of curiosity ????

Adding indoor baller will not just give you the x-factor instantly

It will half the requirements, and if it is already 1 it won't do anything

DieDie410 said:

Those are not discounts within frozen buckets

It was stated from the day that card dropped that his frozen x-factor would rise to 6 AP on the 8th

Same with the iced out abilities that have been stated from Christmas day, that on the 8th they'd rise to 10 AP

The abilities on this list are ones that we thought were going to raise back to full price based on the information gave to us, but still stayed at a discount

Oh I gotchu