NHL 21 is getting a big upgrade with Patch 1.3, and it goes live on 3 December!
This update touches on HUT, Franchise Mode, Be A Pro, World of Chel, and makes tons of bug fixes that will massively improve gameplay.
Let's dive right into the newest NHL 21 patch.
NHL 21 Patch 1.3
NHL 21 Patch 1.3 is massive, and fixes tons of bugs that have been problems across all of the most popular game modes.
It also introduces some big new features like Highest Average Ping settings to HUT that will control latency, as well as new season stats for World of Chel. But that's certainly not all.
Gameplay
We'll kick off with the NHL 21 Patch 1.3 changes made to general gameplay that will come up in all game modes.
READ MORE: NHL 21 Update: Emergency Patch Fixes Franchise Mode Lines Bug
- Fixes to cases where tripping penalties were being missed
- Fix for users being forced out of vision control when receiving a manual saucer pass
- Fixed a case where one-timers from specific pass angles were weaker than expected
- Fixed a case where players were not being called for goalie interference when hitting the goaltender after taking a shot
- Various Desync fixes
- Fixed a case where the puck could go through the goalies stick
- Fixed an issue where goalies were auto-covering the puck through the net when on the post
- Improved situations where defensive AI players would lose their assignments off a faceoff tieup loss
- Fixed a case where the AI would get stuck behind the net during a breakout
- Fixed an issue where defenders would skate away from the play if their target went for a line change
The most important of these changes include improvements to defensive AI, improvements for dive block animations, and the massive amount of bug fixes.
Be A Pro
Be A Pro is perhaps the most improved game mode in NHL 21, with a ton of new features including relationships with teammates, coaches, and media as well as progression goals and conversations throughout your player's story.
It is receiving some nice quality of life bug fixes in NHL 21 Patch 1.3.
- Fixed the bug where low player overall still grants captaincy in sophomore year
- Fixed the bug where shift length timer counts slower than it should
- Misc. conversation and challenge fixes
Franchise Mode
Franchise Mode is a classic, and brings NHL fans back each year for roster updates and new adjustments. NHL 21 brought some quality upgrades to Franchise Mode, including trade value updates and better playoff stats.
Patch 1.3 brings a few massive bug fixes for Franchise Mode that players will notice right away.
- Fixed the bug where players with low overalls and player roles have high trade value in Franchise
- Removed a bug causing Franchise Record Book tuning to display accurate stats
- Fixed the bug where auto created players in franchise get created with 0/99 for all the skating style sliders
HUT
HUT receives some fantastic new features in Patch 1.3 and some quality bug fixes.
READ MORE: NHL 21 Review: How new features are pushing hockey sim gaming forward
- Added a ‘Max Average Ping’ Setting to HUT Online Game Modes which can be used to reduce or increase the Maximum Average Ping you’ll matchmake with
- Added the ability to Hide the impact of Team Synergies (from other players) in the Player Information screen
- HUT Rush Events using players from your HUT Collection will now pre-populate your Team by automatically picking your highest rated players available. You’ll still be able to make changes before confirming your team for the Event
- Fixed an issue where Quick Swap wasn’t available to add Locked Players to Powerplay or Penalty Kill Lines in HUT Rush 5v5 Events
- Fixed an issue in HUT Rush where sometimes both teams Mascots wore the same jersey
World of Chel
World of Chel is one of the more exciting NHL 21 game modes with a thriving online community where players battle it out on the ice to improve their player skills.
READ MORE: NHL 21: Trailers, Xbox Series X, PS5 & more
Patch 1.3 brings some great new features to World of Chel and fixes plenty of frustrating bugs that caused problems like consistent crashing.
- Added a ticker stats system in the WoC HUB to better showcase your Career Stats, Club Stats, Player Rank, and Club Finals Results and you can click into those stats to be brought to new stats summary screens
- Created a new screen to track Player Career Stats, Club Stats, Player Rank Stats and Club Finals stats
- Added additional content into WoC for upcoming Chel Challenges. Check back often to collect the latest cool new content
- Fixed an infrequent crash at the end of a club finals game
- Fixed an issue where the screen became completely black during a penalty shot
- Fixed a rare crash that would occur when skipping the outro NIS in an EASHL game
- Fixed an issue where equipping facemasks would cause hair clipping through helmets
- Fixed a post-game issue that caused the GAA and Save % for goalies to be cut off in the 3 stars of the game showcase