2K has announced all the new features coming to MyCAREER & MyPLAYER mode in NBA 2K25, and while some of them are good additions, others, well, not so much.
It's clear that 2K wants to make the game accessible, and intuitive, as some new features accomplished that, but others just feel like a lateral change or even a huge missed opportunity.
Let's find out why!
The Best MyPLAYER Builder Ever
In NBA 2K25 the MyPLAYER builder will look better, and more detailed, than ever.
A plethora of new archetypes for players to choose from were introduced, but that was already expected, the real big change is that players now have way more access to information about their build.
Players can now preview all assets of their build, such as badges, takeovers, jump shot animations, dunk packages, and signature animations. These last three are massive, as players can now know if their build allows them to equip a specific jump shot or dunk package, which is great.
In NBA 2K24, many players were locked out of good jump shots because their builds didn't have the required mid-range, or three-point attributes to equip it, and this solves that problem. It also makes the game more accessible for new players, as most would struggle when creating their character, and this makes it much easier.
A new Takeover system was also introduced, with a total of 72 Takeovers, and 14 Takeover abilities, all targeting different attributes. Every Takeover now has five levels, and by performing well on the court, players' Takeovers will gradually increase in level, boosting their attributes.
This is a welcomed change that gives more depth to the Takeover feature and makes it more impactful, as players' attributes will be boosted at every level. It might not be game-changing, but it's a positive change, at least on paper.
The badge system was also revamped, with NBA 2K25 having only 40 badges, but with each one of them being much more impactful than in previous years, the badge progression system also remains pretty much unchanged.
This is a great change, made even better by the fact that badge regression was removed from the game, something the community was asking for. The community complained about this feature a lot on NBA 2K24, and for good reasons, so it's great to see it gone.
It made no sense to put in many hours just to progress a badge to a certain level, and then see it regress because you didn't use it that much in a handful of games.
NBA 2K25 is also introducing Badge Elevators, which can boost players' badges, and increase the attribute ratings of players' certain attributes, above the ones shown in the MyPLAYER builder.
A higher badge level than Hall of Fame was also introduced, with the Legend badges arriving at the game. However, there still isn't a lot of information about this badge level, apart from the fact they have the highest attribute requirements to unlock and provide players with incredible boosts.
Badges being more impactful sounds great, and maintaining the progression system is good while getting rid of badge regression is the best decision 2K has made in a long time. Badge Elevators seem like an interesting addition, but it's hard to judge it.
So Much Missed Potential for MyCAREER
When it comes to MyCAREER in NBA 2K25, the only change is the addition of the Hear of a Dynasty feature, which basically replaces the G.O.A.T ranking, as players will battle to win championships and climb the Dynasty rankings.
This is literally a lateral move and doesn't add anything groundbreaking to the game. 2K simply changed a ranked system for another, and that's about it.
But there is a new feature in MyCAREER that has a lot of untapped potential. Players will be able to relieve their character journey to the NBA, relieving their high school and Fiba games.
However, this is simply part of a flashback story, which begs the question, why not give players the chance to create their journey from high school, or overseas to the NBA?
It would make the game mode more immersive and enjoyable, and 2K certainly has the resources to make this come to fruition. This feature had a lot of potential, but it felt short, which is a big shame, as MyCAREER would benefit a lot from a feature such as this one.
What do you think about these changes? Let us know in the comments below!
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