The following was summarized by ChatGPT from Sleeves’ video: [NHL 24 HUT TIPS: HOW TO GET AHEAD!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frikiDUo2Fw) To maximize your experience as a no-money-spent player of Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) in NHL 24: 1. **Begin with the Basics**: - Understand that the tactics mentioned work throughout the game's lifecycle, regardless of when you start. - Open up the starter pack, which is a staple at the beginning. 2. **Value of No Money Spent Series**: - If you've previously spent money on HUT, trying a no-money-spent approach can be more fun and challenging. 3. **Addressing the X-Factor**: - Avoid the temptation to delete and restart your team multiple times just to get the best X-Factor. - Be cautious of losing pre-order bonuses if you restart. - High-rated X-Factors like McDavid and Makar aren't available in the starter player pool. - With the game's change to have an X-Factor for every 32 clubs, the X-Factor allocation is balanced. - Check out available resources, such as the X-Factor tier list, for a better understanding of your options. 4. **Personal Preference**: - Embrace the excitement of having a player from your favorite team, such as rooting for Tomas Hertl if you're a Sharks fan. 5. **Starting Off**: - After you skip the tutorial, check the daily pack. This pack offers decent value for no money spent players. - The daily pack will typically contain a silver card, a gold card, a non-MHL-er, and an XP collectible. Understand the utility of the XP collectible for later. 6. **Understanding X-Factor and Pre-Order Bonuses**: - If you have the X-Factor edition: - You receive 4,600 points. - A HUT Power-Up Icon Choice Pack is given. - You get an exclusive Kale M'Karr Master Item. - Pre-ordering the game grants you two Team Builder cards. 7. **Spending Strategy**: - Two main routes depending on your goals: 1. For a chance at high-value cards (e.g., Connor McDavid's base or X-Factor card): - Look for limited packs available at game launch. - Once you hit the pack limit, wait for the 24-hour window to refresh before opening more. 2. Avoid the so-called premium packs or base packs in the store: - They might seem affordable, but they often do not provide valuable cards. - You're likely to get lower-value players or be disappointed with these packs. 8. **Caution**: - Be wary of spending excessive money in the game. Find a balance between investing money and enjoying the game without spending. 9. **Understanding Pack Value**: - Packs guaranteeing multiple gold NHL players are valuable, especially if pursuing team builders. - Gold NHL players act as a major currency in NHL 24. - If gold NHL player packs are available, consider them due to their inherent value. 10. **Team Builder Choice Pack**: - If you received this pack, it aids in working towards your first team builder card. - These cards are among the best in the game. - To get an 87 overall at launch, you'll need six team builder cards. - The significant change in NHL 24 is flexibility; you can choose any six, without needing specific teams or divisions. - For those seeking a competitive advantage, there are resources like the team builder tier list. 11. **Power Up Icon Choice Pack**: - Collecting 32 power up icons rewards you with all eight headliners. - These headliners allow you to choose between Gretzky, Lemieux, and Gordie Howe. - Your goals dictate your strategy: if you're aiming for the ultimate players, examine the eight headliners to decide which best aligns with your team. - Each headliner requires four specific power up icons. - Resources are available, like videos, detailing power up icons and their requirements. 12. **Gathering Coins and Other Perks**: - Taking the power up route can provide a competitive advantage in amassing coins. - At game launch, the store will have a free training camp pack, gifting you two free training camp players. While they might not have a significant impact, they're still beneficial for beginners. In essence, leverage the various packs and choices provided by the game, combined with external resources, to optimize your team and gameplay. 13. **Primary Objective**: - Rapidly accumulate as many coins as possible. The early game period is a unique time to amass coins. 14. **Early Access Dynamics**: - On October 3rd, there's a significant influx of players likely to spend real money in the game, leading to an increased number of packs being pulled. - During the first week, the Auction House's supply usually exceeds available coins. This dynamic changes come October 6th with a full worldwide launch, where demand surges due to the influx of free-to-play players. - Mid-range to high-end base cards like Larkin, Matthews, and Pasternak might be available at a discount due to high supply and limited coins in circulation. - The cost of these cards will likely rise after the worldwide release when most players aren't opening as many packs. - Similarly, the demand for icons will skyrocket post-worldwide release. 15. **Rapid Coin Accumulation Strategy**: - Navigate to the objectives section. - Familiarize yourself with the daily, weekly, event objectives, and milestones. - Focus on the power-up icon and X-factor objectives. These objectives, part of the new Objectives 2.0 feature in NHL 24, allow for tracking specific in-game actions with particular cards. - For X-Factor objectives, tasks include winning face-offs, getting assists, taking snapshots, and scoring goals in specific manners. - By completing the X-Factor objectives, you can earn 87,500 coins. - Similarly, power-up icon objectives offer another 87,500 coins. - Collectively, by completing these objectives, players can accumulate an impressive 175,000 coins at the start, an unprecedented amount in previous HUT launches. The game dynamics during the early launch period combined with the new objective features offer an unparalleled opportunity to gather a substantial coinbase, giving you a strong starting position in HUT. Optimizing Early Game Experience in HUT: 16. **Initial Focus**: - Before diving deep into rivals or squad battles, spend time on HUT Moments. NHL 24 introduces this revamped feature to ensure players grasp the game's dynamics and earn rewards. 17. **HUT Moments Breakdown**: - **Training Camp Moments**: Primarily to acquaint you with the game. Completing this will reward you with a bronze player, three silver players, two XP collectibles, a customization pack, and four training camp collectibles. - **Kayle McCarr's Moments**: Slightly challenging, but the rewards include 5,000 coins, two silver players, an XP collectible, a gold player, and a premium pack. These should take approximately 30 minutes to finish. - **X-Factor Moments**: This section offers moments for each X-Factor in the game. Each moment rewards an X-Factor collectible and 1,000 coins (500 for each of the two stars). Completing all 38 moments grants an additional 38,000 coins and 38 X-Factor collectibles. Though some moments can be time-consuming, remember that objectives can be completed across multiple games. 18. **Utilizing Collectibles**: - Once the 38 X-Factor moments are completed, navigate to Sets and find the X-Factor Moments reward set. Redeeming this set offers an X-Factor Player Choice Pack, two Power-Up Collectibles, and a Player's Pack. 19. **Strategic Value of X-Factor Cards**: - Acquiring X-Factor cards early in the game offers a significant advantage. Players should ideally target Connor McDavid's X-Factor due to its god-tier rating and potential value during Team of the Year and Team of the Season events. - Having multiple X-Factors increases the efficiency of completing objectives. With two X-Factors contributing to stats every game, the time required to complete the X-Factor objectives is effectively halved. In summary, a strategic approach to HUT Moments in NHL 24 ensures that players can maximize rewards and gain a competitive edge, especially with the acquisition of valuable X-Factor cards. Maximizing Resources & Advancing in HUT: 20. **Power-Up Icons for Non-Preorders**: - For players who didn't preorder the game, power-up icons will be absent. To acquire them, head to Moments and select the 'ultimate moments'. Complete the six challenges, with some being on the superstar difficulty. One star suffices to get an icon collectible. - After gathering these collectibles, trade them in Sets to obtain the power up icon choice pack. The selection here should focus on either a favorite player or one that complements the target headliner. 21. **Emphasizing the Importance of Moments**: - Engaging in Moments not only brings in immediate rewards but also contributes to milestone objectives. - Upon finishing all Moments, players will have accomplished a minimum of 159 objectives. This translates to several packs and a total of 40,000 coins, further enhancing the game's value. 22. **Utilizing Collected Cards**: - **81 and Below Gold NHL Players**: Redirect these cards towards team builders. These cards, especially the 87 overalls, are more accessible this year. The reduced requirements (using six cards instead of eight) make the team builder sets more obtainable. While players should keep adding to these sets, they should also be prepared to buy the last few cards needed to finish the sets, especially when close to completion. - **Gold Non-NHL Players**: Use these for the icon trade-in. Given the structured choice packs, players can now more predictably work towards icons like Mario, Gretzky, or How. The long-term vision should be on these icons for regular players. - **X-Factors**: These are mainly for theme teams, except for high-value cards like Connor McDavid. - **Silver Players**: Don't stockpile these cards. Their value is minimal, so it's more prudent to use them in the Silver reroll set. This strategy might yield gold players, which are more valuable. **Final Recommendations**: In the early stages of HUT, a player's focus should be on maximizing resources. Investing time in Moments, smartly using collected cards, and having a long-term vision for iconic players will ensure the game remains engaging and rewarding. The emphasis on strategy over luck, especially with reduced gambling in choice packs, brings a fresh dimension to NHL 24's HUT experience. **Optimizing Squad Battles & Player Strategy in HUT**: 1. **Squad Battles**: - **Online vs. Offline**: Unless you're an elite player in the top 100-200, initially focus on Squad Battles rather than online competitive play. This allows you to develop a robust team to later tackle rivals effectively. - **Post-Moments Strategy**: With two X-Factors and a Power-Up Icon from the previous steps, you can move towards Squad Battles with a focus on achieving the 175,000 coins milestone. - **Playing Smart**: If you're savvy (or have ample free time), start a rookie game and target as many objectives as possible by massively running up the score. Following that, refresh the opponent and aim for a high squad battle score. Remember, a victory margin of five goals and 20+ shots on goal maximizes points. - **X-Factor Strategy**: Place X-Factors in the center position to fulfill face-off objectives quickly. This can be done even with wingers having low face-off ratings on rookie mode. 2. **XP Sets**: - Replacing the seasonal rewards from previous games, XP sets at launch have five levels. - Accumulate 27 XP collectibles to complete level five, which rewards you with an 84 overall team builder card. - This is advantageous for those who pre-ordered, as you're halfway to an 87 overall team builder. For specific guidance on team builders, refer to tier lists or advice videos. 3. **Post-Squad Battles Assessment**: - **Inventory**: You should have approximately 250,000 coins, exclusive of packs and players. Depending on your aspirations: - **Investment Strategy**: With a clear demand for gold players (particularly NHL gold players), they are prime investment opportunities. Purchase gold NHL players priced at or below 1,500 coins for both team building and potential future resale at higher prices. - **Team Enhancement**: If you're a free-to-play player focused on online gameplay, utilize the 250,000 coins to acquire superior cards. Enhance your squad and brace yourself for rivals and the first champs season. - **Theme Team**: Save coins for exclusive player cards, especially for players who infrequently receive upgrades. Acquiring these unique cards is essential since they become scarce once they're out of circulation. - **Hardcore Players**: The primary objective should be working towards team builders. All eight are highly valuable for competitive gameplay without costing exorbitant amounts. **Final Thoughts**: Engaging effectively in Squad Battles and making strategic decisions about players can substantially enhance your HUT experience. Whether your focus is investment, building a formidable team, or creating a unique theme team, the strategies outlined above will guide you in maximizing your rewards and enjoying the game.