Well - I tried.

Props to all you H2H players out there.

I've got all the offline objectives completed I need/want to.  In a moment of thinking "why not?" I burned 50K coins to take a stab at Gauntlet, foolishly hoping I might get lucky and have a shot

It took one series on defense and one on offense before I had to concede.

Beyond my theme team probably being ill equipped to face my first opponent I really don't have the skill/ability to play H2H.

On the plus side, I did make one 1st down on offense

Defensively though I got torched.  Opponents ran past my DBs like they weren't even there.  I don't believe it was stem route glitching either given that the routes appeared to be streaks/fades

I'll stick to offline

PaulieV said:

Props to all you H2H players out there.

I've got all the offline objectives completed I need/want to.  In a moment of thinking "why not?" I burned 50K coins to take a stab at Gauntlet, foolishly hoping I might get lucky and have a shot

It took one series on defense and one on offense before I had to concede.

Beyond my theme team probably being ill equipped to face my first opponent I really don't have the skill/ability to play H2H.

On the plus side, I did make one 1st down on offense

Defensively though I got torched.  Opponents ran past my DBs like they weren't even there.  I don't believe it was stem route glitching either given that the routes appeared to be streaks/fades

I'll stick to offline

I’m a little better but not much so don’t worry

In the past I played a good amount of H2H...was never good (maybe win 60%ish of the time) and had a miserable time for the most part.  With the way EA has it set up thus far this year (not needing to play H2H to max out passes) I see no reason why I will subject myself to it.  When I did play H2H I had to spend money to maintain a competitive team as my skills were not going to carry me...with Solos and Solo Seasons thus far...my NMS team has been more then up to the challenge and the games are kinda fun (sometimes).

nymets945 said:

I’m a little better but not much so don’t worry

I usually try once or twice a year.  Jumping right into Gauntlet was probably a mistake but I'd really like to add Hunter Henry to my squad and that's the only way.  I'll just have to wait for his next upgrade.

von11 said:

In the past I played a good amount of H2H...was never good (maybe win 60%ish of the time) and had a miserable time for the most part.  With the way EA has it set up thus far this year (not needing to play H2H to max out passes) I see no reason why I will subject myself to it.  When I did play H2H I had to spend money to maintain a competitive team as my skills were not going to carry me...with Solos and Solo Seasons thus far...my NMS team has been more then up to the challenge and the games are kinda fun (sometimes).

I've actually enjoyed Solo Seasons - I like that the games are only two quarters.  I can jump in, knock out a few games, get my daily objectives and be done with it.

Also, now that all opponents in Solo Battles are available day one, there is no sense of urgency to play them all as soon/quickly as possible.

Like I said in my previous post, I really would like to add Henry to the squad and Gauntlet is the only way.  More than happy now to just wait out his next upgrade.

PaulieV said:

I've actually enjoyed Solo Seasons - I like that the games are only two quarters.  I can jump in, knock out a few games, get my daily objectives and be done with it.

Also, now that all opponents in Solo Battles are available day one, there is no sense of urgency to play them all as soon/quickly as possible.

Like I said in my previous post, I really would like to add Henry to the squad and Gauntlet is the only way.  More than happy now to just wait out his next upgrade.

100% agree on Solo Seasons...I like them a ton.  I also really like they release all the Solo Battles so I can play my 11 on Saturday and Sunday and then just spend time on challenges and Solo Seasons the rest of the week.  This to me is one (well two) of the best things EA has done in some time.

The Gauntlet is the most competitive mode right now. You jumped right into the deepest of deep ends. Don't let that scare you away from H2H completely.

Start out in something like House Rules that's far less competitive and the games are quick. Even if you're outmatched and lose, you can jump right back in another one.

Staff Rocketz said:

The Gauntlet is the most competitive mode right now. You jumped right into the deepest of deep ends. Don't let that scare you away from H2H completely.

Start out in something like House Rules that's far less competitive and the games are quick. Even if you're outmatched and lose, you can jump right back in another one.

Even Champs would have been better than going straight to Gauntlet.

Staff Rocketz said:

The Gauntlet is the most competitive mode right now. You jumped right into the deepest of deep ends. Don't let that scare you away from H2H completely.

Start out in something like House Rules that's far less competitive and the games are quick. Even if you're outmatched and lose, you can jump right back in another one.

Appreciate the encouragement.  Part of me knew Gauntlet was going to be over my head  but I had to give it a try.

I've done some house rules and seasons in the past.  It's always been a challenge for me.   I basically just try to line up and play.  I'm not very knowledgeable about adjustments, hot routes and all those things.  

I pick a few formations/sets/plays out of my books at the beginning of the year - run through them in practice and work on them. 

When I play H2H I tend to play the same as vs the CPU and it just doesn't work.

I could probably get better if I put in some work but I'm at the point now where I don't want/have the time and ambition to make that effort.

I'm good with staying offline

Staff Rocketz said:

The Gauntlet is the most competitive mode right now. You jumped right into the deepest of deep ends. Don't let that scare you away from H2H completely.

Start out in something like House Rules that's far less competitive and the games are quick. Even if you're outmatched and lose, you can jump right back in another one.

This is sound advice. H2H is a cesspool but it's varying to degrees. A less competitive H2H mode to get his feet wet should've been the first move.

I wouldn’t jump into any game mode that has a reward tied to it. You’re running into wallet teams running the most up to date ebooks they can find. You can compete but madden pre abilities is pretty much pay to win as the faster team has the clear advantage.

My record in H2H is probably 25- 350. I just keep trying. There is a lot of luck involved. Also, I am a terrible kicker. Don't give up.

Thanks to all for the replies, advice and encouragement.   Very much appreciated

I think the thing with the Gauntlet is, its at worst  a 20K investment. I think even 0 wins gets you 30K back. But yea, I played 1 game, i got kickoff cheesed, and then cooked so I didn't bother lol.