MyCAREER 2K20

[ThePointForward]

Basically in the beginning it's slow, but once you hit roughly 90 OVR you stop having issues with VC and start having issues with MyPoints (XP).

There's a lot of opportunities to earn VC via endorsements too, it's not that terrible. It's just that you're not competitive online until you grind a lot.

[Andrew]

They also ended up nerfing the salary in one of the early patches. If you play through the story, you can get up to 750 VC per game. If you skip it, you'll always get 500 VC per game. The Badge grind is definitely lengthier. It doesn't take too long to get to around 80 Overall, by which point you can generally dominate offline, and are reasonably capable online as well, as long as you've earned a few Badges. The price of upgrades, premium animations, and cosmetic items does make the salary seem less impressive, but as ThePointForward said, through your Teammate Grade and endorsements, there are other opportunities to earn VC. It's also worth spinning the Daily Prize Wheel, as it can sometimes grant you VC, as well as other boosts and bonuses.

From a gameplay standpoint, not much has changed as far as the controls. However, Badges play a much bigger role in your success. They're earned by gaining XP in four main areas (Finishing, Shooting, Playmaking, Defense), as opposed to having to perform specific tasks as in previous games (such as making a bunch of floaters to level up that Badge). NBA 2K20 has opened things up where you can choose your own Badges according to the build you create. Note that the number of Badge upgrades available to your build also includes upgrading Badges from Bronze all the way to Hall of Fame.

For example, if you can earn 19 Defensive Badge upgrades with your chosen build, you won't be able to have a total of 19 Defensive Badges unless you keep them all at the Bronze level (which is less effective). Some of those upgrades will be spent increasing those key skills to the Silver, Gold, and Hall of Fame level so that they can be as effective as possible. In other words, in this example, you'll have 19 chances to pick Badges, and then further upgrade them; it's not a case of being able to select 19 Badges and max them all out at Hall of Fame.

[ThePointForward]

Right, best thing from the daily wheel is basically the 40 games worth of skill boosts.

[Andrew]

Having hit it a few times now, I don't think I've ever dropped below having 80 or so on hand. Unfortunately it maxes out at 99 so if you get another 40 while having 60 or more it won't completely stack, but as I said, I've found my supply regularly replenished thanks to daily spins.

[Breems]

I'm enjoying MyCAREER for the most part. The story was pretty shallow but much less cringey than Livin' Da Dream. The amount of cutscenes before/after games drives me nuts because I can't tell when a cutscene is part of the story vs. a long, boring walk back to the locker room. Gameplay is superb, and they've fixed a lot of teammate grade issues I experienced in 2K16. At 67 OVR, my team (Magic) and I suck pretty bad, but we're getting better now that I've turned PlayVision on.

The most infuriating thing so far is the Internet requirement. When my PS4 enters rest mode, 2K20 always loses connection, so I lose any progress I haven't saved. I guess I'll have to make sure I've finished drills/games before stopping or just leave my PS4 on permanently.

[Andrew]

The best thing they did was remove the "Allowed Opponent to Score" deduction. The Teammate Grade logic still punishes more than it rewards and it's got some lingering issues, but it's better than it used to be. Once you get the minutes, it's not too difficult to constantly get A+ grades, and the healthy VC bonus that comes along with that.

[Breems]

The best thing they did was remove the "Allowed Opponent to Score" deduction. The Teammate Grade logic still punishes more than it rewards and it's got some lingering issues, but it's better than it used to be. Once you get the minutes, it's not too difficult to constantly get A+ grades, and the healthy VC bonus that comes along with that.

Agree. I also don't miss the "Shot Blocked" deduction when I'm trying to draw a foul.

[Breems]

Also, any idea if the online requirement means MY CAREER won't be available once 2K shuts down the 2K20 servers? If that's the case, I'll definitely stop playing now.

[Andrew]

Ah yes, getting rid of the "Shot Blocked" deduction was another great move.

I'm not sure if there's an offline version of NBA 2K20 anymore. NBA 2K14-17 let you play the mode as normal, except with Skill Points replacing VC. NBA 2K18 has a bare bones version without the story when you're offline (and now that the servers are shut down). I've heard that it isn't available at all offline in NBA 2K19 and possibly NBA 2K20 as well, but I haven't tested it as yet.

[Breems]

I also saw that when the 2K18 servers were shut down, you had to restart with a new player to even play the barebones version. All indications point to the same (and probably worse) treatment for 2K20.

That news marks the end of my short journey. Definitely not going to grind a player that I can never pick up again in a couple years, especially since I only buy 2K every five years or so. Such a greedy shame.

Learned my lesson trying out the new games again. Back to NBA Live 06 as always

[Andrew]

That's right. NBA 2K17 was the last game where you could convert an online save into an offline one. Unfortunately I'd uninstalled the game when the servers were shut down, and there's data I needed to sync before I'd be able to convert my main save on PS4, so that game is locked and lost forever.

[Breems]

I asked 2K to confirm and got the expected non-answer:

We appreciate your interest in keeping playing 2K20 in the far future and wanting to stay in the know!

While we currently don't have any info on this, I recommend staying tuned to @2K on Twitter and our blog for all announcements related to the game.

I found a Reddit post detailing how offline features have dwindled over the years, so I may grab 2K14 instead so I can have a full experience. The grind in 2K16 is fairly slow, and you apparently can't upgrade badges.

OK, I'll stop my grumpy old man skit in this thread now.

[Andrew]

I'm guessing you can assign them with external editing though, so there's always that. If they're going to remove functionality and make it an even worse grind once the mode goes offline, then cheating to a reasonable extent arguably isn't really cheating.

That Reddit post is definitely illuminating. It just goes to show how retro gaming has become less and less feasible this generation.