NBA 2K21 Shooting Difficulty Toned Down with Hotfix

Update: (7th September): The NBA 2K21 shooting hotfix has been released as promised, reducing the difficulty on Rookie, Pro, and All-Star. Gameplay in the Neighborhood and higher difficulties has been left untouched. Have you noticed any improvement to your game?

Update (5th September): 2K Sports has been listening to feedback regarding NBA 2K21’s tougher shooting system, and it’ll be releasing a hotfix for Rookie, Pro, and All-Star difficulty tiers tomorrow, 6th September. While the update will tweak the aforementioned tiers, the Neighborhood and higher difficulties will remain the same. “Hope this helps the newcomers,” the official account said. “Keep the feedback coming.”

Original Story: NBA 2K21 has made shooting harder – a lot harder. It’s all anyone in the game’s community is talking about this weekend – including cover star Damian Lillard. Writing on Twitter, the Portland Trail Blazers point guard asked his fans if he was the only one struggling with the title’s revised shot meter. It turns out he’s not alone.

Reddit is filled with posts from veteran players who couldn’t get a basket if their life depended on it. Take a look at these wild stats from the 2K Beach, where one player managed to make two three-pointers from 31 attempts. In all, both sets of players managed just 20 field goals from over 120 attempts!

There are so many people struggling that gameplay director Mike Wang has taken to Twitter to share some tips. He points out that perfect “green releases” are harder this year, and urges fans to be patient. He adds that players can turn off the Shot Meter for a boost if they’re using the Square button to shoot, or they can use the L2 button for optimal shot timing on the Pro Stick. From what we understand so far, it works a little bit like Active Reload in games such as Gears of War.

Of course, there’s an argument to be made that not everyone has earned their Badges yet, so naturally the gameplay is going to be more difficult than NBA 2K20, where players would have significantly levelled up their builds by the end of the year. Others feel that the increased Skill Gap is going to lead to more competitive matches moving forwards, so it’ll be interesting to see whether 2K Sports is tempted to balance things or not.

Despite the difficult shooting, you can get the best possible start to your basketball career by following our NBA 2K21: Best Builds for MyPlayer and MyCareer guide. Also, for some early game bonuses, check out our All NBA 2K21 Locker Codes guide.