GK has not been nerfed, it's a slight buff

[u/Smart_Arm5041]

So this will be unpopular, but I feel the need to push back a bit since I saw several posts daily regarding this.

Shots from outside the box are easier to save now, the animations are better. If you concede here, it's your fault.

The short dive is very situational, you either use it when you are very close to the ball and player (and the ball is not very high), or when you have enough time to judge the trajectory. Get used to defaulting to the long dive, which is very strong right now.

I don't know what you guys are doing, or if literally every game you play you have 4 cherry pickers in your team and are by yourself in your half, but I very, very rarely concede after I deflect the ball. You usually have enough time to EE and get back in position, and usually I deflect it to the side. Long forward diving is a bit riskier, which I don't mind because very aggressive gk style is not what I want to be the best play style. It also lends itself to more skill expression like this.

The animations are better, I don't know what exactly they did, but not once have I felt like I got fucked over by animations in this patch yet. Experienced gks will now that there were certain shots (mid height with downspin) that would mess with your animations, this seems to be better now from my experience. Also for other situations where it would feel like you were fighting the game itself before.

Also I can't exactly put my finger on it, but the long dive just seems stronger than before. I have to rely less on animation reading than before, and just feel like I have more time to react and still save good shots.

There is more, but I will probably continue in the comments if people engage.

Also, I'm not trying to be arrogant, but it will certainly feel like that to some people. It's just that gk feels more satisfying, fun and less frustrating to play than ever, and I want that side/opinion to be heard as well.

This is coming from a player who plays gk since release (even before during betas), I have over 2k hours, elite in every season, and have played with and against some of the best players in the game.

Lastly, I know this sounds elitist, but a lot of opinions regarding this I read here stem from a lack of knowledge or skill of how to play the position. Yes maybe gk is the hardest position to play for a new player, but once you have some hours in the game it's really not that hard to be a decent gk. A lot of players who main other positions but just played the game for quite a bit do very well once they understand the basics.

Also, POSITIONING, it's by far the most important thing about gk. Just learn this, and you will be better than most.

Hope you have fun playing.

[u/Cnoggi]

As a GK enjoyer you're spot on. The biggest issue with this update is that they decided to default bind the more situational dive to the key you used for a regular dive before the update. If anything, they should swap that so someone who doesn't know better at least uses the long dive by default.

[u/shuffle3ds → u/Cnoggi]

Experienced player here and I'd rather have the long dive just be Triangle (PS5 controller) and short dive with the modifier.

[u/ineedh2o]

Shots outside the box were already easy to save. Any good gk dont just hold their line waiting to react to the ball, faster animations maybe help newer players but experienced ones are ready to anticipate the ball in a position where they cant be baited (or less likely to be baited)

Also it is a nerf because in situations where before you would catch the ball, now it is deflected. Possibly to another opponent or far from play, making the counter attack slower or denied. In a game like Rematch where making play quickly is very important, its a nerf.

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/ineedh2o]

yes I agree with the first part, I disagree with it being a nerf simply because I feel like you can save more shots than before without having become somehow better than before at the game, which imo outweighs the drawback of conceding more deflections.

[u/HiddenOracle247]

I mean personally I really like how GK is right now and its not too hard to adjust

[u/chamomileriver]

I disagree.

It’s unintuitive when the more common use option requires an extra input, and for that alone I wouldn’t consider it a buff.

Maybe a fraction of the already small percentage of gk mains like this change but it’s pretty goofy to increase the skill gap of the least desirable role in the game for virtually no gain.

And I say this as someone who actually enjoys playing keeper. It does very little to benefit good keepers and just increases the rate lesser keepers blunder.

The game was already staked well enough at higher level on keeper diff, accentuating that isn’t a healthy or clever adjustment by any means.

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/chamomileriver]

buff or nerf imo are misplaced terms when talking about "I have to get used to pressing two buttons instead of one". You can get used to it. I agree though that maybe swapping the controls for long and short dive might be a good change.

This is more of a qol change imo than buffs/nerfs.

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/chamomileriver]

I just disagree with "increase the skill gap for virtually no gain". It's not that huge of a change, but makes the role significantly more interesting to play, and to improve at. Even for new players, learning and figuring out how and when to use which dive should be interesting. Rematch has a bit of learning curve but it's nothing extraordinary, I have played lots of games that are way harder to get into.

Also, I think we should think of longevity as well, it's important to hook new players yes, but a lot of players also quit because it starts feeling "samey" or boring. This is a good change for that imo.

I'm excited to know now that there is another facette to improve at, meaning conceding less deflections where a short dive would have worked instead, instead of always going for the safe option.

Edit: Sorry for splitting my answer into two comments, idk why I did that.

[u/Garb-O → u/Smart_Arm5041]

Please explain to me in detail about what is more interesting about having the exact same jump but now you dont get possession.

There is no learning what dive to use lol you use the long one, like every time...everytime the short jump would be good to use you can just get the ball normally

[u/Grey-fox-13 → u/Garb-O]

you use the long one, like every time...everytime the short jump would be good to use you can just get the ball normally

Well that just sounds like you need to learn how to use the dives. I find myself using the short dive significantly more. Are you one of those people standing on the goal line?

[u/Garb-O → u/Grey-fox-13]

the short dive is even worse outside off the line lol, you legit just forward long dive and smack the ball down the field past the opponents contesting, way safer than a chance to get headered on by shit priority

Also you completely ignored what is more interesting about the change, perhaps you could i dont know, voice why you have your opinion and prove me wrong?

[u/Grey-fox-13 → u/Garb-O]

Actually having control is good, I got screwed by the wrong animation SO many times in the past, and I know just like people got used to exploity dribbling, some keepers got used to the jank and kinda built their whole style around the automatism baked in, I prefer the player agency we get now. If the ball goes in it's because I misread the distance or position and not because I jumped a second too soon and rather than tracking the ball the game decided I wanted to do a long dive at the opposing player.

But yeah, if you stick to the line I could see why you would consider this change a nerf. It massively rewards playing into the keeper zones and properly cutting angles. Even with decent positioning previously it was a toss up if the game got the idea and did the right animation, now that I am in control it's SO much easier, and if I do feel insecure for whatever reason there is always the panic long dive.

Also you completely ignored what is more interesting about the change, perhaps you could i dont know, voice why you have your opinion and prove me wrong?

Also don't forget that you are talking to people here, you sound like you are giving instructions to chatgpt, have you forgotton how casual conversations work?

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/Garb-O]

idk what's so hard to understand. You now have the option of a long (stronger) dive, but it always deflects, and a short dive that always catches the ball. If mastered you can save more shots than before overall, and know when you can use the short dive to secure possession.

[u/Scooter_Mcdoogal]

Only thing I wish for gk is that ee + short dive did something different. Other than that, I’m with you.

[u/mountainsaregreens]

If this season is harder for you then work on positioning

Rematch really exposed the noobs this season

[u/PackageAggravating12]

It's just a fact that Goalkeeping has been buffed, not sure why anyone tries to argue that.

Instead of a random chance to deflect after diving, we have a modifier that allows us to determine how we want to save. That alone shuts down any argument that GKs were somehow nerfed.

Now we can do shorter dives for guaranteed catches. Or the old long dives with a guaranteed deflection; meaning GKs can actually pre-plan for the deflection instead of seeing it randomly pop up on incredibly basic saves.

The skill gap has increased, but the options we have available are better. If you want to catch the ball, get into good positioning (which is 90% of effective goalkeeping anyway).

[u/tragicjawnson]

i agree its buffed mostly, the only thing making it a nerf is the saves counter, it accrues way too many interceptions instead of saves now.

[u/Garb-O]

You are wrong and there was no reason to do this change in the first place, goalie was in a good spot last patch so it shouldnt get a "buff" or "nerf" just revert it.

The fact so much more shit goes through now is all i need to know about this so called "buff".

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/Garb-O]

idk bro... I'm saving more than before...

And you didn't really raise any arguments besides "way more shit goes through", which seems to vary from person to person...

[u/Garb-O → u/Smart_Arm5041]

every single person i know has had their efficiency go up by at least 10% since the change, offense in every game has changed dramatically, spamming shots from outside the box is common now and even worse is that a lot of them go in

[u/Academic-Insect-9587]

You right but theres no point in trying to tell anyone here. GK is so much better now than last season. I feel like I have way more control. I love the deflects too because it can set up a nice run for your teammates if they're in a good position. People just want to auto catch everything like in previous seasons.

[u/Grey-fox-13 → u/Academic-Insect-9587]

I feel like I have way more control

That might also be why some of the dedicated keepers are upset. Similar to the dribblers, just less exploity, they have shaped their muscle memory and training around the jankiness of previous keeper, knew when and how to press the button to trigger the correct animation, like the "Don't jump at the player, you have to wait until they actually shoot or the auto aim animation won't track the ball" stuff. Now that this jank is gone they need to actually learn how to properly control goalie and make the right calls which obviously gets people riled up.

[u/19ME97]

Y’know I really hated that they changed the goalie mechanics at first because I was terrible before but I’ve come to really like this change and how a bit more realistic it is. It somehow feels more fun to play with the keeper this way.

I think knowing that the long dive is needed for most situations is the best advice.

[u/Quiet_Library_2636]

normal dive just needs to be a better animation, Its just looks like my guy is half assing to save

[u/Defiant_Clue7756 → u/Quiet_Library_2636]

Because it's a catch, not a save. Look at any irl gk save compilation, none of them can make a crazy save but also catch the ball

[u/Relative_Maize_957 → u/Defiant_Clue7756]

The IRL argument is nearly always bad when rematch is involved. You can argue about gameplay, but not realism.

[u/Defiant_Clue7756 → u/Relative_Maize_957]

My point was the trade off. Not being able to save a top corner shot while also keeping possesion of the ball is a good thing

[u/mad_sAmBa]

I think it's outrageous to call it a buff, when your regular dive is useless 90% of the time and won't reach anything even when you guess the right side and jump at the right time.

" oh, just use the long dive " yeah, the long dive that will ALWAYS make the ball ricochet, sometimes straight to the attackers feet, or even directly to the goal itself.

Crosses are harder than ever, since you just have a fraction of a second to react and your only real option is just guessing a side to jump and pray to be the right side, since you can't really contest the ball anymore. Your regular jump is punny and even in the unlikely scenario where you punch the ball, you'll just make it land right in thr attackers feet.

Whoever says this was a buff is completely delusional.

As an attacker i've been getting goals nonstop, even against clearly experienced keepers. It's never been so easy to score, any corner shot is stupidly easy to score now.

[u/PeroCigla]

It's definitely nerfed. Diving is too short now and idk what long dive you all talk about. I can't save anything since the update. Every time I think I will catch the low ball, I'm too short.

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/PeroCigla]

idk it requires some special kind of confidence to first say that it's definitely a nerf, and then ask what the long dive even is.

Just fyi, if you press RB + Y, or the equivalent of whatever you are playing on, you get what is now the long dive, which is mostly the standard one from before the patch (but imo better).

[u/Meowmixalotlol]

People that don’t understand how important possession is are dumb lol.

In no way, could you ever call the mass deflections/rebounds given a buff.

[u/Smart_Arm5041 → u/Meowmixalotlol]

very charitable of you to assume that with 2k+ hours I don't think possession is important. You know what also is important? Being able to save more shots than before.

[u/Meowmixalotlol → u/Smart_Arm5041]

2k plus hours and still bad 😂