EA Sports has invested heavily in its Ultimate Team modes in the past decade, as they are hardcore moneymakers for games like NHL 23, FIFA 23, and Madden 23. With the release of NHL 23, another season of Hockey Ultimate Team arrives, bringing some familiar elements along with some brand-new aspects that players hope will make it feel fresh and new. For players jumping in to Hockey Ultimate Team for the first time, there are some things that every player should know to give them the best chance to have success and fun in the mode.
Hockey Ultimate Team in NHL 23 features the chance for players to build their dream teams comprised of the best players in the world. Teams can be made up of current NHL players and legends from the past, as well as international players and even players in the Canadian junior leagues for those that love keeping up with prospects. Fans earn new players by completing challenges or winning games to get more coins or packs, or by buying HUT points in the store with real-world money.
Build The Ultimate Team
When players first jump into NHL 23's HUT, they will get a starter team filled with base-level players to get them going in the mode and start playing games and completing challenges. Getting better players is the name of the game in HUT, and one of the best ways to do that when the player's team is low rated is to complete challenges. Challenges are short, team-based objectives that pit the player's HUT team against a CPU controlled team with three objectives, with each of them awarding one star when completed. If enough stars are earned, new challenges are unlocked that include rewards such as player packs, coins, and items like jerseys and goaltender helmets.
Another way to get a good start in Ultimate Team with a low-rated club is to jump into some HUT Rush games, which have two different variations at launch. HUT Rush gives players a high-rated team captain, then has them draft that player's line mates from some of the best players in NHL 23 to fill out a squad that will take on CPU-controlled teams in short games. Accumulate points by doing more skill-based actions like dekes, hits, one-timers, and more, and rack up millions of points over each season's duration to earn packs, coins, and items to add to the HUT roster.
The best players in NHL 23 HUT that fans can get their hands on are the X-Factor players, which can be upgraded using coins, collectibles, and base set cards. Only the best players in the NHL get X-Factor cards, and they are incredibly expensive in the HUT Exchange marketplace, making pulling one out of a pack a huge stroke of good luck and something to be celebrated. As an example, the X-Factor version of Connor McDavid starts at 79 Overall but can be upgraded to 88 Overall, and sells in the Auction House for over one million HUT coins, making him the most valuable card in the game at launch.
For the first time ever, women's players are now in NHL 23 and Hockey Ultimate Team, and it is nice to see the mode filled with a lot more great players from around the world. Not only is it good that professional women's hockey players are being recognized in NHL 23, but the inclusion of women in NHL 23 creates many more potential line and chemistry combinations for players, meaning that teams will look different from each other and result in less of a situation where many teams have mostly the same players.
When it's time to jump online and play other players, HUT Rivals is the mode of choice and will give players the opportunity to play some qualifying games before placing them in a division where they will be matched against players of a similar skill level. Completing games will earn a player Rank Points for their HUT team, and the more points they earn throughout the week, the better the rewards are at the end of the weekly competition. Since it is online play, it is more competitive, and players will want to have their best NHL 23 HUT team lineup in place for these games.
NHL 23 is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
