NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Play The Prelude and Negotiate Well
The MyCareer mode in NBA 2K19 has received several minor and major changes. While the core gameplay loop is similar to last year’s, some quality of life changes and an increase in VC earnings has made it more enjoyable overall. To get the best possible experience, it’s best to maximize what the game has to over so you can get your MyPlayer in peak condition.
One of the most important things you need to do is to finish the Prelude story arc. NBA 2K19 has quite a lengthy Prelude story titled The Way Back, which lasts around three to four hours. While this is one of the better MyCareer stories done by developer Visual Concepts, some players might prefer to head straight to the NBA. Doing this is ill-advised if you want to land on a good team with a sizeable VC income, enough play time on the court, and a decent multiplier for your teammate grade.
Play as best as you can during the Prelude to capture the attention of top teams. Choose the team that gives you the best pay grade and teammate grade multiplier so you can rake in some VCs fast. You can always place a counteroffer with the respective teams if their terms don’t satisfy you, with each team usually giving you over two times of back and forth negotiations to settle the deal. However, don’t get too greedy as they can shun you on the first counteroffer, so make sure to adjust the sliders in moderation. If your desired team cuts the deal, you can simply force close the game and boot up MyCareer again to retry everything from scratch.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Gradually increase the difficulty
In previous games in the series, increasing the difficulty setting in MyCareer is one of the easiest ways to increase your VC earnings. However, you might want to hold off from doing that right away with NBA 2K19. This year, the base difficulty setting is now set at PRO, which is a step up from Rookie difficulty. Worse, Rookie difficulty is inaccessible in this year’s MyCareer. Coupled with the game’s improved AI and your low player attributes, you will definitely have a tough time during your first few matches in the NBA league.
With the increased base difficulty level, you definitely want to stick with the PRO difficulty at first until you have increased your attributes and gotten used to the new on-court improvements. Gradually increase the difficulty as you improve your game to reap the sweet VC difficulty multiplier per match.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Choose your archetype wisely
In NBA 2K19, you can’t create the perfect NBA star. This means you need to carefully decide how you want to play on the court and pick which attributes you want most. Once you’ve finished creating your MyPlayer, the only thing you can change is his physical appearance.
Each attribute has a ceiling dependent on your archetype combination, player position, weight, height, and wingspan. Essentially, the attribute cap for multiple stats will increase or decrease accordingly as you make changes. Thankfully, NBA 2K19 has made a great quality of life update that allows you to inspect your attribute cap at any point in the character creation process. Always bring up the attributes menu whenever you make some adjustments to your character’s traits so you can see if the changes you’ve made are leaning to your favor. You can also consult our archetypes guide for a few build recommendations.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Increase your Turbo Boost
Are you always running out of turbo boost during a match? Well, you should definitely consider heading to the Gatorade Training Facility and performing some activities to earn the Gatorade boost. With the Gatorade boost active, you will get an additional turbo boost in each NBA game, allowing you to sprint more often or perform intense defense without breaking down. Simply perform three gym exercises to get your Gatorade boost.
If you’re short on time, you can simply purchase a Gatorade in the gym with VC. This isn’t recommended, considering that it’s quite costly and will take away from your resources for improving your character’s attributes. Moreover, exercising in the gym will give you a few points to unlock attribute caps.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Maximize your VC in The Neighborhood
NBA 2K19 has added a few extra ways you can earn VC fast in NBA 2K19, which actually feel like a free-to-play game in nature. For starters, there’s a Daily Spin in the Ante-Up building located in The Neighborhood. Spin the wheel on a daily basis for a chance to earn some cosmetic items, fans, VC, or others.
There are also Daily Rewards, which require you to accomplish the requirements for the day to get the prize. Daily Rewards oftentimes net you either VC or points for breaking your attribute cap. Other ways to earn quick VC in The Neighborhood include the trivia or dodgeball matches.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Get more fans for the best endorsements
In NBA 2K19, reaching a certain amount of fans will net you some endorsements. The first few endorsements provide a one-time endorsement paycheck. Once you reach the upper endorsement tiers, you can partner with popular brands to earn a steady stream of VC through appearance events. For example, getting the Gatorade endorsement gives you the chance to earn over a few hundred or thousands of VC per match, a performance incentive based of your choice, and free Gatorade Boosts.
So, how do you get more fans to reach the better endorsements? Simply perform a few highlight plays, score some buzzer beaters, play to the fans, earn a triple-double, and get 50 points in a single game, among others. You should also consider spicing up your offensive moves so you can get over 1,000 fans for each highlight play.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Practice your badges
In NBA 2K19, you can now head straight to the team practice facility after each NBA match instead of being directed first to The Neighborhood. This means there’s only one loading screen you need to face before you can work on your badges.
Badges are highly useful for earning a huge boost on your abilities for specific situations on the court. For example, the mid-range and deep range deadeye badges can help you nail contested jump shots. You can unlock or level your badges by performing badge-specific moves during a match or in the practice court, and the latter one allows you to work on your moves to your heart’s content without costing the game. You get to engage in a total of four training drills after each NBA match, so make sure you always remember to head to the practice facility.
Team practices will also automatically trigger in the practice court every now and then. While you can skip these activities, you should definitely reconsider because you can level any of your badges during these sessions by performing badge-specific moves.
NBA 2K19: MyCareer Tips and Tricks
Be a team player
In NBA 2K19, being a good teammate will earn you a few extra VC credits. This applies to any match with your MyPlayer, such as the MyPark and even the slam ball matches in the Cages. If you’ve negotiated for a decent multiplier for your contract with your NBA team, you can earn a decent sum of VC in every match, provided that you maintain a good teammate grade for the duration of the match.
Some of the ways you can see a huge increase in your teammate grade include performing assists, rebounds, screen assists, and blocks. Simple actions such as good ball passing will even increase your teammate grade. Aside from performing well on the court, you should also avoid committing mistakes as it can lower your teammate grade faster than it took to increase the rating. For example, turnovers and allowing your matchup to get an open look at the basketball will result in a huge decrease in your rating.
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