MLB The Show 16 Tips: Analog Hitting Introduction

MLB The Show 16 finally has re-introduced the stride back into the for pure analog hitting. In this brief Pure Analog Hitting Introduction, I will talk about the changes made to this year’s Pure analog Hitting and give you a few pointers as well.

Obviously the biggest addition to thais year’s pure analog hitting is the re-addition of the stride mechanism. Last year in MLB 15 The Show, SDS decided to take it out to due to the small percentage of users using the analog hitting. However, after talking to the community the general consesus was that the pure analog hitters were greatly disappointed. So it was a smart decision of SDS to finally implement in this feature back in. The stride is back, but you can also still use the “flick” feature that was only used for MLB 15 The Show for Pure Analog Hitting. Now lets talk about how to use stride feature effectively.

When using stride there are some differences in previous iterations of MLB The Show. In this year’s game, there is no working feedback for stride. This means that the timing of your stride really means nothing. In the past it could give you small bonuses and you could also get punished for striding too early or too late. Now it does nothing is generally just there for aesthetic purposes.

To change swing type for stride you simply press either square, x, or circle before the pitcher starts the wind up. If you have vibration on you will feel a slight vibration when you change your swing type. If you do not press any buttons then you will just be using the normal swing (x).

Now for the flick feature in pure analog hitting it works the same as last year. To power swing, you have to move the RS down then up (similar to striding) before swinging and to contact swing you need to swipe the stick all the way to the left or right when swinging. For normal swing you just flick up towards either the left or right. Keep in mind with contact swing, you can only contact swing to the left or right and never really down the middle, which is a huge flaw in the system.

Remember, regardless if you are using stride or flick when swinging you have to move the analog either up, up and to the right, or up and to the left towards the pitch. A lot of players do not realize that you control the horizontal placement of your PCI by swinging up and either to the right, left, or middle pending on where the pitch is. You also bunt with triangle still for both hitting techniques.

This interface, skill level wise, is in between directional and zone as far as how much influence users can have on their PCI placement. As for skill level required, I would also say its in between both zone and directional. Overall, this interface is a medium risk and medium reward concept. You have little influence on the PCI’s verticality, but you do have more control compared to an interface like directional.

Lastly, keep in mind attributes still play a moderate factor on pure analog hitting. Contact and plate vision will have a big influence on whether or not your PCI is on the ball, regardless of your input. Again, this interface is in between zone (which relies more on user’s inputs than attributes) and directional (relies more on attributes than user’s input). If you like directional but a little more influence on your hits or if you like zone but feel a bit too overwhelmed then definitely give this interface a try!

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