NHL 22 Be A Pro: New Archetypes, X Factors, and Story upgrades shake up career mode


NHL 22 Be a Pro is available now for those with an EA Play subscription, giving players 10 hours of access to the game, which means 10 hours to push forward in your Be a Pro career mode!

With tons of new upgrades to the NHL 22 Be a Pro game mode, it's a great chance at a head start.

Here's everything you need to know about Be a Pro this year.

Latest - NHL 22 is LIVE via EA Play

The NHL 22 EA Play trial is now live, and offers 10 hours of unlimited access to the game.

That means players can push in 10 hours of Be a Pro gameplay now long before the full NHL 22 release date (October 12th for early access editions, October 15th for standard release).

Be a Pro is one of the best ways to spend your EA Play trial, as you'll get to hop right into customizing your player and enjoying the new story additions as well as X Factors and more!

Deep Dive highlights new story mode upgrades

If you were one of the many players frustrated that Be A Pro needed more depth to the story, you're in luck this year.

As revealed in the latest Deep Dive which you can watch below, Be A Pro is getting a flurry of additions that should take the story to the next level.

Over 300 new conversations have been added to the game, and there are now storylines that span multiple seasons and some even past 10 seasons, giving you true long-term challenges.

We also learned that your chosen Archetype will link to which Superstar X Factor Ability you are first able to unlock, and more can come after that first one is accessed.

NHL 22: Be A Pro returns

Be A Pro saw some improvements last year in NHL 21, and that will continue this year as the game mode is set to return in NHL 22.

Once again, players will be able to create their own hockey superstar and kick things off as a rookie before carving out a legacy in the NHL.

NHL 22 be a pro
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MAKE YOUR MARK: You'll be able to build a lasting legacy in Be A Pro

The RPG elements should be back, including storylines and a variety of dialogue options in different scenarios.

EA has stated that players can expect "fresh multi-season storylines and challenges" this year in Be A Pro, giving it the potential to be the best story mode the franchise has seen.

Career Mode looking to improve long-term story elements

While there were definitely upgrades in NHL 21 for Be A Pro and the story mode got some nods for that, it was also criticized for lacking in later seasons.

In a recent interview, NHL 22 lead producer Clement Kwong actually spoke about their plans for Be A Pro:

"We saw a big opportunity to really fill in that gap with new content, and challenges that take longer and have longer form," he said. "So, like, winning multiple division awards. You take a player like Pat Maroon these past couple of seasons, he’s probably living the dream as a player, winning multiple cups on multiple teams. That’s an example of something that we can now do in the mode."

So far, it looks like the team at EA Sports has heard the complaints of fans, and they're using that to make Be A Pro even better in NHL 22.

X Factors highlight this year's new features

Easily the most anticipated and hyped of all the new features coming to NHL 22 is Superstar X Factor abilities, and they'll be a key part of Be A Pro as well.

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UNLOCK YOUR X FACTOR: Become truly elite in Be A Pro

As you work your way through Be A Pro and upgrade your player in NHL 22, you'll be able to earn X Factor abilities and complete long-term challenges to unlock them.

This will add to the experience both on the ice and the RPG challenges of working towards that game-changing ability as a reward.

For more articles like this, take a look at our NHL page.