The fourth season of NBA 2K22‘s MyCareer mode has now begun and players are already packing into the Rec gym to quickly ascend levels so they can reach the ultimate goal of level 40. This season’s Hunt 4 Glory theme on next-gen systems is highlighted by the final level prize being a pet tiger that will accompany you around The City as you go about all of your hooping business. Considering how everyone is bound to have different tastes, some may find this to be a silly and frivolous reward for such a lofty achievement, while others might look at the idea of channeling Mike Tyson in The Hangover (or Mike Tyson in real life, for that matter) by having their very own tiger to be kind of cool.
Whether or not you want that tiger, most people would agree that there’s plenty of room for improvement when it comes to the other level prizes leading up to 40. There might be a few levels where you’ll look forward to claiming the reward (looking at you, go-kart), but for the most part it’s an assortment of inessential pieces of clothing, accessories, banners, and emotes/animations.
While it may take quite a bit of time and effort to unlock, it’s doubtful that many people are going to be rocking something like a season 4 scarf on any court for very long. These kind of empty identical rewards lacking any longevity are the ones that are especially disappointing when considering the return on investment for putting hours into the game.
So what kind of rewards do people want instead from the kind of season pass NBA 2K22 is using within The City? Here are some thoughts on what might add more incentive to continue grinding all the way to level 40 without asking for anything too unrealistic like 1 million VC or unlimited wishes — as if this were a genie rather than a season pass.
MyCareer Season 4 Level Rewards Wish List
Swag’s Shopping Spree
If you’re like me and don’t want to spend any real money on VC, chances are you want to invest nearly every single coin that you earn towards improving your player’s skills. As a result, my sense of style when running around The City has admittedly been hampered by having to mostly stick to clothing I’ve received as rewards for completing quests or unlocked in other seasons (which we’ve already established does not make for a great look). Sometimes I’ll just dip into Swag’s for a moment and peruse their racks of clothes as if I were a poor beggar outside with my nose pressed up to the glass.
It doesn’t have to be this way. A great potential reward to have as part of the race to 40 could be some sort of credit line at Swag’s that you can use to purchase some slick new threads and improve your overall reputation in the neighborhood. It doesn’t have to be anything too substantial, but even an amount like $5,000 or maybe $10,000 at a higher level would be enough for someone like myself to finally pick up a new pair of pants (or my first pair of shorts).
Rather than simply giving people identical scarves or hats with the season number and logo emblazoned on them, this way the game would encourage people to set themselves apart by purchasing some attire that suits their own style. The powers that be might bristle at the thought of giving away clothing rather than making people pay for it, but a credit line like this could always serve as a gateway to people coming back to Swag’s later and forking over the precious VC that keeps their mighty revenue stream rolling.
Shoes
Last year’s daily rewards included the opportunity to win shoes from all sorts of different brands. While you couldn’t redeem this for any shoe in the store, there were usually enough options to ensure that you could find something to your liking. Now that you can no longer win shoes as part of the daily reward this year and (as mentioned earlier) spare VC to buy shoes can be hard to come by, it would be nice to be able to unlock some fresh kicks as part of the season pass.
It would be preferable if this could be some sort of credit line at one of the many shoe stores (much like with my Swag’s idea). However, I would even accept if everyone unlocked the exact same shoe at a certain level because that’s just how desperate I am at this point for something new to wear on my feet.
Tattoos
A tattoo is just another of The City’s luxuries that barely registers as a consideration when you’re trying stretch the limited VC you accrue as far as it will go. If this season’s pass were to even have a single level where a tattoo could be unlocked, it would really entice someone like me whose pale white skin remains a blank canvas. There’s little doubt that any free tattoo reward would almost certainly be limited to basic options rather than more elaborate designs, but for anyone who’s yearning to start showing off any ink at all that should be enough to scratch the itch.
Vehicles
Okay, so you can unlock a go-kart as part of the season 4 pass, but what about making it possible to unlock some other modes of transportation as well? That way perhaps those of us in the no money spent crowd could finally upgrade from the standard issue skateboard that has remained my only option to get around since I first moved into The City.
As it stands now, it’s impossible to skate around without looking longingly at all of the other players on their BMX bikes and hoverboards and wonder what it must feel like to cruise around like that. Should the developers want to take this idea one step further and give players who already have every vehicle something entirely new, it would be amazing to see something like a hang glider or a rocket pack introduced to help further cut down the time of people’s commutes from one side of The City to the other.
Random Or Choice Prizes
To facilitate more variety among the level prizes, it would be appreciated if there were at least a couple levels where the reward that’s unlocked is somewhat random. If people are aware that their prize is going to be something like a tragic beanie, it doesn’t give you all that much juice to keep the grind going. But if there were even the remote possibility that the prize might be some kind of limited edition LeBron James jersey or a pair of sweet Air Jordans instead, it would boost my drive to achieve that level in a major way.
The practical side of this is that NBA 2K22 already has some existing mechanics in place to make this happen, whether that be through taking inspiration from the daily reward gift or instead borrowing either MyTeam’s locker code ball drop method or its card-turning ascension approach. Alternatively, giving people a choice between several different level reward options would be a nice way to let players make tough decisions regarding what’s important to them and what they need most.
Quests
Since The City already keeps you busy with all sorts of quests, it’s almost surprising that there’s no level in the season 4 pass that unlocks objectives you can achieve in exchange for VC or other rewards. Considering that people are expected to play so many online games anyway in order to reach level 40, they might as well give us some statistical benchmarks we have to reach in certain categories in order to maximize our profits.
There could be specific targets to hit on all of the different courts (Rec, Old Gym, affiliation courts) to get you playing everywhere. In addition, there could be goals that need to be completed over the course of one game while some would be cumulative over multiple games. If they were to force you to rack up a set number assists in order to unlock a prize, that might get more people to actually pass the ball in online games.
Other Pets
It’s all well and good if you’re able to reach level 40 and tame that tiger, but why can’t players like me who don’t have time to get all the way to 40 receive a lesser pet for their efforts? While a tiger should remain reserved for only the most hardcore hoopers, other animals could be considered as rewards for lower levels. For instance, level 10 could be a little bunny rabbit that hops around the city behind you. Or how about level 20 unleashes a pot-bellied pig that waddles at your side from court to court? Or let’s have level 30 gifting people their very own pet chimpanzee that can hop onto your shoulders and ride around with you. Admittedly, this might not be the easiest idea to manifest for developers, but the thought of turning The City into a veritable zoo sure does make for a delightful image.
