WWE 2K23: How To Change Pin Controls

While WWE 2K22 felt like a grand reinvention of 2K’s series of wrestling games, WWE 2K23 sees the series begin to settle into the annual routine, with improvements over innovation being the order of the day. Still, that doesn’t mean that developer Visual Concepts haven’t added some new ideas to the mix this year, with the new Pin Controls being one such idea.

In other WWE 2K games, you could escape pins by mashing the A/X button as fast as possible. The more damage you take, or if you’ve just taken a signature or finisher, the more you’d need to mash the A/X button in order to escape. This control method has now been dubbed “Rapid”, as the new method, “Timed” offers a brand new way to escape pins.

Instead of mashing as much as you can, the timed method sees you trying to press up on the right stick at the right time as a green bar moves across the screen. While it’s fairly easy in the early stages of the match, it can be a bit harder in later stages.

While your mileage may vary on which pin control setting is the best, there’s some benefits to either method. The Rapid press setting is easier to understand and execute, making for simpler matches, but it’s rather formulaic in its execution. The more damage you take, the harder you need to press. Meanwhile, the “Timed” setting allows for more dramatic moments, like the possibility of taking a finisher but still kicking out at one, or losing to a surprise pin two minutes into a match, but the timing itself could take a lot of getting used to.

When you first boot the game up and complete the tutorial, WWE 2K23 will give you the option between both pin control choices, but if you want to change them again at any time, head over to Options > Gameplay, scroll down to the Pin Control setting and select between “Rapid” or “Timed”.

WWE 2K23 is available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X & S, and Xbox One.

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