This is an old thread, but boy is it relevant. I got the game in January and I’m frustrated to tears by the awful passing control. I tried going to totally manual, but found it impossible to navigate the persistent lag in Rivals and Champions matches and still weight my passes properly (because a pass over over 10 yds takes too long to power up). So, I’m back to using the assist and it’s absolutely maddening how frequently I direct a pass to one player and some “ghost in the machine” of EA’s coding “assists” my pass to somewhere completely different (usually directly to a defender). I sure would like to know whether this is **bleep** poor AI or whether EA has deliberately coded the game to force you into bad passes. I’ve got an OVR 95 team at this point and it’s utterly ridiculous to think the players aren’t good enough to complete some of the passes I’m directing them to make only to see the ball go astray.
And don’t even get me started on the ridiculous AI defending. If I don’t take direct control, half of my players don’t even respond to a counter-attack by sprinting back. So, I’m constantly scrambling to toggle between defenders to move and keep them in position or else my opponent cuts through me like Swiss cheese. And it wouldn’t be so bad except that the toggle procedure is so cumbersome. This stuff is so basic you’d think EA would have it figured out long ago, but I don’t think anyone at the company actually plays or watches football.
Finally, is there anyone who likes this silliness where your attacker on a breakaway suddenly decelerates (for no reason whatsoever) in order to let the defender catch up? Again, it seems to be embedded in the code so that good players don’t just breakaway (and stay away) against lesser layers, but it’s so dreadfully unrealistic (and no fun) as to be laughable. I’ve got Vini Jr. with 99 pace and he’s away on goal when he suddenly looks like he’s running through sand. It’s an absolute joke.
But nothing is a bigger joke than the lack of any serious dialogue with EA via these forums. It’s like talking to a wall. They set this up but don’t appear to care about our feedback. I count maybe three or four moderators and mostly all they do is police the guidelines. Even when you post about a legitimate bug you seldom get any reply. Suffice it to say, I’m not going to be giving EA anymore of my money unless/until something changes.
Community Manager
