Feedback from a Long-Time Career Mode Player

I believe this is the first time I have ever shared my feedback on an EA Sports forum.

I am not an Ultimate Team player, and I never will be. I have been playing EA football games since 2010, and throughout all these years I have played almost exclusively Career Mode.

All of my feedback is specifically related to the CPU vs User experience.

I genuinely believe that if these issues are addressed, they could significantly improve the overall quality of the game. Therefore, I hope my comments will be taken seriously.

1. Player Switching

This is probably one of the most important issues in the game, and it has not been properly addressed for years.

When I try to switch to a specific player, the game often selects a completely different player.

• Most of the time, the game prioritizes players who are closer to my goal line, which makes very little sense because it effectively removes midfielders from the defensive sequence.

• I have tried every available player-switching setting in the game, yet the problem remains.

• The game frequently skips nearby players without any logical reason and instead selects one of my defenders.

• I have also noticed that player roles seem to influence automatic player selection. This is absurd because I should not have to guess which role a player needs in order to be selected more consistently by the switching system.

• In addition, right-stick switching is often inaccurate. In many situations it simply does not select the player I am clearly aiming for. I have even experimented with different camera angles to see if that would improve accuracy, but the issue persists.

This is a critical gameplay problem.

Football is a fast-paced game that requires quick reactions. When the game repeatedly switches control to unwanted players, it becomes impossible to defend consistently and often results in frustrating and unnecessary goals being conceded.

2. Defensive Tackling

This issue is directly connected to defensive gameplay.

Last year, standing tackles (the tackle button) were arguably too effective. This year, however, the balance has shifted to the opposite extreme.

It is now extremely difficult to win the ball through standing tackles.

I play on the highest difficulty levels, and the combination of this issue together with the player-switching problems makes defending unnecessarily frustrating and, at times, feels almost impossible.

3. Sliding Tackles

Continuing from the tackling topic:

Sliding tackles remain overly difficult and unreliable.

I recognize that improvements were made compared to previous years, but executing effective sliding tackles in a variety of situations is still extremely challenging.

For example, if I am controlling a player known for defensive intelligence and tackling ability, such as Neves, and I attempt a slide tackle from behind at a reasonable angle, I expect the player to be intelligent enough to stretch one leg toward the ball rather than automatically committing a foul.

I have experimented with many different tackling angles, yet fouls are called in the vast majority of situations.

Meanwhile, the CPU consistently performs near-perfect tackles under similar circumstances.

The disparity between the user's defensive capabilities and the CPU's defensive capabilities is very noticeable.

4. Formations, Roles, and Their Impact on Player Responsiveness

This is another critical issue.

Currently, I often feel forced to use specific formations and player roles simply to maintain acceptable player speed, agility, and responsiveness.

Certain formations and player-role combinations appear to negatively affect the overall movement quality of my team.

For example, changing a single player's role from Winger - Support to Winger - Attack can sometimes make the entire team feel slower, heavier, and less responsive.

This is extremely frustrating because it removes tactical freedom.

I should be able to adjust roles, formations, and pressing instructions based on football strategy, not because I am trying to avoid hidden gameplay penalties.

Even worse, these changes sometimes appear to affect the behavior of the opposing CPU team as well.

I have also noticed that camera angles seem to influence player behavior and responsiveness, both for my team and for the CPU.

Gameplay mechanics should remain consistent regardless of camera choice.

Final Thoughts

When all of these issues are combined, the experience becomes very frustrating:

• I cannot tackle consistently.

• I cannot reliably switch to the player I want during critical defensive situations.

• Right-stick switching often fails to select the intended player.

• I do not feel free to choose the formations and player roles I want because they appear to affect player responsiveness and movement quality.

• Even camera settings seem to influence gameplay behavior.

In my opinion, these are not issues that should be changed—they are issues that must be changed.

My feedback comes from a 30-year-old player who has been playing your football games continuously since 2010. Throughout all those years, Career Mode has been my primary way of experiencing the game.

I truly believe that this feedback is valuable for your company. Please take these observations into consideration, because I am confident that there are millions of players who experience the same issues and frustrations that I have described above.

Thank you for your time and consideration.