My thoughts since the latest patch.
EA first made big changes to FC with the FC25 game refresh back in December of last year. A couple of weeks after UFL was released and people were enjoying how responsive the gameplay was there. I enjoyed the start of that game too.
So yeah, the 2nd half of FC25 online was much better than the first 3 months of it. Mainly because of issues that needed fixing and then giving us the refresh.
I felt that FC26 was a continuation of what FC25 game refresh was. Albeit with a little more arcade touch. Speed of game etc...
FC26 since the update does feel overall slower. Even fast players don't seem so fast and defender catch up seems more apparent.
Jockey IMO has been beefed up too much. People just pack the box and suffocate the space. I DID NOT LIKE DANCING AROUND trying to catch defender out to shoot and score. But, I feel EA have buffed defending too much here.
People will moan about cut back goals but I'm telling you that if people stuff the box full of players then coming down the wing and cutting in will be one of the only ways to score. So don't complain about that if you have 8 back in the box.
The gameplay again IMO has been slowed too much. I am not one of these that bang on about skill issues as I always try and play football with my own tactics and style. I don't use Twitch player formations etc... "Meta" - But where the speed of game does often catch those out who have slow reaction time or don't play football the football way it has given them time to set and become awkward to compete against. The AI is sticking more limbs out for the ball now it seems. Also 2nd man press is too aggressive.
Drop back style I don't think is even counting towards stamina drain which is wrong. Also the AI players are faster at running then when you control them manually. It isn't right.
I feel scoring now feels more rewarding because chances are not as frequent because of the gameplay slow down. I can't work out if the game has become more of a chore again because of this. I need to play more games to gauge that.
10-9 scorelines were a little OTT but beating someone comfortable if they are not great should happen still. High scorelines like i pointed out above would suggest neither player had control of there defence. The one thing I would say is the game felt like the opponent would always score no matter what. So it is a little refreshing to think you could seal someone out for a 1-0 or 2-0 win. Even do a job on someone José Mourinho style. I don't dislike that as football does happen that way and can be satisfying. I used to only play counter attack years ago and focus on defence first (which is a football style) and used to get abusive messages win stealing wins but it is a thing in real sport.
I do not rely on R1. I am a passer. I will reset and pass again. I will recycle the ball if the other team has 8 defending in the box and keep probing. I only play Seasons mode and currently in Div1. I must have won the Div1 title about 70 times on FC25 and have played every FIFA game since the first on the Sega MegaDrive. Played PES from ISS Pro through to PES 2008. Played all various other football games. PES6 was a great game and other than trying to defend Adriano was top tier.
I do feel EA listens too much to these streamers and whether they like it or not they are a small amount that make up for this game. Sure they have followers that follow them like sheep but their voice should not all be that matters. They are making a living with this game and think they should be the only voice. Well no that should not be the case. Some of them are shocking and don't even try and play football. All they do is dance around on the spot (fidget spinning) spam the same trivela shot all game (Now nerfed) they are often horrific to watch. Some do try and play football and have genuine moans and groans about the game which I agree with.
Anyway. I need to play a little more of this game.
One other thing in the defence for those who are angry with this game (online modes) It does feel like EA have not gone half way with change and just changed gameplay completely the other direction. I would have suggested nerfing a few things and maybe made attackers less agile so spinning on the spot was not as overpowered. It is like buying a car you like from a forecourt of a garage then they come out one night and change your wheels, spoiler, paint colour and interior and tell that it was updated. You'd maybe feel a little done and did not buy it for this style. EA has kind of sold a game based on all those competitive gameplay videos and now binned a load of it. I genuinely feel those who not like this should now be entitled to a refund. Bit like getting out of a contract due to a price rise.
