FC26: Teaching EA How to Make a Football Game!

Part Four

This describes a typical Skill Move vs. Traditional Defending scenario. The reality is SMs have evolved countless times, to the point where using one is almost an "invincibility" state! Meanwhile, defending not only removed AI-assisted pressing but also added these difficulties:

1. After an SM, the ball's landing spot is unpredictable for the defender (the human attacker doesn't know either, but the AI-controlled attacker does). The defender can hardly intercept at the final spot, while the attacker doesn't need to do anything – just wait for the AI to collect the ball.
2. SM animation frames are basically invincible. Once initiated, the defender almost cannot tackle the ball.
3. Sometimes, luckily, the ball is touched/intercepted by a defender during the SM animation. But before the defending player can react, the attacker automatically takes the ball back – because the AI attacker is just completing its pre-determined program – finishing the SM animation.

For these reasons, attacking in FC26 basically becomes a fighting game – just competing on who has more accurate and faster button combos.

Summary: Defensive assistance in FC26 hasn't evolved; it's been removed. Simultaneously, attacking SMs have evolved to a new level – chainable, 100% success rate, nearly untackleable. So, it's perfectly normal that FC26's defending is a pile of crap.

Let's talk about what many average players actually expect, starting with defending: I control one midfielder, occupying a position on the pitch, blocking a ground pass route from A to B; and I constantly move based on the passer's run to always be in a position to intercept passing lanes. I control a defender, constantly tracking, pressing, not diving in recklessly. As long as my CB is in a reasonable position, pressing L2 + X (Tackle) should trigger reasonable AI assistance to help win the ball or disrupt the dribble/shot. What's unreasonable? If my CB is behind the ST, spamming X will result in a tackle from behind or a shirt pull, conceding a penalty or getting a card – I accept that. But I absolutely do not accept that defending now requires a QWOP level of micromanagement!!! I just don't want to play anymore. I'd rather go back to FC25 and get my 60th Division 1 Title. I'll come back whenever FC26 is no longer a pile of crap.

Side Note: Why does EA's football game get worse and worse?! Look at the history of US companies; it's utterly normal. EA's board and management are likely finance people, only interested in profit, probably don't watch football, and aren't fans. As mentioned, the specific FC development management are likely either legacy students or products of the US "happy education" system – basically brainless. Meanwhile, to cut costs, EA 100% outsources FC programming to Indian contractors. Know the characteristic of Indian management? The Chairman says: I want to land on the sun next month. The Indian CEO says: No problem, Boss! I'll send you the PPT "100 Steps to Land on the Moon" tomorrow. See the problem?!

One side doesn't understand or like football (Americans prefer NFL and MLB), only caring about profit growth. The other specializes in producing "The Emperor's New Clothes." How could such a combination possibly make a good football game for billions of fans worldwide?! For the Indian outsourcers, "appearing to complete the task" is enough. You want Skill Moves? We'll add them. You don't want such strong AI pressing defense? We'll remove it, along with the defensive assistance for human-controlled defenders. Simply put: The外包 side just blindly changes the code based on EA management's whims. So every year, the new release gets trashed! It takes months of complaints before they figure out what to fix. And it still gets progressively worse.

EA has completely abandoned the philosophy of football! Football is an 11-player game, not a game about one star player with invincible Skill Moves. If it were really like EA's version, real-life football would eventually become an individual sport.

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I forgot to mention since I’ve been writing this post for so long: FC26 is essentially using increasingly prevalent Skill Moves (SMs) with a near-100% success rate to achieve instant acceleration—so much so that it’s practically rendered the original sprint button obsolete. At the same time, FC26 has truly removed defensive assistance, forcing players to rely on the traditional sprinting method: starting slow and gradually building up speed (even the toggle for "sprint speed based on button pressure" does nothing). Trying to chase down these instant-acceleration SMs with this outdated sprint system is nothing short of an exercise in futility.

That’s why FC26 actively encourages mindless SM spamming. When a mechanic boasts 100% success rate, invincibility frames, and instant acceleration to break away from defenders—who needs tactics, formations, or anything else? Why not just make the game a contest of who can input the most commands?

Behind this design choice lies EA’s profit-driven motives: by aggressively incentivizing attacking play, they push more players to spend money on microtransactions, boosting their revenue.

But come on! The majority of football fans aren’t esports pros. They don’t have the reflexes for such mechanical inputs, nor do they have this obsessive need to beat everyone. What we want is a video game that simulates real football. Most of us rarely get to play the sport in real life, so we turn to virtual pitches to connect with fellow enthusiasts. EA, can’t you just leave Season Mode and Club Mode alone? Let these modes stay true to real football! You can keep all the "fighting game" mechanics in Ultimate Team (UT) and Rush—just let the FC series retain a shred of genuine football joy! Otherwise, countless football fans will lose their virtual paradise, and EA will lose a massive player base.

P.S. If EA insists on encouraging SMs in their "fighting-style" modes, the least you can do is add defensive-exclusive SMs for defenders—like the Thomas Flair, or those iconic moves from Shaolin Soccer.