What is the point of good buildup play if AI defending can undo it all?
I’m honestly tired of raising the same issues every year. I complained about them throughout FC 26, and now I’m experiencing them again in FC 27.
I enjoy possession-based football: moving opponents out of position, calling players into space, finding passing lanes, dropping a shoulder and creating openings through intelligent movement. But in FC 27 in FUT, much of this feels pointless. Defenders close down space at ridiculous speeds, barge into attackers from awkward angles and win the ball before I can make my next move.
What bothers me most is that it doesn’t always feel like manual defending. I often see opponents controlling a player nowhere near the ball while their other defenders aggressively close down my attackers. This seems particularly noticeable with high-OVR players.
Take Ekitike receiving the ball in the box, back to goal, with three higher-rated defenders about two yards away. If the opponent switches to the right defender, reads my turn and times a tackle, fair enough. That’s skill.
But if the defenders close the gap automatically, barge through my striker or seem to anticipate every shooting lane before my input registers, what was the point of the buildup?
Does a higher OVR simply improve a defender’s attributes, or does it also make AI-controlled teammates more effective at winning the ball and blocking shots? I’m not asking. I want to understand how attributes, PlayStyles, positioning and manual defending interact with automated defensive behaviour.
Responsiveness is the other major issue. Even with manual passing enabled, I experience delayed passes and passes going to the wrong player. Shots don’t always go where I aim, turning feels sluggish, and even holding L2 to shield the ball can feel delayed. How can I rely on skill and precise decisions when the inputs themselves feel inconsistent?
The result is that sitting deep with a strong squad and relying on defensive recovery can feel more effective than building attacks patiently. I can’t prove EA deliberately designs this to encourage spending, but when it’s difficult to separate the advantage of expensive cards from automated assistance, the lack of transparency is frustrating.
My question is simple: if I make better decisions, create an opening and execute the right pass, do I have a realistic chance against a team with significantly better defenders? How much does my skill actually influence the outcome?
I don’t expect to win every game. I expect good football to matter, manual defending to require skill, and my inputs to register in time.
I’ve raised these concerns in previous editions. Here’s what I’d like EA to address:
- Fix responsiveness first. Investigate passing and shooting direction, input delay, turning, sudden braking with L1, calling players to make runs and shielding the ball. Get the basics right before changing defensive balance.
- Make incremental changes. Thank you for quietly improving through passes. They’re not perfect, but it shows feedback can lead to progress. Please avoid sweeping changes that introduce new problems.
- Explain how defending works. Once responsiveness is reliable, clarify how attributes, OVR, PlayStyles, positioning, distance, timing and manual input determine the outcome of a challenge. Players should be able to tell whether a defender won the ball through good decisions and execution or because the game did too much for them.
I want FC to reward intelligent buildup, responsive controls and actual defending skill.
Previous feedback on these issues
