How I approach the new year of FC.
For me, the beginning of the year is the most exciting. My favorite part about early year play is that golds matter, In Forms matter for more than SBCs, packing a good card feels exciting and finding that perfect chemistry between your good cards and players from your favorite club...it all just feels great. There aren't more promo cards than base cards. 1 Icon or Hero can open up so much team building. Grinding for those cards provides a very satisfying win when you finally pack one or trade enough to purchase one. The hard part is how do I get there? I have taken a very different approach over the past few years that has made a huge difference in my enjoyment of the game. In the past, I would spend a lot on points at the beginning of the year (like 36,000-48,000) and then to keep it going, I'd get more points 1-2 times each month during promos all year long. I just continually would spend points on packs hoping to hit the lottery and get rich. I did not have a healthy balance between real money and grinding the game. That imbalance ruined the game for me. Even in years where I'd pack some great cards. . .I'd be bothered knowing in my mind how much I spent. Worse yet, in the years I wouldn't really pack anyone valuable, the resentment and frustration would build. I realized that resentment was the source of most of my frustration with the game. It ruined the experience for me. As with everything in life, I had to find a balance that works for me. Trading helped me to find a better balance. What I do now is allow myself a little kitty to start the year. In the past two years its been from 12,000 to 24,000 over the first month that I use to build up a trade pool. One thing I may do this year is be patient and wait for player packs instead of just ripping packs day 1! Time will tell on this one. My objective is to get enough value from those points to fill up my trade pile. Pending the coin value of the cards I hit and sell, I'll focus on 82-84 rated cards or if I get lucky and hit some more valuable cards, focus on higher rated "meta" cards. If I hit anyone really valuable, that's awesome. . .icing on the cake and I'll maybe use a little for my first squad. But my objective is to fund my trade pile. Trading early on can be very fruitful and afford you a very nice team and continued coin income (if you keep at it). I know not everyone has the money to do this. There are alternative ways to building up a trade pile. Starting with some points, I'm simply skipping the introductory trading method, called the Bronze Pack Method and jumping right into trading golds. If you're unfamiliar, I just checked. . .ask ChatGPT and it gives a great rundown of how this works. I try to trade very heavily the first 2 months of the game. This is when trading truly is at its best. As there are so many new people starting out, this is when you can be selling Adama Traore for crazy amounts. There are a few methods for the early game. The Lazy Buyer Method (TL;DR buy players cheap, and list at 2x,3x with a full trade pile), predicting In Forms and purchasing their golds before release, purchasing In Forms and waiting for them to be required in SBCs (which can cause their base price to inflate), trying to predict cards that will fit good SBCs or playing it just like the stock market. The market is very volatile early on. There are less risky methods (Lazy Buyer) that will consistently generate income or more risky methods where you target a certain card and purchase many of them hoping they inflate and you can sell. Having a diverse trade pile (lazy buyer) will be less risky because you are not putting all your eggs in one basket. This isn't a blog on trading, its a blog to help people who might have been where I was before. I love this franchise but I let it take an unhealthy grip on how I game. I found a balance that works for me and the last 2 years I found myself less angry, less frustrated, and enjoying the game longer and longer. I hope this helps others! Looking forward to all the changes to gameplay. Looking forward to Tournaments. SBCs. . .it's going to be a good year!
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | Clubs Deep Dive
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC 26 Clubs Deep Dive Pitch Notes. From revamped player progression with Archetypes to dynamic Clubs Rush Live Events, and community-requested features like support for Multiple Clubs, we’re excited to bring significant Clubs updates to FC 26. Let’s jump into what we’re doing to make Clubs a deeper and more dynamic experience. Table of Contents Archetypes Archetype Progression How do I unlock Archetypes? How do I progress my Archetype? Leveling Up Archetypes Live Updates Archetype Card Consumables Signature PlayStyles & PlayStyles Slots Attributes Specializations Signature Perks Live Events How do I enter a Live Event Entry Requirements Multi-Stage Events Flexible Rules & House Rules Events Objectives & Rewards Revamped Clubs Lobby Role Fit and OVR Match Status Widget New Set Piece Assignments Multiple Clubs Clubs Rush & Playoff Rewards Be-A-Goalkeeper Revamp Be-A-Goalkeeper in Clubs Rush AI Facilities Gameplay Impact Other Improvements Clubs Gameplay Competitive Gameplay Fatigue Redesigned Match Rating Changes Expanded Quick Chat Options CPU AI Archetypes Archetypes deliver a new progression system to Clubs in FC 26. You’ll be able to unlock, progress, and develop 13 distinct player Archetypes, each inspired by an ICON of world football, and each built to give you options that fit your style of play. Each of the 13 Archetypes comes with its own set of unique characteristics, and the new customization experience gives you more control over how you develop your Pro. Archetype Progression How do I unlock Archetypes? When entering Clubs for the first time, you’ll select your first Archetype. The remaining 12 Archetypes can be obtained via Clubs Coins, FC Points, or Archetype Unlock consumable items that can be found as rewards. How do I progress my Archetype? Every time you play a Clubs match in EA SPORTS FC 26, you will earn Archetype XP (AXP). The more you play, the more AXP you can collect. The amount of AXP you earn will depend on: Your Role Rating - The bulk of your AXP earnings will come from your Role Rating. Obtaining a higher rating can yield better AXP rewards. Your Gameplay Actions - You will earn a small amount of AXP for every action you complete in a match. Match Type – Your AXP earned via Role Rating and Gameplay Actions will differ depending on whether you’re playing a Clubs League, Playoffs, Friendly, Drop-In, Clubs Rush, or Live Event match. You will also be able to earn AXP by playing Skill Games, though the amount that you can earn each week will be limited, just as it has been in the past. Once you’ve earned enough AXP, your Archetype will move up to the next level. It’s important to remember that each Archetype progresses separately. If you’ve unlocked multiple Archetypes, you’ll need to play matches with each one to level them up individually. Leveling Up As your progress your Archetype, you’ll receive rewards to help upgrade your attributes and abilities: Attribute Points (AP) – AP can be spent to upgrade your attributes, taking you one step closer to unlocking more PlayStyles or even a Specialization. Signature Playstyles Upgrades – Each of your Signature PlayStyles will upgrade to a PlayStyle+, maximizing your Archetype’s power on the pitch. Unlock Signature Perks – Unlock extra Signature Perks to make your Archetype stand out. Customizable PlayStyles Slots – Gain additional slots to further personalize your Archetype’s PlayStyles. Archetypes Live Updates At launch, each Archetype can be progressed from level 1 up to level 50. This will give you plenty of room to grow and develop your Archetype over time, however, the journey doesn’t end there. Throughout the season, you can expect the maximum level to increase, along with more changes and updates to Archetypes, meaning you’ll have more opportunities to further upgrade and personalize your favourite Archetypes as the season goes on. Archetype Card Your Archetype Card is the visual representation of you and your Archetype everywhere in Clubs. As you progress, your Archetype Card will update to reflect your journey from Bronze to ICON. Each Archetype has its own Archetype Card with a unique pose, background, and key attributes highlighted on the side to see how your Target measures up against someone else's. If you want to show off, you can customize your card with backgrounds earned through Season Pass rewards, objective rewards, or the Clubs Store. Your Archetype Card is not just for you, it’s how other players will see you during every big moment. You can expect to see Archetype Cards throughout the match experience, showcasing your Virtual Pro, progression, and achievements in new ways. Consumables Consumables introduce another way to impact your Archetype progression outside of playing matches or Skill Games. Our intent with consumables is to help players who join Clubs later in the lifecycle catch up and feel like they can still make an impact. There will be multiple Consumable types available in EA SPORTS FC 26, including: Archetype XP (AXP) Multipliers – Boost the AXP match rewards for a set number of matches. Direct Apply AXP – Instantly grant AXP to your active Archetype Note: To maintain balance, Direct Apply AXP Consumables can only be used on Archetypes under a predefined level, ensuring that the tool serves its purpose as a catch-up tool, rather than a shortcut to max level Archetypes. Archetype Unlocks – Allow you to obtain any locked Archetype via the Archetypes Screen. Archetype Resets – Return your spent Attribute Points to your wallet, allowing you to redistribute them as you see fit. You can unlock these Consumables through Season Pass rewards, objective rewards, or obtain them via the Clubs Store. This ensures that all players, whether they choose to purchase consumables or not, have the means to access them. Signature PlayStyles & PlayStyles Slots Signature PlayStyles Each Archetype in EA SPORTS FC 26 comes with its own set of unique Signature PlayStyles that reflect that Archetype’s style of play. These PlayStyles are automatically unlocked and equipped when you unlock your Archetype, and they’ll upgrade to PlayStyle+ as you progress with that Archetype. While Signature PlayStyles cannot be removed, you do have the option to swap them out for a different PlayStyle+ once you unlock and equip a Specialization for that Archetype, giving you some flexibility in customizing your items as you advance. Customizable PlayStyles Slots On top of your Signature PlayStyles, you’ll also have Customizable PlayStyles slots that allow you to tailor your Archetype to suit your own style. As you progress through your Archetype, the number of available Customizable PlayStyles slots increases, allowing for more flexibility in tailoring your Archetypes abilities. You can assign any PlayStyle to these slots, as long as your Archetype meets the necessary Attribute Unlock Requirements for that PlayStyle. Any PlayStyle equipped to your Customizable Slots will not upgrade to the PlayStyle+ version of that PlayStyle. Attribute Unlock Requirements Each PlayStyle has specific Attribute Unlock Requirements that must be met before it can be equipped. To unlock a PlayStyle, you need to upgrade the relevant attributes to the required value, which can be done either directly from the Edit Attributes screen or by selecting the PlayStyle directly from the Customizable PlayStyles screen (provided you have enough AP). These requirements are consistent across all Archetypes, meaning the AP cost to unlock a PlayStyle may vary depending on the starting attribute values of the chosen Archetype. For example, to unlock Dead Ball, you must first upgrade the attributes below. FK Accuracy - 75 Crossing - 80 ShotPower - 80 Attributes Min & Max Values Each Archetype has a unique set of minimum and maximum values for all attributes, as well as unique ranges for Weak Foot and Skill Moves. Upgrading Attributes With Archetypes, you’ll now be able to upgrade any attribute you want. When you level up your Archetype, you receive Attribute Points (AP) that can be used to improve any attribute directly from the Edit Attributes screen. As you increase an attribute, the AP cost for further upgrades will also rise, making higher values tougher to reach. Any upgrades you make are permanent, but if you want to reallocate your points, you can request an Archetype Reset (using Clubs Coins or a Reset Consumable), which returns all previously spent AP to your wallet. Key Attributes Each Archetype comes designated with four specific Key Attributes that complement the way your selected Archetype is built to play. These Key Attributes cost less AP to upgrade for that Archetype compared to others, making it more efficient to develop that Archetype in a way that suits its strengths. Key Attributes are highlighted by default when entering the Edit Attributes screen, making them easy to identify whenever you want to upgrade. Height & Weight To preserve gameplay balance, each Archetype comes with its own specific range for height and weight. While you can adjust your height or weight within this range to match your desired look or style of play, doing so will have a minor impact on a select few Attributes. These changes don’t alter the base attribute values of the Archetype itself. Instead, the adjustments are applied as a small increase or decrease to the relevant Attributes only when you enter a match in any Clubs mode, similar to how you experience a boost via Club Facilities. Specializations Specializations introduce three unique variants to each Archetype for you to develop toward over time, encouraging you to either break the mold or double-down on becoming the elite version of your chosen Archetype. Attribute Unlock Requirements Similarly to PlayStyles, Specializations are unlocked by upgrading certain attributes to the required value via the Edit Attributes screen. For example: Upgrading Finishing, Heading Accuracy, and Volleys past the required values will transform your playmaking Maestro Archetype into a box-crashing midfielder capable of changing the game with late runs into the box from deep. Specialization Upgrades By unlocking a Specialization, you gain an extra Signature Perk that will be assigned to your Archetype for as long as the Specialization remains equipped, and an additional Signature PlayStyle+ that can be assigned to one of your Archetype’s Signature PlayStyle slots. So transforming your Maestro into a Crasher will grant you First Touch+ to control those passes into the box, and the Box Crash Perk to help you slot it home. Only one Specialization can be equipped at a time, so if you unlock more than one, you’ll need to choose which to use in order to benefit from its rewards. Signature Perks Signature Perks are new on-pitch abilities designed to encourage you to embody your chosen Archetype or Specialization whenever you step on the pitch. Each Archetype comes with two Signature Perks that are unlocked through the course of your Archetype progression, while a third is equipped whenever you have a Specialization active. There are three types of Perks: Action-based perks activate after you perform a specific action and provide you with a temporary attribute boost. For example, the Press and Pass perk assigned to the Recycler Archetype delivers a temporary boost to Short Passing, Reactions, and Vision after regaining possession in your own half. Mechanic-based perks trigger when using a certain control or technique. A Creator Archetype, for instance, gets a boost to Curve, Short Passing, and Long Passing when making Precision Passes in the middle third via the Precise Pass perk. Team-focused perks benefit your teammates. If a Creator+ Specialization completes a through pass in the opponent's half, the receiver temporarily gains boosts in Finishing, Balance, and Ball Control via the Assistant perk. Live Events You can team up and compete in new ways with Live Events, delivering dynamic Clubs Rush tournament experiences. Each Live Event will bring new challenges with varying entry requirements, modified Rush gameplay, and alternate rules, creating fresh opportunities for you to earn rewards throughout the season. Each Live Event comes in the form of a single-elimination knockout tournament, where your skill will be tested across a max of four Rush knockout rounds. There’s also a brand new Rush Stadium, to give each tournament a more focused, intense atmosphere. Plus, you can celebrate on stage with your squad after a trophy win. Event Structure Each player starts with a limited number of attempts to win the tournament. Winning a match allows you to move on to the next round, while losing a match costs you an attempt and sends you back to the first round. Using up all your attempts will see you are eliminated from the event, though some events will reset your available attempts after a certain period, giving you another chance to participate. The tournament can only be won by claiming victory in consecutive matches across all rounds up to and including the Final. Event progress is tracked individually and not as a squad, and there is no time limit for starting your next match. So you can take your time editing your Archetype before attempting the next round with a new batch of teammates, just don’t wait too long, as each event will eventually expire. How do I enter a Live Event You’ll be able to see the full list of available and upcoming Live Events from the Live Events Tab in the Play menu. Simply select the available event you want to enter, and proceed into the lobby. From there, you can choose to invite your friends, or search for a match solo. All matchmaking will pair you with teammates and opponents at the same tournament stage, ensuring all players know exactly what is at stake. Each Live Event will always look to ensure you have a full squad of outfield players before entering a match, but in the event that a full squad can’t be found, a team of two human players minimum can proceed with AI teammates filling the open spots. In order to play with friends, you will need to all be at the same tournament round to proceed. If you happen to be in a later round than your lobbymates, then you can choose to reset your progress from inside the Live Event lobby in order to compete alongside them. Doing so will result in losing a tournament attempt. Entry Requirements Each Clubs Rush Live Event can have its own unique set of entry requirements, to increase the level of competition or introduce fun new challenges that shake up the Clubs Rush experience. Some events may require you to increase your Clubs Rush player rank, improve your selected Archetype to a predefined level, or even require you to use a specific Archetype in order to access the event. Multi-Stage Events Some events may even be linked together over multiple stages, where winning the first event will unlock a higher-tier event in the future where you’ll be playing for even bigger rewards. If you miss out on the first stage, no problem, some events will allow you to enter into a redemption stage, where you’ll get a second chance of making it to the next round. Flexible Rules & House Rules Events Whether it’s increasing the tension from the opening whistle by shortening the Match Length or staging Golden Goal matches, Clubs Rush Live Events are intended to give you a wide variety of experiences. We’ll have some exciting new Rush House Rules options exclusive to Clubs Rush Live Events including: Designated Scorer - Goals count as double when scored by your designated scorer. Stay alert, though, as the chosen player changes throughout the game. Rugby Rush - The referee’s not watching. Dominate your opponent with powerful shoulder barges that won't get penalised. Keep an eye out for these over the course of the FC 26 season. Objectives & Rewards Each Live Event will be linked to the Clubs Objectives system inside of FC Hub, providing you with more reason to put together a squad and take on the latest tournament. Rewards will vary from event to event, giving you the opportunity to earn cosmetic items for your Pro, Archetype card backgrounds, or even Consumables to help boost your Archetype’s progression. Revamped Clubs Lobby The Clubs Lobby has been redesigned for a cleaner layout and improved functionality. Role Fit and OVR You can check how well your Archetype selection fits the position & role of each vacant position in your club’s chosen tactic. Simply highlight any vacant position on the lobby pitch to observe your Role Fit. Perfect Fit - Your Archetype is a perfect match for this role and position. Good Fit - Your Archetype is a good fit for this position, but perhaps not the ideal role. Okay Fit - Your Archetype is not particularly suited to this role or position. Bad Fit - Out of Position Similarly, when navigating vacant positions on the lobby pitch, you can observe your Archetype’s OVR value for the highlighted position. Match Status Widget Receive real-time updates from in-progress matches, and monitor the status of Clubs League matchmaking or Friendly Challenge requests via the new Match Status Widget. New Set Piece Assignments A number of new Set Pieces assignments have been added to the Assignments tab, giving you more control over your routines. 2 new Attacking Corner Kick assignments Top of Box Defensive Cover 5 total (Near Post, Back Post, Target Player, Top of Box, Defensive Cover) 4 separate Defensive Corner Kick assignments Threat Marker Post Watcher Near Post Back Post Left Throw-in Taker Right Throw-in Taker Multiple Clubs You can now be a member of up to three clubs at any time, and can freely switch between them using the Switch Clubs function inside the Clubs menus. Clubs Rush & Playoff Rewards You will only be able to earn Clubs Rush & Clubs Playoffs rewards on behalf of a single favourite club that’s selectable from the Switch Clubs screen. You can switch your favourite club at any time during the season but you’ll need to make sure it’s set to the one you want before rewards are distributed at season’s end. Be-A-Goalkeeper Revamp There are a lot of updates to the Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) experience in FC 26, including new controls and assistance levels, PlayStyles for BAG, revamped UI components and updated presentation, featuring unique camera and audio treatments. For full details of the revamped Be-A-Goalkeeper experience, check out the Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes. Be-A-Goalkeeper in Clubs Rush Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) players will now be able to test their ability on the Rush pitch exclusively in Clubs Rush. In support of this, the Clubs Rush matchmaking experience has undergone a few changes: The maximum lobby size has increased to 5 players (though 1 must be using a GK Archetype in order to proceed to a match). Whether your squad has a goalkeeper or not, matchmaking will attempt to find a squad similar to yours. If your group would prefer to play without a goalkeeper, you can disable the ‘Find GK’ setting inside your Clubs Rush lobby. AI Facilities Facilities are being expanded in FC 26 with the introduction of AI Facilities that boost the attributes for your AI teammates. With the Facility budget now shared between AI and Player Facility upgrades, club managers now have a lot more to think about when deciding how to best allocate their resources. Gameplay Impact AI Facilities are similar to Player Facilities, but with a few key differences: AI Facility upgrades will only come in the form of attribute increases. AI Facility upgrades are position-group specific, meaning you will have a group of Facilities dedicated to improving your Forwards, while another will be solely dedicated to training your Goalkeeper. So be sure to consider the position you and your clubmates will be taking up when allocating your budget. Other Improvements In response to community feedback, Player Facilities have also been rebalanced to provide more consistent value. Look out for more updates to Club Facilities throughout the FC 26 season. Clubs Gameplay Competitive Gameplay Competitive Gameplay is mandatory/locked in Clubs in FC 26. Our goal with Competitive Gameplay is to create a more competitive experience by reducing the impact of randomness and assistance. This is an experience tailored for players who enjoy fast-paced, responsive gameplay. The changes to Competitive Gameplay aim to deliver on the three competitive community priorities: Responsiveness, Consistency, and Control. For more details regarding Competitive Gameplay, check out our Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes. Fatigue Redesigned The impact of Fatigue will be redefined on the Competitive Gameplay experience in FC 26 to support our goal of improving responsiveness across the game. When controlling your Pro: Short-term fatigue will continue to work as before. For example, when short-term stamina depletes, you will be slower when running until the fatigue bar recovers. You will no longer experience loss of Long-Term Fatigue. This applies to any time you are controlling a player, even if you are “Any” (alternating between players). For AI: AI Players have a reduction in Sprint Speed and Acceleration when fatigued (proportional to the fatigue level). Long-term and short-term fatigue are in effect. PlayStyles and Attributes Relentless and Relentless+ PlayStyles have been changed to increase how quickly your short-term fatigue recovers (more details in the PlayStyles section of the Gameplay Deep Dive). The Stamina attribute will continue to work as before, for example when determining how quickly your stamina bar depletes. Match Rating Changes Match Rating in Clubs has been redefined as Role Rating for FC 26, meaning each player’s performance will now be related to the actions that matter the most to their assigned Role (e.g. Box-to-Box, Playmaker, Inside Forward, etc). To ensure you are getting a rating that is based on the actions that matter to your role, we created several different categories: Goalkeeping, Defending, Dribbling, Shooting, Passing, and a unique group that includes stats such as Goals scored or conceded by the team, red cards, and even individual Goals or Assists. These will impact all players equally. You can find a breakdown of these ratings and how much they contribute to the total rating in the Performance screens during a match. Some similar Roles will be grouped together. For example, the rating of a CB with Defender or Stopper will be primarily based on their defensive actions, while the rating of a Ball-Playing CB will also consider the effectiveness of their passing. As an example, let's take two Central Midfielders who performed exactly the same in the same match, creating a number of key chances and providing an assist while performing identically in defense. One has been assigned the Box-to-Box role, while the other has been assigned the Playmaker role. Box-To-Box - Defensive and attacking actions are rated equally. This player may receive a Match Rating of 8.0 for their performance. Playmaker - Creative actions like through-passes, assists, and dictating the pace of play are weighted more heavily than defensive actions. This player may receive a Match Rating of 8.5 for their performance due to the increased value of chance creation when assessing this role. Expanded Quick Chat Options We have added four diverse Quick Chat categories, each featuring four messages for a deeper Social experience. After pressing a direction on the D-Pad a set of new messages will be selectable to provide further communication options to your teammates. Instructions (yellow) Keep it simple Drop back Passing game Push up Compliments (cyan) Golazo Thanks Let's go What a save Encouragement (magenta) Lock in Shake it off My bad Unlucky Celebrations (green) Cold Joga bonito GOAT GG CPU AI The Clubs CPU AI has received some improvements to the Call-for-Pass system, making the CPU more intelligent when considering pass requests and preferring better options when multiple requests come in at the same time. This improvement extends to both Clubs and Rush, ensuring the CPU Goalkeeper will choose better pass options when players spam the pass request. Thank you for taking the time to dive into the Clubs Pitch Notes. Be sure to check out the EA SPORTS FC Feedback Hub for all the ways you can share your feedback with us.
Controller Issues: Complete Player Guide
Follow these simple steps if you experience any controller-related issues. FC 26 — Controller setup (important for Online matches) Use only your controller to navigate the opening screens and menus If the controller works offline but not online, restart FC 26 and navigate through the startup menus again using only the controller. Tip: avoid alt-tabbing or clicking the desktop until you reach the main menu PC (Windows) — Steps Quick fixes Close the game, unplug the controller, plug it back in, then relaunch Try a different USB data cable and a rear USB 3.x port Test wired first before using Bluetooth Try Fullscreen and Windowed/Borderless modes Set a frame-rate cap such as 30 or 60 FPS Enable VSync Lower graphics settings like shadows and effects Run the game .exe as Administrator as a test Disconnect other input devices so only one controller is connected Turn off overlays while testing such as EA App, Steam Overlay, Xbox Game Bar, Discord, GeForce Experience, RivaTuner Steam and EA App Steam → Library → right-click your FC title → Properties → Controller then test Enable and Disable Steam Input Steam → Settings → Controller → General Controller Settings then enable only the type you use Xbox or PlayStation or Generic In Steam controller settings ensure the correct controller is set as preferred or active EA App → your game → Repair then Help → App Recovery to clear cache and restart Windows detects the controller Press Win then type joy.cpl and open Game Controllers to confirm inputs register If duplicates appear such as XInput and HID disable the extra entry to stop double inputs Drivers, power and Bluetooth Update Windows, your GPU drivers, and the controller firmware using Xbox Accessories or the DualSense updater In Device Manager remove the controller. Under Human Interface Devices remove any old and greyed entries then restart the PC and reconnect For Bluetooth remove old pairings on both PC and controller then pair again and keep within 2–3 m line-of-sight If built-in Bluetooth is unreliable try a dedicated USB Bluetooth dongle Other steps Set the Windows power plan to Balanced or High performance and disable USB selective suspend in advanced power settings Test the controller in another game or device and as a last step, reinstall the game Console — Steps Quick fixes Fully restart the console by shutting down, unplugging for about 30 seconds then powering on Charge the controller or connect it with a USB cable and try a different cable or port Disconnect other devices such as extra controllers, headsets or adapters during testing Updates and wireless checks Update the console system software and the controller firmware using console settings or the companion app Remove the old pairing and pair the controller again while staying close and line-of-sight Turn off nearby Bluetooth devices or extra controllers to prevent focus switching Helpful console settings PlayStation → Settings → Accessories → Controllers and if issues persist set Communication Method to Use USB Cable when connected PlayStation controllers can disable the touchpad shortcut with PS Button + Touchpad if supported Disable Remote Play or streaming apps while testing and turn off cursor or touchpad gesture modes if your controller supports them Try the controller on another game or device to confirm it worksEA SPORTS FC™ 26 | Pitch Notes - Gameplay Responsiveness Update
FC Feedback Report Hey everyone, as part of the new FC Feedback Hub we’ll be keeping you close to our development process with detailed reports, making sure you know what feedback we’re working on. For our first update, we wanted to focus on something we know is important to you: Gameplay Responsiveness. We’ve heard your feedback, and our teams have been working on making EA SPORTS FC 26 our most responsive title yet. In this article, we’ll cover what we’re doing to address your feedback around online responsiveness, and the new additions to FC 26 intended to improve overall gameplay performance. Let’s dive in. Understanding Delay Delay refers to the link between a player's action, like pressing a button or moving a stick, and the corresponding response in the game. Delay can stem from various sources, including online connection quality issues, elevated ping due to distance from an FC Game Data Center, complexities in the input processing and animation systems, or even delays in displays. We know that delay disrupts the seamless connection between the player and the game, making the experience feel unresponsive and frustrating. And let’s face it, when a game doesn’t feel responsive, it’s simply not fun. Addressing your concerns about delay has been a top priority for us as we head into EA SPORTS FC 26 launch. What We’ve Been Testing Our Gameplay Responsiveness testing goes back to 2019, where we ran a number of in-depth tests on infrastructure and player connections, and created tools to help us better understand what you were experiencing. Heading into FC 26, we set our focus on testing directly with FC Design Council members, FC Pro Players, members of our community, and members of our internal teams. For example, members of our development team met directly with FC players in Europe to test gameplay responsiveness on their own personal setups. We tested at their houses and team headquarters in Spain and the UK for extensive online modes research in FC 25. You can see what this looked like below. We’ve also been testing responsiveness with members of our Design Council remotely, collecting connection quality data from players all around the world. And while all of this has been happening, we’ve been running regular tests with a dedicated internal team of core players across our QV and development teams to feedback on responsiveness problems. What We Learned FC players are really good at detecting even the smallest delay issues. Delays of even 1 frame can result in a noticeably unresponsive experience. When diving into the details, we’ve noticed players experience delay in significantly different ways. What you refer to as delay can be experienced in both Offline and Online play, in most cases. When playing with good connection quality, or in offline play, these are the main reasons that can create a sense of gameplay unresponsiveness: Animation Selection Variability to create authenticity Contexts with limited coverage Animation system bugs Time between button press and when the simulation processes the input. In poor connection quality conditions, there are many more variables that could create unresponsive Gameplay. The most common ones include: Ethernet vs WiFi Currently more than half of FC players play online through WiFi. WiFi often introduces serious inconsistencies in connection quality, such as Jitter and Packet loss, which could result in delayed actions in Gameplay. Even WiFi with strong signal strength and high quality signal can create inconsistencies. We recommend always using an ethernet cable when possible for a generally much smoother connection. High Ping Ping measures the time it takes for game data to travel between your console or PC to the EA SPORTS FC™ Game Data Center and back. Lower ping usually means faster data transfer and a more responsive gameplay experience. Your ping can vary based on your internet provider and your physical location, and it is not based strictly on your physical distance from an FC Game Data Center. A close physical distance to our FC Game Data Centers cannot guarantee a low ping experience by default, because factors such as how your internet service provider physically routes traffic can impact your ping. We are always monitoring the performance of our FC Game Data Centers. Working with providers, ISPs and our internal teams to provide the best experience we can to our players around the world. Internet Bandwidth With a low bandwidth internet connection, other activities using the same network can negatively influence game performance. From automatic video uploads from a console to streaming content from other devices, there are many factors that could introduce delay. To learn more about your Connection Quality and how it may be influencing your gameplay experience when playing online in EA SPORTS FC, you can check out our Connection Quality Report. The Connection Quality Report is a tool intended to help you better understand the quality of your connection using data from applicable EA SPORTS FC online matches that you’ve played. How your display FC can also massively impact overall game responsiveness. TV or Monitor Settings A TV outside of Game Mode can introduce anywhere from 20 to over 100ms of delay to the gameplay experience, making it feel like you’re playing in a poor connection environment. We always recommend using Game Mode if available on your TV, or use a gaming monitor. High quality cables can also help reduce how long it takes visual signal to be processed, and third party devices like external capture cards can also add noticeable delay. In broad terms, the speed at which your screen can display the game is critical to the feeling of responsiveness or unresponsiveness. If your display has a noticeable delay or can’t maintain a consistent response time, you may feel a delay no matter what your other conditions are. Different Player Motivations Another important learning is that FC players enjoy both a more responsive and consistent experience, but also a more tactical, composed and authentic experience. We’ve tried to balance a single gameplay experience for both types of motivations in the past, but based on your feedback we’ve decided to tailor the experience separately. In FC 26, we are creating two types of Gameplay, Competitive and Authentic. Competitive Gameplay is tuned for consistent responsiveness, mainly focused on online modes like Ultimate Team and Clubs. Authentic Gameplay is tuned for higher realism and true-to-life match tempo/speed in offline modes, like Career Mode. For both gameplay types, and with your feedback in mind, we’re improving our Fundamentals with the objective to make them more responsive and consistent in FC 26. What’s New For FC 26 Responsiveness As you may have noticed in the FC 26 reveal trailer, we’ve focused on new gameplay fundamentals to improve responsiveness at all levels. We wanted to make sure we directly addressed your feedback and the things we’ve learned through testing to deliver the most impactful changes. Animation variability meant to create authenticity FC strives to visually reflect the real world game, and to make this possible our Gameplay engine was designed to use realistic animations. Realistic motion capture/volumetric animations are all unique by nature. In FC, many factors like ball distance from the player, movement input angle, and player speed will dictate what animation is chosen and how it plays in the game. This combination of factors ensure Gameplay variety, depth and authenticity. In summary, in our gameplay engine, there is variety, and no play is the same. This is to create a seamless, and authentic experience. We are continuing to work on finding the right balance between gameplay animation depth and variety, and consistent expected behaviors, that are always responsive to player input. More details on how we are addressing these problems will be part of the Gameplay Pitch Notes, for example: Animation transitions and branching have been reevaluated and re-tuned across most areas of gameplay to improve consistency and responsiveness. Increased Animation Coverage Animations play an important role for a football game to be authentic. Every year we add new animations to refresh the experience, create variety, and to fill any coverage gaps. Some contexts may have had limited animation coverage in the past. This caused our system to use a longer animation or delay starting an animation while attempting to position the player in a way that would accommodate the best possible animation. We’ve focused on improving the coverage for scenarios where it's reasonable to expect a responsive action. To clarify, we have strict game performance checks that ensure the game runs smoothly regardless of the amount of animations that exist in the database. This year we have added hundreds of new animations meant to enable players to perform actions faster than ever. Addressed Animation System Bugs In some cases, the systems that decide what animations should play can experience bugs. These are arguably the most complicated systems in a Gameplay engine, since they need to solve every combination of player requests with the available animations, while keeping high quality visuals. For example: Expecting the player to get to the ball as early as possible to prevent the opponent getting to it first, but the player taking an inefficient or curved path to the ball that introduces just enough delay for the opponent to win the ball. Expecting an immediate right foot shot to prevent getting tackled, but the player decides to use their left foot instead, delaying the shot for a couple of frames. With a focus on Fundamentals, this year we’ve fixed dozens of problems related to the Animation System and its responsiveness. Time between button press and when our simulation processes the input We looked closely at every stage of the input processing system and identified a few opportunities to improve our input latency. We were able to improve input latency by one frame in some cases of first time passes and shot requests. Combined with the animation improvements mentioned above, these scenarios are more likely to play out as first time passes or shots in FC 26, as opposed to taking a touch that feels unresponsive. We’ve improved our input systems with the aim of ensuring that all inputs are processed immediately. We also improved the responsiveness of the on screen player switch indicator visual feedback, giving the user more immediate feedback on which player they are controlling and allowing for more responsive reactions to the play. We’ll share more about these updates in more detail in our upcoming FC 26 Gameplay Deep Dive, which will be live on July 22. Stay tuned! What’s Next In the lead up to FC 26 launch, we’re continuing to meet with members of our Design Council to help us find additional cases related to gameplay responsiveness. This will remain a priority for our teams to make FC feel more responsive than ever, based on your feedback. Be sure to keep an eye out for more details on FC 26 across our upcoming Deep Dives. Community Feedback Your feedback is extremely helpful for our teams as we continue to prioritize making FC feel responsive and rewarding overall. We want to hear from you. As part of FC Feedback, we’ve created a new discussion thread in our game-feedback channel in our official EA SPORTS FC Discord server. Our team will be monitoring this discussion, and will be passing along relevant feedback directly to our Dev teams to review. Join the discussion now. You can also continue providing feedback through our FC Player Feedback Portal in a more structured format to send your feedback directly to our Devs. Learn more here.EA SPORTS FC 26 Version 1.4.2 Update Notes
EA SPORTS FC 26 v1.4.2 is now live for the PC/PS4/PS5/XB1 and XBX|S versions and will soon be able for the Switch / Switch 2 versions. Gameplay Made the following updates: Addressed an issue where the goalkeeper could've deflected the ball too accurately during an anticipation save. Inaccurate knuckle ball shots could have occurred more often than intended. Career Mode Made the following changes: Added a new Contract Extension setting under Transfer & Scouting that enables you to choose how open players might be to contract extensions. Updated visuals and animations for scheduling loading screen. Added a new Social Media panel that surfaces active Challenge Objectives during challenge scenarios. Addressed the following issues: After requesting a transfer, players could not have always been offered new contacts. In Live Start Points, women’s teams were unintentionally present in some leagues. Clubs Goalkeepers were sometimes holding the ball for longer than intended when a pass was requested. Once emptied, short-term stamina could have previously only been recovered if players became idle. General, Audio, and Visual Made the following changes: Updated some badges, logos, hair, boots, star heads, lighting, kits, tattoos, 2D portraits, scarves, banners, cameras, button callouts, overlays and TIFOs Addressed the following issues: Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred. Want to provide us direct feedback about EA SPORTS FC 26? https://go.ea.com/fc26pfp and let us know what you think, it only takes a few minutes. Thanks to those who’ve provided and continue to provide feedback. Throughout the course of the EA SPORTS FC 26 season, we'll provide you with more information and updates if and when they become available. Be sure to follow @EASFCDIRECT on X as well as WhatsApp, and check out the EA SPORTS FC Tracker for the latest news and updates. The EA SPORTS FC TeamEA SPORTS FC™ 26 | Feedback Update - November Technical Test
Intro EA SPORTS FC™ is powered by player feedback and this year we’ve listened closer than ever before. Through our Player Feedback Portal, Discord, and social channels, we’ve gathered over 730,000 data points from community discussions since the launch of FC 26. This feedback has directly shaped new updates and features in FC 26, and will continue to influence future FC innovations. As part of this continued commitment, invited players from the UK, USA, and Canada will take part in a technical playtest for a future, world-based football experience, starting today, November 3. This hands-on playtest is the biggest of its kind for FC, designed to help us gather feedback earlier in development than ever before, using pre-release content which will not represent the final version. With social gameplay and self-expression at the centre of EA SPORTS FC, this test marks a new chapter in how we build and evolve The World’s Game together with our community. This playtest runs alongside our ongoing updates to FC 26, with teams across multiple studios working on the continuous development and implementation of community feedback to deliver the best possible experience. What is the Technical Playtest? This is a technical playtest with pre-release software. Our goal is to test a range of innovations, technical performance, and stability by giving invited players a hands-on experience of several early, limited, in-development features in an all-new mode in FC. The results will contribute to our ongoing development of the experience which we plan to release in a future EA SPORTS FC title. As this is a closed test, it will contain errors/defects and it does not accurately represent the final quality upon its future release. Content in this EA SPORTS FC technical playtest will not be coming to FC 26. How will the Technical Test work? Select players in the USA, Canada and UK, who had signed up for EA Playtesting will receive invites to test, play, and provide valuable feedback to our development team to help shape this future EA SPORTS FC innovation. This technical playtest is only available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Participants are not allowed to share content from the test, and their participation is subject to the Pre-Release Feedback Agreement, EA’s User Agreement and Privacy & Cookie Policy. FC 26 and What’s Next We remain fully committed to creating the best possible FC 26 experience. We are monitoring the feedback that you provide to update gameplay, enhance modes with upcoming content and updates, and address issues - with new updates planned in the coming weeks which will be shared during our upcoming FC Feedback November Update. To stay up to date with the latest in FC 26 be sure to follow @EASFCDIRECT on X and join the EA SPORTS FC Direct WhatsApp. Outro We’re excited to continue to create the future of EA SPORTS FC together. For the chance to be involved in future EA Playtests, make sure to sign up here.Transfer Market Unlocks (FC 26)
Transfer Market Unlocks (FC 26): Game vs Web & Companion Quick guide to what unlocks where, and how to get there. TL;DR In-game (Ultimate Team): Finish specific Foundations Objectives, then wait for activation. During the wait you can list items, but you can’t search, bid, or buy Web & Companion Apps: Unlock is separate. Earn it by playing over multiple “active days.” Support can’t grant access or give a date. Important: Transfer Market access is a privilege, not a guarantee. Your account must remain in good standing and follow the FC Rules. In-Game (Graduated Access) Steps for new players Play Ultimate Team → Objectives. Complete New Beginnings (Foundations) to unlock Venturing Out (Foundations). Complete Venturing Out and claim your reward. Activation time PC: full access in 48 hours after completion. Other platforms: full access within 24 hours. While waiting: you can list items; you cannot search, bid, or Buy Now. Returning players in good standing may already have in-game access. Web & Companion Apps How unlock works Access is earned by play — advisors can’t grant it or predict timing. An active day = play 3 full Ultimate Team matches and log into the Web/Companion app the same UTC day (per UT account). Playing more than three matches in a day does not speed it up. Typical timing One UT account on the device, good standing Multiple UT accounts on the same device: Unlock timing may vary. Blocks & Bans If blocked, you’ll see a message in the app—check the email on your EA Account for details. If you think it’s a mistake, follow the appeal steps; secure your account if compromised. FC 25 Transfer Market bans don’t carry to FC 26, but franchise-level bans do. If your account has been banned, see this EA Help article for more details. Notes In-game unlock does not auto-unlock the Web/Companion apps. Requirements, limits (list, bid, buy), and timings may change as we tune the system. Transfer Market access remains conditional on your account staying in good standing and following the FC Rules. You can find more information here: How to unlock the Transfer Market with Graduated Access in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 EA SPORTS FC™ Transfer Market access on Web & Companion Apps
EA SPORTS FC 26 – Conteúdo de cada versão e instalação
Entenda todas as diferenças entre as edições, o que cada versão oferece, quais bônus estão incluídos na pré-reserva e como resgatar cada conteúdo. Conteúdo EA FC 26 Ultimate Edition 6.000 FC Points (em 3 lotes mensais / Switch recebe 4.500) 1 espaço adicional de Evolução de Atleta (FUT) 1 consumível de Desbloqueio de Arquétipo 2 consumíveis de AXP em dobro (10 partidas cada) 3 ÍDOLOS para Carreira (Manager e Jogador) 1 Auxiliar técnico 5 estrelas (Carreira de Manager) 1 Olheiro da base 5 estrelas (Carreira de Manager e Desafio ao Vivo de Manager) Até 7 dias de acesso antecipado (a partir de 19/09/2025) Passe Premium da Temporada 1 - Não será enviado no primeiro acesso, reinicie o jogo para que apareça. Conteúdo EA FC 26 Ultimate Team ( reservado até 26/08/2025) Se você fez a pré reserva da versão Ultimate Edition (até 26/08/2025) você também receberá. 1 ÍDOLO do Ultimate Team (inegociável) no FC 26 Conteúdo do FC 25 (jogo separado): 1 Evolução de atleta 1 escolha de ÍDOLO 93+ (1 de 5, inegociável) Até 7 dias de acesso antecipado (a partir de 19/09/2025) Passe Premium da Temporada 1 - Não será enviado no primeiro acesso, reinicie o jogo para que apareça. EA Play Pro Edition O que inclui: 1 item de ÍCONE (inegociável) no Ultimate Team Conteúdo do FC 25 (Evolução de atleta + 1 escolha de ÍCONE 93+ inegociável) Até 7 dias de acesso antecipado (a partir de 19/09/2025) Passe Premium da Season 1 6.000 FC Points (distribuídos em 3 lotes mensais) 1 espaço de Evolução de atleta 1 consumível de Desbloqueio de Arquétipo 2 consumíveis de AXP em dobro (10 partidas cada) 3 ÍCONES para Carreira 1 Treinador Assistente 5 estrelas (Carreira de Manager) 1 Olheiro de base 5 estrelas (Carreira de Manager e Desafio ao Vivo de Manager) Standard Edition O que inclui: Conteúdo do FC 25 (1 ÍDOLO 92+ inegociável no Ultimate Team) 1 consumível de Desbloqueio de Arquétipo 2 consumíveis de AXP em dobro (10 partidas cada) 3 ÍDOLOS para Carreira 1 Auxiliar técnico 5 estrelas (Carreira de Manager) 1 Olheiro da base 5 estrelas (Carreira de Manager e Desafio ao Vivo de Manager) Disponibilidade: Todo o conteúdo a partir de 26/09/2025 Como resgatar os conteúdos do EA SPORTS FC 26 1. Steam Abra o Steam e vá até a sua Biblioteca. Encontre o EA SPORTS FC 26 na sua lista de jogos. Ao lado do botão Jogar, clique no botão que diz: Resgatar Conteúdo do Ultimate Team 2. Consoles/ EA App Após a instalação do jogo , é necessário estar conectado aos servidores da EA e realizar estas etapas: Fazer login no Ultimate Team Fazer login no Clubs Criar e salvar um jogo no Modo Carreira Essas três etapas juntas são chamadas de “resgate”. Sem elas, o conteúdo de bônus não será liberado. 3. Mídia Física Em alguns casos ao comprar o jogo com nossos parceiros em mídia física ou digital, você poderá receber um código de resgate único. Basta inserir esse código na sua Conta EA, (pelo EA App, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store etc.). Assim, o jogo e todos os bônus ficarão vinculados diretamente à sua conta.. Mais informações : https://help.ea.com/pt-br/articles/ea-sports-fc/pre-order/EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | FC 26 Launch Update
Hey everyone, EA SPORTS FC™ 26 is nearly here, and this year brings a refreshed approach to Live Content across Football Ultimate Team™, Clubs, and Career Mode. From day one, the experience is designed to set a clear direction, celebrate football’s biggest stories, and deliver more variety and balance across modes. These Pitch Notes outline what you can expect at launch, how we are shaping progression and rewards, and the strategy guiding Live Content throughout the season. Table of Contents Intro and Launch Dates Power Curve and Chemistry Styles Early Access Content & Cornerstones FC 26 Seasons: A World Tour Through History Season 1: England 66 World Tour: Silver Superstars Live Events: Tournaments & Gauntlet Game Mode & Reward Changes Evolutions ICONs and Heroes Pre-order Content Returning User Rewards and Graduated Access Updated Match Outcomes In Football Ultimate Team UT RUSH Match Outcomes / Matchmaking Delays EA Play Rewards Club Member Rewards Preseason Rewards Responsiveness Gameplay Clubs Career Mode Path to FC Pro Intro and Launch Dates There’s nothing like that new season feeling, so here are some key dates to help you start planning your first days in FC 26. Companion and Web App: Web app launches September 17. Companion App refresh goes live on September 18. Early Access: Ultimate Edition players can start at midnight local time on September 19 on Console and September 18, 1 PM BST on PC. EA Play members can access a 10-hour early access trial, while EA Play Pro members on PC get unlimited access. For more information on EA Play please visit ea.com/ea-play. Worldwide Launch: Standard Edition opens at midnight local time on September 26 on Console and September 25, 1 PM BST on PC. Early Access & Cornerstones To celebrate the return of Tournaments in Football Ultimate Team™, Early Access will feature a Daily Knockout Tournament. You can compete daily to earn rewards and qualify for a one-time Early Access finale tournament on the final day of Early Access. More on that in the Live Events section below. Early Access will also include the following: Team of the Week 1 and 2 Evolutions World Tour and Squad Foundations releases Flashback SBC Showdown SBCs Opportunities to earn Season Points The first campaign after Early Access will be Cornerstones. This campaign shines a spotlight on the players that teams are built around, dependable leaders, pivotal long-term signings, and young talents who’ve stepped up to become central to their clubs’ success. Cornerstones will provide permanent upgrades and enhanced +2 Club chemistry links, strengthening their role as the central pillar of your Ultimate Team. Keep an eye out for more new FUT Campaigns, as well as the return of some spooky favourites. Power Curve We’ve heard your feedback on the pace of the FC 25 power curve. In FC 26, we’re deliberately slowing down the curve and pacing out upgrades more gradually. What This Means in FUT Base Items: Rare Golds, ICONs, and Heroes will set the benchmark for top squads deeper into the year. From day 0, content is structured around this philosophy. For example, more of the Season 1 campaign player items will be tuned with upgrades that are more lateral to base items. In addition, you won’t see August POTM Player SBCs in Early Access this year and Showdown Player SBC winner upgrades will also be adjusted for Season 1 to a +1 OVR and Role++ upgrade. Weekly Campaigns: You’ll still see new campaign squads most weeks, but the boosts to those campaign items will be more lateral on average. Of course, the bigger campaigns, like Black Friday, Team of the Year, and Team of the Season, will still deliver items with significant stat boosts. However, in between you can expect more measured boosts and lateral upgrades that are focused more on expanding the pool of squad-building options. Rewards: Rewards from Champs, Rivals, Squad Battles, SBCs, Evos, Seasonal ladder, offers in the Store and more are tuned to match this new pacing. More on that below. In summary, FC 26 slows the pace of progression. Squads will generally be slightly lower rated at the same point compared to FC 25, and weekly campaigns drops will feature smaller attribute boosts on average. Rewards and paid offers are also tuned to match this steadier curve. Chemistry Styles Refresh To support this slower curve, Chemistry Styles have also been rebalanced in FC 26 helping to keep upgrades feel satisfying without letting any single Chemistry Style disrupt the overall balance of Items: New Boost Model: Styles now use a 3/6/9-point boost system instead of 4/8/12, narrowing stat gaps and keeping balance tighter. Pace Trade-Offs: Pace-heavy styles are now more of a choice. Boosting speed comes with trade-offs in other areas, so not all Items become pace-focused. More Diversity: Non-pace styles have been tuned to emphasize key attributes like Composure, Reactions, and Stamina, encouraging different builds across your club. FC 26 Seasons: A World Tour Through History In FC 25, we introduced Seasonal content like the World Tour alongside campaigns, adding new dimensions to rewards and squad building. In FC 26, Seasons take another step forwards, tying football’s greatest stories directly into Football Ultimate Team™. Football is about stories, and international football provides the biggest stories of all. To celebrate, FC 26 Seasons will take you on a journey through the eras, revisiting legendary tournaments with A World Tour Through History. Each Season will center on a historic international tournament, culminating in Season 8: The Festival of Football. Along the way, host nation and winning nation players will appear across the Season Ladder, SBCs, and Objectives, while the most influential stars from each tournament will be honored through a brand new seasonal Player Program. Season 1: England '66 Our journey begins with England ‘66, known as the year football came home. Theme: English, Premier League, and Barclays Women's Super League focused content to celebrate the triumph of the Wingless Wonders. Rewards: Earn Packs, Player Picks, Player items, Stadium Customization, Evolution Cosmetics in Ultimate Team and more across Clubs & Career Seasonal Excellence: Close the Season with a One Nation Tournament where you’ll test your English squad. Season Pass content requires gameplay to unlock. Premium Pass content also requires the Premium Pass (sold separately) World Tour: Silver Superstars We’re bringing back a fan favorite with a new twist to celebrate international football! Each Season we’ll be releasing Silver-level ICONs and Heroes from the highlighted tournament, featuring illustration-style Action Shots for added flair and to differentiate them from base and campaign ICONs. Balance: Each Item will be created at Silver level, with ratings that reflect tournament performance, on an alternate progression path. This lets us deliver fun, accessible Items while preserving the core FUT power curve. How to earn: Complete themed long-term Season Objectives to earn Silver Superstars. Objectives vary in difficulty, with rewards that match the challenge. Live Events: Each Season ends with a Silver-only match-limited League where you can unleash your Silver Superstars for unique international-themed rewards. Other more relaxed Silver Events may appear throughout each Season and the cycle. Note about Evolutions: In Season 1, Evolutions will exclude entry of World Tour Silver Superstars. Entering a Silver Superstar into an Evolution may change OVR or rarity, making them permanently ineligible for Silver Events Live Events In FC 25, you told us there wasn’t enough variety in game modes and that many experiences didn’t feel accessible enough.. Live Events in FC 26 are built to change that. They bring new formats, fresh ways to play and earn, and rewards that scale to the level of competition you take on, whether you want a lighter, casual experience or matches where every win counts. Three Event Types Tournaments: Classic knockout competitions, ranging from formats with lighter rewards to battles where every match matters and rewards are more meaningful. Gauntlets: Gauntlets are multi-squad challenges that test your Club depth across several rounds. In each round, you’ll field a new squad, meaning you can’t rely on the same eleven and bench throughout. There’s no elimination - you’ll always play through the full Gauntlet - but the more rounds you win, the better your rewards. Regular Events: An evolution of Friendlies featuring themed competitions. These include unlimited-attempt Exhibitions for a casual experience, and match-limited Leagues for a more competitive feel. They add custom rules, themed Objectives, and structured rewards to keep things fresh. Key Launch Moments Daily Knockout Tournament (Early Access): Celebrating the return of Tournaments, a Daily Knockout will run during Early Access. The Early Access Elimination will refresh every day, allowing Tournament winners to re-enter the next day. Winning once will qualify you for a one-time Early Access finale tournament on the final day of Early Access. Note that tournaments won’t always appear weekly, we're keeping them special so they feel impactful. Ultimate Gauntlet: Debuting after Worldwide Launch Weekend and returning every two weeks in Season 1, this flagship format challenges you to build up to three unique squads across different rounds. You will have 1 attempt every day throughout the week with no specific Squad requirements so you can decide your first, second and third squad Each squad requires 11 starters and 7 bench players, so you’ll need 18 players per round and as many as 54 across three rounds. Test the depth and versatility of your entire Club, along with how you strategically spread your players across squads to maximize performance. Rewards scale with results, including Packs, Players, and Evo Consumables. The number of rounds will change in future seasons. You can expect one or two Live Events each week, with a focus on quality over quantity. Our goal is to make every Event feel meaningful. Some will lean more casual, offering unlimited or near-unlimited attempts with lighter rewards, while others will be hard fought battles where every match counts and the rewards scale up accordingly. More on rewards below. Most Events will be available to preview in advance so you’ll know what’s coming up. Rewards, however, will only be shown ahead of time for select Events. They’ll be revealed when the Event goes live otherwise. Game Mode & Reward Changes In FC 26, we’ve made changes based on your feedback while introducing new features to keep gameplay fresh. Live Events bring new formats like Gauntlet and the return of Tournaments, while core modes like Rivals and Champions have been reworked to be more accessible and better balanced for all players. Champions More Accessible: Champions Playoffs are removed, Champions Qualification Points can now be earned from Division 7, and you’ll auto-qualify at Division 6 once you have enough points. This lowers the barrier to entry and is in response to your FC 25 feedback around the desire for greater accessibility to Champions Expanded Tiers: Ranks expanded from 10 to 15 tiers, with rewards granted for every win. This makes sure that every win counts, with milestone tiers now available at 12 and 14 wins. Challengers: A new version of Champions for Division 7 and below, with its own format and rewards. This lets more players experience the Champions environment, while lighter rewards preserve the prestige of top-tier Champions. Rivals New Bounties: Seasonal challenges that differ by division add variety and reward players with items such as Champions Qualification Points, Coins, Season Points, Weekly Reward Points, Division Ladder Skips, and Packs/Picks. After every Rivals match, players have a chance to receive a new Bounty, keeping Rivals progression fresh and rewarding across all skill levels. Win Streaks: Streaks now accelerate both division progress and progress towards weekly rewards, reducing the time required to progress through gameplay. Reduced Points Requirement: Lowered from 35 → 30 in response to FC 25 feedback that players wanted a lower the match threshold for rewards. With added points from Win Streaks and Bounties, players should need about 5 fewer matches per week to reach the upgraded tier. Limited Checkpoints: Introduced to reduce friction from situations where players promote and then immediately drop back down. Checkpoints make progression smoother while still allowing relegation, ensuring players don’t get stuck in divisions above their skill level. Squad Battles Expanded Match Limit: In response to players asking for more depth in Squad Battles in FC 25, players can now play up to 18 matches per week (increased from 14) that count towards their weekly point total. This gives offline players more meaningful matches each week. Draft Rewards: Rewards have been rebalanced to feel more consistent across all tiers, addressing FC 25 feedback that you wanted more consistent Draft reward outcomes, especially for players finishing 4/4 wins. Scaling Rewards: In previous years, Draft did not see any changes to their rewards throughout the year. In FC 26, we’ll be updating Draft rewards regularly, similar to other game modes. This ensures rewards feel meaningful throughout the year. Rewards & Economy Reward Progression: As outlined in the power curve section, rewards in FC 26 are tuned to provide more measured progression and a more stable transfer market. As an example, below you can find the Rank 1 rewards for FUT Champs Finals for Season 1. Rank 1 FUT Champs Finals Rewards – FC 26 (Season 1) 85,000 Coins 2x current Campaign Guarantee (Untradeable) 3x 83+ TOTW Player Pack 3x 88+ Rare Gold Player Pack 10x 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack 10x 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack 10x 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack (Untradeable) Advanced SBCs Rebalancing:. Advanced SBCs such as the League & Nation Hybrid set have evolved over time, and in FC 26 they’re aligned more closely with other Challenge SBCs at launch. In FC 26, they’re tuned to support a smoother build-up that better matches the early pace of the game. Timed & Scaled Releases: Advanced SBCs will now drop gradually across the cycle, aligned with key seasonal moments, with requirements and rewards that scale to the state of the game. The first Season 1 set will be themed around England ‘66. Challenges Tab: Advanced SBCs now sit in the Challenges Tab, set apart from Foundation SBCs to highlight their greater difficulty. Evolutions in FC 26 Evolutions in FC 26 are meant to give players greater control over their Squads through more accessible and personalised ways to upgrade Player Items. Power Curve: In FC 26, Evolutions will be more focused on boosting the level of bottom and middle tier items of your squad rather than consistently creating the items with the highest stats, though they’ll still do that occasionally. In addition, Evolutions upgrades will be delivered in smaller, iterative steps - many of which will be fueled by repeatable Evolutions. This approach means Evolutions will push the top end of the curve less, but provide more depth and customization, complementing rather than overpowering Campaign Items. Club Depth: Many Evolutions will be designed to help support building multiple squads, aligning with new experiences like Gauntlet where squad depth is key. Repeatable Evolutions: Select Evolutions can now be repeated. Each comes with a set number of repeats and a cooldown that begins only after completing the previous run. This is intended to help create a steady rhythm of progress and strategic choice, whether to invest in one standout player or spread upgrades across the squad. Visuals: Most Evolutions that provide incremental upgrades will no longer change your Item Design, allowing you to preserve the original look and feel of your player items. Evolutions that deliver larger upgrades or are tied to a Campaign will still update your item design. ICONs and Heroes ICON and Hero content expands in FC 26 with additions that span Football Ultimate Team™ and Career Mode. New ICONs: Zlatan Ibrahimović, Francesco Totti, Andrés Iniesta, Cha Bum-kun, Toni Kroos, Giorgio Chiellini, Oliver Kahn, Marcelo, Alex Morgan, Caroline Seger, Sissi, and Steffi Jones join the Class of 26. Career Mode Availability: ICONs and Heroes remain available beyond Football Ultimate Team™ and feature in Career Mode. Details below. Heroes: New FC 26 Heroes arrive through FUT Campaigns across the cycle, starting in Season 2. This includes the Bayern Hero Vote winner! Pre-order Content We want Ultimate Edition owners to understand exactly what to expect and when to expect it. Pre-Order specific: Debut ICONs: Players who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition by August 26th will get their Debut ICON when they start Football Ultimate Team™ for the first time. This pack with the Debut ICON will be available to open starting September 19 at 6 PM UTC. The Debut ICON will then graduate to the Champion ICON version on November 27. The Debut ICONs will be added to the Ultimate Team pool of items on 29 November. Premium Ladder: Ultimate Edition pre-orders get the premium ladder of the Season 1 Pass. All Ultimate Edition Users: FC Points Delivery: Ultimate Edition users get 2,000 points at first login, 2,000 on the same or closest day the following month, and 2,000 the month after. Example: Start on 19 September and receive on September 19, October 19, and November 19. Ultimate Edition EVO Slot: This will let you upgrade two Evolution players in standard evolutions at the same time from launch - the Training Camp Evolution limit will remain one. Available to claim at first Football Ultimate Team™ login. Graduated Access / Football Ultimate Team Transfer Market Limiting transfer market access for new accounts safeguards the FUT economy while actual new players are introduced to FUT at a more measured pace. Graduated Access: We covered some of the details of Graduated Access in FC 26 in our FUT Deep Dive Pitch Notes, but essentially, players/accounts new to FC will not have Transfer Market access until they complete the Foundation Objective Group ‘On Your Way’. Once this Objective Group has been completed, full FUT Transfer Market access would be granted in 48 hours for players on PC, and within 24 hours for players on the other platforms. During the 24/48 hour period, players will have access to list Items on the Transfer Market, but will not have access to search the Transfer Market and Bid/Buy Now actions until the time period has elapsed. The specific details listed here may be adjusted in the future as we monitor player behavior. Skip for Returning Players: Eligible players returning from EA SPORTS FIFA 23, EA SPORTS FC™ 24, and EA SPORTS FC™ 25 in good standing skip Graduated Access and get direct Transfer Market access, in-game and on the Companion and Web App. Updated Match Outcomes In Football Ultimate Team In FC 26, we’re making some changes to address your feedback around match outcomes when a match ends early in a draw. Quits & Disconnects In A Draw: We touched on the changes we are making to match outcomes in FUT in a previous Pitch Notes, but in short, you can receive a win when your opponent either quits or disconnects (including dashboarding) from the match when the score is a draw. This applies when certain conditions are met, and when playing Live Events, Rivals, and Champions. At FC 26 launch, one of these conditions must apply in order for a win to be awarded. 45 minutes (in-game time) has passed The quitting / disconnecting player concedes a penalty kick. The quitting / disconnecting player has received a red card. In addition, at launch, a player can only receive a win from this 5 times a day, with the limit resetting at 00:00 UTC daily. Reiterating what we have said previously, this is a complex space. When we change how players get wins, draws, or losses, exploits can be unintentionally introduced, so we must be careful about how we make these changes. What is listed here may change, based on whether our analysis and/or observations indicate that these changes are negatively impacting your experience. We may also loosen the restrictions if we are able to do so safely. FUT RUSH Match Outcomes / Matchmaking Delays We know that the best RUSH matches are built on the experiences you have with your teammates. Matchmaking Delays: To encourage teammates in FUT RUSH to keep fighting until the end of the match, we are introducing matchmaking delays in FUT RUSH for players who consistently leave matches early. Players who consistently quit or disconnect from FUT Rush matches will first experience a 15 minute matchmaking delay. If following that delay, they continue to leave matches early, the delay will escalate up to an hour. Completing FUT Rush matches will remove that matchmaking delay. We will also be closely monitoring feedback on this, as it’s a new space for FC, and we may need to make adjustments as we see how it impacts your experience. Returning Player Rewards We want returning players to feel welcomed back. Eligible players coming from FC 25 receive early rewards to curate a squad and complete SBCs. EA Play Rewards EA Play members receive content across modes during the FC 26 cycle. Football Ultimate Team™: EA Play Welcome Pack with three 85+ OVR Loan 1 of 5 Player Pick Items for 10 matches each. Includes Attacker, Midfielder, and Defender Player Pick Items. Also includes one FUT Draft Token. Clubs: The World’s Game Dark Blue Headband. How to Qualify: Maintain an active EA Play subscription during the FC 26 cycle. You must log into the Ultimate Team mode in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 with an EA Account associated with an EA Play or Game Pass Ultimate Account between September 18, 2025 – October 30, 2025 to receive the EA Play Welcome Pack. Club Member Rewards Founders and Club Members can unlock customisation and progression benefits. Founder Rewards: Founders kits and crests in Football Ultimate Team™. Founders TIFOs to showcase legacy. Club Member Rewards: In Football Ultimate Team™, branded Kits, XL TIFOs, and Crests. In Clubs, Gloves, Boots, Arm Sleeves, and AXP Multipliers. In Career, new Legendary Items and accessories. How to Qualify: Founders are those who played FC 24 before 1 November, 2023. To obtain a FC 26 Club Membership, you’ll need to play FC 25 and FC 26 before 1 November, 2025*. Pre-season Rewards Carryover rewards from EA SPORTS FC™ 25 Football Ultimate Team™ arrive in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 beginning October 14, 2025. Availability: Rewards become claimable starting October 14, 2025 in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Football Ultimate Team™. How to Claim: Log in to EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Football Ultimate Team™ using the same EA Account and platform family used to earn the rewards in EA SPORTS FC™ 25. For example, PlayStation rewards can be claimed only on PlayStation. Timing: It may take some time for all rewards to appear in your account. Responsiveness Following up on our recent Gameplay Responsiveness Update, we’ve been working on some exciting changes to make FC 26 feel more responsive. With help from your feedback during Closed Beta, we’re launching an improvement to better synchronize the client and server. This aims to reduce the average input round trip latency by approximately 12ms improvement per input and improves frame-to-frame consistency. Essentially, this means your input is more responsive, and you’re more likely to have your online input respond in time for your desired action to be successful. This is a reduction of latency on every input, and when testing this with core players, we’ve noticed a meaningful improvement to competitive play. Gameplay We’ve also seen your feedback about Finesse Shots from outside of the box and are making changes to keep the trajectory realistic and less exploitable for Early Access. Before and After Using your feedback, we noticed Finesse Shots were sometimes easily lobbing the keeper from outside of the box. Starting in Early Access, we’ve reduced the top spin on these shots to ensure they can’t be overused to score a goal. Here’s what this will look like. Here’s a closer look at the curve trajectory before the change. And here’s what Finesse Shot trajectories will look like for Early Access. We’re excited to hear what you think about this and other gameplay updates in FC 26. Please continue providing feedback with the new FC Feedback Hub. Clubs Clubs in FC 26 expands with deeper progression, more competitive variety, and a clear rhythm of play across the year. Chapters and Seasons guide your journey with new Live Events and progression refreshes, ensuring the mode evolves alongside you throughout the Seasons. Archetypes Archetypes define how you grow your Pro and unlock unique PlayStyles and Perks to compete on the pitch. Introducing Archetypes: 13 new Archetypes inspired by iconic footballers. From launch, you can progress from level 1 to level 50, with new level caps added during the year. Progression: Play Clubs to earn Archetype XP. Unlock Attribute Points for core stats, Signature PlayStyles for identity, and Signature Perks for extra edge. Learn More: Discover all 13 Archetypes, Signature PlayStyles, and Signature Perks in the Clubs Deep Dive. Consumables Consumables are designed as a catch-up tool for players who join Clubs later in the year. They provide another way to progress your Archetypes alongside matches and Skill Games, but they don’t replace natural progression. Safeguards like level caps and purchase limits ensure Consumables accelerate growth without upsetting balance. Consumable Types Archetype XP (AXP) Multipliers: Boost AXP earned in matches for a set number of games. Direct Apply AXP: Instantly grant AXP to your active Archetype. (Capped at Level 25 to keep balance - this cap rises as Archetype Level Limits increase.) Archetype Unlocks: Unlock any locked Archetype directly from the Archetypes Screen. Archetype Resets: Lets you reset Attribute Points for redistribution. Consumable Limits & Safeguards Direct Apply AXP is capped below max level to ensure it supports catch-up, not endgame skipping. Store purchases have defined limits that refresh only when new Consumables are added. Rewarded Consumables (from Objectives or the Season Pass) are limited only by how they’re distributed. Consumables can be saved indefinitely. Store expiry applies only to purchase windows, not usage. How to Unlock Consumables: Available in the Club Store with FC Points or Clubs Coins. Earnable through Season Pass rewards. FAQs & Balance Notes AXP Multipliers apply across all Clubs modes: League, Playoffs, Friendlies, 11v11 Drop-In, Rush, and Live Events. Only one Multiplier can be active at a time. Activating a new one replaces the old one. Direct Apply AXP carries over even past the Consumable Level Cap. Unlocks and Resets can also be done with Clubs Coins or FC Points Consumables only provide AXP already available through play. The Consumable Level Cap scales upward as Archetype Level Caps increase during the year. Clubs Competitive Experiences We are adding more ways to compete and climb together. Leagues and Playoffs: Climb Divisions, qualify for Playoffs, and battle for promotion. Clubs Rush: Race to Elite Rank through ten Divisions. You can now play true 5-a-side Rush with Be-a-Goalkeeper enabled. Live Events: Fresh formats all year. Start Season 1 with the Designated Shooter Event and build toward the End of Chapter Cup in Season 3. Clubs Objectives Objectives in Clubs reward you at every stage of your Pro journey. Foundations: Learn the ropes and kickstart your Pro’s career. Archetypes: Track mastery of each Archetype. Seasonal, Weekly, and Daily: A steady flow of fresh rewards. Live Events: Earn rewards that tie your Pro to your biggest moments. Clubs Season 1: Live Events and Tournaments Here’s what to expect at launch. Designated Shooter Event: Each team will have a designated shooter, randomly rotated throughout the match, whose goals count double. Debut Cup: Open to all. Unlimited attempts. Survive three knockout rounds to reach the final. Origin Cup: A multi-stage Tournament. Stage 1 performance sets your Stage 2 tier. Second-chance retries open after cooldowns. Career Mode We are excited to go into more detail around Career Mode including Manager Live Challenges and changes to how you can earn ICONs and Heroes in Player Career and Manager Career on FC 26. Manager Live We’re really excited at the batch of Launch Challenges we have lined up in Manager Live. We've tried to add variety in terms of Challenge restriction, simulation time required to complete, and what teams are compatible with each Challenge. At launch, we have three Starter Challenges designed for a familiar and relaxed route into Challenge life. These are focused purposely on established and popular actions we know players already enjoy within Career Mode, engaging with the transfer market, pre-season, and starting the domestic season strongly. From there, the choice is yours, but here are some personal favourites: Top at Christmas; take control of any team in the top five European leagues and be top of your domestic league at Christmas Road To Glory; achieve a promotion, domestic league title and UEFA Champions League win within three seasons European Royalty; either replicate Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Super Cup win, or change the course of history with Tottenham Hotspur, going on to reach a UEFA Champions League Final, being active in the transfer market with both ins and outs, and go on to win another UEFA Super Cup within three seasons Successfully completing Challenges earns Season Points for the Season Pass, and completing some Challenges - such as European Royalty above - also unlocks licensed retro kits for you to use with that club in future Manager Live saves, or on your Create Your Club team. In FC26, we’ll be adding multiple live Challenges directly into the Manager Live Hub weekly during the new season. We’re really happy with how in-depth we can make Manager Live Challenges, and are looking forward to creating Challenges that replicate or reference the real world of football, but also bend reality with exciting ‘what if?’ moments. ICONs in Player Career & Manager Career In FC 26, ICONs remain a feature in Career Mode, available beyond Ultimate Team. Player Career will kick off in Season 1 with a rotating set of ICONs, starting with four options such as Fernando Torres and Marinette Pichon. These ICONs will only be available for a limited time before being replaced by new selections as the season progresses. Ultimate Edition owners or players who pre-ordered the Standard Edition of FC 26 will permanently unlock ICONs both in Player Career and Manager Career, with Zlatan Ibrahimović, Toni Kroos, and Alex Morgan available from day one. Additional ICONs and Heroes can be unlocked in Manager Career through both the Premium and standard of the Season 1 Pass, featuring names like Luis Figo and Kelly Smith. In addition, one Icon can be unlocked for Player Career specifically in the Standard Tier of the Season Pass every Season, with David Beckham available as the reward for Season 1. All ICONs and Heroes unlocked through the Season Pass in Career Mode are permanent additions, including in Player Career Path to FC Pro As mentioned in the FC Pro Deep Dive, FC Pro Live Events is a brand-new mode in EA SPORTS FC 26 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S that makes accessing the Path to Pro easier than ever. The FC Pro tab will appear in the Ultimate Team Play Menu whenever an FC Pro Live Event is active. Once you reach Division 4 in Rivals, you’ll be able to jump in, compete against top players, and earn exclusive cosmetics to showcase your accomplishments, along with progression toward FC Pro competition. There’s no need for external registration for initial qualification, everything is handled directly in-game, including matchmaking, just like Rivals or Champions. Players compete on regional leaderboards ranked by Elo rating, which shifts based on your results and the strength of your opponents. The top performers in each region, based on peak Elo during the ladder period, will advance to the next stage. Please note: only PlayStation 5 competitors are eligible to qualify for FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers, while both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players can earn in-game rewards.EA SPORTS FC 26 | Pitch Notes - Gameplay Deep Dive
Check out our full Gameplay Deep Dive video: Gameplay in FC 26 Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC 26 Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes. Our names are Keegan Sabatino, Gigo Navarro, and Thomas Caleffi, designers and producers from the FC Gameplay Team, and together with the whole team we’re excited to share the new Gameplay features coming to FC 26. Our focus this year can be summed up in 3 words: make gameplay better. FC 26 is powered by your feedback, and we aim to make it feel more responsive, rewarding, and enjoyable. We concentrated on three main areas: Competitive and Authentic Gameplay separation Gameplay Fundamentals Feedback-Inspired Features And Updates Let's jump right in. Table of Contents Gameplay in FC 26 Gameplay Fundamentals Dribbling and Movement Goalkeeper Defending Passing and Shooting Attacking and Defensive Positioning Physicality Controlling the Ball and First Touches Online and General Gameplay Responsiveness Competitive and Authentic Gameplay Competitive Gameplay Authentic Gameplay Feedback-Inspired Features Accessibility PlayStyles FC IQ Rush Skill Moves Player Name Bar Across the Pitch Note: the [NG] tag denotes a feature exclusive for the New Generation of consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2) and PC. Competitive and Authentic Gameplay In FC 26, we’ve separated gameplay into two presets: Competitive and Authentic. This split is based on where and how you play FC, and with this change, we’re able to customize the match experience of each mode to suit what you want out of the game. Competitive Gameplay is tuned for added responsiveness and higher player control, mainly focused on online modes like Ultimate Team and Clubs. Authentic Gameplay is tuned for higher realism and true-to-life match tempo/speed in offline modes, like Career Mode. We’ll cover both in more detail later in this article. Gameplay Fundamentals Along with separating Competitive and Authentic gameplay, we had the goal of addressing the most requested changes by the community, and the problems that prevent you from having the best football experience. We’ve refined the foundational gameplay mechanics, including Dribbling, Pace, Passing, Tackling, Shooting, Goalkeepers, and Physicality. These refinements apply to both Competitive and Authentic Gameplay. Feedback-Inspired Features/Updates We also wanted to bring some new and updated features that you’ve been requesting, and that are important for us. These range from our new High-Contrast mode, to more Corner Kick Assignments, tweaked Player Roles, and new PlayStyles. Let’s start with the fundamentals. Gameplay Fundamentals Refining Fundamentals Driven By Community Feedback While the split of Competitive and Authentic gameplay will allow us to tweak each individually, there was a great deal of common feedback from the community around the general gameplay of FC. With FC 26 we wanted to address this by focusing on what matters most: the fundamentals. All of the improvements to fundamentals mentioned below apply across both Competitive and Authentic gameplay. Dribbling and Movement - make players more agile and responsive on and off the ball. Goalkeepers - make them more consistent and intelligent. Defending - reduce the quantity of balls that bounce back to the opponent. Passing and Shooting - make it more responsive and improve available options. Attacking and Defensive Positioning - make better runs and provide more support. Physicality - make it more reliable to protect and shield the ball. First Touches and Controlling the Ball - improve the control of trapping the ball. Online and General Gameplay Responsiveness - make the game more consistently responsive for both Online and Offline. Dribbling and Movement One core fundamental is how players move both with and without the ball. Our goal has always been to make players on the pitch feel agile and responsive, so for FC 26 we narrowed in on the community's feedback to provide a more fluid dribbling experience, overall better control with and without the ball, and responsive movement. Dribbling In FC 26, Dynamic Dribbling is a new way to give you better control with increased responsiveness and more consistent outcomes. In order to achieve this, we made the changes below to our dribbling system. Dynamic Dribbling [NG] In FC 26, dribbling has received a significant amount of changes to improve responsiveness and fluidity. Dribble Touch Intervals - re-tuned how close the player keeps the ball to themselves when dribbling. The interval between dribble touches varies between Competitive and Authentic. Player Height - adjusted animation consistency and speed for players based on height to balance the performance between tall and short players. Foot Preference - adjusted dribbling foot preference logic and animation branching logic to allow for more responsive ball control. Dribbling Animation - re-evaluated and re-tuned our dribbling animation library to ensure the consistency, speed, and responsiveness for dribbling were standard across the board. Animation transitions and branching have been improved for increased responsiveness and to diminish the feeling of being ‘locked in’ to animations. Jog Dribble - increased speed of jog dribbling alongside improved logic for ball direction when dribbling to achieve more consistency in their desired speed. Effort Dribble Touches - Effort Touch animations now trigger during drastic dribble turns to ensure faster and authentic turns. We have removed the Agile Dribbling mechanic due to its low usage and to make the Shielding controls more consistent. Removed Agile Dribbling - L2 + R2 || LT + RT Removed contextual Agile Dribbling and its setting from the menu. Movement We heard feedback that players felt sluggish and heavy, especially when changing directions or when chasing down the ball. Our goal with FC 26 is to make all players more agile and able to accelerate more explosively in any direction, so we continue to tune the relative pace of players to ensure that the fastest players feel like the quickest ones on the pitch. Here’s what we have changed to achieve this: More Agility [NG] Explosive Sprint - increased player agility and explosiveness in every direction. Run Styles - adjusted runs to be more natural and explosive to reflect the pace of an authentic football match. Attacker Vs Defender Speed - improved the speed differentiation between Attackers versus Defenders to achieve an improved balance between the two. Acceleration Types [NG] For FC 26, we’re going back to 3 Acceleration Types to allow for a more predictable pace of play. We felt that three types were easier to understand and created a better acceleration balance. We also separated the formula that determines the Acceleration Types between male and female players in order to provide a better distribution among players. Acceleration Type Changes Explosive Agility minimum 65 (Agility - Strength) >= 10 Acceleration minimum 80 Height has been separated between male and female players Male height maximum 182cm (~6’0”) Female height maximum 162cm (~5’4”) Lengthy Strength minimum 65 (Strength - Agility) >= 4 Acceleration minimum 40 Height has been separated between male and female players Male height minimum 183 cm (~6’1”) Female height minimum 164cm (~5’5”) Controlled - any player that does not meet the other two requirements above. Adjusted the early stages of all three types to be more responsive. Adjusted deceleration of all players to be faster and snappier. Other Changes Jockey - improved Jockey movement to be more agile and responsive. New Jockey animations to improve maneuverability and feel more grounded. Turns - improved animations for all types of turns (drastic turns, swivel turns, etc.) to be faster and more responsive. Low Urgency - improved low urgency and relaxed animations for players not directly involved in the play to be less frantic and have them ready to accelerate when needed. Goalkeeper We received a lot of feedback on goalkeepers, especially regarding their positioning, the place where they deflect the ball, and how they look when doing so. Our goal with Goalkeepers is to make them more consistent and reliable, reducing the frustration they can cause, and improving the balance of skill vs authenticity. Goalkeeper Fundamentals In FC 26, goalkeepers received several improvements, such as how they handle deflections, how they position themselves, and even their decision making, all with the goal of reducing frustration while staying authentic to football. Deflection Control - added a new level of control for save deflections to significantly reduce the amount of deflections going back to opponents. Most deflections will now go out of bounds, toward teammates, or to open space away from opponents. Goalkeeper Senses - refined goalkeeper's ability to read shot trajectories to better reflect real-world save efforts and shot detection. Technical Improvements - improved base systems for goalkeeper handling, more consistent shot-stopping, and more reasonable decision making in one-on-one situations. RL GK Positioning [NG] One of the most significant updates in FC 26 is the introduction of Reinforcement-Learning (RL) Goalkeeper Positioning. This new system uses machine learning to help AI-controlled goalkeepers make more realistic decisions about where to position themselves in the box. By analyzing countless scenarios, the AI can now better cut down angles and react to different types of attacks while adjusting their position more intelligently. It’s important to note that RL Positioning is only active in certain situations, and is only used to position the Goalkeeper. The system is not active when making a save or performing a catch. New Volumetric Animations Animations play a crucial role in how goalkeepers look and feel on the pitch. In FC 26, we’re introducing new volumetric animations for goalkeepers. These animations are based on real-world volumetric motion capture data, resulting in more fluid and realistic movements. This not only enhances the visual authenticity of the game but also ensures that goalkeepers respond more accurately to different types of shots and situations. Be-A-Goalkeeper We could not improve the fundamentals of GKs without touching the Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) experience. BAG has received many updates, including new controls and assistance levels, PlayStyles, revamped UI components, and an updated presentation, along with unique camera and audio treatments. Revamped Be-A-Goalkeeper Experience For players who enjoy controlling the goalkeeper directly, the Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) mode has received a comprehensive update. Players can also play as keepers in Clubs RUSH. You can also use Goalkeeper PlayStyles when in BAG Mode. New Control Scheme - new controls to give you as much control over your actions from dive direction, claiming crosses with a punch or catch, smothering the ball, or reaction saves. Dive Direction - flicking the Right Stick will prepare your goalkeeper to dive in that direction for a short period. Right Stick Flick Cross Claiming - when there is a cross coming in, you have the ability to request either a catch or punch attempt, timing will matter. Punch (When ball is crossed): ⚪ || B Catch (When ball is crossed): ⬜ || X One-on-One Situations - rushing the attacking dribbler, you have the ability to attempt to smother the ball or attempt to make yourself big to block the incoming shot. The direction of this action is based on your movement direction. Rush: △ || Y Ball pickup / smother: ⬜ || X Reaction Save / Make Yourself Big: ⚪ || B Reaction Saves - when the shooter is close or you wish to take the dive timing into your own hands, you can modify your dive direction to play an instant save attempt. Reaction Dive On Demand: R1 + Right Stick Flick || RB + Right Stick Flick Visuals New Dive Direction UI - a new Dive Direction UI that appears when there is potential for a shot. Updated Positioning UI - updated the auto-positioning AR visual. Camera - new 11v11 camera that brings you closer to the action with the ability to manually pan the camera. Camera Pan: L1 + Left Stick direction || LB + Left Stick direction Defending We know how it can feel to time a tackle perfectly only for the ball to go right back to the opponent. So, when working on fundamentals, we spent a lot of time focusing on improving these issues during tackles, interceptions, and blocks. Our goal is to reward you for well-timed challenges or anticipating a pass, and now you’ll be more likely to win the ball cleanly and retain possession in those moments. Tacklebacks, Bouncebacks, and Reboundbacks Tackle Outcomes - improved logic when Stand or Slide tackling the ball to a teammate. Shot Blocks - added a new deflection control system to make blocked shots put the ball away from danger. Interceptions - added a new deflection control system to try to keep possession or move the ball to a teammate when making an interception. Tackled Opponents - opponents will feel the effect of a tackle more severely when dispossessed of the ball by playing a realistic reaction after the tackle, thereby reducing the likelihood of them recovering the ball back right after getting successfully tackled. Defending Tackle Spam - improved logic for spamming tackle, to make the delay after a missed tackle more consistent. Tackle vs Block - when pressing Stand Tackle near the dribbler about to take a shot, the defender will be more likely to try to tackle rather than block. Tackles From Behind - reduced the effectiveness of tackling from behind the dribbler. Tackle Personality - added more player personality for stand tackles Players with a low stand tackle attribute (below 71) can only perform basic stand tackle animations. Players with a medium stand tackle attribute (71-84) can perform most stand tackle animations. Players with a high stand tackle attribute (85+) can perform all stand tackle animations. Passing and Shooting Some of the strongest feedback we got on Passing and Shooting is that they can often feel sluggish, as well as that some shots or pass types are unbalanced. Our goal in FC 26 is to improve the options available to players and ensure that the shot or pass is as responsive as possible. Passing Pass Responsiveness With our focus on core mechanics, we dedicated significant effort to ensuring passes, particularly first-time passes, are as responsive as possible. Passing Angles - rebalanced animation restrictions to allow passing to cover a broader range of angles. Faster Animations - enabled first-touch animations for passes when contextually appropriate, such as short distance passes. Passes Behind - Increased animation coverage for 135° and 180° passes, also allowing backheel passes to play contextually in these scenarios. First-time 135° and 180° through passes are now significantly less accurate to avoid Directed Run-related exploits. Quick Passes - Optimized short-distance, low-power passes to prefer faster, more responsive animations with minimal wind-up. Note that in Competitive Gameplay, first-time pass accuracy is reduced, despite being more responsive. Improved Through Pass Targets We’ve introduced the concept of Passing Lanes for semi-assisted through passes. Aiming at a specific passing lane (the gap between two opponents) ensures the best target selection for the intended receiver within that lane, respecting your aim and intention. Through passes will also now lead receivers more effectively. Other Changes Pass Receiver - improved pass receiver selection, especially for Ground and Through passes. Crosses - adjusted Crosses to lead more in front of the target, along with increased accuracy when in easy contexts. Ground Passes - regular Ground passes will now have a straighter trajectory with less contextual curve. Teammates will now maintain their position to receive ground passes. Lob Passes - Lob passes will have more driven trajectories when the path is unobstructed. Goalkeeper Throws - improved throw targets from the goalkeeper. Clearances - adjusted Clearance logic to make them more responsive. Shooting Shooting Responsiveness To make shooting more fair and rewarding, we’ve enhanced responsiveness. Our goal for this is that when you ask your player to shoot, it happens quickly and as expected. Close-range Shots - shots near the net will use more reactive animations with minimal wind-up. Shooting Angles - rebalanced animation restrictions to enable shooting to cover a broader range of angles. Low Driven Additions and Timed Finishing Removal In FC 26, Low Driven shots will be performed by double-tapping the shot button. Low Driven is now a global* shot modifier instead of being contextual based on your shot power. With the new button mapping, we had the opportunity to extend the Low-Driven mechanic across all shot types* by pressing the Shot button again after powering up your shot. Low Driven Lace Shot ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || B (Hold to power up) + B Low Driven Finesse R1 + ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || RB + B (Hold to power up) + B Low Driven Trivela L2 + ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || LT + B (Hold to power up) + B Low Driven Flair Shot L2 + ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || LT + B (Hold to power up) + B Low Driven Power Shot L1 + R1 + ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || LB + RB + B (Hold to power up) + B Low Driven Volley In Air Shot - ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || B (Hold to power up) + B Low Driven Header In Air Jump - ⚪ (Hold to power up) + ⚪ || B (Hold to power up) + B * Except for Chip Shots. Due to the changes to Low Driven, Timed Finishing has been removed. In general, we felt Timed Finishing didn't add meaningful skill depth and proved difficult to balance. It disproportionately rewarded long-range shots and felt inconsistent in high-pressure moments. Removing it allows us to balance shooting to produce more consistent outcomes. This change allows for more skill differentiation through Precision Shooting, where timing, aim, power control, and shot selection help build a more noticeable skill gap. Trivela Shots and Gamechanger PlayStyle Trivela shots will now be connected to the new Gamechanger PlayStyle. A player without this PlayStyle will not be able to perform trivelas. While visually impressive and powerful, Trivela Shots became overused by players across all positions, often leading to unrealistic and exploitable scoring patterns. Our goal with this change is to balance the shooting mechanics of the game, especially in Competitive Gameplay. GameChanger PlayStyle - Trivela Shots can only be performed by players with this PlayStyle or PlayStyle+ If a player doesn’t have the Gamechanger Playstyle or PlayStyle+, attempting a Trivela Shot will default to a lace shot instead. See the PlayStyle Section for more details on the new Gamechanger PlayStyle. Attacking and Defensive Positioning You’ve been asking us to increase fluid attacking movement, while also having a logical defensive structure, for a more fun and dynamic match. Our goal in FC 26 is to make your teammates’s positioning more flexible, regardless of Role, allowing them to make more runs and provide you with more supporting options as you progress up the pitch. Attacking Positioning Player Support - reevaluated the positioning logic to provide better supporting options for the ball carrier, trying to always have someone available as a passing option. Attacking Runs - made several changes to the attacking runs logic: Increased the number of attacking runs by players, to lower reliance on triggered runs. Attacking runs more consistently run into open space. All players will be more likely to make the best attacking run options instead of strictly following what their player Role dictates. Ex. a Winger can cut into the box if the opportunity arises, where before they would wait out wide. Ex: a Wingback can move forward if there is open space in front of them. Balanced Build Up - teams will have a more balanced approach, giving you run options as well as close-support options. Offside Runs - improved attacker’s ability to stay onside, and the speed in which they come back when offside. Defending Positioning [NG] Player marking - adjusted positioning of defenders to now man mark opponents when close and inside the box. Defensive Line Height - the defensive line will not automatically push up as far when trying to keep players offside. Physicality Protecting the ball and keeping it is an essential part of football, and we agree that this is an area with lots of room for improvement. Our goal is to give you added consistency with the shield button, allowing you to protect the ball, be it when receiving a pass, when the opponent presses against you when controlling the ball, or when bumping a marker with your shoulder as you dribble to make a bit of space. Shielding Improvements In FC 26, Shielding has been fully reworked to provide you with more consistent options and extra authentic physicality across the pitch. Shield Trapping - our objective was to give players a new tool when trapping the ball and wanting to stand their ground instead of immediately moving. Improved positioning when receiving the ball and Shielding Hold L2 || Hold LT. Increased Strength-based differentiation when Shield trapping. Prioritized getting in the way of incoming opponents instead of getting the perfect touch on the ball. Rebalanced and improved outcomes of several scenarios and timings when starting to Shield before and after receiving the ball. New Shielding trap animations, to increase shielding coverage and effectiveness Shield Dribbling - Shielding has been fully reworked to make it more consistent and better at respecting your input. Improved consistency of player positioning relative to the ball when Shielding. Improved transition from Shielding to Sprint. Re-tuned how long you can Shield depending on how much short-term fatigue you have. New Shielding movement animations. Shield Entries We added multiple new ways to perform one-off Shield actions while moving. These actions can be used to quickly and physically get in front of the opponent before going into a rapid burst of speed, or they can be a way to start shielding when out of position. Dribbling Shoulder Challenges - new type of Shielding action that allows you to better protect the ball while dribbling. Physics - improved physics effects for both the shielder and the shieldee, to accentuate the physicality of the action. New Animations - multiple new animations added for Step-ins, Seal Outs, and Shield Turns. Enforcer PlayStyle - new animations added for players with the new Enforcer PlayStyle and PlayStyle+. Contested Boxouts On top of all the improvements to physicality in FC 26, we are adding a new mechanic called Contested Box Outs. Stronger players are able to keep opponents away when fighting for an incoming air ball. This allows players to use Shield when in front of their opponent, triggering a strong physical action that provides more space to either trap the ball or set up for a header. The effectiveness of the Box Out is based on the Strength difference between the two players. It can only be triggered if your player is in a good position when waiting for the ball. Following a Box Out, you can transition into any action to allow a fluid continuation of play. Other Physics Changes We’ve spent a lot of time ensuring that we’ve reduced physics-based frustrating scenarios that could sometimes occur. Jumping over fallen players will now be much more reliable and effective.. Players getting stuck together when stumbling will be moved to the side to allow them to detach and continue play. When trying to avoid other players, we have made them more slippery. This is so that player avoidance doesn’t cause players to get stuck on each other. Controlling the Ball and First Touches Similar to physicality and defending, first touches could have been frustrating in the past when they felt sluggish, non-urgent, or when they fell back to the opponent. Our goal with these improvements is to make players feel more agile and in control of the ball, especially when trapping it. Controlling the Ball - Responsiveness First Touch Responsiveness - significantly improved responsiveness of first touch ball control to seamlessly transition into dribbling right after contact with the ball. Ball Control - refined players’ ability to control the ball after a pass or interception to maintain possession. Factors influencing the difficulty of a first touch include ball speed relative to the player's speed, ball height, requested exit angle, opponent pressure, the part of the body used for the touch, the extent of stretching, and player attributes such as Ball Control, Interceptions, and Composure. First Touch Precision - when receiving or intercepting a pass, holding L2 || LT will greatly improve the players ability to control the ball at the trade-off of player’s move speed. Earlier timing of this input will result in increased control. Flick Ups - improved flicking actions when receiving an aerial ball in all directions to be more consistent and predictable. Consecutive Flick Ups will progressively become less effective to prevent exploits. Loose and Contested Balls Player Urgency - new ability to increase players' urgency when attempting to reach a loose ball or contested ball by pressing Sprint R2 || RT. Holding Sprint prompts immediate acceleration toward the contact point. Without the Sprint input, the response might be less immediate, highlighting the importance of your reaction time in critical moments. Online and General Gameplay Responsiveness Our goal is to make the game more consistent and to continue investigating community feedback related to online/offline responsiveness via the Gameplay Responsiveness initiative. For more information on our Responsiveness initiative, check out the Pitch Notes below: ] https://www.ea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-26/news/pitch-notes-fc26-gameplay-responsiveness-update The Deep Dive contains a lot of information, such as our investigation to better understand the player experience, our learnings, and some steps we are taking to improve. Here’s some more information on responsiveness changes in FC 26 that are related to the Fundamentals refresh: Gameplay Animation Improvements Animation transitions and branching have been re-evaluated and retuned across most areas of Gameplay to improve consistency and responsiveness. Adjusted the following areas across all animations to make them more internally consistent: time to contact ball, ball trajectories better aligned with animation, pose fidelity, and animation exit speed. Improved selection of animations to better match the player’s current speed and animation speed. Relaxed the coverage required for animations, allowing them to start faster in many situations. Fatigue Redesigned When investigating responsiveness, one common piece of feedback was that players would sometimes not feel the same across the course of a match. For Competitive Gameplay purposes, we decided to redesign some elements of the Fatigue system. Our goal with this change is responsiveness; a player should always feel and play well when you are controlling them. Note: the changes below only apply to Competitive tuning, though Clubs has a slightly different design. Short- and long-term fatigue only affects AI-controlled players User-controlled players are NOT AFFECTED while being controlled. CPU-controlled players in Competitive tuning are also not affected by fatigue. An example is when playing Squad Battles. When controlling a player, the effect of fatigue on different attributes (including Sprint Speed and Acceleration) is not in effect. Meaning a user-controlled player acts as if they have full stamina when controlled. For AI players, they will have a reduction in Sprint Speed and Acceleration when fatigued (proportional to the fatigue level). Relentless and Relentless+ PlayStyles have been changed to increase how quickly your short-term fatigue recovers (more details in the PlayStyles section). For Authentic Gameplay, fatigue works as before. For Clubs, short-term fatigue works as before, however, long-term fatigue doesn’t accumulate for any player. For example, when short-term stamina depletes, the player is slower when running until the fatigue bar recovers. Note: this design is subject to change. Inputs, Indicators, and Overlays Improved the Input Processing System. More info in the Responsiveness Deep Dive: https://www.ea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-26/news/pitch-notes-fc26-gameplay-responsiveness-update Fixed Skill Move detection issues. We made the Player Indicator more responsive during gameplay. Created a new overlay to better display connection status (visuals subject to change): Competitive and Authentic Gameplay Let’s dive into one of the most significant changes we’ve ever done to gameplay - splitting it into two separate experiences based on how and where you play the game. Online modes like Football Ultimate Team and Clubs will have their own gameplay type called Competitive Gameplay, while offline modes like Manager Career and Player Career will use Authentic Gameplay as default. This change is a direct result of your feedback, from the comments, posts, and threads, to the hours of conversations we’ve had with the community about how our game could improve. And yes, this means that we can tweak, tune, and change the gameplay for each type without affecting the other. If we add a more realistic feature like slower skill moves, we can make sure they only happen in Authentic, while something like removing the fatigue from user-controlled players can be tailored to Football Ultimate Team. We know that Online and Offline players have different priorities, and we want to showcase that by creating two enjoyable, separate ways to play FC 26. Competitive Gameplay Made for FUT and Clubs Competitive Gameplay is mandatory/locked in FUT, Clubs, Online Seasons, and Online Friendlies. It is optional in Kick-Off and Career Mode. Our goal with Competitive Gameplay is to create a more skill-driven competitive experience by reducing the impact of randomness and assistance. This is an experience tailored for those who enjoy fast-paced, responsive gameplay. The changes to Competitive Gameplay aim to deliver on the three “competitive community” priorities: Responsiveness, Consistency, and Control. Here are the main differences in Competitive Gameplay: All GK deflections try to get away from danger, reducing rebound goals Reduced tackles/blocks/interceptions bouncing back to your opponent Less AI defending, resulting in looser defensive lines Fewer auto tackles and auto blocks Redesigned Fatigue feature More responsive and smoother transitions in and out of specific animations Increased passing speed and responsiveness Tighter control and more speed while dribbling, and skill moves are faster Increased variability on crosses, to favour player skill over repetitive wide play Increased heading error relative to Authentic Increase variability in Corner Kicks outcomes, with fewer attacking players involved by default Less authentic visuals when avoiding a ball, to resolve these situations more effectively Players get up quickly after being tackled to the ground Players show no reaction animations when hit by a fast incoming ball Note that while some of the effects above were mentioned in the Fundamentals section, they were increased/tuned up for Competitive gameplay. We also created a new UT Competitive Camera that is exclusive to the Ultimate Team Stadiums. This camera provides a way to see more of the pitch, while still showing off the stadium and its atmosphere. This camera is on a rail, ensuring more predictable pad angle behavior to aid Competitive Gameplay. Authentic Gameplay Bringing Realism and Choice to EA SPORTS FC Authentic Gameplay is the default for Manager and Player Career Mode and optional in Kick Off. You’ll still be able to toggle between both presets in Kick Off and Career to tailor your gameplay experience. Authentic gameplay is not playable in Ultimate Team or Clubs. Our goal with Authentic Gameplay is to create a true-to-football experience with a heavy emphasis on realism, strategy, and immersion. This is an experience tailored for those who enjoy methodical and less predictable gameplay. What allows us to achieve the above is not just the Competitive mechanic toggle, but also the Authentic Gameplay Sliders. We have carefully tuned them to accomplish that true-to-football experience with a heavy focus on realism and immersion. Weather Effects are also turned on by default. The changes to Authentic Gameplay aim to deliver on three authentic community priorities: Immersion, Realism, and Less Predictability. The main differences in Authentic Gameplay are: Authentic Sliders Weather Effects, including Wind, Rain, and Snow Lower speeds for dribbling and skill moves More physics-based GK rebounds, blocks, and bounces More realistic tackle accuracy Greater AI defending enabled, with tighter defensive lines and defenders reacting realistically when a ball is nearby More realistic and tighter positioning in midfield More realistic header passing and shooting accuracy Corner kicks and Crossing tuned to match real-world success rates Players avoiding a ball might occasionally be hit by it instead More realistic animation transitions Human-like reactions and get up animations Authenticity Features Toggle This setting activates a set of features that are specifically designed to support the Authentic gameplay type, such as the increased influence of physics in ball movement, or the increased assistance with AI defending. This toggle is locked when in Authentic Gameplay, but can be turned on/off when customizing your gameplay type. It cannot be turned on in Competitive New Sliders Additionally, we heard our Career Mode Community and have introduced 5 new sliders to further enhance the authenticity of gameplay. Here’s the breakdown: Header Shot Error - Increases/reduces the amount of error applied to a user/CPU team’s headed shots. Header Pass Error - Increases/reduces the amount of error applied to a user/CPU team’s headed passes. Intercept Error - Increases/reduces the amount of error applied to a user/CPU team’s ability to control the ball when intercepting passes. Ball Deflection Error - Increases/reduces the impact of physics on a user/CPU team’s ball deflection. The higher the number, the more the outcome will be driven by physics interactions. Tackle Assistance - Increases/reduces the user/CPU team’s tackling assistance. The higher the number, the more forgiving the tackles will be. Note: Error refers to an action not being performed as perfectly as possible. Team’s Playing Styles improvements We’ve made improvements to the playing styles of CPU Teams to make them more unique, and to stand out in both attack and defence. Attack CPU opponents will now make smarter and more varied decisions when it comes to passing, crossing, dribbling, and other gameplay areas. For example, some teams prefer to cross into the box more often, while others utilize slow buildup or fast tiki-taka attacking plays. Defence The CPU will know better when and how to defend, press the player, stay back, or use double contain. For example, specific teams will try to overwhelm you by pressing with multiple players at once, while others will just sit back and then press you aggressively when you get close.
