Support Process Question: EA Help vs EA Forums
Dear EA Sports, I was advised by the EA Sports Support team (EA Help) to raise my concerns and issues with the game on the EA Forums, and I was assured that developers and relevant teams are active here. However, despite creating multiple posts outlining my concerns, none of them have been acknowledged by EA staff. I have worked in a corporate environment for over 25 years, and I must say that this level of communication falls well below the standard one would normally expect from a customer support structure. What I find particularly confusing is the process itself. EA Help, which is meant to support customers, redirects players to these forums to raise issues. Yet once customers follow that direction, it appears that no meaningful engagement takes place. From a customer perspective, this creates a situation where players are effectively moved from one support channel to another without their concerns actually being addressed. The only time I received a response was when a post included a three-letter word that apparently violated forum rules. That post received attention immediately, yet the actual concern raised in the post was not addressed in the response. This sends a rather unfortunate message that moderation is active, but meaningful engagement with the issues themselves is not. As a long-standing customer, this is disappointing. I have been playing EA football titles since the very first FIFA, well before the PlayStation era, and I have remained a loyal player for decades. Because of that, I find it difficult to understand why concerns raised by players here receive so little acknowledgement. I fully understand that companies must be careful when responding publicly. However, complete silence is also a response, and it is not a particularly reassuring one. If EA Help directs players to the forums, then the forums should function as a place where issues are at least acknowledged or discussed. Otherwise, the process risks appearing circular — players are redirected to the forums for help, but once they arrive, no help is provided. I would respectfully ask that this process be reconsidered, and that concerns raised here receive at least some level of acknowledgement from the relevant teams. I have earned badges and profile levels on this forum over time, but those are secondary. What matters far more is meaningful communication with the player community. Could EA staff please clarify whether posts raising gameplay concerns are reviewed and whether players can expect responses here? For clarity, could a member of the EA community team or moderation team please confirm whether gameplay concerns raised on this forum are reviewed by the development team, and whether players should realistically expect feedback or acknowledgement when such concerns are raised here? Understanding how this process works would be very helpful for players who have been directed here by EA Help. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Is Ultimate Team designed more as a monetization system than a football game?
I want to discuss the structure behind Ultimate Team rather than simply complain about gameplay. When you analyze the system logically, several layers appear that explain how the mode works. First, the economic structure. Ultimate Team is built around pack sales. Packs contain random rewards, and the best cards have extremely low probabilities. At the same time, the competitive environment pushes players to obtain stronger cards. Because of this, improving a team often becomes connected to opening packs or spending coins. Second, the power progression. Every few weeks the game releases new promos, special cards and upgrades. These cards are usually stronger than previous ones. Because of this power creep, cards that were strong a month ago quickly become outdated. Players therefore feel constant pressure to upgrade their squads. Third, the psychological design. The pack system uses random rewards, strong visual animations and limited-time events. This creates a reinforcement loop where players feel excitement when opening packs and urgency during promos. Time-limited content also creates fear of missing out. Fourth, the gameplay layer. Gameplay often rewards specific attributes such as pace or certain playstyles. Because of this, certain cards become part of the “meta”. These cards are usually the rarest or most expensive ones. When these layers are combined, Ultimate Team becomes more than just a football mode. It becomes a loop where players constantly chase better cards. So the real question is not simply whether the game is fair or unfair. The real question is whether the structure of the mode is designed primarily to encourage continuous engagement and spending. What do you think?
CRITICAL FEEDBACK: Broken Physics, Logic & Input Damping in Seasons online
To the EA Sports FC Development Team, I am have been playing for ~30 years of fifa and I am officially done with the constant, unannounced "Stealth Updates" that fundamentally break this game every 48 hours it seems. The "Mud" and Movement: Every time I turn on the console, there is a new meta. The "Mud" is back with a vengeance. Professional footballers are not freight ships; they have explosive quickness. Stop forcing "Inertia" that makes the game feel like a chore. Defensive Paralysis: My defenders literally stand still during transitions. They don't track back, they don't close the 15-yard gap, and they have no spatial awareness. After 30 years of development, how is the defensive AI worse than it was in FIFA 13? The Skill Gap is Dead: You have created a game that rewards parking the bus and anti-football. By making movement this sluggish, you have inversed the skill gap, making it impossible to break down campers because the players can't turn on the ball or move with any explosiveness. Passing and shooting takes a month for the player to wind up sometimes. This is one of, if not the worst iteration of the franchise I have ever seen. It is not fun; it is a frustrating, broken mess. Fix the "Spaghetti Code" and see that the "Authentic" experiment has failed. Move on to a more physics based approach - less top/down scripting. Other issues - The "Pace Cap" and Recovery Speed Bug: You have made it functionally impossible to beat a defender 1v1 on the ball. World-class sprinters like Mbappé and Vini Jr. can no longer outrun or even maintain a gap against lower-paced defenders. You have baked in a hidden speed penalty for the ball-carrier that is so aggressive it negates the point of having high-pace players. This isn't "simulation"—it's an artificial handicap that kills the excitement of the sport. The "Ghost Win" Pandemic: In the last week alone, I have had 5 rage-quit wins fail to register. If an opponent quits while I am winning, the server must anchor that win. To have my time wasted and my progress deleted by your "Match Under Review" loop is the definition of technical bankruptcy. I have reached the point where I am no longer playing for fun, but out of habit, and that habit is breaking. I am eagerly awaiting the launch of the FIFA 2K soccer simulation. As a long-time player of NBA 2K and PGA 2K, I know what a game feels like when it actually rewards user inputs. In those titles, there is no 'Mud,' no 'Ghost Wins,' and no artificial damping of a star player's speed. If 2K delivers even a fraction of that responsiveness in a football game, I will be leaving this franchise behind. We are tired of 'Corporate Capture' and 'Managed Sluggishness.' We want a game that plays like football, not a freight ship simulation." Also, at this point, Goalz and UFL may even be in the running for competitive titles since the bar seems so low. I cannot understand how someone at EA plays this iteration and is like, oh ya, this is good. Finally, let’s address the elephant in the room: the blatant Scripting and DDA in the penalty area. It is surgically impossible to ignore how different dribbling feels in the box versus the open field. You have turned the 18-yard box into a 'High-Friction Zone' where elite players suddenly lose their ability to control the ball. My players take heavy touches, their agility drops by 50%, and the ball 'magnetizes' back to defenders after successful tackles. You are manipulating the physics engine to create 'fake' drama, and it’s insulting to anyone who actually understands the game. Stop the scripting and let the user inputs decide the outcome. Thanks,
Help recovering my account
Hi guys, Recently my account got hacked into and used as a middle man to illegally transfer coins to other accounts - 3.7 million coins to be exact, which lead to my account being put on hold first, then banned. I reported the issue to EA via contact and by speaking to someone, which was about a week ago. Since then, I have had no contact, I get told to not talk via EA chat as it would apparently delay me even further, and to be honest I just wanted to speak to anyone that has been in this kind of situation before because frankly I’m scared I lose that account which I’ve spent plenty of money on. Just wondering if I’m overthinking or if it is genuine incompetence from the team that reviews this as the situation is as simple as it looks. Thanks for readingFC 26 Create-A-Club
I think a really good idea to make FC26 a bit more realistic is to add Kit sponsors to the Create-A-Club option. For example in the first season you get a contract offer from either a real Sponsor or a fake/made up one. And it would have a contract length plus some challenges you may need to achieve throughout the season. It would just make the Create-A-Club choice way better as I feel like it doesn’t really get much recognition. Also you already have things like the Beats Cup in pre-season and multiple of companies in add boards in a stadium so it should make sense if this isn’t possible.FC 26 Gameplay Feedback – Core Systems Are Fundamentally Broken
This isn’t a tuning issue. It isn’t “early patch adjustments needed.” It’s a foundational intelligence problem. Right now, FC 26 does not understand football at a systems level. Multiple core mechanics actively work against logic, positioning, and player intent. Below is a breakdown of what’s going wrong. 1. Passing Logic Has No Spatial Awareness Passing feels disconnected from player input and football fundamentals. The engine consistently selects the wrong target. Pass down, it passes up. Pass right it passes left. Simple or obvious passing lanes are ignored. Through balls are to overpowered and normal passes to underpowered. U got people that just exploit the mechanics of the game spamming the incisive pass with no logic other than its too strong. The system shows no awareness of angles, pressure, or body positioning. It often feels like the game overrides your decision and chooses chaos. This isn’t difficulty. It’s just broken. 2. Bounce-Back Tackles Winning the ball cleanly should end an attack. Instead: You time a tackle perfectly. You clearly win possession. The ball ricochets instantly back to the attacker. The attack continues like nothing happened. Repeatedly. This creates artificial pressure and removes defensive reward. Tackling is reduced to a minor inconvenience instead of a skill-based action. 3. Overpowered Tackles From Behind, overpowered physical duels Defenders can: Stick out a leg from behind with zero body position. Magnetically hook the ball away. Win possession with no foul called. Physical challenges are waaay to strong, i mean my 99 strength player get bullied of the ball like nothing by a 77 female. Physical only favours defender. Its completely idiotic gameplay. Meanwhile, attackers lose the ball from the slightest toe contact as if the defender’s boot has superglue on it. Skill dribbling is punished. Blind tackling is rewarded. 4. Defensive AI Centre-backs: Abandon the defensive line with no trigger. Create massive gaps for through balls. Defending in this game is just incredibly moronic. Fullbacks randomly tuck inside instead of tracking the winger they’re supposed to mark. Centre-backs follow runners deep into the box instead of holding the line, completely killing any chance of an offside trap. Meanwhile CDMs and midfielders just jog back half-heartedly and don’t track runs properly at all. The result is chaos every single attack. You’re constantly fighting your own AI more than the opponent. Defensive structure just collapses for no logical reason. And yes, attacking AI is also pretty dumb — players making terrible runs or standing still — but at least that doesn’t completely break the game the way defensive AI does. Right now the level of AI honestly feels like something from a game two decades ago. It’s incredibly poor for a modern football title. At this point it really feels like the people making these gameplay decisions don’t understand basic football structure or how defensive positioning should actually work. There is no consistent defensive structure logic. 5. Corners = Instant Counterattacks (Again) After a corner: Your players are out of position. One clearance turns into a 3v2 or 4v2 sprint. No recovery AI logic activates. This isn’t realistic counterplay. It’s systemic imbalance. 6. Attacking AI Is Either Static or Brain-Dead Forwards: Stand still next to defenders. Make runs directly into marked areas. Sprint into offside like a blind buffalo in a stampede. Ignore obvious gaps between centre-backs. There’s no timing, no staggered runs, no reading of play. 7. Dribbling and Creativity Nerfed Into Oblivion Dribbling has been reduced to: Clumsy collisions. Coin-flip animations. Random dispossession. Creative play is punished. Exploit mechanics are rewarded. Anything that requires skill rather than abuse of mechanics has been systematically weakened. 8. Goalkeeper Inconsistency Keepers: Concede from impossible tight angles. Fail to react to near-post shots. Miss routine saves. Then pull off superhuman saves from point-blank range. There’s no logic curve. It feels animation-driven, not physics-driven. Certain angles should not be 100% goals. 9. “Impossible” Solo Goals Players can: Run straight through multiple defenders. Ignore physical pressure. Score from unrealistic shooting positions. Meanwhile structured build-up play is unreliable. The balance favors chaos over football. 10. Reward Structure Punishes the Average Player Example: 24 attempts required. 20 wins needed for full rewards. That locks a large portion of the player base out. Instead of scaling rewards fairly, the system demands near-perfection. It discourages participation. 11. Pack Weight & Progression Frustration Whether intentional or not: Pack luck feels heavily unrewarding. Progression feels grind-gated. Rewards don’t match effort. If gameplay is frustrating and rewards are underwhelming, engagement drops fast. 12. Server Instability & Input Delay Especially during objective tournaments: Heavy gameplay. Delayed inputs. Inconsistent responsiveness. Skill gap disappears when responsiveness isn’t consistent. 13. Rubberbanding & Objective Quitting When players: Rubberband to complete objectives. Intentionally lose to avoid playing… That’s not a community problem. That’s a gameplay satisfaction problem. People avoid playing because the experience isn’t enjoyable. Core Issue: The Game Doesn’t Reward Football Intelligence Right now: Reading the play isn’t rewarded. Tackling cleanly isn’t rewarded. Creative dribbling isn’t rewarded. Structured defending isn’t rewarded. Patient build-up isn’t rewarded. Exploit-heavy, chaotic play is. This isn’t realism. It isn’t difficulty. It’s low-level decision logic across multiple systems. What Needs to Change Rework spatial awareness in passing. Remove or drastically reduce bounce-back possession immunity. Tone down behind-the-back tackling magnetism. Fix defensive line discipline AI. Balance corner recovery logic. Improve attacking run intelligence and offside awareness. Restore dribbling responsiveness and reward skill input. Stabilize goalkeeping logic based on angle and distance. Overpowered females outmuscle big guys. Just seriously. Just give evryone pink hair and pink boots allready. Adjust reward systems to scale more fairly. Fix server responsiveness before adding more content. If this is the intended gameplay direction, then it’s deeply concerning. Because right now, FC 26 doesn’t feel competitive. It doesn’t feel realistic. And it definitely doesn’t feel intelligent. A great example is when my midfielder just runs past the guy with the ball to go to his position instead of going for the ball Tactics are terrible... It feels like a football game that doesn’t understand football. U also have negative game mechanics. The game is full of them, like ur player slowing down, tumbling for 4 seconds, or the best way to prove it... If u try to pass at the back ur passes come unprecise and the first touch becomes difficult even from a small pass. So yes game is actively trying to make u worse. Many more things as well but all these are core problems with the game. But the really tragic part is... This is not at all fun or enjoyable. Ping used to average around 30ms. Now it’s sitting at 38ms. Either half the player base quit overnight, or the servers have somehow gotten worse. And honestly? It feels like the latter. Gameplay is completely off. The connection feels delayed, heavy, unresponsive. Whether it’s bad ping or just broken mechanics, dribbling has been absolutely nerfed into the ground. Players turn like trucks, skill moves feel delayed, and responsiveness is nowhere near what it should be. This isn’t “competitive difficulty.” It’s input lag and clunky gameplay. Right now, it’s borderline unplayable. Fix the servers. Fix the responsiveness. Because this? This isn’t it. On a scale of 1 to 6 this is a clear 1. Its a really really terrible product and should never been released. This reeks of lack of understanding, lazy solutions and a complete lack of care about football or your customers. Just horrible If i ever want to just destroy and take everything thats fun out of something i would hire EA. Sry for long post, but its just so much wrong with the gameonline seasons - fundamentals of this game needs to get better (FROSTBITE)
I don't have the time or energy to put into UT, so i play a few games of online seasons a week for fun. I honestly think every UT player should try just playing with a stock team against another stock team online against another real player. Every gameplay issue regarding FROSTBITE will become apparent. Forget playstyles buffs and what not that you have in UT....just the base game online with regular teams and up to date rosters...is just fundamentally broken. I keep getting bans on this forum for bring this issue up, time and time again. I'm not complaining about Online Seasons, im saying your whole game play system online is bad.
Input lag on high ping for two weeks - unplayable
For two weeks, since a server crash, my ping in Texas went from 8ms to 26ms and the input lag makes the game extremely stressful to play in such low responsiveness. The only players still playing this game are only the ones spamming X for bruiser, then run run run and through ball counters that are indefensible with delay. No football IQ whatsoever. Where is the fun on that? Without delay I can beat most of those low IQ trash players, but on the current situation there is no fun at all on playing this buggy game. Let me know when you fix your servers so I can came back to play it. Farewell!