Save this franchise

[granite cove]

Lets start with a big speech.

Ever since you introduced CPU auto-tackle/intercept without being controlled and increased the efficiency of jockey (not PS) by allowing you to automatically take the ball back just by getting close/waiting for opponents to get close, everything has become about trying to balance the game around these two things, buffing other things that were needed to address that problem instead of solving it at its root.

Its been years now that's no longer a football game, and by that I dont mean it should be a simulator, but, like in the old days, an exaggerated and FUN version of it. There are fewer and fewer people who try to play the game their own way having fun, more and more people are doing TWO things they've seen online all the time thats enough to get the win, even by a huge margin sometimes.

You should look less at the surface of the community's complaints (which, imo, usually don't know what they want) and more at the underlying cause of those complaints. Every year, the discussion ends up at the same point: "the skill gap is decreasing/it's gone."

If you allow everyone to do just two things they've watched on socials over and over and win games, there's a problem. If the only way to win consistently is with one (easy) style of play, there's a problem. If people are constantly looking for a shortcut, whether it's last year's trivela, the rainbow flick and bicycle kick or even "simply" the 6/8-man defense and 4-man counterattack of recent years between 4213 and 442, there's clearly a problem in the defensive CPU that people try to avoid at all costs when lined up, looking only for the counterattack because it makes it vulnerable.

My solutions:

-CPU Defense
•[R1] pressing like old FIFAs, leave tackles and most of interceptions to controlled player, limiting the CPU to covering through balls if theyre running back or the Xs if theyre in front of the receiver.

These days with people going afk in events we all noticed how strong CPU is at tracking and tackling if you get closer to them, that shouldnt happen,with this R1 its even worse.

•Jockey(not PS): the jockey is essential,but it should be a way to engage the opponent waiting for the right moment to tackle(O) where he will go and if you miss,he has to get past you.

Or, like old FIFAs,with only jockey you had to go TOWARDS the player with the ball, if he get it and avoid you,your player goes out of position and there is a space created for him.

Rn you can cover like 80% of opponent cone of action,whether he goes right or left,and auto-recover the ball without tackle button if it passes near your foot.

•Wider defensive assets, fullbacks/midfield goes too tight compared to old games,there is no space to pass the ball and create chances with a lined up defense (here comes shortcuts)

-Manual defending

Along with the things said before, manual defense is not rewarded.
•If im CONTROLLING a CB and running back next to receiver ST and my opponent does a through ball, i have to intercept it.
•If i choose the right time to manually tackle i need to take it without rebounds
•If i understand where opponent is going to pass the ball and cover that line/player, it should be mine.

All that doesnt work with controlled players, but most of the time positioning players and switch back to turn them CPU works. Thats not right.

•Fix rebounds, again. Both manual tackle and intercept+ send the ball too far and opponent that loses ball no longer have a "stun" period, they just take it back and likely score, actually i think who manually recover the ball gets the stun effect, with all the unwanted problems you've caused with patches, this could be another one, who knows.

-Passing

I think double tap needs a rework, it good when the opponent is halfway between me and the receiver/where the ball is going to "drop", rn is working even if my opponent is close to who does the pass or who receive it, that doesnt make sense

Passing PS are not the problem here, you don't need to nerf them, the problem is that with 85+ stats but no PS, players can't perform good passes anymore.

-Dribbling

Current player speed with direction changes is both perfect and horrible
•Those fast little touches left-right, left-forward, similar to "agile dribbling" or whatever that name was, are perfect Speed imo.
•Full 180 turn or even a bit less id say: that's too fast, i think thats what cause the "spinning" problem that everyone mention and hates

-Roles

Since you added roles, the game is CAM/ST dependent, every tactic needs at least 2 of them to be "meta" because cpu movements triggers only when they have the ball. Im a Classic 433 player, when i have the ball with CMs and Wingers, my players just walk around watching, when my ST has the ball they start moving, but i can't hold the ball with 1 ST only so im forced to use formations with 2+ of them. Also there are almost no diagonal runs, both to come closer or to cut going forward

-Player Lock

• CPU passes direction-power are too precise, and it wouldn't even be fair to reduce the success rate because the CPU shouldnt have those "human errors," or it would create a consistency problem throughout the game (which already exists btw), it would become unreliable and it would no longer make sense to use it.
• There's already the more "dependent on the player" alternative: triggering players with L1 or R1 + direction, which also leaves it up to you to keep the ball and decide how and when to pass it, with margins for human error like any other pass.

I'd remove player Lock and keep directional runs but i dont care tbh.
(Biggest part of movements with player locks are simple runs that CPU should do alone btw)

[lyric saffron]

1000% agree

[granite cove]

Appreciated ♥️ i tried to add details to help them specifically, but they wont read or care tho, its better to listen to vague and random complaints, interpreting it their own way and doing more damage 😮‍💨

[halcyon fable]

This is so real but knowing ea thry wont do anything

[granite cove]

Ty, yh i mean, i also know thats a lot of stuff, not something you can fix with a patch, maybe not even from fc26 to fc27, just because community is so used to new CPU nowadays that they will just cry about it if you go back to old, more manual, defense style. But i think in long terms they will understand that without THIS cpu they could finally try something different, do some more passes or dribbling between opponents without some random AI taking it back instantly, having actually fun. As i said, people dont really know what they want, they hate opponents cpu but then also hate if their cpu doesnt defend alone, if there has to be a choice: both with a lot of CPU/both with less CPU, there is only one correct answer, the one that let you PLAY more, the ine thats let you have fun and play football as you like and not the only way it works against a mostly CPU game

[lyric saffron]

Daje Luca

[rain thunder]

Couldn't agree with you more

[granite cove]

❤️

[indigo herald]

Impossible to explain to your average Timmy or waldo

[granite cove]

Want to add something

-Bruiser
• urgent fix (imo): If you are in front of the opponent and use bruiser, that should be obstruction foul most of the time, rn people doesnt tackle anymore because all they need to do is press x
•also really inconsistent, too much powerful/like the player doesnt even have PS

-Slide tackle
•im thinking about this for years now, these have always been poorly balanced, a correct use should be from the side or eventually to block a pass/shot, lot of people do slide tackle running towards you or staying there in position, first case irl its basically a Red card even if you hit the ball, second case i think nobody does that, still those 2 are the most used and rewarded slide tackles in the game

-Tackles in general
•in old FIFAs, ball touch was Better registered in animations too, thanks to that, it was part of skill gap to move the ball and cover it with your foot/body or doing good skill moves at the right time, i remember i used to take freekicks on the sides doing a ball roll away during a tackle "hiding" the ball. In the last few years, with the ball passing through the foot or also with Defender foot passing through attacker LEG, tackles from behind or with covered ball are too powerful, and thats causes lot of rebounds too, other than frustration and lowering skill gap

[rain thunder]

Yup 👆

[viral flicker]

Amazing!!!!

Uppp

[bold vigil]

EA needs to take this word for word

[dark sparrow]

Agree with this post

[restive mica]

Omg best post, please do something @limber vortex

[prime pawn]

@limber vortex do smth bro

Ts the best post ever

[granite cove]

Ty guys ♥️, Hope they'll actually work on it tho😭

[granite cove]

-Custom animations
Choose: remove unique animations/bodies OR balance them and make them only visual removing that sort of aura around who has It

The second one would be Better ofc.

Tired of example players "aura". Lot of evos, futb with customizable playstyles but yet they keep using same players, promo or evo, with probably bad PS but still OP

-FC "IQ"
You Say FC IQ yet at 91' 5-4 if i hold the ball with my cb, my team goes all forward, even if i have attacking wingbacks or whatever, if its last minute and im winning, especially if i select "defensive" in game with d-pad, my team should stay there, its basic common sense

-#TheBeautifulGame
A big real problem are some online creators like Gullit gang that explain how to do broken mechanics and you should start to fix as fast as possible those things and try to remove a "meta", its a football game, every mechanic should be almost equally the same, you need to focus on what and Who is ruining the game (other than yourselves)

By not fixing broken mechanics and giving players CPU assistence, you are promoting toxic behavoir, most of this community just use broken mechanics and tactics, doing toxic celeb or texting you "Easy" and other things, im personally not against provocations, but i can't handle it if im trying to PLAY FOOTBALL and they just spam what works because they only want Easy wins without personal merits. And i define myself competitive, but without shortcuts, how it should be. Fair games and who plays better (maybe) wins. Or you lose but it was a fun game. I think i had like 10 fun games this years totally, other than that its like playing a different difficulty of Squad Battles, bunch of bots playing the exact same, Just different way to usual AI of SB.

-Servers
Nothing else to say