EA FC 26 is aiming to deliver a massive gameplay upgrade from last year, touting improvements to several prominent issues while also introducing some interesting new mechanics. The devs laid out much of what players can expect to see in the upcoming title via a gameplay deep dive, and we’re here to break down the highlights. Without further ado, here are all the new gameplay features coming to FC 26.
Competitive & Authentic Gameplay Presets
The franchise has historically attracted two different types of player bases. The first is all about the breakneck, competitive action of Ultimate Team, while the other leans towards the more tactical and realistic Career Mode. Creating a gameplay experience that caters to both player bases has caused a myriad of issues. So, EA have finally made the sound decision of devising two different gameplay presets, and allowing players to pick between them.
The Competitive Preset is built with Ultimate Team and Clubs in mind, and prioritizes responsiveness and higher player control. It aims to deliver consistently crisp gameplay, where the tempo remains high without compromising on the control players have over their teams. Here are some key features of this gameplay preset:
- 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
On the other hand, Authentic brings a true-to-football feel to Player and Manager Career, featuring more positionally-responsible defenders, realistic corner success rates, lifelike goalmouth scrambles, and more. The goal with Authentic is to deliver a more methodical and less predictable experience that amps up player immersion. Here are some of the preset’s key features:
- 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
Refined Gameplay Fundamentals
With EA FC 26, the devs are revisiting and readjusting the core fundamentals behind the on-pitch action. Powered by player feedback, the aim is to cut down on FC 25’s most annoying issues, increase the AI’s positional intelligence, and make the game more responsive as a whole. The adjustments made to gameplay fundamentals are reflected in both presets mentioned above, and here’s what the tweaks look like:
Dribbling and Movement
In FC 26, players should feel more agile and responsive on and off the ball while delivering more consistent outcomes. To achieve this, EA have implemented changes to Dribble Touch Intervals, Dribble Animation transitions, and the effectiveness of Jog Dribbles, among other things.
Movement
Movement has always been a contentious topic within the FC community, and FC 26 aims to rectify those complaints by increasing player agility in these areas:
- 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.
Besides this, the game is also reverting to three main Acceleration types, namely Explosive, Lengthy, and Controlled. The early stages of all three Acceleration types have been adjusted to feel more responsive, and their deacceleration should now feel snappier as well.
Goalkeeper AI
Goalkeepers are receiving some much-needed attention in EA FC 26. The players between the sticks are getting an AI overhaul, new animations based on real-world volumetric motion capture data, and new UI and controls for the Be-A-Goalkeeper experience. The central goal is to eliminate FC 25’s incessant positioning and parrying issues, which saw goalkeepers palm the ball into the path of opposition players.
To achieve this, the devs have made these fundamental changes:
- 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.
FC 26 will also introduce Reinforcement-Learning Goalkeeper Positioning, which uses machine learning to help AI-controlled goalkeepers make more realistic decisions about where to position themselves in the box. To go along with this overhaul, players will now be able to play as a goalkeeper in Rush matches.
Defending
Bounce-backs are gone, the lord be praised. EA have made it clear that FC 26 will reward players for well-timed challenges or anticipating a pass by making it more likely to win the ball cleanly and retain possession in those moments. Tackle Outcomes, Shot Blocks, and Interceptions have all been adjusted to trigger this important change. Tackle Spamming will also be penalised more harshly, making the delay after a missed tackle more consistent.
Passing & Shooting
Passing felt strangely sluggish in EA FC 25, so FC 26 is raising passing responsiveness thanks to a range of tweaks. These include:
- 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.
Shooting mechanics are receiving a major shake-up in the upcoming title as Timed Finishing has officially been removed. While you bid your goodbyes to those green-timed Trivelas, say hello to a dedicated Low Driven shot button (double-tap shoot button). In addition to this, Trivela can now only be performed by players with the Gamechanger PlayStyle. This change aims to reduce the overpowered nature of the Trivela and make shooting more balanced.
Physicality
The shield button will feel more effective in EA FC 26, thanks to a rework to the core system:
- Shield Trapping – A new tool for players who want to stand their ground instead of immediately moving.
- Improved positioning when receiving the ball and Shielding.
- 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.
The devs have also implemented a new Physicality feature called Contested Box Outs. 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.
New PlayStyles
PlayStyle have been rebalanced and reworked across the board, alongside the addition of five new ones. These include:
- Aerial Fortress: A defensive player who performs higher jumps and has physical defensive presence before and during aerial duels
- Precision Header: An offensive player who specializes in controlled, accurate headers, and can execute them with increased accuracy and power.
- Inventive: A player specializing in creative passing that can pull off fancy and Trivela passes performed with improved accuracy.
- Gamechanger: A player who is known for extraordinary and unconventional finishes, combining and refining from the former Flair and Trivela PlayStyles.
- Enforcer: A physical attacker who performs dribble Shoulder Challenges and Shielding with increased effectiveness.
The Power Header, Aerial, Trivela, and Flair PlayStyles have been removed and incorporated into the new PlayStyles according to their functions.
New Player Roles
Player Roles will have a new Versatile Focus in EA FC 26 to make them less rigid. The devs have also confirmed that the game will receive new roles throughout its annual cycle, alongside the four new Player Roles available at launch:
- Wide Back: A central defender who opens wide to cover for the fullbacks. Ideally part of a back-three, the Wide-Back can occupy the Fullback position if they are not present in the formation or they go up for the attack. Think Alessandro Bastoni at Inter Milan
- Inverted Wingback: A modern attacking fullback that gets forward and adopts a central position high up the pitch when their team has the ball. Depending on the Focus, the wingback can play as a Playmaker or a Shadow Striker. The best example would be Achraf Hakimi at PSG.
- Box Crasher: A defensive midfielder who can get forward to join the attack, making trailing runs into the box if the opportunity arises. However, the player is slow to return to their defensive duties. Declan Rice at Arsenal comes to mind.
- Ball-Playing Keeper: A modern ball-playing goalkeeper who supports build-up play as a passing option and stays on their line when their team is in defense. Real-world examples include Ederson and David Raya.
High Contrast Mode
A brand-new accessibility feature, the High Contrast Mode increases the visual separation between footballers, the pitch, and other key elements, making the action clearer and more visible to those who need it. This can be especially helpful for low-vision and blind players or those who find it challenging to track fast-paced gameplay. The mode will come with various saturation sliders, allowing players to tweak the visuals to their liking.
And that is everything you need to know about the new gameplay features coming to EA FC 26. Have these improvements driven up your excitement for the game? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
