The Pitch Notes
EA SPORTS FC™ 24 | Pitch Notes - Holiday Update
Title Update #6
Hi everyone, the Holiday Update (Title Update #6) is releasing soon and we’re eager to tell you all about the exciting changes and additions to EA SPORTS FC™ 24.
Summary
This update adds 92 Player Items to Ultimate Team, over 100 new and updated star heads, and it aims to enable players to attack with more creativity, especially through the centre of the pitch and near the sidelines. Gameplay updates include and are not limited to:
- Reduced midfield congestion.
- Reduced sideline pressure on attackers.
- Decreased manual goalkeeper movement speed and positioning.
- More offensive minded wingbacks in 3 and 5 at the back formations.
The Holiday Update also addresses several issues and you can check out the full TU notes on the EA SPORTS FC™ Tracker.
GAMEPLAY
MORE OFFENSIVE MINDED WINGBACKS
- [PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Only] Significantly lowered the track back speed of AI teammate wingbacks in 3 and 5 at the back formations.
With this change we are looking to ensure that 3 and 5 at the back formations are playing more towards their authentic nature, attacking high up the field. As you can see in the videos below, players will still return to help on defence but not as quickly, encouraging the attacking team to take more advantage of open space.
Here’s how Wingbacks could have acted before the Holiday Update:
And now here’s how Wingbacks can act after the Holiday Update, note that their track back speed is not as quick as before.
REDUCED MIDFIELD CONGESTION
- [PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Only] Strikers and wide midfielders will tend to be less aggressive when trying to mark central attackers.
With these changes, we are looking to promote more tactical variety when attacking through the centre of the pitch. Central areas could have sometimes felt overly congested in the past, making it hard to find passing options. Players in the midfield and on the wings are now going to mark less aggressively in order to prevent over-congestion in central midfield. We expect these changes to open central areas up for a bit more passing plays and creativity, and we look forward to hearing feedback from players.
REDUCED SIDELINE PRESSURE
- [PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Only] Significantly reduced the amount of pressure the defensive team can apply to players along the sidelines.
When players had the ball along the sidelines, there sometimes could have been an excessive amount of pressure applied to them by the defensive team using a high line. So we have significantly reduced the amount of pressure the defensive team will apply in these situations, giving some more space for attackers to get out of tricky situations with additional passing options.
DECREASED GOALKEEPER MOVEMENT AND POSITIONING SPEED
- Reduced the movement speed of goalkeepers when using the Move Goalkeeper input.
- Additionally, goalkeepers will now hold their final position for a short time before returning to their normal position
Being able to manually move your goalkeeper into the right positions can have a major impact on saving incoming shots when performed successfully. When moved manually, goalkeepers would run back to their original position immediately after releasing the input request, making it harder than intended for attackers to capitalise on these mistakes.
In this update, the goalkeeper manual movement speed has been slightly decreased, and goalkeepers will take a moment before returning to their original position after being moved. We are looking to ensure that players who excel at reading the game can be rewarded for their efforts when outwitting their opposition’s goalkeeper movement.
Here’s an example of goalkeeper movement before the Holiday Update.
And now here’s how goalkeepers can act after the Holiday Update, note that their movement speed is not as quick when using the Move Goalkeeper input.
FINESSE AND FINESSE+ PLAYSTYLE ADJUSTMENTS
- Slightly reduced finesse shot accuracy when performed by players with the Finesse and Finesse+ PlayStyles.
With this update we have adjusted the shot accuracy by players with the Finesse and Finesse+ PlayStyles as they were more effective than intended, resulting in an excessive amount of goals with this type of shot. Our intent with this change is to reduce the number of inauthentic goals scored from players with the Finesse and Finesse+ PlayStyles.
MORE AUTHENTIC CONTROLLED SPRINT SPEED
- Slightly reduced the top speed of players when using Controlled Sprint.
Our intent with this change is to bring the top speed of Controlled Sprint closer to more authentic real-world player movement. This change does not prevent players who excel at exploiting space with their Controller Sprint from doing that, but we anticipate that this slight top speed reduction can result in more authentic match flow.
POWER HEADER AND POWER HEADER+ PLAYSTYLE ADJUSTMENTS
- Significantly reduced header shot accuracy when performed by players with the Power Header and Power Header+ PlayStyles.
Players with the Power Header and Power Header+ PlayStyles were more effective than intended in the air, resulting in an inauthentic amount of goals scored. With this change players with these PlayStyles will still be more effective than their counterparts without them, but with the more life-like results we see in real-world football.
ULTIMATE TEAM & MORE
We always strive to bring as much authenticity to our game as possible, and our Holiday Update brings Player Item additions and star head updates so that more players can experience EA SPORTS FC™ 24 with their favourites.
NEW PLAYER ITEMS IN ULTIMATE TEAM
Title Update #6 brings 92 Players Items to Ultimate Team that will become available following a Squad Update that will come shortly after the Holiday Update. You will see many familiar faces among the added Player Item list, including Santi Cazorla, Adama Traore, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. We also have an Ultimate Team fan favorite returning back to LaLiga EA SPORTS and Sevilla, Sergio Ramos.
To further highlight our Holiday Update changes, two SBCs will soon be available in Ultimate Team.
PLAYER MOMENTS ADAMA TRAORE
The role of Wingback in today’s football is highly dynamic and demanding. And with recent gameplay changes we aim to represent this role as authentically as possible. The Adama Traore Player Item will be a RWB with the Quick Step+, Flair and Rapid PlayStyles. This unique combination of position and PlayStyles can help players dominate over the sideline with an offensive minded wing back with deadly forth and back runs. As noted above, the base Adama Traore Player Item is one of the 92 additions you'll see in Ultimate Team.
RADIOACTIVE ISMAËL BENNACER
With our gameplay updates we are looking to make deep lying playmakers a more viable option. The Ismaël Bennacer Player Item will be a CDM with the Tiki Taka+, Pinged Pass and Incisive Pass PlayStyles—both can help players orchestrate attacks and control possession through the middle. Also, be on the lookout for an update to Ismaël Bennacer's star head.
MORE STAR HEADS
Title Update #6 brings 102 updated player star heads into EA SPORTS FC™ 24 as well as 6 managers. You can expect to see improved likeness for players like Gregor Kobel, as well as managers like Luis Enrique.
Please note that these star heads will become visible following a Server Release that will come shortly after the Holiday Update.
REFRESHED MAIN MENU
The first thing you might notice when launching EA SPORTS FC™ 24 after this update is the touch of holiday spirit in our refreshed main menu background. During the month of December, players will see a seasonal change with snow, added cold breath effects, and players appearing in their winter kits. And in January this environment will change to rain weather.
NEW DIOGO JOTA CELEBRATION
The final addition we are covering in the Pitch Notes today is that we're adding a new signature celebration for our ambassador Diogo Jota - a viral Triangle celebration that is an homage to our EA SPORTS FC™ Logo.
Thank you everyone for checking out our Pitch Notes on the Holiday Update. We’re excited for you to experience everything in this update and wish you happy holidays.
- The EA SPORTS FC™ Team
EA SPORTS FC™ 24 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Switch
Stay in the conversation on all things EA SPORTS FC™ by following us on our official X, Instagram, and YouTube, our Dev X channel @EASFCDIRECT, on the EA SPORTS FC™ Tracker and participating in the official EA SPORTS FC™ Forums.