Pitch Notes - FIFA 20 FUT News Deep Dive

Hey Everyone,

I’m Tyler Blair, Creative Director on FIFA Ultimate Team, and I’m here to introduce some of the new features and some key improvements that are coming to FUT 20. As a team we have been looking at ways to:

• Provide our fans with short, medium & long term goals to progress their club throughout the season
• Allow our fans to customize and show their own unique style on and off the pitch
• Ensure that there’s better ways to play with and against your friends
• Refresh our squad screen by making it more integrated to the club and transfer market

Season Objectives

To start, I want to give an overview of our new Season Objectives feature. In FUT 19 we’ve seen how incredibly popular Objectives have been in the FUT community. Season Objectives are part of our wider redefined Objectives system in FUT 20, which will allow you to progress towards rewards for your Ultimate Team beyond a daily or week to week window. Our first Season of FIFA 20 will kick off on 19th September, allowing anyone playing FIFA 20 through the EA Access Trial to begin their progress ahead of the worldwide launch on 27th September. The first season will run until the end of October.

When you login to Ultimate Team after creating your Club, you’ll find the new Objectives Hub accessible from the FUT Central menu. Inside this hub you’ll be able to track your progress towards Season Rewards, jump to the next season objective that you choose to complete, as well as see your progression against Milestones and Foundation objectives.

In FUT 20, Objectives can be grouped together by themes and tasks. Individual Objectives you complete will earn you XP and Rewards, as well as help progress towards completing the Objective group it is in. Completing groups of Objectives will be key to you unlocking larger rewards to help you grow, customize or advance your Ultimate Team.

Season Objectives will be released in 4 ways: Daily, Weekly, Season, and Dynamic Objectives.

• Daily Objectives are simple tasks which are released each day and contribute XP to your Season Rewards. They will automatically release each day and expire after 24hrs.
• Weekly Objectives are groups of objectives which have rewards and XP associated with the completion of the individual objectives release each week. In case you miss one week’s objectives they will stay active in the game for a 2nd week, with the exception of the last week of a season which will expire when the Season does.
• Season Objectives are longer term challenges to finish and from the time they are put live they will remain live until the last day of the season.
• Finally, Dynamic Objectives are special time-limited release Objective Groups which will not have a regular release schedule and will end after a set period of time determined by the dynamic objective group. These could be tied to campaigns or real world events that are happening in the game during the course of the Season.

Completing Objectives and earning XP will progress your Level on the Season Rewards tab. In our first season there will be 30 Levels, each with its own Season Reward or Reward choice. There will be a diverse mix of rewards available in the objectives feature ranging from packs, players, club customization content or other items to help progress your club such as match coin boosts. We’re looking to balance Season progression to appeal to all types of FUT players, from those who play once or twice a week, to players regularly competing in FUT Champions or Division Rivals. As you level up throughout the Season, the bigger both the challenges and rewards will become. You’ll be able to track your overall progress and see all level rewards in the Season Rewards screen for the duration of the season.

That’s not all for objectives this year. We’ve also introduced two other ways to unlock rewards for your play with Foundation and Milestones Objectives. 

• Foundation Objectives are the place for new players to learn the ropes of FIFA Ultimate Team, with organized learning objectives grouped together by subjects such as trading, team building and Chemistry.
• Milestones Objectives are long term objective groups which are not tied to any Season. Once a Milestone objective group is created in FUT 20 you’ll be able to continue making progress against these objectives, unlocking their rewards at your pace. From player feedback we know that many of you have been looking for more ways to progress in FUT and Milestones allow us to celebrate and reward key moments in every player’s FUT Club.

Overall there’s going to be more choice in the objectives system both in what you want to do with your time as you continue to progress, and which rewards you want to work towards unlocking.

New Customization Options

We’ve also added new ways to personalize your club and truly show off your unique style on the pitch. In the past when playing FUT we’ve had a number of custom kits, designed by some amazing artists, which have been loved by our fans - with some of our custom kits being among the most popular kits in Ultimate Team.

In FUT 20 we’re going to take things to a new level with eight Club Customization options to mix and match; you’ll be sure to find options that help you show off your club in a more unique way. By adding new Stadium Themes, Tifos, unique custom balls, new crests, and custom celebrations to the game there are going to be thousands of combinations to personalize your club.

If you’re a football purist interested in finding authentic customization options, or someone who’s style isn’t as traditional, we’ve got lots of new customization options that will give you an opportunity to create your own environment that feels unique to your club.

Both Stadium Theme’s and Tifo’s are new additions in FUT 20. Your Stadium theme will feature on the sidelines and in the crowd throughout the match. Your Tifo will feature in the pre-match intros and after goals there will be some replays which feature your Tifo in the background.

Celebrations you assign to your club are assigned to the <X/A> button in gameplay and will be easily accessible after you score a goal. Assigning your custom celebration won’t remove the ability to trigger any other celebrations with their assigned button combinations.

It’s important to note the ball selection you make will only be seen on your own screen. This is done to ensure that we do not create any visibility issues for other players. Also not all stadiums in FUT support all customization features; look out for icons on Stadium items to know which types of customization each stadium supports to ensure you have a location that contains support for the customization types you want to see.

FUT Friendlies

One of the things that I'm really excited to talk about is the launch of FUT Friendlies. A new hub to play FUT with your friends locally or online, as well as head to head online in traditional 11v11 gameplay, with or without House Rules.

Matches within FUT Friendlies do not consume contracts or fitness, or count towards your club record and they do not carry over injuries and red cards making them the perfect place to experiment with your new players. We've also paired the mode with deeper stats tracking in Friendlies, so that you'll have a one stop spot to know which of your friends is truly the best at Ultimate Team.

As I mentioned above, the mode features 11v11 Classic gameplay, but the true fun in FUT Friendlies comes when you branch out into some custom House Rules. In FUT 20 select House Rules modes launched in FIFA 19 - and 4 new modes designed specifically for FIFA 20 - will be available for you to choose from. 

Max Chemistry and Swaps will be two exclusive ways to play in Ultimate Team, while Mystery Ball and King of the Hill will be released in FUT, Pro Clubs & Kick Off - along with the already established Headers & Volleys, Survival, Long Range, No Rules, and Classic Match.

In Max Chemistry we’ve taken the restrictions of team building away and added a full boost to players’ Chemistry, regardless of their position in the squad or their links. Each player will play at 10 chemistry and the team will have 100 team chemistry, allowing you to experiment with new squad combinations with the full power of chemistry styles.

Swaps brings a team building twist to the match. At the start of each game you’ll have 3 players randomly swapped from your squad with your opponent. Will you get your opponents best 3 and replace them with some of your bronze starters? Or will you just get to experience what it’s like to play with some different players you have never used before? As an additional benefit, if you manage to score on your friend with one of their players you’ll be awarded 2 points for that goal. Each match in Swaps will bring some fun opportunities to use your friends' players against them.

Mystery Ball brings the element of surprise each time the ball leaves play as it comes in as a new mystery ball type. Each ball has a custom goal value that ranges from 1-3 goals and boosts the player in possession with over the top effects that take their Shooting, Dribbling, Passing, Sprint Speed, or the all powerful All Ball, which brings each of the other effects at the same time.

King of the Hill combines the power of dribbling in a control zone with a goal value meter making the focus of the game different than ever before. A control zone will spawn in the attacking zone which you will have to get the ball inside and then continue to control it as the space shrinks and your goal meter starts to fill. Balance your chances between retaining possession and pushing for a max goal value of 3, and then work your way up the pitch and try to score. 

We know that when it comes to House Rules everyone has their favorites. In FUT Friendlies you can build your own playlist by selecting a range of House Rules for your own custom playlist or select the exact type of match you want to play. These new ways to play, stats tracking. and the potential to combine with Season Objectives are sure to bring new fun and casual ways to play with your friends and opponents in FUT 20.

Easier Squad Management (Squad Screen)

The Squad screen has always been one of the key experiences when playing FIFA Ultimate Team. As Ultimate Team has grown and expanded through the years we’ve added lots of new and useful functions to the squad, but fundamentally the overall experience of using the squad screen has become a bit too complex.

We looked at the key ways people were using the squad screen and addressed many of the core flows which had proven more challenging for players. Our starting point here was to find a way to truly integrate your squad, club and the transfer market in a single experience that makes managing who goes into your squad a quicker and more integrated part of the game. 

Selecting a player in FUT 20 and pressing <R1 / RB> will take you directly to your club, filtered to the position selected where appropriate. From there you can refine the results with a quick press of <△ / Y> and access the complete set of unified filters, if needed.

By pressing <L1 / LB> instead, you will navigate to the Transfer Market which will be pre-filtered to the position you’re trying to fill and with a coin balance that doesn’t exceed your current maximum for Buy It Now; quickly enabling a search for players who might be what you’re looking for. If you want to get more specific with your search we’ve brought in the full transfer market filters to refine your search and enable you to have the same experience that you’re used to in the full fledged transfer market directly from your squad screen.

The player actions menu has been completely redesigned as well, now pressing <☐ / X> on a player brings up a radial menu with quick options to apply consumables, jump to player tactics, or just to quick sell a player.

And for anyone looking for the manager on the squad, he hasn’t been removed, just added to the dock with your subs and reserves.

Overall in FUT 20 the full squad screen experience is greatly improved and we’re excited for you to get your hands on it and try it out.

Squad Battles

Since the launch in FUT 18, Squad Battles has proven to be one of our most popular modes. In FUT 20, you’ll see a new interface which puts a better emphasis on the details of the squad you’re about to face. You’ll see the top three players from each squad, some details on the current tactical setup and formation, the kits and stadium, as well as the ratings for the squad and their chemistry displayed more clearly. Those opponent squads will feature their customization as well, with Tifo and stadium themes carrying into each match.

In addition to the improved interface for opponent selection we’ve made some changes to the fundamentals of squad battles, which should improve things for people by enabling easier access to playing your matches on your schedule.

To start, we’ve removed the timed refreshes in Squad Battles for FUT 20. You will now be able to refresh 4 new squads whenever you want, until you hit your maximum of 10 refreshes for the weekly competition (up 40 games per week). While those first 10 refreshes are the only squads which will count towards your weekly competition standings, you will be able to continue to refresh and get new opponent squads to work on completing objectives or just for some fresh opponents to play.

We’ve also included the Team of the Week as a recurring Squad Battles opponent. Which, along with the Featured Squad Battle, you’ll now be able to replay if desired to try and improve your final score. You’ll need to balance risk and reward when you re-match and replace your previous score in an attempt to earn more points, push yourself higher up the leaderboards, and gain better rewards.

Other Changes

Pre-Match Setup

We’ve redesigned our pre-match flow for matchmaking in an online match. Now in FUT 20 you’ll see new options when it comes time to select your kits. You’ll have the option to select playing against your opponent in your other kit for a guaranteed match experience, or to play against your opponent in one of their chosen kits. The kits your opponent is using will not be displayed before the match starts. Behind the scenes we’ll use logic to evaluate the colour of the kit you are wearing and choose the kit your opponent is wearing which has the least similar colour patterns to your own.

Bulk Quick sale of consumables

We’ve added an option to the game to allow the bulk quick sell of consumables in your club. When browsing your club consumables you’ll have the option in the quick sell menus to quick sell multiple items at the same time. This will greatly reduce the time and effort for players when you’d like to turn some of your excess consumables into coins for your club.

FUT Champions

From the start of FUT Champions in FUT 20 and through the year, we plan to have more to do with the FUT Champions Red players earned as part of the weekly rewards. To kick things off, in FUT 20 we will ensure that the Champion SBCs are in the game from launch. There will be a SBC to submit any 5 Champions items for a 83-86 rated Champions player. Additionally, we will have a SBC with requirements to submit an 81 rated squad of Champions players to receive a player pick 86+.

Division Rivals

For our Division Rivals players we’ve got a few tweaks to the way that things work in FUT 20. First, we’ve changed some of the skill rating requirements for divisions in FUT 20.

Additionally, we’ve changed the functionality of matchmaking in the upper tiers of skill rating. As a player who exceeds 2200 skill rating in Division 1, your matchmaking will have hit a cap. This change is targeted to improve the overall likelihood of matchmaking in upper skill tiers and ensure that players find games both quicker and with more regularity. You will continue to calculate skill per your exact skill rating and your skill rating can exceed 2200. This change is only applied to finding an opponent in Division Rivals.

FUT Stadiums

In an effort to reduce the variance experienced match to match in lighting and shadows, we’ve made a choice to lock in specific time of day settings for each of the stadiums in FIFA Ultimate Team. Before each match, the game will select between day and night and will use the predetermined time of day and weather conditions to ensure a priority on minimizing the impact of shadows in each stadium.

Companion App

We know the Companion App is an extremely popular place for fans to complete Squad Management tasks and Squad Building Challenges. In FUT 20 we’re bringing new features to help streamline the process to make it easier to manage your Club on the go.

In FUT 20 Companion App we’ll adding the ability to create Custom Tactics for your active FUT Squad. Similar to on console, you’ll be able to tweak your tactical set up for 5 different presets ahead of you going into your next match. On top of tactical changes you can also switch up your look with the full Club Customization options that you find on the console. Check in on your progress in Season Objectives and see how far away you are from your next objective, potentially even being able tick off one or two of the tasks through the App itself.

On the Companion App you will be able to add SBC Protection onto players in your Club, to help ensure that you don’t submit a star player into a SBC by accident. If you do try to submit a player with SBC Protection enabled you will receive a prompt asking you to confirm that you are happy to submit this player. We’ll also be adding to the search functionality within the Companion app to exclude Active Squad members from Club search results, making squad building and SBCs easier to do.

We’re excited for everything that FUT 20 has in store and looking forward to giving you all the chance to try this out for yourselves, thank you!

Tyler Blair and the FUT Dev Team

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For more deep dives on FIFA from members of the game team, check out the Pitch Notes Page.

The FUT 20 season kick-offs with FUT 20 Ones to Watch. Pre-order the FIFA 20 Ultimate Edition before August 5th, to receive a guaranteed Ones To Watch Player.

Please Note: This article is describing in general terms what updates the Dev Teams are working for FUT 20 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. We are constantly looking to improve the FUT experience for everyone, so this article may become outdated as we make adjustments to keep our game fun for everyone.

FIFA 20 is available to pre-order now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

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