EA investigating overpowered attacking in FIFA 14
Issues day-one patch to improve stability in the meantime.
EA Sports is considering gameplay tweaks to FIFA 14 to address several attacking options that feel overpowered to people playing the demo and early access version of the game.
Writing on the official forum in a post signed "The FIFA Team", the developer said:
"Our commitment to improve FIFA 14 is ongoing, and regular feedback from our fans helps us prioritise and identify future improvements. We wanted to take this opportunity to address a few more items that we continue to work towards. Firstly, we got some great feedback on gameplay during the demo and early access period, including:
- "The effectiveness of headers from corner kicks and crosses.
- "The effectiveness of finesse shots.
- "The accuracy of lofted through-balls.
"We look to update you in the near future with good news on the identified gameplay tweaks."
In the meantime, the developer has issued a day-one patch for FIFA 14 that will address "minor stability issues" and bugs in the Skill Games and Creation Centre modes. The developer advises anyone playing the early access version of the game - available to EA Sports Season Ticket holders - to apply the update before continuing.
"Finally, we're aware that some users are experiencing freezes during the game. We continue to investigate these reports internally, and with our partners, and will update the community when we know more," it concluded.
Finesse shots and headed goals in particular are extremely common in the shipping version of FIFA 14, as I wrote in our FIFA 14 review on Monday. In fact, I spent most of my day off yesterday sprinting down the wing in Ultimate Team and crossing to Stefan Kiessling to score, at least when I wasn't using the scoop turn to create space for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to send a finesse shot into the top corner.
Check out how overpowered finesses shots appear in Itani's Di Natale player review, too, although it should be noted that the YouTuber is an exceptional player:
EA has made a big song and dance this year about how strength and shielding should slow the pace of the game, and while both elements are useful, the shipping version of the game is still quite frenzied, with high scores common. It's ridiculously good fun, mind you, but the developer's forum post suggests it's not supposed to be quite this exciting.
FIFA 14 is out for current-gen systems and PC this Friday, 27th September, in Europe, with next-gen versions due for the launch of PS4 and Xbox One.