What’s good, sports gamers! Today, I’ll be sharing with you some tips and tricks you must know playing when Madden 25.
22 Tips and Tricks You NEED TO KNOW In Madden 25
1 – READ OPTION NUMBERS
To put yourself in the best position to run a read option, you want at least as many blockers as the defense has defenders in the box. Start by counting how many blockers you have inside the box: begin with 5 for the offensive line:
- Add 1 if the tight end has his hand in the ground, making it 6
- If it’s a 2-tight end set, that’s 7
- If you have a tight end and a fullback or another running back, that’s also 7.
Next, count how many defenders are inside that immediate area and subtract 1 because of the read option. If the numbers are even, you’re in a good spot; if you have more blockers than they have defenders, even better. However, if they have more defenders than you have blockers, something should be open on the outside, like a bubble screen.
2 – READ OPTION DIFFERENT CONTROLS
2 – READ OPTION DIFFERENT CONTROLSMadden 25 has changed how the read option works, if your coming from older versions of Madden. Unlike before, you now need to press ‘A’ or ‘X’ on your controller to keep the ball with your QB. If you’ve been successful running read options in the past, you will adapt to the change very fast…don’t worry. When running read options, always approach it with the intention of handing the ball off to simplify your decision-making. If you see the defender with the ‘R’ above his head, freeze you don’t have to touch anything and let the QB give the ball to the back, now if he starts to crash down is when you want to hit ‘A’ or ‘X’ to pull the ball from the running back’s pocket.
3 – SWITCH STICK
3 – SWITCH STICKThe biggest change to defense on Madden 25 is the introduction of the Switch Stick, which lets you switch between players during the play, so you can actually cover the whole field on a given play. To do so, flick the right stick towards the player you want to take control of to switch to them. You want to target defenders whose areas are being threatened or ideally about to be threatened because this is where you can get your interceptions as your opponent will be on the way to pressing the button while your stepping in the passing lane.
4 – PASS LEADING
When passing, most of your throws should involve you pass leading the pass in a certain direction. For those unfamiliar, pass leading lets you place the pass in different spots within the throws region that essentially lets you keep the ball away from the defender and where only your receiver can get to it. All you have to do is aim the left stick in different directions while throwing a pass to do it.
In your settings you can adjustment the amount your pass lead can move from the original target spot and how fast the reticle can move if your using Placement and Accuracy or Classic Passing Types. So if you crank both of these up you can see how fast things can go left here. I like to keep this on Small and 8 for reticle speed, but you can adjust to what you find fits. I find anything over 10, I overthrow receivers a lot more when I pass lead them.
5 – KICKING SETTINGS
In the game settings under “Kicking,” you can choose the type of meter you want to use and how to execute it.
You have two options: the College Football 25 meter and the Classic Madden Meter.
The College Football 25 Meter is a two-part meter where you lock in accuracy on the left right meter. This meter will swing faster the further you are attempting the kick and the green, yellow region will alter in size depending on how good the kicker is
And the power is the up and down one, where you want to lock it as close to the max power as possible or else you increase the risk of shanking it. And the Classic Madden Meter is the traditional swinging meter where you stop the power at the top and the accuracy at the bottom. You can also choose how to execute each meter. The Tap and Tap method require you to press the button twice to stop the accuracy and then power. Then there is the The Tap and Hold method which locks in accuracy with a single tap, and you let go to lock in the power
6 – ZONE DROP DEPTHS
In your defensive play call screen, by clicking in your right stick you can access your coaching adjustments where at the bottom you can fine tune your zone Coverage Depths for your defenders in flat, curl and hook zones. These adjustments dictate how far your defenders drop back into their assigned zones, allowing you to be way more fluid in your strategy. Now there are 3-4 assignments under each umbrella that do react different to routes even with the same zone drop which I’ll go over more in depth in my next video. To reset back to default, you can reset the play or play stick coverage by hitting Triangle and then L1 on your controller to have everybody drop to the first down marker.
7 – FAVORITE PLAYS
During a game, if you’re a user who only selects like 5-6 plays throughout the game you can help yourself out a lot by favoriting those plays by double tapping square, triangle or X on the plays you want to select to add to your favorites. A star will then tell you they have been added. So then you just go on over to your favorite plays menu and they all will be in here.
8 – HIGH PASS
8 – HIGH PASSIn certain spots, the high pass will become your best friend in completing a throw. An underrated one is when your receiver is a bit too deep down the field already by the time you see them and a bullet or regular lob will get picked. But if you hold LB or L1 on your controller while you, do it will increase the arc of the throw and increase your chances of coming down with the pass. Another is on passes down the middle to get it over hungry linebacker’s heads. Because of the high arc, it will sail over their head, but then you will also need to go up and get it, so pressing Triangle or Y will have you perform an aggressive catch to grab it out the air.
9 – PLAYMAKER
When rolling outside the pocket and nobody is open, your last chance of making something happen is trying to playmaker one of your receivers into open space. To do so you flick the right stick in a given direction telling the receiver closest to you to move into that spot. Usually either telling them to move to the right with you or go up the field potentially creating game changing big plays because of it.
10 – CUSTOM STEMS
A new feature in both football video games this year is the ability to adjust the stems on your routes. Which is the route your receiver takes before he makes his final break. Now this is different from the smart route, which you see after you hit Triangle or Y on your controller and then select the receivers icon at the bottom. Smart Routes will adjust your receivers route to the 1st down line. Custom Stems by hitting triangle or Y and then your receivers icon and at the bottom here, will let you change it beyond that and in front of the first down marker. Lets take the basic receiver hot routes
By hitting Triangle and then the receivers icon and then flicking the left stick to the left I have just called a speed out. Then by hitting Triangle and then the receivers icon and then holding L1 or LB on your controller I’ve accessed the custom stem and with the left stick you can adjust how short or far you want the receiver to go before he makes his break
You cant do them for every route, as some routes don’t have any breaks in it like a fade route for example. But curls, in routes, post, corner routes (which end up looking a bit funky when you extend them past 20 yards and comeback routes are all adjustable as far as the basic receiver hot routes go.
11 – REMEMBER YOUR WEAKNESSES
When you select a defensive coverage, ask yourself can they attack the weakness of this by what they’ve shown so far and what adjustment will you make if they do. This guy likes to throw seams to the slot against Cover 3, I can control that defender or the safety on that side and user, or this Cover 4 should work here.
12 – SHELLS
New this year, you can disguise your shell coverage on defense. To understand that, if you’ve played Madden for a while you can tell a lot of the time what the coverage is by how the secondary line up relative to where your receivers are. Everybody knows the oh he’s about to blitz me look instantly right. Well you can have that same look, by changing your shell to Cover 0, but your actually running a Cover 2..wild stuff. So if you like to use the same play on defense, you can hide it a bite now by making it look like a bunch of different stuff presnap with just changing your shells each time.
Or even setting your opponent up by changing your next play to the shell of your previous play by calling something that’s strengths is that coverages weakness to get them to throw something that wouldn’t have otherwise
13 – USE PREVIOUS PLAY TO UR ADVANTAGE
Now don’t take for granted that you can see what your opponent just called against you. Especially if your opponent just had success with it and think they found a play against you. Its time to dissect it and destroy it. Ok your blitzing the slot and the opposite safety drops into a hook, time to run 4 verticals on the blitzing safety side until you get out of that play. Actually aim to eliminate these plays from their playbook.
14 – CAT AND MOUSE GAME
Now stacking on my last point, if they called something and they stopped you, run it again. Because they may switch to something else after going ok we stopped it once their going to change the play to something they think is better going to stop what you switch to and open up the original play. Make them proof what they just called can actually stop your passing play, before you start dissecting it with other plays
15 – REMEMBER THE ROUTES
On top of being able to see their play, if your opponent got hit while they were about to pass or got sacked just before hand, take note of the route they had cooked up, because they will probably go right back to it if they stay in that formation if they were wide open. You may get a free gift, just by being aware of that
16 – ASSUME COMPUTER HAS NOTHING
One hard truth, we all learn throughout a game of Madden and still somewhat believe the opposite of, is never trust the computer to do any of your dirty work. You think they will have that route covered or chase that runningback? Nope they will probably do the worst possible of what ever is necessary. Get in a habit as much as possible of putting as much control of the outcomes of the plays in your own hands, because the computer will literally act like they don’t even see the ball at the worst possible time.
17 – CATCHING TYPES
17 – CATCHING TYPESMadden 25, the Manual Spec Catch, which you can do by Pressing L1 (PlayStation) or LB (Xbox) to attempt a spectacular catch animation. This new feature offers the high reward of wild grabs, but the risk of dropping a wide open catch because you did so. You can even combine the Manual Spec Catch with a possession catch so they dive to the ground immediately after by holding L1 and X or LB and A at the same time for him to perform the grab
18 – USER CONTROL ON DEFENSE
One of the biggest advantages you have on defense is being able to user control defenders and as a result be able to not be predictable in your movements. Which can really mess stuff up for the offense, so the moment you even dare get on that defensive line your immediately giving that up. The amount tof havoc you can cause by user covering receivers yourself especially with the now ability to switch defenders mid play, the ceiling is too high to be trying to bull rush my right guard you guys.
19 – WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT AT 110 SPEED
Now if your unsure of usering on defense, I heard this on a podcast once, that if your unsure about something, by unsure about it while going fast or something to that affect. Basically don’t hesitate, commit to a receivers and commit hard if your unsure, instead of being unsure of both and covering nobody.
20 – HAVE MORE THAN ONE READ
20 – HAVE MORE THAN ONE READA basic passing rule is unless that dude is wide open with nobody within 10 yards pre snap, your always going to want to have at least 2 receivers you want to check on each passing play to see if their open or not. A lot of dangers can happen when you lock on to just 1 guy pre-snap or during the play, and can honestly blind you to what the defense is doing. You don’t want that.
21 – DEFENDING THE RUN
One way to help yourself out when defending the run is to change the linebacker your controlling to a blitz so he gets a running start forward. Maybe even back up a bit so he’s not going full speed into the A gap out here
22 – CAUGHT ON THE DLINE
Now if you get caught on the defensive line the switch stick is also here to save the day, so to switch to a specific non linemen, just aim your left stick at who you want to switch to while hitting the b or circle button on your controller. Now this also applies to anybody who you control that has a blitz assignment as your not able to switch stick regularly with them as the game treats them like a pass rusher.
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