A couple months ago, I went in-depth with some of the changes I wanted to see in FIFA 22’s pro clubs’ mode. These changes consisted of a variety of ideas ranging from gameplay changes, more customization options, and better matchmaking. Some of these changes did come true with EA’s FIFA 22 pro clubs’ deep dive patch notes coming two months later. My initial reaction to this news was very positive, given that pro clubs was getting more updates than in recent years. However, with the FIFA 22 Beta in full swing, how does these changes to pro clubs hold up?
FIFA 22 Pro Impressions
Stadium & Club Customization
One of the newest features in FIFA 22 is the stadium creator. This feature has been highly requested among the community. However, the stadium creator is very shallow, and offers a limited number of stadiums to choose from. Changing the pitch pattern, seat color, stadium color and net color are some of the options available. While these changes are small, it is a good base for Electronic Arts to build on for next years title.
That said, my favorite options are the new club nicknames and goal songs. I didn’t expect EA to go as far to add in goal songs, and there is a decent amount of them. With club nicknames, it allows the in-game commentary to assess what’s going on more smoothly. I feel like these two additions really sell the personality of your club, and hopefully EA continues to add more further down the line.
With club customization, there is more kits and crests to choose from. I wish there was more crest customization options. Many times the colors on your crest don’t work with the colors of your kit. In addition to that, custom tactics have gotten a small number of updates. One of them is a tactic called “chance creation”, which lets you choose how you want to create chances. This is more for how the A.I. reacts to your existing attacking tactics. During beta, I haven’t seen any difference in how this affects gameplay, but maybe that will change with more hours put into the beta.
Drop-in Matches
If you are a player that doesn’t have a club and just like to play drop-ins, then FIFA 22 has you covered. This year has seen a significant upgrade with drop-in matches, making it easier to group up and play together. The addition to add friends to your match making list really adds a different way to have fun in drop-ins. I think this is a great way to try to recruit players to your club and dominate divisions.
Perks & Archetypes
One feature that has changed a bit in FIFA 22 is how you earn perks. You earn perks by playing games and leveling up your pro. Unlike previous FIFA’s, some perks activate while playing matches, and many peaks have traits that make your pro better. For example, the one-time shot trait activates the first time you shoot off a pass. This peak grants you the finesse shot and the header trait, along with an increase in your weaker foot. I like this new approach to traits because your pro gets better by the actions you do on the pitch and changes the dynamic of the game.
Archetypes are new to FIFA and bring their own added benefits. Archetypes are the icing on the cake if you will. They are the last thing on your skill tree in each ability. The abilities increase your pro’s stats significantly, and take a massive amount of XP points to purchase. If you have the maestro archetype, this gives your dribbling and ball control a massive boost. The same goes for other archetypes and their respective abilities. You can obtain three archetypes at once to create the build you want. While this makes your pro massively good, they don’t come across as overpowered as of right now, but that could change post-beta.
Verdict
Overall, I’ve enjoyed pro clubs in FIFA 22’s beta. I don’t expect any massive changes to the game with it being one month away from release. The stadium creator might be shallow, but it’s a start in the right direction. I think drop-in matches have gotten some the best quality of life updates in recent FIFA’s. This feature tends to get overlooked and now I see many reasons to play it, especially given how user-friendly it has become. Perks add something different to the game, but I need more time with different builds to see how the perks, traits and archetypes work with each other.
Have you played the FIFA 22 beta yet? If you have let us know in the comments. If you want more FIFA 22 news, make sure you keep it locked with Sports Gamers Online.