FIFA Ultimate Team, or FUT has been a staple for fans of the FIFA franchise since its inaugural introduction in 2009. It has inspired a number of games to adopt the popular trading card based game mode (i.e. Madden Ultimate Team, NHL, NBA 2K’s MyTeam) as well as created an entirely new revenue stream for Game developers.
Whether you are a longtime FIFA enthusiast, newcomer to the series or simply never got a chance to really dive into the beast that is Ultimate Team, this guide may help you get started.
Below are several key strategies that will help you get your Ultimate Team off to a running start and help you be competitive even against some of the stiffer competition you may face online, without having to spend coin to buy virtual coin.
KNOW YOUR TEAM
This is one of the the most important rules to remember in my opinion. A properly utilized squad can contend against even some of the super teams you may face in online play. Your starter pack will most likely include a plethora of players no one has ever heard of. Study their abilities and use them to your advantage. If your Strikers are undersized, but are skilled in dribbling and finishing, attack the opposing team through the middle with short, quick passes and through balls rather than crosses from the wings. Contrary, if your strikers are tall and lengthy, attack from the wings and try to to score with headers and off of set pieces.
FORMATIONS
Formations are another great way to get the most out of your team. It can be a bit overwhelming scrolling through all the different formations at first, but my advice here is to keep it simple. You will likely receive a pretty balanced team out of your starter packs. Try to stick to players preferred positions and build your formation from there.
For example, If your starters are compiled of:
2 CBs
1 RB
1 LB
2 CMs
1 LM/LW
1 RM/RW
2 ST/CF
Go with a traditional approach of a basic 4-4-2 formation or a 4-5-1 if you want to stagger your forwards.
Of course this is again based on knowing your team and playing to your teams strengths. If you have a bunch of central midfielders and no true wings, make sure your formation reflects that. There are 15 total positions in FUT and as you earn more coin and players, you will be able to diversify your lineup and formations.
CHEMISTRY
Chemistry can have a huge impact on the overall play of your team on the pitch. Accessed in the Formation screen, pay close attention to the nationality of your players and what leagues and club teams they play for.
For example:
If you have a Dutch CB playing alongside a 70 overall rated CB from Brazil, yet you have another CB from Holland rated at 68 overall, personally I would group the 2 dutch players together as the chemistry will offset the difference in rating. It will make for a much more fluid experience on the pitch from my experience. Try to group as many players from the same country, league or club together and you will see your chemistry rating go up dramatically.
SPEND YOUR COIN WISELY
Now that we have set our optimal lineup and formation, have played a few games with our team, earned some coin, it is time to talk about where and how to best spend it. I really don’t want to sound like a parent here but assuming you are into earning your coins rather than buying them, you want to make sure that you get the best bang for the buck. You will most likely have noticed that your goal keeper, you were provided with in your starter pack, couldn’t stop a beach ball if it was lobbed to him by a toddler.
Card packs are a great way to add depth to your team overall, but when it comes to targeting specific positions, you are best suited by browsing the Auction house.
Goalkeepers are a great bargain to be had as people usually auction even Gold quality keepers for reasonable prices due to the saturated market for that particular position.
If you still have some coin left, check out what some of the other positions have to offer and you might just find an impact player for a fairly reasonable price. If you don’t want to spend all your dough on just 1 or 2 players, maybe mix in a card pack as it will certainly upgrade quite a few of your existing positions and make your team stronger and deeper overall.
ON FIELD TACTICS
Okay, now that we have done everything we can to maximize our potential of success, it is time to lace up the cleats and hit the turf. There are a lot of strategies and tactics involved in real football as well as in its video game counterpart. Using tactics to your advantage can be the difference between winning or losing.
While in a game, the D-Pad will let you change your teams strategy and philosophy on the fly and is one of the best and most underused ways to control the tempo of your squad. Pressing left or right on the D-Pad will let you choose the mentality of your team. You can choose to be in a defensive lockdown (park the bus) mentality all the way to an “All out attack” mentality.
That is usually how I start off. If I am down by a goal or more by the 70 minute mark, I crank up my offensive mentality by pressing the D-Pad right a couple of times and it can help me score a much needed goal.
Be aware that the chance of the opposing team scoring on a counter attack also rises with this move, so be careful. By pressing up on the D-Pad you have the option to set up an offside trap, swap your wing players, have the CB join the attack or get into a “Team Pressing” scheme. Team pressing is an excellent way to ramp up your defensive intensity. Players will meet their opponents at the point of contact and pressure them to get rid of the ball. Pressing down on the D-Pad controls your offensive scheme. Here you can choose between your teams default offense, high pressure, possession or counter attack.
Combining a “Team Pressing” defensive strategy with a “high pressure” offensive strategy will certainly give your team a boost but could potentially wear out your players, which leads me to my next point.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Players in FUT get tired just like they do in the real world so use your reserves. I rarely play a game where I decline to use all 3 of my available subs and there have been many times where one of my reserve players who just came in the game actually scored a crucial goal. If you are leading and want to not risk anything, you can always revert back to some of the safer tactics available and substitutions late in the game will milk the clock a little bit as well.
I hope you guys enjoyed this introductory guide to FIFA 15 Ultimate Team and it can help you get your squad off to a great start. Feel free to comment in the section below and tell me what you think. Make sure you stay tuned to Sports Gamers Online as I will continue to provide FIFA 15 Tips for all of the FIFA fans out there!