Every year, football fans stand up for one question: what’s new in the latest EA FC installment? Their concern is valid because the fresh piece is always locked behind a full price. As a result, expecting something more than just a reskinned roster update is the least they can wish for.
Luckily, if we put EA FC 26 against FC 25, the successor clearly sets itself apart and takes the cake in delivering something refined. After the EA-FIFA situation, EA FC 26 is easily the best game we have seen in a while. It gets the job done fairly well compared to previous EA FC titles and has won our hearts.
But since modern AAA titles have made a habit of releasing in an unpolished state, EA FC 26 followed a similar pattern. Despite patches, the game refused to behave the way fans wanted until the updates v1.1.0 and v1.2.0. According to the community, these have enhanced EA FC 26 to the point that it feels like a different game. But is that really the case? Let’s discuss.
Launch Experience: Mixed Reactions
While the game was largely praised, die-hard players built up mixed reactions around it. Though this doesn’t mean they disliked EA’s efforts entirely. EA FC 26 was considered the best because the community had never experienced such gameplay before. It’s as fluid as it gets. From match flow to surfing through menus, the game strives to deliver the smoothest football experience possible.
However, this same phenomenon had its shortcomings. Fans have reported inconsistency because sometimes, despite no network issues, the player movement and AI behave sluggishly. Similarly, effective defending was seemingly absent for many. As a result, scoring lost its spark, plus building up strategies and the role of teamwork were completely off the mark.
Together, these factors illustrated mixed reactions that didn’t harm the game’s image but forced EA to make quick fixes.
EA’s Post-Launch Efforts
Fans weren’t unheard. After judging the community’s feedback, EA answered with multiple patches to address the issues. The majority of them focused on enhancing gameplay and core mechanics to overhaul the experience. Here’s what EA FC 26 has improved.
- Easy scoring was a problem. For that, goalkeepers were made smarter with clever positioning and save animations. Thanks to these, scoring was made challenging and more rewarding than before.
- Previously, shot power didn’t make any difference. Players could easily score low-driven shots, accurately. However, EA patched it, allowing players to manage timing and shot power correctly.
- Not just the goalkeeper, but the whole AI attacking was overhauled. It’s now realistic than ever thanks to better support and positioning.
- The defense was also updated, especially the center-backs. EA’s post-launch efforts made the false backs maintain shape more intelligently. Plus, CBs are no longer habituated to running wide unnecessarily.
- Manual defending also got the fixes. With increased sprint jockey speed and responsiveness, the user-controlled defending was made better than launch.
Apart from these, EA also took care of graphical, stability, and controller issues. All of these hotfixes helped the game maintain its image and live up to its hype.
The Highlight Fixes
The changes we’ve discussed above are significant. However, there are some other highlight fixes that the EA FC community can’t stop talking about. One of these is the enhanced Dynamic Dribbling system.
Fans are calling it the most significant ball control overhaul in the history of the franchise. This is because, once you flick the stick and maneuver around defenders, the overall agility and consistency felt is unmatched. Touch Intervals is now a thing that relies on scenario and player skill. Paired with Foot Preference Logic, one can expect enhanced realism as the athlete switches to their stronger foot naturally.
Since lifeless, robotic player movement was a problem, it’s also been reworked with natural movement and running animations.
Additionally, players have also experienced worthwhile changes in the speed and acceleration systems. EA FC 26 now features more true-to-life chase scenarios thanks to velocity differentials between attackers and defenders. Players can’t aimlessly perform sprinting and through balls as the game demands some skill and adjustments in this regard.
Is EA FC 26 Better Now Than At Launch?
The straight answer to this question: Yes, EA FC 26 is indeed better and polished than at launch. The initial stage was indeed rocky and required immediate assistance from the developers. Luckily, EA did everything it could to serve fans with a finished product they paid full price for.
However, it’s still far from perfect. Despite developers’ efforts, the game is either too arcade-like for some or too realistic for some expectations and play styles. Yet, EA isn’t likely done. EA FC 26 would still be getting updates, and it’s only going to get better from the day it was released. Loving the game? Try showing off with the worm celebration during highlight moments.
