College Football 26 has brought quite a few cool ideas and concepts to the table when it comes to Dynasty mode. But one of the more controversial features in Dynasty is the Playing Style Dealbreakers. On paper, it sounds like a great addition — players care about how your team operates. A hard-nosed linebacker wants a physical defense. A pocket passer wants a pass-heavy offense. Recruits and current players factor your scheme into their decisions. Sounds immersive, right? Again, on paper, it does. In execution, however? Not really.
In Dynasty mode, each recruit can have specific expectations tied to your program’s style. These expectations are measured by your team’s stats — such as passing yards per game, total tackles, or team receptions — and are used to assign your team a letter grade. If your grade doesn’t meet a recruit’s expectations, they won’t commit to your school. Even worse, if you land the recruit and then fall short of those expectations later, they might transfer.
But what exactly is the problem with these Playing Style Dealbreakers in Dynasty mode?
The Numbers Don’t Make Sense
As we’ve been doing a lot recently, we consulted with the Operation Sports forums to see how the Playing Style Dealbreakers were being implemented for them. To put it lightly, the OS faithful have been extremely frustrated with the mechanic, and the expectations that come with it have been absurd.
In the original post made to the forum thread, OS user TuffJuff talked about how in his Minnesota save on Dynasty mode, he targeted a 92-rated safety. The problem is that Juff’s target wanted the team to have a B+ rating in defense — at the time, he was sitting at a B-. On the surface, all he has to do is put some work in, and the two should eventually align. But nope. Instead, the safety had a ridiculous expectation: Minnesota had to hold opponents to 39 passing yards per game.
Obviously, that is outrageous, and a feat even the most elite defenses in football would struggle with.
And it gets worse. Pocket passer QBs might expect a team to throw for over 368 passing yards per game, another ridiculous expectation that is doomed to fail. Wide receivers might demand a B+ grade in pass receptions, even if they’re personally top 5 in the nation, simply because the WR room as a whole isn’t performing at a top-20 level.
And almost all of the replies have confirmed this as well — the mechanic is broken and doesn’t work in any kind of rational way.
Now, can this be fixed? Almost certainly! The problem is that as people have played College Football 26 more and more since launch, more issues with it have become apparent. Archetype abilities are broken, and there’s really no obvious way to fix them right now. A.I. coaching logic also leaves a lot to be desired.
The rose-tinted glasses have come off now. The novelty of there being a triple-A college football video game isn’t enough anymore — the game has to deliver in order to keep its player base satisfied and coming back.
