The EA FC 24 Holiday Update heralds a wave of modifications in the game, so here’s a roundup of what this update has in store for players
As the holiday season dawns upon us, EA Sports unwraps a gift of sweeping alterations in its soccer game with the EA FC 24 Holiday Update, aka the Title Update 6. How many new player items have been added? What gameplay changes have been made? Read our EA FC 24 overview to find out.
The #FC24 Holiday Update will roll out in the coming days ❄️
🎮 Gameplay changes
👤 100+ updated face scans
🔻 A new CelebrationSee the full Title Update overview in the Pitch Notes: https://t.co/cSlSgMCCAe pic.twitter.com/j4nxeixVHg
— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) December 5, 2023
EA FC 24 Holiday Update Changes in Ultimate Team
The latest update introduces a whopping 94 new player items in Ultimate Team, including two SBCs! These freshly introduced player items will be unlocked and made available following an upcoming squad update. One of the SBCs will be Player Moments Adama Traore, which will be a RWB card with the Quick Step+, Flair and Rapid PlayStyles. The other one will be Radioactive Ismaël Bennacer; a CDM card with the Tiki Taka+, Pinged Pass and Incisive Pass PlayStyles
The update also fixes the following problems:
- The News UI display malfunction.
- The bios for Centurion ICONs mistakenly show Base ICON bios.
- Squads featuring the Carlos Tévez Manager cannot join matches.
EA FC 24 Holiday Update: Gameplay Changes
Many EA FC players have been complaining about the gameplay recently, citing broken formation and poor attacking AI. It seems EA Sports has responded to these player complaints and implemented substantial changes to improve the gameplay. Here is a detailed breakdown of all the gameplay changes:
Less Midfield Congestion
“Strikers and wide midfielders will tend to be less aggressive when trying to mark central attackers.”
These changes from EA Sports were intended to introduce more tactical options when attacking through the center. At times, the midfield became too crowded during matches, creating challenges in finding passing lanes. Midfielders and wingers will stop marking aggressively to reduce the traffic in the middle of the pitch.
Credit: EA Sports
More Attacking Wingbacks
“Significantly lowered the track back speed of AI teammate wingbacks in 3 and 5 at the back formations.”
This alteration is intended to allow formations using 3 or 5 defenders to embrace their authentic attacking approach by advancing higher up the field. Although players will assist in defense, they won’t do so with as much haste. This tweak urges the attacking team to make better use of the spaces opening up.
Decreased Goalkeeper Movement and Positioning Speed
“Reduced the movement speed of goalkeepers when using the Move Goalkeeper input.”
“Additionally, goalkeepers will now hold their final position for a short time before returning to their normal position.”
Manually positioning your goalkeeper can significantly improve the chances of making successful saves. Once moved manually, goalkeepers immediately rush back to their starting point, inadvertently making it more difficult for attackers to profit from potential mistakes.
The EA FC 24 Holiday Update slightly slows down the manual goalkeeper movement, so there will be a short delay before goalkeepers return to their starting position. As a result, attackers will now get more time to react and take advantage of goalkeeping and defensive errors.
Less Sideline Pressure
“Significantly reduced the amount of pressure the defensive team can apply to players along the sidelines.”
There was often too much defensive pressure from a high line when players were along the sidelines. As a solution, EA Sports considerably dialed back the defensive pressure, allowing attackers more passing choices to navigate through tough moments.
Power Header and Power Header Plus PlayStyle Adjustments
“Significantly reduced header shot accuracy when performed by players with the Power Header and Power Header+ PlayStyles.”
The Power Header and Power Header+ PlayStyles made players exceedingly effective in aerial situations, causing an unrealistic surge in goals scored. The new update reduces the heading prowess of these players. While they will still be the best options for heading in goals, they will no longer be the cheat codes for crosses and corners as they used to be.
Finesse and Finesse Plus PlayStyle Adjustments
“Slightly reduced finesse shot accuracy when performed by players with the Finesse and Finesse+ PlayStyles.”
EA Sports chose to nerf the shooting accuracy of Finesse and Finesse Plus Playstyle players to add more realism to the game. These players could score from seemingly impossible angles in the previous meta, but the Title Update should minimize the excessive number of unrealistic goals scored exploiting this PlayStyle.
Reduced Top Speed for Controlled Sprint
“Slightly reduced the top speed of players when using Controlled Sprint.”
This change has been made to make the top speed of Controlled Sprint closer to the movement of real-world players. EA says this tweak won’t hinder players skilled at using Controlled Sprint to exploit space, but it anticipates that this slight reduction in top speed will contribute to a more genuine flow in matches.
EA FC 24 Holiday Update: Gameplay Fixes
Apart from gameplay modifications, the update has ironed out the following bugs:
- The defending team doesn’t track the attacker’s run after kick-off.
- Defender’s leg goes through the ball and takes down the attacker, resulting in an incorrect foul.
- Players without Intercept and Intercept+ PlayStyles wrongly triggers slide interception animations designed solely for those particular PlayStyles.
- Slide tackles result in the ball inadvertently falling back to the attacker.
- A Precision Ground Pass intended for a close teammate bypasses them and goes to a teammate farther away but in the same direction.
- Goalkeepers make no attempt to save penalty aimed at the center of the goal.
- Players exhibit unrealistic control over the ball when using their head to control a high-speed ball.
- Revised referee logic for more accurate red card advantage decisions.
- Revised referee logic for more accurate offside calls in deflection situations.
- Goalkeepers lack sufficient power when automatically kicking the ball to evade the 6-second rule violation.
- CPU keepers underpower their drop kicks.
- Physical tackle animations don’t play properly.
- A seal out happens after the ball carrier completes the pass.
- The referee produces an yellow card instead of a red one.
Other Changes and Fixes
- Fixed Playoff matches miscount issue.
- Updated the main menu by adding wintry elements like falling snow for a seasonal feel.
- The eEuros XI team has been included in Kick Off and Online Friendlies, set to be accessible after a squad update.
- Diego Jota gets a new celebration called “The Triangle”.
- Included and updated a grand total of 102 player star heads and 6 manager star heads for improved visuals. All these upgrades will be visible following a server release.
- Revamped various UI elements, out-of-match scenes, kits, Career Mode tasks, 2D portraits, banners, scarves, flags, and audio.
- Fixed Skill Game bugs that affected camera positioning, UI elements and other aspects.
- Fixed stability issues.
- Fixed unintentional activation of adaptive triggers bug in PS5.
These are all the changes the EA FC 24 Holiday Update will bring.This update is anticipated to notably influence the gameplay, prompting us to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the gameplay alterations. The other modifications are aimed at enhancing and refining the overall EA FC 24 experience as well.