The deep dives keep on coming for FC 25, and in EA Sports’ latest breakdown of what’s to come in the new soccer sim, the series’ biggest game mode is the star of the show. Yes, the highly-anticipated FC 25 Ultimate Team deep dive is here, and while the integration of the new five-a-side Rush mode is the most notable change this year, there are some smaller details to highlight. This includes fancier Evolutions cards, more streamlining, and the implementation of what is surely the most-requested feature from FUT fans: storage for your duplicates.
Yes, I can’t believe it’s taken EA Sports this long either, but in FC 25 Ultimate Team, you’ll finally be able to keep untradeable duplicate cards in a separate storage area. Over the last few years of the FIFA / EA FC series, the amount of untradeable rewards you get from SBCs, Rivals rewards, and all the other mechanisms within the sports games has increased. As a result, players will often find themselves packing untradeable versions of players they already own. However, if you’ve got a duplicate lingering around, you couldn’t open more packs or claim more rewards until it was gone, and you only really had two options: find some use for it immediately in an SBC, or discard it for zero coins and waste the card.
Now though, thanks to the new SBC Storage pile, your duplicate misery is over. FUT players have been asking for something like this for a very long time, and seeing it for the first time is bringing a tear to my eye. I shudder to think how many high-rated players I’ve had to burn in a random, rubbish SBC over the years, just to try and get some value out of them.
The in-game capture during the Ultimate Team deep dive appears to show 100 slots in the SBC Storage section, which seems like the ideal amount of space for SBC grinders. However, as we’re still several weeks out from the FC 25 release date, that is of course subject to change.
There are plenty of other exciting new changes in this deep dive as well. The competitive Rivals experience is about to get spicier thanks to two more heavily-requested tweaks: relegation is back, and your draws will finally count for something as Rivals will now work on a points system (three for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss) rather than on just match victories.
Player and manager contracts have also been given the boot to further streamline the Ultimate Team experience. Over the last decade or so, some of the fiddlier, more time-consuming aspects of FUT have been gradually removed (formation cards and player fitness are two that spring to mind) and contracts are next in the firing line.
After a successful debut in FC 24, Evolutions are returning in FC 25. While that was to be expected, the new customization options for Cosmetic Evolutions are certainly a pleasant surprise. You can now change the color or design of an Evolutions card background, or you can add sound effects and animations to them to really personalize those players that you’ve sunk a lot of time into upgrading.
The deep dive and accompanying blog post also go over some previously-trodden ground by talking about Rush’s integration with FUT and the overhauled FC IQ tactics system. Here you can check out our coverage of the more in-depth Rush deep dive and our analysis of FC IQ.
Until FC 25 arrives, check out some of our favorite multiplayer games that you can play instead. Alternatively, take a look at what other major upcoming PC games are on the horizon so you can plan your gaming budget accordingly.
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