Hi FIFA fans,



Title Update #5 (TU#5) is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.



In this Pitch Notes article, we will be taking a more detailed look at some of the gameplay changes contained in this TU.



For the full list of changes and updates in TU#5, be sure to head over to our forums.



Drop Back Defensive Tactic

We’ve been hearing the feedback from our community regarding the Drop Back Defensive Tactic, so in TU#5, we’ve made the following change:



When losing possession and transitioning into the Drop Back Defensive Tactic, the defensive team will no longer apply any pressure to the attacking team. This change is intended to bring the tactic closer in-line with how it is portrayed on the real life pitch. As a result of this change, the offensive player can have more space to use in order to build an attack after winning the ball back.



To provide more context, prior to this change, every Defensive Tactic in FIFA 20 resulted in defending teams applying various levels of pressure to the attacking team. This pressure would occur once a team loses possession of the ball and transitions into defending, and it’s designed to prevent the potential of constant counter attacks.



After identifying how Drop Back was being used in-game, we have decided to remove the aforementioned pressure, for this tactic only, in order to bring more alignment between the tactic and its real-world counterpart.



With this change, an attacking team who have just taken the ball away from a team that has Drop Back set as their Defensive Tactic can end up in situations with more open space when building up their attack, specifically in the moments following the transition to attack, as they will not be pressured by the defensive team.



Note that when you’re in possession of the ball, none of FIFA 20’s Defensive Tactics impact your team’s attacking behavior, that’s when the Offensive Tactics come into effect.



We will continue to monitor both community feedback and our internal data regarding the Drop Back Tactic going forward.



Tackling

We’ve been investigating the community’s feedback around successful tackles resulting in the ball being kept by the attacking player too often. In TU#5 we have made the following changes in order to reduce the instances of this happening:



Increased likelihood of ball carrier stumbling after being successfully tackled when the defensive player performs the Standing Tackle action. The direction of the stumble is more influenced by the direction the defender tackles from. During the stumble, the tackled player is no longer able to take control of the ball.



With this change, when a player is successfully tackled they are more likely to stumble as a result of that tackle. The stumbling player will no longer be able to take control of the ball while they are in the midst of that stumble, whereas previously, before TU#5, it was possible for them to gain control of the ball in this state.



It’s important to note that this will only apply when the defending player actually uses the Tackle button, not when attempting to tackle using only positioning or when performing a Sliding Tackle.



We will continue to monitor this behavior going forward.



Finishing And Long Shot Attributes

We’ve made some adjustments to how Finishing and Long Shot Attributes are used in FIFA 20, across all types of shots:



Made the following changes to the Long Shot and Finishing Attributes: The Long Shot Attribute had been updated to now impact the results of a shot taken from 65 feet, or further away from the target. The target is the exact location of where the ball is expected to go, determined through a mixture of directional input, and the Shooting Assistance setting. The Finishing Attribute impacts shot results from 55 feet, or closer, to the target. Shots between 55 and 65 feet from the target will now use a weighted average of the Long Shot and Finishing Attributes when impacting shot results.



Our design intent with this change is to enable players with a high Long Shot Attribute to take better long distance shots. Similarly, this change is intended to lower the quality of long shots coming from players with high Finishing but low Long Shot Attributes. It’s not intended to reduce the general effectiveness of shooting, but rather to better reflect which players should be having more success taking these types of shots.



In the notes above, we use the term “target.” In this instance, we are referring to the exact location the ball is expected to go to. The final placement of the ball will not always be at the target due to the player’s attributes and error. The target is determined through a mixture of directional input and the Shooting Assistance setting.



The situations where only Finishing or only Long Shots are used should be fairly clear, but the last change, which uses a combination of the two Attributes is a little more complicated, so let’s dig in. Shots taken between 55 feet/16.7 meters/18.3 yards and 65 feet/19.8 meters/21.6 yards are impacted by a weighted average of the Finishing and Long Shot Attributes. The balance between the weight percentages shifts towards the Long Shot Attribute as the distance from the target increases and shifts towards the Finishing Attribute as the distance from the target decreases.



This change does not impact other factors that could play into a shooting situation, such as but not limited to: shot power, composure, pressure from the defender, angle of the shot, quality of contact with the ball, etc.



So to recap this change clearly, here is how these two Attributes come into play with TU#5 active:



Shot taken from 55 feet or less: Finishing Attribute has an impact on the result. Long Shots Attribute has no impact on the result.

Shot taken from between 55 feet and 65 feet: Finishing Attribute and Long Shots Attribute both have an impact on the result through a weighted average. The weight in the average for each attribute is determined by how close to the 55 or 65 foot boundary the shot is being taken from. Closer to 55 Feet, the weighted average is shifted more to Finishing. Closer to 65 Feet, the weighted average is shifted more to Long Shots.

Shot taken from 65 feet or further: Long Shots Attribute has an impact on the result. Finishing Attribute has no impact on the result.

