FIFA 22 | Pitch Notes - Title Update #4 and #5

Pitch Notes: Title Update #4 and #5

Hey everyone, today we’re digging deeper into the recently released Title Update #4 (TU #4) for FIFA 22, as well as taking a look at the recently released Title Update #5 (TU #5) and Live Tuning Update #3 (LTU #3).

With these updates, our goal has been to update some aspects of gameplay based on feedback and data we’ve seen, and to continue polishing the general FIFA 22 experience.

Let’s jump right in.

Table Of Contents

- Title Update #4 Highlights

- Live Tuning Update #3

- Full Title Update #4 Notes

- Full Title Update #5 Notes

Title Update #4 Highlights

In this 2 minute video, gameplay producer Shaun Pejic takes you through several examples of changes we’ve made to specific shooting scenarios, left stick dribbling, and defensive depth. If you don’t have time to go through this entire article, definitely check out the video below for a quick summary of some of the changes highlighted.

Reduced Shooting Assistance In A Specific Scenario

TU #4 introduces the following change:

- Reduced shooting assistance when attempting a shot in situations where the goalkeeper is positioned closely to either one of their posts.

When a shot was taken while a goalkeeper was positioned closely to either one of their posts, the shooting assistance would have usually tried to put the ball towards the unguarded area of the goal. While this behavior generally makes sense, we wanted to give players a little more control over where their shots could go in this situation since it can change quickly.

Here’s how this kind of shot looked like before TU #4.

Note the green line underneath the shot taker. That shows where the shot was being aimed on the controller, and as you can see, the shooting assistance was sending the ball in a different direction.

Now here’s what a shot in this situation can look like after TU #4.

As you can see, this shot is much more influenced by the aim of the player. We know that situations like this can change rapidly in the heat of a match, and that’s why we wanted to give players a little bit more control over their shooting.

Left Stick Dribbling

TU #4 introduces a change to some left stick dribbling animations.

- Some dribbling animations triggered by moving the left stick which include the ball carrier taking small touches to avoid a potential tackle will now only occur when the Contextual Agile Dribbling setting is set to On.

Prior to TU #4, some dribbling animations could occur when moving the left stick that may have been great for some situations, but not as useful for others. These kinds of animations could sometimes leave players wanting a more responsive left stick experience. Here’s an example of what that might have looked like before TU #4.

As you can see, these dribbling animations could have their uses, but it’s also possible that players might have a different intent.

Here’s how left stick dribbling can look like after TU #4.

As you can see, there’s a significant difference in the left stick dribbling animations, and we hope that players find the left stick a little more responsive as a result. 

You can still get the old animations as well, you just need to enable the Contextual Agile Dribbling setting.

Defensive Depth

TU #4 addresses the following issue.

- When playing matches with the Defensive Depth Custom Tactic Slider set to 70 or above, defenders could unintentionally drop too deep into their own half.

Sometimes, players in the defensive line could drop too deep in order to track attacking runs. While this behavior could be useful in specific scenarios, it was sometimes preventing defensive lines from holding their shape and position. Here’s how that could have looked like before TU #4.

Notice how some players break the defensive lines in order to track the attackers. Now let’s see how this situation plays out after Title Update #4.

As you can see, the defenders work to maintain their shape in order to give players a bit more stability when defending. Keep in mind that this only applies to when the Defensive Depth Custom Tactic Slider is set to 70 or above.

Live Tuning Update #3

The following Live Tuning gameplay changes are now available for FIFA 22:

- Reduce goalkeeper effectiveness in one on one situations from close range (6.1 meters/20 feet or less).

    - Goalkeepers could make quick reflex saves too often.

- Increase goalkeeper effectiveness vs. distance shots (9.8 meters/32 feet to 11.2 meters/37 feet).

    - The goalkeeper could sometimes let in “reachable” shots from distance.

    - Shots from this range still have a chance to score, but goalkeepers will now make more saves from this range.

Live Tuning enables us to roll out some changes without requiring a full Title Update. This can allow us to make tuning changes faster and with more frequency while working on the balance of the game. 

We’ve made these goalkeeper changes with the aim to improve attacking success in shorter range 1 on 1 situations, while making longer shots a little more difficult. As with all changes, we’ll continue to monitor feedback around this.

Here’s a quick video of gameplay producer Shaun Pejic walking you through the changes in LTU #3.

Full Title Update #4 Notes

Here’s a list of all of the changes and issues addressed in TU #4.

FIFA Ultimate Team

Made the following changes:

• During away matches, players will see their own equipped pitch line colors instead of their opponent’s.
• Updated Transfer Market and Stadium search filters to match the look and functionality of the Transfer Market Player Quality search filter.

Addressed the following issues:

• Addressed further instances of some players seeing an initializing message when attempting to matchmake in Division Rivals, and not finding an opponent.
• In some cases, Team Management options could not have been adjusted during a Division Rivals match.
• In a rare scenario, players were not able to enter the FUT Champions menu.
• Some SBCs UI elements did not display correctly.
• The match UI did not display an image for some Player Items when displaying the Players To Watch overlay.
• Images on FUT Heroes Player Items did not always display correctly.
• Flair Shots were not always being counted towards Objective progress.
• An Event countdown timer incorrectly displayed when no Event was active in the Objectives menu.
• The progress bar on the FUT Champions Play-Offs tile did not always display correctly after losing a match, this was a visual issue only.
• The FUT Champions preview screen did not always display its navigational tabs correctly.
• A placeholder UI element was unintentionally available in the menus and could have generated a message regarding Finals Qualification when selected.
  • This was a visual issue only and had no other impact on FUT Champions.
• The Captain of a Co-Op lobby could not select the Edit Squad option while they were the only player in the lobby.
• The in-game Friends List button callout could sometimes not appear.

Gameplay

Made the following changes:

• Driven Passes are now more likely to be intercepted by players standing in the ball’s travel path.
• Some dribbling animations triggered by moving the left stick which include the ball carrier taking small touches to avoid a potential tackle will now only occur when the Contextual Agile Dribbling setting is set to On.
• When defending a cross with the Auto Switching setting set to Automatic, On Air Balls and Loose Balls, or Only Air Balls, an automatic player switch will occur slightly faster than before.
• Reduced shooting assistance when attempting a shot in situations where the goalkeeper is positioned closely to either one of their posts.
• When playing matches with the Defensive Corners Custom Tactics slider to 1 or 2 bars, more players will now be positioned outside of the box and at the halfway line.
• Improved AI teammate defensive marking during short corner scenarios.
• Added more variety to the types of shots the CPU AI can perform.
• In a situation where a Jockeying defender is nutmegged, they will no longer perform an animation in which they slip while turning.
• Reduced the frequency of CPU AI slide tackles.
• Removed some lunging animations that could occur when the controlled player was attempting to block a Ground Pass or a short Lob Pass.

Addressed the following issues:

• Goalkeepers were sometimes unable to make saves when shots were aimed close to them, between their knees and head.
• When playing matches with the Defensive Depth Custom Tactic Slider set to 70 or above, defenders could unintentionally drop too deep into their own half.
• When attempting to perform a right stick Player Switch to a Center Back, a different player could sometimes be switched to instead.
• In some situations, goalkeepers were not making successful saves on shots that were within reachable diving distance.
• When performing a right stick Player Switch, the Next Player Indicator could sometimes appear over an unintended player as opposed to the player that was originally switched off of.
• A white placeholder UI element could have sometimes displayed near players during matches.
• In rare instances, a goalkeeper could deflect a saveable low shot into their own net.
• Sometimes, a goalkeeper could commit a foul without a referee awarding a set piece to the other team.
• The Team Press meter would unintentionally decrease while Team Press was starting up after its activation.
• When activating Player Lock, a Player Switch could not be requested until the player let go of the right stick input and then made a Player Switch request.
• Sometimes, a foul was not called following a tackle that was clearly late.
• When losing the ball, in a rare situation, the original ball carrier could become stuck in place.
• When requesting a first time Driven Pass, the Let Ball Run command was sometimes being performed.
• In rare situations, play could continue for a short period of time after a penalty kick was called.
  • The correct penalty kick would eventually be awarded.
• In a rare situation when passing with a goalkeeper in Co-Op play, the goalkeeper would remain the selected player until a manual Player Switch was requested.
• When standing up after a slide tackle, a foul could be incorrectly called on the player standing up.
• In situations where a defender would make an unsuccessful attempt to block a shot, an animation could occur which involves the player moving their leg away from the ball.
  • This was a visual issue only and did not affect the outcome of the situation.
• In rare situations when the ball was far from the ball carrier’s feet, a requested Pass or Shot could take too long to occur.
• The defending player could unintentionally decelerate when chasing after an air ball.
• When rushing the goalkeeper towards an incoming ball, sometimes the goalkeeper would get close to the ball without reacting to it, resulting in a loss of possession.
• The Next Player Switch Indicator could sometimes unintentionally switch from a Center Back to another player in inappropriate situations.
• In some rare situations, a requested Fake Shot would not be performed and the controlled player would not animate correctly.
• In very rare circumstances, the goalkeeper could teleport when making a diving save.
• Sometimes, the Drag To Drag Skill Move could have been unintentionally requested.
• When making a catch, the goalkeeper could sometimes unnecessarily fall to the ground.
• The ball could travel through a defender in a rare situation when the ball receiver would make a touch on the ball, prior to the defender attempting to make contact with it.
• When performing a Clearance, the ball would not always travel as far as intended.
• Players could sometimes stumble in inappropriate situations.
• A goal celebration could rarely get stuck repeating over and over, resulting in a delayed continuation of the match.
• In some situations, the CPU AI team would not attempt to win the ball back.
• The CPU AI team could sometimes take too long to perform a free kick.
• When the ball was received via chest following a lobbed pass, it could bounce high enough in the air to cause unintentional player switching.
• Addressed potential stability issues that could occur during Penalty Shootouts.
• Addressed an issue with a Competitive Master Switch, which allowed players to play online with Contextual Agile Dribbling, Assisted Jockey, Auto Clearance, Auto Shots, and Auto Flair Pass turned on, which was not intended.

Career Mode

Addressed the following issues:

• Youth Players could have been generated with unrealistically proportioned arms.
• Youth Player names and numbers did not appear on their kits during matches.
• In Player Career, the Pro’s OVR and positions could be unintentionally changed after editing them.
• When coming on as a sub in Player Career, the team’s tactics, play style, and difficulty level could get reset.
• Youth Players born after 2005 were showing a 1980 birth date when being edited.
• Youth Player progress could sometimes become unintentionally stuck.
• In some cases, renewed contracts could apply to players with 1 year less than what was agreed upon in negotiations.
• Editing a player’s boots could sometimes result in them wearing gloves.

VOLTA FOOTBALL

Made the following changes:

• During matches, the Skill Meter now displays which actions contributed towards its build up.
• Added 2 new Stadiums.
  • These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADIRECT for updates on when this will be live in-game.
• Added 4 Party Games to VOLTA ARCADE.
  • These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADIRECT for updates on when this will be live in-game.

Addressed the following issues:

• In rare situations, some players could not matchmake in VOLTA SQUADS when grouped together.
• When viewing the Season Progress pop up, the correct level was not highlighted on the UI, this was a visual issue only.
• The Season Progress button callout was not always present in the UI.
• When attempting to trigger a run, a Simple Skill Move could have unintentionally been performed.
• The Closest To The Pin and Bucket Ball party games could have sometimes used an unintended camera angle.
• In some instances, a VOLTA ARCADE tournament did not begin until at least one player left before the first party game took place.
• The Season Progression post-match screen did not always display correctly.

Pro Clubs

Made the following change:

• Slightly reduced the reactions of CPU AI teammates when attempting to contain a player who is dribbling.
  • This change only affects CPU AI teammates on teams with human players and does not affect Practice Matches.

Addressed the following issue:

• The Customise tile did not display correctly.

General, Audio, and Visual

Made the following changes:

• Updated some kits, stadia, sound effects, celebrations, ad boards, sound effects, broadcast packages, stadium announcer lines, crowds, and balls.
• Added and updated a total of 124 star heads.
  • These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADIRECT for updates on when this will be live in-game.

Addressed the following issues:

• [Xbox Series X|S Only] When a USB keyboard was plugged into the console, it could appear in-game as an unselectable input device.
• When changing the right stick input in Accessibility Settings, some parts of the UI could not be navigated.
• Some typos were present in the UI.
• EATV videos did not always have sound.
• Some main menu tiles did not always display the intended content.
• The Parental Control Settings were not always available through FIFA Playtime.
• Addressed some potential stability issues.

Full Title Update #5 Notes

TU #5 is currently available for the PC (Origin/Stadia) version of FIFA 22 and includes the change below.

Gameplay

Made the following change:

• Increased the likelihood of a player retaining the ball after intercepting or blocking a Ground Pass.
  • This change has no effect on how often Ground Passes are intercepted and blocked, it only impacts the outcome of interceptions and blocks.

As always, we’ll continue to monitor feedback and data regarding our changes in order to inform our decision making.

Thanks everybody for checking out the latest Pitch Notes, I hope they have given you some more insights into TU #4, TU #5, and LTU #3. See you next time!

- Goran from the PFO team

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Please Note: This article is describing in general terms what the Dev Teams are working on. We are constantly looking to improve the FIFA experience for everyone, so this article may become outdated as we make adjustments to keep our game fun for everyone.

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