Ultimate Team has made some sweeping changes in the past few iterations of EA’s FC experience, but with FC 26 the entire game seems to be getting a larger overhaul. Having had the chance to view a presentation by Aslan Mustafa, producer on Ultimate Team, and Richard Walls, Game Design Director, it seems that Ultimate Team is definitely not being left behind when it comes to the changes for EA Sports FC 26.
There will be new Live Events and Tournaments, with “major updates” to Rivals and Champions, as well. The Live Events are a big feature. You’ll need to build unique squads to compete online. By the way, if you’re more interested in Career Mode, we have an extensive preview of that, right here.
FC 26 Ultimate Team: Tournaments are back!
Tournaments are a returning idea, though, and knockout competition will likely be a welcomed feature again for fans. You’ll play up to four rounds before hitting a final, and there are exclusive rewards for becoming champion. Those who don’t fancy playing “season-long” modes to get rewards might find this a nice quick way to get things going.
These tournaments will include the new house rules added to FC 26, so for example there’s a “first to two goals” tournament. There will be squad rules, of course, and the example used here was “single league tournament”. Being able to see all of this in advance means you can plan and build towards attempting to win these competitions, and you’re not having to constantly build squads for everything that’s available. You can play the tournaments in a single session, or take your time if you feel like it. Each stage of the tournament will match you against someone playing at the same stage as you, so the pressure is on.
One of the biggest complaints for anyone who plays, or even people who watch the game as an esport, is that you will see the same Ultimate Team players over and over again. There was a time where it was just Edwin van der Sar in goal for competitive levels, and Live Events is a way for EA to tweak this for fans.
Gauntlets, and changing the meta
Gauntlets is up to five matches, and you have to bring a fully new squad for each match. Here, you will advance even if you lose, but you will get better rewards for winning, obviously. The idea of forcing a completely new squad each match is a clever one, and might finally offer a mode for those wanting to see different players on the pitch now and then.
Linked Events are another mode for Ultimate Team in FC 26, and these need you to complete certain objectives to be able to take part. Finishing in elite divisions, etc, will let you in and get you going. All told, the new modes and changes seem like they’ll offer a lot of options which have been sorely lacking up to now.
Of course all of this is tied into the new gameplay features. There’s now two types of gameplay with the new Competitive Gameplay Tuning aimed at Ultimate Team. EA says this will cause fewer tackle-backs, and less keeper deflections, all with more responsive dribbling. Having played the two modes now, there is a difference between them, and I’m already wondering which I prefer.
FC 26 Ultimate Team: Rivals and Champions
Rivals and Champions are being updated for FC 26. Rivals mode is getting bounties, which are objectives for within individual matches. This means that even if you lose you’ll get something if you complete the bounty, which EA says should negate the feeling of it being a grind.
These mini objectives vary, of course, with things like “Score the first goal in your next match” netting you 2 rivals points. Other examples include winning by at least two goals, or recording a clean sheet. EA says none of them will interrupt the competitive nature, however. While most of these sound like rewards for better players, but there are others like “score in the 90th minute”, so you don’t have to win to collect these bounties.
For those who don’t have trouble winning, however, win-streak bonuses will incentivise things further. If you are winning loads, you’ll progress quicker: it’s that simple. Not only will you gain rival points at double the rate, your opponent will know this is the case.
FUT Champions is getting a visual update, and there are also going to be more reward tiers for Champions, as well as qualification changes. Again targeting some of the more skilled players, playoffs are being removed entirely. If you are around Division 5 you will automatically qualify. However, less skilled players will get to play the weekend league still, in “FUT Challengers”.
Challengers mode, and Evolutions changes
Challengers runs at the same time as Champions. EA specifically mentioned smurf accounts, saying “it’s not going to be worth your time”. The developer suggests that Champions is going to be “a much more rewarding event”. Sadly it didn’t sound as though there was any way of actually preventing higher skilled players from dominating Champions, and the concern I’d have is that to incentivise lower skilled players you have to offer rewards, meaning high tier players are going to want them as well. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out, but without any actual barriers to stop smurf accounts, I’m sceptical of this change.
Outside of the competitive scene, EA is thankfully making changes to Evolutions. They are now repeatable (similar to objectives and squad building challenges). This means that, yes, you can take your entire team through the same evolution. Cosmetics will now stack, and you won’t lose them. Oh and you can finally evolve goalkeepers. Hurrah!
But what about disconnections in online matches? EA says that with FC 26 if you are disconnected in a draw state you will be awarded a win if you’re in the second half. Not only that, but it’ll also cause a win if you get a disconnect when a red card or penalty has been given. Oh and if you keep quitting during a Rush match, you’ll get a timeout.
All in all, the changes sound very positive for Ultimate Team in FC 26. I have concerns that a lot of the modes and tweaks are aimed at the competitive market and higher skilled players, but the changes to Evolutions and the Gauntlet modes offering rewards means that players like myself will still have reason to keep coming back. The fact you can enter a mode now and your starting eleven needs to change each match is also a huge bonus to break up stale meta play. I’m very excited to get stuck into FC 26 this year, and it might be time for my Ultimate Team addiction to rear its head once more.
EA Sports FC 26 is coming to PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2 on September 26th.
