EA FC25 Career Mode : A Big Update

The preview of the career mode for FC25 has been released, featuring dynamic starting points, women's football league, and the new FCIQ, which are the highlights of this career mode. In this article, let's delve into the career mode of FC25 together. Here is the official trailer:

After watching the preview, overall, it's quite good, at least within expectations, effectively implementing the new gameplay of FC 25 this year, namely FCIQ and Rush. Let's first look at the newly added dynamic starting points in this game. Dynamic starting points are not entirely new to EA, as similar features were present in previous World Cup DLCs and the European Championship DLC of this game. You can start your game from any stage of matches that have already happened in reality. However, this feature only includes mainstream leagues such as the top five leagues. What are the benefits of playing this way? For example, some teams may have a very poor start to the season, like some Premier League teams that were initially title contenders but due to pre-season mishaps, find themselves in the relegation zone. In such cases, you can take over the team with their current points and ranking and lead them to success. This is one of the joys of this gameplay. Another aspect is similar to real matches, allowing for reloading and replaying certain critical matches. For instance, if a team loses a crucial game, you can rewind to a specific point in time before that match and lead the team to victory again, offering another dimension to gameplay. However, this feature only updates data for the 24-25 season and does not include previous or subsequent seasons.

Next is the FCIQ, which I believe is the most outstanding feature in the career mode of this game. It is somewhat similar to the player positioning in Football Manager. For instance, if you select a player like Kama Venga, and his Box to Box skill has a plus sign, you can see his coverage on the field, both forward and backward, left and right, with the maximum coverage area. This means he will operate within this area during the match. When you set him as a Playmaker, his coverage area decreases as he lacks the plus sign, focusing only on forward and central areas. By adjusting him to focus on the wings, you'll see his coverage area shift to the right. Setting him as a holding player, his coverage will be in the defensive and midfield areas. When set as a Deep-Lying Playmaker, you'll notice a yellow cross indicating he's not adept in that role, with the smallest coverage area. Additionally, you can optimize your players' strengths and weaknesses by changing formations, placing players in familiar positions, and utilizing their preferred playstyles. Moreover, you can hire additional coaches to enhance their midfield proficiency, with a maximum of three plus signs.

To select players that better suit your tactics and lineup, the player search feature has been updated. Apart from the player's position, age, nationality, and style, this game now includes options to search for players suitable for specific tactics and positions. This enhancement makes it more challenging for coaches to find players who fit their team's style of play. You can now also view a player's role information in the player list, which ties into the upgraded training system in FC25, now known as Development Plan 2.0. Player training is influenced by the player's role information, affecting the speed at which their abilities improve. Additionally, player attributes and role information complement each other. If a player's specific attribute consistently increases over time, it may trigger an upgrade in their role level. Furthermore, within the training system, you can access useful background information such as a player's growth stages and factors influencing their development.

Furthermore, the previously lackluster press conferences have been revamped. The morale system for FC25 players has shifted from progressively improving morale to a sweet spot system. This means that if a player's morale surpasses a certain level, they won't become extremely happy, which could affect their performance; instead, they'll become complacent. This system mirrors Football Manager, where excessively high morale can weaken a player's mental attributes rather than strengthen them. Therefore, maintaining players' emotions within a certain threshold is crucial. Some players remain unaffected by this system due to their naturally calm demeanor. Moreover, the impact of press conferences now depends on the tactical arrangements you've made for the players, indicating an improvement in this area.

Moving on to the youth training system update, there have been significant changes. The search scope has considerably expanded, allowing searches in over 160 countries and regions for new talents. Additionally, a player's abilities, potential, style, and information are influenced by their birthplace. You can now search for up to four different positions and three player roles when looking for youth players. This enhancement allows the youth training system to better complement your tactical strategies. There is also the introduction of youth selection matches, which seamlessly integrate the Rush mode introduced in FC25. Through these Rush matches held every two months, winning can accelerate the development of these young players. I particularly enjoy this aspect of the youth selection matches, reminiscent of features seen in Football Manager. Rush is a presentation style; however, having the traditional 11 vs. 11 presentation would be even better. Additionally, youth players now appear much younger, fitting their age. I hope that when they advance to the senior team, their appearances and attributes will correspondingly change. It is essential that EA remembers this detail so that players don't look the same in their 30s as they did when they were younger.

Next up is the women's football league in FC25, which has added a women's league mode in career mode. Apart from the Women's Champions League, there are leagues like the NWSL in the USA, the Women's Super League in England, the Frauen-Bundesliga in Germany, the Division 1 Féminine in France, and the Primera División Femenina in Spain - these five leagues. The salary structure, player contracts, and team management are all similar to real-world women's football leagues. To showcase the flexibility of women's football, you can interchange teams between the women's league and the men's league in FC25. For example, a team like Barcelona from La Liga can be swapped with its women's team.

Moreover, there are additional slider settings now. You can set weather conditions in slider challenges to impact the matches. Additionally, there are negotiations difficulty levels, player behaviors, all adjusted through AI. FC25 has also introduced a brand-new menu, which I personally love. Furthermore, the game has integrated a social system, a feature that has been anticipated for years. Social systems were present in journey modes since the early editions, but it's only in FC25 that they have been included in the game. Not only that, you can encounter celebrities in the social system, like the renowned transfer journalist Romano - Here we go!

After exploring the manager's career, let's delve into the player's career. FC25's player career mode will feature legendary players such as Beckham. Additionally, the player's perspective in FC25 now includes your background story. When creating a new player in FC25, it's no longer a blank slate but comes with a detailed background story - where they come from, how they grew up, and why they are where they are today. These background stories will influence the player's future development, including their skill attributes and roles. Furthermore, FC25's face creation system has been revamped. The new face creation system in FC25 will be more detailed, down to every feature on your face. One notable addition is the introduction of a bone structure system, which shapes the player's features based on their facial bone structure. Moreover, female footballers can also be part of FC25's player career, allowing you to play in the women's league within the player's career mode.

This concludes the analysis of the FC25 career mode preview. Thank you for reading. There are many noteworthy features in the FC25 career mode, such as the dynamic starting point, the new FCIQ, youth training systems, and social systems - all of which are impressive. Overall, I am quite excited about the experimental mode in FC25. At least from a promotional standpoint, I would give it an 80. As for specifics, we'll have to wait till the game is released to see. Nonetheless, expectations are already set high.