EA FC 26 Ultimate Team deep dive

EA is looking to address player concerns and overhaul how Ultimate Team feels for players of all stripes. Its set of pitch notes for the FUT Deep Dive shows that many changes, additions, and considerations have been applied. 

But will it do enough to resolve player frustrations, welcome new players, and provide enjoyable challenges without ramping up the ‘sweat’? Below, we’ll go through the key changes with our own notes and look at how fans are responding to what, on paper, seem to be positive steps. 

So what’s new for Ultimate Team in FC 26? For a start, EA’s trailer goes over the key headlines, but we’ll dive into these below:

EA says it’s tuned gameplay specifically for Ultimate Team. With a focus on “responsiveness, consistency, and higher player control”, it all sounds quite positive because why wouldn’t we want better actual gameplay? Whether it proves to be the case beyond EA’s gameplay footage is unclear. 

However, ostensibly, EA is focusing on clarity and defined outcomes. This is clear from the idea of fewer keeper rebound goals and fewer tackles rebounding to opponents; the approach being that a save and a tackle should be more rewarding. So should controlling players, with tweaked stamina, prolonging their agility for improved defensive duties, and smart switching. 

In terms of more defined and rewarding play, there’s an emphasis on one-touch passing and quicker shooting, techniques that a team of top players should be very at home with (to be fair, 11-year-old football players start to practice both). So, EA has stated that either of these actions can be triggered as little as one frame before receiving the ball. Positive changes, if enjoyment is boosted.

For EA FC 26, Live Events have been rebuilt from the ground up, with the focus of providing more variety and opportunities to enjoy your Ultimate Team players. According to the…ugh, pitch notes, EA calls Live Events a new ‘pillar of FUT’s competitive structure’. And while some of the details are absent, EA has provided a lot of detail about how things break down. 

A new ‘For You’ tab will be your hub inside the Play Menu, with the content most relevant to you. Divided between ‘New’ (freshly launched competitions), Continue Playing (last played modes), and Upcoming (future events in chronological order). Live events are further categorised as either Online, vs. CPU, or vs. Friend, with the respective modes as below:

For friendlies, Online play and house rules matches have been removed, with EA stating it’s ‘streamlined’ this to purely classic matches. There’s also far more under the hood with added layers of info, which we’ll attempt to dribble through now from the top down. 

EA knows that quitting or disconnecting teammates is infuriating, so it’s tweaking FUT Rush to encourage play until the end of the match by penalising players who “consistently leave early” by hitting them with matchmaking delays. This system is yet to be finalised, but it is consistent with a new approach to disconnects since the notes also state: 

“…when certain conditions are met, when playing Live Events, Rivals, and Champions, you would receive a win when your opponent either quits or disconnects from the match when the score line is a draw.” 

Although the details are being finalised and daily wins through that method will seemingly be capped at three, it appears to be a further step forward based on…well, logic and easing player pain. 

Citing fan-requested changes, Rivals will look to address three player concerns. Namely, too many matches to play, waning motivation when you’ve climbed Divisions, and a string of wins leaving you stranded in a division where you may then only see losses. Beyond some yet-to-be-specified antidotes, there are clear changes afoot:

Rivals will introduce bounties, challenges that are triggered randomly, from which you can earn Rivals Points, Champions Qualification Points, Coins, Packs, Season XP, or even Rivals Stage Skips. Examples of bounties are ‘score the first goal’ or ‘keep a clean sheet’, effectively presenting challenges you may complete even if you lose or draw. ‘Duels’ will match you with players attempting to complete the same bounty, rewarding only one of you.

As for getting stuck beyond your own “skill equilibrium”, as EA puts it, Limited Checkpoints are a new ‘breakable checkpoint’ feature allowing you to track losses and be relegated once the checkpoint is broken. EA hopes that’s another antidote for frustration and dropping morale.

First up, Playoffs are no longer a part of Champions in FC 26, with qualification being directly linked to reaching a required Rivals Division and the amount of Champion Qualification Points you achieve. Not only is that intended to streamline things, but also to lower match fatigue. EA says more details on the ins and outs are to be expected with the FUT Launch Update Pitch Notes, but it follows the streamlined theme we’re seeing from EA here. 

Challengers will arrive in FC 26 as a completely new tier of Champions, with its own format and rewards. This feels like a pretty inclusive add-on for players not with the skill level for Champions, but with a yearning for a similar structure. Of course, it also keeps the Champions tier. 

One of the largest changes for EA FC 26 Ultimate Team appears to be the return of Tournaments and the new arrival – Gauntlets. Tournaments are in a classic knockout style and will reportedly appear “at key moments”, so they won’t be available as always-on options. 

EA cites that there will be “new structures and a flexible schedule”, but Tournaments can have specific entry requirements and entry limits, such as division rank. The given example of a ‘Single Nation Tournament’ with “10/10 Entries” gives us a heads up on what to expect. 

Meanwhile, Gauntlets will be a series of up to five matches where you’ll need to completely change your squad for each match. There will be no elimination, like in Tournaments, yet more wins will equal better rewards. This mode is one for the squad builders, and will kick off with Ultimate Gauntlet, a three-round option where you’ll need three distinct squads, and will run every two weeks. 

Changes to Evolutions will also be a part of FC 26, with goalkeeper evolutions arriving alongside repeatable evolutions; with a note from EA that most will be limited. The point here is clearly to offer more freedom and remove the need for perfect results. That seems a sensible move given that a ‘one and done’ approach to Evos can be anticlimactic or simply frustrating. 

New changes to cosmetic stacking and rarity layers will also be arriving in FC 26 Ultimate Team, with EA laying out the specifics as:

We’re not done yet, as these additional changes are coming in 26, and are worth knowing about: 

There’s a lot to consider here, and although the details are limited in some of the changes, it’s clear EA is trying to address some issues. Player morale, choice, skill level considerations, and ultimately, fun appear to be at the core, which is commendable. However, it’s hard to say whether the changes address player concerns overall. 

Objectively, it’s understandable why EA is moving to implement new modes, features, and options. It has to balance new players coming into Ultimate Team, keeping it open and fresh, with existing players wanting more challenge and variety for rewards, and perhaps less ‘sweat’ in the process. 

Some changes do directly address clear fan concerns, though. For one, players disconnecting from matches is infuriating, so allowing a mechanic where the remaining player wins just makes sense. Similarly, new limited checkpoints allowing players to be relegated when losing consistently in Rivals is almost a breath of fresh air. Nobody wants to be punished for doing well. Overall, then, there are good steps here, and the intent from EA seems positive. 

It’s always tricky to rate how a new version of anything will resonate, but I have to say I’m pleased that EA seems to be opening Ultimate Team up in FC 26, and reducing the stress and intensity a little. From new objectives and modes, to consideration for newer players and varied skill levels, to more direct access to FC Pro, repeatable Evos, and more challenges, there’s a good mix of changes. At least it seems. Of course, we won’t know til it’s all here and more easily dissectable.

For fans’ views, it’s not too dissimilar. Some are prepared to wait and judge FC 26 and its Ultimate Team changes in person, and with reviews of the pitch notes, there’s some positivity. For one, Inception’s reaction to the pitch notes was one of guarded positivity as he gave it “60% good” (timestamp link), while acknowledging that “they’re not talking about a lot of things”. 

Meanwhile, fans in the EASportsFC subreddit have been sharing their views on the FUT Deep Dive. User ‘Sakaslide’ pointed to the ‘competitive gameplay’ feature of Ultimate Team, saying, “Trying to sell “Competitive gameplay” as a new feature when career and FUT already have wildly different gameplay is the most EA thing I’ve ever seen.” And user ‘iamfrench’, points out one potential flaw in Tounaments, “Tournament mode could have been cool, but the match limit ruins it.”

One view by user ‘danthedude77’ is perhaps most telling: “They are actually saying the right things and changing the right things… but I can’t help but feel like I still need to not pre-order this game.” In other words, the proof will be in the playing. 

It appears that EA has listened to feedback and tried to provide meaningful changes in FC 26 Ultimate Team. And largely, it seems that more fun, improved modes, player consideration, player morale, and sources of frustration have all been important driving forces.

Whether that will be enough to get the majority of fans on board with what’s actually in the game remains to be seen. However, even without the details for some of the changes available, there are objectively good tweaks and improvements to be found. Based on the notes, at least.