FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) has been the most popular mode in Electronic Arts’ FIFA series for years. But what is it all about? How do you get your first team? What needs to be considered? Our beginner’s guide provides useful tips and tricks.
FIFA Ultimate Team is also by far the most popular game mode in FIFA 20 because it adds a tactical component to the classic soccer game. In short, it’s about putting together the best possible team from all available players. Sounds exciting? It is. In the first part of our beginner’s guide, we provide all the tips you need to know for a successful start. After the basics, we continue with the details in part 2.
What is FIFA Ultimate Team?
Anyone who collected collectible cards of well-known football stars in their childhood will get a rough idea of what FUT mode is all about. On paper, the task sounds very simple: you have to put together the best possible team from all the players available in FIFA 20. Fun teams from a specific nation or league are of course also possible.
So instead of just fighting for victory on the pitch, creativity is also rewarded in FUT. At the same time, factors such as trading skills or the right strategy play an important role.
The FUT Basics: Coins, FIFA Points and Packs
FIFA Ultimate Team is primarily aimed at players who are interested in the world of football and also deal intensively with the events of real sport. Because what happens in real football also has an impact on FUT mode.
In order to improve your own team, it is important to accumulate as many virtual coins – the so-called coins – as possible . This can be done, for example, by completing games or trading on the transfer market.
Coins are not to be confused with FIFA Points. What is behind the term, we have already revealed in a previous article .
In addition, the different packs in FUT mode play an important role. You get these every week as a reward, for example, as well as for rank advancements in the – Season pass (called: – Season tasks). The packs then contain new players, objects, trainers and much more. With a bit of luck, there are even particularly strong cards like the icons waiting for you here, and we’ve already introduced a few top-class cards here too.
Fitness Cards, Contracts and Managers
But even before you start building the actual team, it is important to understand how to deal with fitness cards and contracts . Both are actually self-explanatory: If you complete a game in FUT mode, the fitness of the players on the pitch decreases. At the same time, the players consume 1 contract per game .
The less fitness a player has, the quicker he is exhausted. At some point he can no longer sprint and has to be replaced. If a player is out of contracts, he cannot be deployed in the next game.
So it’s always important to keep both fitness and contracts in mind before starting a game . Both values can be increased with cards that can be found in packs or bought on the transfer market. Fitness cards are available for individual players or for the entire team, and team cards in particular are much more worthwhile.
As a rule, a team fitness card should be used after every second game. Or, when a player’s fitness falls below 90 .
Incidentally, there are also contracts for the manager , i.e. the trainer of your own FUT team, which is also mandatory in FIFA 20. Managers, like players, come in bronze, silver, and gold rarities . But where is the difference?
Quite simply: in the bonuses that it brings with it. Rare gold managers are of course the best, followed by common gold trainers and so on. The manager in FUT 20 has exactly two tasks :
- Managers improve team chemistry
- Manager cards boost player contracts
In plain language, this means: A rare gold manager such as Jürgen Klopp or Zinedine Zidane increases the number that a player receives by using a contract card by 2-3 percent.
A rare gold contract increases a gold player’s value by 28. Using the best possible manager adds another 2-3 percent. This value can be increased up to a maximum of +50% if you have many managers in the club.
The chemistry is crucial
FUT mode is all about achieving perfect chemistry . A value for team chemistry is displayed in the top left of the team overview page. This should always reach a full 100 points , because if the chemistry isn’t right, the players don’t play well together or don’t score goals. In short: If the chemistry is not right, games are lost.
The chemistry increases when a player is used in his regular position , for example a goalkeeper in goal and not in attack. In addition, the connections (English: links) between the lined up players play a crucial role.
- Red links: Bad chemistry
- Yellow links: Good chemistry
- Green links: Perfect chemistry
While red links should always be avoided, full team chemistry can be achieved with a team of yellow and green links. Red links, on the other hand, can be repaired with green ones.
The goal is for each player to get a full 10 chemistry points. Points are awarded for the following factors:
- Both play in the same league – 1 point
- Both players have the same nationality – 1 point
- Both play in the same club – 2 points
- Both play in the same league, in different clubs or have the same nationality – 2 points
There are also bonus points from the manager. If a player has the same nationality as the manager, one point is awarded. The same applies if the manager’s and player’s leagues match.
Important: There is a maximum of 1 additional chemistry point via the manager . So either for nationality or league, but not both together.
Another bonus point is the loyalty bonus : If a player has played 10 games for the club , there is a chemistry point on top.
An example of chemistry in FUT20
In the image above we have used the different links to clarify the explanation:
Manuel Neuer (goalkeeper) and Jérôme Boateng (IV) are of the same nationality and play in the same league . That ‘s why you get the full 10 chemistry points .
Julian Draxler in midfield is of the same nationality as the two centre-backs but plays in a different league than Boateng, hence the yellow link . But, like Thilo Kehrer, he plays in the French league, which is why he gets a green link and thus a full 10 chemistry points .
Left- back Alex Sandro , on the other hand, has a different nationality and plays in a different league than his neighbor Boateng. This leads to a red link . Since he is used as a LV in his regular position, he still has 3 chemistry.
Now using a Brazilian manager or using cards to change the league to Italian Serie A would add 1 more point. Toni Kroos, on the other hand, does not play in his regular position as a central midfielder as a right-back and therefore only has 3 chemistry.
Basically, 10 points would be perfect , but from 8 points on chemistry you usually don’t notice any difference.
There are also cards in FUT mode that can be used to change a player’s position . This is how a central midfielder (ZM) becomes a central attacking midfielder (ZOM). But that doesn’t work in all directions. You cannot make a midfielder out of a central defender (IV) or a winger (LF/RF) out of a central player. However, if you choose the right lineup, it is possible to increase the chemistry further.
FIFA 22 – FUTs
What could be cooler than just relaxed gaming and doing some sofa sports on the side? In FIFA 22, the player is on the move fast, but without getting sore muscles. With the Ultimate Team Event cards, the collecting instinct is now also satisfied. However, the FUT Heroes keep creeping into my mind, so here are the best Ultimate Team Event cards that are definitely worth adding to your collection.
Heroes cards selected by EA for top qualities
Admittedly, the FUT heroes will cost quite a bit of coin, but it turns out that EA has once again brought some top-class players into the game when it comes to selection. As a collector and hunter, it’s an added attraction for FIFA gamers to now include their own favorite heroes in the portfolio and benefit from their individual skills. Both in the game and in team building, the FUTs will revolutionize the game once again.
EA SPORTS FC: FIFA GAME SERIES TO BE CONTINUED UNDER NEW NAME
Of course, the soccer simulation game series will not be discontinued completely. After FIFA 23, EA will relaunch the game under the name EA Sports FC and market it independently. Old FIFA hares should now become quite an ear, after all, the EA Sports Football Club used to be a part of the actual game for years. A lot of playing was rewarded, points could be collected and items, boosts or balls for the individual game modes could be unlocked.
In this context, there could also be a complete revolution of the classic game. There is a heated discussion in the FIFA community about whether the game, which is expected to be released in the fall of 2023, will be free-to-play. This option is said to be on the table for the game makers from EA, because: It seems that EA earns most of its money with the purchases of FIFA Points in the game mode Ultimate Team and not with the sale of the game itself.