Why can't I shoot?

[snakeswithlasers]

<!--StartFragment-->I’m having some trouble shooting and need some basic pointers. I’ve watched the tutorials which say “aim where you want the shot to go” and it’s not helping.
Right now I have it on Semi and would like to go to manual, but I find that 90% of my shots just completely miss the net wide or over and I can’t figure it out.
I use the Be A Pro camera and am trying to figure out aiming. I’ve been trying to use the left stick to aim as I tap the shoot button, but that just jukes my guy to a side (so I “aim” down-left on the stick to try to put a shot low and to the left post, but my guy just cuts backward real hard and releases the ball when he’s facing the other way).
Any idea what am I doing wrong?
I wish the replays were like NHL where you could see what your sticks were doing when you were releasing the shot, but they aren’t any real help. Also, I play a LOT of NHL, so maybe this is my problem? Are there habits I need to unlearn? <!--EndFragment-->

[mebby]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

In general... Your shot will go the direction in which your player is facing when you start the shoot animation. Height of the shot is controlled by the shot power meter.

It's not like NHL where you aim high and low.

There are other specifics that come into play like how well balanced your player is when you take the shot, which foot he's shooting with and how well he's rated with his weak foot (if you're using his weak foot). If you're sprinting with the player while shooting this will also decrease your shot accuracy but increase your shot power. You're better off shooting while not sprinting but I'll sometimes use the sprint button to break open into space (dash past a defender) but then slow to a normal pace before shooting.

There are lots of things that impact the quality of the shot you're taking but the biggest issue I see with your method right now is that you're trying to use the stick to aim high/low like in NHL and it doesn't work that way in FIFA.

[snakeswithlasers]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Thanks =)

So when "aiming" on the left stick you're just picking the direction you face prior to the shot? I'm kind of confused, sorry!

I have been trying to "push" the ball to my right (strong) foot with the right stick prior to the shots, but a lot of times that will just push me out wide of the net...I guess I just need more practice. Also--maybe I should always be using RB/R1 + shoot? I tend to just use the shoot button?

[Merih]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

As the poster above said...shot height is controlled by the power bar and shot location (near post, far post, center) is controlled by the stick. Since you say you are playing in Pro mode, that means that up and down don't control anything on your shot. Left and right control placement.

Another thing to remember is that as long as you press what direction you want the shot to go in right before the shot goes off, it will go in that direction. So when charging the shot use the stick to move and place your player where you want...then right before the shot is let off try and place it.

Hope this helps!

[Merih]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Holdling RB/R1 will make your player shoot with the inside of his foot. This gives you better placement in exchange for power. If you can get the goalie uncentered from the goal, using the RB/R1 button is great to push the ball to the post away from the keeper.

The right stick is mostly for first touches. If you want to use it in front of goal, make sure you flick it lightly. If you slam it all the way to the limit, it will put the ball out too far away from you. Flicking it lightly will keep it closer to the shooter's body. It's pretty risky to use this close to goal as the goalie will usually smother it.

[snakeswithlasers]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Another thing to remember is that as long as you press what direction you want the shot to go in right before the shot goes off, it will go in that direction. So when charging the shot use the stick to move and place your player where you want...then right before the shot is let off try and place it.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot...I wish I was home right now to test some of this out, but I find that if I hold the button down for really any time at all, I end up BLASTING the thing into the cheap seats (even if it's just a green bar or two). And I'm having the problem of when I try to aim the shot, my guy just pivots into the direction that I'm flicking the stick. But you're saying this is because I'm trying to hold "down right" when I just need to register "right" and control height with the shoot button.

I guess I need to just see it done in action, which is where an NHL style replay would be great, to see how people are hitting the sticks and when.

[jhamlin1971]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Holdling RB/R1 will make your player shoot with the inside of his foot. This gives you better placement in exchange for power. If you can get the goalie uncentered from the goal, using the RB/R1 button is great to push the ball to the post away from the keeper.

The right stick is mostly for first touches. If you want to use it in front of goal, make sure you flick it lightly. If you slam it all the way to the limit, it will put the ball out too far away from you. Flicking it lightly will keep it closer to the shooter's body. It's pretty risky to use this close to goal as the goalie will usually smother it.

Dont forget to "square" up to the goal by pressing L1. No matter what direction your player is facing, this will turn him towards the goal which will provide a more accurate shot. Not sure what button to press on Xbox, probably LB though.

[snakeswithlasers]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Ya, it's LB, thanks. I have some trouble with that because, inevitably, when I'm squaring up, someone comes and crushes me. But I think I just need to factor that in to a scoring chance.

I'm going to dumb the AI back down to semi-pro to work on this. I rarely get scoring opportunities in pro, and when my pro is only getting 3 or 4 kicks at goal a game, I'm both not getting a lot of practice and completely missing the net isn't looking good for my club.

[mebby]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Also, keep in mind that it you're sprinting when shooting then your players will blast the hell out of the ball. This is usually a very powerful but highly inaccurate shot (only the highest skilled players can pull this off but even they usually won't pull it off).

Once I get a player in the box I just use very small movements to position myself for shooting.

But also realize that the keepers are insane in this game and they WILL block shots more times than not. Most of your goals are going to come off of deflections or other situations where you can work the keeper out of position.

And one more thing... in my experience, the only real difference between manual shooting and semi-manual shooting is that you can hit some ridiculously wide shots in manual. Semi-manual will basically keep you pointing in the basic direction of the goal but you are still responsible for fine tuning the shot into the corners - it is very possible (I do it all the time) to aim wide of the goal all together in semi-manual

[StormJH1]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

Yeah, I understand the complaints. FIFA 10 is a classic example of engineering "fun gameplay" (with a hint of realism) through "unrealistic gameplay". In real soccer, we know that teams can play 90 minutes and maybe only generate a few quality scoring chances per game. However, if there's a rare situation in real soccer where you get a quality striker more or less alone on a goalkeeper, there's a massive advantage favoring the striker.

Not in FIFA 10. Since most people are playing full games that are 12-30 minutes long, the action needs to be more up-and-down than real life (which is also more entertaining). But that also means that you have to make it more of a challenge to beat the netminder, or you'd constantly see scores that look more like baseball games.

If you walk into the box with a ball one-on-one, it's ridiculously rare in FIFA 10 to be able to shoot the ball right past the keeper. I don't recall this being the case in some of the PS2 versions (like FIFA 2004-06). I would say that the overall gameplay is signicantly evovled over those games in other ways, but it is annoying to feel utterly helpless shooting the ball, unless it's a one-timer, a rebound into an empty net, or some other fluke play.

[natural320]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

in the one on one situation use the finesse (R1 on ps3) to put a bit of curl on the shot. not 100% effective on all manual, but the little curl action has increased my effectiveness on these shots to about 50-50

also (breakaway specific) use the chip shot (L1 on ps3) if the goal comes charging way out on you. you will want to time your shot to hit it just inside the box...the goalie will flounder and the ball will lazily bounce in (or lazily bounce JUUUUST wide of the post and you will be cursing out your tv!)

[StormJH1]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

in the one on one situation use the finesse (R1 on ps3) to put a bit of curl on the shot. not 100% effective on all manual, but the little curl action has increased my effectiveness on these shots to about 50-50

also (breakaway specific) use the chip shot (L1 on ps3) if the goal comes charging way out on you. you will want to time your shot to hit it just inside the box...the goalie will flounder and the ball will lazily bounce in (or lazily bounce JUUUUST wide of the post and you will be cursing out your tv!)

I have yet to score with a chip shot. The CPU does it to me all the time if I bring my keeper out. But everytime I do it, the keeper either takes a step back and punches it, or it lobs over his head and lands on the crossbar.

I will try finesse shooting (R1 or RB), but I didn't think that put curl on the ball--I thought that it was a "placed" shot off the inside of the foot. In old school FIFA, you pretty much could nail low shots into the corners on breakaways all the time. And, in reality, it is a big freakin' net!

[natural320]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

when he hits it with the inside of the foot it puts just enough "curl" for your shot (aimed straight) to go around the keeper. check it out in the arena...you will see what I mean.

but breakaways really shouldn't be THIS HARD to convert the majority of the time...but alas...they seem to be

[StormJH1]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

when he hits it with the inside of the foot it puts just enough "curl" for your shot (aimed straight) to go around the keeper. check it out in the arena...you will see what I mean.

but breakaways really shouldn't be THIS HARD to convert the majority of the time...but alas...they seem to be

Yeah, agreed. I think a lot of it has to do with what us EA NHL players refer to as "Left stick deking". In other words, don't do a special move, but do something laterally with the ball that the keeper has to react to before setting it up and letting it fly. Otherwise, it seems like the keeper just gets locked onto your angle and comes out perfectly to take it away. The problem, of course, is that if you're using semi or manual shooting, you risk missing the net by 20 feet to the side if you make any dramatic movements before lining up the shot.

[mebby]

Re: Why can't I shoot?

The problem, of course, is that if you're using semi or manual shooting, you risk missing the net by 20 feet to the side if you make any dramatic movements before lining up the shot.

Exactly... the amount of stick movement relative to space on the screen is so small that it's ridiculous.

I feel like what EA was attempting to force more realistic scores/stats for each game but they made the keepers ridiculously good instead of working more on the build-up and flow of the game.

In my opinion, there are too many breakaway opportunities. In reality, it should be easier to score on these breakaways but in order to keep the scores in check they simply made it very difficult to score like this instead of finding a way to limit the breakaway itself.