Coach Mode Underrated

[gausec]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tritoch42

What sort of restrictions? I've just played with Heisman-level recruiting, but with no special rules.

Ok thats all I wanted to know to see if that if the game still is a challenge

[Tritoch42]

As time goes by, recruiting does begin to get easier... But after 10 years with the same team and gradually improving seasons, I have a lot of good ratings for prestige, stability, and so on. I also moved UMass into a redone Big East in 2019, which helped strength of schedule.

[ClutchFrame47]

To make recruiting realistic, I would limit to only allowing 5 more than the # of players leaving to your board.

[TajDeni]

dont know if i coud ever go full coach mode (hate camera angle) but i am half way there. and i do understand the appeal of not having total contol of all the players. because user stick skills kind of makes recruiting pointless.

so for those who have some reservations about coach mode for whatever reason heres what i do that i find is a nice middle ground between playing the game traditionally and full blown coach mode.

note: i dont have ncaa13, i play '12. so hopefully everything translates.

*** i use the same sliders for both hum and cpu

1. on offense i only control the QB via QB-Lock

2. the camera angle i use is QB-lock (which is the bet angle in the game imo)

-- this way i still get to call all the offensive plays and make all the audibles myself. tho to make it more realistic as far as my qb's audible capabilities, i use my own version of the RTG QB format. (if you dont understand what i mean then just play RTG or whatever its called now as a QB and you'll understand completely)

-- i set up m audible sysem based on awareness. so 4ex, I wouldnt even be allowed to make the most basic audibles, like flip the play, until my qb reach atleast 60 awr. then at the 70, 80, 90, 99 awr mark the QB would be given additional audibling options. with 99 being completely freedom. ie, being able to change routes.

-- this way you only control the QB, who has pre-set limitation based on his awr. and the cpu controls every other player. and if you have a bad or yong QB starting this can make winning very challenging if you dont have other players in place to shoulder the load.

3. on defense i call all the plays and control 1 player and never switch off of him (i prefer the FS). so again outside of the 1 player you pick to control, your relying on your cpu players to be able to carry their own weight. (i dont use player lock on defense, too difficult of a camera angle for me to play with).

4. i never convince any player to stay who is considering leaving, as this keeps the turnover fair esp at the QB position.

5. i never cut any players because i never allow my team to carry more than 70 players, so if i recruit him he's on my team until he leaves for the pros or graduates. the 70 player cap will determine how big your recruiting class can be in any given yr.

-- again this helps to reduce over-recruiting. making having to play young inexperience players at times and injuries a key component to my team having strengths and weaknesses.


so again while not a full coach mode, it does still manage to incorporate what i feel is the main appeal of coach mode and thats making recruiting an recruiting ratings matter again. i find that it is a nice middle ground.

[Tritoch42]

I do love full coach mode... Once you cycle through your QBs and see the difference between a 65 AWR and a 90 AWR QB running an option offense, you'll never go back. Ratings matter on all fronts, and sometimes it really does pay to start a guy with less speed or accuracy but higher awareness.

I've found recruiting to be fairly balanced even without restrictions.. It took me quite a few years before I could get 4-star recruits with relative ease, and even after all those years I've only ever netted 1 or 2 5-star prospects, ever.

But I love the strategy of playing strictly from the coach level, without my own skills getting in the way. As a matter of fact, Coach Mode is the main reason I played NCAA exclusively this year... I've somewhat lost interest in Madden until I can play Coach Mode there -- heck, sometimes I even break out my old Head Coach 09.