The Uncanny Blocked Shot

[Gnemi]

I wasn't certain where to write this post as it could apply to a slider discussion, first impressions, or even a potential patch. A note on the latter though: We all know EA won't patch gameplay; after all, that's how you make $59.95 each year, but I digress.

The Uncanny Blocked Shot is in reference to the ability of the CPU defense to close 8-10 yards of space within a fraction of a second to put a boot, shin, thigh, or buttocks in front of a human attacker's shot attempt.

On one hand, I consider this a significant improvement to the game because good defenders will in fact give you precious few chances to crack the ball in or around their box. However, in FIFA 13, almost every midfielder and defender in the game (while controlled by the CPU) seem to have this ability. If there were a rating for this particular instinct, every player controlled by the CPU would be in the high 90's by default.

Assuming it's even possible and I'm doubtful, how can we address this issue? It's very frustrating to score on World Class / Legendary, something many (most?) of us have observed. This Uncanny Blocked Shot plays a big part in that. One of the more popular scenarios for me is stringing together 15-20 passes, get space in or around the box with a skilled attacking player ready to take a shot on goal. The instant I press the shoot button and build shot power, the nearest defender - whether he's 2 or 15 yards away, will collapse on me very quickly. It's as though I'm being encouraged to merely tap the shoot button to get the shot off, which results in a soft punt to the keeper. Very often, my attacking player will catch his shooting foot on a defender's outstretched studs. Sometimes, resulting in an injury!!!

So yeah, when combined with the frustration with a lack of fouls being called, this has become one of my biggest gripes with FIFA 13.

Am I the only one here? I haven't ruled out personnel. Maybe it's because my players aren't good enough? Most of my attacking midfielders and strikers are rated between 72 and 80. Maybe I have to have Ronaldo to prevent this from happening.

[aarontab]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I see this all the time. Unfortunately I don't think it's something that can be avoided or that will ever be fixed. We are just going to have to deal with it and realize it's part of FIFA reality. It's not dissimilar from "no matter how hard i pressed the pass button it's a slow rolling ball to the defense" and "I can't get the ball back from the CPU because even when I make a tackle it rolls directly to another of their players in a super unrealistic manner". Ask yourself this, could you even imagine a non-cheating version of FIFA? I definitely can't.

[Gnemi]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

hahahahahaha...*cries*....so true.

[orion523]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I check these blocks over and over on replay to make sure there's no "warping" or anything odd going on, and thankfully there's not, players don't mysteriously get a speed boost or anything like that. They do however, especially on legendary work off one another very well, giving you precious few angles to shoot. To combat this I've figured a few things out:

-Use the AI defenders aggression against them, lately I've been getting great chances with slight skill moves, dribble moves.

-Back door passes, no not that kind, come on man. What I mean is very often when inside the area or just outside in the middle of the pitch, one of your attacking wide men will usually make a very good run to get behind the defense, the key is realizing this before/as he breaks. It's not easy, the box is usually crowded and you're under heavy duress but the runs are there.
-Take advantage of long shot ability, these can catch the CPU off guard, rebounds and spilled, trash is deposited into the net.

-crosses from out wide but just outside the area also cause chaos, dragging defenders out of position and potentially creating chances.

-DON'T GET FRUSTRATED!

If anyone else has any tips for getting your shots off against a legendary CPU, please add them here. Let's find solutions!!!

[Gnemi]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

lately I've been getting great chances with slight skill moves, dribble moves.

This I believe to be the key, but I'm absolutely dreadful at skill moves.

I'd love to see a nice tutorial that explains just a few of these "slight" skill/dribbling moves, in particular the ones that are effective.

I'm not at all interested in the complicated stuff, no matter how effective. It's enough to micromanage 10 footballers within a tightly contested match. The last thing I can afford is to remember which FATALITY! combination will beat a defender 1v1.

What typically happens when I try to get cheeky dribbling has already been described by aarontab's post above: I smack the ball off a defender's shin, it rolls directly to one of his teammates and they go nuts on the counterattack.

Another observation worth making: The blocked shots themselves and the deflections that follow are comically absurd this year. I can't tell you how many times one of my attacking players will crank an 80% power (or higher) shot that gets blocked by the CPU and ricochets very gently three feet safely in front of the defender or his teammate. I *rarely* see a deflection head anywhere near the CPU's goal. It's like it magically loses almost all its velocity. The ball physics are pretty terrible in that regard.

[nas7ybuttler]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I don't play on legendary, but I know exactly what you're talking about. Last year I would just dribble in at a ~45 degree angle towards goal and curl a finesse shot around the defender into the upper v. This year finesse shots are so much less accurate they they are virtually worthless in this situation. Like the parent, i've found that a skill move is often enough to draw a foul which can be quite handy. I wish the fake shot had more of an effect, it never seems to cause much of a reaction except in a 1v1 situation with the keeper.

One of my favorite saved replays is where Wilshire collects a deflection about 25 yards out, chests it down in front of him, and winds up for a big left footed shot from just outside the box. CB comes charging forward like they always do, and tries to make the tackle. Ball goes right between the legs of the defender and into the lower right corner. One of the very few instances I've gotten the better of the CPU charging at me.

[aarontab]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

This I believe to be the key, but I'm absolutely dreadful at skill moves.

I'd love to see a nice tutorial that explains just a few of these "slight" skill/dribbling moves, in particular the ones that are effective.

I'm not at all interested in the complicated stuff, no matter how effective. It's enough to micromanage 10 footballers within a tightly contested match. The last thing I can afford is to remember which FATALITY! combination will beat a defender 1v1.

What typically happens when I try to get cheeky dribbling has already been described by aarontab's post above: I smack the ball off a defender's shin, it rolls directly to one of his teammates and they go nuts on the counterattack.

Another observation worth making: The blocked shots themselves and the deflections that follow are comically absurd this year. I can't tell you how many times one of my attacking players will crank an 80% power (or higher) shot that gets blocked by the CPU and ricochets very gently three feet safely in front of the defender or his teammate. I *rarely* see a deflection head anywhere near the CPU's goal. It's like it magically loses almost all its velocity. The ball physics are pretty terrible in that regard.

Last year they made your AI teammates back away from balls in the box to avoid all the rebound goals. This year they removed that, but to counteract it, they made it so the rebounds don't bounce to anybody who can make a play. I mean, sometimes they do. But realistically it's ust 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Progress!!!

Somebody has to explain to me why i love this game so much lol.

[usrrku]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

Hello all,

I myself am quite awful at FIFA 13, but I have found these two tips to improve my offensive side of the game;

1) Fake shot and Fake cross. Immediately after pressing your shot or cross button you need to hit the X button. It tends to pull defenders out of position for a feed or shot and is very easy to execute.

2)I know you said you are not interested in learning the trick stick moves. I feel the same way but learning to use the step-over with first touch is very effective in one-on-one situations and clearing space for a shot. It is very easy to learn. Somebody left a link for a German player that has some quick and easy You-tube tutorials. I dont remember his name off-hand, but it is something to the effect of gamerkingXL(kind of guessing but a You tube search for FIFA 13 step-over tips should get you there). I was using the move effectively within a game or two.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

[eyeamg0dly]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I wasn't certain where to write this post as it could apply to a slider discussion, first impressions, or even a potential patch. A note on the latter though: We all know EA won't patch gameplay; after all, that's how you make $59.95 each year, but I digress.

The Uncanny Blocked Shot is in reference to the ability of the CPU defense to close 8-10 yards of space within a fraction of a second to put a boot, shin, thigh, or buttocks in front of a human attacker's shot attempt.

On one hand, I consider this a significant improvement to the game because good defenders will in fact give you precious few chances to crack the ball in or around their box. However, in FIFA 13, almost every midfielder and defender in the game (while controlled by the CPU) seem to have this ability. If there were a rating for this particular instinct, every player controlled by the CPU would be in the high 90's by default.

Assuming it's even possible and I'm doubtful, how can we address this issue? It's very frustrating to score on World Class / Legendary, something many (most?) of us have observed. This Uncanny Blocked Shot plays a big part in that. One of the more popular scenarios for me is stringing together 15-20 passes, get space in or around the box with a skilled attacking player ready to take a shot on goal. The instant I press the shoot button and build shot power, the nearest defender - whether he's 2 or 15 yards away, will collapse on me very quickly. It's as though I'm being encouraged to merely tap the shoot button to get the shot off, which results in a soft punt to the keeper. Very often, my attacking player will catch his shooting foot on a defender's outstretched studs. Sometimes, resulting in an injury!!!

So yeah, when combined with the frustration with a lack of fouls being called, this has become one of my biggest gripes with FIFA 13.

Am I the only one here? I haven't ruled out personnel. Maybe it's because my players aren't good enough? Most of my attacking midfielders and strikers are rated between 72 and 80. Maybe I have to have Ronaldo to prevent this from happening.

this was one of the biggest problems i was having during the first week of playing. biggest adjustment i made was making sure i use my body to shield the block and use the correct foot away from the defender. so if i have to take an extra touch to make sure im shooting with my left foot so that my body blocks the defender on the right side, then i would do so. i dont have this problem much anymore, unless they take some odd angle from behind me and im powering up for a shot outside of the box.

also remember that you dont have to power up those finesse shots. a slow rolling shot placed on the bottom corner is still difficult for the keeper to get to. especially if the keeper does not have direct line of sight of the ball.

[wadeJAMESbosh]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

It took me like, 42 games to get one of these, I find that scouring goals from outside the box it's nearly Impossible. http://youtu.be/XAyuDnQwCCg

[Gnemi]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

Yep, I'm grateful for all the feedback here and suggestions, but I consider this aspect of the gameplay of FIFA 13 in the neighborhood of 80% broken.

It's simply not realistic. World class attacking footballers can get their shot off at will, even with a defender square in their nose. Will it head into the bottom corner of the goal? Of course not, but they'll at least get the shot off and if it's deflected, it won't merely squirt three feet to another defender or the keeper.

EA totally %$#ed this up this year IMO.

Scoring goals in this game is insanely difficult on World Class / Legendary, unless you resort to cheap BS aka. "Skill Moves".

[Gnemi]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I'm currently near the bottom of the table in my season and the scores in my first three months have been hilarious.

Using World Class or Legendary with Orion's sliders:

My Team / CPU Opponent:

0-0
0-1
0-0
1-1
0-2
0-1
0-0
1-0
0-1
1-1
1-2
0-0
0-1
0-2

In 14 games, I've scored 4 goals. Yes, that's beyond anemic and yes, I'm in partly to blame and sure, my strikers aren't Messi or Ronaldo, but I'm averaging 10 shots per game that end up blocked or driven right at the keeper. I play great defense and in fact, I think defense is a bit too easy this year, but scoring is absurd to the point it has me missing FIFA 12.

[Gnemi]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

By the way, I just read a comment on another thread that references the importance of camera angles and I have a hunch that camera angle SIGNIFICANTLY affects the Uncanny Blocked Shot phenomenon whereas it's too difficult to see the spacing around your players from most camera angles. COOP might be the one angle where this is not as big a problem. That, or that weird first person angle. Pro camera or whatever, but I can't stand that.

[aarontab]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I'm currently near the bottom of the table in my season and the scores in my first three months have been hilarious.

Using World Class or Legendary with Orion's sliders:

My Team / CPU Opponent:

0-0
0-1
0-0
1-1
0-2
0-1
0-0
1-0
0-1
1-1
1-2
0-0
0-1
0-2

In 14 games, I've scored 4 goals. Yes, that's beyond anemic and yes, I'm in partly to blame and sure, my strikers aren't Messi or Ronaldo, but I'm averaging 10 shots per game that end up blocked or driven right at the keeper. I play great defense and in fact, I think defense is a bit too easy this year, but scoring is absurd to the point it has me missing FIFA 12.

Orion's sliders call for goalkeeper ability to be turned up. This is what's happening. The goalkeepers are already superhuman (and trust me, turning down the HUM goalkeeper doesn't matter because when the CPU wants a goal, they'll get it regardless). I score a CRAZY amount of goals (i have 22 team goals after 5 games, the next closest team has 11, there's two teams with that amount). I have a theory about goalkeeper ability: i don't think it affects saves nearly as much as you'd expect anyways. I've tried this in the past- if you put in a REALLY bad goalkeeper, you'll notice that the opposing team just gets more clean attempts on your goal. So it's like instead of changing how often saves are made, they supplemented the effect by causing the defense to break down more often with a bad goalkeeper between the sticks. Just a theory. In any event: DO NOT MAKE GOALKEEPER ABILITY HIGHER THAN 50. Just trust me on this. If it's too easy to score, turn up User Shot Error (although you'll notice you'll just miss every shot by an inch and never score then either). Whatever you do, never make goalkeeper ability higher than default. It will cause you to hate playing the game.

[orion523]

Re: The Uncanny Blocked Shot

I'm currently near the bottom of the table in my season and the scores in my first three months have been hilarious.

Using World Class or Legendary with Orion's sliders:

My Team / CPU Opponent:

0-0
0-1
0-0
1-1
0-2
0-1
0-0
1-0
0-1
1-1
1-2
0-0
0-1
0-2

In 14 games, I've scored 4 goals. Yes, that's beyond anemic and yes, I'm in partly to blame and sure, my strikers aren't Messi or Ronaldo, but I'm averaging 10 shots per game that end up blocked or driven right at the keeper. I play great defense and in fact, I think defense is a bit too easy this year, but scoring is absurd to the point it has me missing FIFA 12.

Let me ask you, how many minute halves are you playing, and how many shots are you and the CPU combining for? Shots should be about 28 per game(combined) with roughly 8-10 hitting the target, again combined. Of those 8-10 that hit the target, 2.5 to 3.0 should be going in(depending on your club). When broken down in this manner, it usually makes it easy for you to see what you need to tweak. I've finally started my CM and I've started a dynasty(Real Sociadad) that way it makes it easier to track my stats game to game, season to season.