Here are the basic outcomes I'm pursuing for my career mode sliders, with a couple house rules and caveats:
Updated on 12/22 for Patch 1.05
THE BASICS
THE SETTINGS - Current Set (v6):
Controls: All Manual (Semi-Assisted is also fine, especially as training wheels)
Defending: Tactical
Time: 10 minutes
Game Speed: Slow
Difficulty: World Class (Home) and Legendary (Away)
Sprint - 34/34
Acceleration - 48/48
Shot Error - 55/55
Pass Error - 58/60
Shot Speed - 50/50
Pass Speed - 42/42
GK Ability - 10/10
Marking - 65/65
Run Frequency - 35/35
Line Height - 60/60
Line Length - 50/50
Line Width - 50/50
Fullbacks - 40/40
First Touch - 55/60
Power Bar* - 55
* Personal preference, related to Pass Speed offset
What's the story here?
The more I play FIFA 16, the more I sincerely believe in the faulty logic of whack-a-mole slider testing. First and foremost, no two games are the same. Even in FIVE games, you might not find two that play the same way. I've immensely enjoyed so many of the experiments we've conducted as a group on the Community thread, but personally speaking, I hit the diminishing returns stage of these experiments in the last week.
Among these v6 sliders, the ideas I like the most in terms of how they affect my own gameplay are lowered sprint speed and higher marking. With 1.05 - and I don't think I'm alone in this frustration - EA brought back the feeling of ice skating and it's fairly pronounced. Lowering sprint speed too far makes the game look bad in other ways, so I've found 32-34 to be a perfect compromise.
Having played FIFA for so many years now, I know that I have a particular way of playing. I tend to favor short passes and build-up play with fairly occasional risky/speculative long balls. I try to work inside-out like a boxer, not because that's how the CPU responds to my attacking, but rather because I enjoy it! If I'm unsuccessful in midfield operation, I'll whip in a few crosses from the wings. These sliders allow me to try both tactics with sufficiently modest success.
Defensively, I am pleased enough with Tactical and 1.05 that I can both zonally mark and grab my share of tackles. Another trait of FIFA 16 that I've actually found very positive is that, somewhat regardless of the sliders I've experimented with this year, the CPU always manages to "get theirs."
One final word: Legendary is still subject to more results so I can decide just how committed I am to using it for Away fixtures, but right now I'm doing it.
Older Sets:
What's the deal here?
I'd like to see some goals get scored and higher pass error for CPU leads to erratic crosses. Keepers are bionic this year and they're the antichrist of reasonable goals per game averages. With regards to pass speed, this is arguably the single most important slider this year. At defaults, the CPU blazes the hard-driven passes around like it's NBA Jam. When either human AI or CPU are marking too closely, they get burned by burst, in particular out on the wings. It cuts both ways and it's one of the biggest flaws in the game.
NOTE: Most my efforts here are built from and based around community dialog and the tireless, thankless experimentation from Matt et al.
Updated on 12/22 for Patch 1.05
THE BASICS
- My career is with Everton and my goal, immediately, is to work on the Academy and innovative transfers to compete for a place in Europe.
- I don't recommend using these sliders with anything other than 10 minute halves.
- The metrics that matter to me: I'd like to see 20 shots and 2.5 goals per game average. While noting that shots are not calculated accurately, I still want to see 20 total chances, even anecdotally measured.
- I use World Class difficulty for home fixtures and Legendary for away. For cup ties, I use World Class if I'm playing against second tier clubs, Legendary for the top flight. I don't change anything else. Literally just WC/Legendary.
- I generally ignore any stats related to pass percentages, shot accuracy, and possession.
THE SETTINGS - Current Set (v6):
Controls: All Manual (Semi-Assisted is also fine, especially as training wheels)
Defending: Tactical
Time: 10 minutes
Game Speed: Slow
Difficulty: World Class (Home) and Legendary (Away)
Sprint - 34/34
Acceleration - 48/48
Shot Error - 55/55
Pass Error - 58/60
Shot Speed - 50/50
Pass Speed - 42/42
GK Ability - 10/10
Marking - 65/65
Run Frequency - 35/35
Line Height - 60/60
Line Length - 50/50
Line Width - 50/50
Fullbacks - 40/40
First Touch - 55/60
Power Bar* - 55
* Personal preference, related to Pass Speed offset
What's the story here?
The more I play FIFA 16, the more I sincerely believe in the faulty logic of whack-a-mole slider testing. First and foremost, no two games are the same. Even in FIVE games, you might not find two that play the same way. I've immensely enjoyed so many of the experiments we've conducted as a group on the Community thread, but personally speaking, I hit the diminishing returns stage of these experiments in the last week.
Among these v6 sliders, the ideas I like the most in terms of how they affect my own gameplay are lowered sprint speed and higher marking. With 1.05 - and I don't think I'm alone in this frustration - EA brought back the feeling of ice skating and it's fairly pronounced. Lowering sprint speed too far makes the game look bad in other ways, so I've found 32-34 to be a perfect compromise.
Having played FIFA for so many years now, I know that I have a particular way of playing. I tend to favor short passes and build-up play with fairly occasional risky/speculative long balls. I try to work inside-out like a boxer, not because that's how the CPU responds to my attacking, but rather because I enjoy it! If I'm unsuccessful in midfield operation, I'll whip in a few crosses from the wings. These sliders allow me to try both tactics with sufficiently modest success.
Defensively, I am pleased enough with Tactical and 1.05 that I can both zonally mark and grab my share of tackles. Another trait of FIFA 16 that I've actually found very positive is that, somewhat regardless of the sliders I've experimented with this year, the CPU always manages to "get theirs."
One final word: Legendary is still subject to more results so I can decide just how committed I am to using it for Away fixtures, but right now I'm doing it.
Older Sets:
Spoiler
What's the deal here?
I'd like to see some goals get scored and higher pass error for CPU leads to erratic crosses. Keepers are bionic this year and they're the antichrist of reasonable goals per game averages. With regards to pass speed, this is arguably the single most important slider this year. At defaults, the CPU blazes the hard-driven passes around like it's NBA Jam. When either human AI or CPU are marking too closely, they get burned by burst, in particular out on the wings. It cuts both ways and it's one of the biggest flaws in the game.
NOTE: Most my efforts here are built from and based around community dialog and the tireless, thankless experimentation from Matt et al.
I have actually played with a similar setup for a couple days now and after 28 league games in my current season am extremely happy with it. Am currently in 2019 already, simmed a lot in the previous seasons and now have a squad i actually enjoy playing with and a few academy guys worth taking to the pitch. For me at least i feel like i have 11 individuals on the pitch with vastly differing strengths (especially since i am still not a top club, my best players are in the 77,78 range and some starters low 70s). Heck, i am currently often playing a 67 rated academy striker who is unique due to being 6´7. Decent physically (even speed/acc around 70) and is damn rangy in close, gets on a lot of balls due to his long legs. 
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