I need some help, I'm rubbish at this game.

[BradyBunch88]

Hey guys,

I've been playing the FIFA series for a number of years, consistently playing since FIFA 09, but I did play FIFA 98 and 99 back in the day.
But, I've never really known the deep ins and outs of it.

Score goals, win matches, gain points, win leagues, trophies etc. This is obvious.

But I'm talking about in-game, gameplay. I play on World Class, maybe I should take it down a notch. But I just can't seem to make the right touches on the ball. When I get the ball and attack, I never feel totally comfortable or confident and usually I end up blowing my chances. I either do too much, too many passes and don't shoot and then I give the ball away or I make a bad touch and the other team gets possession.

I always play with my favourite team Man Utd and I just had a game against Aston Villa where I drew 3-3. So when Javier Hernandez or Robin Van Persie get the ball, I should make a great first touch and control the ball, but 90% of the time I make a terrible first touch which gives the ball away.

I've been looking at other help-threads on here and Manual Shooting comes up a lot. Any personal thoughts on whether it's better than semi-assisted?

And the other thing is I have no strategy whatsoever except for getting the ball in the back of the net. I think of managers like Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wegner who go into each game with a strategy and a match plan in order to win. I don't know if this is how I should play FIFA or if I should just try and get the ball in the back of the net.

I just watched the amazing ITV documentary Mourinho about his career in football and I learned a lot about him I didn't know. He seems to be a very organized man who goes into each game with a plan and I think this is how games should be.

Oh and I never play online, it's always offline against CPU.

I just need some help really in terms of a strategy, making better first touches and attacking.
And when I'm one-on-one with a defender, I want to know how to get around him to take it in to the box or cross it in.

And I'd love to know how to play with Manchester United properly. Meaning how to use Hernandez to his full potential, how to use Carrick to his full potential, same with Rooney, Ferdinand, Jones, all of them.

Sometimes I feel cheated, I was winning in one game against Inter but in the last few seconds, they did a mad rush, ultra-attacking and got the game to a draw. I want to play simulation, real life type football.

Any suggestions, advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

[eyeamg0dly]

how much have you played with tactics ? it sounds like you can score the gimme's and understand the game concepts. take it further and make up your own tactics.

for example. i have a couple general tactics built depending on how the other team is playing. if they are playing pretty passive, i use my possession tactics and fire shots off around the edge of the box. i do it because they aren't really pressing and the outside shot is almost always there.

if they are pressing but im not too worried about their offense. ill set a high line and off side trap them. this also depends on the formation im using too though.

if they are really dangerous and playing well, then i go defensive with long passing. it really just depends on how confident I am with my team.

you are smarter then you think. just match your tactics to how you like to play and what makes sense to counter whatever they are trying to do to you.

[BradyBunch88]

Thanks for your quick reply.

I used to always use tactics on FIFA 12, but this year I haven't used them as much.

Obviously playing with Man Utd, I like to play to their strengths, so they're a great counter attacking team, especially when Chicharito makes those runs in-between defenders. So I usually go counter attack. I'll have to look at each tactic in more detail to find my playing style.

But I appreciate your feedback and thank you for your comments, I'll play a few games today work on it and see if I can improve! I should be destroying Aston Villa! Not struggling to come away with even a draw!

[briggm]

On the subject of manual shooting, its definitely worth making the switch IMO. I held off for awhile because everytime I tried it, I'd send shots rocketing off in all directions, but after 5,10 games you start to get used to the concept of aiming where you want the ball to go instead of just in the general direction of goal. The result has been more control over where I place a shot, which has been rewarding and well worth perservering with beyond the initial struggle.

[NHLandPESFan]

I am not an expert but I try to have my formation play to the strengths of my team, e.g. if I liked Man City I would make sure to have two if not three strikers. I like Dortmund who seem to function best with one striker. Also with the 4-4-2 formation being very common, you can get a lot of room if you play something different, last night I played an online game where I had a ton of room on the flanks versus Arsenal, alas I was not good enough to properly exploit it so I ended in a draw.

[SirEnvy]

I havent played Fifa in years, and decided to go with this game. And, I cant understand the first touch control. I always seem to turnover the ball to the defender, because my player usually pushes the ball forward, or to the side.

Can someone explain to me what that is, or how to use it?

*Sorry to hijack your thread, I am new to OS and, I dont have permission to start my own, as of yet.

[4EverBlowingBubbles]

Quote: Originally Posted by SirEnvy

I havent played Fifa in years, and decided to go with this game. And, I cant understand the first touch control. I always seem to turnover the ball to the defender, because my player usually pushes the ball forward, or to the side. Can someone explain to me what that is, or how to use it? *Sorry to hijack your thread, I am new to OS and, I dont have permission to start my own, as of yet.

Check this tutorial out: First Touch Control

If you are a new FIFA 13 player, then you might as well check that guy's basic tutorials. They are simply the best around. Passing, shooting, defending, crossing, you name it. Hope this helps, mate.

[CLEAR17]

As far as first touch controls the First Touch Control link 4everBB posted should help.

Manual shooting is a must for me now. The first few games i used it, hated it. Costed me some games. But as i got used to it, i scored more goals from spots that i had not scored from before. Shooting feels much more realistic as well with players. Van Persie and Rooney feel more lethal now. And imo headers from corners and crosses feel more controlled.

Match Strategy: With a team as powerful as United, you should be able to overpower most teams and just put the ball in the net. But when you play other power teams (ManC, Chel, RM, Barca) strategies can help.
1) As you play teams in the EPL, pay attention to the formations. 4-4-2, 4-3-3, etc. See which formations give you problems.

2) When beginning a game, go to the man marking options and mark their best player with your best "marker"
(United has options- Fletcher, Anderson, Jones, Smalling, Carrick)
I usually play a 4-2-3-1. If im playing a quality team with a good ST,CAM, or CF i will mark that player with Fletcher.

3) Try in-game tactics (the D-pad) scrolling right and left changing from Ult Def, Def, Normal, Att, Ult Att. I've scored so many times in the 85th-90+ min to win or tie games by going to Ult Att

4) Repostion some players. Ive played with Van Persie as a LM and RM. Put Rooney in a CMD role. Put Rafael at RM and Buttner at LM for extra defense.

Using United to their full potential: I have too much advice on this. It would really depend on your playing style.

The Ultra Attack that happens ever game...it does happen in real life. It just isn't as successful irl as in FIFA. Best advice is too set your team tactics to Ult def. Then just like in real soccer, clear the ball alot and keep the ball out of the middle.