Madden 21 Superstar & X Factor Abilities (Not Directly From EA)

[PhillyPhanatic14]

As the title says, this is from Madden-School, not EA, so it may not be 100% accurate... With that said, here's the article: https://www.madden-school.com/every-...ers-have-them/

[canes21]

Film Study was removed? That lasted long.

[jfsolo]

Badly designed and implemented abilities is something that the development team should get blamed for. Creating an ability like Avalanche is such a terrible decision.

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by jfsolo

Badly designed and implemented abilities is something that the development team should get blamed for. Creating an ability like Avalanche is such a terrible decision.

I disagree that it's a badly designed ability. Badly designed abilities have no counter. Avalanche can be countered by running away for that defender and not letting him get a head-on shot at the ballcarrier by running plays which move east / west as opposed to north / south:

Quote:

There are tacklers and then there are these guys. When they enter the zone any successful hit-stick made while running towards the line of scrimmage will result in a fumble.

I am admittedly assuming here that "towards the line of scrimmage" means a more direct north-south path as opposed to just any path slightly angled towards the line of scrimmage. We will have to see how that plays out.

That said, I have the same complaint as with Enforcer last year: I think giving Bobby Wagner in particular abilities which emphasize the hit stick is not at all representative of how he plays.

[ripcandlestickpark]

Quote: Originally Posted by jfsolo

Badly designed and implemented abilities is something that the development team should get blamed for. Creating an ability like Avalanche is such a terrible decision.

Hopefully editing abilities (both in the Main Menu and within Franchise) is an easier/smoother process this year. I generally appreciate what abilities do for player differentiation, but some are just way too arcade-y.

[PhillyPhanatic14]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

I disagree that it's a badly designed ability. Badly designed abilities have no counter. Avalanche can be countered by running away for that defender and not letting him get a head-on shot at the ballcarrier by running plays which move east / west as opposed to north / south: I am admittedly assuming here that "towards the line of scrimmage" means a more direct north-south path as opposed to just any path slightly angled towards the line of scrimmage. We will have to see how that plays out. That said, I have the same complaint as with Enforcer last year: I think giving Bobby Wagner in particular abilities which emphasize the hit stick is not at all representative of how he plays.

It causes a fumble Every. Single. Time.



EA is the only "simulation football game" allowed on the market. This is inexcusable. The only way this isn't a badly designed ability is if this isn't real. This is one of the worst things EA could've put in the game. It's an arcadey joke to put that in the game.

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyPhanatic14

It causes a fumble Every. Single. Time. EA is the only "simulation football game" allowed on the market. This is inexcusable. The only way this isn't a badly designed ability is if this isn't real. This is one of the worst things EA could've put in the game. It's an arcadey joke to put that in the game.

You're barking up the wrong tree about whether this ability is "sim". I honestly do not care.

I do care that it is a powerful ability which will affect my game-day strategy. Any gameplay element which forces the user to employ different gameplay strategies or tactics to succeed is unquestionably a value add for any video game regardless of that game's context.

In any event, you can make the ability completely ineffective by not providing the defender with said ability the opportunity to hit stick you. Given how powerful it is, I strongly advise you do so.

The ability is very obviously good game design.

[canes21]

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyPhanatic14

It causes a fumble Every. Single. Time. EA is the only "simulation football game" allowed on the market. This is inexcusable. The only way this isn't a badly designed ability is if this isn't real. This is one of the worst things EA could've put in the game. It's an arcadey joke to put that in the game.

The vast majority of the abilities are arcadey. I get people celebrate the player differential the abilities brought us, but you can be happy that EA wants to differentiate players more while still thinking the abilities we have now are silly. I already know of a group here that will roll their eyes here, but look at 2k8's ability system and just copy it and build onto it. It didn't need any arcade nonsense to make good players stand out. I'm all for abilities if they stay grounded, but these abilities we have now are just way too silly and don't belong in a simulation game which Madden claims to be.