EA has shared with us all the details for the second Title Update coming to FIFA 23. It’s the first “major” update in this year’s game, after EA used Update 1 to mostly address specific PC-related issues, and features a range of gameplay adjustments, bug fixes, quality of life improvements, as well as alterations to CPU AI.
There was also a Live Tuning Update released on October 5th that addressed a few gameplay issues, in case you missed it, but full Title Updates go so far further than just a few tweaks.
The main gameplay adjustments included in this latest update go a lot further than the Live Tuning Update, and consist of improvements to Chip Shots, Standing Tackles, and Ground Passes, while the CPU AI for Referees and Goalkeepers have also been modified.
And there’s good news for those of you who are tired of seeing the pack opening animation in FUT when claiming stadium items such as TIFOs and banners as that has now been removed!
The latest Title Update will soon be available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Stadia versions of FIFA 23, and it will include the changes below.
FIFA 23 Ultimate Team
Made the following changes:
- Added a Chemistry indicator to appear on Player Items when previewing a swap between out-of-position Player Items.
- This refers to the small circle with the 3 diamonds seen on the bottom left of the Items.
- Removed pack opening animations when redeeming Stadium Items from Objectives, Division Rivals, Squad Battles, and FUT Champions rewards.
- A player’s Secondary Positions are now shown in the top left of the screen when using the radial Actions Menu.
- Removed several screens that would appear before playing individual FUT Moments.
- Updated the Squad Battles Top 200 crest.
Addressed the following issues:
- Some SBC rewards were missing the untradeable label, such as with the Advanced SBCs on the Web App.
- This was a visual issue only and SBCs with untradeable rewards were referenced as such in SBC descriptions.
- The “do not show this message again" option did not take effect when performing Squad Actions on the Squad screen.
- The in-game scoreboard did not always display correctly in Squad Battles.
- Some Ball Items did not display correctly.
- After purchasing a Stadium Items bundle, the third-tier FUT Stadium could be seen in the background of the FUT menus until exiting and re-entering FUT.
- The Help button callout did not function correctly on the Squad screen.
- Addressed a stability issue that could occur when inviting players to Online Friendlies.
- [PC] Addressed some instances of a stability issue that could occur when opening Packs.
Gameplay
Update 2 brings some gameplay adjustments with it, including improvements to Ground Passing, Chip Shots, and Tackling, as well as a host of AI improvements for referees and goalkeepers.
I’ve laid out the major changes and corrections into separate sections to make it easier to read.
Passing:
- Increased the ball velocity for all Ground Passes, while fixing some Ground Passes which resulted in the ball traveling at faster velocities than intended.
- Fixed certain first-time Ground Passes being sent to the wrong player.
- The CPU AI would sometimes not pass to the locked human-controlled player when requested to during corners.
- Following a pass, a player switch could not be requested in some situations.
- Improved player selection logic for high-powered Lob Passes, so they are more likely to go to the desired player.
- The Assisted Headers setting no longer impacts headed passes, it only impacts headers requested with the Shot input.
- The Pass Assistance setting continues to determine the level of assistance present on headed passes.
- The Semi-Assisted Pass Assistance setting continues to set headed passes to be assisted, as there is no option for Semi Assisted headed passes.
Shooting:
- Increased accuracy of Chip Shots. (Holding LB/LT).
- In some scenarios, the Power Shot animation, which is when the camera begins to zoom in towards the player taking the shot, could not be transitioned out of.
- In some cases, players could unintentionally make poor contact with the ball when taking a shot following a mistouch.
- Sometimes, low-powered shots could result in a slightly unintended ball trajectory.
- Some bicycle kick animations did not play correctly.
- When taking a low-powered Penalty Kick, the player’s foot could sometimes go through the ball.
- This was a visual issue only, and the shot was not affected.
Penalties:
- Chipped penalty shots can only be aimed toward the middle third section of the goal, so chip shots into the sides of the goal are now impossible to achieve when taking penalties.
- Adjusted chipped penalty shot ball trajectories to be less lofted overall, giving them a flatter trajectory.
- Penalty kicks taken when the Composure Ring is red are now very likely to miss the goal entirely.
- If you’re still struggling to take successful penalties, we have a guide that might help you out.
Dribbling:
- Improved dribbling animation transitions after taking a stumbling touch on the ball.
- Three-star Skill Move players with a Sprint Speed and Acceleration above 85 could not perform a Fake Shot from a sprint.
- When dribbling close to the sideline, the ball carrier is more likely to keep the ball in play when late direction changes are requested.
- In rare cases, the ball carrier could sprint over the ball and lose control of it.
Tackling:
- Improved the likelihood of Standing Tackles winning the ball back.
- Increased effectiveness of tackles when performed on an idle ball carrier, such as when an opponent is no longer using their controller.
- Some tackling animations could incorrectly occur again after completion.
- When requesting a tackle while behind the ball carrier, sometimes a blocking animation could occur.
Defending:
- In some difficult defensive heading scenarios, such as defending a corner, players could miss their header completely, especially when under pressure from an opposing player.
- In rare scenarios when the defender wasn’t close to the ball carrier, the ball carrier could have performed an unrequested contextual animation by attempting to get the ball around the defender’s leg.
Goalkeepers:
- Goalkeepers could sometimes react too quickly to certain shots.
- Goalkeepers were sometimes unable to save shots aimed very close to their bodies.
- Goalkeepers sometimes positioned themselves too far off the goal line when attempting to save long shots.
- Goalkeepers could have incorrectly deflected the ball into the net when attempting to save a shot in some rare situations.
- When attempting to run back to the goal line to save a Chip Shot, goalkeepers could have incorrectly attempted to catch the ball instead of parrying it away from the goal.
- Some goalkeeper animations did not display correctly.
- Sometimes, a goalkeeper could catch the ball with one hand instead of two.
- This was a visual issue only.
Refereeing:
- Improved referee logic when:
- Calling fouls inside the penalty box.
- Choosing to call for a foul after the ball was won by the defender.
- Deciding to call a foul due to accidental contact between players.
- Determining foul calls as a result of blocking animations.
- Determining foul calls while the ball carrier was standing still.
- Determining foul calls following a goalkeeper making contact with ball carriers.
- Determining whether to allow for an advantage situation if a goalkeeper was fouled while holding the ball.
- In some cases, shoulder challenges (jockeying) from behind did not result in a foul being called when it should have been.
- In rare situations during a match with a goal difference of three or more, the referee could incorrectly end the match during added time during the middle of an attack.
Additional changes:
- The CPU AI is now more likely to play a direct tactical style on Pro, World Class, and Legendary difficulties.
- Addressed instances of Skill Games not functioning as intended.
- Improved the positioning of the human-controlled player at the start of Playable Highlights when locked to a single player.
- Sometimes, goals scored during a Playable Highlight did not count towards the scoreline.
So, now that you’ve read through all the major changes coming with the latest update, is there anything you believe they’ve missed? And do you think your own issues with the game have been addressed by the update?
To read all the changes coming in Title Update 2, you can read through them all here.