mamessier
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FIFA 13 – A Guide to Getting Better at Online Play
FIFA 13 is one of the most played game on the planet and that's exactly why it can be intimidating for some to hop online and compete. The player poll is so large and some people have been playing it for so long that you might ask yourself if you even have a chance of making anything happen. That's why some sports addicts stick to Madden, NBA or NHL instead of tackling the highest selling franchise on the planet. FIFA also contains plenty of "hidden" mechanics that aren't necessarily explained in the tutorial or easy to witness on the field, so that takes the challenge to another level as well. So, here's a guide to help you with this hard but satisfying challenge that is online play.
Test out manual passing
Passing in FIFA 13 is pretty straightforward when using the Assisted setting. The computer does a lot of the work for you and there’s little effort to be made. This delivers quite good results in general, but it may also prevents you in improving your passing skills. Switching over to manual passing for a few days or even a few weeks will really help you understand the underlying passing system and how to go about passing strength and direction. Once you switch back to the Assisted setting, you will notice how your thumb will now be used to point much more precisely in the direction of your passes, which will then result in less mistakes on your part. The Assisted setting can make us lazy when it comes to pointing the direction of our pass because so much of the process is automated, so Manual passing can put us back on top of things.
Practice your free kicks to the tiniest details
You never want to step in an online match and roughly execute all of your free kicks. You should always know who will be taking them, the average power for each distance, etc. Use the arena to determine a few strategies so that you never leave a free kick to chance.
Practice your penalties to the tiniest details
Forget that time when you got nervous once the game got to penalties. You should now be confident in your skills whenever you step into that situation. Whether it be about tricking your opponent with a special shot or being 100% confident that your shots will hit the net at a high conversion spot, make the necessary preparations.
Play in the EASports Arena
Not everyone likes to play for cash, but the EASports Arena is still one of the best ways to improve your game. The reason? People simply play differently when money is on the line. You will use skills that you might have barely exercised before: preventing the other player in cycling the ball to run down the clock, mounting a huge desperate comeback, countering a player that uses the same strategy over and over (players are more reckless and unoriginal when the stakes get higher), etc. Playing in matches with true stakes is essential to building up your skills.
Play in Online Cups
To me, online cups have a slightly different purpose than the EASports Arena. There is still money on the line during independently organized online tournaments, but the atmosphere is really friendly as well. You will generally encounter people who are there for some good competitive fun and others that simply are the best in the world. Besides having the chance to get the experience of playing a real pro if the bracket end up as such, the main advantage of playing in such tourneys is the opportunity to meet new players to practice and exchange with. Even if all players are online, they're generally more open to chatting with everyone, be it in an online chatroom, IRC or others means of communication. People feel more like a group when they play in the same tournament and links with players better than you are easier to build this way. It is way more efficient than sending a private message to a good player on XBL after an online game. The Team Dignitas Alienware Cup http://www.team-dignitas.net/articles/news/FIFA/2479/Alienware-Cup-27-FIFA-13 is a good example of such a tournament. These kinds of cups are certainly easier to find in Europe, but by looking a little more you might occasionally find a few good ones in America as well. The EASports Arena does organize a few bracketed tournaments from time to time, but again, the attitude of the players on there is generally less friendly because of the $ sign in everyone's mind.
Xbox, PS3 or PC?
This is a very common question to hear and the answer to it is that the FIFA online community is quite evenly spread out when it comes to competitiveness. Each community could be roughly described as the following:
The Xbox owns the largest base of skilled players that you will be able to get matched against on a regular basis. Although that might be slowy changing, the Xbox has been the leading competitive platform on the console side forever. You will meet good practice at any time of the day there.
On the hand, the PS3 offers the Fifa Interactive World Cup online game mode, which caters to a more competitive audience who dreams to top the rankings and head to the grand finals to compete for around $20 000 in prizes. The online FIWC matches also go into overtime and penalties, so that could give you the competitive edge when it comes to preparing for live tournaments that use this format.
PC owns a smaller base of players, but some of them are some of the most skilled old-school FIFA players you can find. It can certainly be intimidating (especially with the ability to trashtalk with a keyboard), but if you're looking for the ultimate learning experience, nothing beats the PC. This platform is still used in the World Cyber Games competitions, so players are still motivated to play on it.
So, were you on the right track to improving your online play? Type your own advice below.
