FIFA 17 Useful Tips for All Players

FIFA 17 Useful Tips for All Players by ss5234

I’ve come across my fair share of frustration and despair in the last 5 years of playing this game, just like the rest of us. Here are some tips that I’ve basically ingrained into my play that help me reach top 30 every week. These span across all skill levels, so hopefully they help you to simply enjoy the game more, win or lose. I’m away from my PC (my platform) bored out of my mind so I thought I’d write this up.

• Holding sprint while you tackle a ball will result in a ricochet that often leads straight to your opponent’s other players. Sprint to position and let go before you land your tackle to have it softly bounce off of you. This is the reason for the complaints of “I read my opponent but the ball lands right to him again”
• Low driven shots are basically a 90% success rate but it does require specific timing. Either you must shoot a wide angle (far post <15m from goal posts) or while the gk is mid sprint towards you (1v1 straight on). For those who have 25 shots on target yet you still lose 0-1 to one shot on target, practice this technique. The key here is to shoot it right as the goalkeeper comes out at you, too early he’ll have his feet set. It is a boring looking shot but what does it really matter?
• When you contain jockey in defense, it is quite useless to give them more than 1m of space: you want to contain jockey right up on them so that if they choose the direction you cheat in you’ll win the ball. High skill players with a knack for dribbling will easily react to the space you give them and make your containing useless. It’s much different than real life. You want to defend to get beat, in a sense, you just want your opponent to not know which way that is.
• When trying to block a pass in the midfield it is much better to not try and intercept the ball all the way. Reason being is that passing is very assisted in this game and the game engine determines what curve or angle the ball should be passed to, say an outlet during a corner clearance. Instead, position yourself in the general vicinity between you and a suspected target, stand still, and hope that your opponent makes a bad pass. Trying to sprint at the exact angle is extremely, extremely difficult, reserved only for professional players in my opinion. Note: in your own box ignore all of this: you haul ass to where ever they are going to shoot/pass.
• Use the first 20′ to get a gauge on how your opponent defends. Try your playstyle, whether it’s tiki taka down the middle or spaced out passing to your wide players. If it’s not working, chances are your opponent is inclined to defend you pretty damn well for the rest of the game. This may not matter in about 75% of the Fifa population’s game, but when you go up against a really solid player, a tactical change can be all you need. This is where experience with different formations/tactics becomes handy. If you see a 5atb formation, switch to 433 and play out wide. It’s much riskier to give up the ball in the middle than out wide vs 5atb.
• When you go on a hot streak of 7-0 at the start of Weekend League, just know that your ELO/MMR/whatever you want to call it is going to eliminate those who aren’t on such a hot streak. Your job is to notice when you are playing a better player, and not keep running into a brick wall with cheap through balls and dribbles. Pass pass pass, and then pass some more. Have patience. Let the AI work out a chance for you, just keep an eye out for it. Defending sweaty through balls with skill is perhaps the prerequisite to achieving anything higher than Elite 3. Getting top 100 isn’t a matter of easing your way into goal, you will be going up against strong opposition, and it will test your mental fortitude.
• It is often very smart to slide tackle into your opponent when they are on a break. Just make sure it’s not a red (from behind, 2 yellows, or 0% chance of getting the ball). Dirty, I know, but do what you need to win.
• Really learn how custom tactics affects your buildup and your defense (watch youtube videos or google a guide, I don’t want this post to be that long). Custom tactics are 50% of a match between two top 100 players, the other 50% is about who executes it better than the other. Both players will be fundamentally skilled and experienced in Fifa mechanics so it’s about the details, and who’s more natural on the pitch. Note: your offensive custom tactics do affect how you defend. Fast buildup (70+ speed) results in big gaps when you defend, which is good if you are a solid tackler, and bad if you’re more of a container.

Well that’s all I have for general tips. There’s much more to the game than this but any further criticism would require knowledge of how you personally play the game.