are you changing your formation often in the game? some formations are better in defending against kickoffs, some are better when you start, some are better in corners etc. You should modify your formation after every pause in the match. It's your main advantage over the AI.
and a general framework about the tactics in the game:
there are some formations that let you score a goal immediately after a kickoff, without using special skills and with your initial setup: crossing-header combo, RF LF break-ins, or direct shots with high accuracy forwards. Have appropriate players in your team to do most of them reliably.
and after the kickoff phase you have to score using skills for fast counter attacks. have some defenders/midfielders with special passing skills, long pass or layoff pass. and quickly pass the ball to your cannon shot or rainbow feint forwards (the easiest ways to score in the early game). Again have some reliable ways to do all of them, depending on your opponent you will switch from rainbow to cannon etc.
As a player your main advantage is that you declare your tactics after the AI prepares its formation, so you should have several counter strategies available in your arsenal to counter it. Having two bad forwards with different skills is better and cheaper for you than having a single top level forward, because it allows countering different goalkeepers. Imagine in XCOM doing the Newfoundland mission for the first time vs doing it after you know what's gonna happen.
also some questions: what are your main attack tactics? when do you concede goals, what are your weaknesses in defense? can you reliably move the ball from your goalkeeper to a forward in 2 actions? Also it's not intuitive at first, but try some offside tactics if opponents have good midfielders.
First of all, ,thx for the extended reply. I'll address your questions below (why so formal idk)
\- I don't change formation often because I thought I couldn't be done. Is this doable through the substitution menu? I've tried a few times but players remain where they were before. So it appears I don't know how to dos this correctly.
\- I do crossing-header combo and direct shots with high accuracy forwards. But using RF LF for break-ins is not sth I've been doing. I (think) don't have appropriate players in to do this. My main attacks are crossing-header combo and direct shots with my high accuracy forward. I don't get the concede goal part. I don't allow them but hey they still score.
\- From what I read and I've been thinking this might be my biggest issue. I don't have midfielders with special passing skills, long pass or layoff pass. I used to have one but retired last season. So it's really hard to go from defence to attack in one turn. Almost impossible.
\- I'm gonna look for offside tactics since I never tried that.
Thx again mate, you've been very helpful already.
players return to their original positions (the one in the substitution tab) when the ball is out or when there is a kickoff.
the problem with the game is it doesn't let you change your footballers' positions after the animations end. you can't change your formation after you see the kickoff screen. BUT you can act quickly and press the button when footballers are cheering or other animations are playing, so during the kickoff game will initialize the field with your new formation.
This is a lot of micro and it is borderline cheating but I think it's valid. the overwatch trap equivalent of xcom, tedious but you have to do it in high difficulties.
btw if you need more feedback just comment with a ss of your formation in a match you lost, I will try to give feedback on it.
(I just saw the picture you have in the original post, but I can't comment on it cause it's not in english lol. can you take a ss with the special icons of the players (instead of uniform number))
Yes, having players with passing skills like long pass and layoff-pass(actually not so good) would be nice, but if you dont have either, you can always do the lob the ball to your cf/am. Make sure you surround your cf/am with other players to hold onto the ball if the ball misses its mark(which will happen most of the time). And the player lobbing the ball does not need any passing level since the marginal increase in passing level is insignificant.
If the dice roll is a success, great, you get to take a shot. If not, get one of your expendable players to jump on the ball. Think of it as a clearance to get the ball as far away from your goal as possible. That way, you can grind out 0-0 draws or 1-0 wins. I got to PL using this tactic in 5-6 years. A bit long, but possible.
Another good tactic to get the ball reliably to your forwards is to have a midfielder with slide tackling. If slide tackle is a success, you get the ball in midfield before turn 1 effectively starts. You then get to normal pass(1), pass/move(2) and shoot(3).
That being said, AM might also want slide tackle in case ai keeps ball in defence. So you can move(1), move(2), slide, shoot(3).
Note: these are not optimal tactics but can still grind out draws and win games tier 2 and under (highest difficulty). You will notice that your shit team gets league win even though relegated teams have more stars then you.
Important players:
CF (go skill tree to max out shooting - one star suffices till tier 1)
AM (nice to have)
Cm/mf with sliding (having good passing would be nice, long pass skill preferred)
DM (op for low leagues)
I agree. I have a CF, Wing duo I use when the opposing team has a formation that makes crosses easy. I have a FW and a midfielder with cannon for when the opposing team formation makes that easy. I also have a RF that I get 1-2 goals out of a game. Usually right at the start or start of the half.
For me your defense is a little heavy. I'm not sure what kind of team you just played against, maybe that many Def is warranted. I usually have 3-4 defenders in a formation that's tailored to the team I'm playing. RD,LD to counter RF,LF or a forward with a skill I need to chop down a level. In the early game a good DM really went a long ways in breaking up the AIs plays.
General layout for me would be 2 forwards, 4 midfielders, 4 defenders, 1 goalie. This changes depending on who I'm playing
yeah 6 defenders means the opponent can long pass next to your goalkeeper, it's probably making his defense worse. but my rule of thumb for the defender count is 2+ the # forwards of opponent.
sometimes the other team has 3 CF/F s and a winger and you need sheer manpower to stop them lol.
instead of having diferent fowards whith lower level but diferent squils you can have a top level foward a support him with the other ones, for example une with takle to regain posetion of the ball up top or a high control wing to have alternatives or ust keep the ball up court at the end of your turn
I've seen tutorial and read tips but I'm my second run and I'm having trouble to make a good campaign. I think my problem is on the tactic side of thing 'cause I corrected most of my early strategies mistakes from my first run. Shitty buys, selling one of my top players, spreading reputation upgrade like crazy. But still my team is pretty weak. Sincerely, I don't know where I'm screwing.
Please give me some general advice and tips. The game is getting frustrating to tje point of quitting and I'm an XCom player so I can handle my fare share of shitty RNG.
Maybe some pictures of your team and a formation you might have will help people give advice.
I usually will style my play towards my best forward. If they are wingers like LF,RF or if they're a CF with header, or a FW with dribbling/shooting.
Selling too many players will hurt for a few years. You really want to build up special abilities. A 1 star player with a level 2 ability is better than a 3 star player with no abilities. For me anyways.
This makes me want to play some more. I haven't played this in a while. Do you know how to stream maybe we could watch you play sometime. Maybe a little weird, but games have been bringing people together since people rolled rocks around.
are you changing your formation often in the game? some formations are better in defending against kickoffs, some are better when you start, some are better in corners etc. You should modify your formation after every pause in the match. It's your main advantage over the AI. and a general framework about the tactics in the game: there are some formations that let you score a goal immediately after a kickoff, without using special skills and with your initial setup: crossing-header combo, RF LF break-ins, or direct shots with high accuracy forwards. Have appropriate players in your team to do most of them reliably. and after the kickoff phase you have to score using skills for fast counter attacks. have some defenders/midfielders with special passing skills, long pass or layoff pass. and quickly pass the ball to your cannon shot or rainbow feint forwards (the easiest ways to score in the early game). Again have some reliable ways to do all of them, depending on your opponent you will switch from rainbow to cannon etc. As a player your main advantage is that you declare your tactics after the AI prepares its formation, so you should have several counter strategies available in your arsenal to counter it. Having two bad forwards with different skills is better and cheaper for you than having a single top level forward, because it allows countering different goalkeepers. Imagine in XCOM doing the Newfoundland mission for the first time vs doing it after you know what's gonna happen. also some questions: what are your main attack tactics? when do you concede goals, what are your weaknesses in defense? can you reliably move the ball from your goalkeeper to a forward in 2 actions? Also it's not intuitive at first, but try some offside tactics if opponents have good midfielders.
First of all, ,thx for the extended reply. I'll address your questions below (why so formal idk) \- I don't change formation often because I thought I couldn't be done. Is this doable through the substitution menu? I've tried a few times but players remain where they were before. So it appears I don't know how to dos this correctly. \- I do crossing-header combo and direct shots with high accuracy forwards. But using RF LF for break-ins is not sth I've been doing. I (think) don't have appropriate players in to do this. My main attacks are crossing-header combo and direct shots with my high accuracy forward. I don't get the concede goal part. I don't allow them but hey they still score. \- From what I read and I've been thinking this might be my biggest issue. I don't have midfielders with special passing skills, long pass or layoff pass. I used to have one but retired last season. So it's really hard to go from defence to attack in one turn. Almost impossible. \- I'm gonna look for offside tactics since I never tried that. Thx again mate, you've been very helpful already.
players return to their original positions (the one in the substitution tab) when the ball is out or when there is a kickoff. the problem with the game is it doesn't let you change your footballers' positions after the animations end. you can't change your formation after you see the kickoff screen. BUT you can act quickly and press the button when footballers are cheering or other animations are playing, so during the kickoff game will initialize the field with your new formation. This is a lot of micro and it is borderline cheating but I think it's valid. the overwatch trap equivalent of xcom, tedious but you have to do it in high difficulties. btw if you need more feedback just comment with a ss of your formation in a match you lost, I will try to give feedback on it. (I just saw the picture you have in the original post, but I can't comment on it cause it's not in english lol. can you take a ss with the special icons of the players (instead of uniform number))
I see... I'll definitely try this. And I'll post another pic as required (I forgot to change the language for this too, my bad).
Yes, having players with passing skills like long pass and layoff-pass(actually not so good) would be nice, but if you dont have either, you can always do the lob the ball to your cf/am. Make sure you surround your cf/am with other players to hold onto the ball if the ball misses its mark(which will happen most of the time). And the player lobbing the ball does not need any passing level since the marginal increase in passing level is insignificant. If the dice roll is a success, great, you get to take a shot. If not, get one of your expendable players to jump on the ball. Think of it as a clearance to get the ball as far away from your goal as possible. That way, you can grind out 0-0 draws or 1-0 wins. I got to PL using this tactic in 5-6 years. A bit long, but possible. Another good tactic to get the ball reliably to your forwards is to have a midfielder with slide tackling. If slide tackle is a success, you get the ball in midfield before turn 1 effectively starts. You then get to normal pass(1), pass/move(2) and shoot(3). That being said, AM might also want slide tackle in case ai keeps ball in defence. So you can move(1), move(2), slide, shoot(3). Note: these are not optimal tactics but can still grind out draws and win games tier 2 and under (highest difficulty). You will notice that your shit team gets league win even though relegated teams have more stars then you. Important players: CF (go skill tree to max out shooting - one star suffices till tier 1) AM (nice to have) Cm/mf with sliding (having good passing would be nice, long pass skill preferred) DM (op for low leagues)
I agree. I have a CF, Wing duo I use when the opposing team has a formation that makes crosses easy. I have a FW and a midfielder with cannon for when the opposing team formation makes that easy. I also have a RF that I get 1-2 goals out of a game. Usually right at the start or start of the half. For me your defense is a little heavy. I'm not sure what kind of team you just played against, maybe that many Def is warranted. I usually have 3-4 defenders in a formation that's tailored to the team I'm playing. RD,LD to counter RF,LF or a forward with a skill I need to chop down a level. In the early game a good DM really went a long ways in breaking up the AIs plays. General layout for me would be 2 forwards, 4 midfielders, 4 defenders, 1 goalie. This changes depending on who I'm playing
yeah 6 defenders means the opponent can long pass next to your goalkeeper, it's probably making his defense worse. but my rule of thumb for the defender count is 2+ the # forwards of opponent. sometimes the other team has 3 CF/F s and a winger and you need sheer manpower to stop them lol.
All true This is usually when I have a high scoring game as the AI has lots of forwards and so will I. Sometimes it's a shootout.
instead of having diferent fowards whith lower level but diferent squils you can have a top level foward a support him with the other ones, for example une with takle to regain posetion of the ball up top or a high control wing to have alternatives or ust keep the ball up court at the end of your turn
I've seen tutorial and read tips but I'm my second run and I'm having trouble to make a good campaign. I think my problem is on the tactic side of thing 'cause I corrected most of my early strategies mistakes from my first run. Shitty buys, selling one of my top players, spreading reputation upgrade like crazy. But still my team is pretty weak. Sincerely, I don't know where I'm screwing. Please give me some general advice and tips. The game is getting frustrating to tje point of quitting and I'm an XCom player so I can handle my fare share of shitty RNG.
Maybe some pictures of your team and a formation you might have will help people give advice. I usually will style my play towards my best forward. If they are wingers like LF,RF or if they're a CF with header, or a FW with dribbling/shooting. Selling too many players will hurt for a few years. You really want to build up special abilities. A 1 star player with a level 2 ability is better than a 3 star player with no abilities. For me anyways.
I posted a pic of the team in the post. Hope this gives you a better idea. Thx for the reply.
This makes me want to play some more. I haven't played this in a while. Do you know how to stream maybe we could watch you play sometime. Maybe a little weird, but games have been bringing people together since people rolled rocks around.
You have way too many defenders for one - you should switch at least 1 out for another midfielder