New Feature in FC 25 Ultimate Team

The list of FC 25 new features is long and if you're looking to make an upgrade from the previous game, you might want to check out our guide. We've listed down all of the major features and changes for the new football game.

Before you check out our list, make sure to drop by RPGStash's FC 25 store first. We've got FC 25 coins at great rates, delivered to you very quickly.

FC 25 New Features

Rush Mode

The first major feature in FC 25 is the new Rush mode, which replaces Volta Football. It's a 5v5 game mode based on a smaller grass pitch with unique rules. Here's a rundown of what Rush mode includes:

• Modified Offside Rules: Rush mode features its own offside rules.
• Blue Cards: These cards result in temporary suspensions similar to a "sin bin" instead of a red card.
• Penalty System: One-on-one situations against the goalkeeper.
• No Substitutions: Players stay on the field without replacements.
• Two-Player Celebrations: Unique celebrations for scoring moments.
• Quick Chats and Ping Systems: New ways to communicate and strategize.
• Modes of Incorporation: Rush mode is integrated into Manager Career, Player Career, Clubs, Ultimate Team, and Kick-Off Mode.

Rush Mode has a unique stadium to create a distinctive atmosphere for these 5v5 matches.

Enhanced Gameplay with FCI IQ

The new FCI IQ system in FC 25 brings an overhaul of tactical foundations to deliver greater strategic control and more realistic team movement. Here are the key features:

• AI Model Powered by Real-World Data: This influences player tactics through the introduction of over 50 new player roles, guiding each player's behavior on the field.
• Team Tactics and Settings: The main components include:
  • Formation and Defensive Approach: Control how your team shapes up and defends.
  • Buildup Style: Decide on the type of buildup play you prefer.
  • Tactical Presets: Quickly apply different tactical setups based on various scenarios.
  • Dynamic Summary: This feature analyzes and provides a report with three positive aspects and three areas for improvement based on your tactics.

Additionally, custom tactics have been enhanced, allowing you to create up to five unique tactical presets, each with custom formations and settings. These tactics can be saved, shared using unique codes, and imported from others.

Smart Tactics: On-the-Fly Adjustments

Smart Tactics is a new feature that introduces a messaging system to suggest tactical changes in real-time based on the match's flow. Players can easily:

• Bring Up Custom Tactics: Use the D-Pad to select from five custom tactics.
• Change Tactical Focus: This changes the focus of each player's role without altering their specific player roles.
• On-the-Go Substitutions: You can check how many substitutions and substitution windows are left and make changes without pausing the game.

Improved Tactical Visualizations

To give a more in-depth tactical view, FC 25 introduces several new chalkboard features:

• My Tactics Chalkboard: Displays the formation and highlights key player roles.
• Tactical Focus Chalkboard: Visualizes the objective of any requested focus change.
• Tactical Suggestions Chalkboard: Shows the formation and highlights key positions when a suggested tactic is accepted.

Enhanced AI Mimic and Player Realism

The AI Mimic system now incorporates lower body movements to enhance realism, with over 1,800 players having this full-body motion, including 200 new women athletes.

• New Play Styles for Goalkeepers: These include footwork, rush-out, deflector, cross-claimer, far reach, and far throw styles.
• Improved Passing Accuracy: Players' skills and attributes have a greater impact on each pass's outcome.
• Weather-Based Animations: In rain or snow, players may slip during passes, adding another layer of realism. These are purely visual and don't impact gameplay.

Dribbling and Shooting Mechanics

• Off-Balance Follow-Through: Players can now trigger off-balance animations based on shot power and angle.
• New Dribbling and Receiving Animations: Refreshed and varied animations for more natural player movement.
• Professional Foul Mechanic: Players can commit tactical fouls, leading to an automatic yellow card or a potential red with repeated use.

Defensive Updates

Several defensive improvements have been made, such as:

• Reaction Time Modifier: A new setting to fine-tune the speed of next-player switching.
• Limited Manual Goalkeeper Movement: Goalkeepers can now be manually moved only a step or two, with a cooldown to prevent overuse.
• Quick Free-Kick Precision Passes: Players can request precision passes from quick free kicks.

Enhanced Game Modes and Wind Effects

For those seeking a more strategic experience, Simulation Mode offers:

• Enhanced CPU AI and Wind Effects: Players can fine-tune gameplay using sliders such as tackle aggression, build-up speed, and more.
• Wind Effects in Offline Modes: Wind will impact ball trajectory, hair, and jersey physics in Career Mode, Kickoff, and Tournament Mode.

Graphics and Career Mode Improvements

Two new graphics modes, Enhanced Visuals and Favor Resolution, offer players different visual experiences. Career Mode gets several new features, including:

• Live Start Points and Snapshots: These allow players to start their career at different points in the season.
• FCI IQ Integration: All the advanced tactical and player role features are brought into Career Mode.
• New Scouting Options: Players can now scout specifically for roles and tactical fits to find the perfect additions to their team.

Expanded Scouting and Morale System

You can now scout in over 160 countries to find emerging talent and target up to four specific positions. The revamped morale system introduces a "sweet spot" concept, replacing the previous approach where higher morale was always better.

Once morale surpasses a certain level, players may become complacent rather than maintaining high motivation. Press conferences have been revised too, with questions now influenced by tactical decisions, opponent setups, and match statistics.

New Rush Mode and Youth Academy Integration

A new feature called Rush is introduced, allowing managers to engage with their Youth Academy through 5v5 matches with youth players. The games have AI-controlled goalkeepers and take place in a tournament format against other clubs' youth teams.

Winning these bi-monthly competitions significantly boosts the development of youth players, accelerating their growth.

Women's Football in Career Mode

Women's football is now available in Manager Career and Player Career modes, offering various competitions and the opportunity to manage or play with women's teams.

New Simulation and Classic Game Settings

Players can choose between two simulation modes—"Simulation," for a slower, realistic experience akin to live football, and "Classic," which offers a more arcade-like experience.

Other game settings allow increased difficulty with stricter transfer negotiations, harsher board expectations, and slower training recovery rates.

Dynamic AI and Enhanced Social Media Features

New dynamic AI behavior will create variations in matches by slightly fluctuating tactical slider values. Career Mode now includes an updated menu with a task list and different tabs, and a new social media feature showcases transfer announcements, player posts, and comments.

New Features in Player Career

You can now start a Player Career with icons or explore three new origin stories: Great Expectations, Climb to the Top, and Return to Glory, each with unique beginnings, skill levels, and personality tiers. If none of these fit, you can fully customize your own start.

The EA Cranium feature allows you to precisely sculpt facial features of your avatar.

Clubhouse and New Facilities in Clubs Mode

The Clubhouse is a personalized social space for faster navigation, with a new menu experience for connecting players and clubs. Clubs now have a facilities feature, where you can hire staff and build amenities like a weight room, shaping the way your entire club grows.

Rush mode is also introduced in clubs, allowing teams of four players and an AI goalkeeper.

New League Relegation System and Enhanced Customization

League relegation introduces a relegation battle match to decide if you stay in your division. Deep Pro customization includes more options for hairstyles, tattoos, and other cosmetic features, thanks to the EA Cranium feature.

Players can also use quick chat with preset messages.

Ultimate Team Enhancements

Ultimate Team introduces Rush mode for 5v5 matches and integrates FC IQ for tactics and player roles. The stadium and match experience is refreshed with newly designed stadiums and live broadcast elements, allowing for greater customization.

A new storage system for untradeable duplicate players lets you hold up to 100 items.

Real-Time Match Progression and Enhanced Replay Mode

Matches will now feature dynamic lighting, transitioning from daylight to nighttime as games progress. The enhanced replay mode includes features like instant play, timeline edits, camera speed controls, filters, and photo modes for capturing and sharing content.

Authentic Player Faces and New Stadiums

To boost authenticity, many players in the French league and others have been scanned into the game. The game will feature over 120 real stadiums, including new additions like River Plate's Estadio Monumental, Sporting Lisbon's Estádio José Alvalade, and Galatasaray's Rams Park.

Updated stadiums include Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu, Villarreal's Estadio de la Cerámica, and Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park.

Is FC 25 Worth Getting?

With EA Sports' latest football title, EA FC 25, the series is finally starting to find its stride. Over the last seven iterations, the developers have struggled to produce a suitable title that appealed to fans of Pro Clubs, Manager, and Player Career modes.

For years, it was apparent that EA Sports' main focus was its lucrative FIFA Ultimate Team mode, which promotes predatory microtransactions through a pay-to-win model.

However, with EA FC 25, the developers are starting to show a shift in focus, which gives hope for more positive changes in the future. This year's game introduces a new tactical system, a replacement for Volta Football, and various additions to enhance every mode.

But is this enough to convince a clinical FIFA fan like me that the series is making a change for the better?

Whether it's Madden, F1, or NHL, EA Sports always nails the presentation in its sports games, and EA FC 25 is no different.

While we could gush over the perfectly presented English Premier League broadcast package, we want to highlight the minor details that EA Sports has excelled at this year. The game's players closely resemble their real-life counterparts, from face scans to body types.

This year, the developers scanned around 1,800 players to match real-life body types, which makes a significant difference in terms of appearance on the pitch. Players like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and even Joshua Zirkzee are recognizable from almost anywhere on the field.

Additionally, the game introduces a new commentary team. Fans will either hear the returning Derek Rae and Stewart Robson or the new team of Guy Mowbray and Sue Smith.

We appreciate the latest commentary team, especially Sue Smith's tactical analysis, which fits perfectly with this year's FCI IQ theme. However, we dislike the commentary in the new Rush mode, but more on that later.

Complementing the new commentary is the fantastic audio work that enhances the football atmosphere, whether It's the crowd's passionate chants, sideline orders, or fan appeals for penalties.

EA Sports always knows how to set the scene. FCI IQ is the game's new real-world data-driven tactical system that impacts gameplay across all areas. At its core, FCI IQ modernizes player roles on the virtual pitch and is flexible enough for fans to create their own tactics.

New player roles are central to this feature. For example, players like Diogo Dalot and Marc Cucurella can move into midfield and play the new role called “false back,” allowing fullbacks to join the midfield and contribute to attack buildup.

Another new role is the "winger," where midfielders occupy the wings for more expansive play. Each new role has its strengths and weaknesses, requiring adjustments to find the optimal setup for success.

Watching your tactics unfold on the pitch and observing how your players adapt to set roles makes EA FC 25 feel unique.

The developers have also introduced numerous new animations to enhance gameplay. We've been particularly impressed with the new tackling animations, as there are more ways to tackle opponents and intercept the ball.

Despite the additions of FCI IQ and increased animations, the core gameplay remains similar, with pacy players maintaining an advantage and the overall speed still feeling hectic unless played on simulation settings.

Finally, we have Ultimate Team, EA FC's card-based mode. This year, the mode took full advantage of Rush with its unique objectives and point system.

Additionally, FCI IQ helps tailor your Ultimate Team to your play style. Unfortunately, as We've mention every year, we cannot recommend this mode due to its pay-to-win structure.

Overall, EA FC 25 provides hope for the series after the dreaded end of the FIFA franchise and last year's mediocre debut of EA FC. FCI IQ and Rush stand out as well-integrated features across multiple modes, offering varied experiences.

Each game mode has something new for fans to enjoy, and the gameplay remains smooth with slight improvements. While not a perfect game, EA FC 25 is certainly better than the past seven years, and we hope EA Sports continues to improve this new era of football games.

Try Out FC 25 Today

If you’ve liked what you’ve seen so far, then that just means It's time to give the game a shot. If you want help to catch up to your friends in FC 25, reach out to us at RPGStash. We've got all sorts of FC 25 coins, services, and more!