Latest FC 24 update brings massive PlayStyles nerfs

We’ve passed through the hectic winter period as we approach the tail-end of the footballing season, with EA rolling out a Spring Update for FC 24. This is one of the biggest patches we’ve seen for the game and will introduce many gameplay changes, including nerfs for PlayStyles in FC 24.

Title Update 11 is adding 86 new star heads, including new gameplay animations, and fixing some general bugs. But the most noteworthy update is coming to PlayStyles. Ten have been given a slight adjustment and six have been given a significant adjustment!

This will massively affect gameplay throughout all modes in FC 24. Will Ultimate Team, Career Mode, and Clubs survive the latest patch? Take a look at the major PlayStyles nerfs and the full patch notes below.

Massive PlayStyles nerfs coming in FC 24

The four key aspects of Title Update 11, also known as the Spring Update, in FC 24 are tweaks to the Legendary CPU AI difficulty, new star heads, new gameplay animations, and PlayStyle tuning. Using real-world volumetric data to add new animations mid-season is a great touch, however, that news is massively overshadowed by the adjustments coming to PlayStyles.

Introduced in FC 24, PlayStyles took over from the Traits previously used in the FIFA series but played a far more significant role within the gameplay. Throughout the Ultimate Team season, we have seen PlayStyles and PlayStyles+ play a huge role in promos. Evolutions and Team of the Year saw cards gain multiple PlayStyle+ attributes, with the best meta players now needing to have at least two PlayStyles+.

In the Title Update notes, this is said to offer “a refreshed gameplay experience”. Given how many on social media complain about the current gameplay, this should be seen as a positive step. However, the news of PlayStyle tuning has been greeted by mass backlash, mainly because EA appears to have nerfed many abilities.

EA has split the changes into slightly adjusted and significantly adjusted brackets. Of the slightly adjusted PlayStyles, Tiki Taka has lowered accuracy and pass quality on first-time passes; Pinged Pass has decreased accuracy on Driven Passes; Jockey has a reduced maximum possible Sprint Jockey speed; Press Proven reduced shield effectiveness; Long Ball Pass and Long Ball Pass+ have decreased accuracy of crosses; and Dead Ball has a reduced set piece preview line length.

Then, of the significantly adjusted PlayStyles, Power Header+ has reduced ball speed for medium to high powered headers; Relentless and Relentless+ have reduced stamina recovery; Aerial+ has a reduced amount of added running and jogging jump height; and Power Shot and Power Shot+ have reduced ball speed from Power Shots.

Compare that to the Pinged Pass+ having increased accuracy of Driven Passes; Press Proven+ having increased shield and strength effectiveness; and Power Header having increased ball speed from lower powered headers, and you can see that there have been far more nerfs than buffs.

The statement from EA in the Pitch Notes regarding PlayStyles Tuning reads:

“When it comes to PlayStyles and PlayStyles+, we want to maintain a strategic difference between them, so we’ve made several tuning changes. Our goal here is to ensure that meaningfully different options are available to players when building their Squads, with PlayStyles and PlayStyles+ helping offer greater variety.”

Only time will tell if these adjustments create better gameplay or worse. For the moment, EA will need to weather another storm, as fans see the change as a massive negative to the game, nerfing one of the best aspects of FC 24.

FC 24 Title Update 11 release date

EA announced the Spring Update on X (formerly Twitter) via the EA Sports FC Direct Communication account on March 12. Although not given an exact release date, it is expected to be fully rolled out by March 14.

Title Update 11 will be released on all platforms. This covers PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Title Update 11 Patch Notes

The full Spring Update: Title Update 11 Patch Notes can be seen below:

Gameplay

‌Slightly adjusted the PlayStyles below:

• Tiki Taka | Lowered accuracy and pass quality of first-time passes.
• Pinged Pass | Decreased accuracy of Driven Passes.
• Pinged Pass+ | Increased accuracy of Driven Passes.
• Jockey | Reduced maximum possible Sprint Jockey speed.
• Press Proven | Reduced shield effectiveness with the ball.
• Press Proven+ | Increased shield effectiveness, and increased Strength Attribute effectiveness while shielding.
• Long Ball Pass and Long Ball Pass+ | Decreased accuracy of crosses.
• Power Header | Increased ball speed from lower powered headers.
• Dead Ball | Reduced set piece preview line length.

‌Significantly adjusted the PlayStyles below:

• Power Header+ | Reduced ball speed for medium to high powered headers.
• Relentless and Relentless+ | Reduced amount of half time and extra time stamina recovery.
• Aerial+ | Reduced the amount of added running jump height, this includes jogging jump height as well.
• Power Shot and Power Shot+ | Reduced ball speed from Power Shots.

‌Made the following changes:

• Replaced the previous unique ball roll standing animation for Trickster and Trickster+ PlayStyles with a new animation.
• The previous unique ball roll animation can still be performed but with a different input. To learn more, check out our Pitch Notes article by scanning the QR code on the right.
• Adjusted Legendary difficulty CPU AI behavior.
• Legendary AI teams known for tika taka play are less likely to focus on that style of play when near the opponent’s penalty area.
• CPU AI players are more likely to perform shot types based on their respective PlayStyles, when applicable.
• Players with lower Composure Attributes are more likely to make mistakes when pressed.
• Added 1 new clearance animation and 4 new shooting animations based on real-world volumetric data.

Ultimate Team

Made the following change:

• The Legendary difficulty no longer uses Competitor Mode in Squad Battles and single player Ultimate Team Draft.

Addressed the following issues:

• Stadium lights could have darkened during matches in some situations.
• When viewing a Squad in Squad Battles, the Player Items did not always display correctly.
• Evolving an Icon Player Item unintentionally removed the Icon Profile tab from the Player Bio screen.
• Some Objectives displayed placeholder images.
• In some cases, the Player Injury Pause Menu did not function as intended.
• Some PlayStyles UI indicators did not always display in their intended locations.
• When viewing a Squad in Squad Battles, the Player Items did not always display correctly.
• Evolving an Icon Player Item removed the Icon Profile tab from their Player Bio screen.
• A stability issue could have occurred when viewing the Player Bio on Loan Items.
• Level 12 Seasonal rewards did not display correctly.
• A stability issue could have sometimes occurred at the end of match Pause Menu.

General, Audio, and Visual

Made the following changes:

• Updated some messages, button callouts, celebrations, balls, gloves, celebrations, boots, kits, badges, banners, flags, scarves, and tifos.
• Added 86 star heads and updated 9, they will become visible in-game following a Server Release.

Addressed the following issues:

• Addressed some stability issues that could have occurred.
• Addressed instances of incorrect and placeholder text, as well as button conflicts.