As Natasha Bedingfield once famously sang "so close you can almost taste it". EAFC 24 is almost upon us. The web app is released on Wedensday, those with Early Access in New Zealand will be playing on Thursday and the full release is less than 10 days away.
But before we fly headfirst into the first edition of the EAFC franchise, it's worth trying to quickly acclimatise to the raft of changes for the new year. Here we have 10 bitesize bits of info that you may have missed or misunderstood to help you be in the best position to start FC 24 Ultimate Team.
1 - Icons Are Now Elite For Chemistry
After the huge chemistry shake up last year, EA have decided to address the biggest misstep. Icons are back to being elite for chemistry. They have kept their +2 for their nation but now they will add +1 to every league. With 2 icons, everyone in your squad is guaranteed 1 chemistry.
2 - Evolutions Are One and Done (for now)
The biggest addition this year from a feature standpoint is Evolutions. The ability to upgrade a card through gameplay alone. As of right now, you will only be able to complete each Evo once, so don’t rush in and submit a player just because they fit. Choose wisely.
3 - Any Card Can Be Used In Evolutions, It Isn't a Special Card Type
One of the common misconceptions I’ve seen online is that you will only be able to upgrade specific “Evo Cards”. This isn’t true. As long a card fits the evolution criteria, you can upgrade it. Some upgrades will be promo specific or only allow TOTW’s but most will be open to any card type that fits the criteria.
4 - L2 Is Like Fast Travel For Ultimate Team Menus
The Menus this year have had a huge overhaul. Navigating is no longer solely done through a dig down menu system. In any screen you can hit L2 and move to a different screen in seconds. From squad to matches, L2, from SBC to transfer list, L2. Once you get used to it, you will never have moved around the menus quicker.
5 - Auto Position Changes Is An Absolute Delight
The removal of position specific modifiers was a nice idea for FIFA 23 but it was still an unnecessary nuisance. It also absolutely demolished draft mode. In EAFC 24 cards auto change to the position (as long as it’s one of their alternatives). It doesn’t sound huge but once you use it for a while, you’ll wonder how we ever played without it. Contracts next?
6 - Press Square/X To Swap All Duplicates At Once
One of the quality of life upgrades that seems to have flown under the radar is the ability to swap and entire packs duplicates in one button press. With bigger and bigger packs and more and more untradeables, swapping duplicates has become more of a drain as the years have gone by. In EAFC 24 that drain is no more and you pack fiends will be able to tear them open even quicker with this cracking addition.
7 - Women Will Not Have The Same League Chemistry As Men
FC 24 introduces the first female players into Ultimate Team. With some of the most OP looking players (I’m looking at you Kundananji) being women, how their chemistry works is going to be key in those first few weeks. Whilst there are club crossovers, the leagues will all be separate. So men and women will only get chemistry together using Club and Nation chemistry.
8 - EA Have Made Squad Battles Bearable in FC 24
We talked, EA listened. Squad battles have had halve times reduced from 6 to 4 minutes. Not only this but the number of games you can play each week had reduced by 20% also to 32. Combined this has effectively halved the time required to complete all your squad battles games!
9 - Playstyles Can't Be Applied Like Chemistry Styles
Another of the misconceptions I’ve seen online. PlayStyles are not like chemistry styles, they can’t be applied with a consumable. Think of them more like Traits from FIFA 23 and before. The only way players will get new traits is through promos or from evolutions.
10 - EAFC 24 Has More Gameplay Settings Than Ever Before
Finally, EAFC 24 has a whole raft of gameplay options added. Whether it’s new camera options or the massive update to player switching, where you now have 3 different settings for the right bumper and a sensitivity level for right stick switching, getting your gameplay settings just right for you is going to be huge.
If you think we missed anything, let us know in the comments!