As part of a massive series rework for the upcoming EA Sports FC 26, the FC gameplay team is removing “Timed Finishing” as part of an overhaul effort to “make gameplay better.” This change was announced along with a host of others in an extensive EA development blog that dropped on Tuesday. Releasing in September, EA Sports FC 26 is billed to be a significant gameplay innovator for the series. These recently announced changes demonstrate the team’s willingness to remove longstanding features in the name of enhancing the game experience for players.
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In the EA Sports FC 26 “Gameplay Deep Dive” blog, the development team emphasized that the changes are a consequence of their underpinning gameplay philosophy.
“Our focus this year can be summed up in 3 words: make gameplay better,” said the EA FC 26 development blog. “FC 26 is powered by your feedback, and we aim to make it feel more responsive, rewarding, and enjoyable.”
The blog honed in on improving the game experience for players under three primary considerations, which included:
- Competitive and Authentic Gameplay separation
- Gameplay Fundamentals
- Feedback-Inspired Features And Updates
Where this affects the Timed Finishing mechanic is with a planned expansion of “Low Driven” shots, which will now be a global shot modifier and can be applied across any shot type the player uses. To accommodate this drastic change to Low Driven, the development team says that Timed Finishing had to be removed.
“Due to the changes to Low Driven, Timed Finishing has been removed,” said the blog. “In general, we felt Timed Finishing didn’t add meaningful skill depth and proved difficult to balance. It disproportionately rewarded long-range shots and felt inconsistent in high-pressure moments.”
Timed Finishing was a controversial addition to the series among fans after it was first added in FIFA 19. It was advertised as a way to “make any shot world class with just one extra, well-timed button tap,” adding “a new layer of risk/reward to shooting.”
However, in practice, critics of the mechanic felt that it ruined some of the realism the games strived for while being an unnatural skill barrier to high levels of play. In the wake of the mechanic’s announced removal, many online commenters were pleased to see the mechanic go away.
“Good, that was one of the worst additions over the last 5 years or so,” wrote Reddit user Applesauce7896.
Timed Finishing was one of those game mechanics that made it difficult to balance other features around it. The developers state that removing it allowed them to “balance shooting to produce more consistent outcomes.” They also mentioned that axing Timed Finishing altogether would enable more “skill differentiation” with the new systems, which would “help build a more noticeable skill gap.”
Other changes to shooting mechanics include the fact that Trivela shots are now tied exclusively to the Gamechanger Playstyle.
“While visually impressive and powerful, Trivela Shots became overused by players across all positions, often leading to unrealistic and exploitable scoring patterns,” said the development blog. “Our goal with this change is to balance the shooting mechanics of the game, especially in Competitive Gameplay.”
While some are welcoming this change to the series, others will likely be sad to see the mechanic go. What are your thoughts on the removal of Timed Finishing in EA Sports FC 26? Was this a mechanic you used frequently?
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