In its comprehensive February summary update, EA FC 26 outlined its planned updates for March. Many players were unhappy with the proposed nerfs to passing PlayStyles, concerned this would negatively impact the playability for casual gamers.

Title Update v1.5.0 Pitch Notes have now been released, and based on the content, the developers are indeed following through with their stated plans. So, what is the actual impact of this update? Will it disrupt the current meta? Let's analyze it in detail.

Passing Mechanics

While players were extremely worried about the nerfs to key PlayStyles, the developers have clearly taken this into account. As a balancing measure, they have also buffed other areas.

Ground Passing Buffed

The patch primarily increases the speed and accuracy of ground passes. This is undoubtedly good news for players who rely on short passing and intricate build-up play. Notably, this improvement is most pronounced for players with high passing stats.

Although official hasn't explicitly stated the threshold for what constitutes a ‘high' Passing stat, this means that players exceptionally skilled at passing, like Toni Kroos (91 Passing), will become even more threatening.

Lofted Passes Nerfed

As a balance, Update v1.5.0 reduces the accuracy of Lofted Passes. Without extensive testing yet, it's difficult to determine just how significant this impact will be. However, it's safe to assume you won't be able to abuse Lofted Passes in the same way.

Incisive Pass Update

The update to Incisive Pass is one of the most noteworthy changes in this patch. Now, even players without Incisive Pass PlayStyle can deliver curved through balls in specific situations, provided they have excellent Short Passing, Long Passing, and Curve stats.

Previously, through balls from players without Incisive Pass tended to be straight and lacked precision. This adjustment undoubtedly diminishes the dominance of Incisive Pass PlayStyle. It's foreseeable that the market value of players with only a basic Incisive Pass but unremarkable passing stats could decrease.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean Incisive Pass will become unpopular. To compensate for Lofted Pass nerf, the developers have slightly buffed Incisive Pass PlayStyle itself.

Now, players with this PlayStyle will see a minor increase in the accuracy of their lofted through balls, ground passes, and through balls. Nevertheless, even for players with Incisive Pass+ PlayStyle, the accuracy of lofted through balls is still reduced compared to pre-update levels.

Tiki Taka Nerfed

To prevent passing from being too consistently perfect and to narrow the gap between players with and without PlayStyle, Tiki Taka PlayStyle has been nerfed. Players with this style will experience decreased accuracy when making ground passes and first-time passes, with noticeable changes to the trajectory and speed of these passes.

This is undoubtedly a setback for players who have built their squads around Tiki Taka holders. However, the patch notes mention that ground passes from players with this PlayStyle will still benefit from the overall passing improvements implemented in this update.

Shooting

Shooting was another area previously highlighted for significant adjustments, with two PlayStyles receiving specific buffs.

Power Shot Buffed

The trajectory of Power Shots has been optimized, making it possible for players to score from greater distances. Additionally, the accuracy of Power Shots for players with Power Shot or Power Shot+ PlayStyles has been increased, making their long-range efforts even more threatening.

Chip Shot Buffed

The overall accuracy of Chip Shots has been improved, allowing the ball to follow its intended trajectory more reliably, especially when the goalkeeper is rushing out. Chip Shots should now be more dependable, and for players with Chip Shot PlayStyle, their lobbed shots will be even more precise.

Power Shot was significantly nerfed around the launch of EA FC 26, rendering it almost unusable. This buff could potentially change that. If players find success building teams around Power Shot and Chip Shot, then investing FC 26 coins in players with these PlayStyles might become more worthwhile in the near future.

Other Optimizations

Beyond the complex passing changes, the patch includes several operational adjustments that directly impact gameplay feel.

Fake Shot Speed Increased

The overall speed of Fake Shots has been increased by 5%. While 5% might not sound like a large number and may be difficult to spot in animation comparisons, this applies not only to the start of the move but also to its recovery speed. This is a beneficial change for using fake shots to create shooting or passing angles.

AI Behavior Fix

Fixed an issue where attacking players could sometimes stand idle after making a run. This will improve the fluidity of attacks and reduce missed opportunities due to inconsistent AI.

Clubs Update

Clubs mode has also received a significant update. Archetype level cap for players has been raised from 8 to 99. Furthermore, the maximum ranges for template-specific stats have been expanded, and the number of slots for customizing your player has increased from 7 to 8 (including Curve stat). This allows for the development of even more specialized and ideal players.

Overall, Title Update v1.5.0 appears to be a substantial update. It attempts to rebalance the relationship between PlayStyles and core stats, nerfing some dominant PlayStyles while enabling players with high base stats to perform key actions even without specific styles. Whether these changes truly maintain balance, however, remains to be seen. Only after the patch is fully implemented and subjected to extensive gameplay, testing can we fully assess the real impact of these changes on the game's meta.

FIFA 26 released their February feedback update, announcing fixes for several issues. A significant update, v1.5.0, is coming in March, but players are not excited, and instead, they are angry.

Leaked information suggests the development team will be making changes to Career Mode and nerfing several key playstyles, contradicting what players expected.

February Feedback Update

Finesse Shot

The official announcement first addressed Finesse Shot issue, stating that they fixed it by rolling back to version 1.4.2, and that Finesse Shot should now function correctly.

This itself isn't the problem, but the official explanation is completely lacking: why did the issue occur, how did it occur, and what happened when it occurred? This leaves players completely confused about what changes have been made to the game.

Playstyles

The official statement claims they received player feedback, and they hope player attributes should have a greater impact, and Playstyles are more of an enhancement than a standard for determining a player's value. Therefore, the official team plans to adjust Playstyles in the upcoming update. Although not explicitly stated, we know they will be nerfing which overly powerful playstyles.

When FC 26 was first released, the official team claimed they wanted to reduce the influence of playstyles, and their reiteration of this indicates they haven't achieved that.

The so-called player feedback may not be official, as players' teams are currently largely built around playstyles. Nerfing the mainstream playstyles would significantly reduce the value of many mainstream players. This is definitely not good for players, and the biggest beneficiary is the official team, allowing them to sell more cards.

Version 1.5.0

The upcoming adjustments are the most crucial. The official announcement states that the following playstyles will be adjusted:

• Tiki Taka
• Incisive Pass
• Inventive
• Power Shots (possibly buffed)
• Chip Shots

These playstyles are overpowered in most situations. They only become very strong in specific contexts, such as high-level matches, and they are highly situation-dependent.

Furthermore, in the current game, players rely on these playstyles for quick and simple passing. Without Incisive Pass, players might even miss the most basic short passes. Without Inventive, players can't even execute the simplest through balls.

If the developers simply weaken these three styles without significantly improving players' basic passing attributes, the result will be that all players will be unable to pass smoothly.

On the other hand, the developers have stated they will strengthen Power Shots, a very strong playstyle in the previous game, but which has been significantly weakened in FC 26, leading to its neglect. If Power Shots becomes strong again in Version 1.5.0, players will have to consider investing their FC 26 coins in new players, which almost means every player will have to rebuild their team from scratch.

Defensive AI

Although the developers say they are willing to listen to player feedback, they have no plans to modify the defensive AI, which has been a long-standing complaint in the player community.

Players do want certain overpowered playstyles to be nerfed, but they want the AI's defensive strength and the game's defensive logic to change accordingly. Currently, the most effective offensive playstyles have been weakened, while the powerful AI defense remains unchanged. Against players focused on defense, it will be very difficult to break through their defenses.

A major reason many players find the nerf to passing playstyles unacceptable is that defense hasn't been weakened in tandem with offense. This will inevitably lead to many players focusing solely on defense, even on both sides, with the game revolving around who makes the first mistake. Such matches will be incredibly boring.

EVO

Another frustrating thing for players is that despite the developers' intention to nerf these playstyles, they've been distributing many players with these playstyles+ in recent EVO missions.

In EA FC 25, the developers did something similar. After releasing several evolutions with Power Shot, they nerfed Power Shot, instantly rendering players' hard-earned evolution cards useless. The value of all Power Shot+ icons and promotional cards plummeted, effectively destroying the market.

Now, the same thing is happening again in FC 26. For players who have spent a lot of time crafting evolved players, hoping they would shine in the endgame, the next patch will turn them into clowns.

How to Truly Solve This Problem?

It's already late February. By the time the patch is implemented, players discover the problem, the developers collect feedback, and submit a new patch, it will likely be March or April. With less than four months left in the game's lifecycle, it will be too late to fix it then.

What the developers should do now is maintain the existing framework and only make minor adjustments to truly unbalanced, overpowered content. They could learn from the experience of FC 26 for next FUT game, rather than making such a drastic overhaul halfway through the game's lifespan, rendering all the players' efforts futile.

Version 1.5.0 hasn't been officially released yet. Hopefully, the developers can successfully balance Playstyles and make basic attributes important again, thus preventing another player exodus. However, judging from the developers' recent actions, this seems unlikely.

Future Star, as the first event after TOTY, performed quite well. However, this promotion is almost over, so let's turn our attention to the next promotion, Knockout Royalty.

Currently, all the players for Knockout Royalty Team 1 have been leaked, and many of them look promising. Besides these players, let's see how you can prepare. 

Knockout Royalty Theme

EA FC 26 plans to have a theme for each promo, and these themes are generally related to football matches. Knockout Royalty promotion corresponds to the knockout stage and focuses on players who perform well in the knockout stages and help their teams win. It evolved from Road to the Final.

Like Future Star, Knockout Royalty promo has two teams: Team 1 will be released on February 13th, and Team 2 will be released on February 20th. From the leaked information, the players for Knockout Royalty Team 1 are very strong.

Knockout Royalty Team 1 Leaks

Thanks to the card boosts from TOTY, the leaked lineup of Knockout Royalty Team 1 is quite strong, with even the lowest overall rating reaching 88 OVR. While they might not be the strongest, they are still decent fodder cards.

A significant portion of the leaked Team 1 players have two Playstyle+ cards. Based on Future Star's market trading experience, any player with two Playstyle+ cards can fetch more FC 26 coins, even if their Playstyle+ stats aren't particularly high.

The following is the leaked player roster:

Team 1 Active Players

92 OVR Vinicius Junior LW

• PAC: 97
• SHO: 90
• PAS: 83
• DRI: 94
• DEF: 32
• PHY: 77
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & Quick Step+

92 OVR Rodri CDM

• PAC: 85
• SHO: 82
• PAS: 92
• DRI: 90
• DEF: 88
• PHY: 87
• Playstyle+: Tiki Taka+ & Bruiser+

91 OVR Antoine Griezmann ST

• PAC: 90
• SHO: 92
• PAS: 92
• DRI: 92
• DEF: 63
• PHY: 80
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & Technical+

91 OVR Khvicha Kvaratskhelia LW

• PAC: 92
• SHO: 87
• PAS: 88
• DRI: 92
• DEF: 63
• PHY: 85
• Playstyle+: Low Driven Shot+ & Quick Step+

91 OVR Kai Havertz ST

• PAC: 90
• SHO: 91
• PAS: 88
• DRI: 92
• DEF: 60
• PHY: 87
• Playstyle+: Low Driven Shot+ & Quick Step+

91 OVR Enzo Fernández CM

• PAC: 85
• SHO: 85
• PAS: 93
• DRI: 92
• DEF: 82
• PHY: 84
• Playstyle+: Incisive Pass+ & Long Ball Pass+

90 OVR Marta CAM

• PAC: 87
• SHO: 90
• PAS: 91
• DRI: 93
• DEF: 72
• PHY: 81
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & Gamechanger+

90 OVR Micky van de Ven CB

• PAC: 94
• SHO: 52
• PAS: 70
• DRI: 81
• DEF: 88
• PHY: 88
• Playstyle+: Intercept+ & Quick Step+

90 OVR Vivianne Miedema ST

• PAC: 90
• SHO: 90
• PAS: 88
• DRI: 91
• DEF: 38
• PHY: 86
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & First Touch+

90 OVR Victor Osimhen ST

• PAC: 96
• SHO: 91
• PAS: 73
• DRI: 86
• DEF: 47
• PHY: 88
• Playstyle+: Gamechanger+ & Rapid+

89 OVR Bruno Guimarães CM

• PAC: 84
• SHO: 80
• PAS: 87
• DRI: 87
• DEF: 85
• PHY: 87
• Playstyle+: Incisive Pass+

89 OVR Alphonso Davies LB

• PAC: 95
• SHO: 80
• PAS: 84
• DRI: 87
• DEF: 82
• PHY: 84
• Playstyle+: Quick Step+

88 OVR Emiliano Martínez GK

• DIV: 87
• HAN: 86
• KIC: 86
• REF: 88
• SPD: 60
• POS: 90
• Playstyle+: Rush Out+

88 OVR Benjamin Pavard CB

• PAC: 84
• SHO: 72
• PAS: 84
• DRI: 84
• DEF: 90
• PHY: 86
• Playstyle+: Anticipate+

87 OVR Ferland Mendy LB

• PAC: 91
• SHO: 70
• PAS: 80
• DRI: 81
• DEF: 84
• PHY: 90
• Playstyle+: Quick Step+

86 OVR Ahmet Oğuz RB

• PAC: 87
• SHO: 74
• PAS: 82
• DRI: 84
• DEF: 85
• PHY: 90
• Playstyle+: Block+

Team 1 Icons

94 OVR Mia Hamm ST

• PAC: 93
• SHO: 94
• PAS: 90
• DRI: 93
• DEF: 55
• PHY: 82
• Playstyle+: Low Driven Shot+ & Rapid+

93 OVR Andrés Iniesta CM

• PAC: 86
• SHO: 87
• PAS: 94
• DRI: 94
• DEF: 82
• PHY: 80
• Playstyle+: Incisive Pass+ & Tiki Taka+

93 OVR Gerd Müller ST

• PAC: 90
• SHO: 93
• PAS: 80
• DRI: 88
• DEF: 45
• PHY: 77
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & First Touch+

92 OVR Lotta Schelin ST

• PAC: 93
• SHO: 92
• PAS: 88
• DRI: 91
• DEF: 48
• PHY: 84
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & Incisive Pass+

91 OVR Steffi Jones CB

• PAC: 84
• SHO: 65
• PAS: 81
• DRI: 76
• DEF: 94
• PHY: 90
• Playstyle+: Anticipate+ & Block+

90 OVR Steven Gerrard CM

• PAC: 85
• SHO: 91
• PAS: 91
• DRI: 87
• DEF: 81
• PHY: 85
• Playstyle+: Incisive Pass+ & Long Ball Pass+

Team 1 Heroes

88 OVR Ole Gunnar Solskjær ST

• PAC: 88
• SHO: 90
• PAS: 80
• DRI: 87
• DEF: 47
• PHY: 73
• Playstyle+: Finesse Shot+ & Technical+

88 OVR Dirk Kuyt CAM

• PAC: 87
• SHO: 90
• PAS: 85
• DRI: 88
• DEF: 72
• PHY: 84
• Playstyle+: Low Driven Shot+ & Tiki Taka+

How to Invest?

TOTW Cards

Based on market trends over the past two weeks, TOTW Cards remain the safest and most sustainable investment option. While the return on a single card won't be high, it's very safe and generally appreciates steadily.

Besides being fodder cards, their most important function is their potential participation in future Evolution events. Once these TOTY cards become one of the best choices for EVO, their market value will increase.

Invest in Common Cards with Caution

Currently, common cards with 84 OVR are priced around 16,500 coins. These cards are usually not the best choice for Evolution and have almost no other use besides being fodder cards, so their value may soon drop. It's recommended that you concentrate your coins on TOTY cards with unique attributes or low total scarcity.

At the same time, remember to reserve some coins, as the market is often most volatile at the beginning of a new promotion, with many intensive short-term trades. Quick flips on new promotional cards at this time can allow you to make a profit.

That concludes this promotion. Knockout Royalty Team 1 will be bringing it soon; we hope you get your desired player cards.