FIFA Ultimate Team has been the most popular mode in the FIFA series by Electronic Arts for years. But what is it all about? How do you get your first team? What do you need to know? Our beginners guide provides useful tips and tricks on how to get around FUT.
What is FIFA Ultimate Team?
So what is FUT exactly? Anyone who gathered collectible pictures of famous football stars in their childhood will get a rough idea of what FUT is all about. On paper, the task sounds very simple: put together the best team possible from all the players available in FIFA 20.
Instead of just fighting for victory on the pitch, FUT also rewards creativity. Factors such as skill in action or the right strategy play an important role but keep in mind that the chemistry between different pieces of the puzzle are of great importance as well.
The FUT-Basics: FIFA Coins, FIFA Points and Packs
FIFA Ultimate Team is aimed primarily at players who are interested in the world of football and who are also intensely involved in the happenings of the real sport. What happens in real football plays a direct role in FIFA Ultimate Team.
The main way to fill your team with good players is through player packs. The packs contain new players, objects, coaches, etc – assets that you could keep or place for sale in exchange for FIFA coins – the main currency of FIFA. Coins are, however, not the only currency as there are also FIFA points. They are bought with real-life money from the FIFA store and can also be used on player packs.
Fitness Cards, Contracts and Managers
Before you start building the actual team, it is important to understand how to deal with fitness cards and contracts.
If you play a game in FUT, the fitness of the players on the pitch will decrease. The less fitness a player has, the faster he is exhausted. At some point he can no longer perform a sprint and has to be replaced. That’s where fitness cards come in. As a rule, a team fitness card should be used after every second game or if the fitness of a player falls below the value of 90.
Contracts are even more important as without them your players won’t be able to play. If there’s no contract attached to a player, he would be ineligible.
So it is always important to keep an eye on both fitness and contracts before starting a game. Both values can be increased with cards that can be found in packs or bought on the exchange market. Fitness cards are available for individual players or for the whole team, contracts are divided into player cards and manager cards.
Managers are another feature of FUT that you should know about. They are unlocked just like players are and just like them come in bronze, silver, and gold cards. So, what is their role?
Mostly two things, very important things: improve team chemistry and boost player contracts. You can have multiple managers in your team, and if they’re any good, your team’s performance will increase exponentially. Just like in real life!
Chemistry is Crucial
In FIFA Ultimate Team, the goal is to achieve perfect chemistry. On the team overview page, a value for that is displayed in the upper left corner. This should always reach a full 100 points, because if the chemistry is not right, the players will not play well together or score goals. In short: If the chemistry is not right, games are lost.
The chemistry increases when a player is used in his home position, for example, a goalkeeper in goal and not in the attack. Furthermore, the connections between the lined-up players play a decisive role.
- Red links: Bad chemistry
- Yellow links: Average chemistry
- Green links: Good Chemistry
Getting to that coveted green as much as possible should be your main focus. Players get chemistry points based on a few factors:
- Both play in the same league - 1 point
- Both players have the same nationality - 1 point
- Both play in the same club - 2 points
- Both play in the same league (for different clubs) and have the same nationality - 2 points
You can get bonus points by the manager with the same base rules. Note that managers add a maximum of 1 chemistry point to each player, so you won’t get more than that even if your manager is at the same club as some of your players.
Another bonus point is given by a loyalty bonus: If a player has played 10 games for the club, he gets one more chemistry point.
In addition, there are cards in FUT mode that can be used to slightly alter a player’s position. For example, you can turn a CM into a CAM, but you can’t make an LB become an ST. It is still a handy trick for instances where you need one last small push to get to the needed chemistry.
Icon cards make all this team building grind much easier. Icons are usually expensive, but you can also earn them via Icon Swaps. More about the magic of Icons and other features of FIFA Ultimate Team can be found in the second part of our guide. Coming soon to your door!
- READ NEXT: FIFA Ultimate Team Beginner's Guide, Part 2
Get more FIFA Ultimate Team tips, tricks, and news here, on EarlyGame. Check out this FUT Draft tips video from our friends at Gamers Academy below.
