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How to improve at FIFA 12?

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nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-12 15:17:05
February 12 2012 15:06 GMT
#1
Hey,

I decided to buy a console a few weeks ago and yesterday I finally bought FIFA 12. I had played the game a few times at a friend but that is my only experience thus far.

After I had installed the game, it asked me how experienced I was. I choosed the option that said I had medium experience with FIFA games. I play against professional AI's now and I get raped with around 6-0 every game. I get no scoring chances at all.

I'm the kind of guy who wants to get good/decent at a game fast. However, I feel like lowering the AI difficulty might prevent me from becoming better. When I played against my friends, division 7 or so without playing too much, I always managed to score a few goals and get opportunities. Against a professional AI, I get zero of these.

So teamliquid, please help me, what should I do to improve? I'd like mechanical tips aswell (controls) as I'm not too good with them (when to use L2 to defend, when not to, when to use X, what the arrow-like controls on the left side of the controllers are good for, these kind of things. For some players it shows things like off-side trap and for others it shows things like ultra-offensive. It seems to be random and I don't know how to activate it properly.)

Thanks for any tips I can get.

Psychobabas
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
2531 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-12 15:31:09
February 12 2012 15:29 GMT
#2
I'm by no means an expert but I can for sure beat professional

Just pass a lot, dont just charge down the field, give the opportunity for your team-mates to get good positioning before a pass or shot.

Also: Keep an eye on their stamina and substitute accordingly.
nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
February 12 2012 17:15 GMT
#3
Whenever I have intercepted the ball and charge for an attack my team just sits in the back and doesn't follow, how can I make them follow? I'm always with 2-3 attacking while the enemies defense is slowly strengthening.
cluedo
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United Kingdom25 Posts
February 12 2012 17:20 GMT
#4
If you are playing on PS3, you can use the digital directional buttons (left and right) to make your team more attacking or defensive on a scale of 1-5. The indicator comes up just above the players name.

You might also want to try some different formations.
Excludos
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Norway8246 Posts
February 12 2012 17:27 GMT
#5
Only my thoughts about it. I'm by no means an expert on this game:

Thing to know about fifa is to take it slow. very rarely do you get the opportunity to just run by everyone and score. You'll notice if you take it slowly, that you opponent (if its an ai) will actually have a hard time getting the ball from you. Then you can start setting up an attack and try to get through. Try to use the breakthrough button (y if on an xbox controller) to set up a goal, if you see your man in position. Scoring goals in fifa 12 is hard thought, especially compared to the earlier versions.

Should be noted the game changes -alot- when you play against a human opponent. You might have to be a bit more aggressive and gamble a lot more than against an AI.
nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
February 12 2012 17:29 GMT
#6

If you are playing on PS3, you can use the digital directional buttons (left and right) to make your team more attacking or defensive on a scale of 1-5. The indicator comes up just above the players name.

You might also want to try some different formations.


Is that basically a necessity or am I just bad and should I be able to score a lot without using those directional buttons? On a scale from 1 to 5? Where do I see that? Where do I see what buttons I have to press. Like I said, when I press the button it sometimes shows stuff about off-side trap and stuff like that. I don't see an indicator above my player's name either, could you help me out?
Aela
Profile Joined January 2012
97 Posts
February 12 2012 17:35 GMT
#7
Play PES.

User was temp banned for this post.
BeMannerDuPenner
Profile Blog Joined April 2004
Germany5638 Posts
February 12 2012 18:40 GMT
#8
On February 13 2012 02:35 Aela wrote:
Play PES.


leave tl if you just spam.


im somewhat in the same boat. picked up fifa 12 like 10 days ago with almost no prior expirience. well played fifa 98 and like 15 games of fifa 11 but thats it. i still suck and need WAY more chances to score then i should etc but i still managed to climb up to division 4 so far in head to head mode.

first thing i recommend is to check out tutorials on yt or other sites. there is a ton of things you can do i didnt even know of and some cover basic tactics for defending and attacking. helped me a lot.

cant help far beyond that since all my knowledge comes from tuts and the little expirience i had so far in online games.


i barely play vs cpu since its vastly different then playing against humans so no real clue on what you should be able to beat.



a word of warning tho, fifa is the by far most frustrating "competive" game ive ever played. there is so much randomness evrywhere and you WILL lose games because of the most stupid and unfair crap(referee decisions, your player failing stupidly,the cpu controlled guys acting like idiots, players falling over eachother all the time etc). keep that in mind so you dont smash your new controller ;P
life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery
fush
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada563 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-12 18:47:37
February 12 2012 18:43 GMT
#9
key is to be patient in your key presses, never spam. against computers, simple one-two passes destroy them most of the time. try to wean yourself off assisted passing, and things will get easier. just be patient and learn to use your body balance and use your first touch. having skill moves is absolutely not essential but useful if you're good at it (most of the time it seems pretty random to me, but i don't play the 5 star teams)

imo the hard part and the most important is defending... against computers it's not as bad, but against human players the simple philosophy is just to stay between him and the net and cut off angles. it's gotten a lot easier to defend in FIFA imo, and it's a lot easier than PES because players don't have a strong super cancel.. if you play online, having a good defense will win you a lot of games too.

good players will crush "pressure 2" (sorry i was a PES guy for many years so not sure what it's actually called in FIFA) but a good way to play against low level players is to use the "pressure 2" command to pressure the player on the ball then use your controlled defender to anticipate the pass.
nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
February 12 2012 19:51 GMT
#10
good players will crush "pressure 2" (sorry i was a PES guy for many years so not sure what it's actually called in FIFA) but a good way to play against low level players is to use the "pressure 2" command to pressure the player on the ball then use your controlled defender to anticipate the pass.


Well, when I do this, the opponent just starts to run away. What can I do about that? Do you actually defend by holding X (ps3) or do you keep R1 most of the time? When do I use L2 to defend?
nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
February 12 2012 19:55 GMT
#11
If those questions could be answered that would help me a lot. Another thing I want to know: How do the directional buttons work? Is it for 1 player or are they for the whole team? (counter, aggresive-mode, defensive-mode etc)
nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
February 12 2012 22:48 GMT
#12
Bump
DragoonPK
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
3259 Posts
February 12 2012 23:16 GMT
#13
The AI is usually a bich, high difficulties keep passing till they have a chance to score which can be frustrating so be sure to be patient and pressure the players well to steal a pass and go on the counter. As for defending, don't try to take on the player with the ball head on, instead using R1 on PS3, right trigger on 360 iirc, you can have the AI deal with the attacking player while focus on covering his options and cutting his passes when possible. Don't tackle unless you are absolutely sure it will work or its your last resort, often times players will just let u lung forward and then run past you.

When you have possession, keep passing and use the mini-map on the bottom of the screen to help assist you on where you should pass next or what options are available for you to go for. One-twos are essential, also try learning a few tricks such as the roulette to help you get past players, you can find them explained on youtube if you do a little searching. Also twisting and turning usually helps getting past players so use that too.

As for the directional buttons stuff, the work for the whole team, in general you will be in the standard settings most of the time. If you are too behind and aiming for a comeback then you can choose to put the team in a more aggressive state and vise-versa for the defensive mode.
fush
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada563 Posts
February 13 2012 05:22 GMT
#14
On February 13 2012 04:51 nrage wrote:
Show nested quote +
good players will crush "pressure 2" (sorry i was a PES guy for many years so not sure what it's actually called in FIFA) but a good way to play against low level players is to use the "pressure 2" command to pressure the player on the ball then use your controlled defender to anticipate the pass.


Well, when I do this, the opponent just starts to run away. What can I do about that? Do you actually defend by holding X (ps3) or do you keep R1 most of the time? When do I use L2 to defend?


sorry i use a custom key set up so i'm not sure about the defaults. the jockey key i usually hold down when i need to defend, the key to using pressure 2 is not necessarily to get the ball with the pressuring player (since this is ai controlled and good players should be able to skip past them), but to cut down the angles so that you an anticipate easily where they'll pass so you can intercept with the active player. important thing about both attacking and defending is also to not RUN all the time - makes you lose the ball very easily if you use it at the wrong time, and also makes it extremely easy to beat on defense. also of course, don't be predictable - don't just turn towards goal when receiving a ball, since it becomes very easy to take the ball.
Baz
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United Kingdom289 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-13 22:16:45
February 13 2012 22:16 GMT
#15
Hi Nrage, online I have earned 9 promotions in 11 seasons and then won division 1 in my first season in div 1, so hopefully I can help you out. First of all, as many have said, there is a huge difference between playing other players (e.g. online) or playing against the computer, they require too different styles of play and in my opinion it is very difficult to master both simultaneously. First of all, are you looking only to improve against the A.I.? or are you looking to be better against friends and online? If it is the latter, my first recommendation would be to stop attempting to play against 'professional' A.I. and simply play online / against friends, even if it means you don't do very well at first. If you are looking to improve against the A.I. I would say that temporarily dropping down a skill level is fine to do at first. Once you can consistently beat the lower skill level (beginner?) move the skill level up and you will find 'Professional' much easier to deal with.

Hopefully this helped, I should be able to give some more specific advice after you respond to this and state where exactly it is you are wanting to improve
nrage
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands75 Posts
February 13 2012 22:58 GMT
#16
Hey guys,

thanks for the answers. So if I'm right, I should always use R1 to send a NPC to the guy with the ball and block his passing routes with my own player? But when should I actually control a player and use X? And when should I use L2, which works a bit the same as X but different in a way I don't seem to get?
{CC}StealthBlue
Profile Blog Joined January 2003
United States41117 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-14 00:31:51
February 14 2012 00:26 GMT
#17
Just start out as Semi-Pro, Amateur will just piss you off as it is way too easy. Then move up after a season. That way you are earning promotions, especially in Stamina, just keep your Pro(if you have one) in different positions i..e Defender in x many games, then striker after so many.
"Smokey, this is not 'Nam, this is bowling. There are rules."
fush
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada563 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-02-14 03:56:16
February 14 2012 03:54 GMT
#18
On February 14 2012 07:58 nrage wrote:
Hey guys,

thanks for the answers. So if I'm right, I should always use R1 to send a NPC to the guy with the ball and block his passing routes with my own player? But when should I actually control a player and use X? And when should I use L2, which works a bit the same as X but different in a way I don't seem to get?


there's no set thing you should always do.. but i think a few of us are just saying that as you play more, you need to know how to anticipate passes, so it's good to start early. personally i rarely use x (which i'm assuming is the actual tackle button where your active player just sticks out the leg?) unless i know that i'd get the ball 99% of the time. decent dribblers will easily read tackles and can just step around it (against bad players i sometimes just stop the ball and it'll still get past them). L2 (assuming it's jockey? sorry i don't use default keys - mapped mine to mirror PES) is useful because it'll grab on to the defender and you can really just use your body most of the time and walk into the ball if you anticipate the dribbler's moves - but doesn't put you in a committed situation where you can just get passed easily.

really just comes with practice, i'd say play a bit more and you'll start to read these things. i think the best thing to do right now is really first to see if you're having trouble in attack, then get that worked out. can you see the passing lanes? can you get one-twos down? can you finish? can you use long balls/chip passes when necessary (they're so strong in this game when used correctly it's not even funny)? can you hold meaningful possession? once you get that down it becomes easier in defense to read your opponents and really push yourself higher in skill. for defense, you need to learn how to get the ball with your active player first - ie. using jockey effectively, not committing to tackles too hastily with runs, playing a position rather than just charging all your defenders to the dribbler. then, you can develop more tactical plays like anticipating passes, etc.
infinity21 *
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
Canada6683 Posts
February 14 2012 04:43 GMT
#19
Watch actual soccer matches and pay attention to how they develop their play, their tactics, and how they create goal-scoring chances. Seems way too simple but it has really helped me with fifa 12
Other tips:
-Be patient and wait for the right time to tackle
-Don't always sprint your players since they will be too tired by the end of the match
-When you have the ball, don't just look at the player with the ball but everyone around you so you can analyze the whole field and create opportunities for yourself
-Practice taking free kicks and penalties
Official Entusman #21
GTR
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
51574 Posts
February 15 2012 00:14 GMT
#20
i see a lot of 'top' players assign their team players in random spots. for instance, kaka on real madrid at cb.
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