Top 7 FIFA Myths: Momentum, Scripted Gameplay, Bad Rewards And Nerfed Players

FIFA is a competitive game, but the same rumours and theories have been circulating through the community for years, claiming that gameplay is altered by external influences in certain situations. It's all about momentum, maybe even scripted gameplay. And how does matchmaking work anyway? Is there skill-based matchmaking? EA doesn't show its cards at all. Here are the biggest FIFA myths.

Have you ever had the feeling that the game is suddenly working against you and that you and your players are no longer succeeding? And then the opponent scores a goal? In this article we will examine the biggest FIFA myths like momentum, bad packs for good players and more!

FIFA Myths: Momentum, Good Packs For Bad Players – Do They Exist?

First of all we have to clarify that the term "myth" does not represent facts, but it is much more about unprovable theories that have some truth to them. All FIFA myths have their justified status as myths, and in the end you can form your own opinion which myths sound plausible to you and which don't.

• Time to be part of next gen: Get a console upgrade on Amazon

There is probably no other game in this world that provides as much potential for discussion as FIFA. The same applies to real football. One team is in charge the whole time, creates chances and is just unlucky when it comes to finishing. Then the opponent comes along, shoots at the goal once and scores. Then they say "undeserved". FIFA players would yell "script" or "momentum" towards the screen at this point.

FIFA myths don't just relate to gameplay, though, but also to matchmaking, opening packs and the packluck of certain players. Here are the top 7 FIFA myths.

FIFA Myths Rank 7: Enable Trainer

There is a rumor going around that you get easier opponents if you enable the FIFA trainer. You know, that annoying thing you have to deactivate in the menu occasionally. Some players claim that EA pays attention to who has the trainer on or off. The reason for this is that beginners only play against other beginners with the FIFA trainer enabled in order not to lose the desire to play. If you are antisocial, then enable the FIFA trainer and clap a few noobs.

FIFA Myths Rank 6: Packing Duplicates

Have you ever noticed that you pack duplicates very often in FUT? There are theoretically so many different cards in the game, yet you pack the same players over and over again. There is a theory circulating in the community that there is a high likelihood of packing a player that you already have at your club in some other form. This also applies to loan players. In particular, the Icon or Hero packs have made all the conspiracy theorists take notice.

Some players have even packed dream squad players into their team - and then actually pulled the player. A mate completed the 88+ Mid, WC or Prime Icon SBC the other day and pulled Prime Lothar Matthäus. GGs. He does the pack again, and what happens? He packs Matthäus Prime again. He opens the next pack and packs Prime Luís Figo. Who does he have in the club? Mid Luís Figo. Is this all random, or just coincidence? Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

FIFA Myths Rank 5: Packluck

Packluck is a discussion that will never end as long as FIFA remains Pay to Win. Every year the gambling question flares up anew. Is EA's pack system even legal? Belgium has classified lootboxes as illegal and thus also banned packs in FUT. But that is only an exception. Gambling is an addiction for many, which is then in turn a source of money for EA. EA sets the pack weight themselves, they decide how often good cards are drawn from the packs. The more packs you open, the higher the probability of getting good players should be. But it isn't always like that.

"Good" and "bad" gamers seem to have different pack luck, at least that's the myth. The rewards from the best ranks of the Weekend League or from Division Rivals are often really bad. A casual player who only picks up the controller every few weeks or months then suddenly pulls really rare and valuable cards out of the packs. How can that be? Pure luck? Or does EA want to win over this casual player because he then thinks to himself: "Boy, cool, now I'm really into playing FIFA again. Doesn't seem so far-fetched. You probably have that one buddy who is not good at FIFA (no front) and then packs the best cards. The worse the player, the better the packs. The better the player, the worse the packs. Remember that.

FIFA Myths Rank 4: EA Nerfing Players

This FIFA myth is the closest to reality for us: EA secretly nerfed cards. Players like Angel Di Maria or Hugo Sánchez were really op after they were released as SBC. But after a few weeks these cards felt different ingame. Somehow worse. The passes don't get to teammates anymore, the player is immobile, and the finishing is inconsistent. This may sometimes be due to the poor EA servers, but in the examples just mentioned, the drop-off is already clearly recognizable.

Maybe you've also noticed that players in your team play really badly from one day to the next. Sánchez is now so bad that we don't even play him anymore. You should really think carefully about which icon SBC you should sign. There is a theory that EA can nerf the SBC cards that are not available to buy on the market (TOTY Icon Alonso). But this does not apply to the players who are also available as live cards (Jairzinho SBC).

FIFA Myths Rank 3: Matchmaking

Matchmaking has always been a secret. It is simply not known how EA matches the players with each other. Until the World Cup update in November, there was apparently no skill-based matchmaking, after which this was changed. A Reddit user found out that there is skill based matchmaking for friendlies of all kinds. And that is actually pretty annoying.

In First Owner Fiesta, Silver Stars or FUT Draft you only get opponents that match your Elo and play in a similar division rivals league. So if you are in Elite Division, you only play against other Elite Division players in the friendlies. It doesn't really make sense to level up in Division Rivals, because you always get tough opponents in the friendlies, and you don't get anything good out of the rewards anyway. In that case, it's better to let yourself be reset per season, forfeit the rewards and get easier opponents in the friendlies instead, so that you don't have to sweat so much for the swap tokens.

FIFA Myths Rank 2: Script

Our number 2 FIFA myth is a topic that has been debated for decades: the FIFA script. Does it really exist? Can you just not win against some opponents because EA set the final score beforehand? We asked Rannerz from Tundra Esports a while ago about the topic of scripted gameplay, and he has a clear opinion about it:

There's definetly no scripted gameplay, I am 100% sure about that.

It seems to be more a matter of nuances in the gameplay that you have no influence over. In real football you can shoot as many times as you want, you just don't score. These days exist, and this can also be seen in FIFA.

FIFA Myths Rank 1: Momentum

Momentum has to be the number one FIFA myth. And it will always be number one, EA will have to listen to this accusation until they no longer publish a football simulation. Who doesn't know it? The opponent is really bad. You have an easy 2:0 lead, you run alone towards the goal, but you miss. In the direct counterattack, the opponent is really lucky and scores 2:1. Suddenly, your players can no longer be controlled. They move like washing machines. Not a single pass is completed, you don't get any more runs from your players. The opponent makes it 2:2, then 2:3. The referee blows the whistle and you don't know what just happened. You've lost to the biggest noob of all time.

What's the logical explanation? Momentum! EA intervened in your game to give your opponent a chance, because otherwise you would have driven him to a rage quit. We also asked professionals who know about momentum. Here is the opinion of Rannerz:

Momentum, however, is interesting, because I think we all know this: if somebody goes 2-0 up, things get interesting... there is something happening, but I don't think it does favor one player...

So from Rannerz there is a no scripted gameplay, but he does not rule out the existence of Momentum.

SebFUT adds:

Yeah, I don't think there is a massive amount of momentum, but if you are 2-0 up the game can slightly go another way. But I wouldn't say there is a lot of momentum. I rather think that if somebody is loosing a game where you were 2-0 up it's much easier to say 'oh, momentum happened' instead of 'I lost because I didn't focus enough once I was 2-0 up.

So it seems easier to find the fault with the game than with oneself. And that's a fact, it's always easier to blame other things. But even the two experts can't completely rule out momentum, so it is and remains a myth.

Which FIFA myths are real? Which ones have you experienced yourself? Feel free to write us in the comments!