The introduction of the authentic and competitive gameplay presets is the biggest gameplay addition coming in FC 26, as it gives players two unique ways to experience the game. While competitive gameplay is tailored for online game modes, authentic gameplay is made for offline modes, being perfect for players who want to have a more realistic experience on the pitch.
Both gameplay presets have unique things, but they also have plenty in common, as all of the fundamental gameplay improvements made in FC 26 are present in both. But what are the main differences between the gameplay presets? Let's find out!
Competitive Gameplay in FC 26
Competitive gameplay is the only gameplay preset for online modes in FC 26, such as Ultimate Team and Clubs, as it was carefully curated with both modes in mind. It's available for Career mode and Kick-Off mode, if that's the players' preferred gameplay preset.
The main goal of competitive gameplay is to create a more skill-driven experience, where the is much less randomness in the gameplay, and less assistance, forcing players to truly showcase their talents or lack thereof. It has three pillars: responsiveness, consistency, and control.
There are many differences between competitive and authentic gameplay, with goalkeepers' deflections going away from danger, fewer rebound goals, fewer balls bouncing back to opponents after tackles, less AI defending, and significantly fewer auto tackles and blocks.
Competive gameplay also has a unique fatigue feature, faster and smoother transitions between animations, faster and more responsive passes, more control and more speed when dribbling, it's faster to perform skill moves, more variability on crosses, increased error on heading, much more variability in set pieces, and players are faster to recover from a tackle or dropping to the ground.
As the name indicates, it's a gameplay preset truly tailored for competitive gameplay, that doesn't try to be as realistic as possible, or emulate everything you see happening inside a real-life football pitch. Instead, it allows players to showcase their skills and experience the game in a fast-paced and responsive way.
Authentic Gameplay in FC 26
Authentic gameplay is all about delivering an immersive and realistic experience for players who want a more simulation-based approach. For years, the biggest complaint about Career mode was that the gameplay wasn't realistic, which killed the immersion of the mode and made many players leave it completely.
The authentic gameplay preset also as three pillars: immersion, realism, and less predictability. As mentioned above, the goal is to deliver the most real-life on the field experience possible. To do that, autehtic sliders were introduced, weather effects were added, dribbling and skill moves are executed at lower speeds, and goalkeepers' rebounds, bounces, and blocks are pyshic based.
In authentic gameplay, tackling accuracy is more realistic, AI defending is much better than in competitive, defenders react just like in real life when the ball is close to them, midfield players position themselves more realistically, set pieces match real life success rate, the animation transitions are more realistic, and all animations are more authethic and human like.
As mentioned above, the authentic gameplay preset as new sliders that can be tweaked with to make the experience even more real-life-like and immersive. They are: Header Shot Error, Header Pass Error, Intercept Error, Ball Deflection Error, and Tackle Assistance.
But that' not all, as perhaps the most important feature in authentic gameplay is the massive improvements made to the team's playing style. Now, CPU teams will make smarter decisions across the board, from passing to when to foul, and every team will have its unique brand of football, such as slow build-up, relying on set pieces, tiki-taka, and gegenpress, among many others.
On the defensive side, the CPU will be more careful about when to press, when to lower the block, and where to foul. Teams will have different defensive identities, with some being happy with sitting at the back awaiting a mistake, while others want to press high and force a mistake.
As you might have figured out, realistic is the best word to describe the authentic gameplay preset, as that is precisely what it's trying to achieve. On paper, both gameplay presets seem awesome additions, but we will only know for sure when we have the chance to try them out.
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