Highlights
- EA Sports' Career Mode in FC 24 will offer the most immersive experience in its history, with a wide range of features and improvements.
- Managers in Career Mode will have more control over their team's setup, including tactical visions, coaching staff, and training plans.
- The game will also feature dynamic moments, customizations for managers, and a more detailed pre-match preparation, making Career Mode achievements feel rewarding.
EA Sports' official Career Mode deep dive trailer revealed a wide range of features and improvements that are set to arrive in the mode in FC 24. Manager Career Mode is set to offer the most immersive experience it has offered in its history.
Before EA Sports' online modes took over, Career Mode, formerly known as Manager Mode, was traditionally the game's most loved game mode. Before Ultimate Team's creation, Career Mode offered the greatest opportunity for players to mould a star-studded team in their own image.
The classic mode will be revolutionised in FC 24. Managers will have more control over the most intricate details of their team's setup.
In Player Career Mode, the path to becoming one of the leading stars in the footballing world will be more rewarding than ever. There will be much-improved customisation options throughout and realistic dynamic moments, after winning trophies and individual accolades.
The offline mode has often been an afterthought in the past few editions of FIFA, but it has certainly not been forgotten about ahead of the EA Sports FC rebrand. Career Mode is to receive its most significant upgrade in over a decade.
Here we will summarise all the new features and upgrades coming to Career Mode in FC 24.
Total Management System
Beginning with Manager Career Mode's overhaul. Players will now have more control over the entirety of their club's set-up than ever. From creating tactical visions to appointing coaches and delegating tasks to other members of staff. Career Mode fans will be able to feel like they are truly in charge of a club from top to bottom in FC 24.
Tactical Vision
Tactical Vision allows managers to choose the direction their club takes, in terms of their playing style and philosophy. EA Sports' have analysed real-life footage of teams managed by coaches, such as Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti, to offer specific tactical styles in the game.
You can choose from seven different Tactical Visions in FC 24, all of which could hugely impact your team's success on the pitch.
- Standard - A balanced approach that maintains a strong defensive shape, while maintaining an attacking threat.
- Wing Play - When in possession, your team will use the entire width of the pitch, with a focus on rapidly delivering the ball to attacking players out wide and utilising overlapping full-backs to add to the danger.
- Tiki-Taka - A possession-based playing style. Your players are calm on the ball and rely on short passes and intelligent movement to create dangerous opportunities. The team will look to progress through the middle of the pitch and create opportunities for attackers making runs beyond the last line of defence.
- Counter Attack - A focus on strong defence to carefully carve out dangerous attacks. Your team will utilise a low-block defensive approach, before committing significant numbers forward in attack.
- Gegenpressing - Your team will aim to press the opponents' defence high up the pitch and attempt to regain possession in dangerous areas. The aim is to score goals before the opponent can settle back into their natural shape.
- Kick and Rush - A typical route one approach, no intricate build-up in the midfield with a focus on getting the ball forward as quickly as possible. This will be ideal for teams with pace and physicality that can fight for long balls.
- Park the Bus - A complete focus on defending. Maintaining a compact defensive shape is of paramount importance, attacks will be taken opportunistically.
These Tactical Visions can also be tweaked to help your team perform in the perfect style based on your footballing philosophy on the pitch. For example, maybe you wish to deploy a balanced style, but you want your players to take advantage of the wide areas and make forward runs.
The scouting system has also been refreshed to aid the new Tactical Visions. You can ask your scouts to find players that are ideal for the vision that you intend to deploy. You can even search for players with specific PlayStyles in FC 24 Career Mode.
Coaches
Coaches are set to be introduced to FC 24, and they will play an important role concerning the Tactical Visions. Some coaches will be suited to a specific Tactical Vision, meaning you can recruit a full team of coaching staff that will enhance your team's ability to deploy their style effectively.
Coaches will have two main dimensions to them. Tactical knowledge relates to their understanding of different Tactical Visions which they can pass on to players to improve their in-game performances. Player development relates to their ability to directly improve the playing staff in terms of their attributes.
Tactical Knowledge
There are three assigned levels of tactical knowledge for coaches; Novice, Accomplished and Expert.
Coaches can earn XP from matches played and from wins earned by the team, which can allow them to improve their tactical knowledge. This can eventually go full circle and players could see their coaches have a significant impact on their club's success.
The coach's level of knowledge concerning specific Tactical Visions can allow players to receive upgrades to their attributes in the game.
For example, a novice midfield coach could potentially influence an upgrade in short passing, long passing, and defensive awareness. A coach that is an expert could improve up to nine attributes for players in the positions they are responsible for.
It is also vital to remember that players' level of match sharpness will determine the level of attribute boosts they can receive. They must be at a peak level of sharpness to receive the maximum boost their coach offers.
Player Development
The quality of coaches now has a huge impact on the ability of players to improve in Career Mode. Coaches will have a rating of one to five stars in the goalkeeper, defensive, midfield and attacking areas.
Based on the coach's abilities and the number of players within the squad, there can be significant impacts on players' attributes and overalls over time. The players' overalls and potential will create an ideal quality level required among the coaching staff for players to receive the maximum boost in their development plans. This will allow them to receive more XP and subsequently reach their potential quickly.
Training Plans
As well as having full control over tactical styles and coaching setups in FC 24, managers will also have full control over their team's training practices.
There are five training plans to choose from, some of which focus on increasing performance levels but will have an impact on your players' fitness, and others look to build energy levels to prevent fatigue.
A balanced approach will look to offer a combination of improving performance levels and maintaining energy. There are two plans available for either, because of the balanced setting. Both at varying levels of intensity in terms of performance levels, or at maintaining energy to utilise in upcoming fixtures.
Pre-Match Preparations
The level of pre-match preparations is more detailed than ever in FC 24. This will mainly involve a deep dive into your opponents' setup, from tactical style to the probable lineup. This can allow players to perfectly prepare to counter specific tactical setups or individuals.
Before fixtures, you can also ask your players to perform certain drills in the pre-game warmups which can unlock temporary PlayStyles in the game. For example, completing a crossing drill with your strikers could allow them to unlock the Power Header Play Style for the upcoming fixture.
Tactical View
Finally, managers can spectate their team from whichever angle they wish in-game. In past editions, simulating matches was the only way to bypass fixtures without taking control of the players. Now there are many different views available, from pitch side to birdseye view.
Managers can focus on different individuals as the game goes on, to apply the necessary tactical tweaks to get that all-important win.
Dynamic Moments
This is where the experience is set to become more immersive than ever. After leading your team to huge trophy wins, you can celebrate with open-top bus parades. The Ballon d'Or Award will also be officially licensed in FC 24, and there will be a ceremony to declare the winner in each year of a Career Mode save.
The Manager and Player of the Year Awards will be delivered as part of an extravagant gala. This could make Career Mode achievements feel so much more rewarding in FC 24.
Customisation Improvements
FC 24 is set to feature more appearance customisations for managers than has ever been offered before. There will be more clothing and accessory options, such as hoodies, tracksuits and glasses, meaning you can make your manager much more unique than you could in past editions of the game.
There will also be many more templates available when creating a club to use in Career Mode. There is a much wider range of kit templates available, so you can make your club much more personal to you.