Assuming EA sticks to its usual release schedule, there are now just over seven months to go until FIFA 19 hits store shelves. That probably sounds like a long time to the average gamer, but the average FIFA fan is already counting the days. FIFA 18 was divisive - best at launch, then better in fits and starts over several patches - but we all rinsed it anyway, and while Team of the Year was a fun time and there's still Prime Icon Ronaldo to look forward to, it's fair to say we're already thinking about how FIFA 19 might do better. Here's some ideas.
1. Extend the Weekend League
The number one request from dedicated FIFA fans is an extension to the FUT Champions Weekend League. FUT Champs is an awesome idea - qualify through the Daily Knockout Tournament and then spend all weekend fighting for a top ranking and fantastic rewards - but the punishing demand to play 40 matches in three days is too much. Dedicated players are getting burned out and more casual fans feel locked out. Even extending it by a day would be great, but the nuclear option of having it run all week would be an even greater leveler.
2. Better rewards in Squad Battles
Everyone loved Squad Battles at first, and while some of us still grind away at it all week, most people have decided the return doesn't match time invested. (Besides, the AI cheats like a bastard.) When the difference between Elite 2 and Elite 1 is just 15,000 coins in extra prizes but the discipline required to achieve the necessary points is an order of magnitude greater, it's no wonder most players are happy to play a few games to get a couple of packs and leave it there. We'd love to see improved rewards in Squad Battles, and monthly rewards similar to FUT Champs would also be great and encourage more participation. While we're at it, how about the option to look through your week-by-week record, too?
3. More measured passing
Everyone has a different take on how to improve FIFA gameplay, but one thing we'd like to see is a more demanding passing system. Even after nerfs to so-called ping-pong passing, it's still far too easy for even mediocre players to spray the ball around like David Silva, meaning that players like the Spanish creator - whose primary talent is distribution - are much less relevant than they should be. We'd love to see a greater emphasis on passing stats in FIFA 19 so that it's important to build your team around people who can weigh a pass rather than just ignoring the stat entirely.
4. More incentive to try other teams
It always used to be fun to build silver teams and other wacky hybrids and just play for fun, but in these days of FUT Champs and Squad Battles and all the rest, that kind of thing has rather fallen by the wayside in favor of a more rigid meta. (Seriously, if we never play against Gabriel Jesus ever again, that would be great.) We'd love to see EA incentivize players to try unorthodox approaches again. You can see flickers of this in the Daily Objectives, but being asked to score three goals with a Liga NOS player to earn some bronze contracts isn't hitting the spot. Why not force us away from the meta more often, perhaps with unique rewards?
5. More new gameplay challenges
Similarly, we'd love to have other ways to play FIFA 19 Ultimate Team. It's a common refrain among dedicated players that there isn't enough to do outside the Weekend League, and while Squad-Building Challenges are insanely popular, they are also starting to feel a bit like a cheap substitute for actual gameplay. How about some new modes to mix things up? Daily scenarios that match up to real-world events, five-a-side matches, and maybe even some sort of Skill Games integration. EA has done a good job of making us want to fill our every waking moment with FIFA, so how about making those hours more varied?
6. Fewer "Untradeable" rewards
One big bugbear we have with FIFA 18 is EA's excessive use of "untradeable" rewards, especially for things like Prime Icons. We assume that EA uses these to help balance the in-game economy - essentially Squad-Building Challenges force players to 'cash out' their excess wealth by dumping massives of coins into items that have no trading value. But coupled with EA's poor communication and the game's famously horrendous pack weights, the prevalence of untradeable items just fuels the "greedy EA" narrative. After dumping over two million coins into a Prime Icon Ronaldinho or Thierry Henry, our reaction should be unbridled delight, not excitement tinged with mild nausea at the thought of all those lost coins. Find another way to balance the economy and let valuable things be valuable.
7. Better communication from EA
Spend any time on the FIFA subreddit and you may notice that players have a bone or two to pick with EA. Rather a lot of bones, in fact, and in rather colorful language. Even by Reddit standards, the tone of the discourse is toxic in the extreme. Part of the reason for this is that it's one-way dialogue. EA only communicates with players through very basic patch notes and promotional content on social media or in esports live streams. There's none of the dialogue you see between players and developers of games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or Fortnite, and EA needs to take a lesson here. Players won't always agree with you if you talk to them and explain what you're doing, but they will respect you more for trying, and they will also find it a lot easier to empathize with the human side of a developer than the bland, corporate visage which has become the default. If EA does nothing else in FIFA 19, learning to talk to its players would be a huge improvement.