The controls are rather simple you just press triangle on the PlayStation or Y on the Xbox to do a standard through ball and to perform the lofted through pass you hold LB and Y (Xbox) or L1 and triangle for PS users. The first thing you’ll want to keep your eye on and look out for is the positioning of your wingers or strikers.
Look to see if they’re coming short to collect a pass in which case you should just use the normal pass, or if they are getting in behind and actually making a forward run into space to get past the opposition defence. If it’s the latter then that’s when you should use the through ball because one thing to remember about it is it’s a pass into open space ahead always.
So this style requires you to almost think in advance and paint a picture in your head of what move on the pitch is happening next and where your player is going to be seconds later. A great tip that we can also give you is to look out for the gaps in between the opponents defenders. There will at some point many times throughout a football match be gaps between the opposing centre backs and side backs and you should identify them as quickly as you possibly can and tread a ball right in-between them.
You should set at least one of your strikers to get in behind via the player instructions tab as this will result in them making more forward bursts and giving you an option with your attacking midfielders.
Lastly, don’t always pass for the sake of it if there’s no options and you can see that nothing is developing. Instead you should perform a skill move to distract your opponent for a couple of seconds and then a gap will eventually open up. It doesn’t necessarily matter which skill you perform it’s more a case of doing a job to distract the opposition to buy yourself a few moments to pick out your next killer pass.
You will be setup to basically sit back really deep in your defence just in front of your goalkeeper soaking up pressure from the opposition and then quickly countering the opponent with the deadliest counter attack. Here’s a quick summary of what you’re going to learn in this tutorial.
- Custom Tactic
- Player Instructions
- Fast Passing
- Tell Players to make runs
- Decision making
- Unpredictability
Custom Tactic
Now we’ve already done a post on the custom tactic to use and you can find that content here, you need to set this up and once you do that’s the first step out the way.
Player Instructions
These player instructions are quite simple! For the side-backs you just set them to conservative interceptions and the strikers to cut passing lanes, conservative interceptions also, and finally one of them preferably a striker who’s blessed with half decent pace to get in behind. Your central midfielders and wingers for that matter can be set to free roam but that’s an optional strategy.
Gameplay Strategy
So the best way to gain the complete knowledge on how to do this is by watching the video on this page. However the basics to remember are to pass the ball as fast as you possibly can with accuracy, and be unpredictable in the opponents final third of the pitch.
You will notice that most of your chances are going to come from the opposition committing players/numbers forward in their attacks. So scenarios such as corner kicks, set-pieces close to your penalty area and throw-ins also close to your goal, these are all vulnerable to the counter attack and should be your best friend and your opponents worst enemy.
The custom tactic that we’ve setup for you makes sure that all of your attacking players once possession of the ball has been won back successfully, they’ll bomb forward like a massive wave in support so that you have some incredible options when attacking.
There’s two variations of protecting the ball from opponents in the game, one is push and pull and the other is the original and standard version of holding the ball up to bring others into play. The first thing we must discuss is the controls which are so simply, to protect the ball and shield it you must hold down the LT/L2 button and nothing else not even the left analogue stick.
When a through pass is played through either in defence or attack and your defender or striker is catching the ball up to latch onto it to stop the opposition from getting to the ball first you smash the LT/L2 button and this will do exactly that. In defence your defender will use his body to protect the ball and stop the other player from getting to it which is extremely effective and a must have if you are to become a top player.
In attack when your striker runs onto a through ball you can do the same tapping that LT/L2 button and whilst still sprinting and using the left stick and you’ll get to the ball first. It goes without saying that the players with more physical and upper body strength will be better at this but it doesn’t matter or have to much effect in all honesty.
This push and pull technique is used by all the top gamers and can be the difference in matches sometimes as knowing this knowledge will give you the upper hand against your opponents.
Using the standard kind of protect the ball with just LT you can use it literally anywhere on the pitch which is a huge bonus. In defence, midfield or with a big strong centre forward this is so OP and is great for bringing other into play. In the opponents final third you should use it if your striker is isolated and wait until there’s sufficient support from other teammates and then simply lay it off to them.
One thing to combat this and you need to be aware of this when using it yourself it teammate control which is where the opponent will call another player to help tackle the player who’s protecting the ball. One will try and tackle from the back and the other will go round the front and put in a challenge and at that point that’s when you need to release the ball and pass to a free teammate.
Finding Specialists
The first thing you must do is find yourself a specialist for your club or team and this can be done via the main menu and then you go to the customise tab. From there, go to team sheets and select any team you want to look up players in to see if they’re specialists.
To find them, you need to look out for a few important statistics such as the distance shooter specialtie, the long shot taker trait and in general stats their curve, longshots and shot power. If they’ve got distance shooter then they’re a specialist, also if their longshots and shot power are above 86 they are also good enough. The curve/swerve stat is literally if you want a player that can perform finesse longshots.
Shot Power & Aim
Now as for the all-important shot power for 20 to 25 yards out which is just outside the opponents penalty area you want around 2 to 2 and a half bars of power for standard longshots and 2 and a half to 3 bars of power for the finesse. Further out at 30 to 35 yard which is in-between the opponents penalty area and the halfway line you want to generate 3 bars of power for the standard longshot and 3 to 3 and a half for finesse efforts.
As for the aim you want to direct your strikes into the top corners if possible so the top left or right and even the low rockets seem to work a treat as well. Only aim for the middle of the goal if you see the goalkeeper slightly off his line as this can then open up the opportunity to chip him with a beautiful long shot.
Another factor you will want to take into consideration is lining up your player for the strike. Just simply move your player with the left analogue stick central as you never want to be at an angle and that increase the chances of conversion by more than 50%.
Gaining Momentum
This is arguably the most important part of the formula and the final piece of the puzzle to make sure you score your longshots at every opportunity. There are three main ways you can gain momentum and they are showcased as the following.
- Running A Few Strides
- Skill Moves
- Passing Rhythm
Now as for running you simply want to just run with the ball at your feet just using the sprint button and run for about 4 seconds or more and then hit a cracker. This works because the game engine that EA have put in see it as the player gaining momentum and is on a bit of a roll.
The other way is to use skill moves and anyone will do from a simply sidestep/ball roll to no-touch dribbling it doesn’t really matter as long as straight afterwards you hit a beauty. The last way of gaining some momentum is to pass the ball and get a good rhythm going and i would say around 6 passes or more and you’re good to go with your longshot.
The first trick is to call the second player to come short and you can do this by repeatedly pressing/tapping the LT button on Xbox or the L2 button on PlayStation at the cut-scene as the ball is out of play. When you’re set to take your corner kick the player should be there right next to you.
Now what you want to do is either turn slightly to the player that’s on the edge of the bx and chip it to him, or pass it to the player that’s come short, once he’s received the ball you then need to turn to the player of the edge of the D and use a pinpoint driven pass to get it to him.
As the ball arrives the final piece of the puzzle is to do a fake shot first touch and then hit a long shot, with the momentum in your favour your shot should hit the back of the net and get you a goal.
The next technique involves pressing the LT/L2 button after the cut-scene which makes a player run to you to take the set-piece short. What this does is take a defender of the opposition that was once in the penalty area, completely out of it.
Now you simply turn to the player on the edge of the box using the cross button to pass to him with about 2 bars of power and then you’ll have time to hit a nice shot from distance at your opponents goal.
The final method is all about giving it to the player who comes short and staying by the byline as close as you possibly can without giving away a goal kick. This will take some time to master so you’ll have to practice for a while until you get the hang of it.
The reason behind why this is so effective is that online players seem to have trouble with it and they always thing you’re going to cut inside with the winger. It’s a win-win situation because if the opponent doesn’t tackle you then you have a quick route to goal and can hit a near-post shot and score, if they do indeed tackle you then because you’re so close hogging the touchline you’ll win another corner kick.
#Step1
The first thing you want to acknowledge is the area of the pitch in which you can perform this and it’ll be just outside the opponents penalty area around 20 to 25 yards out either side of the oppositions goal.
#Step2
Up next is the most important factor to this technique and it involves using the dipping free kick as your first set-piece you win in this particular area. What this does is show your opponents tell, if the players in the wall jump then you know your opponent is a jumper and you can then use the low effort at goal but if he doesn’t then you don’t use this method.
If they jump then you already have a guaranteed goal and there’s nothing they can do about it which is to your advantage.
#Step3
Now to cover the direction, if you’re using a right footed player then the ball will curve opposite to his footing so it’ll swerve to the left and vice-versa for left footed players. Make sure you aim wide of the post for shots on the right side with right footed players and near the middle to the goal for the same footed player on the left side.
#Step4
Next up is the shot power to apply and this will be music to your ears as there’s actually room for maneuver here as you can generate 1 bar, 1 and a quarter, or even 1 and a half bars of shot power with these low shots. Make sure that the only stat you need with the player stepping up to take the free kick has shot power of 75 or above as that’s the only stat you need to look out for.
FK accuracy and curve are not important factors at all and should be ignored with this specific set-piece.
#Step5
The controls are the last thing to cover and you simply have to hold down the LB/L1 button and then the shoot button which will be B on the Xbox or circle on the PlayStation unless you’ve customised your controller settings of course. That’s it for all the tips and if you follow every single instruction from this guide then you’ll bury these every time without fail.
Selecting The Best FK Taker
Now this is usually a very crucial step with most types of free kicks but not this one thankfully. You absolutely don’t need to worry about curve for once as the player could have it at 0 for all it matters as you do not need this stat for this specific FK.
As for shot power you don’t need much of that either i would say 70 and above will be sufficient enough as you will be quite close in. The dipping effect can also be scored from distance so if you’re going for goal further out then you’ll obviously need more power which should be 86 and above.
Finally the most important statistic for this set-piece is the FK accuracy and you’ll want the number to be 75 and above and you should be fine. You don’t need to have a free kick specialist for the dipping FK which is something that makes it easy and OP for all players alike.
Lining Up The Strike
This is a very important step! Before you had to line the FK up with either the smallest player in the wall or a player in-line with the post but that’s a thing of the past. You want to be aiming for the opposite corner of the goal to the keeper and also line up the strike with the positioning of the ball. So from the dead ball, make sure it’s in line with the corner of the goal and you’ll be all setup and ready to go.
Shot Power & Controls
For the shot power to put in with players who’ve got low power your want 1 and a half bars to 2, and with players who have got high power you want 2 to 2 and a half bars of power. After the gauge has gone up and your player is ready to hit the ball, you must lift up the left analogue stick and hold it there until the free kick has been taken. This delivers the dipping effect and helps get the ball over the wall even if it jumps which is the most amazing thing about this set-piece.
The majority of you must have noticed how frequently the refs are giving out spot kicks this year in FIFA 16, so it’s important to be a master at taking them. One spot that you might know about is the top middle of the goal which is by far the most overpowered spot to aim for.
You will be aiming just below the crossbar but as for how long you move the left-stick up it literally is for under a second. As for power you want to look at the power gauge going up very carefully and look to put in around 2 and a half to 3 bars of power but no-more as the player will put the ball into the stands if anymore power is generated and that’s even if you get it on the green.
That however is a must, for this much power which is what beats the goalkeepers you must get the indicator onto the green in the first place, the yellow and certainly not the red are just simply not good enough. The keepers tend to save the penalties this year if you pick a side either left or right, so that’s why it’s best to go for this type of spot kick.
The great thing about the top center penalty is that even if the keeper stays in the middle of the goal it still goes in the back of the net. The only possible way to save these OP pens are if they goalie stays in the middle and holds up on the right-stick but this is very rare that you’ll see this occur in the match.
Sidestep (Ball Roll)
Now this move can be performed by any player in the game and is easily on of the most overpowered in the game and has been for the past few installments of the franchise. To do it all you have to do is flick the right analogue stick in the direction that’s to the side of the player. It’s by far the easiest skill move to do on the entire game and that’ what makes it into our list of deadly skill moves.
Berba Spin (4-Star Skill)
The berba spin is easily one of the most OP in FIFA 16 and it’s good because you can perform it whilst running which can’t be said for the majority of skills on the game. The other great plus for it is the ability to cut inside with ease and at pace. Lastly the fact that you can double up and do 2 or 3 of them in a row makes this a deadly skill to use. Check out our full in-depth tutorial on it here where we cover everything you need to know about it.
The Spin (4-Star Skill)
The spin was first introduced in last years title and soon became a fans favourite with it’s speedy and effective way of cutting inside much like the berba spin. We’ve also covered this in a recent tutorial and from there you can learn the controls on how to do it. This is one that you should definitely be using this season if you’re serious about becoming an effective skiller.
No Touch Dribbling
This one easily makes the list as it’s a new feature in the game this year and we all know that EA like to overpower the new controls that they introduce each season and this is no exception. The no touch dribbling can be performed by anyone but it’s worth noting that it works best with players who’re blessed with really decent dribbling statistics so the higher the value the better it performs.
Just like many of these we’ve already done a skills tutorial on this and you should check it out if you want to gain the knowledge on exactly how to use this in the correct way. If used correctly this can be your best friend on the pitch and sometimes be the difference between winning and losing a match.
Fake Shot To Stop The Ball Still
This little beauty is by far my favourite skill move to use in FIFA 16! To perform it you simply have to do a fake shot which is the shoot button followed immediately by the pass button and let go of the left analogue stick. This will result in your player pretending and faking to take on a shot but instead stopping the ball dead still in a matter of seconds. You can literally do so many different things on the pitch with this at your disposal and it’s fantastic for confusing the opposition defenders and at times it is almost impossible to defend against.
You can win penalties in the opponents penalty area, perform a speed boost or skill straight after you’ve done it, or even get half a yard of important space to get a shot or cross out. This is one that you seriously need to put into your game-plan and start using instantly! You will not regret it and if anything you should be overusing all five of these listed in this tutorial on a regular basis.
There are three different variations of the first touch that are going to be covered in this guide and we’re going to start off with the standard version.
Basic/Standard First Touch
In-order to perform the basic first touch you simply have to flick the right analogue stick in your preferred direction when receiving the ball from your teammate. This is great for controlling the ball gaining momentum and even beating players that are running very fast at you. It’s best to use this on the wings mostly but also in the central areas of midfield and in attack.
The Fake Shot First Touch
Now this is very old-school and a lot of gamers have been using this on FIFA for years but it’s slowly being forgotten and that’s something that you don’t want to forget as it’s extremely OP. To perform it when receiving the ball you simply have to do a fake shot by pressing the shoot and then pass button and then you exit in your desired direction.
The speed in which this is done in is a huge factor in why it beats opponents and most of all creates space for you offline in Career Mode and indeed in Ultimate Team and H2H.
Letting The Ball Run To Create Space
Now this is probably one of the best at beating defenders and should only be done whilst you are in the opponents final third or penalty area. In order to pull it off you simply have to hold RB on Xbox or R1 on PlayStation and then turn with the player in the direction the ball is already heading in.
The point of this is it’s very deceiving and can fool any opposition defence and also it lets the pace of the ball do the work and your striker runs onto the end of it and more often than not is in on goal by the end of the move. For better examples of how to perform all of these in matches it’s best to watch the video with all the tips above as you’ll get a better idea of how to do them all.