About "Long Shots" instruction

Maybe it is only my personal thought, but i dont like how the long shot settings are managed.

Why a "often", "rarely" or "sometimes" instruction should depend on player role? Surely in real life players with good shot power and/or accuracy are allowed by their managers to try often long range attempts, no matter if they are defensive midfielders, advanced playmaker...

Usually i set all my players to "rarely", and then, after selected my eleven for a game, i modify the setting of players with a good enough long shot attribute.

My suggestion is this: the "long shot" instruction should be treated as a "team instruction", in the same way of "penalty takers", "free kicks takers" etc. There should be a section named "long shots", divided in three subsection (obviously, rarely - sometimes - often). This way, we could simply choose a threshold and drag and drop player names in the correct subsection, and avoid to modify individual instructions every time we swap a player with anohter, or we make a differente selection.

What do you think about that? Is something noteworthy, or something unnecessary, or what?

Sorry if my english is not perfect.

First, you're English is great, better then some native speakers can be. lol

I would say the reason it's done the way it is would be because it's not really something you can limit. Players will think they have an opportunity and take a shot. IRL or in-game regardless of how much skill a player has in the are you can see some really good efforts or some just plain pathetic ones that make you wonder what he was thinking. I think that's the same thing the game is getting it, so instead of being able to rigidly limit it you can only give your instruction but a player with low decisions or doesn't run with the ball but has space may take a shot.

Just be glad they fixed it so they aren't taking shots every opportunity even with the instruction set to rarely, and that they go in with reasonably regularity.

What if I have a player who can play on the wing or behind the striker, and I only want him to take long shots when playing behind the striker because he'll probably miss if he shoots from a wide angle? I suppose that's no worse than the current system though.

We'd also need to drop every player into one of the three subsections. What would the default be? Also, what happens when we decide we need to make less long shots or more long shots in the middle of a match (i.e. we use the "shoot from distance" and "work ball into box" shouts respectively)?

What if I have a player who can play on the wing or behind the striker, and I only want him to take long shots when playing behind the striker because he'll probably miss if he shoots from a wide angle? I suppose that's no worse than the current system though.

I understand what you means, but "when" or "from where" take a shot depends of players decisions, i think.

We'd also need to drop every player into one of the three subsections. What would the default be? Also, what happens when we decide we need to make less long shots or more long shots in the middle of a match (i.e. we use the "shoot from distance" and "work ball into box" shouts respectively)?

The default should be "rarely", but it is only my opinion; and the use of "shoot from distance" etc is the same: one instruction increase the amount of shot taken, the other decrease it, doesnt matter if the "rarely", "sometimes" or "often" are in individual instructions or in team instructions.

Surely this is a prime candidate for "player-specific" instructions, and definitely NOT for a team instruction (although I appreciate you don't mean a team slider). If I have two midfielders who I rotate, and one has good long shots and one doesn't, I would love not to have to change this every game. I'd like to say that the player who's good at it should always take shots, the guy who's naff shouldn't. Much the same for run with ball - no point having a guy dribbling if he's no good at it.

Ideally there'd be positional instructions (the default) and player-specific instructions (which override the positional instructions) in the form of sliders. Obviously this can be extended to all settings, but some are more skill-dependent than others, and others are more positional in nature (I'm unlikely to set my defenders to run with ball irrespective of their attributes, but creative freedom may well be player-related). I'm sure other people have other settings that they'd love to be player dependent and different views on what they view as "positional". But making this a team instruction just makes worse than it already is - I'm always forgetting to set up my free kick takers etc. as it is!

Surely this is a prime candidate for "player-specific" instructions, and definitely NOT for a team instruction (although I appreciate you don't mean a team slider). If I have two midfielders who I rotate, and one has good long shots and one doesn't, I would love not to have to change this every game. I'd like to say that the player who's good at it should always take shots, the guy who's naff shouldn't. Much the same for run with ball - no point having a guy dribbling if he's no good at it.

Ideally there'd be positional instructions (the default) and player-specific instructions (which override the positional instructions) in the form of sliders. Obviously this can be extended to all settings, but some are more skill-dependent than others, and others are more positional in nature (I'm unlikely to set my defenders to run with ball irrespective of their attributes, but creative freedom may well be player-related). I'm sure other people have other settings that they'd love to be player dependent and different views on what they view as "positional". But making this a team instruction just makes worse than it already is - I'm always forgetting to set up my free kick takers etc. as it is!

Couldn't agree more, not just for long shots but as you said it's a perfect example of the need. So sick of having to change multiple things just because I go to my bench.

Couldn't agree more, not just for long shots but as you said it's a perfect example of the need. So sick of having to change multiple things just because I go to my bench.

The tactics creator is there.

All you have to do is select a role & mentality, thats two selections.

As for the idea that the default on long shots should be rarely: I'm fairly sure that one in three goals scored in real life are the result of a long shot from outside the box. If you are trying to stop them you are ignoring a valid method of scoring and making your tactics less efficient. If your not taking long shots teams will stand off you and mark your strikers tighter making it even harder to find that killer through ball.

The tactics creator is there.

All you have to do is select a role & mentality, thats two selections.

This is absolutely no help if you don't use roles or if there's no role that suits your needs (which may be why, like me, you don't use them). And don't you get a whole caboodle of other settings that change if you switch a role? Like mentality etc.? That really doesn't sound like a good way of telling my midfielder not to take long shots.

And anyway, making 2 selections is still more than 1 (if you're trying to tone down long shots, that's one setting).

The real solution is to have "roles" that you can define and save yourself and that can then be assigned to a specific player.

This is absolutely no help if you don't use roles or if there's no role that suits your needs (which may be why, like me, you don't use them). And don't you get a whole caboodle of other settings that change if you switch a role? Like mentality etc.? That really doesn't sound like a good way of telling my midfielder not to take long shots.

And anyway, making 2 selections is still more than 1 (if you're trying to tone down long shots, that's one setting).

The real solution is to have "roles" that you can define and save yourself and that can then be assigned to a specific player.

If you want to tone down long shots you have to do far more than change the setting to rarely as evidenced by the many threads that appear on the forum.

Rather than trying to create roles that don't exist you would find the job far easier and less time consuming if you embraced the creator using the roles that are available to you.

That said I'm sure in future versions we'll see more roles and perhaps the option of saveable user defined ones.

The tactics creator is there.

All you have to do is select a role & mentality, thats two selections.

Except that's completely generic. If I was being that generic I wouldn't care in the first place, but sub have different placements for set pieces and I also alter my specific instructions different then the role settings in some cases.

Love how some of you talk about depth in this area or that but when we talk about a lack of depth you point us to a shallow tool. All that has to happen is the game remember the instructions we set for a player and changes them as we change players, a very simple change tot he game itself.

If you want to tone down long shots you have to do far more than change the setting to rarely as evidenced by the many threads that appear on the forum.

This was when long shots were annoyingly broken... People always said, 'turn down the creativity'. Utterly moronic, especially if you're creative playmaker is the one taking long shots every chance he had even when it was set to rarely. But this is moot now because that have fixed it, for now, and lowing the long shot instruction works properly.

This was when long shots were annoyingly broken... People always said, 'turn down the creativity'. Utterly moronic, especially if you're creative playmaker is the one taking long shots every chance he had even when it was set to rarely. But this is moot now because that have fixed it, for now, and lowing the long shot instruction works properly.

No, it is far more than that.

Its about how your player roles fit into your overall team tactic, its about having available passes within the range and mentality you have instructed, its about giving the players the time to identify and complete those passes.

Except that's completely generic. If I was being that generic I wouldn't care in the first place, but sub have different placements for set pieces and I also alter my specific instructions different then the role settings in some cases.

Love how some of you talk about depth in this area or that but when we talk about a lack of depth you point us to a shallow tool. All that has to happen is the game remember the instructions we set for a player and changes them as we change players, a very simple change tot he game itself.

It might sound simple but I doubt you'll ever see it tbh.

What happens if you have a player that plays several positions?

What happens if you have a striker who can play different roles? do you want two poachers or two target men on the pitch for instance?

What happens when you are stretching the play down the wings getting behind the defence and you then bring on a winger who you use as an inside forward usually?

I could go on for most areas of the pitch.

Your approach to tactics is backwards, you don't select a role based on the player then throw 11 on the pitch. You select the roles based on your team tactic then fit the players to the roles.

If you rely on tactics creator or pre-determined roles, frequency of long shots will be connected to player role. While you expect your player to dribble forward with ball or hug touchline, it would be stupid to break these attacks by just shooting the ball towards goal from far out.

I believe that while orders 'often' and 'rarely' are self-explainatory, 'sometimes' still causes confusion. Question here is that player on pitch often takes the shot when you as a manager feel that he should've been more patient and trying to find a pass. How does a player determine, when shooting from distance is a good choice and when it's a poor decision?

What bothers me for example is when midfielder with decent long shot (let's say 12-14) attribute is set to shoot from range 'sometimes' and he has hit some 3-4 shots well wide during 60-70 minutes of game and he STILL continues taking poor shots. I think every fairly intelligent footballer should understand that if it's not his day, then it's better not to continue pushing without result.

It might sound simple but I doubt you'll ever see it tbh.

What happens if you have a player that plays several positions?

What happens if you have a striker who can play different roles? do you want two poachers or two target men on the pitch for instance?

What happens when you are stretching the play down the wings getting behind the defence and you then bring on a winger who you use as an inside forward usually?

I could go on for most areas of the pitch.

Your approach to tactics is backwards, you don't select a role based on the player then throw 11 on the pitch. You select the roles based on your team tactic then fit the players to the roles.

Easy... for all those answer it still simply remember the last settings you gave the player... that way when I am just making the 'usual' sub for the player in question i don't have to change anything... if I play them in a different position or do anything else differently then I can go and make the changes just like now. It's just when I don't have to do anything special I don't have to make a bunch of changes.

What you don't get is that what I'm talking about had nothing to do with tactics, but just makes the UI less cumbersome. When I sub a big target man for a faster striker, regardless of the reasoning, why should I have to go in and change the set piece placements, the role, and any other specific instructions I've made to that position. When instead of the -position- holing the settings a -player- can hold your settings. Has nothing to do with tactics at all, just a difference of how much micro management we have to do when making a simple sub.

If you want to believe it's about tactics, there are any number of reasons to replace a big target man, who fits perfectly with my team tactics, with a fast striker, who also fits my team tactics. Maybe the faster one is a youngster getting sub time, maybe it's to rest a target man at the end of the match. Maybe I'm down and the fast ST is more determined and might have better chance of getting behind the defense to even the score, or maybe the target man is just having a terrible game. I'm just saying when that change is made it would be nice to not have to change ever little stupid detail because the instructions are position based and not player based.

Slightly more along with the OP...

No, it is far more than that.

Its about how your player roles fit into your overall team tactic, its about having available passes within the range and mentality you have instructed, its about giving the players the time to identify and complete those passes.

Don't by that for a second... because my AMC's can make a through pass just as easily as taking that long shot. Only now they do make that pass up to the striker instead of taking the shot, because they fixed a bug that caused far too many long shots regardless of the 'rarely' instruction.

Anyway, I don't see a reason to change the settings for long shots as the OP stated, as long as they work properly like now it's just fine.

Wading into the long shots debate, i turn every single players long shots slider down to rarely.

Very few attempts will be on target (even for players with 15+), never mind result in a goal, affecting players match ratings > morale > confidence, not to mention your overall play. It's a wasted and therefore inefficient method of shooting for me and i'd much rather keep the ball and pass and probe for the creative players to find a pass.

As for the player specific instructions, i'm sure they'll benefit some people who prefer not to adjust tactics for each game and are happy to give player X the same player instructions for each game, but there are also those of us who like to micro-manage player instructions

Don't by that for a second... because my AMC's can make a through pass just as easily as taking that long shot. Only now they do make that pass up to the striker instead of taking the shot, because they fixed a bug that caused far too many long shots regardless of the 'rarely' instruction.

Anyway, I don't see a reason to change the settings for long shots as the OP stated, as long as they work properly like now it's just fine.

If you don't buy that then the discussion is pointless and you need to improve your knowledge of the settings

If you rely on tactics creator or pre-determined roles, frequency of long shots will be connected to player role. While you expect your player to dribble forward with ball or hug touchline, it would be stupid to break these attacks by just shooting the ball towards goal from far out.

I believe that while orders 'often' and 'rarely' are self-explainatory, 'sometimes' still causes confusion. Question here is that player on pitch often takes the shot when you as a manager feel that he should've been more patient and trying to find a pass. How does a player determine, when shooting from distance is a good choice and when it's a poor decision?

What bothers me for example is when midfielder with decent long shot (let's say 12-14) attribute is set to shoot from range 'sometimes' and he has hit some 3-4 shots well wide during 60-70 minutes of game and he STILL continues taking poor shots. I think every fairly intelligent footballer should understand that if it's not his day, then it's better not to continue pushing without result.

Again... how many times have you watched a real match and thought 'hmmm, that was a complete waste of possession' when you seem them rip a ball from like 40-45 yards out. Maybe if the mishit a ball, but when its in a position that would take an immaculate strike to go in then you are just left scratching your head. I see shots like that like 2-3 times every match at least, so this is represented in the game by the manager having limited control over it. Enough control players don't always do stupid stuff, but not total control. Just right imo.

If you don't buy that then the discussion is pointless and you need to improve your knowledge of the settings

I do just fine with the setting, especially when they work right. Pure and simple long shots were bugged. Now they've been fixed and instead of setting my entire team to rarely like before when they still too shots left and right, they hold the ball, pass it around, make great through passes. Not to mention I even get to set the players that are good at it to 'sometimes' for long shots and they STILL don't take them as often as they did when set to 'rarely' in 11.1. So it's a fixed bug and plays much better then it did, no issues at all.

If you want to tone down long shots you have to do far more than change the setting to rarely as evidenced by the many threads that appear on the forum.

Rather than trying to create roles that don't exist you would find the job far easier and less time consuming if you embraced the creator using the roles that are available to you.

That said I'm sure in future versions we'll see more roles and perhaps the option of saveable user defined ones.

The whole point of this thread initially was about being able to change just the long shot settings for players. This seems irrelevant and very OT.

There have been numerous requests for player-specific instructions in the past, I really can't see how that can be a terrible thing.