Multiple Difficulties

I really, really wish the game had multiple difficulty settings, the game is so ridiculously easy that it gets really dull in just a few seasons. The AI is so poor tactically that matches are over before they start in most cases, and the worst thing about it is that when you get to season 6 and beyond when teams have to start building new teams the AI always messes up.

AI teams literally have no idea how to build a good squad, so much so that you end up winning leagues by 20-30 points with ease. It may be fun for a season or two, but it soon gets very boring when every game is a 5-0 win. My top striker for QPR has hit about 500 goals in 350 games, thats not realistic in the slightest

At least if we had a difficulty slider we could ramp it up to be more of a challenge. And before people tell me to choose a lower league team, it doesn't make a difference!

Just seems to me that its almost impossible to lose on this game in its current state.

I think you are just good at the game. Either that or I am very bad. I think one of the best things about Football Manager is that it doesn't have adjustable difficulty settings. I suppose in a way the past experience part of the Manager Profile acts as a difficulty setting. I personally find the game to be a challenge. As much as I would like to be really good at the game it's just not the case. I'm pretty sure the majority of the people on here don't find the game as easy as you mate.

Lower league teams does make a difference. Also, are you taking note to change the past reputation? That is practically a difficulty setting.

IMO, I think the AI control their teams quite well, first season I won the Bundesliga with Bayern, the next season Dortmund did and teams are constantly making signings to improve their team and it must just be the fact that you are a good manager

Lower league teams does make a difference. Also, are you taking note to change the past reputation? That is practically a difficulty setting.

Im aware that, but it doesnt make much difference. It doesnt change the AI's tactical ability, or its transfer dealings.

And lower league doesnt make a difference, sometimes you reach a plateu just by the fact that the club cannot get more fans, and they play in a small country. But thats not the same as being difficult.

DLR means there is no such thing as a plataeu, you just need to stay with them longer.

Can you not set yourself challenges? I firmly believe you are not the perfect manager, because I think that is an impossible ideal. There is always some way in which your club could be better. Is your team supporting the national side? Are you giving local players the chances? Are you using your own academy? Do you play pretty, passing football?

The game is just perfect for me - taking Droylsden from Blue Sq North to the Premiership is challenging but not completely unrealistic. OK, it might be easier than in real life, but you also can't do it within 5 seasons (or I can't at least!!!)

The OP is spot on. Yes some people are really 'good at the game', but the game is fundementally flawed when it comes to AI team building. Anyone who has progressed at least half a dozen seasons will see AI clubs become progressively weaker as each new season passes by. Fortunately there are a few ways to make your game more challenging, one is to try one of the challenges (like Dafuges or LLM rules), another is to play with an attribute hiding skin (notches the game 'difficultly level' up several hundred levels lol so its not for everyone! ), the other method is to use FMRTE to effectively do the AI team-building for it by spending an hour or so pre-season improving your rival clubs playing staff and giving them a few wonderkids etc. Or as a last resort just stick to lower league clubs since its always a challenge at grass roots level. None of them are ideal but unfortunately become essential if you want to play a long term game and have any meaningful challenge. The other option is to limit yourself to 10-season saves, rinse and repeat, since for the first few seasons while AI clubs are still pretty strong you do get a decent challenge.

I have seen more than a few notable exceptions to 'weak AI team building' in my time playing football manager. But aside from the teams at the very top, the quality does diminish over time.

Personally I think we need AI manager who are much more interested in finding players with the right attributes to suit their tactics, rather than buying primarily on reputation, an element the human player cannot (directly) see.

Disagree. I hate when before a manager game you have to choose "easy" "medium" or "hard" it annoys me because i nuetral level is the best way.

needs a hardcore mode where you can see any attributes without scouting players and that you can only scout 1 player at a time

The game is just perfect for me - taking Droylsden from Blue Sq North to the Premiership is challenging but not completely unrealistic. OK, it might be easier than in real life, but you also can't do it within 5 seasons (or I can't at least!!!)

HEY ME TOO!

I think I took 6 seasons to get to the premier league. Fought relegation for 2 seasons. Randomly played in the Europa league in the 3rd season. And then I won 9 times in a row and won the Champions league 4 times, once in our first outing.

go BLOODS!

You set your own difficulty level by how you play. Start off by not picking QPR, of course it will be easy to win with them. Go with Dafuge's challenge, and aim to take a non-league club all the way up to the Premier League and Champions League glory.

Alternatively, don't use scout reports, don't do any training schedules, don't have an assistant manager, don't use corner cheats, don't buy foreign players, only buy players named Smith, don't buy any players at all (rely on youth players), etc.

How would the difficulty level work?

What would it effect?

Si could remove or reduce the AI manager's ability to adjust their tactics to yours on Easy mode and increase it in Hard mode. If they managed to improve the AI squad building, they could use that in Hard mode and let it stay as it is now on Easy mode.

But all in all, I think that players adjust the difficulty by choosing clubs and past experience just fine as it is now. The OP is right that choosing lower-league clubs is just the same as choosing Manchester United, except that in the former case it takes more than one season to become the best club in the world. World domination is inevitable if you play long enough because the AI does not strengthen their teams while you do every year. It shouldn't be this way! The biggest improvement SI could possibly do right now, is to improve the AI in terms of squad building and to make the AI manager ability more sensitive in terms of both squad building and tactical proficiency.

Si could remove or reduce the AI manager's ability to adjust their tactics to yours on Easy mode and increase it in Hard mode. If they managed to improve the AI squad building, they could use that in Hard mode and let it stay as it is now on Easy mode.

But all in all, I think that players adjust the difficulty by choosing clubs and past experience just fine as it is now. The OP is right that choosing lower-league clubs is just the same as choosing Manchester United, except that in the former case it takes more than one season to become the best club in the world. World domination is inevitable if you play long enough because the AI does not strengthen their teams while you do every year. It shouldn't be this way! The biggest improvement SI could possibly do right now, is to improve the AI in terms of squad building and to make the AI manager ability more sensitive in terms of both squad building and tactical proficiency.

Couldnt agree more with that.

You could just move on to another club where it actually is a new challenge

@ Kenco - My QPR save was just started because i got bored with my other 2 saves. Currently im managing Prato in the Serie C2, although i just got promoted to serie B.

And as for using no staff. I regularly have 0 coaches because i never replace them when they're contracts run out, they make little to no difference anyway. Scouts are the same, the reports they make are usually misguided to plain wrong even for top scouts. And as for building one nation teams, done that. Teams with the same name, boring. And usually my play style is to play youth as far as possible.

I just want to be able to play normally with a better AI to play against, surely its not too much to ask.

@Ackter - They way i would like it to work is pretty much what BiggusD said. The AI needs to be better tactically and at squad building, those are the two main area's. With those two things improved the game would be infinitely better and worth playing for many years. Perhaps bigger negative morale swings for media interviews would spice things up too.

@LARulz - Thats not a solution, thats just changing clubs for the sake of it and starting again with the same crappy AI.

Bradley I think you just have to accept you are 'that good' and that unfortunately for you are in a minority. Your entire post is basically epeen waving with the exception of the point you make about AI team building which while overstated does need improving. Currently its a bit of a lottery that often doesnt go so well, but it can sometimes luck out and make good sides.

TBH if you have built one nation teams with '0' coaches and still dominated you are just very good at the game, good for you well done, but I dont see why FM would introduce a feature utterly at odds with a simulation just to apease a small minority of hardcore fans.