Fm 21 ME and level of difficulty

[Marittiello1987]

Hi guys!
I'm still at FM17 (I even played a little bit at 18) because the 19th and 20th didn't convince me!
My doubts are about ME and the level of difficulty.
Is the ME better than the last editions?
Is the difficulty level acceptable again? (20 was really too simple, even starting without licenses and experience, and it bored me almost immediately!)

I apologize for my not exactly top English!

Thanks!

[Captain Krakatoa]

The match engine is one of the best from the series. New animation, smoother movement, etc

For the difficulty level, well, i myself is not a very decent player lmao, so i couldn't say it for you. Some people say it is still 'too easy' but it might be patched out later

Anyway, one of the best game in the series imo

[Sharkn20]

FM21 is pretty good, a lot better than FM20 in the majority of aspects.

Match Interface needs improving, and few bugs here and there but am fully inmersed in it already.

[mazides]

Unfortunately it is super easy!! The game is brilliant otherwise, but the level of difficulty makes it super boring. I wish they had an option for users to select the level of difficulty (for us who want it to feel like real life), but I get it most people probably just like to win no matter how unreal that feels...

[Mcfc1894]

The Match engine is brilliant but yh it's definitely to easy to overachive even more than previous editions imo 

[Federico]

Some find it super easy. Some find it super difficult. It depends on how you play the game and the club you pick.

[Tyburn]

There are ALOT of ways to make it less easy, but it requires will power, on the whole.

[freddieos]

23 hours ago, mazides said:

Unfortunately it is super easy!! The game is brilliant otherwise, but the level of difficulty makes it super boring. I wish they had an option for users to select the level of difficulty (for us who want it to feel like real life), but I get it most people probably just like to win no matter how unreal that feels...

try this mod for your next save

 

[FrazT]

Start by downloading and trying the free demo and you can make your own judgement of the ME

[laurentius82]

Agree with people above. ME is good, but FM21 is even easier than FM20 unfortunately. But it's okay, you can make it harder by playing badly on purpose. 

[Mars_Blackmon]

Match engine is the best it’s ever been but it’s a pretty easy game if you know what you’re doing.

[Brother Ben]

1 hour ago, laurentius82 said:

Agree with people above. ME is good, but FM21 is even easier than FM20 unfortunately. But it's okay, you can make it harder by playing badly on purpose. 

*realistically

[Mars_Blackmon]

1 hour ago, Brother Ben said:

*realistically

Sigh...Not everyone who find the game easy exploit it...

 

and if someone does decides to take advantage of the AI or gameplay mechanics, if it’s isn’t a bug then that’s apart of the difficulty of the game theoretically.

[daveh83]

Why is it so easy is it a little flaw in me that seasoned players have found out ?? Is it a tactical style yous are all playing etc. What is it ???

[Brother Ben]

52 minutes ago, Mars_Blackmon said:

Sigh...Not everyone who find the game easy exploit it...

 

and if someone does decides to take advantage of the AI or gameplay mechanics, if it’s isn’t a bug then that’s apart of the difficulty of the game theoretically.

Okay so you want it harder?  Harder would equal more frustration for the average user, more accusations of scripting, of the game cheating etc  ergo less sales.  Look how much people lost their heads on here over the Brexit rules.

People who play in the way that I do understand this.  And make adjustments accordingly

Would I like it to be harder?  Of course I would, I'm always looking for more realism.  I'd like it to be practically impossible to win the English top flight with anyone apart from the Elite 4 or 5.   I'd like to see loads done but I also acknowledge the need for it to be economically viable

Oh and I'm pretty crap at the game so I'm having a whale of a time wallowing in mediocrity.  There's loads like me too I bet, they are just less likely to speak up.

[Brother Ben]

28 minutes ago, daveh83 said:

Why is it so easy is it a little flaw in me that seasoned players have found out ?? Is it a tactical style yous are all playing etc. What is it ???

Would you like the game to be harder out of interest? 

[Mars_Blackmon]

34 minutes ago, daveh83 said:

Why is it so easy is it a little flaw in me that seasoned players have found out ?? Is it a tactical style yous are all playing etc. What is it ???

Main issues right now are

 

1. Passive AI tactically.

2. Passive AI in transfer market.

 

There are others but these are the main issues. Two things that doesn’t make the game impossible to play if adjusted, just two simple flaws of the game.

[daveh83]

2 hours ago, Brother Ben said:

Would you like the game to be harder out of interest? 

Am not longer a seasoned player no more since I started my businesses 5 years ago. Before then I could dedicate hrs to cracking it and getting results .. I just haven’t got 8hrs plus a session no more to really have a go. 

[Nikopol]

To be fair, i am somewhat struggling with FM21 so far. Somewhat because i nonetheless won an easy first championship with Dortmund, but i'm far from dominating as easily as i was in 2020 and am even struggling to win the leage in my second season with my bvb save. May just be me though.

[KillYourIdols]

6 of one, half a dozen of the other really. I'm engrossed in my Arsenal save at the moment and finding sometime I'm playing beautifully an getting good Results (Beating Barca 4- and 2-0 in the Champions league as well as Juventus and Doubles over City and Liverpool in the league) and won the League in 2021, but it seems, as always, an influx of players and tweaks in personnel and tactic will have an effect. I'm in 2022/23 now and after sitting 4 points clear at the Beginning of December, I dropped down to 4th by Jan. Now climbed back up to 2nd by Feb. The teams around me (Liverpool, United and Chelsea) are really pushing me.

Long and Short of it. The game, FOR ME, has a nice variable difficultly. No Outrageous losses and everything can really be traced back to a decision I made, right or wrong. As the years go by and the game world develops, unless you nail it, you may see yourself slip. And I love it.

[amadeo]

To those who find the game too easy...

Which team are you playing with and why is it so easy? 

I'm asking because I have now played with a top side and a amateur side in Denmark. With both teams I have had it very difficult. Actually, I have struggled so much that it has affected my game experience. 

[laurentius82]

13 hours ago, amadeo said:

To those who find the game too easy...

Which team are you playing with and why is it so easy? 

I'm asking because I have now played with a top side and a amateur side in Denmark. With both teams I have had it very difficult. Actually, I have struggled so much that it has affected my game experience. 

Playing with Chester. Had 5 back-to-back promotions from VNN to PL, just won the PL in 2030. It's too easy due to multitude of factors, but most importantly; the AI can't adapt their tactics and is too defensive, the AI is horrible at squad building. Finding wonderkids (who somehow preferably sign for the human player) is way too easy, and their development is way too fast. The Ai stacks their squads with overpaid 31-olds who are quickly overpowered by the wonderkid army of the human player, as experience has zero value in the game world. 

[Mars_Blackmon]

1 hour ago, laurentius82 said:

Playing with Chester. Had 5 back-to-back promotions from VNN to PL, just won the PL in 2030. It's too easy due to multitude of factors, but most importantly; the AI can't adapt their tactics and is too defensive, the AI is horrible at squad building. Finding wonderkids (who somehow preferably sign for the human player) is way too easy, and their development is way too fast. The Ai stacks their squads with overpaid 31-olds who are quickly overpowered by the wonderkid army of the human player, as experience has zero value in the game world. 

That’s a good point that never gets brought up. Human players will get rid over over 30 players like the plague but in reality, having veteran players should help development, morale and cohesion much more often than if you had a bunch of young players on your team. There needs to be a balance and some incentive for the human to have some vets on the first team.

[Karl Krammer (KK)]

15 hours ago, laurentius82 said:

Playing with Chester. Had 5 back-to-back promotions from VNN to PL, just won the PL in 2030. It's too easy due to multitude of factors, but most importantly; the AI can't adapt their tactics and is too defensive, the AI is horrible at squad building. Finding wonderkids (who somehow preferably sign for the human player) is way too easy, and their development is way too fast. The Ai stacks their squads with overpaid 31-olds who are quickly overpowered by the wonderkid army of the human player, as experience has zero value in the game world. 

I add that AI is a disaster when it comes to hiring employees

[amadeo]

On 28/03/2021 at 19:43, laurentius82 said:

Playing with Chester. Had 5 back-to-back promotions from VNN to PL, just won the PL in 2030. It's too easy due to multitude of factors, but most importantly; the AI can't adapt their tactics and is too defensive, the AI is horrible at squad building. Finding wonderkids (who somehow preferably sign for the human player) is way too easy, and their development is way too fast. The Ai stacks their squads with overpaid 31-olds who are quickly overpowered by the wonderkid army of the human player, as experience has zero value in the game world. 

Do you play with a plug and play tactic?

With my CM/FM experience tactics are maybe the most important factor for good results.

[laurentius82]

2 hours ago, amadeo said:

Do you play with a plug and play tactic?

Never. 

2 hours ago, amadeo said:

With my CM/FM experience tactics are maybe the most important factor for good results.

Agreed, but you don't need  to use unrealistic exploitative super-tactics to overachieve, any decently balanced but attacking-minded tactic that suits your players will do.

[Mars_Blackmon]

Even if he did use plug and play tactic, any tactic shouldn’t be successfully used with any random team. It’s a problem there. And it screams attributes effectiveness.

[sporadicsmiles]

5 hours ago, laurentius82 said:

Agreed, but you don't need  to use unrealistic exploitative super-tactics to overachieve, any decently balanced but attacking-minded tactic that suits your players will do.

Not really wanting to jump in here, but you just described being good at the game as making the game easier. Which made me smile. 

[laurentius82]

12 hours ago, sporadicsmiles said:

Not really wanting to jump in here, but you just described being good at the game as making the game easier. Which made me smile. 

True enough =) but being able to create decent tactics should enable you to do ok in the game, not rocket you from non-league to the Champions League in a few years.

[sporadicsmiles]

1 hour ago, laurentius82 said:

True enough =) but being able to create decent tactics should enable you to do ok in the game, not rocket you from non-league to the Champions League in a few years.

Not gonna wade into that debate! Just made me smile to myself when I read your post!

[Rockywhu]

I thought FM 20 was bad but FM 21 is worse.

I've been a big fan of the series but this season's FM just seems to be too inconsistent with the match engine, lot of silly things are happening that are not realistic.

Can't say I'm too interested in the game this year.

 

Hopefully FM 22 is better 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Rockywhu

[Mars_Blackmon]

When it comes to difficulty levels, i think it should be a natural thing and nothing really artificial that would seem like the AI is “cheating” 

 

options like:

Increasing injuries

Morale effects

Cohession rate

Tactical familiarity rate

Difficulty of increasing a player’s interest in your team.

 

Settings like that could make the game more difficult for players who would like added difficulty.

With that said, Inwould also love the ability to attend a game (to scout and increase interest from a player) without actually having to watch the game. Maybe attending the games could take away from your effectiveness of training during that week.

 

[Etebaer]

"Realistic Injuries" Mod is your friend...

[Mars_Blackmon]

6 hours ago, Etebaer said:

"Realistic Injuries" Mod is your friend...

I use that and it helps but it doesn’t really put injuries to 100% (SI admitted that injuries are only 80% of real life rate) 

 

besides, what if the creator decided not to do mod one day? It happens all the time with mods.

[Etebaer]

I agree - its still to lenient and if he stops modding this game would have a comletely unrealistic injuries rate near to zero.

Stuff like that should be in a realism slider!

If not for the league and realism mods i would not have started playing this year with the winterupdate after i finished Cyberpunk and honestly FM prevents me from "working" on my huge backlog of games so i probably should make a bigger break...

 

If the real football gets more insane i will stop anyway - there is no world not even an universe in which i would buy a FM that contains eventually a future Superleague with the best teams of each national league seperating themself from the rest of the football world ruining everyone left behind...that will be the latest point when i stop FMing!

If the big clubs move into the exclusive 17-loser-league (in case its a 18 team superleague) they deserve to fail - the only thing it will achieve is more debt and more money wasting plus the death of all other football...

[EazyEee]

The game is aimed at casuals. Threads talking about how easy the games have become are commonplace, normally 1-2 threads on the front page of the forum, but we're just a small minority of the players so business-wise it doesn't make sense to develop a harder mode. Just wish they gave more tools to modders so that the game can be tweaked more.

[Daveincid]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb EazyEee:

Just wish they gave more tools to modders so that the game can be tweaked more.

I still discover new ways to mod the game all the time within the pre-game-editor. I realized that a lot of problems or suggestions can be fixed/created wit the current tools provided by SI  Once you dive deep into the editor, it's just insane

[freddieos]

On 04/04/2021 at 00:42, Mars_Blackmon said:

When it comes to difficulty levels, i think it should be a natural thing and nothing really artificial that would seem like the AI is “cheating” 

 

options like:

Increasing injuries

Morale effects

Cohession rate

Tactical familiarity rate

Difficulty of increasing a player’s interest in your team.

 

Settings like that could make the game more difficult for players who would like added difficulty.

With that said, Inwould also love the ability to attend a game (to scout and increase interest from a player) without actually having to watch the game. Maybe attending the games could take away from your effectiveness of training during that week.

 

You could also add real-life agent behaviour to the game to make it harder. Turning players against you, creating more disloyalty, bad press affecting team morale and so forth.

[Mcfc1894]

I really do hope FM 22 is more challenging where you really have to think about your tactics 

[sthptngomad76]

On 19/08/2021 at 09:42, Mcfc1894 said:

I really do hope FM 22 is more challenging where you really have to think about your tactics 

God how I wish this to be true. Just one version where a plug and play tactic doesn't turn your nothing team into champions whilst doing nothing. One where you actually had to think about things, and dynamically adjust things. Like a real strategy game. Instead of a match engine that is so broken that any unrealistic tactic can break the game.

And before anyone says "then don't use them", it's not my responsibility to create an artificial challenge for myself, it's the game developers who I am paying for a game where I need to think.

[forameuss]

11 hours ago, sthptngomad76 said:

God how I wish this to be true. Just one version where a plug and play tactic doesn't turn your nothing team into champions whilst doing nothing. One where you actually had to think about things, and dynamically adjust things. Like a real strategy game. Instead of a match engine that is so broken that any unrealistic tactic can break the game.

And before anyone says "then don't use them", it's not my responsibility to create an artificial challenge for myself, it's the game developers who I am paying for a game where I need to think.

Sorry, but when its a single player game, and you're complaining about being able to do something you yourself are doing, while you're perfectly able not to, then that's definitely a you problem.

The nature of the engine means there is likely always going to be weaknesses, and the nature of the people who obsessively search for ways to make the engine cry uncle means that these will always be exposed. You'd really rather staunchly expect what is almost an impossibility at this point rather than do things slightly differently and aid your own enjoyment? That's like the human equivalent of the meme guy putting a stick in the spokes of his bike.

[XaW]

@PhilT - Please stop responding with the same image. Either respond with an actual response, or just don't respond at all.

[PhilT]

3 minutes ago, XaW said:

@PhilT - Please stop responding with the same image. Either respond with an actual response, or just don't respond at all.

No probs, though it was a different image with an even smilier face ;-) I'm good now though. Thanks XaW :-) 

[XaW]

Removed the last posts.

Final warning. Keep things on topic, otherwise you might find your ability to post here removed.

[PhilT]

5 minutes ago, XaW said:

Removed the last posts.

Final warning. Keep things on topic, otherwise you might find your ability to post here removed.

I'd rather post a smiley face in reply rather than argue - as he suggested in his comment. I believe a forum should be light-hearted & not where individuals want to argue. Thanks for removing the posts  

Edited August 22, 2021 by PhilT

[PhilT]

On 21/08/2021 at 11:11, sthptngomad76 said:

God how I wish this to be true. Just one version where a plug and play tactic doesn't turn your nothing team into champions whilst doing nothing. One where you actually had to think about things, and dynamically adjust things. Like a real strategy game. Instead of a match engine that is so broken that any unrealistic tactic can break the game.

And before anyone says "then don't use them", it's not my responsibility to create an artificial challenge for myself, it's the game developers who I am paying for a game where I need to think.

You raise some excellent points - delivered in an intelligent & unconfrontational manner