FUT 21: Beginner's Guide & Tips FIFA 21 guide, tips

Last update: 15 October 2020

Read this chapter of the FIFA 21 guide to learn how to start the season well in FUT 21 (FIFA Ultimate Team) mode. Here you will learn which version of FIFA 21 to choose, how to use the FUT Web App, what is Early Access and how to use it, how to start playing FIFA Ultimate Team and how to invest earned coins.

In FIFA 21, having a good start at the beginning of the season in FUT 21 is very important to get the right funds for the development of the club. By taking a few simple steps and choosing good investments, you can get the coins you need in a short time to create a solid gold squad that will allow you to climb the Division Rivals and qualify for the FUT Champions weekend league.

• FIFA 21 – which version of the game to choose?
• FUT Web App – How to get a head start before FIFA 21's launch?
• Starter Pack – which nationality to choose?
• Squad Building Challenges – how to complete?
• FIFA 21 EA Play early access – how to make the most of it?
• Players' cards – what influences their price?
• Which cards to keep?

FIFA 21 – which version of the game to choose?

There are three editions of FIFA 21: Standard, Champions and Ultimate. The Standard version of the game won't give you any extra perks, but the Champions or Ultimate can make it easier for you to start in FUT 21 (FIFA Ultimate Team) mode.

1. FIFA 21 Champions Edition - playable 3 days before launch (from 6 October 2020), up to 12 gold packs of rare FIFA Ultimate Team 21 cards (1 per week, for 12 weeks);
2. FIFA 21 Ultimate Edition – playable 3 days before launch (from October 6, 2020), up to 24 gold packs of rare FIFA Ultimate Team 21 cards (2 per week, for 12 weeks).

FUT Web App – How to get a head start before FIFA 21's launch?

The FUT Web App is a very useful and very powerful trading tool that will greatly accelerate the development of your FUT 21 team. Anyone who has purchased FIFA 21 and meets certain requirements will have access to the FUT Web App on 30 October 2020 and will be able to start creating a new club in FUT 21 as well as take advantage of the transfer market. Ways of gaining an advantage with this app before the official start of FIFA 21 are described on a separate page of this guide.

Starter Pack – which nationality to choose?

The choice of a starter pack is very important when starting your adventure with FUT 21 (FIFA Ultimate Team) mode. It is worth opting for nationalities such as England, France, or Germany to have a small chance of getting a good golden player. The football leagues in these countries are divided into at least 2 or 3 levels meaning you will get bronze and silver players, which you can then use to complete the first few Squad Building Challenges (SBC).

Squad Building Challenges – how to complete?

Once you have opened the starting pack and/or rewards for returning players received if you have played the previous version of FIFA, you will have enough players to begin the first Squad Building Challenges (SBC).

Check the Basic category first – you'll find some very simple tasks that you can do using the bronze players from the starter pack. Some of the tasks in this category can give you Gold Packs or even Gold Premium Packs – these ones are especially valuable. If you want, of course, you can complete all the tasks in this category. If you manage to get some exceptionally good footballers – leave them and don't put them up for sale, as their price will go up significantly a few days after FIFA 21 gets released. Cards with an overall score of 75 and below, which you won't use in your next assignment, should be sold at the transfer market to get a budget that allows you to buy the necessary players for the next SBC.

Then move on to the advanced Squad Building Challenges that will require more money. Each of these challenges is divided into smaller tasks for which you can receive incredibly valuable rewards: Mega Packs, Rare Cards Packs, Premium Packs, Rare Players, and even large amounts of coins.

Do these tasks slowly – do one category, open packs and then sell everything you can to get a budget for the next tasks, etc. After completing all the advanced tasks, you should have around 50 000 - 60 000 coins. If you're lucky and get an exceptionally good footballer, your budget can increase to even a few hundred thousand coins!

FIFA 21 EA Play early access – how to make the most of it?

By purchasing an EA Play subscription ($4.99 per month or $29.99 for a whole year), you will be able to test FIFA 21 from 1 October 2020, but only for 10 hours. It is also worth noting that those with an Xbox Game Pass have an EA Play subscription and do not have to pay extra for it. If you want the best start to FUT season 21, it's worth using this as another advantage over those waiting until the game's official launch on October 9, 2020. The EA Play subscription is also a good choice for buying a better version of FIFA 21 than the standard one thanks to a 10% discount.

All operations related to opening packs, trading in the transfer market, checking other players' cards, etc. can be done in the FUT Web App. When you start playing FIFA 21 in Early Access, you have to use these 10 hours as best you can – play as many matches as possible in the Squad Battle modes and Division Rivals to get the first rewards for these modes.

Players' cards – what influences their price?

If you are a novice player and you are just starting your adventure with FUT 21 (FIFA Ultimate Team) or the FIFA series in general, you will find it hard to understand what really makes some cards more expensive than other very similar ones.

1. Good football league – cards from the most desirable football leagues like the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A are more expensive than cards from other leagues. This is particularly evident in the case of the Premier League, which is the number one in every edition of FIFA and most people decide to create a squad using these players. If, for example, a player from England costs 20,000 coins, he can cost much less after moving to another league;
2. Nationality – players of a particular nationality, such as Brazil, England, France, Spain will cost more because they can be matched in hybrid teams featuring multiple players from different football leagues;
3. Top club – players from top teams (Liverpool, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, Paris Saint-Germain, etc.) will cost more than the players of the teams in the middle or end of the league table;
4. Rating – cards with a high overall rating (83, 84, 85) are more expensive than players rated below 80 points. Their price can increase further when they are used to complete certain Squad Building Challenges (SBC);
5. High pace – this another determinant of the price, especially if it is around 80 points or more;
6. Weaker leg stars, action finish – a striker with 5 stars for the weaker leg, and a shot finish of 80 will be more expensive than one with 2 stars for the weaker leg and 70 points in shot. The striker's main job is to score goals so a footballer who doesn't have to move the ball to the stronger leg before shooting is a very valuable asset to the team.

Which cards to keep?

Another important question when starting a FUT 21 season is which cards are worth keeping and which can be sold immediately? In every subsequent season, meta FUT cards which means very good players tend to significantly increase their value after the official launch of the game. Therefore, it's worth keeping them for a bit if you're playing FIFA 21 in the early access.

1. World-class players – you should definitely keep the cards of players like Messi, Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Varan, Neymar JR, Virgil van Dijk, etc. There aren't many novice FUT 21 players who can afford such cards, meaning that their value will slowly increase;
2. Meta cards – keep meta players such as Ousmane Dembélé, Allan Saint-Maximin, Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Felipe Anderson, Fred, Nathan Aké, Éder Militao, Sergio Ramos, Bailey, Gnabry, etc. Their price will rise when players start updating their rosters ahead of weekend league games in FUT Champions. This is the best time to sell them because then their price will start to fall. Cards of these players will become more common on the transfer market once all players open their FUT Champions Trophy packs;
3. Team of the Week (TOTW) – in FIFA 21, TOTW cards will start to appear from the first week. The featured players receive special enhanced cards and are available in packs for one week. After that time, they will disappear from the packs and be replaced by a regular version of the card. Their TOTW card will probably gain value.