FIFA 22 Got First Patch; Nerfed Goalkeepers and Buffed Referees
FIFA 22 has received its first major patch, which changes a lot in the behavior of goalkeepers and referees. Players should be pleased with the update, as it has a positive effect on the gameplay balance.
FIFA 22 debuted on October 1, although EA Play subscribers could play it earlier, and received very good ratings from reviewers, as well as decent marks from players. However, you can also find criticism online, pointing out various errors. EA Sports seems to be aware of the situation and last night it released the first patch for FIFA 22. It affects primarily goalkeepers, the work of referees and the behavior of artificial intelligence. The patch is only available for owners of the PC version of FIFA and it should debut on consoles in the next few days.
The first and most anticipated change introduced in the first patch is reduced effectiveness of goalkeeper interventions on shots taken inside the penalty area. Up until now we've seen situations where some goalkeepers turned into real machines, catching even killer shots going right into top corner from two meters. At the same time, the devs improved their effectiveness when defending finesse shots from distance. - this is also good news, because they were falling far too often.
EA also guarantees that from now on the logic of referees' behavior will be slightly better. This includes reducing the frequency of penalty kicks and not whistling fouls on perfectly aimed slides.
Also worth mentioning is the enhanced AI, which EA Sports claim will improve the positioning of defenders, especially when defending counter-attacks from corner kicks. This has been a problem so far, with defensive blocks sometimes going all over the place on long balls.
It has to be said that the aforementioned changes seem quite reasonable and can improve an already successful title. In addition to the most visible actions directly affecting gameplay, the developers have also improved certain aspects of the career mode, Volta or Virtual Clubs. The full list of new features introduced in the first update can be found here.
FIFA 22 launched on October 1, 2021 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Google Stadia. On Nintendo Switch, we'll play a truncated version called FIFA 22: Legacy Edition.
