Our FIFA 23 tips are integral if you've just got the game and plan to spend Boxing Day hammering netbusters with Erling Haaland. All the FIFA 23 basics are covered, from the new acceleration and set-piece models, to Ultimate Team and career mode, via features you may not be aware of – such as the inclusion of women's club teams. Enough pre-match build-up: let’s dish out the nine key FIFA 23 tips to know before you play.
1 Master the new acceleration system
The key on-pitch change is that every player fits one of three acceleration styles. Controlled players are your balanced style of footballer, reaching top speed and staying there in an even manner. Explosive players live up to that billing, bursting onto through balls or speedily haring back into their own box – but unable to maintain their electric pace. Lengthy players are the opposite, taking longer to hit top speed but able to sustain it once they get there. It’s these guys, such as Virgil van Dijk and Antinio Rudiger, who the community is going wild for. Find out more in our FIFA 23 lengthy players guide.
2 Don’t give up on the new set-pieces
Forget everything your muscle memory knows about free-kicks and corners. They’ve been changed drastically, and you now use the left stick to aim, and the right to move a cursor over the ball to determine the style of kick. It feels more like a snooker or golf game, but actually opens up many more styles of delivery, such as knuckleballs. Penalties are tweaked too. You time a button press to determine composure, then aim with the left-stick. These systems offer greater nuance than in FIFA 22, but do require patience – so stick with them.
3 The new women’s teams are worth your time
FIFA 23 adds domestic women’s teams for the first time, and they actually change how you play. There are plenty of talented female players on show, but none of them have the sweaty pace of Kylian Mbappe or unstoppable FIFA 23 skill moves of Lionel Messi - making all-female matches fascinatingly tactical and competitive. Seriously, give them a try, especially if you’re keen on local multiplayer. If you’re looking for interesting squads to control, check out GR’s rundown of the FIFA 23 best women’s teams.
4 Chemistry has been torn apart
After years of community pleading, Ultimate Team chemistry is overhauled. Team ‘chem’ now totals 33 rather than 100, and while players still benefit from lining up with those from the same club, league, or country, they don’t have to be next to one another. As ever, you can further improve their stats using FIFA 23 chemistry styles. Also retooled are Position Modifiers: rather than move a player up and down the pitch, you can now only switch them to a real-life alternate position. So the days of Mbappe at CM are over - but you can change him to a CF or LW.
5 Buying FIFA Points is a bad move
Pack odds remain deliberately obfuscated by EA, with no way of knowing your chances of packing Mbappe or Premier League destroyer Erling Haaland. [At time of writing, the in-game Store simply advises that opening a premium gold pack gives you a 7.5% chance of finding an 84+ rated player.] This means spending money on FIFA Points is a terrible idea – you’re unlikely to get the card you want, and you’re endorsing a questionable system. Instead, bookmark GR’s FIFA 23 coins guide for season-long help on the currency front.
6 Stock up on 84-88 rated players
SBCs (Squad Building Challenges) featuring Icons are a huge pull of Ultimate Team, but they don’t kick in properly until Christmas – making October and November a great period in which to stockpile the players who’ll be needed to complete them. In previous years these have focussed on cards rated 84 or higher. These are in good supply now, but that will change in December and January, meaning prices will rise. Having them stashed in your club can therefore mean a tidy profit. Fancy stocking up? Bookmark GR’s FIFA 23 cheapest rated players guide.
7 Real managers transform career mode
Stevie G at Liverpool? Vieira in charge of Arsenal? These possibilities weren’t viable in previous series entries, but you can now choose a real manager when taking on career mode, rather than being forced to hack together an uncanny valley avatar. It immediately improves the believability of cut-scenes such as press conferences and transfer negotiations. Also cool is instant transfer analysis after any deal, rating you from A to F and enabling you to improve your wheeling-dealing skills as you gain experience. We’ve lots more in our FIFA 23 career mode guide.
8 Know your career mode wonderkids
One thing that hasn’t changed in career is the need to snap up talented youngsters as early as possible. You won’t be able to afford Haaland, but instead expect names such as Alberto Moleiro and Antonio Nusa to see you all the way through to EA Sports FC. This is so important we have two separate guides to help out: the self-explanatory FIFA 23 best young players list, and the more nuanced FIFA 23 signings guide, which also suggests veterans to help nurture your fresh talent.
9 Give Ted Lasso a go
A fun one to finish: you simply have to play at least one game as AFC Richmond. The team from Apple+ TV series Ted Lasso has been scanned for FIFA 23, as has Jason Sudeikis himself - and you can even have the Horrible Bosses actor roaming the touchline in Ultimate Team. Cool. Find out more in our FIFA 23 AFC Richmond guide. Head to our FIFA 23 Wrexham guide if you want to sample another team made famous in a contemporary TV show, as Ryan Reynolds’ stars of Disney Plus doc Welcome To Wrexham are also included this year.
