FC 25 WORK RATES
FC 25 Work Rates are responsible to determine how often your player will defend and attack.
Work Rates for FC 25
Constructing an Ultimate Team squad involves considering various factors such as chemistry, positions, attributes, and prices. For those who delve deeper, factors like height, best foot, weak foot, skill moves, and work rates play a crucial role. Contrary to common belief, Work Rates significantly impact the gameplay of both individual players and the team as a whole.
Player Work Rates determine the positioning of players on the field, relative to their original starting point. Classified as low, medium, or high, these rates influence a player’s involvement in attacks and defenses, even when they are not in their designated positions. Importantly, Work Rates don’t measure the intensity of a player’s effort in attack or defense but rather the specific
A high attacking work rate indicates a player actively participating in all offensive moves, while a medium rate implies selective involvement in attacks. On the other hand, a player with a low attacking work rate tends to hold their position during team attacks. The same principles apply to defensive work rates, determining a player’s engagement in defensive actions.
To comprehend the impact of work rates, post-game heat maps for each player offer valuable insights. These visual representations clearly illustrate the areas of the pitch where players spent the majority of their time during the game. Understanding and leveraging work rates can be pivotal in optimizing the performance of your Ultimate Team.
Attacking Work Rate (AWR)
- High
Players will push deep into the attacking third, into the box, into the corners of the wings, etc… - Medium
Players will play from the midfield to outside the penalty area. - Low
Players will not play much further than from outside the defensive penalty area up to the defensive midfield.
Defensive Work Rate (DWR)
- High
Players will drop deep into the defensive third, into the box, into the corners of the wings, etc… - Medium
Players will play from the midfield to outside the defensive penalty area. - Low
Players will not drop much further than outside the attacking penalty area up to the attacking midfield.
You can check the work rate of a specific player in an Ultimate Team database or directly in-game.
How to Find the Player’s Work Rate in Ultimate Team
- From the main Ultimate Team screen, press R1/RB twice to select the [Club] tab;
- Select [Squad];
- Select one of your players and press R3;
- The Player Bio will show you the attacking and the defensive player work rate.
Suggestions
When determining the ideal work rate for a player, several factors come into play, including the formation, custom tactics, instructions, attributes, playing style, and the overall composition of the squad.
As a general guideline, we present recommended work rates for each position. However, it’s essential to analyze your unique circumstances to determine the best fit for your team. Flexibility is key, and if you can’t find players with the exact suggested work rates, variations such as high/medium or medium/low are acceptable.
For instance, if we recommend high/low as the optimal work rate for a striker, alternatives like high/medium or medium/low can also be viable. It’s advisable to steer clear of work rate combinations such as low/high, medium/high, or low/medium in these instances.
CB | Low/High
These are the players you will need in their natural positions all the time. If you want them to support the midfield, at least do it with fast players.
RB/LB | Medium/High
The main role of fullbacks is to give security to the backline, but most are high/medium, meaning they are out of position too often.
CDM/CM | Medium/High
Once again, these players should focus on the defense without losing the chance to help the most advanced teammates. This work rate should be adjusted according to the number of CDM/CMs in your team.
CAM | High/Medium
Attacking Midfielders have a crucial role in the attacking. However, they should also be the first players to defend.
Wingers | High/Low
As far as possible, it would be best to leave your wingers focused on the attack. It doesn’t mean they cannot help the backline, but other players are more suitable to do it.
ST | High/Low
This is the man responsible for scoring goals. That’s why he should be in the opposite box as long as possible, leaving defensive duties for the other players.
Frequently Asked Questions
FC 25 Work Rates affect where players position themselves on the pitch in the context of their original starting point.
Absolutely. Paying careful attention to the work rates of your players is crucial, as they form the basis for both the players’ movement range from their initial positions and the overall shape of your team in both attacking and defensive phases.
Consider a scenario where you deploy the classic 4-3-3 formation, and all three central midfielders have high attacking work rates. In this case, when your team loses possession, your defense may become overly exposed as none of the midfielders will drop back to provide defensive support. Similarly, if you employ a lone striker with a high defensive work rate, it may seem beneficial as they will contribute defensively when your team doesn’t have the ball. However, upon regaining possession, the striker is likely to be out of position, leading to a loss of your primary attacking focal point.
Consider a scenario where you deploy the classic 4-3-3 formation, and all three central midfielders have high attacking work rates. In this case, when your team loses possession, your defense may become overly exposed as none of the midfielders will drop back to provide defensive support. Similarly, if you employ a lone striker with a high defensive work rate, it may seem beneficial as they will contribute defensively when your team doesn’t have the ball. However, upon regaining possession, the striker is likely to be out of position, leading to a loss of your primary attacking focal point.
Work Rates are vital, but when selecting a player for your team, you should look first at his attributes and position. Only then, when you already have a shortlist, consider work rates, making it an influential eliminatory factor.
There are not best work rates for each position or even each player. If you want to select the best work rates possible for each situation, you have to look at the following factors:
- Formation;
- Custom Tactics;
- Player’s Instructions;
- Player’s Attributes;
- Playing Style;
- The Rest of the Squad.
High/high work rates may look the best, but this is not true. You will need players with a very high stamina stat. Otherwise, they will be tired fast and become useless. Since they always will be running up and down, they will be out of position too often, affecting the organization of your team. On the other hand, you should also avoid low/low work rates if you want players to cover as much field as possible.
Work rates should be chosen according to your formation and team.
For example, you shouldn’t use a striker with a high defensive work rate if he plays alone in the front. However, you can do it using a formation with two strikers. In the same way, using players with a high defensive work rate is almost useless if they don’t feature decent defensive attributes. It’s also easy to understand that a counter-attacking style will require wingers and forwards with low defensive work rates because you will need them in their natural positions as fast as possible. Finally, you should also know that playing with two center-backs with low defending work rates is unacceptable, but it’s okay to have just one.
For example, you shouldn’t use a striker with a high defensive work rate if he plays alone in the front. However, you can do it using a formation with two strikers. In the same way, using players with a high defensive work rate is almost useless if they don’t feature decent defensive attributes. It’s also easy to understand that a counter-attacking style will require wingers and forwards with low defensive work rates because you will need them in their natural positions as fast as possible. Finally, you should also know that playing with two center-backs with low defending work rates is unacceptable, but it’s okay to have just one.
You cannot modify FC 25 Work Rates in Ultimate Team game mode. You have to choose the players according to their work rates since you won’t be able to change them later.
A player’s work rate significantly influences the amount of fitness points they will lose. It outlines a player’s inclination towards specific areas of the field and dictates their behavior when not under your direct control. The work rate plays a crucial role in determining whether a player will engage in running or maintain their position when not under your control. Consequently, players with higher work rates, whether in defense or attack, are more prone to experiencing quicker fatigue.
Custom Tactics serve as guidelines for the team’s behavior, influencing their playing style and intentions in alignment with work rates and instructions. However, it’s essential to note that Custom Tactics can potentially conflict with work rates and instructions, leading to a substantial impact on the team’s performance and overall fluidity during gameplay.
Player instructions allow for creativity in attack and defence, and have the capacity to somewhat influence the impact of work rates. Rather than go through each set of instructions for each position, we will summarize how they interact with work rates through examples.
– A H/H Striker, by nature, will push deep into the box in the attack and drop deep into the defensive midfield, sometimes to the defensive penalty box, when the team doesn’t have possession. Setting this Striker to ‘press the back line’ will cause him to delay dropping deep in defense and stay higher up the pitch, especially when the backline players have the ball. This instruction, however, does not prevent him from ever dropping deep in defense. If you want a Striker who will truly pin the opponent’s backline higher up the pitch throughout the match, your best option is H/L.
– A H/M Center Mid, by nature, will push deep in the attack while not defending much beyond the defensive midfield, occasionally dropping into the area just outside the defensive penalty box. Setting this Center Mid to ‘stay back while attacking’ will cause him to delay forward runs during an attack and stay in the midfield, but it won’t stop him from pushing up into the attack. Setting him to ‘stay on the edge of the box for crosses’ will keep him outside the penalty box more often than not, but again, his high attacking work rate will cause him to make runs for crosses at times. If you want a Center Mid who truly stays in the midfield during the attack and on the edge of the box when the ball is on the wings, M/H or L/H are your better options.
– A M/M Center Back, by nature, will push to the midfield during the attack and drop to the edge of the defensive penalty box when the team doesn’t have the ball. Leaving him on ‘stay back while attacking’ will cause him to not push as far into the midfield as often, but he will still tend to drift forward in the attack. If you want a Center Back that stays deep at all times during the attack, L/H or L/M are the best options.
Now, how can we be creative with our instructions? It’s a matter of comparing a player’s work rates with the functions you want him to perform in-game. For instance:
– A M/H CM. Setting the Center Mid to ‘stay back while attacking’ will largely keep him in the midfield during the attack. However, he will still push forward into the attacking midfield, depending on available/open space and his particular attributes/stats and custom tactics. Setting him to ‘stay back’ and set him to ‘free roam’ will encourage him to remain in the midfield and swap positions with nearby players, especially when he pushes forward. If this same Center Mid’s complementing CB is set to ‘join the attack,’ we could have scenarios where they swap positions during the attack; this could either be a positive or a negative, depending on the CB’s attributes. For example, the CB switching to the CM spot could help to win the ball back higher up the pitch due to his better overall defensive stats, while the CM dropping into the CB role could potentially play a much better unexpected lobbed pass forward from the backline to an open player on the wing than the CB, due to his better overall passing stats.
One critical final point to remember is that instructions are positional. This means that if players swap positions at any end, they will follow the instructions set for that role until they swap back to their original spot, which is critical to know if you use the free form in any of your custom tactics.
– A H/H Striker, by nature, will push deep into the box in the attack and drop deep into the defensive midfield, sometimes to the defensive penalty box, when the team doesn’t have possession. Setting this Striker to ‘press the back line’ will cause him to delay dropping deep in defense and stay higher up the pitch, especially when the backline players have the ball. This instruction, however, does not prevent him from ever dropping deep in defense. If you want a Striker who will truly pin the opponent’s backline higher up the pitch throughout the match, your best option is H/L.
– A H/M Center Mid, by nature, will push deep in the attack while not defending much beyond the defensive midfield, occasionally dropping into the area just outside the defensive penalty box. Setting this Center Mid to ‘stay back while attacking’ will cause him to delay forward runs during an attack and stay in the midfield, but it won’t stop him from pushing up into the attack. Setting him to ‘stay on the edge of the box for crosses’ will keep him outside the penalty box more often than not, but again, his high attacking work rate will cause him to make runs for crosses at times. If you want a Center Mid who truly stays in the midfield during the attack and on the edge of the box when the ball is on the wings, M/H or L/H are your better options.
– A M/M Center Back, by nature, will push to the midfield during the attack and drop to the edge of the defensive penalty box when the team doesn’t have the ball. Leaving him on ‘stay back while attacking’ will cause him to not push as far into the midfield as often, but he will still tend to drift forward in the attack. If you want a Center Back that stays deep at all times during the attack, L/H or L/M are the best options.
Now, how can we be creative with our instructions? It’s a matter of comparing a player’s work rates with the functions you want him to perform in-game. For instance:
– A M/H CM. Setting the Center Mid to ‘stay back while attacking’ will largely keep him in the midfield during the attack. However, he will still push forward into the attacking midfield, depending on available/open space and his particular attributes/stats and custom tactics. Setting him to ‘stay back’ and set him to ‘free roam’ will encourage him to remain in the midfield and swap positions with nearby players, especially when he pushes forward. If this same Center Mid’s complementing CB is set to ‘join the attack,’ we could have scenarios where they swap positions during the attack; this could either be a positive or a negative, depending on the CB’s attributes. For example, the CB switching to the CM spot could help to win the ball back higher up the pitch due to his better overall defensive stats, while the CM dropping into the CB role could potentially play a much better unexpected lobbed pass forward from the backline to an open player on the wing than the CB, due to his better overall passing stats.
One critical final point to remember is that instructions are positional. This means that if players swap positions at any end, they will follow the instructions set for that role until they swap back to their original spot, which is critical to know if you use the free form in any of your custom tactics.
No. Attacking work rates don’t impact defensive work rates and vice versa – it’s not a synthesis; in other words, when you have possession, players will position based on their attacking work rates, and when you don’t have control, they will position based on their defensive work rates.
Work rates play a decisive role in shaping a team’s overall structure during both offensive and defensive phases. Visualize it as a series of dots connected by triangles that dynamically shift based on ball possession. This aspect is crucial because, even though you may choose a specific formation, the formation’s shape will undergo transformations in attack and defense influenced by the individual work rates assigned to each position.