FIFA 23 players claim gameplay is “ruined” following Lengthy meta nerf

Nathan Warby
Erling Haaland in FIFA 23

FIFA 23 Title Update 4 introduced a host of nerfs to overpowered mechanics that had been dominating matches, such as the notorious Lengthy meta. However, players have slammed the patch, claiming it has “ruined” FIFA 23 Ultimate Team’s gameplay.

EA SPORTS have been releasing regular updates since the release of FIFA 23 in effort to keep matches as fun and balanced as possible. This includes nerfing features that players found to be overpowered and frustrating to use, such as the Trivela shot.

Since the game launched back in September, the new AcceleRATE system led to players being characterized as Lengthy dominating the meta as they were far quicker than any other acceleration type.

FIFA 23 Title Update 4 appears to have come with a major nerf to Lengthy players like Haaland and Benzema, but players fear it has spoiled the Ultimate Team gameplay completely.

Reddit user Zimek0609 called the latest patch the “most dog***t update in FIFA history,” before sharing a clip of the current state of gameplay. The nerf to Lengthy players, who tend to be tall with a lower pace stat, appears to have made quicker stars impossible to stop.

The clip shows both players passing the ball to their pacey wingers, who can run all the way to the box without being caught thanks to their blistering speed, before attempting a cutback.

Hundreds of players responded in agreement, with Wonders24 saying: “I’m trying to play my passing game and some guy is sprinting the whole length of the pitch like above. It’s a joke now. 95% of the goals I conceded is sprint down the wing and cut back.”

In a separate post, vikingo91anyday argued that Title Update 4 “ruined” the game and that FIFA 23 is “close to unplayable” in its current state.

Although many players were frustrated with how overpowered Lengthy players were in FIFA 23 before the update, they also enjoyed that slower target men, which had been unusable in previous years, were now viable options.

However, fans believe that Title Update 4 has seen EA make FIFA 23 matches feel more like past games in the series.

“Was refreshing and enjoyable to have a FIFA title where you could use tall and strong players in an effective way, along with the smaller more agile players,” said another Reddit user. “Now, however, we will go back to the old popular players.”

There is no word yet on when the next FIFA 23 update will arrive, but after such a negative response to Title Update 4, players will be hoping that EA look to revert some of the changes made.


For more on FIFA 23, take a look at our Ones to Watch upgrade tracker and when World Cup Icons are set to arrive.

Image credit: EA SPORTS

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].