EA Sports has published its initial full-scale post-launch update for EA FC 26, bringing important gameplay changes and essential fixes to all platforms in response to extensive community feedback during the closed beta.

The Title Update 1.0.2, already released as patch 1.05 on consoles, is a complete reaction to player issues that were revealed during EA FC 26‘s early access. The update directly addresses overpowered shooting mechanics, smooths out artificial intelligence behavior, and fixes numerous game-breaking glitches throughout Career Mode and Ultimate Team.

Low Driven Shots See Critical Balance Adjustment

The most important alteration is a response to the contentious Low Driven Shot mechanism that was prevalent in competitive gameplay throughout the closed beta. The players had singled out these shots as too precise, even when fired with full power, making the scoring environment unbalanced.

EA has pushed back by making Low Driven Shots less accurate when done with max power levels. This specific nerf ensures that competitive balance is restored without rendering the technique unusable when applied responsibly. The change mirrors feedback from the community that the shots were “too powerful” and disrupted tactical play.

AI Overhaul

Update 1.0.2 brings radical enhancements to artificial intelligence positioning and decision-making on both attack and defense. The alterations aim to address longstanding complaints about player movement habits that have seemingly failed to accurately reflect authentic football realities.

Attacks on AI improvements involve a greater frequency of wingers’ incisive runs into the penalty box, offering more dynamic attacking possibilities. Wing-backs now stay higher when their side is in possession, instead of dropping too deep in their own half. The system also includes better teammate offside awareness and better ability to see opportunities for beneficial runs into open space.

Defensive positioning has also received equal attention. Center backs are no longer as prone to pushing out of their center defensive positions when defending against attacking players, holding more organized defensive lines. Those who play with low defensive depth will discover that their defenders will occupy more thoughtful positions, avoiding the error of pushing too high up the field. False-backs now switch into defensive responsibilities more seamlessly, more effectively sustaining general team shape.

EA FC 26 Update 1.0.2 Patch Notes

This TU includes:

• Tuning changes to Low Driven Shots.
• Improvements to AI attacking support and positioning.
• Addressing instances of Manager Career players leaving the team when simming.
• Borderless display setting and controller responsiveness improvements.
• Various stability improvements.
• And much more.

Gameplay

Made the following updates:

• Tuned Low Driven Shots based on your feedback in the Closed Beta to be less accurate when shooting with an extreme amount of power.
• As part of our AI attacking updates based on your feedback, we made the following changes:
  • Increased frequency of wingers making attacking runs into the box.
  • Wing Backs will no longer drop too deep in their own half when their team is in possession.
  • Improved teammate offside awareness.
  • Addressed instances of players not making runs into open space when it could be beneficial.
  • Improved positioning of players when playing with low defensive depth so that they’re not pushing too high up the pitch.
  • Center Backs are now less likely to run wide when marking central attackers.
  • False Backs now transition more intelligently to defense to better maintain defensive shape.
• Updated the Be A Goalkeeper UI:
  • A goalkeeper dive indicator now displays where an incoming shot is coming from.
  • Changed the Camera Pan input based on your feedback and to avoid button conflicts.
  • As shared on the EASFC Tracker, we’re continuing to work on Be A Goalkeeper updates to improve the gameplay experience. We’ll share more details in the near future.
  • Improved cases of unexpected heavy touches when sprinting in wet weather. Authentic gameplay based on your feedback.
  • Improved instances of Ground Passes unexpectedly falling behind the intended receiver.
  • Tuned difficult to perform Driven Ground Passes to be less accurate, for example, first-time Driven Ground Passes taken at 180 degrees.
  • Addressed incorrect shooting animations that sometimes occurred when attempting lace shots, resulting in unexpected behavior.

Ultimate Team

Addressed the following issues:

• Players weren’t always able to enter multiplayer gameplay after accepting a Co-Op invite.
• Player Item portraits were sometimes misaligned on the Squad screen.
• A stability issue could have occurred after completing the Onboarding and viewing your Squad for the first time.

Career Mode

Addressed the following issues:

• Players could’ve incorrectly left your club when simming through the calendar.

General, Audio, and Visual

Made the following changes:

• Updated some star heads, kits, and placeholder text/images.

Addressed the following issues:

• [PC Only] Adjusting display settings while in Borderless could have unintentionally resulted in performance loss.
• [PC Only] Addressed a few instances of controllers not recognizing inputs.
• We will continue to investigate this and other reported PC issues and provide updates in the near future.
• Addressed a number of stability issues that could have occurred.