Introduction - New Legendary Card Designs, Spending Suggestions, and Market Fun
As we all know, due to copyright reasons, FIFA has officially been renamed EAFC starting from this generation. Most of the licenses are still intact, including various leagues and clubs that we are familiar with. The only affected aspect is the authorization for national team events. The biggest impact on FC24 is that there won't be activities related to the European Championship next summer, like we had for the World Cup last year. However, this impact is not significant as EA will find alternative ways to release cards related to the European Championship. Another change is that there are no bronze statues on the weekly black market for national team match days (actually, previous generations didn't have them either, only FIFA23 did).
One significant change is the transformation of legends. In terms of chemistry, legends now provide a chemistry link to various leagues, which makes the usability of legends in FC24 much better than in FIFA23. Legends in FIFA23 were relatively weak due to chemistry reasons, so the strengthening this year is more logical. It is believed that the usage rate of some obscure player cards will greatly increase. In FIFA23, it was quite difficult to achieve full chemistry with a player from a small league or nationality. It was far less convenient compared to earlier versions of FIFA, where a green link on the wing could solve the problem directly. With many stars moving to Saudi Arabia this year, legends will play an important role in connecting those stars with players in the top five leagues.
At the same time, EA has introduced new designs and integration for legends. During the server launch, there will only be one version of legends, which is referred to as the "Base" version. Although it shares the same name, its strength falls between the previous low-rated and mid-rated versions, and some can even be considered slightly higher than the previous mid-rated versions. Here are some representative examples:
In addition, there are new Hero cards added this year, giving players more options for team combinations.
The King Card is still held by Mbappe, and Haaland's overall rating has also increased to 91.
I won't list the data of other players one by one. Currently, Futbin has updated the complete player database for FC24, so you can go and take a look to prepare for your starting lineup in advance!
Now let's talk about spending money in the game. Many friends have been asking how much money they need to spend at the start of the server. My advice is that you can start from zero spending to the 1st or 5th group. The purpose of spending money is not only the excitement of opening packs and quickly acquiring desired players but also, from a market perspective, to shorten the time needed to accumulate initial funds. How to go from 0 to 500,000 and then engage in simpler and easier transactions is the topic of the essay at the start of the server. If you don't have time to engage in the market during the early stages of the game, you can spend in the 1st or 2nd group, combined with the green points given in the Ultimate Edition (I believe most UT players have pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition), and you can definitely set sail. If you want to be a pure zero spender, that's also fine. The joy of the UT market is immense, and the sense of achievement from starting from scratch is not only experienced through the increase in coins. You don't need to constantly catch up; starting from zero and building your team at your own pace is a great achievement. In real life, things can be so demanding, and if the game is always about chasing and fearing not keeping up with the pace, it can be truly exhausting. There is no concept of missing out on the UT market; if you engage in it, you will reap rewards, and in the end, everyone arrives at the same destination.
Spending money in FC also requires some considerations. My advice is that the best time to spend money is at the start of the server, and the earlier, the better. If you really want to spend money at other times in the game, I only recommend the annual Blue Event period. If you are a heavy spender, for example, if you plan to spend on 50 groups in this edition, then spend immediately at the start of the server. Spending all at once is much better than spending on a few groups every day when there are promotions. And based on my experience, those players who spend on a few groups every day actually end up spending more in the end compared to spending all at once.
The amount of money to spend actually depends on the game's progression route. I have been involved in UT for 8 years and has tried various routes. I believe that the most enjoyable and longest-lasting route is micro-spending. If you heavily spend from the beginning, you will find that most of the game's content has nothing to do with you because your squad is too strong. There is a kind of sadness in having everything, and every year after the annual Blue, I have a period of time when I don't feel like opening the game because my squad has graduated, and there is a lot of money that I can't spend, and I have no goals.
With micro-spending, you will look forward to new content every day, constantly adjusting your squad, constantly "fiddling around," and one of the biggest joys of this game is "fiddling around." I have heard many players say that after buying a certain player or completing a major SBC, they stop "fiddling around" and just focus on playing. In fact, "fiddling around" is the core of this game, and the focus of this core is the market.
The close integration with reality also keeps us hooked to this game because we love football. Do you remember the Klaiber showdown card in FIFA 21? That Eredivisie match was the most-watched in the history of the league. The World Cup last year was a true celebration, watching the matches and playing with dynamic cards. The Champions League every year is always a highlight. I believe that next year's European Championship will also bring more excitement to the game, especially after the TOTS event, adding to its playability.
Next, let's go back to the preparations for the FC24 launch!
Key Time Points during the Launch Period
Let's first outline the important time points during the launch period and the recommended actions.
All times are EDT Time.
September 19th, morning: Influencers with early access codes can enter the game. If you have a way to inherit or recharge green points, it is recommended to quickly start opening packs, form teams, and invest in mid-range or higher-rated practical cards.
September 20th: Web App goes live, TOTW1 goes live. For specific strategies, please refer to the later section on Web App login guide.
September 21st: The new version of the Companion App goes live and is available for download.
September 22nd, 0:00 AM: Players who purchased the Ultimate Edition can enter the game. The specific time you can enter the game depends on the local midnight time in the region where you purchased the game. You can see the countdown on your game interface. If you have purchased EA Play membership on PC but not the Ultimate Edition, you can also start the 10-hour trial at this time. EA Play Pro members have unlimited trial access.
If you log in to the game before November 1st, you will receive the FC Founder icon and some rewards.
September 22rd, 1:00 PM: Exclusive Nike Mad Ready event for the Ultimate Edition goes live.
September 24th: SQB rewards for the first week are distributed. Starting with SQB matches as soon as you enter the game is a good choice.
September 28th: DR rewards for the first week are distributed. After finishing SQB, continue grinding DR!
September 29th: Standard edition players can log in to the game at midnight in their respective regions.
September 30th, 1:00 AM: RTTK event goes live.
Web App Login Day Guide
For friends who are new to FIFA, the Web App is a web-based tool for managing your team. You can open packs, buy and sell players, and set up your team, among other things.
This is different from the mobile app, which is called the Companion App and will be available on September 21st.
Before logging into the Web App, it is recommended to reset your backup code on the EA website and make sure to note it down. The login verification channels will be congested, and some players may not receive the SMS or email verification code for several hours. When you have a backup code, you can quickly log in to the game.
That's why it's also recommended to load up on FIFA Points in FIFA 23 now. This way, when you log in to the game, you can carry them over. In previous years, many players missed out on the opportunity to invest at the start of the game because there were too many players trying to recharge FIFA Points, leading to delays and having to queue for customer support.
The following image is an official announcement from EA regarding the transferability of FIFA Points:
The next image shows the interface for transferring FIFA Points from previous years:
Moving on, after logging into the Web App, you will enter a screen where you can choose a "Starter Pack" for beginners, which will look something like the one below.
My suggestion is to choose England, France, or Spain because players from these countries are effective in many leagues, making it easier to complete Squad Building Challenges (SBCs). When selecting jerseys, try to choose rare ones as they will provide more coins when quick sold (QS).
Then, you will receive some packs called "loyalty packs," which are distributed based on the number of days and duration you have played FIFA 23. These packs are tradeable and provide you with some initial funds. If EA shamelessly changes loyalty packs to untradeable, it's best to log out at that point.
There are two points to note here. First, you can even log in to the Web App without buying FIFA 24. Just log in to the game within the specified time frame, and you can continue using your account. Last year, one of my friends opened a pack with a black In-Form KDB on an account without purchasing the game, which made me decide to join in.
Second, if your Web App transfer market is banned in FIFA 23, will it carry over to FIFA 24? The answer is not always. Some people won't be banned and can start trading in FIFA 24 directly, while others might face a ban, but it's not permanent and can be unlocked by playing matches, which is like a reset. This is the worst-case scenario. If your account is still banned at this point, it's best to take a break. However, the impact is not significant.
After opening the tradeable loyalty packs, if you pack a black, legend, or hero card, you have two choices:
First, if you decide to focus on the market, choose to quick sell (QS) the card and get the funds in hand. At this point, there won't be enough coins in the market to determine the prices of these cards, so it's best to take a loan against them and redeem them within seven days. (Note that you can redeem 5 times within 7 days, but it's better not to hit the 5 times limit in case there are bugs later. Of course, it's rare for anyone to pack 5 of these cards.) Once you have the initial funds, you can start trading based on Advanced SBCs.
Second, if you don't have time to trade due to work or study commitments, you can keep the card and take a completely passive approach. Just familiarize yourself with the interface.
If it's the previous Ultimate Team (UT) version, I would only recommend the first approach. In previous versions of the Web App, the market was quite profitable. However, in FIFA 23, EA made a significant change by making the rewards from Advanced Squad Building Challenges (SBCs) untradeable. As a result, the profits decreased significantly, and the market liquidity became almost zero. These SBCs absorbed the coins generated from loyalty packs, and besides a few early players, the overall market started to stagnate. Those early players rarely consider or pay attention to the SBC-related cards and simply quick sell them. These cards neither generate profit nor enter the market, leading to their demise.
At this point, even if you are proficient in mass bidding (which I emphasized in FIFA 23 and will discuss further in future articles) or find bricks with low competition, you will face significant competition. Moreover, players will gradually quit the game due to having nothing to do and no cards to buy.
Market trading is not a sprint but a marathon. Taking a few days to rest will not hinder your trading pace throughout the game. If this year's loyalty packs are still untradeable, even I won't consider grinding during these days.
However, if you still want to grind, there is a way. The three aforementioned SBCs will be crucial for your coin progression, ranging from tens of thousands to even 1-1.5 million coins. Moreover, it won't require as much time as you might imagine, and there is almost no trading risk involved.
At this point, you can try opening a few bronze packs. In the initial hours, some bronze cards can be sold for a good price. Open a few packs and list the player cards at a high price. However, don't open too many packs and keep some funds for filter trading.
Since Futbin is not available at this time, you won't be able to see the overall market prices. You can only rely on what you have in front of you, so you need to find suitable filters on your own. It's actually quite simple. For example, consider this SBC:
Requirement: 11 players from different leagues with a total chemistry of 27. A possible solution is using players from the same nationality but different leagues, such as the previously mentioned England pack. English players are present in many leagues, including two in their domestic league. This is the process of choosing bricks to move. You can try different player combinations and consider which cards you would use to complete the SBC. Then, search for cards that meet the criteria. For this SBC, an easy filter to consider is:
Rare Gold Cards - England - RM
Use this filter to search for Buy Now prices. Once you've determined the prices, you can scan for cards below the tax threshold using Buy Now or mass bidding methods. You can find detailed instructions in the Fatigue Trading Guide in the trading group (dropdown menu), so I won't go into too much detail here.
At this point, the profit per card is roughly around 200-500 coins. If you find it difficult to move the cards or face intense competition, change the filter.
This is the basic approach but requires a considerable amount of practical experience, especially knowing when to change bricks. I have already researched and found usable filters during these days. As long as the SBC requirements remain the same (they usually don't change each year), I will send them to the members of the trading group shortly after the Web App goes live.
This process is quite exhausting but aims to accumulate coins for the next investment in pack opening. If you manage to accumulate 35,000 coins or even buy a Van Dijk card, it will be a significant achievement. Last year, during this stage, I managed to acquire a mid-range gold card pack through a lot of hard work. In addition to Van Dijk, it included gold cards like Militão, Kondogbia, De Roon, and Llorente. These cards skyrocketed in value, almost tripling or quadrupling.
However, this approach is not suitable for everyone. It requires a lot of time and effort, and it goes against the principles of my trading group. I aim to establish a trading system that suits Chinese players, with a suitable time zone, less time-consuming strategies, and minimal actions to earn money easily.
The mentioned strategies above are what you can do within the first two days after logging into the Web App until you can officially enter the game.
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