Substitution Tactics in Madden Ultimate Team

The overall enjoyment of online head to head play seems to fade away as your team's OVR rating rises above 90.  I think one of the main reasons for this may be that some of the more advanced players that have become successful in Madden Ultimate Team are able to build an elite team.  An advanced player can probably be listed under two categories.  There the skilled players and then there are players that may not be as skillfull but still have a knowledge of certain Madden programming defects that help aide their successes.

I try to keep my team between 80-85 OVR rating.  This helps level the playing field to some degree.  Lately, I've noticed some teams pausing the game to auto reset their depth-chart.  In the online head to head match-up screen before a game, some teams will appear to have the same OVR as your team.  But, some teams may also have some superstars on their roster that are not listed in the starting lineup.  These players won't be included in a team's OVR rating but that doesn't mean they won't be participating in the game.

The online match-up screen does have a way to allow you to preview your opponents depth chart before the game but this feature hasn't been very stable, on Playstation at least.  If the depth chart preview is used too much or is pulled up at an inopportune time, Madden has been known to freeze up.  Lately, it seems to be working better but EA hasn't confirmed whether or not it has been fixed. 

The depth chart preview feature isn't always reliable and sooner or later you'll have to face an opponent who will either pause the game to reorder the depth chart or they will do something that is less conspicuous and sub in their superstars between plays.  Until EA is able to find a way to address these hidden roster tactics, my new philosophy will be "if you can't beat them, join them".

Resolution
To be more successful in Madden Ultimate Team, I would recommend keeping some superstars at a few positions on your roster.  If your opponent pauses at the beginning of the game use this opportunity to auto-reorder the roster.  You can't stop your opponent from doing the same thing so might as well do it yourself.  I would also recommend familiarizing yourself with the Madden substitution user interface and start subbing in superstars between plays.  Everybody else does it so you might as well start doing the same. 

On offense, I have a pretty strong offensive line except at the Center and Right Guard positions.  Before a play, I'll choose a formation and sub in my superstar C and RG.  On defense, I use an all silver defensive line in my starting lineup and a couple medium value outside linebackers.  In between plays, I'll choose a formation and then sub in my top-notch defensive ends and linebackers.  On the next play, the same substitutions will remain if I'm using the same formation.

When playing Madden Ultimate Team always remember to first watch out for your own interests, because others will be watching out for theirs.

XBOX 360/PS3 Button Converter

Almost all Madden NFL 12 write-ups that you will find on the internet will be done using XBOX 360 button control usage.  Even the Split Backs Pro write-up I recently wrote for the West Coast playbook, was done with XBOX 360 button control usage.  I purposely did this to showcase a new Greasemonkey script that I wrote for PS3 users. 

This script will translate XBOX 360 button chracters to PS3 button images on almost any website.  I say almost any website because I've filtered the script to only run on sites that contain the word "Madden" and the following capital letters: X, A, Y, and B.

Another neat feature that I've added to the script is when you click on the PS3 button image it will toggle back to the XBOX button character variation for you.  Also, this change will be saved so when you return to the website you won't need to make the change again.  This toggle feature is especially helpful in situations when you don't want a character to be converted.  One example of this might be when you have LB (for linebacker) in a sentence.  The script might read this as the LB button on XBOX but you can fix the mistake by clicking on the PS3 button and the script will remember that change.

Download XBOX 360/PS3 Button Converter

How to view your opponent's record

In Madden NFL you can no longer see your opponent's win loss record in the online head to head matchup screen.  You can still check your opponent's record after a game, however, by going to your Player Hub at easports.com.  If you are on XBOX go to http://www.easports.com/player-hub/360/[GAMERTAG].  On PS3, go to http://www.easports.com/player-hub/PS3/[GAMERTAG].  On this page, scroll down to the bottom and view the Recent Activity section.  Here, you will find your opponent's gamertag.  Copy this down and paste it in the URL in the area and then go to their Player Hub.  On their Player Hub, click on the LEADERBOARDS tab button.  Your opponent's, rank, skill, level, wins, and losses should be listed.

Admittedly, this takes quite a bit of work to go through so many steps to gather this data.  Instead of doing all this, I decided to write a Greasemonkey script that shows this data on your own Player Hub page.  Now with this script, you can go to your Player Hub page and scroll down to the Recent Activity section and you will see your opponent's win-loss record under each result.

Unfortunately, the recent Activity section will only show completed games.  If your opponent quits before the game has finished the game results won't appear in this section.  You can still obtain your opponent's gamertag, however, by having the game results emailed to you.  Or, you can also view game results by going to the Leaderboard screen on your (XBOX or PS3) console.  In my script, I have also included a Gamertag Record Search box at the top of the Player Hub page so a player's win loss record can be obtained through a search as well.

Now with this Gamertag Record Search box you could essentially lookup an opponent's record while you are in the online head to head matchup screen if you really wanted to.  This is assuming that you have a computer or laptop at your fingertips while you are on your XBOX or PS3 console, of course.

To use the script, follow these 3 steps
1. Download Firefox.
2. Install Greasemonkey extension.
3. After installing Greasemonkey, install Madden NFL View Opponent Record.

Madden Ultimate Team playbook glitch?

Over the weekend I played my first Madden Ultimate Team game and I was able to use the offensive and defensive playbooks that I had setup in My Madden Settings!

As part of the Madden Ultimate Team Incentive program I was rewarded with coins based on what I accomplished in Madden Ultimate Team 10. My starter pack included the Pass Balanced and Multiple D playbooks. When I played my first Madden Ultimate Team game I was actually able to use my West Coast offense playbook and NY Jets defensive playbook. My saved audibles were also working.

I have a feeling this glitch may be related to the new Gameflow and/or the Gameplan features. The problem might also be triggered when one plays a combination of regular online games and Madden Ultimate Team. Before I encountered this glitch I played a couple of online games. I can't remember what mode these games were played in. I believe one game was using Conventional play calling and the other was Gameflow but I prefered to use Conventional play calling throughout the game. After a couple online games, I decided to give Madden Ultimate Team a try. It was a Gameflow game but I was able to use my West coast and NY Jets playbooks!

My opponent decided to quit with 30 seconds left in the game so I didn't earn any coins nor did I earn the win. Sounds like EA is aware of the quiting problem. Ian Cummings, Creative Director of Madden NFL, tweeted "Side note, we are getting close to a solution to the Madden quitters out there...it's not gonna end well for you! Will update more soon."

Field Goal block glitch

Madden's 2nd title update was released a few weeks ago. Flat zone coverage seems to be fixed and pursuit angles for defensive players has improved. Overall this patch did a good job fixing some of the major issues but there will always be other lingering issues. Players always seem to find other ways to exploit the video game.

Last night, I faced a guy who had a method for blocking field goals. I scored on the beginning drive and he almost blocked my extra point attempt. Later in the 2nd quarter I attempted a field goal which was blocked. I reviewed the replay and he placed the guy that is usually in "safety" coverage and moved him in front of the standing linebacker. when the ball was snapped he switched control to that linebacker and jumped up and blocked the kick. I can't remember who he was using as the blocker but I thought it might have been Ted Ginn, Dolphins Wide Receiver, who has an 88 jump rating.

I think it's a bit cheesy to try to figure out a way to block field goals like this. The only way to counter is to not attempt any field goals and go for two point conversions. Case in point: In my game I was leading 7-3 late in the 4th quarter and it was 4th down with 4 yards to go on his 16 yard line. I could have attempted a field goal but didn't want to risk it being blocked so I went for it but failed the conversion. I eventually won the game. With about two minutes to go in the game, he was at mid field when I picked off his pass. He quit the game after that.

           1    2    3    4   OT    F
49ers           7    0    0   14    0   21
Dolphins        0    0    0    3    0    3

Statistics                           49ers           Dolphins
Rushing attempts for                 19              17
Rushing yards for                   183              87
Passing attempts for                 14              26
Passing yards for                    69             135
Punts                                 0               0
Field goals for                       0               1
Long field goals (40+) for            0               0
Rushing touchdowns for                1               0
Passing touchdowns for                2               0
Returns touchdowns for                0               0
Defensive touchdowns for              0               0
Turnovers for                         3               1
Interceptions for                     1               2
Sacks for                             1               0
Number of third downs                 5               8
Third down conversions                2               3
No-huddle plays                       0               1
Audibles called                       7               5
Hot routes used                       2               4
Shotgun plays                         3              18
Blitzes                              15              15
Time of possession                11:17           16:43